Multiverse Crisis MUSH - User contributions [en]

3088/Academeans

2015-10-01T23:33:45Z

Kimiko: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2015/09/24 |Location=Terra Majora <TM> |Synopsis=Confederates take over a city; Elliana gives it to Adelyn. |Thanks= |Cast of Characters=92, 202, 2..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/09/24
|Location=Terra Majora <TM>
|Synopsis=Confederates take over a city; Elliana gives it to Adelyn.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=92, 202, 234, 340, 380, 604
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:92|Elliana Fairchild (92)}} has posed:'''     Since the war started, the Moonlight Academy has started bustling indeed. With the loss of most of the enemy army earlier, and the loss of two cities of varying importance, the Empire has dramatically scaled up its response and war effort. They're raising up more troops, conscripting farmers to train, not realizing that the deadline is very very soon.     This includes the Academy, though! From far and wide, little shanties and the like have sprung up. Mostly abandoned in the first few days, they're now just a desolate little collection of tents and the like outside the walls of the city. And the city does have walls... tall, strong walls and a massive gate, which is closed right now. Troops appear to be lighter in number, but given the numerous towers in the midst of the city probably have mages, this is going to be a difficult one without some care taken.     Elliana has ridden Veryx again, and can provide a ride, but she's setting down well out of the range of the air defenses. Veryx rumbles grumpily, but Elliana doesn't seem worried. "The usual by now. Try to keep it intact, as there are some valuable books and items here. I thought this would be good for Lady Lysen. I trust by now none of you need help with strategy, now that you know your opponents." 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     In contrast to the last few conquests, Adelyn Lysen has brought only a single ship. It's not even a warship, though it's certainly armed. It's more of a personal yacht, and while it does fly and it is quite well-defended with her and a few (inhuman) servants aboard, she's keeping it well back. In part, this is to gauge the correct moment to make a personal appearance on the field, if such is needed. In part, it is to make things harder on her general.     General Lanza, rider of the dragon Iris, has recovered in most ways since the war to take the Nation of Towers--in which she fought against the Confederacy--but her honor has yet to be restored. The rest of her circumstances can be guessed.     The air cavalry eschews slow and unmaneuverable airships for the different vulnerability of magical beasts. The dragon riders are the elite--merely very smart animals, in contrast to the dragons of some worlds, but still as strong as they look--with larger numbers of wyverns and pegasi. One rider to each, most armed and armored, and all of them magi of one stripe or another. While hovering is quite difficult for most, they've still formed up in ranks with noteworthy discipline. More than a few have a need to personally distinguish themselves, but in their homeland, that doesn't happen by looking sloppy.     "Of course. If there's any value to their knowledge--and I'm sure there is--recovering it is a high priority." Adelyn uses the radio to keep in touch with both the other elites and her own officers. "Regrettable that no more of my armored cruisers were available in time. Mistakes in design that shall be remedied. In the meantime, I predict higher casualties, if the air defenses are in the upper projected range."     "It will be handled." comes Lanza's response.     Adelyn keys a more targeted query. "Madeline Vance. I don't suppose your sorcery would function in this case, as well?"     Regardless, the cavalry must advance for the battle to begin. 

:'''{{#var:380|Madeline Vance (380)}} has posed:'''     This isn't a naval battle, thus Madeline has not brought any boats! She has exactly two large airships, and the Radiant Empress itself. She says as much, too. "This is not my area of expertise, so I will play a support role for now," she communicates. The Radiant Empress hangs back, but the mech does carry a large, long rifle of some kind, apparently intending to snipe if needed. "And to provide ground troops."     Oh right, those. The two airships drop off a number of infantry, which support several larger mobile weapons platforms, which look like oversized armor. Warstriders, or mecha of an Exalted bent. These are not nearly as fancy or powerful as Madeline's own, but they do provide an instant, capable threat. And if they get destroyed, well... most of them use soulsteel so this is just a convenient way for Madeline to break them down into spare parts. As soon as the attack is called, they're going to start advancing on the walls.     Since she's being asked for it, the mech begins to whine and glow a brilliant gold. <LOAD PROGRAM: DOLOROUS_REFLECTION.cel" A wall of magical power envelops Adelyn's air cavalry, providing a shield against physical missiles, similar to before. "I expect more of the attacks will be magical in nature, this time," she cautions. "That is your specialty, and I leave you to it, but that should keep any of the mundane projectiles off your back." 

:'''{{#var:604|Raine Arland (604)}} has posed:'''      Raine opted to ride his bike to their destination again, keeping sight of Veryx to ascertain where to go roughly.      With the city in sight, and the makeshift camp outside the gates, Raine slowed to a stop. A fair distance away from the beginnings of the shanty town. "Hmn..." He produced a set of binoculars and zoomed in, peering out across the collections of shacks and tents, as well as the city walls. "...Those towers look important." And then he eyed the gate. "...But how to get in..."      Pause.      Raine rubbed his chin thoughtfully, coming to a possible idea. "Better take this one slowly and subtly." He decided, foregoing his usual bold, upfront approach. Now was definitely not the time. It was time to sneak. That in mind, Raine got off of his bike, securing several potentially helpful items such as binoculars, lockpicks, and a few auxiliary weapons. Just to be safe.      And he approached the seemingly abandoned outer town, avoiding walking straight down the main avenue, but rather, attempting to steal away into a more densely packed cluster of shacks and tents to use as cover. All the while, he kept an eye out, peering around corners, using his binoculars to scope out any suspicious details.      If Fragarach was present, she hadn't made herself known quite yet. 

:'''{{#var:234|Lu-Mey (234)}} has posed:'''     "HELLOOOOOOO~."     That voice- that cheery, sultry, honeyed, voice means but one thing.     Once again, Lu-Mey has shown up. Probably to incite chaos, cause havoc, and shed blood in her own special way, for the greater purposes of a Confederate operation. She probably took up an offer for a ride on Veryx, but right now, the Oni is wringing her hands, eyeing the academy thoughtfully as she... Lazily drapes herself all over Raine's shoulders.     "Hello, I like slow and subtle." Purred as she flutters lashes and flashes a sweet, sharp-toothe smile.     While something under the skin of her cheek crawls visibly. 

:'''{{#var:340|Mir (340)}} has posed:'''     Mir hasn't come out too much, but it's hardly the first time she's worked with Elliana. The Reyvateil has also worked with almost all of the others at various points in time. So it might be a surprise to see her here, settled next to her robotic dog, with Ayatane the swordsman standing nearby. Mir herself is just watching, looking rather bored as the spell of protection is cast and the air cavalry move out.     "Hmmm..." While she's technically the ranking Confederate here, she doesn't seem to mind that this is Adelyn's operation, because that's who she speaks to next. "Would you prefer support in the form of enhancement, or in the form of raining fiery death upon your enemies?"     It's not hard to guess which she'd prefer doing. 

:'''{{#var:92|Elliana Fairchild (92)}} has posed:'''     It's hard to ignore an army mustering outside the doors, isn't it? The Academy probably has some idea of what the enemy is capable of, by now... and shows it by the towers starting to glow, building up some kind of charged attacks. As the Warstriders approach, they're going to suffer a light spread of magical fire and arrows. The latter will be reflected easily, of course, but the former are going to be a problem. A minor problem, though, as they aren't sending out the big guns yet.     It's a good thing, though, that the army advanced. This draws any attention away from Raine sneaking through the shanty town, much closer to the great walls than the Warstriders are. The place really is abandoned, which may be disappointing to Raine and Lu-Mey... or reassuring, given that it means there are no prospective mages hiding out there. It also gets them as close to the wall as they want, at least unless they do something stupid. 

:'''{{#var:340|Mir (340)}} has posed:'''     "Tower it is," Mir murmurs, stretching lazily. Ayatane sighs, readying his sword but staying nearby, and ELMA growls digitally as it stalks around in a circle. Looks like those are her bodyguards, not so much anything else.     The slender Reyvateil takes a breath, then begins to sing. It's actually a fairly uplifting song, but full of some dissonant notes, some crashing booms in the background that hint at battle in the distance, like a rising murmur of discontent. Yes, this comes complete with instrumental accompaniment to the words, which convey a sense of smug superiority and a burning hatred that, while calmer than before, can't go away. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     Mages though they be, the air cavalry is lacking in siege equipment. Some improvisation can overcome part of that difficulty, but for the most part, they just focus on different tactics.     With Exaltech sorcery in place, they focus on their magical wards. They're no worse than the naval crews in that regard, but lacking large arcane reactors on pegasus-back, they make do by clumping in the air as close together as they can safely fly, and spreading shields of counteracting force that stack atop each other. It makes for an odd appearance in comparison to most air forces, forgoing greater evasion, but here it suffices to get them close without significant casualties, at least at first.     Once close, the formations break apart. The wyvern-riders swoop low and try to fire their spells directly into the enemy fortifications. Their specific spells vary, but they wouldn't have the job if they didn't have aim-enhancing support magic. The handful of dragons are more direct, landing heavily if they think they've found a blind spot, and reaching down with menacing claws. Lanza's goes straight for the gate closest to the ground troops. Their riders act independently and, being the most elite of the troops, are more adept at maintaining both defense and offense. They have to, being targets as large as they are.     Adelyn is bringing her ship in closer, but still at extreme range. They could probably fire on her at this point, while she isn't acting to do anything in return. Not yet, at least. 

:'''{{#var:604|Raine Arland (604)}} has posed:'''      Raine was in the zone. From one shack to the next. Peering into the empty insides, past tents, leaning up against walls to wait, leaning out to scope out details.      This was a sneaking mission.      At least until Lu-Mey happened.      Feeling arms drape themselves around him carelessly Raine's sneaking trance immediately broke, and he faltered comically at her weight. "....." He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but then closed it, thinking better of it. He looked aside slightly, at his sudden, 'totally subtle' companion.      "Yeaaaaaaaah, hey Lu. You're totally not helping." And then a smirk formed. "But I get the sinking feeling you know that already." His eyes followed whatever the hell that was crawling under her cheek, blinking once, twice, and then casually looking back out. "Right then. If you're here, then let's do this, eh?"      The magical warfare started right about then, the towers powering up and firing off volleys of magic projectiles. Good. They weren't noticed in the confusion. Didn't seem like anyone else was around. Raine snuck over past a few shacks, closer to the gates. "Okay, I've got an idea." He indicated where the towers were as he last saw. "Knowing our buddies out back, one or both of those towers are gonna get blown. We scale the wall in that moment and slip in during the confusion. Make sense?" He asked, not looking towards Lu-Mey as he asked.      He had no idea if she was willing to actually follow a plan or just go YOLO, but hey, he'd try! 

:'''{{#var:380|Madeline Vance (380)}} has posed:'''     The Warstriders do take some hits, and one of them staggers, dropping to one knee. The other spread out, lowering their weapons and starting to dig hands into the wall, to climb upward at a slow but steady pace. These ones don't have flight modules, it seems. This will be the time when they're most vulnerable, but if they can manage to get into the city...     Madeline covers for them, and for Adelyn's army, but not with sorcery this time. The mech's large autocannon levels off, and she starts firing single, precise shots at anything that looks like an anti-siege weapon or tower, the cannon rounds mundane but powerful. She's not spending more Essence after that large spell, at least not yet.     "I wonder what surprise they'll have in for us this time?" 

:'''{{#var:234|Lu-Mey (234)}} has posed:'''     Subtle. So very very subtle. It's not exactly Lu-Mey's forte, that much is evident, as her smile only seems to brighten in response to Raine. "I have my moments." Replied brightly before detaching. To her credit though, she keeps up with Raine decently well, hunkering down and bobbing her head when he lays out the plan.     "Okay~."     With Adelyn's forces beginning their assault, the Oni ponders a moment, before tugging off her sandals. "Hold these for me please, Raine dear?"     Regardless of wether he takes them or not her arm hooks around his middle, fingers and toes wrigling ebfore she just starts spider-manning her way up the wall. "Oh and hold on."     It was the plan right? 

:'''{{#var:92|Elliana Fairchild (92)}} has posed:'''     The magical blasts that are slipping through Madeline's spell are easily-handled by the formation... so far. It's pretty obvious they haven't brought in their big guns yet, though. As the dragons come in for a landing, they're met with two defenses. One is the formation of lances that await them, charging forward for a mundane assault that Madeline's spell does nothing against. The second is the fact that three of the towers fire out a blazing power, summoning up three 'dragons' made of fire, ice, and lightning respectively. These elemental beings roar and set themselves upon the riders with surprising ferocity!     The Warstriders begin to climb, and finally some battle mages make it to the walls and start sending down lances of magical energy. There are more Warstriders than Sorcerers though, so this is mainly a delaying action, especially as the towers come under fire. Mystical shields blunt, but don't fully deflect, the incoming shots, but that has to be taking energy away from the other defenses.     The chaos means Lu and Raine can basically choose their entry point. 

:'''{{#var:340|Mir (340)}} has posed:'''     Mir's song reaches a high point, and the ball of energy that has begun to gather above her crackles with dangerous power. That vivid purple sphere wavers for a moment, then grows yet again, becoming a massive, pulsing source of power. It's not exactly magic, but close enough... and Mir is bringing her song to a close.     With a smirk, she lifts her hand... then makes a FLINGING motion forward, sending that globe streaking toward one of the towers that summoned a dragon, roaring toward the city in a purple trail.     Mir herself stumbles, arms windmilling... then she manages to straighten up, retaining her dignity for an instant before the overcompensation has her falling back to land on her ass. THUD!     Blush. "No one saw that."     She'll just hope the others were too busy doing their fighting thing to notice. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     Adelyn is listening to the reports coming in with one ear, but she's too far off to actually see much of it. The elemental dragons have her attention for a moment, but Mir's song has more of it. A form of magic with which she cannot begin to work is both confounding and fascinating to her, and her studies have lacked reyvateil subjects, to date.     She might see something in particular when the magic is cast, but it's from far off. And maybe not. The giant orb is rather distracting.     Lanza makes an attempt to get the gate open, but it wouldn't be a good, fortified gate if it were something you could do quickly. She takes to the air again, aiming for the dragon of ice, fire pooling around her before splashing outward against it, trying to disrupt its form. One of her subordinates stays on the ground to deal with the spear charge, and proves that physical-enhancement magic onto an already formidable beast can, in fact, give it scales harder than steel. While focused on that, they aren't doing much more than clawing, biting, and tailswiping soldiers. The other dragon riders lift not to take on the fire and lightning dragons directly, but to swoop around on prowl for the summoners. Well-coordinated by their leader, they do toss varied attempts at opposing elements toward each.     Now is the time when casualties do begin to mount in the chaos. The wyvern-riders, closest in but not well-shielded outside of their formations, are suffering as they try their best to support their officers. A few fall, though more only suffer such injuries as can be immediately healed by the pegasus-riders, who keep their less-aggressive beasts further from each threat.     And still, Adelyn's ship makes only a slow approach. What surprises, indeed? She half-expects some arrogant challenge to a duel. 

:'''{{#var:604|Raine Arland (604)}} has posed:'''      "Whuh-okay? But-BWAH!"      Raine had taken Lu-Mey's sandals as requestion, about to ask WHY, but then he found himself grabbed as she skittered up the wall while carrying him. FFFFFFF NOT PART OF THE PLAN. ...But this is fine. It was a bit early, but thankfully, Mir's spell fired off, sailing over the walls by the time they reached the top.      "Okay! They're targeting that tower there, let's veer off slightly away from it and steal in further ahead." He spoke quickly, pointing off slightly away from the direction of the tower. Approaching ground zero would have been a dumb idea. In the meantime, Raine took out his binoculars, scoping out across the city to get a general lay of the land and figure out what looked the most important... 

:'''{{#var:380|Madeline Vance (380)}} has posed:'''     Lances of magical energy pierce some of the Warstriders, and they tumble away to crash down at the ground. It's around this time that the troops surge forward, and begin peppering the walls with shots from rifles. They're covering for the Warstriders, which are... trying to climb over and assault the walls.     "Hmm..." Madeline frowns. "This seems too easy." She sets down her cannon now that Mir is doing bombardment, though, and her own Warstrider reaches to its sides and draws two pistols. Levelling them at the city, Madeline begins a rapid fire series of shots, trying to lend cover to her own troops and the air cavalry that Adelyn has brought. 

:'''{{#var:234|Lu-Mey (234)}} has posed:'''     It was SO part of the plan! Everyone's already laying into the defenses! However, all it takes is a shift of her weight for Lu to start climbing in the indicated direction. It WOULD be pretty dumb to go running right into the epicenter of the assault. "Right right~."     She will in fact veer off from the chaos to look for a better place to slip in while everyone is busy probably panicking. 

:'''{{#var:92|Elliana Fairchild (92)}} has posed:'''     The soldiers clash against the wyverns and dragons with... little effect, but they do keep them busy don't they? And the dragon of ice, though steaming and melting, does seem to have a breath weapon that sends out a blizzard of cold snow. It's the sort to immediately cake ice, but... ice is rather weak against fire manipulation, so this isn't going to be a hard fight so long as the other two are kept busy. That isn't the problem, though.     The doors creak, but as they start to give, another event happens which is a little more concerning. As if from nowhere, the blur of a single Blooded warrior appears, somehow /flying/ through the air to crash down before the dragons. They carry a spear, and his body is posed in such a way that the impact has his full weight behind it, burrowing the tip into the ground... which suffers a few fractures and glows, before exploding violently upward. He 'rides' the debris upward, lashing violently toward the nearest target with uncanny speed and skill. This must be their surprise.     Mir's spell slams into a tower, which... well, she's basically a glass cannon and one of the strongest beings in her world. That tower explodes without any problem, cutting off some of the support fire. For an instant, the lightning dragon flickers, then resumes motion as a slower, weaker version.     Raine and Lu-Mey have managed to get inside by their combined ingenuity(?), and under cover from Madeline's Warstriders that are now tearing into the defenders atop the ramparts, they can get further in easily. They see something of more import, though, as they towers show pulses of energy moving toward the front gate, each one feeding a quick throb of power toward some unknown goal. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     In most cases, the nearest target is a wyvern-rider, those being the more numerous. The unlucky target is struck and, lacking anything in the way of truly superhuman ability, quite certainly killed. Lanza defends herself and Iris, but her work is hardly perfect, nor overpowering, and her own mount is weakening even as she fights. She spares a look that makes it quite clear she would like to engage that champion, but tactically, it's not viable. Most of her officers are similarly engaged, trying to somehow disrupt the less-solid of the elemental dragons. If channeling earth, wind, or gusts of blizzard storm don't work, they can try their desummoning techniques to unravel the spells themselves, but on the scale of true elites they are still third-stringers, and it will at least take their full attention as they try to not die in the process.     One officer is not so well-engaged. From the ground, his dragon gives one last slam to the infantry arrayed and then he makes for the Blooded, aiming the fiery breath he's been saving or this moment. Adelyn has doubts that any of her soldiers in this fight can last long against a city's trump card--if that's what he is--based on her previous experience with Blooded, but has some hope they'll keep busy while she advances her ship overhead. She's only leaving it once she's close enough to directly enter the fray, or (possibly) if it comes under sudden attack. 

:'''{{#var:604|Raine Arland (604)}} has posed:'''      Raine eyed the towers, and then he eyed the direction of the front gate, noting the power being fed to it. "...You see that, Lu? Something ain't right about that." He lowered his binoculars and smirked. "Looks to me like we've found something that needs breaking."      He glanced towards her, canting his head aside to indicate further into the city. "Let's have ourselves a little look. We don't have the time to destroy those things." A pause. "...Unless we get creative." A hand came to his chin, rubbing thoughtfully. "Let's move! Meanwhile...got any bright and/or insane ideas that just might work?" He seemed to be getting used to be manhandled now.      It paid to adapt.      "Like say...forcing them to aim at each other! Naw, too much effort. Plant explosives? None on hand." A sigh. "Maybe we should just find the big guy on top and force him to surrender." 

:'''{{#var:340|Mir (340)}} has posed:'''     Time for Mir to switch songs! Seeing the forces on her side starting to take losses, she stands up and brushers her skirt off. She's wearing a schoolgirl uniform, today, by the way. No particular reason other than she seems to like it. Or maybe she came here from school.     More importantly she is now singing another song. This one is... peppy, upbeat, and more 'friendly' than the other. It's meant as a bolstering sort, and the power that gathers above her manifests into...     Numerous little fairies with GIANT SYRINGES appear, buzzing off across the battlefield. Whenever they find someone wounded badly, they jab them with the needle and inject raw power that is meant to boost the healing a bit. It can't fully reverse anything, but it can certainly keep them hanging on and fighting longer. 

:'''{{#var:234|Lu-Mey (234)}} has posed:'''     Once beyond the defenses, Lu-Mey will take her sandals back, first and foremost, slipping them on and tapping toes at the ground to ensure they're good and snug. That's when scarlet eyes spot the pulses of energy, a quick little tug at Raine to make sure he's seeing them too. --Which he confirms!     The whole time, she has an eye peeled to make sure they're alone though, or at least she's not being WHOLLY oblivious as she starts in that direction. "Now now, Raine, let's burn that bridge when we get to it."     "... That's how that saying goes right?" 

:'''{{#var:380|Madeline Vance (380)}} has posed:'''     What to do now? Madeline looks on, amused by the proceedings. They seem to be doing rather well... until that trump card finally shows up, and she has something to handle. Namely, the support towers, in case they have something bigger planned.     "Ah... well then..." She leans back in her chair and swaps back to the autocannon. "Let's see... ammunition select..." The power hums through her Exaltation as she pulls up the menu, then selects what she thinks will work.     <LOAD: NOVA SHELL ORDNANCE. LAMBENT BOLT OF ANNIHILATION.>     The front of the autocannon glows, and then with a thunderous explosion, the golden light streaks out toward the tower, its 'mundane' shell wrapped in a powerful sheath of Essence that explodes outward with a violent, structure-tearing blast! It does, curiously, no harm to any mages inside the tower... though they'll doubtless be a little preoccupied with the floor being blown out from under them if she can get through the mystical defenses. 

:'''{{#var:92|Elliana Fairchild (92)}} has posed:'''     With Mir's Song healing the troops, they actually CAN stand up to the Trump... somewhat. It's true though, that lance-wielder is able to tear into the troops, and with a surprisingly adept lift of an arm, some kind of mystical barrier weathers the blast of flame. Some of it does leak through, making the man grunt in pain... but only because of the spells working to pluck at the NUMEROUS protective enchantments winding around him. It does give Adelyn some information, though... because as she approaches and her troops are working to tear at the spells, she'll no doubt be able to understand what's going on.     The man who whirls to face her is confident, and why shouldn't he be? He's carrying the combined power of about four different towers, foci letting the Sorcerers thread their power across the battlefield and city and reweave spells even as they're torn apart.     "So you are the leader, eh? I suppose if I defeat you, this won't be a problem," he finally speaks, leaping away from another strike from one of Adelyn's troops. he's speaking mostly to the airship, though, and leaping up toward it-     And right then is when... he doesn't notice it, but the protective enchantments ARE still there. They simply have lost their 'feed' to renew themselves, as Madeline blows up the tower and forces the sorcerers to use their pwoers to keep themselves from splattering. If the troops stop attacking him they can, with the Warstriders, mop up any remaining defenders pretty easily... the defenders are even surrendering at this point, in places. 

:'''{{#var:92|Elliana Fairchild (92)}} has posed:'''     Raine and Lu-Mey will have no trouble getting into a tower from the ground... because the tower has focused its protective magics on englobing itself, in case of another blast from Mir or Madeline. As a group, they might actually be able to withstand that, but it does leave a very, very distinctive hole in their defenses, in the form of a mismatched duo heading their way. After all, the mages inside only have some simple bodyguards, not true soldiers. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     Apart from the impressive range, Adelyn is pleased to see Mir's fairy-creation--not a summon, exactly, she thinks, but... oh, analyze it later--save one of her officers from death, just as other casualties are brought back into the fight by that timely intervention. Really, there's so much to lift her mood right now, her grin is one totally inappropriate to a field of widening death, as she calls back to the man addressing her.     He leaps for the airship, and rather than defend it, she takes for the air immediately, lifting on a swirling column of Air magic, her favored staff in one hand, and almost enjoying that rush that blows through her air and pulls off her hood. The ship has its own shielding, but without her to reinforce it, a man who can injure dragons can do some serious damage it. (The engines are in the rear interior, so she's not the most worried about it actually falling out of the sky, though that would be very annoying.)     "Wrong!" She calls out cheerfully, her voice booming with trivial enhancement. "Your reasoning is half-correct, but your premises flawed. Still, try. You can always try again, until it kills you. Prepare for that, and you'll have some worth."     Adelyn casts while she speaks, taking exactly as much time for her fingers to complete their tracing of the expanding web of interlocking symbols that continues to write itself even where her touch leaves it. And she does leave it, entirely, to continue a backward glide while the magic circle fires off a pulsing beam of disruptive Arcane flow, unpleasantly near-lethal for the unshielded and havoc to most shields. At its expenditure, the spell circle replaces itself with three more, if smaller, circles of similar function.     On the one hand, that was needlessly elaborate. On the other, it was a chance to experiment. 

:'''{{#var:234|Lu-Mey (234)}} has posed:'''     No guards? No rigorous security? Not even anything to sneak around and pretend to play Navy SEALS with Raine while doing it?     Lu would have even let him be Bill Paxton.     But now the Oni is just annoyed and sour. Jaw clicking thoughtfully as she considers the group of mages and their guard, and she sighs and gives Raine a look. By now, after knowing her this short time, the meaning should be obvious.     'Someone is going to die'.     This might be why she's suddenly in among the mages. Raine can do as he likes right about now, but there's no warning as she just suddenly crunches her jaws down on a man's throat and brings him to the ground in full view. No subtlety- though a fair amount og finesse in the action, for all of its brutish gore, as she proceeds drinking deeply.     It's on Raine now if he wants to cow them into submission or declare open season. 

:'''{{#var:340|Mir (340)}} has posed:'''     Mir lets her Song fade, then she just settles against ELMA to watch for a bit. "All right, Ayatane. Why don't you go help out with the cleanup. I'm sure they could use an experienced officer to whip them into shape. Maybe see if Raine and Lu-Mey need a little help."     Ayatane nods his head, hand on one of the blades he carries. "Yes, Mother. I will get right on that." 

:'''{{#var:604|Raine Arland (604)}} has posed:'''      "...Seriously?"      That was Raine's muttered question after thay reached the tower literally uncontested, and with even sparser security when they arrived. He was expecting to sneak his way through a heavily guarded tower and perhaps remember the basics of CQC! But this? This?      ...Just a group off mages and some bodyguards?      Raine looked aside, meeting Lu-Mey's glance.      'Let's do it.'      And then she was gone. Raine followed, swinging an arm out and conjuring a blade of black metal. "Heeeeeeey guys! Sorry but the party's over!" Crimson energy formed and he swung, sending a burst of raw magical energy hurtling towards the group. It split off into several parts, each shot actually pointedly weaving around Lu-Mey and avoiding hitting her. The mages were open season however.      But he didn't expect to take down MAGES with MAGIC. He was already running straight ahead, sword at the ready following his initial blast. 

:'''{{#var:92|Elliana Fairchild (92)}} has posed:'''     This is an unusual situation. The Blooded can FLY. It doesn't appear to be his own spell though, nor is he a mage. He alters trajectory, darting to the side, but the blast slams into the protective wards he has and... doesn't penetrate. He's saved by the magics surrounding him!     Those magics are pretty well devastated, though, and they're only slowly being rebuilt, not like the near-instant regeneration of before. And very soon even that halts, because Raine and Lu-Mey are busy in the last remaining tower.     "Well, it's a start!" He shouts that out, seemingly oblivious that his super-powered mode is gone. Not that he's a total pushover, anyway. He's still a blooded... stronger and faster and tougher than most. Not to mention he seems to be able to make things that he manages to stab, explode. That's all he's trying to do... nick Adelyn on his next lunge.     Unfortunately for him, he's pretty lacking in protection right now, and it's never a good idea to try and stick a lance in Adelyn without protection. 

:'''{{#var:92|Elliana Fairchild (92)}} has posed:'''     And... RAINE AND LU-MEY BUST UP THE MAGE TOWER!     Slicing right through the guards, Lu-Mey and Raine burst in upon the seated circle of a dozen mages. They barely have time to realize someone is there before one of them is screaming, the oni getting a nice draw of blood to help fuel her talonfangs. They're still rising when Raine's shockwave slams into several of them. Unprotected by wards as they are, having devoted it all to 'not being blown the hell up' like they had, the mages are dying or being mauled pretty easily.     "NO! Get away!" One of them manages to shout, sending a burst of flame roaring across the room. It actually catches one of his allies, a girl who goes up with a scream, never even seeing her attackers, but it does go in the vague direction of Lu-Mey and Raine. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     The spawned magic circles continue blasting with weaker beams of Arcane disruption, but the primary work has completed, and neither combatant really need pay them any mind by this point. Adelyn is already working on her next spell, noting the mid-air changes in velocity with the mild interest of one updating physics models without really thinking about it. Her attention is primarily on the the spell in front of her, manifesting first as a perfect sphere in pitch black, devoid of the usual glowing symbols of her work in Arcane.     "Hm, it would have been that."     Before she can be reached, the sphere explodes, first into something like a cone, but then resolving the edges as whipping, grasping tendrils of Dark, Adelyn's /second/-favored element, surrounding both the Blooded and the entirety of his path, converging on him from every direction with a suddenness one might respond to if the practiced catching arrows, which she wouldn't put past some fighters.     If that works, the again-spherical spell will prove surprisingly solid and resilient in its physical manifestation, as well as caustic and slowly but terminably inimical to all life. If not, she'll use any time gained for an alternate tack. 

:'''{{#var:234|Lu-Mey (234)}} has posed:'''     Still draining her prey of blood, Lu-Mey glances up in time.     To see fire.     With a terrified squeal, she drops the corpse and starts backpedallying in wild, uncontrolled fear.     "A-ah! Go Raine! Fight in my name and honor!"     Not that she has much honor. 

:'''{{#var:604|Raine Arland (604)}} has posed:'''      Almost sighing at how unprotected this tower was, Raine carved a path through the mages.      It was business as usual.      By the tail end of it, Raine had taken notice of a mage that managed to get off a considerable fire spell. Shame he caught one of his allies in the blast. That was unfortunate. But it also saved him the effort.      Lu-Mey backpedaled like a woman possessed and Raine arched a brow. But he didn't retreat.      This was his specialty.      he grinned and dove forward, sword held straight out. It made contact with the flames, most of it being drawn /into/ the blade. The rest of the flames licked at his clothes and skin, causing minor burns. A price to pay for hasty spell absorption. His blade took on a red and orange glow.      "Hey! I heard you like fire, I took your fire, and..." With a swing, Raine sent the flame spell hurtling out of his blade, right back to the mage. "...and put more fire into it, so you can fire while you fire!" 

:'''{{#var:92|Elliana Fairchild (92)}} has posed:'''     If he'd just hurried up and confronted Adelyn a little earlier, this fight would not be quite so one-sided. He's actually pretty competent even without the spell wards, he's just not quite on Adelyn's level... and worse, he thinks he's still basically invincible, so is being a fair bit reckless right now.     "HAh!" The lancer starts, and then... is swallowed up by darkness. The remaining fighters start to give up in a ripple after he doesn't immediately re-emerge. He's actually hanging on pretty good in there, but it looks like his 'stab and explode' thing doesn't work on purely magical constructs like that. It needs actual physical matter.     And in the tower, the mage holds his hands up, a shield starting to form... but he's spent most of his power on the other protection, so he's slammed by the flame, toppling backward with a dramatic scream out of a conveniently-placed window, likely to never come up again in any way shape or form because surely that wasn't important. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     Adelyn watches with another spell at her fingertips, to see if the Blooded has some way to escape her trap. When this proves to not quickly be the case, she discards her first spell and lowers through the air to work on a second, rather different one. It's slow-acting, and of a more difficult specialty, but sleep spells against immobilized targets are a fairly effective means of acquiring prisoners. That way, she won't have to let the manifestation of Darkness eat entirely through his body 'just to be safe.'     A certain degree of caution is important. 

:'''{{#var:92|Elliana Fairchild (92)}} has posed:'''     The situation is basically under control now. While there are still holdouts and mages who could fight, the Sorcerers here tend to be pretty sharp. They know that with their trump card immobilized - and now starting to sleep, finally - they don't have the ability to stand up to the army that they're facing. Warstriders, dragon riders... hell, dragons in this world are mostly extinct.     The white flags start to run up the various poles. 

:'''{{#var:234|Lu-Mey (234)}} has posed:'''     In the fracas involving fire wielding mages, Lu-Mey did a good job of making herself scared. But when the window shatters and the caster is launched out, the Oni is suddenly draping on Raine again, one leg hooking around him. "My ~HERO~."     A beat.     "Hopefully he won't come back, horribly scarred seeking revenge on you for ruining his life's work or something." 

:'''{{#var:604|Raine Arland (604)}} has posed:'''      "Yeah, yeah. I'm a god damn hero. I know." Raine drawled sarcastically and walked over to the CONVENIENTLY PLACED WINDOW and glanced out of it, following the poor mage's DRAMATIC FALL.      "......."      A hand came to his chin.      "........"      He abruptly commented.      "Soooooooo what are the odds of that dude coming back covered in fire and-"      Pause. "Ahaaaaa~!" And then he made fingerguns at her as she beat him to his own thought. 

}}

2746/World of Demons

2015-08-07T03:52:31Z

Kimiko: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2015/08/06 |Location=Earth-490 <49> |Synopsis=People meet a cactus, fight some harpies, and win an island. |Thanks= |Cast of Characters=1, 7, 342, ..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/08/06
|Location=Earth-490 <49>
|Synopsis=People meet a cactus, fight some harpies, and win an island.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=1, 7, 342, 470, 650, 672, 756
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Tokyo, Japan, Earth (designated #490). The coordinates given by one Kono Eiko lead to the flat-topped roof of an ordinary office building. While still highly urban, this is outside the heartland, leaving the streets only moderately crowded and the buildings closer to four stories than eight. The raw coordinates don't provide any information on a clandestine route, so whether and how much attention to attract is up to each responder. The office building is occupied, and the occupants have no idea about the pair on the roof, but that's otherwise an easy, obvious way up.     The time is late afternoon, but the summer sun's still shining high and bright, and the evening rush won't come for a bit longer. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     Parking in Tokyo is kind of a pain, even for someone with just a mtorcycle. Eventually, Shin finds a place to park the slightly scratched up vehicle and feeds a whole bunch of yen coins into a parking meter before leaving it there for a bit. He takes his backpack off the bike to head to the rendevous point.     "Oh, cool, perfect. Meeting on a rooftop. Right in line with this sort of thing. Great location," Shin says, nodding his head, "Shin Tokuyama, Combat Vagrant. Nice to meet you." 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Anyone with that kind of sixth sense can tell that George's warning was correct. On entering the city, there is that 'being watched' feeling, arriving pretty quickly and staying there at least as far as getting to the meeting point. Once there, it becomes less clear whether there are watchers in addition to the blonde girl at a conversational distance from Eiko. Both are standing a wary distance from a point in space that, possibly about the size of a baseball, is burning and wavering in utter silence. You could almost think it's just a trick of the eyes, but moving around will confirm that it definitely occupies a point in space, several feet of the roof and close to the building's center.     Eiko's carrying a backpack and a sheathed katana. Along with the sleeveless shirt, it's standard fare, and apart from the sword there's nothing too remarkable about that. The blonde, though--red eyes, oversized newsboy cap, black sweater--there's a dozen things off about her, especially in a racially homogenous Japan, and that's without getting to the six-foot-long futuristically-styled beam cannon butted to the ground and leaning against her shoulder. She doesn't say anything, just watches. Eiko's the one to wave and animatedly greet the group.     "Heya! Heyyy. Eiko here. And this is, uh... Sika? Yeah. She's with the Watchers. I'm not clear on the rest, but seems like somebody did that," a thumb is jerked toward the spatial anomaly, "and now they're keeping an eye on it." 

:'''{{#var:470|Pinkie (470)}} has posed:'''     Bright sunny day on another world, with promise of loot and plunder?     This sounds like a great opportunity to get out of the perpetual murk, gloom, and dreary unhappy and friendless world of Equestria. And it looks like somewhere along the way.     Stepping right out from behind the Combat Vagrant, as though she were a very part of his shadow, is a slender woman in a pink track suit. With her pink hair done up in a curly pony tail and a flit of loppy ears, Pinkie Pie emerges, pink porcelain mask etched in a permanent happy smile.     "I'm here! Believe it or not!" Blurted as Pinkie throws herself into her believed approximation of a dramatic and cool ninja pose.     "Ninja Assassin Hero of Justice, Pinkie Pie has arrived!" ...     "Nin nin nin!"     She's totally legit. 

:'''{{#var:1|Kirito (1)}} has posed:'''     Hearing that a Syndicate member needs help with some dangerous stuff, Kirito - newly reborn into his Spriggan self, thank god - has come to help.     He simply flies in low across the skyline onto the meeting roof, carried by translucent black fairy wings. The Black Swordsman lands near Eiko... and once he does those wings vanish into nothingness. "I heard you needed help? The name's Kirito, Spriggan swordsman."     He ends up taking a few moments to examine the others gathering, but finally puts a hand on his sword. He doesn't draw it though. Instead he forces that hand away from.     "Something's up in this place. That feeling... of being watched..."     He's tired of it, too. If he could just pin down where it was coming from! 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     The FLOTILLA come into orbit somewhere around Earth-409.     This means they can beam onto its surface fairly simply. It might seem like the building was struck by freak lightning, but six -- or possibly eight? -- teleportation beams strike the surface!     The STARBOUND FLOTILLA are here, in their standard Durasteel exploration equipment! Moonfin, the fishman, is in elaborate full-body durasteel armor that looks like a powered cross between a diving suit and a samurai's armor, glowing cyan at the faceplate. Biteblade, the humanoid plant, is in durasteel plating with elaborately carved wood and bone ornaments over glowing powered components that glow an intense green. Pavo the bird-girl wears a pirate-aesthetic set of mesoamerican-style armor, with yellow bands of energized fabric linking the pieces and powering them. Albert the monkey-man is wearing elaborate dystopian commando armor reconstructed with a 'rebel spy' aesthetic: A sleeker faceplate, a slimmer form, and a more chaotic design that integrates thin, resilient plates of durasteel, and lines of bright white. George (just plain human) wears a set of futuristic EVA-combat and exploration armor in a suit that glows a gentle red at the faceplate. Seft, the robotic Flotilla member, is wearing full-on medieval knight armor with a soft energized blue glow below the plates on her body, and especially around the eyes. Each has a heavy industrial-yellow two-pronged plasma-cutter-like tool strapped to their side, a Matter Manipulator.     They may have had Nozomi and her own companion in on that too! They immediately approach Eiko, intending to speak casually... 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     Shin has a lot to cover here. The first order of business is to wave to Pinkie, mostly because she was totally the crazy bard that was at his protagonist debut! So he does just that, "Yo! Pinkie! Good to see you again!" Sometimes a story needs a Bard-Who-Isn't, and Pinkie fills that nicely.     After that, he turns skyward and waves upwards, "Yoooo! Crazy shadow observers! What'p? I'm Shin! I use Martial Arts! I have a mysterious backstory featuring a non-descript Sensei! Please tailor your meddling accordingly!" George said they were up there, so he might as well greet them.     Then back to Eiko and Sika, "Right. Crazy anomaly. I'm here to help, though my skills are kinda limited to kung fu related things, mostly. I have some other stuff." 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     "Polite. It's good to see you again, Eiko. I hope we can help you more." Seft says, giving a very gracious sort of greeting, but that doesn't last long. She investigates the anomaly almost immediately, drawing a heavy industrial sensor array from her Matter Manipulator. "Concerned. The previous anomalies were localized to a specific structure, but this appears distinct. Will it function as the previous anomalies did?" She gestures with her own talisman, briefly, at the pair. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa was here suited up in her light stealth armour and seemed ready. How she'd get her? She beamsed in much like the Flotilla did save her beam was teal in colour. She takes a note to look over Kirito for a moment. She nods to Kirito noting. "We likely are given what's going on here." She takes note of the others nbodding a bit and greeting. "Eiko, good to see you." She looks to Shin and Pinky whom she doesn't have much experiance with. "Hello to you as well." She also looks over to Seft for a moment nodding to her. "Your right this one's different." 

:'''{{#var:342|Nozomi Houken (342)}} has posed:'''     This place still carries some sense of hesitation for Nozomi. General Matsumoto was not happy about her coming out here to help some random unaffiliated person. But at the same time, she's gotten involved; she feels responsible for what happens. She finds herself unable to just stop caring. So she finds herself heading out to Eiko's world again, but not in any kind of transport from her homeworld, or even a Union shuttle. Those things have a chance of getting her direct boss, Commander Kuroyama, in trouble.     So she's here on a Flotilla ride. Despite their strange and varied nature, she at least knows the Flotilla crew is safe.     Of course, as they disembark, they're treated to a few people who aren't so assuredly nonthreatening. "Aah... n-nice to meet you, Sika," Nozomi mumbles, edging her way towards Kirito and sort of sidling behind him a bit. Sika is scary, and so is Pinkie. "I'm... Nozomi. Nozomi Houken." Taiga simply ambles right up to Sika, ears tilted forward, as if sniffing at her... which isn't really far from te truth. He's giving her a sweep with his magical sensors. "Hello." The anomaly can wait. New, possibly magical person first. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     George nudges Kirito's elbow with his own. "Take it easy, kid." He says, casually. "You're feeling that because we're being watched by an ambiguous but mostly not-menacing shadow organization of a mysterious nature, s'all cool." Then he laughs at his own joke and does a quick wink and fingergun at Sika. "Nice seein' ya. Sweet gun there, kiddo. Why's Eiko runnin' around with literally just a sword again? I feel like there's some inconsistencies." 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Eiko waves it off. To Kirito, "Don't worry about it. These guys are just too paranoid to let people in the sandbox without stalking 'em. They probably won't do anything, even to lend a hand." Sika says nothing to this, even when it looks like Eiko's intentionally baiting her. Totally expressionless, Sika's face shows about as much animation as Pinkie's.     Shin and Pinkie will each get an offered handshake from Eiko just before the Flotilla show up, and she waves with appropriate drama for the entrance. "Yo. Hey, you got some new equipment? Nice. And negative to that, Seft. I think it's some new kinda thing."     Sika finally says something, and it's to the robotic crew member. "The rogue intended the door to open without consuming the area. The portal may function without Convergence." That was kind of an explanation, maybe? She doesn't seem inclined to say more, unprompted. Definitely a Capital Letter on that last word, you could hear it clearly.     Shin gets no answers from the heavens, but that would be just like mysterious meddlers, to not even acknowledge they heard your introduction. Kotone gets a nod and a "Hiya," from Eiko. Nozomi gets Sika's attention, a blank pause just long enough to be awkward, and then a "Hello." She also gets an endless stare afterward, or at least until something distracting happens.     On cue, the anomaly starts growing. It's up to basketball-size by the time Eiko looks over. Visually impressive, there's a bit of wind, but still no sound at all, apart from that. "Huh." 

:'''{{#var:470|Pinkie (470)}} has posed:'''     The handshake from Eiko is met! And returned with a firm squeeze. And a loud BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ-ZAK!     Briefly, the garishly-dressed clown's skeleton becomes visible as her whole body racks with a terrible electric shock. It lasts for a few seconds before a smoldering Pinke releases Eiko's hand, smoke wafting from her ears, and a small croaked cough to follow as she holds up her hand and shows the smoldering hand buzzer attached to her glove.     "Wh-whoopsie. Forgot I had that on."     She seems fine though, ripping off her orange track-suit and tossing it away, pink jester outfit wholly and completely un-burned beneath, a quick pass of a rag cleans up her mask, too, and she's as good as new. "HI AGAIN!"     That's to Shin. Before she announced an all too important fact: "I have no idea what convergence is!" 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     "Well that explain sssomething to sssomeone, but not to Floran." Biteblade says, looking to poke at the borders of the spherical shape. "Floran guessss, that mean not 'overwrite' local ssspace and ssspatial content. We ssstill bussst into, kill everyone, break portal-maker? Or no?" The leafy plantgirl seems to be putting a lot of thought into this, doing her best to ignore her leaves rustling in the wind! She answers Pinkie! "Floran think that word meansss, think where other reality overwritesss local ssspace violently. Isss converging of other reality on thisss reality, maybe?" 

:'''{{#var:1|Kirito (1)}} has posed:'''     "'mostly-not.'" Kirito echoes, making a face at the same time. Yeah he's not so happy about that, but what's he gonna do just now? "What's wrong with just using a sword? Anyways... let's get on the same page. What's the mission? All I heard is help was needed and there might be demons." 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     Shin shakes Eiko's hand firmly and nods his head, "Good to meet you," He says before taking out a small book and writing down her name in it: 'Eiko - Other Story's Protagonist'. He then snaps the book shut and nods his head, putting it away.     Shin rubs his hands together, "So it's my first time at this rodeo, but I'm definitely down to help out. And deal with some Convergences or whatever," He adds, cracking his knuckles as he rolls his finger into his hand. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     "It's an invitation." Moonfin says. "Or perhaps a trap, but they are one and the same. A gate that functions without harm to this reality. Our readings are the knock upon the door, and the lacking harm when there could be as much is a beckoning." The samurai-armored man seems to contemplatively approach the anomaly. He begins activating his BLINK teleport tech, but doesn't directly teleport himself. Instead, he casts its energy and superspatial interface towards the growing anomaly. He wants to see if the magical mechanisms seek out a response, to determine if whatever is forming this anomaly wants people to go through without causing harm to the surroundings. 

:'''{{#var:342|Nozomi Houken (342)}} has posed:'''     Still hiding behind Kirito to a degree, Nozomi fidgets under that piercing stare from Sika... until the anomaly grows. "U-um... it's... it's growing." Congratulations, Kirito, you are now absolutely Designated Meat Shield. Because that weird anomaly does not reassure the poor girl in the least. Taiga, meanwhile, seems as if he'd be perfectly willing to engage in a staring contest with Sika on Nozomi's behalf, but the change in the anomaly puts that notion to rest rather quickly. Instead, he pads over and takes a seat beside Kirito, where he can more easily protect Nozomi, and angles his ears and nose towards the strange hole in space itself. It's getting a much more thorough scan, now that he's reassured himself about the new person. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Sika seems less inclined to answer George's question, though Eiko does say, as soon as she's done starting at Pinkie, "Hey, I got a gun! It shoots plasma. S'nice. Didn't work on that super-future-robot thingy that came after me, though. Man, that was so disappointing. Surprise equipment upgades aren't supposed to--"     She cuts off to look again at he anomaly. It's both growing and thinning, and looks more like a bizarrely screwed-up water tension effect than a white-hot fire. The center-point is the same, but now the bottom edge has almost touched the rooftop. When it does, even the flashing ripples freeze in place. Another moment, and it begins to cave inward at the sides, until the sphere has reduced itself to just a standing ring.     "Well, that's certainly... something." Eiko gets that out, before looking between all the people who could use an explanation at this point. To some extent, herself included. "Eh."     "The rogue has already been apprehended," Sika says to Biteblade, "but not their accomplice on the Otherside." More Capital Letters.     "Yeah, so, I guess we can go through it now. It is starting to look door-ish." Eiko starts edging around to get a look through the ring, but it's like a film of water with a cloud just past. Nothing much is distinguishable through it. Moonfin's readings will show that it's quickly stabilizing, and at least doesn't appear to be anything more than a connection between two spaces. If there's anything else going on, it's too subtle to read from here.     "It should now be navigable." Sika picks up her beam cannon, and walks over to where she can face directly into the circular gateway.     Eiko gives a short laugh. "Anybody wanna go first? I'm not exactly wearing the heavy armor this trip, but if no one else does..." 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa is carrying a bit more firepower than her last trip here, she's got several weapons on her person from the looks of things. She had learned her lesson from the looks of things. She now makes to fall in with Seft and looks over to the Glitch for a moment with a bit of a smile. She seems to wonder about Kirito but his name's popped up before and he's got some serious connections to Arthur, he should not be a problem to work with, right? "Seft you ready for this?" She notices Nozomi is falling in with Kirito, and she seems to approve of the idea. "If that's the case Eiko we best get moving, as for going in first? I might as well." With that Kotone cameo actives and she heads on in. 

:'''{{#var:1|Kirito (1)}} has posed:'''     With no real information apparently coming besides crossing a portal, and with a fidgety young woman depending on her, Kirito does the natural thing. She shifts his stance slightly. He draws one of his swords - both of which are black and about the same length, but the one he draws is from the right scabbard, one bearing a white wyvern emblem. The sigil of 'Liz's Smithery' for those in the know.     "Looks like this one's by the seat of our pants. Stick close!" He's not sure WHAT's going to happen, but if he's playing tank for someone, he'll wait and see what this portal ends up meaning... 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     Shin only knows like... one person here, more or less, and it's Pinkie. So he sticks relatively close to her as things get moving. The others seem to know eachother better, but that's probably his own fault for coming into the narrative partway. He adjusts his backpack on his back and then moves to take a few steps towards the anomaly.     He looks over to Pinkie and says, "So. Ninja Assassin Hero of Justice? What's the story there?" 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     "Uneasy. I hope so." Seft replies to Kotone, slipping her sensor array away and drawing her Power Battleaxe.     "Aye, don't ye split from yer crew." Pavo mutters to Kirito, drawing her Power Cutlass. Seft and Pavo are the first to go through; Albert, equipping a heavy grenade launcher, is shortly after. The trio will be the vanguard for the Core Fleet captains! They're prepared to deal with hostility, but they've followed Moonfin's advice, they're also prepared for the possibility of something more unusually peaceful. 

:'''{{#var:470|Pinkie (470)}} has posed:'''     Pinkie is fine! No worries! Nothing wrong! Not even sizzling anymore! But the Floran explains exactly what the pink party-pony-person was bewildered about, and that gets a rapid and head bobbing nod. "Ooooooh so it's like a place that isn't a place but is a place, places itself over a place in a place."     Yeah that's about the gist of it.     Pinkie, however, opts to not go in first.     She slinks back behind Shin and... Just disappears.     "I'm still here! Shhh. I'll just be a surprise in case of STUFF."     There's silence for a beat before she replies to Shin: "I HAVE NO CLUE! Also try not to move too suddenly and I'll shadow you. ... Heehee. Shadow. Get it? GET IT?" 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Eiko isn't too far behind Kotone. Sika doesn't start until everyone else has moved up.     Even up close, it doesn't look like there's anything through but the sky.     On stepping through, one finds that that is, in fact, a sky. It is a sky through which the explorer is now falling, wind and cloud whipping past, the speed uncertain without any frame of reference. This does give a sense of 'down,' which turns out to not be precisely the same as the 'down' on the other side. It's closer to what was 'forward.'     The unobstructed view in all directions reveals much more once the cloud thins, which it does suddenly enough for the sunlight to glare. Falling (forward) down, the sun is (behind-and-down) up-and-West, while the clearest view of continent is not straight down, but at a steep angle (up) to the East, and you could probably hurt yourself thinking about it to hard. Gravity is not behaving to spec. The acceleration isn't even constant, but slowing and ebbing.     The tilted(?) continent could certainly be interesting to describe for several more paragraphs, especially with so much of it seeming to consist of tall, black iron constructions and far-distant lights and motion, but the more immediate sight is a field of broken rocks, moving and slowly tumbling, some forming what are probably orbits around others. As soon as anyone gets close to one, the tug of gravity can be felt. Even mounds of dirty mere yards across exert a barely-noticeable pull.     Eiko was not screaming anything intelligible as she went through, which spares everyone most of the sound of her cursing as she plummets. When she finally does get anything out, it's "Grab something!" Too bad she has no way of maneuvering effectively in freefall. If nothing else, she'll have to wait until she's actually on a collision course with something, and strike it to move herself.     There is a fairly large asteroid-island ahead. Still just rock and dirt--mostly dirt--but it's a point of reference. It's also more or less in the course of everyone that went through the portal, though hitting it without slowing down first might hurt a bit. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     "Huh." George says, watching a holo-display as it relays data back from his crew. "Watch out on that first step." He asides in a humorous tone to those who have stayed behind for a moment. 

:'''{{#var:1|Kirito (1)}} has posed:'''     Kirito does step through after a few others do. Likely when Nozomi's ready. And his reaction is to flail around at the sky for a few moments before deploying his wings. There's a sun, so he can fly no problem!     But below him EIKO is tumbling. He goes full DIVE after her, hoping to catch her and slow her fall.     He'll likely try to snag Nozomi too if she steps through too! 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     "Alright, well, hang on to my shadow tight. This might be a bumpy ride," Shin says to Pinkie as he heads towards the portal. He'd been intending to hang around with her, but now she's gone and decided to become his shadow. This puts the responsibility back on him for setting the pace of it all. Adjusting the backpack on his back once again, he takes off towards the portal and hops in.     Moments later, he finds himself falling out onto an open sky. He tumbles in the air for a few moments before righting himself with a faint, "Wooooah!" Sort of noise. He sort of flounders in the air for a few moments before he abruptly decides to make due with what he can in turns of 'surviving a freefall'.     As he accelerates towards the ground, a red energy starts to surround him. He'd already seen a few people fly by projecting their ki in alien ways and that is absolutely... not what he is doing. Instead, he hits the ground full force and tries to make it buckle under him from the impact, cratering around the spot where he lands to cushion his fall and slow him down.     This is only... slightly successful, as evidenced by the fact that while he's calmly adjusting his tie and suit jacket, he's also limping more than a little as he steps out of the crater. He doesn't say much about the pain, but an impact like that definitely did some damage. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     "Avast, ye sky dogs, hold tight and stick together!" She calls out to her companions. Her long coat flares out in a sudden rush of brilliant yellow light. "YE GOT 'EM, BOY?" She calls out, up to Kirito. She has her own people to focus on! Diving quickly, she scans for Kotone. "LASS, TURN OFF YER INVISIBILITY!" She calls out, and then, assuming Kotone does, she dives! She'll go to catch the girl in one arm, and snag Albert in the other. She's gotta focus on Flotilla people to save! And once she's gotten that, she'll activate her AVIAN ARMOR TECH, allowing her to begin a rocket-guided glide that lets her slingshot around a few of those heavy rocks before going for the ground a bit more non-lethally slowly. She'll probably try to land somewhere near Shin, or any place that looks like it's meant more specifically for landing. 

:'''{{#var:342|Nozomi Houken (342)}} has posed:'''     There is only one thing Nozomi can really say after stepping through.     "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"     Taiga seems to have little issue with taking the hop through, but as soon as Nozomi's on the other side, a startled shriek from the intial fall becomes an alarmed yell when the falling doesn't stop from getting faster. Eiko does not have to tell Nozomi to grab something, and Kirito does not have time to snag her; the instant he's in reach, she is clinging to Kirito as if her life depended on it. Which, as far as she can tell, it does. She might not even remember to let go once they reach the floating chunks of rock. 

:'''{{#var:470|Pinkie (470)}} has posed:'''     One hand pokes out of Shin's shadow. It's a white gloved thumbs up, when told to hold on, and then when he strps through--     "AWAWAWAWA!"     It must be a rough ride. But Pinkie makes do, unitil the landing.     From within Shin's shadow there's a CRASH, like the sound of saucepans being dropped, and a rattling clatter. "Owie." Muffled as a brightly colored ball rolls out of the crater. Shin's probably trailing colored scarves like toilet paper stuck on the bottom of a shoe, and playing cards go everywhere.     "I'm okay!"     ...     "I broke my rubber chicken though. RIP rubber chicken." 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa is well for all her boldness wary given how things have been, yet? Someone had to go in first. What was not not expecting ws the contient being in such a state. She does have the presence of mind to turn off her cameo however as Pavo calls out. She does have the sense to also use her techs to slow her own fall to hopefully let PAvo catch her. Thouhg Kotone is far hevier than a organic humanoid of her size would be. "I was not expecting anything like this!" 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Seft, meanwhile, also went through. Unfortunately, this caught Pavo's problematic tension with the robot, meaning she has to deal with this on her own. Since she shared an approximately equal trajectory with Shin, she wound up falling from the heavens alongside him. Her buzzing synthetic tone of fear is loud, and her eye-visor displays a simple but intense ">_<" emote on its screen while she desperately gets the few rocket-boosting energy jets on her suit to try to cusion her fall a little.     She doesn't come out of it much better than Shin does; after landing in a heap with a heavy, metallic thunk. Parts of her body are sparking, as if bruised and bleeding. "Dazed. Rest in peace. The sacrifice will not be forgotten." She asides to Pinkie as she tries to stand. Then she makes a surprised synthetic "eek!" noise when her battleaxe plunges down from the heavens blade-first and plants in the ground right where her head was a moment ago. She'll pick that up as she stands, using it to prop herself up like a walking stick. 

:'''{{#var:1|Kirito (1)}} has posed:'''     Kirito's wings are only powerful enough to carry one person, and that jsut barely. With Eiko AND Nozomi in tow, it's all he can do to just slow the fall down towards the nearest big asteroid. DOWN he goes. All he has to do is set people down really fast then he can ascend again and catch more, right?     "Stagger those entrances! Don't be so impulsive--!" And now there's MORE people falling. He can only look up and down swiftly, hoping to land in time to snag MORE falling people now... 

:'''{{#var:342|Nozomi Houken (342)}} has posed:'''     As soon as she's guided to a rock, Nozomi clings to it for dear life.     Taiga sets down lazily a moment later, digging his claws in just enough to keep his place next to her. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     When Sika goes through, which she does without excitemen, she clutches her gun to her chest and moves as if on jets, though without the engine noise. The wind takes her cap, but she quickly snaps thumb and forefinger over the brim, then pushing it back down onto her head. She doesn't seem to be in much danger, otherwise. Her impact raises a lot of dust, bu she picks herself back up without fuss.     "Hey, thanks!" Eiko has her sword in one hand, and grabs onto Kirito's arm with the other. That should be enough to slow her down. All the better if they get close enough to some of the other rocks to slow down, without hitting them.     The ground does prove to be malleable enough to soften under Shin. It's a good thing there was more dirt than rock in there, though it would probably have at least been survivable either way--probably. Just not much fun.     For people standing on the island, which from this perspective seems to have consistent gravity and to actually be an island, floating in the air at its own angle, there is definitely a city overhead. Huge, sprawling, though far enough off for even skyscrapers to just be massive constructions rather than dominating. It's not quite upside-down from here, but close to it. The first sign of life, flocks of birds, also seem to be off in that direction.     The second sign of life comes after a rocky mound close to Shin's crater crumbles. Excavated via secondary shock, now unburied from the dirt and rock, is a large, potted cactus.     "Hello!" So it says. "Are you the human representative party?" On closer inspection, there are depressions near the top that look kind of like a face, not that they move or anything. A few strings of Pinkie's scarves, caught by the wind, flutter down until they impale on the cactus' spines below the 'face,' wrapping and sticking there. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     "Ssso... Maybe rappel down? With grapplesss hook?"     "Too short."     "My teleportation technology is superior to any meager inconveniences that their poor arrangement of entrance could create."     "Yeah, you and like nobody else."     "Floran build retrieve elevator? Ssso can help friendsss get out too, if needsss it!"     "You know what? I like that idea."     The three remaining Starbounders start working on fashioning together a haphazardly-constructed elevator and tether system to slowly lower themselves through the portal more safely. They'll be a round or two, but they keep giant winching engines, miles-long heavy-duty carbon nanotube lifting tethers, and elevator parts on-hand for this sort of occasion. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     "System report. Rebooting visual drivers." Seft's synthetic feminine monotone speaks up there as she looks at a potted cactus of all things, talking to them. For a moment, her eye visor is replaced with a 'processing' spinny, before she seems to squint at the cactus with a '=_=' emote. "Warning. A visual processing error occurred. Additional uncaught exception thrown while handling exception."     There's a long pause before she seems to stop trying to resolve the visual confusion of the situation. "Polite. Greetings. We represent the reality to which a link was just established. Please stand by for additional arrivals." Her voice is a bit glitchy after that fall, stuttering and buzzing erratically. "Polite. Please clarify the nature of this current meeting." 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     "Yo," Shin says to the Avian when they set down next to him. He's still rocking a wicked limp, but seems to be taking a 'play through the pain' strategy to the aftermath of his landing. After all, girls are watching, so he has to look cool. Plus, mysterious narrative shadow organizations are watching, so he has to look double cool. There's a lot of effort he puts into managing his image.     "Well! RIP Chicken, but as long as you're okay in there," Shin says as he looks at things falling out and trailing from his shadow, "Hey, try to clean up my shadow before you go, if you can. I can't clean it myself, so yeah, you know."     "Dude, awesome, a cactus! Haha, so should we get right to the point?" He grins, "Oh oh! Do you want to stick to a single topic? Are you an enemy plant?" He's grinning like an idiot, "Sorry about the scarves, let me clean them up. Don't want this to be a sticking point in negotiations," He notes as he tries to remove the strings and fabric from the cactus. 

:'''{{#var:470|Pinkie (470)}} has posed:'''     RIP Rubber Chicken. But...     That is... A cactus.     From inside Shin's shadow Pinkie can be heard wihspering not very subtly at all: "... That's a catcus."     Pause.     It is here that Pinkie gives the most important and valuable expert opinion she can on the matter at hand, still whispering really loudly, like Keifer Sutherland in 24: "Nobody drink the juice." 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Pavo will set Kotone down a heavy thump before landing. "Lass, ye best lose some weight." She says, panting as her pirately longcoat calms down its air maneuvering gear. "We have everyone survivin', mateys? Sound off if ye be dead!" That last part was probably sarcastic. Albert, meanwhile, is set down and moves to accompany Seft. He doesn't entirely understand why they are talking to a potted cactus, but his grumpy expression seems to indicate that he does not approve of talking to cactuses. 

:'''{{#var:342|Nozomi Houken (342)}} has posed:'''     That... is a talking cactus.     Once she's sure she's not going to float or fall away, Nozomi slowly releases her death grip on the ground and pushes herself up to a kneeling position to get a better look around. That's about when a cactus talks to them, and she's left staring at it, blinking. That's... that's a cactus in a pot. And it's talking.     Taiga simply turns and looks upward towards it, sweeping with its sensors. "We are perhaps a representative party, but I'm not sure that 'human' is a correct descriptor for this group of individuals." 

:'''{{#var:1|Kirito (1)}} has posed:'''     MONSTER!     Kirito's hand goes towards his sword on reflex even as Nozomi clings and cowers to sweet soil. His eyes are on the strange cactus. He again fights the reflex to draw his weapon. He turns then to Eiko, hoping she has an answer. He's strangely unbothered by a talking cactus-thing. All that creature gets is a slightly wide-eyed glanceover.     So the Spriggan crouches near Nozomi. "You're looking really under-equipped for an adventure like this. Will you be alright?" He asks quietly. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa is well hopefully in good hands for now as the party comes into the strange crazy landscape. She's trying to make sure they come in all ruight. She looks to Pavo and seems to be quite dismayed. "I can't I'm afraid not anymore. I don't feel like hacking limbs off or being in a brian box unit." She makes a bt of a face now and she looks about seeing the team had made it. " Sorry about the entance and ... I think we need to get some better gear for situations like this." 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Eiko leaves Kirito to do more rescuing as needed, and spends only a few moments making sure she's in one piece before heading over and backing Seft up. "RIGHT. That's us." Have to make sure people don't think you're jumping into someone else's quest line. It could get all kinds of complicated. For Kirito, she unfortunately lacks further answers.     "We have several topics to cover!" The cactus continues on excitedly. "And oh, no, I'm here to help." At the offer of assistance, "Oh, thanks, brother!" The cactus looks(?) happy. "These colors would look much better on someone with a darker complexion, I think. Not that they aren't nice on their own!" It almost manages to give the impression of waving arms through vocal tone alone.     Sika still isn't saying anything, but she is watching. The cactus continues, "Oh, let me introduce myself. Please call me Code-tack! I represent the Merchant Cabal, and am here in response to your agent's request to open friendly relations. The Merchant Cabal is pleased to honor this request, and begin fulfilling all of your acquisition, delivery, transportation and construction needs!"     On Code-tack's arm(?), an enormous flower suddenly sprouts and blooms, a rolled-up piece of paper then poking up through the blossom. "I have been given this initial contract for your perusal. Of course, accepting the contract is fully at your discretion, but this one is practically free!" The spines shimmer in the sunlight in Code-tack's excitement, before it responds to Taiga, "Oh, that's no problem, so long as you're the appropriate representatives. Do you have any further questions, or would you like some time to consider?"     Taiga will find that Code-tack is, indeed, a magical creature of some kind, though it's not registering as anything too impressive. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     "Dude, okay, so I'm gonna just come out and say this:" Shin says, holding his hands out to the Code-tack as if to say 'I'm not here to insult you, but I have to say this'. He takes a deep breath and then says, "Setting aside the contract, the mysterious nature of your talking plant-ness, and the weird planet..."     "Merchant Cabal? Really? /CABAL/?" He scowls a bit, "Did you guys have a meeting and try to like... find the most obliquely villainous name? Did Industrial Illuminati not roll off the tongue right? What about Stonemason Storekeeps? The Trader Templars?"     "Merchant Guild sounds way more trustworthy, I'm just putting that out there," He concludes. 

:'''{{#var:342|Nozomi Houken (342)}} has posed:'''     "...I'll be fine," Nozomi murmurs to Kirito after a moment, ducking her head a little. "I... I'm here for Taiga, mostly... he won't show up, if I'm not. A-and in an emergency, we can transform..." Something in her voice makes it sound as if transforming is not a possibility she looks forward to. Taiga himself, satisfied that Code-tack is not some drastic threat to keep an eye on, turns and parks next to Nozomi.     Nozomi herself uses the chance to stand up finally, brusing herself off carefully. She's not quite at the point of trusting gravity yet, but she'll at least give it the benefit of the doubt. More curious is that contract. "Ah... maybe we should actually read that? It's... it might be a magical contract, or... something..." Those are supposed to be dangerous, after all. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     "FINALLY! PEOPLE WHO MAKE SENSE!" Pavo says, wringing her hands in the air a little. "Cactuses who make sense. Whatever!" She immediately strides forward. As the Core Fleet's resident GREEDY, MONEY-GRUBBING PIRATE, she probably knows enough to analyze an agreement for its probable points of risk and benefit; she'll immediately take Code-tack's offered contract, unroll it, and begin reading, letting anyone else who wants to take a look at it do so as well. "Ye spiny lil' baby-Floran, ye have yer answers soon enough! Not lettin' a chance for a deal slip by me." 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Code-tack sounds uncertain for the first time. To Shin, "Really?" Pause. Firmly, "I'll write a memo, and make sure my boss sees it."     The contract is easily pulled from the flower holding it up. Pavo will find it written in no-doubt air-tight legalese, but the intent seems pretty straight forward. The MERCHANT CABAL makes several binding promises subject to mutually-agreed termination in exchange for the SIGNING PARTY performing certain services or supplying mutually-agreed monetary compensation. This contract is not especially long despite the language, and can be summarized almost entirely in three points. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     "Concerned. Our agent." Seft turns to look at Sika, giving her an incredulous '=_O' look. A member of the Watchers, most likely? Maybe the ones who apprehended that rogue. "Query. Code-tack, Sika, please clarify the following points of confusion: Identity of previously contacted human representitive, relation to previously identified 'rogue', any previous contact with the Merchant Cabal, relation of Merchant Cabal to any previously encountered instances of Convergence-initiating entities." 

:'''{{#var:1|Kirito (1)}} has posed:'''     With Nozomi alright, Kirito rises and dusts himself off. "Oh, don't be like that! Come now, I've heard some weirder terms!" Granted, those were mostly in MMORPGs, but anything can happen in the Multiverse, right?     Kirito's only saying that to lighten the mood, however. He's very interested in seeing the specifics of this contract. "We CAN see the details, Code-tack? By the way, I'm Kirito." 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     "I can answer that." Eiko says to Seft. "The 'rogue' is the Watcher who set this up, which he wasn't supposed to do. But the rest figured it was better to go along with it and make contact after all once it was done, so I guess if that was his goal, he succeeded." She shrugs, glancing over to Nozomi and Kirito, but they seem alright paired up. Less so if Nozomi were on her own, a point Eiko files away. Then she looks up. "Hey. Those birds're getting closer." She's leaving the contract analysis to Pavo, though she'd sure like a look, herself. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     "Yeah, Cabal has some crazy sinister notions and sounds pretty villainous," Shin cautions to the Cactus. That said, he has no real more to contribute to this and takes out a cell phone as he begins to play the new android port of some game or another. He looks up a few moments later and starts glance around as he hears word of an advancing military force from somewhere, "Oh, is there a fight coming?" 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa is trying to keep her footing more of less at the moment and she's still trying to get an idea about the cactus as it respond with talk about fashion? That was not what Kotone was expecting, at all. She wonders about the more serious matter of just who they are. So this Code-tack is with a group of merchants? She's starting to see what's going on here or thinks they do. They see a chance to do business of some sort. "So your working for a Merchant Cabal? Shin's making a very good point here." She looks to Pavo and does get the Pirate is now in her element. "Well this is certainly in your area of skills Pavo." 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Seft's eye-visor displays that 'processing' spinny again, then her eyes are back to normal. "Affirming. I understand. Current situation necessitates combat response." She sparks a bit, but seems in mostly fighting condition, drawing her power battleaxe into both hands after reaching into her Matter Manpulator and tossing a heavy-duty laser pistol off to Albert.     "Can't promise these other landlubbers are gonna agree, but I'll sign it on behalf of the Starbound Flotilla Core Fleet." She quickly signs it with a futuristic signature ID system built into her Matter Manipulator and hands it off to whoever else wants to get in on this deal! And then she draws a Laser RCW rifle from it, exchanging it with Albert. This leaves Seft on melee, Albert with that rifle and backup grenade launcher, and Pavo with a pistol and a cutlass. From above, Moonfin and Biteblade are doing a controlled descent as well! They seem to have left George behind to finish the elevator system. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Eiko sends a quizzical glance over to Sika, but the latter still isn't making a move. Eiko shrugs, then goes over to stand by Pavo and take her turn at the contract, with a pen from her backpack.     "Understood!" Code-tacks says, "You are hereby acknowledged as appropriate representatives of the other world." The tone seems like it's trying to sound officious more than perfectly succeeding.     It doesn't take too much waiting after this point before the birds come into sharper focus, at least for anyone with some kind of telescopic vision. (The rest will have to wait a bit longer.) The figures are somewhere between humanoid and avian. Two legs, two wings, roughly human height, which hadn't been visible from further off. They're wearing dark-colored harnesses with hanging odds and ends, but the equipment held in their talons is more concerning.     The first of the harpies make their intentions known by raking the ground with highly inaccurate fire from their carried gatling cannons. The ones with smaller arms dive in screeching, from bayonet-equipped rifles to jagged, but industry-manufactured combat knives. There are plenty of all types to go around, and some, but scant, cover.     "Ah... ah, sh--someone give me a boost! Throw me at that one!" Eiko points up not at any figure in the army, but at one of the large, floating rocks in orbit over the island. She's muttering something about sitting ducks. 

:'''{{#var:342|Nozomi Houken (342)}} has posed:'''     No sooner has she spoken than Eiko finds the back of her clothes just below the neck grabbed in Taiga's teeth. Scruff. "A moment."     And then the cat leaps.     Eiko will find herself deposited on the rock, and in the next instant, the robotiger has left again, leaping from there to a different rock, and then to a third. Moving quickly, making his position harder to track. Forcing them to focus on him as well as those on the island, split their attention, leave themselves vulnerable. Divide and conquer.     Without warning, he suddenly leaps from one floating rock straight towards one of the harpies, claw-first, uttering a completely tiger-like growl of attack. Though he targets only one of the harpies physically, his shoulder cannons each pick a separate target to track, opening fire on the way in. He wasn't kidding - if he can hop from rock to rock like that, he really does have a mobility advantage here.     Nozomi, meanwhile, dives for cover. There isn't much cover to be had. That means 'cowering on the ground' is about all she can do for now. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     "Aw. Aerial combat. I guess I have no choice but to use my secret move," Shin says as he adjusts his tie and fixes his jacket a bit. With a running of his fingers through his hair, he makes a mini-speech, "I only use this power-up during desparate times, or whenever I really feel like it. The best move in my arsenal," He snaps his fingers and a red aura appears around him.     His stance shifts and he plants both feet on the ground, taking a power-up stance, "HOOOOOOOAH! COBRA KAI TIMES TEN!" There's an explosion of red aura around him, crackling with power and a whipping wind that surrounds the martial artist.     Of course, that's all it does. He deemed the original version 'too dangerous and dumb', so he only kept the parts that looked cool and not the parts that overclocked his body. So other than just looking REALLY cool with his red aura and independant wind system, he's mostly just jump-kicking and trying to roundhouse harpies out of the air. 

:'''{{#var:1|Kirito (1)}} has posed:'''     Kirito draws both of his blades as the monsters approach, fairy wings emerge from his back... and UP he goes with a single leap. He can't stray too far from Nozomi and so he doesn't, but he DOES execute a swift fly-by at rocket-like speeds, hoping to intimidate and shake up their formations. He loops around, ending up back where he started with both of his swords at the ready.     It's all about seeing how these creatures REACT! ... Then responding appropriately. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     The Starbounders, for their own partleave the management of Eiko to TIGER. They launch into their tandem tactical maneuvering, working in their traditional perfect tandem with the other Flotilla members. First, of course, is Nozomi. Her need for cover is most urgent. Albert makes a dash for her, dropping his grenade launcher long enough to swipe his Matter Manipulator over her prone form, quickly generating a thick sheet of metallic prefabricated terrain for cover while also covering any stray bullets with his body. He then takes careful aim with his rifle and begins to fire on the harpies in bursts of laser fire, targeting those with the gatling guns. He will have to accept any attacks against him while using this more deliberate attack approach, and this means his grenade launcher stays at his feet. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Seft, meanwhile, moves to cover Kotone. She's a ranged combatant, so Seft will act as her tank while Albert acts as Nozomi's. Though still damaged from her fall, she can swipe that heavy Power Battleaxe at any of those melee foes that come near Kotone, primarily making it too dangerous to divebomb her. She also keeps a wireless link; any time Kotone needs to re-activate her cameoflage, Seft can disengage just enough to be ready to get back any time Kotone re-engages combat. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Biteblade is still descending from above. This time she had the chance to prepare extra energy for maneuvering, but ideally she won't need it. Biteblade intends to tackle one of the harpies out of the air on her way down. The idea is that their talons are the dangerous bit. If Biteblade can attack from above and behind, she can get right to... Plunging her teeth into its neck and biting out chunks to fuel her regeneration and extreme movement energy, yikes. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Pavo meets Biteblade somewhere in the middle. The Avian's superior air mobility comes in the form of titanic leaps, dozens of feet into the air, and tremendous rocket boosts. With a pistol in one hand and a cutlass in the other, she intends to bounce between and off of aerial combatants, slicing and blasting laserfire everywhere. Bird-person against bird-people! She tries to work in tandem with Shin especially, going to finish off anything that's dazed or damaged... As well as cutting away those harnesses and their valuable gear, if possible. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     And then there's Moonfin. He doesn't really do anything at all once he lands. He craters the island a bit as well, using his GROUND SMASH tech, then drawing his elegant Power Katana in a defensive stance. "First Sea Hylotl Style: Unbroken Shores." He means to wait to see who needs defending, even if that's himself, and quickly move to slice in a way that punishes proximity brutally. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Eiko gets her boost, going "Woah, okay," along the way, but not quite complaining since it gets her where she wants to be. And once she does make it up, it's time to pull that REPCONN Model A17 out of her pack, lay flat, and start picking targets for bursts of coherent radiation. Things tend to turn green and melt when hit by this gun, which she counts as a bonus. "Hey SO, lessee, gatling cannons high, knives low, cover lacking." ZAP. "One cannon down, keep 'em coming." Screw moving targets in a rotating reference frame, though.     Sika is well-equipped for long-ranged combat, judging by the beam cannon that's taller than she is. It's therefore unfortunate that she barely has time to fire it before half a dozen harpies slam into her, and two lift her off the island. There seems to be some stabbing in the process, though the site is frenetic and confused.     While they have a lot of guns, the harpies seem horribly inaccurate at longer ranges, which puts the majority well within Taiga's range once they do become a focused threat. The harpies can hover, but they don't have the speed to deal with those lunges, nor can they dodge accurate fire in turn with any reliability.     Enough of the army gets low that Shin has his fair share, too, though these are only the knife-and-pistol section. The bird-people aren't so sturdy that they can do much more than go 'crunch' with powered-up kicks slamming into them, and the ones that do survive getting hit still get knocked down.     Kirito has pure choice of targets, and if he keeps up the flight power, can manage to keep out of reach of any counterattacks while still getting his swords in. The weapons they carry are very sturdy, but the soldiers themselves are unarmored and easily sliced.     Up close, a few things are made clear. One, the harpies are all wearing masks of one kind or another, made of metal. Two, they're all extremely unhealthy-looking. None of these creatures have been feeding well. They scatter when they're charged, but show little organization, though also little in the way of surprise or fear. Once through, Kirito has several harpies with knives after him, and some of the stragglers with rifles, at their higher altitutde, are trying to snipe him out of the air. Shin has a diving bayonette charge to deal with. Nozomi's cover is being raked by gatling fire, even as it diminishes with each cannon-user knocked out. Taiga has concentrated small arms fire to deal with--though not skillfully used, the weaponry packs a surprising amount of punch compared to the Earth tech it resembles. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa gets things sorted out over the comm again. She now cloaks once more and is going to take more and take to waylaying he enemy she's got an array of grenades thanks to her various connections that should start to cause some havoc in the enemy ranks. She's daring about cloaked now leaving flash bangs here and there on timers which will go off an hopefully. She then starts to open up shots with her SMG trying to take shots on the enemy thankfully she's got some help from Seft to give her cover fire. She's also now taking to snapping off more shots at the harpies trying to thin out their numbers. 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     Shin's got a few things in his repertoire, but it's mostly variations on punching, jumping, and kicking. So he'll stick in that field of specialty. He's pretty amazed by how frail the harpies are, or maybe his aura has a placebo effect, who knows? Either way, he continues to leap upwards and deliver heavy kicks, following up with the occasional punch or elbow to try to bring the harpies out of the sky.     "You guys should just retreat now! This is a slaughter!" He shouts to one of the harpies as he jumps up towards it. 

:'''{{#var:342|Nozomi Houken (342)}} has posed:'''     Nozomi is covered by Albert. Quite literally covered. She raises her head just enough to realize that she's being protected by a sheet of metallic terrain that wasn't there before, and then relaxes... a little. Hard to relax completely on a battlefield. Especially when /holy shit they're shooting at her cover/. Nozomi hunkers down again quickly.     On the other hand, one person on this battlefield that CAN relax is Taiga. Taiga was quite literally built for this. Exterminating supernatural threats comes as easily to him as breathi... oh.     Well, regardless, it comes easily! Leap and shred and fire cannons and dart and dodge and fire again. The harpies' shots glance off his armor, scoring it here and there with superficial damage but not managing any kind of proper hit. He's about to go for another, more solid attack, when the cannon girl suddenly gets carried off. His planned course changes in a fraction of a second, and on his next landing he begins darting and leaping across rocks in a completely different direction; as soon as he's up above the harpies trying to steal Sika away, he turns and hurls himself at them like a missile filled with magically-enhanced, super-sharp claws and teeth. 

:'''{{#var:1|Kirito (1)}} has posed:'''     A glance over his shoulders before he stops tells Kirito that his buzzing of the gang didn't go without notice. And that their behavior is pretty savage. No attempts to communicate in a form he can understand as even being LANGUAGE, but using weapons does say something...     it says he really doesn't want to kill these creatures. At the same time he has to protect Nozomi down there!     "Uweh... doesn't she have ANY combat skills?!"     He decides that all he can do is tank the rifle shots. They're coming from too many different angles! Each bullet shaves a good amount of HP off, but he just considers that a writeoff. Instead of worrying about THAT...     "UUUUUROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAOOOOO!!!"     Belting out the biggest, loudest, fiercest warcry he can imagine, Kirito focuses his battle fury at the knife-harpies and SWINGS in at them in a fury that he's hoping will be intimidating enough to unsettle them all.     Then... IN he goes, swerving from one target to another. Using the flat of his blade to deliver high-speed beatdowns and slam wings from above and below, bouncing from one target and diving in for another with elbow strikes or kicks! Blunt damage is his goal... enough of it to just incapacitate the assailants! 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Kotone's guns work as well, though it takes either multiple hits or some good stopping power for firearms to work effectively here. At the least, her tactics make it very hard for any part of the enemy to focus on her, so she can keep working as she wishes, with Seft helping.     Biteblade gets a harpy, and will probably not find the result too tasty. These things taste like they're full of poison, and there's barely any meat. They do, at least, die when you rip at them hard enough, and if their talons are full, they have to drop their weapons to fight back. Moonfin may get a few into melee combat, but will also have to deal with those that charge pistol-fire-first--or would, if they weren't targets for Kotone and Eiko, who's now shifted her aiming low to see who needs the support. Pavo makes sure that Shin's dazed targets don't get up again, and the two are well-situated to deal with those that come after them in turn.     Incapacitating works as well as killing up in the air like this. At the least, knocking out their weapons drastically reduces the threat, and while some weapons get pulled in by the local gravity, others fall seemingly forever. Kirito should have enough HP to finish working, at least until things are under control.     Taiga rescues Sika, scattering the harpies that had started to congregate on ripping her apart mid-air. The Watcher-girl descends more unevenly than the first time, and has more trouble picking herself up. She'd taken some damage before Taiga's entry, but at least the blood dripping off those blades isn't hers.     (Reference now applicable: http://imgur.com/otZGaQT )     Finally, enough damage is done. Whether it's because they were actually listening to Shin or otherwise, the harpies that are still alive begin their retreat, and they don't bother to grab their weapons on the way back up. That leaves a hell of a lot of dead behind, along with--     "Hey, where'd the cactus go? And can anyone get me back down?" Eiko waves her plasma caster.     Code-tack bursts from the ground in a shower of dust, then again ceases moving in any discernible way. It's still in its pot. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     "Hello!" Code-tack says, then pauses a moment, as if looking around--though it still doesn't move. "I've confirmed the completion of the contract terms. The Merchant--that is, our side will now fulfill our terms." Another pause, then the cheery voice becomes uncertain again. "Oh, but this littering is awful. Should I clean up the land before you accept it? It wasn't in this state when originally offered, but if you're fine with it, of course there's no problem." Cheerfully again, "It's up to you." 

:'''{{#var:756|Shin Tokuyama (756)}} has posed:'''     "Awww, yeah, baby. Special Effects budget comes through again," Shin says as he watches the harpies begin retreating. He adjusts his suit, while still glowing and rippling with a red aura and wind. Eventually, though, he deactivates the purely-for-show 'Aura Flare' with a flick of his hand through his hair for extra cool guy effect.     As he dusts his hands off, he shrugs at the cactus, "I dunno, it's up to the people who signed your contract really, just don't become a thorn in their side or anything," He cautions, still sticking with cactus jokes. 

:'''{{#var:1|Kirito (1)}} has posed:'''     Kirito finally lands back on the rockball everyone's so eager to claim near Nozomi. Any remaining stray shots... he manages to tank and parry to the best of his ability. Being a meat shield is at least a valid strategy for his case, despite having little armor! All leather gear, really. Light stuff...     "Still hanging in there?! That was a bit tougher than I expected..." 

:'''{{#var:342|Nozomi Houken (342)}} has posed:'''     "Are you seriously damaged?" Taiga asks Sika, seating himself casually on the ground once they touch down. Now that the danger is passed, he doesn't seem particularly fussed about getting Eiko back to the main island in a timely fashion.     Nozomi finally peeks out from underneath her shelter, and gives Albert a grateful look, before standing up properly and giving Kirito a little nod. "I'm alright. I've... I've kinda gotten used to this sort of thing. I end up in danger a lot so that Taiga can help..." 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Sika looks up at Taiga. "The flight system is not field-repairable. Other damage is minor." With the Starbounders elevator functioning, that should be less of a problem for everyone. Sika looks down. Without changing tone, "I liked this shirt."     From above, "No, no, don't clean up! We need to loot 'em first. THEN we can get rid of 'em. Damn, never had to deal with bodies when they invaded Earth. This is gonna get messy." 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Albert quickly reclaims the material. He's taken a few bullets, but he still seems to be in fighting condition. He helps Nozomi to her feet, if she accepts it, but remains utterly silent in his interactions with her, except to ask, "Are you wounded?" As long as she answers in the negative, he'll immediately and wordlessly just get to work on collecting loot. 

:'''{{#var:1|Kirito (1)}} has posed:'''     Kirito looks relieved when Nozomi reveals herself, seemingly unscathed. "But you keep jumping into the situations without any weapons or special skills? That's..." He hesitates to say crazy but the way he's gaping a bit makes it pretty obvious.     "You should get some kind of armor or defensive capabilities besides just ducking for cover." Nope, he cannot believe she'd consider this course of action to be totally okay!     The SAO survivor tendencies are just not going to permit it. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Pavo lands a corpse on the surface, sword planted in the body, with a heavy crunch. Laughing and swinging her blade, she shouts to the retreating harpies. "AYE! Ye best know who the top bird is now, get OUT!" She calls out, before soon turning back on Code-tack "I'll take this rock as is, /we'll/ handle the swabbin'!". And by cleaning she means TEARING ASS around the rock to take anything that fell. She'll distribute the loot fairly, of course, but she's not going to wait for anyone else to find it! 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa is keeping with Seft as she make use of her firearms to bring down the monsters. She's not broken out the reaper rounds due to the accurasy issues then again maybe that wouldn't be a problem with how thick the hordes of enemies are. She keeps shooting and now she's lobs the odd grenade that she can into their tanks. Hopefully she can keep at it. She's also making use of her moblity as well pulling off some inhuman feats of agilityh before she even starts using the tech's buildinto her body. But finally the creatures are now done soon with the batlte over Kotone now lowers her weapon and shoulders it. "We should be quick about things before another wave shows up." She's going to look into looting them once they have sorted out eveything else. She looks over to Seft for a moment "Thanks for the support Seft and it seems Pavo's no longer got her feathers ruffled over these harpies." Kotone will start picking through the bodies as well where she can to help. She'll worry about the little details on loot once everything else is done. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     "Hey guys! Gonna need a couple trips on this one, sorry. But we're ready to head up!" George calls from 'above', waving down, which is probably not quite above. He's had to use a few thrusters to maneuver the elevator down the cable correctly. Albert disengages from his scavenging work and begins attaching the elevator's base cables too. "Check it, kids, we can head back now! Just, for real, don't let this thing get shot. Let's set up some auto-defenses for this place in a while, in case they come back." The elevator itself is a welded-together glorified basket with slapdash holopanel controls and not a lot of material. But it works! It'll get a handful of people up and down at a time, in a minute or two. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     "Oh, alright." Code-tack says. "As you wish! The island is now yours, your claim recognized by all affiliated merchants. This next part is a free service. Please enjoy!"     There's a soft rumbling before something obviously magical starts pushing dirt around. It's light, but in a clear pattern, spanning a good few hundred feet of the area. When it's done, there's a large, X-shaped print on the island, as viewed from above--looking like a well-beaten dirt road, with Code-tack just to the side of center. There's the unmistakeable sound of hammers and saws without apparant source as, piece-by-piece, a square, wooden shack forms around the cactus in the span of a few seconds, with one side having only a counter in place of a wall, for the potted plant to look(?) over. A hanging sign above it has its letters burned in while anyone who cares to watches: MERCHANT. 

:'''{{#var:342|Nozomi Houken (342)}} has posed:'''     Taiga looks skyward briefly, curious. Then back to Sika. "There are times where I find myself grateful to have no need for clothing."     "Ah, it's... it's alright," Nozomi replies to Kirito, with a little shake of her head. "I have Taiga. He'll protect me himself, and... well, if things get too dangerous for me or him, we can transform." She folds her hands in front of herself; there's that tone in her voice again that suggests transforming isn't the favored option. "...in Rampart Mode, we're much stronger than he is on his own." 

}}

1590/Automated Asassin X

2015-03-11T02:48:18Z

Kimiko: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2015/02/16 |Location=Urbania |Synopsis=Eiko gets attacked by a robot. |Thanks= |Cast of Characters=596, 650 |Tinyplot= |Tinyplot2= |pretty=yes }} {..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/02/16
|Location=Urbania
|Synopsis=Eiko gets attacked by a robot.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=596, 650
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Urbania--an incomprehensibly, ridiculously huge cityscape, and therefore a place in which a girl from Tokyo won't feel too far from home. And for someone who's gotten some spending cash, through mostly-somewhat-ethical means, a mall that sells 'everything' is an attractive place to check out. It is, therefore, where Eiko is now. She's clothing shopping, apparently getting a jump start on some cooler Spring clothes, having spent most of her Multiversal career surrounded by the Winter chill.     She doesn't have any bags, having opted for a delivery option, but does have a fair bit of clothing laid out to one side--with a clerk keeping an eye on it and her--and more under one arm, bustling about with some caffeinated energy. 

:'''{{#var:596|Zwei (596)}} has posed:'''     The schools aren't safe, the streets aren't safe, the middle of the ocean isn't safe, and no even someone's own house is safe. There's no reason that a shopping mall would be any safer; and it isn't. While Eiko lays out her prospective new clothes, something stalks through the crowd behind her, the ticking of its footsteps masked by vibrational cancellers, and its form obscured by active optical camouflage. It expertly weaves between shoppers, sifting through them in broad daylight without pause or delay, closing in on the girl's undefended back.     Strangely, it doesn't attempt to simply kill her right then and there. She has a moment's notice in the form of panicked burbling from the crowd and a single scream as the Type-10 Anti-Cursetouched Arma reveals itself for seemingly no reason, stepping out to the front doors of the shop Eiko finds herself in, and raising one arm towards her with the distinct hum of weapon charging. The next instant, the table in front of her explodes into a deadly, smokeless fireball, shattering the windows and blowing tattered scraps of clothing out of the empty holes, but vapourizing the furniture so thoroughly that there is no shrapnel to contend with. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Eiko has an "oh shit" moment that's not quite long enough to actually deliver the curse. That--is not something that's supposed to be here, that's for sure, and the manner of the appearance gives her the immediate impression that she's the target. (Though, really, she would have guessed she was the target, no matter whom it pointed at.)     There's seriously nothing in this shop worth a damn for cover, so she doesn't even duck. She turns, leaps, and sprints around the corner that would take one to the shop's restroom. It's a dead end, of course, but she's already been to the shop on the other side, so she knows how the walls are laid out. Her sword is pulled, still sheathed, and smashes through the thin dividing wall in one swing, leading into another back-of-store hallway     This one's a home appliance outlet, and is at least large enough to give her a clearer path to sprint down. She's not sure if walls made of washing machines and refrigerators will do her much good, either, but that thing DID wait until it had a clear shot to do anything. 

:'''{{#var:596|Zwei (596)}} has posed:'''     The machine assaulting Eiko is significantly different from the others, if they even shared any form of design similarity to begin with. For one, it actually appears to be humanoid, at least in the loosest definition of the term. The model is vaguely skeletal, with limbs like razor blades only an inch and a half thick from the angle that faces towards it. Digitigrade legs terminate in sharp points rather than actual feet, which somehow keep balance on the hard floor without any difficulty. What would pass for a ribcage is vaguely spherical core of sloped black metal that supports the frame of the spine, shoulders and neck. The head is completely eyeless, and shaped like a hollow arrowhead, which swivels to follow Eiko like a bird. Its right arm terminates in an elongated blade from the wrist down, nearly touching the floor. Its left arm is mounted with what appears to be some kind of compact crossbow shaped device affixed with an obvious gun barrel.     It takes off after Eiko the moment the dust clears, ripping through the wreckage of the store with a lightning fast stride that barely touches the ground, shooting up orange sparks where the points of its legs make brief contact. It wheels through the hole left by her and through the back hallway on her trail, keeping a steady distance so as to be able to follow her by IR alone. When a wall of heavy appliances gets in its way, it simply fires again, launching a micro-warhead the size of a grain of rice into the drywall and detonating it remotely as soon as it comes into contact with the back of the washing machine behind it, instantly blasting it into hundreds of tiny pieces of molten metal. The bulk of it is enough to shield Eiko from the actual blast wave, but the Type-10 lunges through the hole left behind to close in with her within moments. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Eiko has a vague idea of what's going on, and it's pretty obvious that she's not going to be able to just run away. It found her here; it'd find her somewhere else. It's probably faster than she is, anyway.     When she's got half a dozen large appliances between it and her, she figures she has the moment needed to do something besides lose ground. As the fridges turn to burning wreckage, and she's blasted by the heat, she's squinting in the bot's direction while holding something she /didn't/ have last time she fought these guys--a REPCONN Model A17 miniaturized plasma caster. It looks mainly like a bunch of tubes messily strapped around a needle-barreled gun, but she's seen what this New Vegas weaponry can do, and that's turn whatever it hits to a gross, green sludge.     She's already firing once she's figured out the direction it's coming at her from. Firing, and dashing toward the store entrance. 

:'''{{#var:596|Zwei (596)}} has posed:'''     In the brief moment the Arma ducks through the newly created hole in order to cut straight to Eiko, it has nowhere to dodge to either side, leaving it a prime target for her plasma weaponry. However, though it may not look like it, certain design specifications have been made to deal with the abilities she had shown during her brief tangle with the Collective's automated forces in the past. A plasma gun isn't actually one of them, but it falls under the same portfolio one of those features was meant to cover.     The Type-10 raises its left arm over its 'face', causing the prongs to either side of the wrist-mounted device to snap open, and then a sharp, crackling hum to fill the air for a split second. The space in front of the device ripples violently as the plasma contacts it, as if reflected into the surface of a recently disturbed pool, meeting the blast with precise counter force that sends superheated matter spirally out in every other direction but forward, leaving a wide circle of melted slag around it. Rather than being equipped with a passive energy shield, the unit's defenses have been condenses down to a single, actively employed barrier, increasing its efficiency enough to directly block Eiko from making physical contact with it should she attempt to.     Not to be deterred, the machine lunges from the back end of the store to the front, carving gouges in the tiles as it skids around to cut Eiko off. Advancing on her with a pair of aggressive steps, it lunges forward with its bladed arm like a fencer, moving with superhuman speed and grace. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Eiko was really hoping that would at least make a dent, but given what she'd seen previously, couldn't exactly count on it. This is like one of those bosses designed specifically to frustrate everything the player can throw at it. Rather, it's exactly that, recontextualized. 'Trying things until it kills her' might be all she has, but she likely can't afford to take a hit and just try again.     "Sabram!"     As the machine lunges at her, a wall full of televisions suddenly static out. On each appears a single, feline eye. "Oho..." A deep voice booms from dozens of speakers, most of which still read 'MUTE.' One of the sets is actually turned off, but audio-video continues, regardless.     Eiko's sword practically explodes from the sheathe in roiling, black smoke. She's gotten pretty good with this, at least compared to how she'd flailed with it months ago, and she IS superhuman--but she's nowhere near an expert. Chances are good that her first parry is as much luck as anything else, and that she won't be able to do that more than a few times. This is going to matter a lot on how the machine aims.     "What an INDUSTRIOUS people you are..." The speakers continue, filling the store with that voice, each eye moving to track the assassin 'bot. 

:'''{{#var:596|Zwei (596)}} has posed:'''     For a brief moment after Eiko deflects the first blow, the machine turns its eyeless gaze towards the television static, either distracted by the new phenomena, or intelligent enough to recognize something supernatural going on. Its 'feet' screech across the floor as it slides one full turn around Eiko, letting off high pitched tapping as it reverses its footing and presses forward again. With the blade built into its arm rather than clutched in hand, its swordsmanship is significantly different than that of someone using hands, resulting in less flexibility in its arc of motion, but far more power. For something that looks like it could be compacted down to a foot wide cube, it is alarmingly strong, and the complete lack of air resistance on its movements only increases it speed.     Unsure of what kind of powers Eiko's sword could possess, it approaches cautiously but aggressively, deliberately taking a step forward whenever she takes one back to pressure her out of the store and into the hallway. Its arm sweeps back and forth in a blurring ribbon of black, not so much as ruffling her clothes, no matter how close it might pass. As soon as it gets near the threshold, it will suddenly step back and then throw its shield arm out, aiming to slam Eiko hard enough to launch her out into the open. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Unfortunately for Eiko, the eyes on the screen, despite being obviously a supernatural occurrence, don't seem useful for anything beyond being weird. They don't seem to be, at least. They are actually just what they appear to be--eyes. They watch. Similarly unfortunately, that sword of hers has no particular powers relevant to this situation. Not yet, at least. And what it does have wouldn't be activated by touch.     And then she gets slammed hard. She takes it on her blade, which continues to do nothing, but gets launched out of the shop, losing her balance in the progress. She tumbles, one hand on her sword and the other hitting the ground, her plasma caster thankfully stowed.     The tumble turns into a one-handed backflip, as she launches herself over the railing and drops down the open-air middle of the concourse. She doesn't actually shout "SUCKER" but she's thinking it pretty hard. Despite the commotion, there are still bound to be people everywhere--especially on the other levels. She swings back in to the walkway on the next floor down, and starts running through the crowd as fast as she can. Black smoke follows her the entire way, reaching out and--apparently harmlessly--grabbing at someone every few steps. "You, and you, and yours, and yours--nasty, man, freakin' disgusting, but I'll take it."     She's gathering every noticeable illness of anyone that comes within five feet of her in the crowd. The fact that she's putting all these people in danger doesn't seem to matter much to her. 

:'''{{#var:596|Zwei (596)}} has posed:'''     The Type-10 can't actually tell what Eiko is doing with the black smoke, but it knows well enough not to simply let her keep doing it. She wouldn't be going through the trouble if it didn't provide her some kind of tactical advantage. The instant she disappears from view, the Arma makes a flying leap from the storefront, well over the railing, and onto the floor below, stabbing an inch deep into the floor as it lands with freakishly perfect balance.     Predictably, civilians are starting to scatter, stumbling out of the way as the night black machine hurtles through their ranks, simply slamming them away whenever they don't clear the path fast enough. Once it grows too dense to shoulder through with good time, it makes another jump right over, tapping onto the floor ahead of Eiko once again, intent on not letting her escape. It aims its left arm at her feet, and fires a triple tap of fusion rounds, aiming one behind her, to the left, and to the right, simultaneously assaulting her from all sides with bone breaking concussive fireballs and a healthy dose of radiation. The only way to escape is forward, and knowing that, the Arma lunges forth to close the space, sweeping its blade to separate Eiko's top half from her bottom half. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     The eyes on the screens disappear only when their target moves out of view--but it's a safe bet that that presence is still watching. There are cameras, screens, and listening devices everywhere here, in every store and in every back pocket. The demon lord only needs one to be nearby and with a clear field of view to keep track of what's happening. He doesn't go so far as to tell Eiko anything he sees--but through their pact, he grants her just enough power for what she'll need to do.     "Burn!" Eiko's hair is actually on fire, but that has nothing to do with her words. Individually weak, the curses she's stored are too slight to do anything substantial on their own. No one here was so debilitated as to stay home. And yet, she's had time to work through dozens in seconds. Added together, she'd be hard-pressed to think of anything worse than trying to hold on to each one at the same time.     Of course, that's why she's not holding on to any of them. The first step is to rotate each into another, non-overlapping condition, worsening it in the process. The second step is to burn that curse as fuel, flowing through her magic and strengthening her body.     Eiko doesn't have any reason to run anywhere else. She jumps straight for the Type-10, swinging her sword in a circular pattern that, if it could reach, would take off both its sword arm and its head at the least. That is, if she has the strength and the speed to reach it.     In the moment after the blow is aimed, Eiko becomes deaf, dumb, and blind. In the moment of the swing, the tip of her sword accelerates into the sound barrier. 

:'''{{#var:596|Zwei (596)}} has posed:'''     The Type-10 meets the unfortunate consequence of having such incomplete data. Though it has been built from the ground up to be functionally immune to the curses Eiko had used during the previous assault she had showed her face at, she had done those without the help of Sabram, and her arsenal of powers is already too wide to show off in a single encounter. The Arma meets the charge head on, slamming one bladed foot into the ground to halt a further advance that would take it inside the minimum range of its sword, and reeling back as it swings, raising its barrier at the same time as Eiko attacks.     The resulting clash exchanges blow for blow, sending the Arma hurtling backwards from the sheer force of the blow and smashing into the opposite wall, cratering the tile, brick and drywall. It obviously weighs extremely little with that kind of flight distance, which is a big disadvantage with an energy shield directly connected to its arm. The projector sputters, sparks, and then is explosively purged from the Type-10's wrist as it gets to its feet, brandishing its blade to reassert its stance, heedless to the deep gouges running up the opposite side of its chest. It begins to circle, regarding Eiko much more warily, until it is at a perpendicular angle to her own sword, suddenly blitzing forward fast enough to scorch the floor beneath it and with a brutal overhead chop. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Eiko was hoping to take the thing out right off, but given that its shield activated despite her having hit it as fast as she could, she doubts that'll happen. Her senses have returned with a rush, and so she's aware of just how little ammo she has left. Theoretically, there's no real limit to her range. In practice, she's rarely worked with anything farther away than she could physically grab or throw. And everyone's running away.     While the thing comes back at her, she has a moment. She reaches in and plucks the energy cell from her plasma caster, tossing it up in the air once and catching it. Having this makes it easy--there aren't so many curses that can work on a battery. She just has to funnel what she has left into it.     Before the machine strikes, Eiko finally regains her speech, and the cell becomes distressingly warm to the touch. The burn-off from before still has a handful of seconds before it wears off--plenty of time for Eiko to strike a one-handed parry with the force needed send that light blade of its away, sailing off if it doesn't stabilize again with its spike-feet into the ground. In the same motion, she tosses the energy cell underhand, in the Type-10's general direction. It's not a microfusion--it doesn't have the kind of power that would be all that impressive even if discharged at once, without a gun to aim it.     "Transfer." Whatever this machine is, she figures, it has a power source; so, she curses it to overload, her characteristic black smoke billowing out at impossible-to-gauge speeds from energy cell to robot, in the tiny fraction of a second before the cell would have blown. 

:'''{{#var:596|Zwei (596)}} has posed:'''     Even for the Collective, it's pretty much impossible to build a machine without a power source. There certainly isn't anything hanging around big enough to be wirelessly transferring power. The Type-10 does manage to stabilize before it goes flying, reorienting itself in the blink of an eye and reversing the path of its blade before the sparks have even finished falling, transitioning back into a blurring horizontal slash aimed right through Eiko's arm and between her ribs. A moment prior to it making contact, the curse transfers, and the machine suddenly, and quite simply, falls over face first, crumpling against her. There isn't anything to violently explode in a flashy show of fireworks, but that's all the better for her. Without any power going to computing, the thing can't even stand, and so its lifeless husk tackles into her, falls to the ground, and then oddly, begins to disintegrate. Before her eyes, the thing crumbles into an impossibly fine heap of black ash, as if it were only pressed together like wet sand to begin with. Breathing in the fumes is ill-advised. 

}}

1751/HOMEWORLD: Blue Wing

2015-03-08T18:26:38Z

Kimiko: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2015/03/07 |Location=The Homeworld |Synopsis=Various people use the Blue Wing of the Abstractum Homeworld for reasons. |Thanks= |Cast of Characters..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/03/07
|Location=The Homeworld
|Synopsis=Various people use the Blue Wing of the Abstractum Homeworld for reasons.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=236, 347, 385, 570
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' It's been a long time since Yuna set foot on the Homeworld - the last time was during the 'emergence' of the Nodes onto the Homeworld's real surface, and it's been far longer than THAT since she was involved in active Node investigation. But she's here today, dressed in civilian clothes for now, Shining Prism gleaming from its place around her neck. Even if her Abstractum hasn't been put to all that much use, she still wears Prism fairly consistently. Whether she's accumulated enough Resonance to upgrade the Abstractum ... that's another question. One that she's here, in part, to find out the answer to. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko is present here, arriving in casual, winter clothing and looking somewhat sleepy. Long night? Or maybe she's just like that a lot when not 'on duty.' Hard for most to say, unless they've the advantage of seeing her in 'off time.'     She's not paying attention to a lot of anything in the Homeworld, ignoring the various people and... well, those creatures are probably people, too. Her goal here is to head to the SCANNER with Koishin, on the assumption that this is what she needs to do to get a finer reading of what kind of Resonane that the two have built up. She's not sure at all what she can do with this, but she needs to at least know, roughly what she has to work with... and maybe what things cost. Sadly, there's not really a menu anywhere, so this'll probably come down to trial and error. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Mr. Welcomes is here, in his kiosk, if Yuna particularly wants to hassle him about finding out what she can do! Aside from that, the equipment here is an essential display of what can be done. Prism, of course, remains dutifully attentive and silent here. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko's assumption is just about right! It looks like there's some sort of laser-reading eye structure on the scanner! Slipping the bracer off and setting it into the adjustable tray is simple as can be, and the screen pops up with data. NAME: Koishin FORM: Bracer SHIFT: 1/1 GATE CAPACITY: 3 Cartidges CHROMARCHETYPE: Red ARCHETYPE: None PRECURSOR: The Aegis at Noon, She that ###### ###### to ### ###### PERSONALITY: Little-sister, supportive, friendly, determined to be reliable. Encourages User sociability while injecting tactical insight lost through User personality defenses. SHADOW: Unknown DRIVERS STRIKE: 1 BARRIER: 4 DASH: 1 PRIME RESONANCE: Unbreakable Aegis 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Yuna smiles, strolling up to the kiosk. "Hey, Mr. Welcomes! Been a while since I've seen you. How've things been?" She touches her Abstractum pendant gently. "And ... have I got enough Resonance accumulated to upgrade Shining Prism some?" She glances away briefly, seeing Kimiko turn her attention to that scanner. Maybe that's where Yuna needs to go too - but Welcomes is probably the best person to start with anyway. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko nods to herself at the results. "Yes, that should be useful." There's a feeling of progress, like Koishin has gotten stronger. Maybe Kimiko has, too.     "What about... Resonance?" Though even if she finds some kind of number for that, she's not going to know what it means without knowing what it can be used for. Numbers are only useful with some kind of scale to set them against. The Drivers, at least, she understands--those can be thought of as relative to each other. That seems about right.     Putting that aside, she retrieves Koishin and moves over to the CARTRIDGE MANUFACTURER. She glances over toward Yuna as she does, but is in no mood to speak to Welcomes just now. Assuming nothing distracts her, she plans to make a few cartridges. Let's say 3. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko plugs the core matrix of Koishin into the catridge manufacturer! It looks like she's got enough resonance for ten level 1 cartridges, two level 2, or one level 3! Three level 1s are easy to make, though, and they pop out of the slot in a row. The little cartridge devices are a dark red color. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Yuna gets a wave from Welcomes. "A lot less chaotic! So, maybe good, maybe bad. I like it, myself. Plenty to do to upgrade your equipment, with the combo frames and the forms and the cartridge-trades. What're you looking to enhance here, Miss?" He leans forward and smiles pleasantly, with genuine friendliness. 

:'''{{#var:236|Auron (236)}} has posed:'''     Talking about someone who's done very little with their Abstractum... here comes Auron. It's not as if he hasn't wanted to. But he's not wanted to risk the weapon getting damaged during use while offline. And the Nodes have been quiet for some time, or things have been happening when he couldn't assist.     Anyway, he does want to see how Suchiru is doing. So it's to the Blue Wing he goes, since he's to understand that's the place to go for 'maintenance' on one's Abstractum. Do they need checkups, or tuneups? Auron doesn't know. But he heads there anyway. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Yuna smiles sheepishly, "That's one of the areas I need some more info on, actually ..." Elner - who's been quietly fliting along next to Yuna - lets out a quiet sigh, but says nothing further. Yuna ponders a bit, looking more like she's shopping than like she's trying to upgrade a potentially critical piece of equipment, or even a weapon. "Let's see ... combo frames would be for interlinking with other Abstractum, right? What can I do by way of a new form for Shining Prism? There's something that's been lingering in the back of my head ..." She fingers her Abstractum again, gently. "What about it, Shining Prism? Do you think you'd make a good naginata?" she suggests - clearly seeking her Abstractum's input. It's Shining Prism who'll be able to change from this, after all - Yuna doesn't want to just impose it on her. She spots Auron coming in, and waves to the swordsman whom she hasn't seen in a while. She's also cognizant of Kimiko's cartridge synthesis - she might make a couple of cartridges too, they seem like a useful thing to the other Abstractum Users. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko retrieves her cartridges, already thinking of what they'll be used for. Special occasions, of course, but... there is the question of 'who.' She can guess what effect they might have based on Koishin's Prime Resonance (or is that her own Prime Resonance, too?), but it'll take actually using them to see.     She gives a short bow to Yuna and Welcomes as she turns to go, and afterward a nod to Auron as she's walking. She's out the door, then, on her way to the Green Wing. 

:'''{{#var:236|Auron (236)}} has posed:'''     Auron offers a polite nod to Yuna as she waves, though he doesn't approach yet, because he sees she's busy at the moment. And he steps to the side to be completely out of Kimiko's way, and nods to her in farewell. He'll wander over in Welcomes's direction, but again keeps quiet for the moment. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "Whether or not I'd be good as one," Shining Prism says. "Would be up to you. But I would not object in the least. Once we have enough red to fuel the form, I will certainly accept it." The tone is loyal and dedicated in the most simple way, but Prism seems to have no particular selfish preference one way or the other. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Welcomes gives a friendly wave to Auronn from behind the glass of his kisok. "Hi there!" He says, with a grin. "Anything I can help you with here?" 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Yuna ehehs softly, "That's the question, though - how much Resonance do I have to work with ..." She considers briefly, then steps away from Welcomes' kiosk - making room for Auron in the process - and goes over to the scanner, taking her Abstractum off so she can place Shining Prism in the scanner properly. More or less the same way Kimiko did it, right? 

:'''{{#var:236|Auron (236)}} has posed:'''     "I just came to see how well Suchiru's doing," Auron replies to Welcomes. "I don't think much advancement has been had since I've been keeping it mostly protected rather than using it. I'm not sure if using it while it's offline will damage it or not." 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "It would seem we've not accumulated chromatic Resonance yet." Shining Prism says, with some concern. "I think it's found other ways. It might involve the Nodes, or some of the facilities here." But the scan is free, it seems! NAME: Shining Prism FORM: Pendant SHIFT: 0/0 GATE CAPACITY: 2 Cartidges CHROMARCHETYPE: Red ARCHETYPE: None PRECURSOR: Unknown, increase Resonance Capacity to align. PERSONALITY: A dutiful retainer, lieutenant, or servant. The Abstractum is honorable and dedicated to its User, with a strong work ethic and a serious personality. Very quiet when social, or relaxing. SHADOW: Unknown DRIVERS STRIKE: 2 BARRIER: 1 TAC: 1 PRIME RESONANCE: NOT YET ACTUALIZED 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "Psssh. Not any more than any other sword. Long as you don't use that anime as hell edge-blocking technique, we won't have any problems. I can deal with a few nicks, and I won't even care if you do some sharpening after." The sword in Auron's hand says, with a casual upbeat tone. "Scanner will tell you if there's anything wrong, but I don't think there is. Believe me, guy, I'll just complain about it a ton if there's some problem." The blade almost seems a bit teasing. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' "Seems that way," Yuna says resignedly as she looks over the scanner readout. Hearing the others talk about the 'final boss dungeon' - the Core Node that one of the Homeworld representatives apparently told Homura about - only helps to drive home how far behind Yuna is on the proverbial level-grinding. Well, she was away for a good reason ... or at least that's what Yuna keeps telling herself. She puts Shining Prism back on and moves away from the scanner, not entirely sure what else to do at this point. 

:'''{{#var:236|Auron (236)}} has posed:'''     Edge-blocking? Auron looks out of his good eye at the sword, raising the brow of that eye. Does he even know what the term means? Well, 'anime' indicates it's probably something close to impossible.     When Yuna moves away from the scanner, Auron heads over to it, bringing Suchiru with him. Hopefully it won't be too hard to figure out... 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:''' NAME: Suchiru FORM: Sword SHIFT: 0/0 GATE CAPACITY: 2 Cartidges CHROMARCHETYPE: Red ARCHETYPE: None PRECURSOR: Unknown, increase Resonance Capacity to align. PERSONALITY: Humorous, friendly, and generally relaxed whenever it can be, this Abstractum habitually does everything it can to extract as much casual joy as possible from time off the battlefield in order to maximize its performance and its User's performance on the battlefield. SHADOW: Unknown DRIVERS STRIKE: 2 BARRIER: 3 PRIME RESONANCE: NOT YET ACTUALIZED 

:'''{{#var:236|Auron (236)}} has posed:'''     "Hm." Auron examines the readout with interest. "Drivers... what are those?" He might have been told some time ago, but he isn't quite sure if he remembers. The Abstractum are rather confusing at times. He's still learning about it all, though admittedly he should have figured some of this out. With these Abstractum it's not really useuly to jump to conclusions. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' "They're ... well," Yuna admits, rubbing the back of her head, "I'm not totally sure either, but they're the main combat functions for Abstractum. Strike Drivers are your offensive power, Barrier Drivers are defensive." Elner says, "Yuna's Shining Prism has 2 Strike Drivers and 1 Barrier Driver, so you'd have comparable offensive power and stronger defense than hers." Elner looks at Yuna. "What about the 'Tac' Driver?" "I figured that was the analysis function," says Yuna - although she promptly turns to Mr. Welcomes ... then winces a bit and looks down at her pendant. "Is that right, Shining Prism? The 'Tac Driver' is for how you analyze magic, or something like that? Or is it short for something else?" 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "Oh, those amp up the Resonance, and the Resonance amps you up. Extra multiplier. I've got more than usual, to keep up with you. Tough stuff. The barrier's all defense. Long as you're taking a hit, I can help using Barrier. Strike's all offense. If you're dishing it out, I can make it better, at least in, y'know, physical damage. That's what's up with those, quick and simple." Suchiru says. "So long story short, I'm pretty good at you slamming me into stuff, and I'm a little better when you decide to jump in front of someone else's sword." Always the good humor there, though, despite the jokes there's a clear bit of respect. 

:'''{{#var:236|Auron (236)}} has posed:'''     Auron turns to look at Yuna as she speaks up. He nods. "That makes sense." He's been called a 'tank' before, and a sword as wide as Suchiru was bound to be good for defense too. Suchiru speaks up as well, and Auron listens. That makes sense too. And he smirks a little at the mention of jumping in front of people's swords. "...I do that a lot," he acknowledges, humor in his voice.     "Are the Drivers called that because they're activated some way?" he inquires. "Or are they passive?" 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "Tactical awareness." Shining Prism speaks up, to Yuna. "I improve accuracy, precision, using a combination of Strike and Tac drivers, in an uncommon way. It imrpoves my ability to predict movements for groups of enemies, and that sort of function. It's a kind of analysis, I believe you're mostly correct." 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Yuna nods, smiling. "Thanks, Shining Prism." She looks over at Mr. Welcomes. "Some of the others are talking about pooling our Green Resonance for another upgrade to the facility; do I have *any* Green Resonance I could contribute towards that?" This is one thing she really doesn't know if Shining Prism can answer or not. She looks over at Auron though, "It's kind of in-between - they activate Strife Drives when we're going into combat with our Abstractum 'awake' and responsive and boosting us, but I don't know if there's sub-activations for the Drivers in the middle of that or whether the effect is sustained continuously. I guess it might be a 'behind-the-scenes' thing, something that our Abstractum just do without calling attention to it specifically." 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "We've gotta power them up, but we can do that near instant. Good to have them running passively when you're in a fight, but not all the time. Not that it's too big a drain or anything. It's just /really/ rude." Suchiru says, with a grin-like expression to its eye. "Like running around swinging a sword in your hands? Good for the battlefield. Not really everywhere else. I got it covered, you don't need to worry. Just gimmie a shout if they're not on and you need 'em on." 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "Hmmm. We've only got a small amount, but it seems most of their business was covered. Kimiko's bracer tells me that she contributed most of their final necessities. Our chromarchetype is red, so we've only got a small quantity of blue and green." Shining Prism says, with an almost secretarial tone. "There might be another way to find more, though, if you need something."     "Oh! Just now, actually. There's a recycler in the Red Wing now, you can recycle old artifacts of conflict that have accumulated large amounts of resonance through playing major roles in battles, or things like that. It'll let you draw out a little more if you need it." That's Mr. Welcomes, calling out from his kisok again helpfully. "They just added it today, actually!" 

:'''{{#var:236|Auron (236)}} has posed:'''     "Good question," Auron adds to Yuna's question. "I doubt I have any Green Resonance either, but if I do I'll offer it." Yuna's explanation of the Drivers gets a nod. "I see. Explains the 'Powering Strife Drives' that I've heard from Suchiru." That's what it says when it 'powers on', right? Suchiru's explanation further confirms it, and he smirks. "Makes sense." Having them powered seems like it's the equivalent of walking around with weapons out, and that generally insinuates willingness or desire to hurt something. 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' "Mmm ..." Yuna looks at Mr. Welcomes, "I don't think I have any artifacts that I'd want to sacrifice for Resonance ... or is this a non-destructive conversion, like some artifacts people have used for their Nodes?" It seems like it all comes back to Nodes, doesn't it? Yuna's thoughts drift back to her native Earth, and the stretch of cosmos that got rearranged into the Multiverse with Unification. There are a few mementoes that come to mind ... and one treasure she's been keeping safe ever since one of the most horrible days of her life. 

:'''{{#var:236|Auron (236)}} has posed:'''     Auron gives a thoughtful 'hm'. "There might be something that I can bring," he replies. "If the item doesn't have to be from a Node, but can be from our world. There's a thousand years of ruins in Spira that no one wants; should be worth something." Yes, he's totally willing to 'sell' Spira's past for Resonance. It's not doing Spira any good, so he might as well use it for something where it CAN do some good. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "Oh no, definitely destructive. Next time you mount a massive campaign against some horrifying monster over the course of weeks and months, try pulling its heart out, one of those would do the trick!" Welcomes says, grinning and giving Yuna a wink and a thumbs-up. "Or, you know, sentimental things, dungeon loot, all that sort of stuff. Won't be worth much of anything if you don't work hard for it for a while though, or if it doesn't have a lot of... Hmmmm... Memory to it, I suppose is the word? Needs a lot of memory to it." 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Yuna shakes her head. "There's only one thing I can think of that might qualify from my own past adventures, and - that's not a treasure I'm willing to destroy for anything," she says. "I'll just have to get back into the loop with the Nodes, I guess." 

:'''{{#var:236|Auron (236)}} has posed:'''     Auron nods to Welcomes. "Then there are several things I have that can be exchanged," he replies. Reaching into his coat, he produces a blue sphere with a golden base that makes it able to be set down without it rolling away. The whole thing is about the size of a closed fist. "Where would I go to do that?" 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "That'd be the red wing! Head on over there sometime, there should be a big machine on the opposite wall, looks like a big wood chipper you humans use. Don't worry, it doesn't actually grind it up, but you wouldn't really get it back. You're a red type, so you'll mostly get red resonance out of it, but you'll probably get about the same amount of blue and green total out of it too." Mr. Welcomes says, grinning and speaking in encouraging tones as he leans forward to look at the artifact. "Can't say I could tell you how much you'll get 'till you try it, just depends on how important it is sentimentally now, or before. Long as there's a lot of memories in it, then it's picked up a lot of chromatic resonance inside it." 

:'''{{#var:385|Yuna Kagurazaka (385)}} has posed:''' Yuna bows slightly to Mr. Welcomes, "Thanks for your help again tonight. And good luck with your Abstractum, Auron," she adds with a smile to the swordsman. "I think I'd better be heading back, though. I'll be trying to get more involved with the Nodes again." 

:'''{{#var:236|Auron (236)}} has posed:'''     Auron holds up the blue sphere for Welcomes to see better. "This is a memory sphere," he explains. "Its purpose is to record memories. This one contains memories of an incident that changed my life." Pause. "Rather, I should say... ended it." He is speaking, of course, of his memories of being killed by Yunalesca.     Yuna bids farewell, and Auron nods. "Take care, Yuna." It still feels odd saying that, and the irony brings the ghost of a smile to his face. "Let me know the next time you'll be involved, I'll come to support you if you want," he offers. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Auron's orb is peered at. "Huh. Could work, in a way." Mr. Welcomes says. "Not exactly the kind of memories we mean, it usually means more like... Hmmmm... History? Like the personal helm of some overlord, the legendary sword of some kind of hero, the head of some horrible monster, that sort of thing. It's something with a history, a legend, an artifact. But, that does sound pretty heavy! It could be worth something, who knows." Mr. Welcomes seems both sheepish and friendly here. "Just see how it goes, if you don't mind losing it. Definitely won't be a negative, you know." 

:'''{{#var:236|Auron (236)}} has posed:'''     Auron nods, puts the sphere away. "Hm. I could do that as well. Remiem Temple, the Omega Ruins, the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth, the Scar-- there are plenty of places that have history. Even soil from the Calm Lands might work." It had seen five battles against Sin, after all. "I'll come back with it when I have a few things that could suffice." A polite nodto Welcomes. "Thank you." 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Mr. Welcomes gives a friendly wave! "See you, in that case! Good luck with it, man, hope it turns out okay!" 

}}

1752/HOMEWORLD: Red Wing

2015-03-08T18:25:57Z

Kimiko: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2015/03/07 |Location=The Homeworld |Synopsis=Various people use the Red Wing of the Abstractum Homeworld for reasons. |Thanks= |Cast of Characters=..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/03/07
|Location=The Homeworld
|Synopsis=Various people use the Red Wing of the Abstractum Homeworld for reasons.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=7, 202, 319, 347, 570
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     Adelyn Lysen is here, but she isn't the only one. She's brought three of her servants along with her. Azon, the hulking, nonhumanoid demon is clicking his claws together. Vrenyn Kuhn, the wide-eyed undead warrior, is slouching at odd angles that make her walk seem unbalanced. Lialyn Earthdance, the quiet, spirit-swordswoman, is following closely at Adelyn's side, suspicious of everyone who crosses their path.     The archmage herself pays little attention to the others in the structure. Her goal is to look at the Proto-Abstractum system. "Let's see, what have we here... Gishur," she calls out to her own Abstractum, "what do you make of this? Would this system enhance your ability to manage magical flow between my own powers and the bodies of a proto-user?" 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa had an idea for proto units, but she needed some help here she had overclock in one hand. She was uneasy she'd not done this before and she looked to her partner for a moment. "So Overclock I got an idea for some protounits a way to interface with alien computer systems basically. Given how the multiverse is I need to be prepared right? Whatcha think on this my friend?" 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "Wow, what am I, chopped liver??" Mr. Welcomes, the designated guide to all this, calls out with good humor from his kiosk. He doesn't really seem to mind, though, he just good-naturedly lets Adelyn find out however she likes.     Gishur floats down nearby, to examine the proto-abstractum crafting chambers. "Hmmm. Abstractum have the primary advantage of universal compatibility. Doubling up that advantage would be quite effective for distributing your power, Mistress. It might broaden some vulnerabilities, but I've the utmost confidence we could easily account for that with superior knowledge." 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     Adelyn lightly waves off Welcomes. Sure, she could ask him, and that's something like his function here, but she's the type that puts more stock into mystical floating books than in most other objects/beings.     "Yes, anything specifically targeting abstractum--in particular, any vulnerabilities in the network, would then be spread to the proto-users as well. We remove a certain fail-safe that would otherwise be present without their use. On the other hand, we gain a number of benefits in the process, and it should be possible to overcome any such weakness through either direct or indirect means. If nothing else, the proto-abstractum can be discarded in the case that a critical vulnerability cannot be adequately handled. Well? What items do you all suggest?"     "If it is a weapon, clawed gauntlets will serve. For ritual purposes, as well." Adelyn is used to hearing Azon's rumbling voice, and has less trouble understanding it than most.     "I would be at a disadvantage with any weapon but a sword, mistress." Lialyn's voice is thoughtful and serious.     "Gimme something that'll catch the fleeing COWARDS." Vrenyn hisses, causing Adelyn to give her a second glance. "Gimme some CANNONS."     "Perhaps a firearm, then." Adelyn turns to look at the machinery. "Well, Gishur? Do we have the resources for all this?" 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "Oh, I think that'd be a great idea! Universal compatibility is one of the bigger strengths there, just get some kind of interface device and a form you can plug in, and I think you'll be covered. What's your plan?" The little module is upbeat about this, it seems very encouraging of Kotone finding methods to better herself like this. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "Oh, Mistress, that's what I like most about this facility. This one doesn't drain our Resonance at all." The book flits over to the chambers. "The Form chamber and the Function chamber." It says, indicating each one. "Aside from the functions each provide in their basic nature -- you can't have a sword without sharpness, you know -- you need only materialize the form and manifest a desired function. I would recommend summoning mundane versions of the equipment you seek for the Form, and casting an effect into the Function chamber. Not only will you have a superior relay point for your power, you'll also craft what is the Abstractum equivalent of enchanted weaponry. This time, the materials are consumed, not red resonance." 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa says "I'm thinking something that could work with my already existing head jacks right? That would be the most simple part, also givne your normally lose have you considered about geting installed into this shell to make it harder to get us seperated?" She ntoes as she thinks a bit more on the subject. "Also hello Mr. Smiles!" She also gives the others here a wave not that she knows them too well. "So anything else before Overclock or I get started.?" 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     Lialyn has been glancing repeatedly toward Kotone throughout this, while Azon and Adelyn have been ignoring her, and Vrenyn has been alternately creepily staring at everything and nothing. None of them give a wave back, though the motion causes Vrenyn to crane her head back for another stare, neck at an oddly unnatural angle.     "Oh, excellent." Adelyn says to Gishur, "Let us commence. The forms have already been decided, but--let's see--it will save room for error if you three each select the forms, I think. Azon, you first."     "As you say. I must see these controls." The demon rumbles, stepping forward on four armored legs to the Form chamber's console.     If nothing goes awry, the three will each use the Form chamber in turn. First, someting like a glove made for a large, clawed hand, secured at the wrist and covering each of the demon's digits with a hardy cap, sporting its own razor edges in appropriately demonic style. Second, a short, curved sword, matching form and length to the off-hand blade Lialyn already uses. Third, an M1875, Colt .45 "Peacemaker," because Vrenyn keeps binge-watching old Earth movies. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "Ah, making something like that? Alright Miss, you'll want... Probably something you can plug into yourself, and then, hmmm, something wireless? Put the first one into the form chamber, and the second one into the function chamber. That'll do it for you!" Welcomes says, advising on the proto-Abstractum issue.     "Huh, that'd be a good idea!" Overclock says, encouragingly. "If you can get a form basis for something like that, I'll give it a shot in that form machine. I'd love to have a form that's more convenient for you, though I'm betting that'll make the heat issue a little more trouble." 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa says "I'm thinking I have something along both of those lines. This should be be easy enough." She Thinks for a moment as she pust a basic plug into one end and a wireless emitter into the other tht should be more than what she needs. "I'd have to be altered to vent heat better wouldn't it so where would be the easist place for that you think Overclock?" 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     It would seem it needs MATERIAL FORMS to consume! The group would have to contribute their own instances of this equipment! Oh no. Except, abruptly, someone ELSE appears to have upgraded the Red Wing, and there's a sudden shift in the location, a flickering as it gets rather larger!     Another Mr. Welcomes kiosk is here, set halfway into the wall. The shorter room here is wide and open, like a dojo or something similar, but several strange machines are set into the walls on the opposite end of the entryway. Each one has a large crystal sphere set into it, like an Abstractum, but none of the "eyes" are open. They're on either side of Mr. Welcomes' kiosk.     The FORM ACTUALIZER is available, to add additional forms to your Abstractum for a cost of RED RESONANCE depending on the additional form and the existing forms. It takes the shape of a complex machine with a large glass "eye" at the front and an unusual maw of sorts, baring a variety of strange tools.     The COMBO FRAME MANUFACTURER is here; it's much more simple. A basic cylindrical thing, with sets of little Abstractum-eye-sized frames connected to it by tubes and wires, and its own eye on top.     The controls for the COMBAT SIMULATOR are here as well, allowing people to select a Node to use for enemies, and to configure the enemies used in the simulator based on foes encountered thus far. The control panel, like all other machines here, has the blank eye-crystal. The combat simulator itself was recent upgraded, the massive dojo-esque area now occupying two floors, extremely wide, and linked up with the Armory next door where weapon storage facilities are available and many types of non-lethal training proto-Abstractum can be found.     The PROTO-ABSTRACTUM CRAFTING CHAMBERS have their own internal warpgates and consist of a pair of seperare rooms just off the area, with a complex control panel between them bearing the crystaline eye.     The MATERIALS RECYCLER here is something styled after large machinery, particularly something like an ice crusher or wood chipper. The wide maw seems to have a lot of grinding teeth! Thankfully, they're dormant most of the time. It looks like it might charge your Abstractum with something from its output! 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     It would appear the new facilitieds allow the free manufacture of MUNDANE-LEVEL proto-Abstractum Forms, though they are functionless, and so a Function must be provided by Adelyn casting into the Function chamber. This covers the need to deal with physical objects for this more low-level stuff. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     Adelyn looks up with a slight frown as the room changes on her. "What was that? Is something messing with the building layout?"     It's Azon that first looks over the newly added functions. Calling the others' attention to it. Since her other plan would have been to acquire 'mundane' (unenchanted) instances of each object in any case, this saves some tedium. Adelyn directs the use of this new Red Wing function.     For Azon's claw, the intended function is 'concentrating mana' in the claw-tips. That will let him use it for casting purposes. Secondarily, 'cutting' mana.     For Lialyn's sword, the primary purpose may seem an odd one: 'moving earth.' But, that's Earthdance's combat style. Again, 'cutting' is a secondary concern.     For Vrenyn's gun, what she most wants from it is stopping power, or a conceptual 'slowing' effect. Secondarily, 'piercing.' She wants to hit things hard, but she can do that by catching up to them, too.     Adelyn isn't going to try too hard to get things exactly so. If something doesn't seem possible to work with the machinery as is, or if it won't accept as many inputs as she tries for, she'll just take the closest equivalent. She's still a busy woman with more places to be. 

:'''{{#var:319|Fayt Ravus (319)}} has posed:'''     Delayed again...     That was Fayt's thoughts as he arrived at the homeworld, moving twoards the Red Wing. Between stuff outside the homeworld and the other nodes keeping people busy, Fayt hasn't been doing nearly as much as he could ot help with this abstractum problem.     Still, last he checked, his own node was reaching a tipping point, and he hasn't directly upgraded Maugris even once.     Well, he's done a bit, maybe it's enough to do something. otherwise? Well... he'll have to wing it with what he already has he guesses. He approaches the Form Actualizer to see what he can do with it. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "Would probably want any slot like that away from the braincase, with a low volume to surface area ratio. Probably around a limb, I'd guess." Overclock says eagerly to Kotone. Seeing her considering self-engineering seems to have it in a really good mood!     Meanwhile, Kotone's use of the proto-Abstractum production facilities here seems successful! She's able to make a UNIVERSAL TRANSMITTER to interface with systems that accept broadcasts in general. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     It looks like most functions work just fine! Casting a spell into the function chamber applies the function directly to the artifact itself, expressing it through it. Though oddly, it's all made ambiguous in its terms. The claw concentrates and cuts mana, but it seems to be a more generalized energy, potentially applying to electricity and other energy types. This is especially clear with the gun; the weapon lacks any apparent ammo and seems to shoot purely conceptual "damage" with a heavy side of slowing and piercing. The Cores are where these functions are stored, of course; they're now present on the backs of the hand, where the pommel of the sword would be, and at the cylinder of that gun.     Fully equipped, it seems! Though now the weapons are vulnerable to things like hacking. A fairly straightforward tradeoff. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     Adelyn takes her time checking over the newly created goods. Not only does she want to see that they perform as designed, but she also wants to check that they can correctly interface with Gishur's ability to channel her magic into other Abstractum, and provide a noticeable tactical boost.     Fortunately, there is a combat simulator right here. This is the perfect opportunity to use it, so she walks over to punch in a random field/enemy selection and get in a live fire test. She expects this to take as much time is left for this trip in her schedule. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa has noticed that Overclock is in a really good mood too. The thinks for a moment. "Left arm I'd say rather than my primary one right> We can figure this out, we don't want it damaging a leg either, right that would mean moblity loss." She finds the proto-Abstractum is very much to how she was hoping. "So how would we get me modded and you modded for such a hook up?" 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "Hi there!" That's Mr. Welcomes, the middle-aged man with thin, graying hair, wearing a business suit, present in the information kiosk near that form actualizer. He waves in a friendly, pleasant way, to Fayt. "Looking for any help with the form machine? I can give you a rundown on how that thing works." 

:'''{{#var:319|Fayt Ravus (319)}} has posed:'''     Fayt looks to the Kiosk as he hears Welcomes speak up. Awkwardly, he lifts a hand up to return the wave. "Um... Hi... and sure, how does thing thing work?" 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "Makes perfect sense." Overclock says, nodding several times. "In fact, easiest way of doing this would be for you to just get a whole arm, like taking off the one you have now, and sticking it in the form actualizer. Might be a bit weird to do that just right here, I mean, but that's the easy way! Planning on giving it a shot?" 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko takes a little while to reach the Red Wing, having been distracted by a supply of kabayaki in the Green Wing, therefore arriving after Adelyn has already gone into the simulator.     Mm, grilled eel.     She already knows what she wants, so after inclining her head to Fayt and Welcomes--who she has now seen at least three times, today--she heads to the FORM ACTUALIZER. "Mn... shoes? No, let's go with something armored. Articulated plate, in lames... like my sabatons." She forms a puzzled expression. "Would it be weird to be split in two? Though, I think some other Abstractum already do that..." The concept of having two body parts that aren't physically connected is a little foreign to her, even if someone could say that it technically describes any Puella Magi. "...anyway, something boot-sized, and armored. Our focus is still protection. There are just... times when speed is important in that goal." 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa takes a moment she's wigged out but nods for a moment as she looks to Overclock. "Given the stuff from Zwei's world? Who knows when we'll have another chance to do this. IF it doesn't work we can do something about it next time right or get another arm installed." She nods. "Well better bite the bullet." She heads to the form actualizer and moves to remove her vest, she's not indecent as she moves to issues several mental commands, and gets past about a dozen safety and are you sure prompts to disengage the arm. She looks at the stump for a moment and moves to place it in. Then moves to lace Overclock in as well. "Let's go." 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "Ah, that's more simple." Welcomes says, grinning widely while he speaks in a very friendly tone, making gestures at the main opening of the form actualizer. "It's as easy as bringing in something you don't mind losing, and putting it and your Abstractum into the machine. The machine will extract the form concept out of it and implant it into your Abstractum's Form Matrix. They'll transform whenever you need them to! It just takes some Red resonance, which you look like you've got a bit of. So! Anything you'd like to turn your gloves into?" 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "It's not actually that weird! I know it's /compltely/ weird for humans, but we don't have all those fiddly nerves and stuff, we're fine being two things. I think if you manifested some armor, you could keep it together long enough for it to get analyzed. Wanna try it out that way? Just make some greaves, then stick 'em in, and then I go in after, ought to do it." Koishin seems really agreeable about all this, and pleasant, and generally supporting! It doesn't seem to mind in the least. 

:'''{{#var:319|Fayt Ravus (319)}} has posed:'''     Fayt tilts his head from side to side. what would actually be useful? "Hmm... I think..." He glances at his radio, some other projects have come up there. Slowly, he nods.     And then his eyes light up, as he points a single hand into the air.     "TO THE WORKSHOP!" With a small cough, he adds "Ok, I think I have an idea on what I need, but before I go spending what little resonance I've got I need some time to think this through and get some practice in, and I've got just the projects to handle that. Thanks for the help, I'll try to be back with something to use soon!" with that said, Fayt nearly runs out of the wing. "Excuse me! got ideas and need to write 'em down!"     Surprisingly, he seems unusually excited for a change. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko gives a thoughtful nod, first taking off Koishin and setting the bracer down where needed, into the machinery. It does all seem a bit strange, but she tries to put this down simply to never having done this before. You can't get around some things being strange, when you've never seen them done.     Making the armor is easy. A full suit is something she's come to be able to do in one snap of her fingers, and here she can concentrate on creating just the pieces she wants. Layer over layer of shiny, engraved steel, remarkably well-articulated for how solid it is to a hostile blow. The feet are modestly pointed, with a trade of stability to dexterity. The greaves above would wrap securely over the shins of a wearer her size, ending below the knee. Straps, hidden beneath and behind, hold everything together over the lack of a leg.     "Nn. Yes, this should do." She places the plate-armor boots into the analyzer. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Kotone's not got a lot of red, but it looks like she has barely enough for this one form! The churning maw of the machine cradles both objects gently as they're sent within. There's a whole lot of very ominous noises and a gush of red light from the opening of the machine, before Kotone is then presented with what appears to be the same arm! Not quite, though; an apparatus installed directly into the arm can be seen, allowing the Core Matrix to slide along its length, and the glassy eye slips down its length to the elbow, peeking up cheerfully to Kotone. "Hi!" It says, using her own hand to wave at her briefly. "Total success, looks like I'm installed! We'll need to work out some more ventilation stuff later, but I think I can help with that a lot. Let's go get started as soon as you're done here!" She'll have complete control back as soon as she re-attaches the detached limb. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa seems to have just enough as she watches the process she's looking kinda odd with. She watches, in the back of her mind, the twilight zone theme is goihng off. She shakes out of that as Overclock notes it's successful she waits for a moment and moves to go get the arm and slowly reattach it, it takes some times but everything seems to work again. She flexes the hand, fingers runs everything through it's paces before moving to pull her shirt and vest back on. "Wll in for a penny in for a pound right? At least this way I can't be ... disarmed. Also that eyeballs not going to always be there I hope?! That would be ... creepy." She ponders on this and collects her other item she's not sure abotu this call but given what she's facing she's going to need it. "Let's go shall we?" 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Overclock slips into the elbow and then pops up on Kotone's wrist. "There." It says. "Like a watch, see? That's much less issue, right?" It's got a cheerful, but good-humored look on its face at this. While it DOES encourage Kotone to alter herself, it does also want her to be comfortable. "Alright, sure, let's get going!" 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     The heavy analyzer equipment cups the boots in its analysis and deconstruction tools gently. When Kimiko inserts her bracer, it'll do much the same. She's got plenty of Red resonance to spare for something like this, it'd seem. Enough surplus, apparently, that something unusual comes out after a gush of red light! Two bracers and a pair of greaves.     "Well that's... Weird!" Koishin calls out, still on the bracer. "Did it not... No, wait, hang on." The greaves disappear and the bracers now swap to being greaves themselves. "Ohhh...kay! That kinda works!" Another flash of red and it's down to just one bracer! "That's actually really convenient. Alright, I think this should help me get you a little more mobile, just let me know when you want me to try focusing on that more!" The little artifact is very eager to be a reliable partner here. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa takes a moment she's going to have to live with it if it doesn't work Overclock can be altered again and she can get a new arm right? That thought in and of itself. She nods a bit. "It will hve to do and damn you can move anywhere on that arm right?" She pokes at the eye for a moment and thinks this is going to take a lot of getting used to. "Lets see if anyone needs some blue, shall we.?" 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko actually looks worried for a moment, uncertain what just happened. She's come to rely on Koishin for a lot of things, and may have gotten a little sensitive. After that moment, it's clear that it's merely "weird" without being "bad," and she waits until Koishin's done changing forms before picking up the bracer again.     So... "Now you have a 'two bracers' form, too? And a four-piece form." That could be convenient, yes. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "Looks like it! I think I can be just boots too, just in case. This is good! Must have been something really fitting, I wonder if you could add more armor... I don't have enough red left for more forms, but if you try adding extra armor, I bet you could make a whole suit of me!" Koishin says, with an eager tone and an energetic posture around Kimiko's arm. "Think about trying that, if it sounds good to you! I think it would be cool." 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     "A whole suit... if you can concentrate on just pieces of it, then..." Kimiko had said that she'd like more adaptability by changing Koishin's form, and this seems like it would fit right in. It works along with her own magic, too, so perhaps she should have thought of trying this earlier. "If we have enough for that... and also for the combo frame miss Lamb wanted to make." Oh, but she hadn't asked how much was needed for that. It's possible that Eleanor isn't exactly sure, either. Well, that's troublesome. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     "If it doesn't interfere with that..." Kimiko gets back to concentrating on her magic. As before, she focuses the armor she's making one piece at a time, starting with what she considers the most important--the gauntlets. Not just for protecting the hands; the way she fights, the fact that the armor raises to points on the knuckles is occasionally relevant. Arms follow, followed by breastplate and helm, after which it becomes a littls awkward for her to hold this up in front of her without a tailor's dummy, but she continues. A mail skirt is mandatory, with yet more hidden strips of leather and buckles to not only keep the arms to shoulderst to collar, but the thigh greaves to hip to breast.     It's all so natural to her that she doesn't think about it much until she's done, but, "All of this will work... right?" It's, potentially, a lot of forms. Sort of.     She places the three-quarters suit into the machine, and starts this process again. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     It looks like Kimiko still has a stockpile of red, but not all of the armor can be built up yet. This might be a sustained effort over the course of several Nodes, apparently, as there's enough to get the gauntlets done tonight, but more is going to be beyond her at the moment. It looks like assembling a full suit of KOISHIN ARMOR will need to be done gradually! But with the progress made so far, it should be done long before the end of this campaign. 

}}

1682/Ship Design

2015-02-28T05:04:55Z

Kimiko: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2015/02/27 |Location=Superplanet: Realm <SR> |Synopsis=Hybrid technomagical engines and other ship systems are proposed and discussed. |Thanks= |Ca..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/02/27
|Location=Superplanet: Realm <SR>
|Synopsis=Hybrid technomagical engines and other ship systems are proposed and discussed.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=202, 428, 436
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     The Nation of Towers. It's a country that deserves the name, to be sure, especially here in the heart of its greatest city. The magically-inclined--and they are the only citizens who can get anywhere in this world--tend to build vertically. As much as the capital sprawls out to the horizon, it also rises, here in the heart. Walkways connect tower to tower, or hold up suspended plazas, with entire districts raised dozens of stories above ground level, while still allowing for a dizzying freefall a few steps from most points.     In this particular area, it's clear that the purposes of the buildings are split between manufacturing and research. Factories are not unknown technology, here, though the specific techniques of automation may differ between Realm and other planets, with less reliance on mana science. The result is much the same, but for the absence of visible pollution. Instead, it takes a sensitivity to the flow of magic or elements to sense the sort of side-effects that Realm manufactories make, with their heavy and constant use of Earth, Fire, Water and Air--and, above all, the Arcane.     Airships can be seen, here, some obviously half-finished, being assembled in place in the upper levels of the tower complex. Dominating the space is one object that seems entirely out of place--there's little of the mages' customary elegance or sloping aerodynamics, nor traditional flourishes and decoration, in the cubic, gray steel of a UNSC frigate. There's a rushed feeling to the securing ties and boarding bridges, and its half-kilometer size has required some rough work to accommodate in the field. Still, it is here, and the entire area swarms with fancy-robed thinkers and blast-aproned doers, supplemented by golems of all sizes.     This is the sight to which Adelyn Lysen brings her guests, in a reasonable if excited hurry, to see what has been discovered. There are two approaches, however. "Which shall we see to first--the designs upon which we're currently working, or what we've learned of the captured ship? We'll need to see both, of course. Applying one to the other was the whole point of taking the thing." 

:'''{{#var:436|Cirno (436)}} has posed:'''     Cirno is glad to be a guest! If she was allowed to moor her ship somewhere, it's nearby. Otherwise she doesn't complain, nor does she waltz around in power armor. Nope, just a short blue-haired girl in glasses with sparkling wings. Not a real girl of note, most likely.     Cirno pushes her glasses up and considers. "I would vote to see what we've learned, so we know what we are working with when we look at the designs. Things make more sense in context, right?" She nods her head firmly, then taps the side of her glasses. It shouldn't be a surprise that she has scanners built in there, considering she has perfect vision. 

:'''{{#var:428|Juno Eclipse (428)}} has posed:''' It's a good thing Juno Eclipse isn't afraid of heights, or a visit to the Nation of Towers would be a harrowing ordeal. With its spires and bridges, it seems like something dreamt up by a people who had taken naturally to the air. Bird-men, perhaps. Not so -- but there's something about it that isn't like many other places. There's a beauty to it, too. She can remember the physics and formulae necessary to pilot a starship -- hypothetically, mind you -- through turbulence like this. She can calculate the nightmarish complexity of a hyperspace jump without the aid of a navicomputer. And she can pilot the Rogue Shadow through some of the worst conditions imaginable, through the midst of a warzone. Yet she cannot imagine something like this, possessed of its own beauty, of its towering spires and its lonely windsong. And all these spires and bridges and other things make for treacherous winds. Fortunately, there are few pilots better than Juno Eclipse within the Galactic Empire, and she manages to moor the Rogue Shadow with comparatively little trouble. She's in uniform when she finally joins Adelyn and Cirno, crisp in its black and white, hair tucked neatly beneath her short-brimmed uniform cap. Once outside the ship, she has to take a moment to look up and simply stare, protocol forgotten for a moment as she gapes at the city. Oh, to be certain, there are architectural wonders in her world, and even Corulag boasted its fair share of advanced engineering, but... something about this is /foreign/, and the half-finished buildings only add to its mystique. Juno forces herself to shake her head, replace her uniform cap, smooth down her uniform, and march forward into the tower complex. And, in turn, up to the UNSC ship. Brisk strides keep up with her excited pace, the pilot crisp and punctual and professional. She tilts her head once they reach the ship, folding her arms and studying the thing thoughtfully. "I agree with the Captain. We'll need a foundation on which to base our designs." She might not have scanners or advanced vision, but there's no mistaking that she's attempting to dissect the derelict with her eyes; studying every nook and cranny of the battered ship. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     Into the Stalwart! People tend to stop and watch as the elites pass by, but everyone here is generally smart enough not to look like they're slacking for more than half a second while important people are watching. There is definitely plenty for them to be doing, judging by all the motion and shouting. Entrance is delayed for a few moments as a large, centipede-like golem of stone and steel exits the ship, carrying boxed materials that must slated for study elsewhere. This gives Adelyn the chance to keep talking, though she planned on doing that while they walked, anyway.     "The main point of interest is the power and, connected to that, the propulsion. As expected, there's nothing in here that interacts with known forms of mana at all, at least to any useful purpose. The power source is instead a... 'thermonuclear fusion reactor.' Fueled by deuterium. I've ordered it not to be dismantled until we complete performance testing, as there's no guarantee we can put it back together again." The archmage shrugs. It's a point of some annoyance that no one in this country has seen this sort of technology, previously, when there are a number of worlds possessing something like it.     The interior mirrors the exterior in activity, with some rooms containing people who seem to be taking dimensions, while others are taking apart furniture, and others are setting up equipment brought in from outside for whatever purpose. On their way to the ship's heart, the trio pass by the brightly-sparking sight of a researcher sampling interior plating with an origin-less blowtorch.     "The propulsion system seems to be based on directed exhaust... which makes it a wonder that this ship is able to hover at all. 'Like a pyromancer sky-fighting an aeromancer,' one of the assistants said to me. Absurd, but it can remain /perfectly still/. Likely computer assisted. Their soldiers did not seem so dextrous as to accomplish this otherwise, and the bridge crew would need to be a well-coordinated thirty people." 

:'''{{#var:436|Cirno (436)}} has posed:'''     "Well, an AI can be incredibly useful to handle minor course adjustments and the like," Cirno points out. "I have IDIOT to handle all that, since my bridge crew is pretty far from well-coordinated, you know." The fairy is looking all over the ship, nodding her head. "Fusion can go wrong if you don't know what you're doing. I don't mess with it much, myself. Are you going to keep it and try to use it, or just stick with your own power sources?"     Cirno floats over closer, looking over the propulsion system. "Yeah, the Freezing Reign uses something like that for finer movements. Does this thing have artificial gravity? It might just use the exhaust system for high-thrust maneuvers. I'm pretty sure you don't want a bridge crew requirement that high, though... do you?" 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     "Hm, no. If possible, I'd rather build a fleet of smaller craft. Our air power largely consists of cavalry: single riders for each flying beast. Our airships have heavier weaponry, but are... ponderous, and in any case smaller than this frigate. It would reduce our need to completely restructure military forces if we avoided bridge crews of that size." After a pause, Adelyn adds, "Circles of magi who can coordinate that well in such numbers are rather valuable for their scarcity, as well." 

:'''{{#var:428|Juno Eclipse (428)}} has posed:''' The non-Elites and the unimportant people draw no attention whatsoever from the Imperial. Curiously, she has no rank insignia on her uniform, although her bearing and her confidence suggest she's a Captain of some kind, but there aren't any patches indicating her current posting. Wherever she falls into the hierarchy, she's more than just your average stormtrooper goon, that much is evidently clear. Engines. Juno resists the urge to rub her hands together. Engines and hyperdrives are things she can definitely sink her teeth into. Oh, and the giant centipede thing, which she stares at with round eyes for a second or two. Seriously, what the hell. ...But, professionality. She simply folds her arms behind her back, standing at attention as she tilts her head, still regarding the engine with that sharp-eyed gaze. Eventually she tears her attention away, following Adelyn with brisk strides. Magic and systems of magic propulsion are unfortunately way outside her purview, but Juno's already turning her mind towards the more practical applications, the mechanics; the physics -- the things she /knows/. So she folds her hands behind her back and stands at attention, studying the transport. "Hmm." The pale blonde squints, regarding the engines carefully. "I admit most of my experience is with ion engines, and hyperdrives, but I'm confident I can work with this interface." She raises a hand to crook a forefinger over her upper lip, thoughtful. "It isn't an ion engine, but the mechanisms are probably similar. There's only so many ways you can feed fuel to an intake, and any sort of starship is going to need to reduce its stores of fuel to account for weight..." She falls silent for a few seconds, listening. "It makes sense that the manoeuvring thrusters would be aligned to a computer matrix." She swivels over to look at Cirno, blinking. "'IDIOT?'" PROXY is one thing, but IDIOT has a certain amusement value, to go by her faint half-smile. Oh, she cna gather it's some manner of AI. "I agree. Fusion is probably something better left untouched unless you can rip it out wholesale, and replace it with a less volatile and more easily-maintained system." They move inside. Juno comes to a halt inside the ship; shifting her weight, she regards the ship thoughtfully. "No, you're probably not going to want a bridge crew that high. It doesn't seem to have a lot of room for necessary supplies, and I'm not certain what sort of life support systems it has integrated into it." She does linger by the researcher and his blowtorch, though, staring at the alloy he's trying to cut a sample from, almost to the point of awkwardness if her allies keep on walking forward. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     The metal being cut is a titanium alloy, and rather susceptible to plasma burn, a point that likely causes consternation among the UNSC as much as its irrelevant here, apart from making it not too difficult for the mage with the magical blowtorch to do his job. Above all other peoples on Realm, the Nation of Towers prides itself on precise control of power.     "As you say," Adelyn is meanwhile agreeing. "If we're unable to exactly replicate it, this fusion power is likely useless to us. But if we simply leave it at that, there will be little to take from this ship to overcome the difficulties in ours." She sighs, then claps her hands together. "Some background information: This world's arts of magic require that mana be directed by a being with appropriate 'conduits.' Artifacts can be enchanted with similar capability. Airships are powered by devices that exist almost solely to draw and control mana in the air. However, the process can never function in the total absence of a mage. This seems to be an important and frequent distinction."     She gestures toward the engine, then shakes her head. "For the moment, what we need to learn from this is still beyond my grasp. Something to overcome the large size or inefficiency of Arcane reactors? Ours don't use a solid fuel source, either--one advantage we could wager against some other gain. A hybrid engine system? But that still requires the knowledge to construct engines of this type. We don't have AI systems, either, though we have spells of similar complexity to highly specialized intelligence, if I understand the concepts correctly. Self-correcting magic." 

:'''{{#var:436|Cirno (436)}} has posed:'''     Listening to the explanation, Cirno rubs her chin lightly and then nods firmly to herself. "Okay. But there's still something you can do. A ship this large, it has to have battery backups, capacitors, that kind of thing. Maybe you can use some of those to make a hybrid ship. Maybe even grab some of the weaponry. It'd give you some extra power that isn't using your magic. It'd be better if you could recharge them with magic though. Might be trickier."     Cirno sighs, adjusting her glasses. "All right, I can see the difficulty here. The fusion reactor wouldn't be small enough to put on a ship. Those thrusters, though... if you can get a power source for them..." 

:'''{{#var:428|Juno Eclipse (428)}} has posed:''' If it looks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck. The alloy looks familiar, and so the pilot writes it off in the corner of her mind as something that might just turn out to be what she thinks it is. Generally, it's safer not to assume when it comes to multiversal matters, she's found. "If you're unable to repliate the fusion processes, I'm willing to help you install an ion-driven system. Those sorts of systems are quite common in Imperial designs, and I'm certain the Empire would be willing to make available common materials to you as a diplomatic gesture. Of course, I can't actually promise you anything, Lieutenant. You know how it is." Juno shrugs, faintly, whisking off her cap and raking her fingers through white-gold hair. "With an ion system, you wouldn't require a mage. After all, I haven't got the magical talent of a spool of wire, but I can fly almost anything that comes out of the Imperial Navy's shipyards." Arrogant? Maybe, but Juno is quite confident in her skills, and they've been tested time and again. Starkiller has that effect on plans. "Self-correcting magic," Juno murmurs, rubbing a gloved hand along her jaw in thought. Now that's an interesting concept, but something she ultimately files away for later. Now's not the time to satisfy her curiosity. "Hm. As to a hybrid, it's certainly possible. Ion engines are the most common engine under Imperial designs; you simply can't get as much thrust per pound out of an ion engine as you can anything else, but that's not to say that there aren't other designs." "It's not unheard of for some smaller personal craft to use internal combustion engines or rocket motors. These aren't really feasible for a proper starship, though; there's simply too much needed to achieve escape velocity." She lets out a breath between her teeth, cocking an eye toward the craft's inner wall. "An interesting conundrum. You can't study it without taking it apart, but you can't guarantee being able to reassemble it if you do dismantle any aspect of it." She sighs, folding her arms again. "The Captain raises a valid point. If you're converting to a hybrid system, there has to be some form of power storage for when the engine is offline or on standby..." Another pause. "Mm. Give me a few moments to think," she murmurs, eyes narowing. Is she onto something, perhaps? 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     "Maneuvering thrusters, yes. The equations to keep such a ship afloat are of great interest. Batteries..." Adelyn looks thoughtfully down another hallway, presumably toward storage. "Yes, I think we could find a way to work with that. The fundamental principles of electric power storage are actually quite compatible with much of our technology. It's only the hardware that starkly differs. We still need a way to manufacture them, but... I'm more comfortable with taking apart one of those storage cells one slice at a time. We have enough that we can destroy a few in the name of science."     She gives a nod to Juno. "That's another option, though it would mean more retraining. There is a positive point gained in trade for the need of a mage at the helm--they can directly interface their spells with the hardware. They're limited only by their own ability, rather than the control system, or even the limitations of the device... most of the time. It seems this is unusual among mechanized military forces, and I intend to make an advantage of it." After a moment, "In any case, that's a goal. A hybrid system would keep that personal touch, while allowing for additional power, if we can make it successfully interface between the two hardware systems. The pilot need only interact with one." 

:'''{{#var:436|Cirno (436)}} has posed:'''     "A hybrid system... mn." Cirno frowns. "Have you considered something that works better sustained? Like using magic to enhance the cooling system of the thrusters, giving you a better yield and more speed. In a pinch you could maybe run them at low power without using magic, but it could give you more versatility." She's in 'work' mode irght now, obviously.     "Batteries are incredibly useful if you're using anything that draws power," she says obviously. "Huuuuh... personal touch..." She stops suddenly, and looks at Adelyn. "Hey, have you taken a look at the sensors and stuff? Think that might be helpful? A little magic power and you suddenly have like, a dozen detection spells." 

:'''{{#var:428|Juno Eclipse (428)}} has posed:''' Given the slightly blank look to Juno's eyes, she must be calculating those equations already, considering what it would take to keep a ship like that afloat, balancing it against too excessive a power drain. She doesn't seem the kind of person happy unless she has some sort of logic problem to chew on, like a mastiff worrying a bone to splinters. Clear blue eyes the colour of a summer sky snap to focus again once she's addressed; Juno flicks her gaze over, only slightly distracted. "Hm? Oh. Well, yes. Specialists are always preferable to generalists, though I can't profess to know the finer points of your world's technology." The pilot raises her hands, waggling her fingers in demonstration. "I'm afraid that kind of thing is passing rare in my own world. Our ships are purely technological, so, with training and practise, anyone can become an expert." "Case in point, I myself don't have a lick of that kind of potential. I manage to get along just fine when it comes to piloting a ship." Better than most, really, although she has to wonder whether her posting as Starkiller's pilot is a reward, or a cleverly-dressed punishment. Still, she has to suppose it doesn't really matter at this point. She's been doing just as much work for the Confederacy at large, and the Empire wouldn't trust a blockhead to that kind of sensitive work. "It is unusual, at least in mine. I don't know of any ship design that can function that way." Maybe a Sith or Jedi might be able to brute-force override a system with the Force, somehow, but she's never pretended to be an expert on its mysterious workings. It sounds like some sort of cult religion to hear them talk about it, and it's utterly impossible for her to formulate any sort of scientific theory as to how the Force even works. Better not to ask too many questions, Eclipse, she tells herself simply. No good's ever come of that. "So, a hybrid of the magical and the technological." Juno reaches up, rubbing her jaw again. "I can appreciate that. The catch would be the interaction, I'd think, as well as accounting for a pilot that could manipulate both, as opposed to a pilot who could only manipulate one. Ensuring that no additional functionality or power is lost between one mode or the other. Hmm." She dips her head to Cirno, briefly. "On the other hand, I have to agree with the Captain, too. Using magic for a non-critical system on a long-term basis might be a better use of that energy, to allow for the potential implausibility of magically-inclined pilots." 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     Adelyn nods. "Once we have some detailed schematics to compare, it will be easier to see where we can apply existing techniques over new ones. Individual part performance should increase as a result." Quite a business tone. But then, "Unfortunately," Adelyn seems reluctant to fully admit the extent to which the following is true, "we lack an established computer science and industry. The sensory equipment seems to exist half in software, which may as well be a black box to my teams. We're having better luck with the hardware. Though we've yet to run field tests." She rubs her chin. "It's another point. Space combat presents a host of new challenges. Even apart from the power issue, the rest of the design is illuminating points that had been outside our thinking."     The mage gives Juno's admission a curt nod. "That so many worlds managed as well as they have without mana sciences was a surprise to learn of years ago, but I've had all the time since unification to grow used to it." The rest of the country hasn't, but that's another matter. At the talk of the hybrid systems, she nods again. "That should be the main focus of our research going forward, I think. We'll need some prototypes for the non-magical portion, and see what kind of connections we can make."     "For non-critical systems... hm, this reminds me how little chance we've had to test the effects of being in the void between worlds on magical use. I imagine there will be a dearth of ambient energy to work with. Cirno, have you experienced this? Or is your magic all internally stored, come to that?" 

:'''{{#var:436|Cirno (436)}} has posed:'''     "I could help with software, but I think you want to make this self-sufficient," Cirno says, frowning. "I'll see what I can do to help with the sensor interfaces. At the least we can maybe get status readouts on power levels and such. Maybe not alarms, but even readouts might help. I suppose you want the propulsion the most though. It'll be crude but effective, without computer control. Unless you have summoning magic and can like, bind a genie into service managing these systems."     She runs a finger along one plate of alloy. "The void usually has magic. Mine is mostly internal, but I get a little cranky without any at all in the air. It depends on the area of the void, but you should be able to get by. You might want to have the thrusters just to deal with a reduction in it though... especially if you hit a dead zone." 

:'''{{#var:428|Juno Eclipse (428)}} has posed:''' Hat clutched in her free hand, the pilot rakes her fingers through her hair, considering the engineering problem. This is the kind of thing that appeals to her, just as much as any bleeding edge piloting -- the chance to pit her logic and her wits against a seemingly impossible problem of logic and science. It's less like work and more like a hobby, to her. "If it's computer systems you need, I can forward you the contacts to Imperial suppliers who can see that you receive basic systems. I can't speak to how willing they'll be to part with such systems, particularly to offworlders, but maybe they'll be in a generous mood." Juno replaces her cap, tugging it into position. She manages a faint smirk, though something of the experssion suggests a hint of bitterness. "Of course, you won't have received any recommendations from me, of course. To the rest of the Empire, I don't exist." "Well, that's all I can offer, anyway. As to the rest, I can help you assemble a prototype engine on the technological side. Engineering is one of my specialties; I maintain the Rogue Shadow, Inquisitor Starkiller's ship, personally, and without a crew." And he is, at times, rather demanding when it comes to his precious ship. Just like a man and his prized car, really... except she knows more about what's under the hood than he does, probably. She falls silent when talk turns back to magic, though, content to work over the technological aspects in her head, eyes sliding out of focus once more. In fact, she'll probably be a little distant for the rest of their meeting -- already attempting to figure out what aspects of the problem she can. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     "Such assistance is one reason I wanted your expertise available." Adelyn says to Cirno. "Though, yes, I need more than momentary help, if I could have some students watch you work... I imagine that will help a great deal in the long term. I'll simply need to have some of the more promising learners selected." There's never a shortage of students in this country.     "Oh, they'll be paid." Adelyn says to Juno. "Prototyping will be the most difficult portion with the engine creation, I think. Direct assistance in that would save a good deal of time." Gray lips turn in a smile. 'Yes, this should work.' 

}}

1576/Shipyard Attack

2015-02-15T06:05:36Z

Kimiko: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2015/02/14 |Location=Void - Space Ways |Synopsis=Confederates attack a Union shipyard, stealing a UNSC frigate during the battle. |Thanks= |Cast of..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/02/14
|Location=Void - Space Ways
|Synopsis=Confederates attack a Union shipyard, stealing a UNSC frigate during the battle.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=11, 38, 202, 242, 474, 524, 546, 675, 679, 710
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     Those coming in with the Confederate forces have since been briefed on the likely composition of the defenders, but that includes only the forces already arrayed on this backwater planet. It's a planetary shipyard, servicing civilian vessels and smaller military ships, up to the frigate level, but not including true battleships and the orbital yards those would require. A contingent of marines and private military contractors are expected. The plan is to hit them hard and fast, so as to be in an advantageous position by the time the Union Elite Forces can respond.     To that end, the first thing coming out of the warp gate is a score of armored wyverns, followed by another, and another. The riders have a technomagical look to them, but primarily, they really are magicians--combat mages of the Nation of Tower's air corps. A smaller number of staff-wielding magi ride pegasi at some distance behind, followed afterward by airships full of ground assault troops, and armed with heavy, magically-powered blasting cannons, firing beams of raw, arcane force at every target in sight the moment they appear. They also provide transport for any CEF members that did not bring their own.     Shock and awe is the order of the day. 

:'''{{#var:474|John-117 (474)}} has posed:'''      Avon's Grove is one of those backwater planets with a name that was settled on due to some meaning it had to the first generation of colonists. It's a nice, temperate planet, with little in the way of anything remarkable beyond the Halifax shipyards. It survived the Covenant war by simply being too far out of the way and of too little tactical significance to initially bother with. After the war, the UNSC just didn't fortify it.      Which makes it a prime target for the Confederate forces.      To their credit, the UNSC responds quickly. Marines and PMC fighters get to their positions. Warthogs roll out alongside a pair of Scorpion tanks. But the defenses are quickly breached by the Confederate forces and their air support has the UNSC defenders utterly outclassed.      There's a pair of newly constructed military frigates on the far side of the shipyard from the Confederate forces, alongside smaller civilian vessels. Cortana estimates that those must be their target. 

:'''{{#var:710|Ri (710)}} has posed:''' Ri is not generally used to land-based operations. She has not, infact, conducted a land-based operation in her entire life. But she was transported along with the other forces of the Nation of Towers, and there are ships or something, and her allies have need of her, so - in accordance with her orders to assist her allies - she has come to help sink ships and expand the Abyssal Navy! ...What, that's not the objective? She realizes her error ater being corrected on the radio, but is still really confused. She is supposed to engage the enemy, that much is certain. But given her perspective on the life cycle of ships - Abyssals specifically - the plan is bewildering. Well, at least for now she is totally okay with the main thing she is supposed to be doing, which is -wrecking every enemy in sight-. She'll leave someone else to take care of the other objective. The Ri-class heavy cruiser is a dead-white-skinned young woman with large, black, bio-mechanical shark-like gauntlets on each hand, complete with gruesome teeth. And laser guns in their mouths. Her eyes are a blue-green coloration and glow faintly as she emotionlessly scans the area and then raises one of her gauntlets. The jaw creaks on its hinges, yet has more of an organic sound than a mechanical one. It's kind of gross. The cannon inside, however, makes plenty of machine noises as it fires artillery shells into the midst of the enemies who rush to defend this world and the facilities thereupon. One might not expect such potent explosions from a human-sized foe, but while the radius may be reduced, the damage done is as though there were an actual heavy cruiser here, shooting its guns. It's not pretty for those hit, but she at least doesn't have the same range as she would if she were giant-sized. 

:'''{{#var:524|General Zod (524)}} has posed:'''     A huge lumbering man in Kryptonian armor, face obscured by the opaque blackish forcefield they use for helmets, is dropped from one of the airships toward the shipyard platform, blue-white maneuvering thrusters getting him there. The man seems to be carrying a very large plasma weapon like others might carry an assault rifle, which he uses to shoot at any incoming vehicles he spots, blindingly bright white fireballs joining the dizzying array of projectiles being flung about.     "Nam-Ek, bring back one of their ground vehicles if possible. Jax-Ur wants to see if we can build them on the Black Zero." Zod radios to the brutish Kryptonian. Nam-Ek's only response is something half-way between a grunt and a growl as he opens fire on a passing aircraft. 

:'''{{#var:546|Nox (546)}} has posed:'''     As usual, Nox needs no method of transportation, as soon as he has the coordinates, he makes the jump with the kind of speed and precision that even the highest of wizards often envy. His appearance is a muted crackle and a subdued flash of blue in the air, where he is allowed a commanding aerial view of the shipyard and its defenders while still being out of the way of Adelyn's airborne cavalry. He tilts his head back and forth with little mechanical creaks, as if indecisive of what exactly to do. Surely there would be no point in using up the energy required to destroy an entire frigate when the airship guns will do the same thing given a little time. That leaves only the ground defenders.     Sighting a nearby gun emplacement from on high, Nox makes a pair of gestures with one arm before pointing two fingers towards the bunker, letting loose a spark of blue-white energy from his fingertips that immediately translates to a jagged explosion of ince inside the structure. It is much like an actual fireball that had turned to glass at its apex, completely engulfing any equipment for a few dozen meters around, and also anyone unfortunate to be in the way. A rather basic use of Xelor magic, but sufficient in this case. There isn't really any need to try and blow the defenders to bits. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     It takes awhile for all of the Confederate forces to arrive. Standing aboard the top deck of the last airship to enter the battlefield, a heavy robe protecting her from the wind, the archmage Adelyn Lysen holds her own power in reserve. A long, white staff, obviously magical with the slowly rotating rings around the gem at its head, stands in the air at her side, leaving her hands free to inscribe glowing letters into the air, subtly shifting the mana in the air. When complete, she attains a telescopic view of the battle on one hand, and a holographic map in the other. Here she places the advance of Nam-Ek, and there she points to the dot representing Ri. There are few enemy positions worth noting that won't soon be overrun, but she expects that to change, soon.     In the air, gunfire hits warding shields, functioning much as the Covenant force fields the UNSC may be more used to, if with relatively light armor shuold those shields fail. Despite operating on entirely different principles, some aspects of the raiders will be familiar. Their attack forms, less so--the mages each strike in their preferred element, whether it be streams of fire, storms of flash-freezing ice, strikes of lightning or concussive explosions of wind. The pegasi riders generally hang back, as the majority of these are focused on healing magics. When the wyverns become injured, they take evasive action, giving time for shields to renew and wounds to mend.     The airships have far less maneuverability, but generators and projectors that allow the mages aboard to erect far stronger shields. They only need to last long enough to get the ships in, let the marines on board jump down--each one with at least the magical capability to control a fall of a hundred feet--and then to withdraw while continuing to provide supporting fire. These are trying to avoid getting too damaged, since they'll be needed to get those marines out again. 

:'''{{#var:11|Metal Man (11)}} has posed:''' Star Man was sadly working at the park today so there was no real space support for this operation. Metal didn't have hard feeling towards Star Man or the others from his production run. Far form it they worked legit jobs that at least made sure Wily had money for things like food, paying other bills that couldn't be snagged by the Federation because it was 100 percent above board. Four Pillars of light appear as Metal Man teleports in along with two others and what seems to be a platform. As he said over the common he was not alone, two other Wily robots were with him. Heat Man was squat and looked like he was wearing a zippo. Flash Man looked like a human in high tech armour with some sort of energy canon on his arm. Yet the grin on his face was the sort you expected someone from a slasher movie to have. Metal Himself who was in his normal armour which had far too many saw blades built into it. He looks to the platform as Sniper Joes start porting in using the homers to bring in groups of three at a time, the first ones take up position to guard the porter as the Wily army sends further groups in. "Let's see what these guys got! Never sent a human to do a machine's job!" Flash Man laughs out loud. "They are out of time! I get dibs on spare loot right?" "Take it up with the one in charge. Now let's move we got a ship to get!" 

:'''{{#var:679|Ivraala (679)}} has posed:'''     The galloping of hooves races from a nearby warpgate. The never-tiring cadence belongs not to any living creature, but to a horse as dead and corrupted as its rider. Ivraala's Acherus Deathcharger carries her swiftly to the shipyard, the cold flames over its bony hooves leaving brief marks in the ground where it runs, its plated armor rattling with ever gallop. Ivraala crouches over the reins, her armored hood kept over her head with her horns allowed to pierce through premade holes. The hood is kept low enough that it's difficult to make out her features, but the cold light of her eyes and the purple glow of the crystals dangling from one ear are enough to illuminate some of her stern features.     She doesn't slow as she sees the explosive Confederate invasion already ongoing. She speeds up, in fact, pushing the tireless Deathcharger even faster toward the shipyard. In the time before she makes it there, she tries to get an idea of exactly what - and who - she's going to be going up against; while she might not be /officially/ in the Union, this seems like as good a time as any to try and get used to her future enemies, and the first step there is analyzing and not just jumping into battle.     The draenei is quite certain that she shouldn't be barreling in against the various vehicles taking to the field, but she finds a few options in the human-sized targets assaulting the compound. At least a few of these must be Elites, she reasons: nobody else looks quite like them, after all, though there /is/ a strange tendency toward the mechanical.     Finally, once she comes near, she picks a target. Ivraala dismounts her Deathcharger mid-sprint, leaping to the side and tumbling into a crouch as it runs out of the area. She's quick to rise to her full height and draw her greataxe from off her back, letting the blade come to a hard rest on the ground beside her, where frost begins to gather on the earth's surface. Ivraala doesn't pay much attention to that: her gaze is focused on Ri, and after a moment's concentration, she silently thrusts her hand out toward the Abyssal.     Dark hands suddenly swirl to life around Ri. They latch onto her wherever they can reach, squeezing her with a firm, icy grip, and once Ivraala gives a solid /yank/ of her hand, they echo her gesture to bring Ri flying through the air right in front of the Death Knight. Maybe not the wisest option, but Ivraala's main intention is to keep Ri from destroying the base any more. 

:'''{{#var:242|Cheyanne (242)}} has posed:''' Once there's an alarm and a location provided it really doesn't take long to get to that point with how effectively the Multiverse is connected to itself via warpgates and other means. Though once her hooves come to contact with the ground Cheyanne takes pause for a few moments. The world was alien and it took a short time for her elemental ties to properly organize themselves with the setting. The prevaliance of technologies beyond what she would know of may or may not make this take a little longer than usual. Strange locations, strange enemies, but the purpose was all the same. The location belonged to allies and that was reason enough to trot outside her usual bounds. The shamanic zebra woman pulled her totemized staff from her back and with it in hand strode towards the conflict that was starting. Though her attention, at first, was not on the attackers. Instead she raised a free hand to reach out with her powers to the explosions resulting from the initial attack, drawing the flames of the fires and the smokey air away from them in attempt to minimize their presence so other allies can get organized. 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     Cirra Constantine has a variety of duties in her position of bodygaurd. One of them is going ahead to places the royal family of al Cid plan to visit and inspecting it before their arrival to approve of security. This planet was picked for prince Landon's visit because it was distant, isolated...safe.     Cirra is goign to have /words/ with the people that made that recomendation. Later.     The combined confederate assualt begins in earnest. The Judge of Ramuh was at the meager, but humble colony when it began. But the Judge wouldn't let herself be hurried off to some transport or warp gate.     "The. Brair!" Magic surges in a circle as the woman clad in bronze and silver armor fcalls out, a car held in between her fingers. She throws it at the ground, and spectral, thorny vines begin growing in the path of the Magical Marines charging on the ground.     "This attack is coordinated. Too well coordinated." 

:'''{{#var:474|John-117 (474)}} has posed:'''      The UNSC fights. Gatling guns open up at the incoming Confederate airforces with a steady roar of shells, while marines with shoulder-mounted rocket launchers attempt to hit the airships where they might be vulnerable. But it's a losing fight.      The Master Chief - SPARTAN-117 - had reached the battleground as quickly as he possibly could, but part of him thinks he's still too late. The Confederate advance is in full swing and the UNSC didn't have the time to mount an effective defence, much less the manpower. It's only a matter of time. The marines stick to cover and, in so doing, buy as much time as they can.      Clambering up the side of a factory building, the Master Chief draws himself up on to the roof and pulls a SPARTAN Laser from his back. Bracing himself, and turning the shoulder mounted weapon towards the last airship to arrive, he squeeze the trigger - and hopes to bring it down.      Maybe the battle can still be won by cutting off the head. 

:'''{{#var:546|Nox (546)}} has posed:'''     Out of all of the Union defenders, there are two that Nox recognizes. One of them he has little interest in, but the other one requires he settle a score with them. Leaving Cirra to someone else for the time being, he turns his attention to Cheyanne, the eyes of his mask narrowing to glowing slits in recognition of the troublesome elementalist. The expression doesn't last long, returning to the neutral state of the double circular stare right after, before he flickers out of existence and reappears closer to the ground, directly ahead of Cheyanne.     "You've picked yet another inconvenient time to show yourself. I really wish for your own sake, and for the sake my own wasted time, that you would learn to stay home." Without exchanging further words, he makes the same fingergun gesture towards Cheyanne, flash freezing the ground between him and her with a rolling column of frozen spikes, set to freeze her should she be caught on, or skewer her instead should she not dodge far enough. 

:'''{{#var:710|Ri (710)}} has posed:''' One minute Ri is busy destroying the enemies, maintaining her calm for the moment even if the panic that typically sets in when dealing with enemies is inevitable, the next she is being grabbed by mysterious hands nad pulled through the air towards some strange individual. ...!? She does not recognize this person, and the action does not appear to be friendly in nature. She does not try to reason deeper than that. As she lands heavily before the Death Knight, disoriented, but clearly under attack, Ri tries to take an off-balance swing at her opponent with one of her gauntlets. "ENEMY!" she yells, her calm already starting to break. Maybe she'll develop better discipline eventually, but at least at this stage of her mental development she acts more on the emotion and impulses of the moment than anything else. And the first emotion that pops up when she is dealing with enemies is fear, and the first impulse is to react with aggression towards the source of her fear. 

:'''{{#var:38|Noble Six (38)}} has posed:'''     You know if Nam-Ek is looking for a ground vehicle to steal, there's one coming in right now. It just appeared on the outskirts of the assault and is driving full speed towards the battle.     Inside of the driver's seat, an armored figure is driving the vehicle at full speed. This armored figure is not one that's been seen on a battlefield before. Noble Six has brought her new armor to the field for the first time, and this will make a good shakedown run for the War Master armor. The steel grey SPARTAN brings her vehicle bounding towards battle, catching sight of the various defensive positions the UNSC is fighting from, though the Master Chief in particular does catch her attention. She's driving straight for the fight, if she winds up getting cut off, so be it. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     The Confederate marines move in organized squads of eight, scattering in every direction to begin claiming ground and making their way through the shipyard. Once they're down, they seem to be everywhere, with the apparent goal of clearing the field of enemies. The airships, while they're still in range, provide heavy supporting fire, with cannons strong enough to blast apart anything short of a heavy tank or a hardened bunker.     The squad that Cirra intercepts are taken by surprise, but they're professional soldiers, and they recover quickly. Their route is blocked off, but fireballs are tossed her way--small, burning spheres that travel in ballistic arcs and explode like grenades. The marines take to cover as well as their UNSC counterparts. It's a deadly field for men and women at their level, and they know it. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     As dangerous as the ground fighting is, far deadlier is the SPARTAN laser, and with the Master Chief's marksmanship, it might actually find a vulnerable point even at that range. The ship's shield is already active, but is immediately pierced by the high-powered weapon--but the second shield beyond it is not, the interplay of superheated air and mana only causing a slight warping of the ship's armor, while avoiding serious damage.     Adelyn was waiting for the appearance of a SPARTAN, and is only mildly surprised by the speed of the response. Her features are rather strained as she reinforces her warding shield, readying the ship for another attack while its own defenses recharge, but there's still a degree of confidence, there.     "Captain, bring us in." The ship's officer salutes the archmage, despite the far higher risk at which they're putting the ship. Bringing it /closer/ to a Union elite known to be this dangerous? But she's a woman who uses what resources are at her disposal, and there is too much aboard ship to waste in caution. "Let us see how you fare." She mutters this, far outside of her target's hearing. "Trust me, I will take this with the seriousness it deserves."     Guided by Adelyn's battlefield mapping magic, and supplied with her ample mana, the pair of ship cannons train on and alternately fire on the Master Chief's position, their accuracy only increasing as the ship comes closer. 

:'''{{#var:11|Metal Man (11)}} has posed:''' Metal Man picks up a call for help from the marines that Cirra is going after, and a moment late she would hear something moving at high speed, Heat Man has headed off to possible cover their back and who knows what Flash Man's up to but Metal Man is coming right for Cirra, he's moving at high speed and those blades he's known for are in his hand. They make a strange zing sound as they leave his hands and head right for them. "Your new. Who are you?!" Metal Man inquirers hey he might get an answer out of it right? OR at least try to. The Wily Robot, is on his guard as this woman's an unknown and she clearly has magic. 

:'''{{#var:679|Ivraala (679)}} has posed:'''     Ivraala expects Ri to attack her. They always do, whenever the power of Death Grip comes over them. That's part of the point, isn't it? Draw their attention to the undead giant of a woman looming over them, send them into a panic...     And Ri panics. A powerful gauntlet of black metal goes swinging for Ivraala, flying hard and fast even in its owner's fear. The draenei's impassive expression doesn't change; action is the first thing on her mind, and she's quick to take a long step back to try and clear out of Ri's range. It's not quite fast enough, though: Ivraala is spared the crushing jaws of that gauntlet, but the main 'nose' of solid metal cracks along her hip, putting her off-balance and turning a graceful slide into an awkward stumble. She's forced to shove her hooves into the ground to keep herself from falling over, but she manages to do so and push herself back into an offensive posture.     "You're quick," she remarks frigidly to Ri, stepping back in and delivering a horizontal slash of her greataxe in a wide arc. It's not the strongest she can dish out, or reinforced with any real magic; more to test Ri's reflexes, really, and get a feel for the opponent Ivraala's gotten herself up against. If the chilling blade /does/ hit, however, its freezing enchantment comes into action, striking Ri with a bone-deep chill that will many any other freezing attacks that follow all the more potent. 

:'''{{#var:242|Cheyanne (242)}} has posed:''' The surge of ice comes up short as the fire and smoke that was being pulled away from the destruction slams down in front of it, causing an explosion of steam that blasts outward, swirling around the shaman in a cascade of steam, some of the bits of ice that didn't flash melt from the fiery block pelting her still. As the steam cloud billows away Cheyanne is standing there in her usual stoic manner, with the faint flickering of miasma from the corner of her eyes. "I could say the same to you. I thought prehaps you had an agenda after the last encounter, but I see now you are no less prone to destruction merely for the sake of your peers as any other." The faintly glowing gaze settles on Nox without fancier ados, staff thumping lightly to the ground in front of her. "I didn't think you liked taking the offensive..." From the point where it touchs the ground a surge ripples across the surface, coming beneath where Nox stands to erupt upward in a gout of flames. 

:'''{{#var:474|John-117 (474)}} has posed:'''      The Chief moves. It was too much to hope for, a shot from that range inflicting serious damage, and he rolls to the side as the cannons chew through the roof of the building and blast into into scraps of concrete and metal. A few blasts clip his MJOLNIR suit and the shields glow with a bright golden flash but hold - for now.      "Chief," Cortana comments, "If she gets any closer..."      "I know," replies John, and he shoulders the cannon once again. The blasts hammer him, dropping his shields and blasting him off his feet - just as he gets another shot off with the laser. Sure, she got more accurate as she came closer, but so did he. 

:'''{{#var:524|General Zod (524)}} has posed:'''     Nam-Ek's armor has been scratched and pock-marked by incoming defensive fire, though the helmet seems strangely unharmed. The reason becomes apparent when some pistol rounds slam into the face and bounce off leaving a glowing white impact zone that fades quickly. Rather annoyed by the incoming fire aimed at his face, the Kryptonian growls and turns to face the UNSC technician who is desperately trying to wound the giant, and goes to grab the man...     Only to be interrupted by Noble Six's Warthog slamming into him. It's not immediately clear who got the better of the exchange, since hitting Nam-Ek with a vehicle is rather like slamming into a bunker. 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     Cirra sidesteps and turns to put her back to some rocky cover as the Marines call in fire supprt. Litteraly, support that is fire. Metal Man's blades slice into the rock just to the left of her head.     Cirra reaches up and touches one with a guntleted finger, it rings with a *ting* "Hmn."     "Not your business, Golem." Cirra summon the crystaline Judge Blade in to her hand as she comes out form cover. The sword swing through the air in an arc, deflecting another of Metal Man's blades and follow through to slice upwards at the Robot Master. 

:'''{{#var:710|Ri (710)}} has posed:''' Reflexes? Ri gets slashed with a great big axe enchanted with ice magic, but while the blade strikes true, it scours across a flicking blue energy field of some kind. Damage seems to be done regardless, based on how she staggers a bit, and winces, but at least Ri isn't disemboweled. She seems to make no move to actually dodge or defend herself. Instead she just raises her other shark gauntlet and fires artillery at close range, at her enemy's face. There is no dialogue exchanged. Talking? Negotiation? Insults? Praise? What do any of those have to do with battle against the enemy? Nothing. There is only battle and destruction until only one of them is left. Aside from her survival-driven franticness, the implacable manner in which Ri fights, the lack of self-preservation beyond REMOVING the threat, may be a bit like the undead that Ivraala is used to dealing with. Which is fitting, because she is basically a ghost in a physical form. The chill that courses through her is not unlike that of the abyssal depths, but seems to go deeper somehow. It's unpleasant. But its true purpose remains unknown to Ri. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     "Damage report!" comes the captain's call, and is quickly relayed to the archmage. Adelyn curses, realizing that the sound of explosions is actually--despite her efforts to the contrary--the sound of the airship's port cannon being wrecked beyond immediate hope. Her greater defensive effort wasn't sufficient at this range, given that the armament openings are among the most vulnerable portions of the ship, by necessity. The starboard cannon continues to fire on the Master Chief, and the ship turns as it approaches to be sure he's kept in the line of fire, but the attacks will be coming in at half the rate.     Adelyn won't be trying the exact same tactic again, with half the remaining power. "Keep advancing," is her terse order, as she lifts herself into the air in a blast of wind, her staff following precisely with her. She maneuvers with uncanny accuracy and speed, zipping through the sky to flank the Chief along with her airship crew. Once she has a shot, the magic circles that are already beginning to surround her will discharge spikes of ice, each burst linked with a minor homing component if she can aim clearly at her target. 

:'''{{#var:11|Metal Man (11)}} has posed:''' Metal Man says "Golem? I'm sorry I'm not Jewish nor made by someone whom is Jewish. Additionally I don't run on divine power." Metal Man's moving about and using his agility for all it's worth. Cirra is coming for him with a blade and he's forced to pull back as Cirra tries to get up close and personal. His optics narrow a bit. Okay this lady has magic she seems to fight up close. "I am Metal Man. The first of the Wily Numbers." He shifts his body and leaps off some equipment trying to get some more air over Cirra and throw a blade at her. If he lets her get close it's going to be bad. Very bad. 

:'''{{#var:474|John-117 (474)}} has posed:'''      The rooftop isn't a good location, the Chief realises, especially once his SPARTAN Laser burns out. He won't be getting another shot out of it and he tosses it aside, reaching down to draw the assault rifle at the small of his back. The airship continues, getting closer and closer, and the Chief is forced to maneuver as best he can to not get shot by it. His shields can't withstand that forever.      Cortana warns him just in time for the Chief to turn and catch Adelyn's burst of ice squarely in the chestplate. He stumbles, gets clipped by another burst from the gunship, and falls through the roof.      Still, if Adelyn where to peek down there, the green-armored SPARTAN would be missing. Where'd he go? 

:'''{{#var:38|Noble Six (38)}} has posed:''' With the warthog crashing into her target, it sends Noble Six skidding off to one side from the force of it. That's no ordinary dude, that's for sure. Even a SPARTAN would go down under the force of a full speed warthog. The SPARTAN rolls out of the vehicle before it flips, and lands with a thud, looking at Kam'ek, "You're in my way." The SPARTAN growls out at him, hands coming up to her back to grab the weapon mounted there. Seems she decided bring something close quarters for this time, as she breaks out her shotgun and unleashes a blast towards the Kryptonian soldier. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     Some of the damage has been mitigated by Cheyanne's elemental control, but the air corps is still setting fires and generally breaking things, while the ground troops are not just keeping the UNSC forces busy, but making headway in some areas while the elites clash elsewhere. It's still going to take them some time them some time to achieve any of their goals, with a lot of base to burn and a lot of ground to fight over.     The squad Cirra had stymied is grateful for Metal Man's intervention, but still blocked off from joining thanks to that Briar card. They take another route, quickly reorganizing and continuing with the mission. 

:'''{{#var:679|Ivraala (679)}} has posed:'''     Ivraala doesn't have the benefit of a barrier to protect her. If she's shot in the face at point-blank range with artillery, that's not something she can just walk away from. Fortunately, she has pretty good reflexes herself. When she sees that gauntlet rising up toward her, she's quick to twist aside and manages to avoid the artillery. The report rings in her ears and the shell flying past gusts her hood back off her head, but she's fortunately spared violent destruction. The most she has to deal with is the damage to her hearing and the burning blast of Ri's cannon.     The draenei stumbles back from her sudden evasion, forced to get her footing again and forced out of her own greataxe's range. Even from afar, however, she has options. Maybe now Ri will see the reason for that earlier biting chill.     Ivraala starts backing up a little further, and in the process, she thrusts her free hand toward Ri again. Her tattoos pulse from beneath her skin with an icy glow moments before the Death Knight sends out a blast of magic. A howling, wailing blast of chilling wind goes flying toward the Abyssal to strike below her ghostly skin and fill her with a supernatural chill. Even more severe, however, is the side effect: if that blast hits, Ri would find herself infected with Frost Fever, the supernatural disease building up gnawing ice inside the Abyssal to gradually wear on her from within. The effects of her greataxe before only make that deathly cold even more potent.     Whatever the effect, Ivraala continues backing up, trying to maintain some distance so that she can react in time to whatever Ri proceeds to do. 

:'''{{#var:524|General Zod (524)}} has posed:'''     Nam-Ek is surprised by the shotgun blast, which staggers him and forces him to take a step backwards. Blood? Maybe? The brute is unsure if he's actually bleeding, but if there's one thing Nam-Ek truly believes, is that nobody makes him bleed his own blood. Even hypothetically.     The kryptonian joins combat with Noble Six by snatching up the flipped warthog like it was made of foam and with a feral growl, slams it down as hard as he can in an attempt to bury Noble Six in it.     "RAARGH!" 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     Adelyn doesn't immediately go after the SPARTAN, because for all the good her wards do, she is not built for a close-up, close-quarters slugfest, and that's a thing that could happen. Instead, she commands a nearby wyvern rider to go after the Chief for her, the drake landing near the hole while the rider looks down, ready to immediately fire bolts of crackling electricity should it spot a murderous super soldier.     Adelyn remains in the air, though slowly moving about, trying to bring up deeper scans of the surrounding area to spot the energy signature of a suit of high-tech powered armor moving about. 

:'''{{#var:546|Nox (546)}} has posed:'''     "How very droll." Nox states in response to Cheyanne, half-lidding the eyes of his mask in a perfectly faceless, blase expression. "I'm not here to document my work for you. If you're interested in how far I've come with my personal goals, you'll have to ask someone else. Likewise, if you can't fathom the reason for any of this, then I owe you no explanation." Having fought Cheyanne previously, Nox is very much familiar with this particular attack. The moment he sees the staff thump against the ground, he jumps through space, leaving behind a momentary afterimage that is subsequently engulfed by raging flame that drows it out entirely.     Rather than reappearing at an alternate angle to sling a new spell at Cheyanne, the Xelor switches tactics and dispenses with the battle of magic. Clashing with the elementalist spell for spell is generally a waste of energy. Instead he flickers to her immediate right as a split second distraction to take her attention, and then reappears at her back, swinging both hands clenched together into a haymaker fist down at her neck, emitting a pulse of crushing gravitational energy the moment they make contact with anything, shattering the earth below him either way. 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     Metal Man jumps over Cirra's slash and she jumps upwards as well. Whatever she is, she's fast and nimble. "None of that means anything to me." She grabs hold of the rocky clifface and sees the ground forces on the move, "Tsk."     "Enemy ground forces are rerouting-" Metal man's blade comes flying in and Cirra has to release her hold on the clifface and drop down. "Damnit." She hits the ground and whisps of dark smoke seep out of her armor as she takes off at a sprint across the field, the briars disappear as she forges straight through them.     "The. Rampart!" Another card in her hands, another magic circle. This time, spear like spikes forged out of the ground in the enemy's path. Eaasier to get around then the brairs, but more dangerous to just run right through. 

:'''{{#var:38|Noble Six (38)}} has posed:'''     Well that's unexpected. Sure she can lift a warthog with a bit of effort, but this guy is throwing it around like a rag doll. She tries to get out of the way, for all the good it does as he manages to smash her with one of the hubs from the vehicle and knock her for a loop.     Landing hard on the ground, the SPARTAN picks herself back up quickly and moves away from the guy swinging the warthog like a club. She pulls something up in her left hand and throws it, not at Nam-Ek, but at the Warthog itself. Plasma grenades are known to make Warthogs explode into huge fireballs for some reason. 

:'''{{#var:474|John-117 (474)}} has posed:'''      Too much to hope for, apparently.      As the wyvern rider perches on the edge of the hole, the Chief doesn't open fire. He can be very quiet, when he needs to be, despite his eight feet of height and heavy set of armor. Of course, that heavy armor also generates a fair bit of heat and energy and, therefore, he's a pretty easily spotted energy signature and that energy signature is currently slipping out of the building, and looking to squeeze off a burst of rifle fire at a presumably unsuspecting Adelyn! 

:'''{{#var:710|Ri (710)}} has posed:''' Ri does not know what to expect from her opponent, because her only opponents have been ship girls. Fighting with some kind of magic axe is weird enough. Being grabbed by a bunch of magic hands is even weirder! But now some kind of crazy magic ice with magic diseases is being launched at her!? She is blasted in freezing wind that slips right through her shield, biting at all that exposed flesh in a way that not even the chill of the blackest reaches of the ocean depths can. And she feels it inside of her as well, painfully freezing her innards. And still, even despite the damage inflicted, the pain she is in, her utter perplexity about what's happening to her, she keeps to that single task - destroy the enemy - with the determination and fixation of one suffering from insanity. With patches of ice on her pale skin, Ri raises her other gauntlet, and starts firing both, one after the other, aiming low rather than high. That way, even if they miss, the blast radius might hit her opponent! ...And possibly Ri too, but that's what energy shields are for! ...Shields that don't fully protect against damage, but SHE CAN NOT BE TOO PICKY. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     Cirra really isn't letting those marines go. While there are other squads that are not so blocked, any squad locked down here means another squad without the support it needs to quickly overwhelm the UNSC. On the other hand, forcing them to deal with her means that she'll need to deal with /them/.     Every man and woman there has a drawn sword, and several more have physical shields, ready to cover their follows. But it's the empty hands that she should really worry about, as one soldier makes a complicated twisting gesture to summon a repeating barrage of long, piercing shards of ice. Another, ignoring her, uses his Earth affinity to try to disrupt the ground and knock down the spear-spikes blocking their progress. It isn't working well, owing to the concrete ground being far harder to move than natural earth or stone. 

:'''{{#var:242|Cheyanne (242)}} has posed:''' "Rampant destruction to cripple potential of an enemy's ally force, with a side of likely attempting to steal something," Cheyanne replies flatly at the remark about not fanthoming, even as it's only an appearance in Nox's wake that the spell strikes. Instead of just raising the staff Cheyanne flips it above her out of her hand, then catch it in both hands overhead. It looks entirely like just trying to be dramatic with her movements, until she pulls it down horizontally behind her head just as Nox's hammerblow is being dropped at her head. She grunts with the recoil as the gravity pulse causes the pavement around them to crack and impact downward around their feet, sending a plume of dust from the crackup whaifing outward as she's forced bent partway over from the attack behind her. Cheyanne then shoves his arms off her staff and twists out of the way, even as the now cracked ground undulates the smaller sections like several punchs from the earth itself aimed at Nox's legs and midsection as rock lengths piston out of the ground. Will he be quick enough to realize she possibly tossed that first spell to get him to come close on purpose? "You dilate time and distort space. Powwers definately hard to displace... But your powers are no longer a surprise." The staff is raised at an angle in front of her, making it difficult to judge if she's readying it as a weapon, or for another possible spell? "Is that a challenge to which you can rise?" 

:'''{{#var:524|General Zod (524)}} has posed:'''     Nam-Ek had been planning to use the warthog as a shield against future shots from the smaller SPARTAN, but the plasma grenade solves that problem for Noble Six. A cry of surprise escapes Nam-Ek as the warthog explodes in a great gout of shrapnel, flame and smoke.     There's a moment before a smoldering Nam-Ek barrels through the smoking wreck, wisps of flame clinging to what remains of his armor. His helmet is flickring dangerously and even though it is still mostly intact, Nam-Ek is suffering from the effects of what oxygen has slipped past the filters, the world flickering through several different wavelengths even as he attempts to connect with a massive uppercut to Noble Six's body. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     Adelyn's caution is vindicated, and the rider she ordered doesn't even get killed in the process. On the other hand, he doesn't get to unleash the lightning, either, and the Chief opens fire before the archmage can actually prepare an attack. Most of the burst is caught on a glowing shield held in front of her hand, but not all--she's not completely covered by this defense, and the rifle scatters enough at this range to clip her wings. That is, the wings on her head, which turn out to be neither horns nor decorative in nature.     With a typical mage's capacity for enduring physical damage, this draws out a heartfelt curse of pain, and delays her counterattack for a potentially significant quarter-second. A pre-charged magic circle discharges a cloud of white lights that scatter into the air, each reorienting and homing in on the Chief from twenty different angles only after Adelyn 'paints' him with a pointed finger, and a quick surge of marking mana. The lights will, naturally, explode for individually minor damage on contact with anything. 

:'''{{#var:11|Metal Man (11)}} has posed:''' Metal Man says "Very well then human, I have no more for you." Metal Man foes silent now he he tracks her movements, whomever this human is? She's beyond any baseline human on his world. He can only think of a handful of humans even from alternate worlds that could do this. He's keeping track of her movement he notices the cards. Like certain long running mages in the Union it seems this Judge is quite the solo combatant but he can try to give some support for the marines or so h3e thinks he gets a few shots off but the spikes come. He's not able to get away in time, he does however pull back before the damage becomes worse. It's like he's got a lot of experience dealing with spikes. The spikes have also forced him to stop attacking for the moment. 

:'''{{#var:546|Nox (546)}} has posed:'''     Overextended from throwing so much power into a close combat attack, Nox takes the spires of rock straight on, smashing into his greaves and chest armour with deafening clashes of stone on steel. He goes reeling back from the blow, hurled bodily through the air, but catching hiself just before he'd hit the ground, reverting back to a sedate hover, even as the armour cracks and crumbles off of him, falling to the ground in a pile of loose metal. "Tell me, are you speaking in rhymes to annoy me, as an attempt to be unique, or as part of some sort of gypsy curse that forces you to do so?" He doesn't seem likely to take the bait. There are plenty of other Confederates here, and destroying the shipyard is a secondary objective. There's no need to try and show off here so long as they continue to overrun the UNSC in the background.     "I can imagine while you'd arrive at that conclusion, but I personally stand to gain nothing from either destroying or stealing any of this." Extending one hand, he grips the summoned hilt of his trademark sword, flashing into being with the clattering of sliding metal and interlocking teeth. He vanishes from the spot, reappearing predictably right behind Cheyanne, only to blink out just as fast, zapping from her six o'clock to her three, then her eight, then four, then ten, flickering around her at completely erratic angles. Finally, he lunges inwards with his blade pulled back for a full-arm stab, only to wink out at the last second and approach from the opposite direction, already halfway through the motion of thrusting. 

:'''{{#var:679|Ivraala (679)}} has posed:'''     Ivraala's dexterity is really her only salvation here. Ri fires on her again and again, exploding the ground beneath her feet just moments after she's able to leap out of the way. Ivraala prances, bounds, rolls; Ri strains her agility to the breaking point, and while she manages to keep just a step ahead of the explosions sending debris flying around her, she's not really managing to /return/ the favor while strafing around the Abyssal. She needs to make Ri /stop/ somehow, and her diseases will only do so much...     Another powerful leap sends her flying to the side, lowered into another practiced tumble that ends in a crouch. There, with a moment to spare, Ivraala swings her hand toward Ri and sends a swirling orb of shadow easily the size of a basketball at the Abyssal. Hopefully that should be enough to stagger her and stop the artillery strikes for a few moments, but either way, the Death Knight immediately rises and rushes toward her opponent, gambling that it'll actually work. 

:'''{{#var:474|John-117 (474)}} has posed:'''      Bingo, the Chief hits Adelyn with a volley of bullets and seems to have hurt her. He circles around, putting the burning wreck of a Warthog between him and her the best he can - which doesn't do much when the whole of the air becoes filled with white lights and they fall upon him like starfire.      His shields drop and the Chief's armor is scorched and burnt by the blasts, burnishing the green into more of a drab shade. The Chief pulls himself onto the rear gun of the Warthog, finding it still operational, and lets the gun roar as he turns it on Adelyn! 

:'''{{#var:38|Noble Six (38)}} has posed:'''     Noble Six has managed to penetrate his defenses, but the hammer blow he lands on her sends her flying. Her shields are not designed to deal with melee impacts, they're designed to deal with ranged attacks.     This winds up with her slamming into the ground some distance away from where he hit her. Armor is visibly damaged, but the upgraded War Master armor is designed to withstand far more than the old Mk. V she used to wear. Shotgun still in hand, she swaps it out onto her back and instead opts to use the other weapon she brought with her. A simple design, she loads the breach loading grenade launcher with a round and fires.     The round doesn't fly in an arc like a normal grenade might, she fires it at the ground where it impacts and bounces, angling back upwards at Nam'Ek, before she releases the trigger and it airbursts. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     Somehow, it feels like things /have/ become a slugfest. As great as her magical reserves are, and as much power as Pure Guardian allows her to wield, there are limits to Adelyn's endurance. She is immediately aware of the distance between her current state and that limit, even as she handles pushing away the pain and reorienting for another strike. Her previous attack seems to have worked--but now the Chief has a vehicle-mounted machine gun, and she's already noticed how much ammo those vehicles stock.     A twisting, roiling column of Air magic catches the fire and scatters the rounds, but not well enough to entirely avoid damage, even with the mage dodging through the air as quickly as she can. She's grazed half a dozen times by high-caliber rounds, and bleeding from nearly as many places, by the time she finds cover behind a tall stand of rubble. She's lost altitude as well, the defense taking attention away from the magic holding her in the air, and she needs to concentrate now to at least stabilize her wounds.     While she's vulnerable, her forces still have air superiority. The same rider that looked for the Chief earlier turns on him now, the mage tossing an exploding sphere of electric power while the wyvern tries to get in close enough to actually grapple with the warthog. 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     Cirra's spears re magical constructs, maintained by Magic Particles. Using earth magic to try and move them has mixed results but some of them just start bursting into paritcles of light as they're disturbed. THe magic ice lanes across her shoulder, drawing blood as it tears through heavy Judge armor. "Tch!"     The Judge rolls forward with the impact, displaying more remarkable agility as Metal Man gives her an opening. She flips back up to her feet and swings the sword around-     As it transforms into a large rifle.     The crystal blade splits open as part of it turns into a grip. The weapon fires with an explosion of magical energy. The tip of the blade ejected like a super sonic knife.     And then reloads with a flash of energy. The weapon fires again into the collection of magic using marines trying to bypass her traps. 

:'''{{#var:524|General Zod (524)}} has posed:'''     Nam-Ek's first instinct is to snatch the grenade out of the air with his hand and hurl it back at N6. Although not as quick as Zod (who in turn is not as quick as Faora), Nam-Ek does manage to snatch the grenade out of the air and gets half-way back into his throw before it goes off, ruining the gauntlet and arm armor that was left and leaving long tears in the undersuit. His hand is bloody from the sharpnel and explosion, wet red streaks all along his arm and hand.     "RRRRRRRRGH!" Nam-Ek roars through gritted teeth as he painfully forces his hand to close into a fist, fingers shaking as they do so. With his good hand he rips the weapon off a passing warthog, shakes the UNSC marine that was manning it off almost casually, and fires it rather clumsily at Noble Six by steadying it on his injured arm. Nam-Ek doesn't really care which weapon it is as long as it causes damage as he storms towards Noble Six. 

:'''{{#var:474|John-117 (474)}} has posed:'''      If she wants these yards, the Chief is going to make her struggle for them! He turns the heavy machine gun on Adelyn, trying to keep it on her even as she takes cover in some rubble. When she does, the bullets chew up the concrete and blast dust and fragments into the air.      The wyvern descends upon him, and the Chief is too late to turn the Warthog's cannon on it. He lands on the Warthog, forcing the cannon to fire into the ground through the sheer weight, and the blast from Adelyn sends the Chief flying from the gunner position. He lands hard, crumpling against the ground, and electrical discharge arcs over his armor.      "That blast fried some of the systems in here, Chief," Cortana remarks, "Give me a minute or so to reboot and restart!" 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     Cirra's aim proves true, and the Earth-casting marine is caught by her fired blade-tip, going down with a serious, possibly fatal wound for his fellows having been unable to react in time to shield him. This halts the squad's effort to get past the trap; instead, they start falling back, though not without firing as they go, using brief lances of both ice and fire. 

:'''{{#var:710|Ri (710)}} has posed:''' Death Coil may heal allied undead, but against enemies it does nothing but damage. Ri has died/sunk enough to not be keen on experiencing it again, and already feels the chill of an insidious force working through her insides. She is so disturbed by the prospect of getting hit by that attack that she is willing to continue her clearly-not-working strategy of shooting at the ground. Only this time, she shoots directly at her own feet. The explosions do damage to her legs, but send her flying up into the air from the shockwave. Flames scour her, but the majority seems to be absorbed by that shield of hers. And so, though this wasn't really thought through terribly much, Ri's sheer desire to NOT get shot full of death energy has allowed her to improvise a little bit. Perhaps another step along the path to not being fully crazy and bestial anymore. But this also results in something else. An Abyssal flying through the air at at a Death Knight, cannons still smoking with the heat of their firing, and the jaws surrounding said cannons attempting to be applied to Ivraala forcefully! 

:'''{{#var:38|Noble Six (38)}} has posed:'''     The rate of fire put off by the chainguns that they mount on the Warthogs is enough to drop even the advanced shields of the GEN2 armor in a fraction of a second. Noble Six's shields flare and drop, and she rapidly sprints for cover, taking several shots in the process which penetrate the undersuit of her armor.     Diving behind a wrecked warthog, she hisses softly at the oh so familiar feeling of biofoam filling those bullet wounds and the not-so familiar feeling of the suit sealing up over top. She quickly takes stock of what she has available to her until she glances down at the back of the overturned warthog. Spotting something, she ditches the grenade launcher and grabs the weapon laying in the dirt. She knows she's going to step out into the withering fire of that chain gun, so she'll need to make this count.     Stepping out from behind the warthog and into the line of fire, she squeezes the trigger on the rocket launcher, emptying the first tube and sending the high explosive warhead flying at the kryptonian. It automatically cycles over to the second tube and she fires again, sending the second rocket sailing in shortly after the first, but aimed a bit lower, trying to impact this one at his feet. She just hopes he can't fly. 

:'''{{#var:242|Cheyanne (242)}} has posed:''' "I would ask why you expend yourself in assisting without personal gain, but you wouldn't give me a straight answer anyways." Cheyanne replies, not bothering with the query about her rhyming skills other than just smirking a bit. The moment of amusement is fleetingly swift however. Too much serious matter going on to be mirthful, weighed heavily by the fact that she knows she can't do much about the background invaders with how much she has to focus on Nox to contend with him, and can't leave him to do much else or he will simply run roughshod over the facility with his bizarre abilities. Sometimes being the wise one is a pain in the striped ass. To Cheyanne's credit she doesn't flinch as Nox starts blinking around. She knows what he's doing, jumping across brief moments of space and time to mislead her. Until he appears long enough to start the motion of attacking, forcing a decision if that will be the attack or if it is another feint. What if it is and she doesn't respond? What if it isn't when she does? In a split-second Cheyanne opts to not risk either, striking the butt of her staff to the ground at her hooves as Nox starts to thrust, and a bubble of water wraps up around her, only to freeze over. It proves to have been the smartest move as Nox blinks out and what would of been an impaling thrust comes from the opposite direction. It sinks into the iced sphere, but that causes it to explode rather messily at the force of the strike and though she spared herself from being run through the shaman is still flung away from him rather roughly across the tarmack. Half worked, half didn't work. That's the best you can take with someone like Nox, really. A kick of the legs gets her back onto her feet, regripping her staff as a few sparks crackle up between the horns topping it. That's when the lightning strikes, a sudden bolt of electricity that lances towards Nox himself. But then several more come down at various points around it, sending arcs of charge spasming between them as well, leaping back and forth between the strikes, trying to catch the mage at point that blinking away from one will put him in the crossfire of others before he can jump again. 

:'''{{#var:524|General Zod (524)}} has posed:'''     The first rocket hits, shattering what remains of Nam-Ek's breathing apparatus and sending him flying even as the world breaks apart into a dizzy array of technicolor spots and structural details that Nam-Ek can't comprehend. The explosion of the second rocket hits him, knocking him off his feet and drowning out for a moment or two the cacophony of every sound within ten miles.     Left with the remains of his undersuit, Nam-Ek struggles to get to his feet, the gray-skinned giant holding his head with his hands and breathing hard as he tries to stop the rush of sight and sound. Stumbling, he makes it to his feet, opens his eyes. And immediately wishes he hadn't. Nam-Ek sways drunkenly, then falls to the ground with all the grace a stupendously drunk giant can muster, passed out. 

:'''{{#var:546|Nox (546)}} has posed:'''     Nox lets go of his sword the moment it becomes stuck in the ice, teleporting backwards as it explodes so as not to be caught by flying icy shrapnel. The sword turns once in midair, before sinking point first into the earth, remaining standing at a slight angle. "That's the first correct thing you've said so far." Nox drones to Cheyanne. As the arc of lightning comes at him, he doesn't make the attempt to dodge, knowing it'll probably just arc towards him, being pretty much made of metal. Instead, he catches the bolt head on with a barrier of glowing clockwork; turning gears of cerulean light that interlock to form a many layered screen of holography, serving mostly as a showpiece for the temporal mechanics involved in essentially erasing attacks that hit it.     What that doesn't actually stop is the arc between two electric charges when the second one lances down behind him and joins the first, shooting a white hot bolt of lightning through his midsection and out the other end, scorching the bandages around a pair of molten orange entry and exit holes, accompanied by a metallic snarl of anger. With a series of gestures, he causes the clockwork barrier to collapse, folding in upon itself into a razor thin line of blue-white energy that burns like a flickering flame. Throwing his arm outwards, he launches the hyper-compressed plane of shear force straight at Cheyanne, cutting through spacetime like a knife. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     Adelyn's going to still need some time to get herself back in shape. While her support magic is exceptional, her healing is somewhat lackluster. In fact, she's largely reliant on prepared talismans--fortunately, she does have a small supply of such with her.     The wyvern rider shouts triumph. It may have been a lucky strike, but he's still some no-name enlisted soldier who just knocked down a Union officer during a pitched battle, and he'll get at least a commendation out of it if he lives. But if he can actually kill the SPARTAN...     Some time ago, the Nation of Towers' air corp was defeated and disgraced. It's been a long, hard road since then for many of the soldiers to regain their sense of pride. Hard enough that more than a few zealously seek glory on the field, and this grunt is no exception.     The wyvern tears at the MJOLNIR armor without apparent effect, the mage riding it channeling bursts of lightning in to play havoc with those rebooting systems, trying to keep the Chief suppressed. The beasts teeth bite down, but this is no true dragon, and its jaw doesn't have the strength to cleanly crunch military hardware of this level. Frustrated, it finally tosses the Master Chief to the side, aiming him for the partially-intact, partially-on-fire Scorpion.     Adelyn, meanwhile, is rising back into the air. She is renewing her broad awareness of the battlefield, scanning and plotting positions. Her expression is grim, but not dismayed. Outside the field of view of the elites present, her true objective here is finally being achieved.     Further into the shipyard, in the midst of a firefight, a Stalwart-class frigate--one of the smallest UNSC line-of-battle ships, but still an enormous shape over any fight on foot--is lifting into the air. Nearly half a kilometer in length, if the thing had been crewed and operational here at the start of the fight, it would have made the Confederate advance a great deal more difficult. 

:'''{{#var:679|Ivraala (679)}} has posed:'''     Ivraala...really wasn't expecting that tactic. She has to skid to an abrupt halt in her charge when Ri sets off those close explosions, lifting one armored arm and gritting her teeth against the shockwave that billows over her. That moment of surprise leaves her far too open, for when she opens her eyes again, Ri's nowhere to be seen. Until, at least, Ivraala looks up.     It's too late.     The powerful jaws crash into her upper arms and clench down, cracking into her saronite armor to the flesh beneath. The force of Ri's impact sends Ivraala sprawling on her back, teeth clenched, fangs bared in a pained snarl. Blue blood seeps from the cracks formed in her armor, but that's the last thing Ivraala is concerned about right now.     With Ri on top of her and pinning her arms, Ivraala's options are limited. No weapon, no arms; she needs to get Ri /off/ of her, and she's starting to get desperate to do just that.     She only glares at Ri for a moment. The next thing she sends to her Abyssal opponent is something much more direct, paired with a shout of rage and effort: a headbutt, twisted slightly so that the curving edge of one of her horns can slam into Ri's face with all her strength behind it. 

:'''{{#var:11|Metal Man (11)}} has posed:''' The weapon transforming that isn't what he was expecting. This is a moment of oh frek, Mtla does pull out another blade, he had half a mind to try and parry it given how the material that makes up his blade is also used in metool helmets, however the blast is too big an he's force to leap a good ways up shifting as he's airborne and throwing off several blades, the question is where have his two brothers been? That's a very good question, but for now Metal man is forced to keep dealing with someone who's showing she's got a heck of a power set. 

:'''{{#var:242|Cheyanne (242)}} has posed:''' The Plus: Techniques she put thought into after the last encounter with Nox are paying off in some regard. Not perfectly, but he does have a very unorthadox set of peculiar abilities to contend with. The Minus: Just keeping that pace was still very taxing on herself, and demanding all of her attention. Not to mention Cheyanne hasn't really come up with a concept on conteracting the projected compression of space in and of itself. The best she can do is metaphysically grab the ground near her and pull it up to form a solid slab of hardened earth in front of her, knowing it's not going to actually stop the space-slice. At best it can diffuse some of the force in the attack, though with the narrow edge it's dealing with that is still going to cut through the solid material without much effort. Hell it doesn't even SHOW much with how thin the slice is, other than a faint 'ffmp' and dust puffing out as the upper half of the formation thuds against the lower half after the thinner than a blade slices through it. Even if she was deterring most of the direct hits, the amount of energy Cheyanne was expending to do so whas tremendously exhausting. She wasn't going to be able to keep this up for too much longer. But just for a bit longer. The rock formation starts to crumble apart, looking all the world as if Nox's attack hitting it was causing it to collapse. Though as it does the debris is swept up from the ground in a swirling mass of its own right. As it falls apart and is swished off to the sides Cheyanne can be seen, scowling and visibly panting as she struggles with the stamina she has remaining. The churning of air and rubble swirls about a bit more erratically than her elemental conjurings normally due, sending several sweeping 'arms' of wind-stewn rock whiplashing towards Nox's general vicinity. 

:'''{{#var:38|Noble Six (38)}} has posed:''' With her target having gone down from the rocket barrage, Noble Six drops the rocket launcher and moves back to the warthog she had used for cover. She flips it back onto it's wheels and moves to the driver's seat. Using the MJOLNIR armor's built in IFF systems, she floors the warthog, damaged as it may be, towards where the Chief is at. She has to get to him in order to get him away from whatever is attacking him. Spotting him on the ground, she skids the vehicle to a stop and dismounts, moving to the back where the vehicle's weapon sits unmanned. Mounting back up onto the chaingun, she begins to open fire onto the wyvern and its rider, trying to force them to back off of the Chief, to either give the suit time to reboot or, preferably, outright kill the attacker so they can evac. She just hopes the wyvern doesn't turn on her at this point, she doesn't know if she has enough left to fight it without the vehicle's weapons. 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     Cirra takes cover again as the marines start their retreat, letting thier fire strike the sturdy boulder. But Metal man, the other machiens. "Ha... I guess I have to really start, if you're hiding trump cards."     Black smoke starts to seep out of Cirra's armor, and the blood - but not the wound - start to burn away.     Cirra jumps up on top of her cover, and with a heave that shatters the top of the rock, launches herself upwards at Metal Man. "You're going to start telling me where the others are, Golem!"     The rifle turns back into a sword and Cirra slices through the air with a swing stronger then the last by a factor of two.     She's going to be paying for it later, he r blood pressure is already dropping. 

:'''{{#var:710|Ri (710)}} has posed:''' It makes sense that her opponent would use those horns on her head. Body parts are weapons too! These gauntlets that Ri wears are practically part of her, so she understands the concept well enough. But she doesn't really... DO 'dodging', so he headbutt sends her head whipping back forcefully, with blood streaming from her mouth. She tumbles off of her opponent, trying to bring one of her cannons around to aim, but in addition to her aim just generally being bad, she is also dazed and still worried by the painful cold inside of her. She is starting to lose what semblance of clear-headedness she has left. So, since her opponent is so good at dodging, she shoots something that, at this range, should not require much aiming at all! A TORPEDO! ...On land! Gravity should just naturally pull it downwards onto her opponent, right? ...Wait, that's not how torpedos work? Well, shit. Maybe it will go off anyway if it's on a timer or something, giving Ri time to get out of range a little bit. Though that might give Ivraala time to escape too. Though the sheer unexpectedness of a torpedo that doesn't go anywhere or anything might also work for surprise factor? RI IS NOT GOOD AT PLANNING. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     With a second SPARTAN appearing, the wyvern rider isn't going to push his luck. He stops firing and focuses on just defending himself. Sadly, he's no archmage, and his shield is punched through before her can get out, Noble Six's chaingun fire wounding the wyvern too badly for it to continue flying. It makes a crash landing behind some rubble, giving the rider one chance to still get out of there if he can meet up with either another member of the air corps or the retreating marines.     Speaking of the Towers marines, they are now moving back the way they came, still fighting as they go, but trying desperately to reach the cover of the airships. Those airships, including the one the Chief damaged, and are now rushing in as low as they can over the yards, trying to pick up the wounded and any squad that's taken too many casualties to continue fighting as a unit. Those that can still fight are still doing so, and the airship's cannons are still clearing the area of any non-elite defenders.     The one notable exception, of course, is that UNSC frigate hovering over the field. It's a ship small enough to land on a planet, or to hover in the air, but it's still disturbingly huge this close. And it's not really doing anything. It's just slowly accelerating in the direction of the warp gate.     If one manages to get the local defense on the line, they may receive the response that no, THEY aren't the ones who ordered it to lift, and in fact there is no crew here to man it. 

:'''{{#var:546|Nox (546)}} has posed:'''     Nox lets out a noise of irritation as yet another attack fails to reach Cheyanne, keeping his arm raised where a steady glow begins to build in the palm of his hand, increasing along with the steady rise of an electrical hum building from somewhere within. The newly empowered spell is cut short by impact of a high velocity rock splitstream slamming into his arm, knocking it aside before another one smashes into his head, snapping the lense on the left side and knocking him out of the air where he lands on his hands and knees. Back to the ensuing storm, he weathers the pelting stream of airborne debris with a steady stream of clanks and thumps, his outline fizzling with blue static as he struggles to reassert his teleportation ability before suffering any further damage, before finally deciding to simply forget it.     Throwing his arms out to either side, he lets loose a shivering wave of translucent blue energy, catching the stones in mid flight and halting the continuing attack completely. Rising to his feet, and then off of them once more, he gestures towards Cheyanne, and then the rocks begin to move again. Rather than simply flying back towards her, the wind streams actually reverse direction, carrying their payload at exactly the same speed as before along a trajectory that unerringly homes in towards its original source as it backtracks along its timeline. Just before the flying stones would slow down to reassemble themselves into a barrier, they exit the temporal rollback, simply flying at Cheyanne at their previous deadly velocity from all angles, any one of them potentially lethal. 

:'''{{#var:11|Metal Man (11)}} has posed:''' Metal Man says "What you expect me to obey like a good little slave?!" Metal Man isn't moving to strike just yet, he seem to be staring Cirra down for a moment but she's fast and is able to slice into him before he can respond.. She's bleeding he knows he just has to keep her busy and away from his allies. Just for a bit longer. It wasn't luck that got Cirra that hit, it was pure skill and timing. She's cut a gash in Metal Man's chest causing a nasty rent and clearly she got some internals as there's sparks coming from it. Metal Man does not /look/ happy about this at all. "I will not tell you." He leaps and at the apex of his jump he throws another blade at her. From the looks of the damage he doesn't seem to be as heavily armoured as one might expect. 

:'''{{#var:38|Noble Six (38)}} has posed:'''     At least with the wyvern down for the count, Noble Six can rescue the Chief. She moves from the turret over to where the SPARTAN is laying at, and hefts him up.     He's heavy, sure, but she can firemans carry him back to the warthog and load him up into the passenger seat. Once he's been loaded up, she'll jump back into the driver's seat and get him the hell out of dodge. 

:'''{{#var:242|Cheyanne (242)}} has posed:''' Cheyanne takes a few steps back as Nox starts reversing the flow of the elemental force by literally rewinding it. She uses her staff to deflect a couple of the larger chunks of rock, but the backlash is coming too steadily for her to keep doing that. Progress, but Nox still has too many unorthadox tricks for her to keep up with all of them. This foe is going to take farther study to contend with farther. Frustrating, and at the same time, somewhat of a provoker of interest. It wasn't often she came up against such situations due to experiences. Despite her efforts the main force of the time reversed spell slams into her, sharp chunks of rock leaving red streaks of blood against her black and white form where they cut like earthborn windstewn shrapnel. Despite exhaustion she manages to level a narrow look in Nox's direction, though there was no need to actually say anything. Look alone was enough to say he hadn't seen the last of her, likely to his own annoyance. And then the wounded shaman is gone in much the same manner as she often appears out of the air, putting the remaining reserves she has into teleporting away with the rest of the withdrawls. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     As the marines fight their way back, it's now clear that they've shifted focus from 'cause as much destruction as possible in their advance' to 'retrieve the fallen.' Nam-ek is in their path, and the brute will be lifted up as well as they make their escape, assuming no one else gets to him first.     Their escape, in this case, is much the reverse of how they landed. Through air magic shooting them into the sky, to be caught by the sailors aboard ship, or with earth magic catapulting them on rising columns, the squads work in orderly fashion to withdraw. This leaves much of the actual fighting to the remaining air corps, throwing magic and harrying anything too small for the airship cannons to reach.     The frigate makes for the warp gate, to be taken back to Confederate territory. In truth, the marines who lifted it don't have nearly the manpower, nor the time, to arm the weapons systems. 

:'''{{#var:679|Ivraala (679)}} has posed:'''     Ivraala doesn't even know about torpedoes in general; naval combat in Azeroth hasn't really reached that point yet. She's managed to figure out by now, however, that anything strange sent out by this person is undoubtedly dangerous. Without Ri weighing her down anymore, Ivraala is free to scramble to her feet again, trying to grip her greataxe even despite the blood still rolling down her arms. It hurts, but she has to endure...especially when Ri sends off something new.     The torpedo drops, and Ivraala isn't quite quick enough to get away in time. She's far enough not to get caught in the main brunt of the blast, but the shockwave is still enough to send her flying, tumbling over the ground until she digs her hooves in to come to a stop. Wincing, straining, Ivraala nonetheless manages to push herself to her feet, but the situation around her isn't looking much better. People are retreating by now, and she'd rather not be stuck with this vicious opponent in the meantime.     As the debris from the torpedo is still clearing, Ivraala quickly sheaths her axe on her back again and brings her hands to her sides. Darkness swirls around them, dark magic coming off of the Death Knight's body in waves. It takes a few moments, but soon Ivraala gathers enough power to thrust her hands forward, summoning a smokey portal held open by a floating skull in front of her.     She doesn't spare another glance at Ri. The draenei simply dashes into the portal, which closes up behind her right after she passes through. A quick method of escape, at least. 

:'''{{#var:710|Ri (710)}} has posed:''' Ri is not in great condition either, and even if the magical disease within her is starting to dissipate, she doesn't know whether it's going to come back or not or what. She is glad for the fight to be over, though up until the point where her enemy is actually GONE, she is still single-mindedly focused on Ivraala's destruction. In the end, she comes to realize her allies are pulling out, and that she should maybe do so too. The radio message confirms it. Did they win? Or is it just time to go? She doesn't know. She was oblivious. But it seems they are, indeed, getting out of here. So she takes her bleeding, half-frozen, pained self and clumsily runs with her great big shark gauntlets towards the extraction point. She hasn't had to run in so long she has practically forgotten how. It may take her a little bit, but hopefully she'll make it out with everyone else. That enemy fought in ways she never would have imagined. Are there more enemies like that? Enemies who are nothing like the Ship Girls she has fought? Nothing like her fellow Abyssals? She isn't prone to thinking too much. But Ri... Might need to think about this. Though, hopefully, somewhere safe. 

:'''{{#var:675|Cirra Constantine (675)}} has posed:'''     "Interesting that you call *yourself* a slave." Cirra falls back to the ground in a roll and pops back up to her feet to dive behind cover. She looks up as the Frigate as it takes off. "Tch. I guess a safe backwater is really jsut a tempting target indisguise." 

:'''{{#var:11|Metal Man (11)}} has posed:''' Metal Man looks at Cirra as she pulls out he lowers his weapon as he replies. "It's often considered an insult implying I'm souless." HE looks at Cirra and then he pulls back, he does give her a salute and it's not mocking as he departs. 

}}

1567/Withering Tree

2015-02-14T08:33:51Z

Kimiko: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2015/02/14 |Location=The Deep Valley |Synopsis=A clockwork fortress goes to drain a giant tree of magic. A fight ensues. |Thanks= |Cast of Characte..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/02/14
|Location=The Deep Valley
|Synopsis=A clockwork fortress goes to drain a giant tree of magic. A fight ensues.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=19, 202, 347, 546, 626, 631
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:546|Nox (546)}} has posed:'''     By now, the modus operandi of the recently infamous xelor is nearly impossible to miss. Not only have reports flooded in of a wave of dessication spreading through the giant forest surrounding this world's southern world tree, but this time the reports haven't come in fast enough to prevent the clockwork fortress itself from showing up: Horologium. It seems the gigantic mechanism has been on a steady march through the ocean of green that greets anyone coming in, stretching over the horizon in every direction in which they look. Somewhere behind it, a perfectly circular area has been turned to grey dust, leaving nothing behind but layers of ash and semi-disintegrated treestumps in the middle of a ring of twelve hastily built wooden towers.     Between that circle and the giant walking clock, is a burned up trail of destroyed vegetation, still in progress as the machine's spiderlike legs stomp ahead to catch up with the advancing line of obliteration. Tiny blue lights can be seen swarming to and from the clock, alighting on the trees in its way, stripping them of their leaves, and turning them into ash, before flying back in through a gate in the I numeral in the massive dial. By the time anyone arrives, the thing is almost upon the tree that dominates all the others, rising out of the foliage like two skyscrapers stacked upon each other, actually significantly taller than Horologium 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     There is an additional figure hanging off one of those massive clock arms. Literally hanging, with a fist clutching either end of the long chain linking together the figure's manacles. It doesn't seem to be a terribly comfortable mode of transport, but there is little reasoning with Vrenyn Kuhn under any circumstances, and she has abstained from taking further assistance from the one following in the sky. Adelyn Lysen is here in person, to witness and support, though she is hanging somewhere back, behind the walking fortress, keeping herself aloft with the Wind magic stored in the memory of the tome in her hands, Pure Guardian.     Adelyn is running a series of detection spells as they advance, tracking the presence and acquisition of energy by the drones. Vrenyn is merely swinging herself back and forth, legs occasionally tucked under her. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     The reports didn't come in fast enough. Nor could Kyra really arrive fast enough, it seems. Even as she speeds in riding atop her Called chocobo, she sees that the destruction the Horologium has wrought is already pretty widespread, if easy to follow. It does also provide a very clear view of Nox's target, the enormous world tree, in the distance. The event is less than a surprise to the white mage given the behavior she's seen Nox exhibit so far-well most of it.     Kyra is privately quite glad that Nox did not try any of his energy-draining shenanigans on Galianda. A blessing, really, that the world was lacking in things like giant aetheric crystals and world trees.     She doesn't wait around for other Union members or interlopers to arrive, knowing that they're VERY short on time at this point. But in the time it takes her to get there, she at least tries to set herself up with a Wall spell, which adds a layer of physical protection and magical protection to her. Fortunately, the white magic functions as intended today. 

:'''{{#var:19|Maya (19)}} has posed:''' Maya was a bit late rin arriving than Kyra is she wasn't always much to look at. Maya normally looked like she fell out of a post nuclear wasteland. Leather, metal, an undergamen that' the love child of a swimsuit with normal sensablityes also did I mention crazy blue hair? Also Maya's quite magically strong to those whom can sense it and ther'es no way she can hide such a she follows after Kyra into thing she's already moving to unshoulder her rifle at this point as she sizes up Nox there's a chill. He reminds her of horror's she's encounted before. Nightmareish machines containing the souls of a long dead race that feasted upon the living, stripping entire world sof life. Nox was in a way even more of a scare as unlike the things he reminds maya of? He's clearly got gears still turning and is not mindles no he's certainly fairly animated all things to be considered as she closes in. "Party time's over 

:'''{{#var:631|Reker (631)}} has posed:'''     You know Reker had just been talking the other day about wanting to engage Nox. Now his opporitunity was presenting itself already. Reker is driving towards the area that is under attack, although he's running behind the other members of the Union who are on their way.     His truck is built for off road travel, so it's easy enough to drive through the terain that presents itself. He'll have to keep himself out to the edge of the affected area for now, as he looks for a spot to engage. The truck is staying on the perimeter for the time being, as Reker looks for his shot. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     No actual command is necessary, as standing orders had already been given. As the first responders arrive, chains slip from the clock hand, and Vrenyn slides down and away. As she comes loose, she kicks off the machine, takes three, widely spaced steps against the rods and gears of the Horologium's legs, and finally lands upon the ground a hundred yards distant from her starting point.     She's a dark blur as she advances with streaks of white and a flash of gold, though no light at all shines from the blade she draws. Green makes a fourth color, but those oddly glowing irises will be visible to her target for only the barest moment before she strikes, her entire body spinning like a sideways top as she attacks without preamble.     Her first target? The one aboard the land-bird. 

:'''{{#var:546|Nox (546)}} has posed:'''     This being the fourth time that nosy heroes had come to interrupt him in the middle of business, Nox would have to be much less intelligent than he is to have not learned from the experience, Several of the energy harvesting drones are set up in the air around Horologium, and over the forest, looking out for the first signs of interference while their master watches through their eyes at his main station, surrounded by the usual array of jeweller lenses. Three this time. A little less than usual, but it wouldn't do to underestimate them, even with Adelyn's help. Or more likely, the help of the eccentric girl he had allowed to dangle off Horologium for the past half hour.     As is custom, he simply teleports straight out of the heart of the giant clock and into the air directly in the group's way, fizzling into existence with a flicker of blue static, arms behind his back, tabard fluttering slightly in the breeze. "Greetings monsieur, madame, and madamoiselle. Please excuse me for sparing the pleasantries today, as I am very busy, and this arrangement of affairs is growing very tiresome. I have a lot of things to look after, but it would be rude to simply leave my guests with nothing to do, so I'll leave you to play with someone else."     Lifting an arm skyward, Nox lets loose a bolt of cerulean lightning from the pam of his hand, vanishing into the sky before rocketing back down on Horologium a moment later. The quadruple hands spin in alternating directions as the electricity crawls over them, driving the internal machinery behind the dial, activating something inside. Teleporting in much the same way the xelor had, appear a pair of human figures wrapped from head to toe in bandages, save for black eye sockets that glow with glaring red pinpoints of light, and gaping holes in their chest that issue forth a steady blue glow. One of them wears a trailing red bandanna and has what appears to be a tattoo drawn all the way up its left arm. The other is wearing archer's gloves, is adorned with long white hair, and clutches a mechanical bow set with an interlocking set of gears, with a flickering string of light.     "May I present two of my favourite puppets, Frisco and Tartufo. They'll keep you entertained while I'm away." He waves his hand dismissively towards Maya, Reker and Kyra, before zapping out of sight. 

:'''{{#var:19|Maya (19)}} has posed:''' Maya finds Nox is calm it's disturbing how calm the man is. A lot of normal verbal tactics she suspect won't work on him. She however readies her irlfe as she looks at them for a moment. His actions speaks of one confident enough in the actions of his minions to handle them. This guy is dangeorus, like few others she's encoutered. Not to say others are not dangerous but it seems Nox may be able to keep a cool head, she readies her rifle and it whines to live as the living portions start to grow ammo. "I see, We'll have words when I'm done with them." She can't go after Nox yet she'll get her back shot out shw turns her attention to the pair and now pulls out a speull card in her off hand. I a fit of irony? It's the speed card as maya engaged in some temporal magic of her own. She speeds up and ther's a faint green glow, also there's blue fire that leaches from her body into the card before she casts. She moves to open fire on Archer. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     Although vaguely aware of Reker's truck and Maya's arrival, Kyra can't help but wish they had something a little bit bigger to engage Nox's Horologium. Like an airship. Yes. A nice big airship to bomb the /hell/ out of that walking, life-draining timepiece. As she grows even closer, she realizes that there seems to be very few people for her to get behind right now and that makes her very nervous. "Ugh, I feel so exposed."     Even through Nox's greeting, which still manages to be a pretty distinctive one despite being 'curtailed' as he notes their presence and dismissively summons a pair of (undead?!) minions for them to deal with. Her first thought is to try the good ol' healbomb trick on them both...     ...but out of nowhere, Vrenyn streaks at her. Kyra catches a glimpse of green eyes before she's slammed off of the Chocobo and sent tumbling and sliding on the dessicated ground. Without a rider, the Chocobo immediately vanishes in a scattering of green motes of light. Wheezing out a breath, Kyra's quick to scramble to her feet, snatching up the ornate red and golden pistol at her hip. The gun, a notable crafted gift from a talented Union officer, is at the very least unique to her since it didn't function on Galiandan physics-that is to say completely normally and with bullets that use a gunpowder-like substance. The Luna's resolve also sported holy-aspected bullets, fitting for use by a white mage.     "Healer aggro!" she calls out in dismay, opening fire on Vrenyn, trying to keep her at range. 

:'''{{#var:631|Reker (631)}} has posed:'''     Aggroing on the healer is never a good thing when somebody like Reker is around. Sure he's not a tank, he's a DPS, but he's never going to be the type to let the healer take aggro if he can avoid it.     His truck comes roaring over a small ledge, sailing through the air a few feet, as Reker moves from the driver's seat to the gunner's seat. Now in the turret, he racks the big .50 caliber machinegun and turns it on Vrenyn, starting to open fire with the heavy machine gun, "Hey! Healers are off limits, jackass! Why don't you pick on somebody your own size!" 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     "Gishur." Adelyn addresses her other tome--naturally, the only one of the two capable of responding to natural speech. As powerful as Pure Guardian is, and as much memory resides in it, it lacks an intelligence of its own. "Bring up our battlefield awareness. Then, see what we can do to establish a support connection to the knights below." 'Minions' is another word that would have worked, but the important distinction here is front row versus back row. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Gishur, grimoire of all that must be known! The Abstractum floats up near Adelyn. "Ah, Mistress." The tome says. The little eye looks around briefly as it opens, then focuses on her. "Of course. Tac Driver now powering." The book's pages begin to glow an unearthly green, the book slamming open with a crack at the binding, and the pages begin to flip rapidly. The glow from within the pages begins to project a map of the area, showing all data available from Adelyn's spells, Vrenyn Kuhn's sight, and even Nox's own puppets and minions due to his consent. The flickering green map hosts nodules of magical energy, interface constructs allowing Adelyn to hard-channel her magic directly into any of those compatible entities even from far, far away.     "This ought to be the most efficient way of making this battle yours right away. Watch for anyone's ranged fire trying to get clever, last time was a bit too much disrespect for the both of us. I'll have my eye out for anyone who tries that nonsense this time too, for a bit of advanced warning." 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     To Kyra's great fortune, Vrenyn is, in fact, undead. Holy-infused abilities will be exceptionally dangerous to her--assuming they can hit. Green-black eyes over a white mask focus on her prey, body stock still as the chocobo disappears. When the gun comes up, Vrenyn's sword comes down, and the first shot, rather than puncturing her body, is deflected with a shower of sparks. The white mask of the sword-servant's face splits in toothy flash of a grin as she moves so quickly as to nearly disappear, escaping amidst the jingling of her chains before a flurry of holy shot can destroy her.     So focused was she on enjoying the fight that Reker's machine gun catches her off-guard. She makes to dodge out of the line of fire, but not before several rounds strike. Her sword doesn't catch all of them, as one unlucky shot blows off a portion of her left hand, and another jerks her about as it grazes her chain--which seems fairly impenetrable, for how little damage the golden material took.     Tch. "Already having trouble." Adelyn views Vrenyn's position on her map with some disapproval. Gishur's assistance is taken as a matter of course, in all respects, and thusly without comment. "Healing would be inefficient. That vehicle will need to be destroyed, first."     Back on the field, Vrenyn's sword glows as she leaps into the air, hissing through her teeth and swinging it down toward Reker's position--despite being at a good range. A crackling ball of energy, lightning arcing between it and everything on its path, flies from her swing and toward the machine gun. Juking quick and low to the ground, Vrenyn follows closely after it, making what use of the terrain Adelyn's and her senses can give her. 

:'''{{#var:546|Nox (546)}} has posed:'''     Whether or not the puppets know Maya is about to fire is anyone's guess, but whether they're deliberately attempting to cut her off before she can fire, or simply that aggressive, is irrelevant. The moment Gishur connects to them, the both of them launch straight into the attack. Frisco, the bandanna'd one, suddenly explodes into a blur of motion, racing across the barren ground as if propelled by rockets, kicking up an enormous plume of dust behind him in the blink of an eye. The moment he's within arms reach of Maya, he'll grab hold of her with both hands, spin around halfway, and launch her directly back towards the archer. Tartufo's part in the assault is to stand back, pulling the string of his bow until it hits a certain point where it conjures a blazing arrow of blue-white energy against the gear rest, sizzling wildly as if barely contained into its shape. The moment he has a clear line of fire, ideally if Maya is flying at him, he'll let the arrow fly, aiming with frankly inhuman accuracy to intercept her, where the arrow will immediately detonate like a bomb, kicking up and impressive fireball and shaking the earth beneath the tires of Reker's truck. 

:'''{{#var:631|Reker (631)}} has posed:'''     With nobody driving the truck, it's going to be impossible to actually dodge that attack, especially with the ground rumbling. Reker hops up onto the edge of the truck's turret and dives off.     He lands and rolls a couple of times, even as the truck takes the full impact and explodes. It doesn't explode like normal, though, instead exploding into shards of digital data. With the truck gone, Reker is going to have to do things the old fashioned way, as he pulls his SOCOM-47 out of his inventory and moves for cover. Once he's found his cover, he peeks out and fires a five round burst at Vrenyn, "It costs a lot of credits to respawn that thing. I hope you're happy!" 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     A dark look crosses Kyra's face as she hears the sound of bullets being deflected by a sword. It was a technique that she was familiar with and unfortunately meant bad things for her since the majority of her weapons were guns of some kind. Great. At least her cries of 'healer aggro' do not go unheard.     She lets out a sigh of relief as the machine gun fire takes the attention of the green-eyed demon and immediately switches her own tactics. The gun lowers and a hand swings over to Reker, white magic following, flowing through that open hand. The spell, also a Wall spell, immediately settles around Reker. The faint flicker of the Protect and Shell magic is seen, combining to create a faint light blue glow. 

:'''{{#var:19|Maya (19)}} has posed:''' Maya's now facing down the puppet and she's started to move. The fight has started Maya's moving fast thanks to the speed spell which is what's helping her a lot at this point. She ses him trying to to b ut he's got hert and she's throws up into the air that's where things start to change she shifts her rifle and the housing open even as she's iar born May zeems ot have some idea an that's when she's fireing small seeking missiles which will move to intecept the incomming bolts nad Maya hits the ground rolling. A bit worse for ware fromt hat. "...Bette thaqn expected." She turns up the heat a bit as now she's loweirng he rifle and starting with the magic a lot of blue fire forms from her body into the card as she rips magically a portion of the gorundf fre sending it hurrling at the archer. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     Vrenyn is pleased by the destruction she's wrought, though this triumph is dampened by the knowledge that it was only a summoned vehicle. "Really. A /vehicle/ summoner?" Adelyn is the one who asks that question, observing from afar the truck's destruction. "Or, no--that wasn't summoning magic. Some other peculiarity." Vrenyn shares neither her thoughts, nor her curiosity. She merely continues her charge.     The first bullet is perfectly deflected, the second barely, and the third and subsequent shots not at all, as the firing rate of the gun, together with the unpredictability of its spread, surpasses even Vrenyn's inhuman reflexes. Only the third shot actually hits, but it's a solid strike to her arm, and does give her pause. The pain is minor, if present at all, but being unable to advance without being pierced annoys her.     Coincidentally, Adelyn's next spell is similar to both Kyra's and Maya's, along different axes. As Vrenyn strikes the ground, Adelyn's Earth magic flows from her weapon, hurtling sections of into a cloud of dust and a dozen walls of airborne earth between the sword-servant and the GGO pro. It's through that defensive field that Vrenyn makes her advance, this time uncaring of whether she's struck, so long as she can bury her black blade into Reker's body. She is already dead, and can be repaired.     This leaves little attention for dealing with Maya, but the geo strike disrupts the earth enough to allow Adelyn to quickly replicate a similar spell in the same area. The ground will shift to launch Nox's puppets where they need to go, assisted by her tactical oversight, in dealing with that attack. 

:'''{{#var:546|Nox (546)}} has posed:'''     As Maya anticipates, the arrow detonates against the first missile that strikes it, catching the others in the blast radius and adding their detonates to its own, clearing a wide, ashen crater in the layer of grey dust that fills the path of carnage Horologium has carved through the forest. Through the cloud of smoke and embers, the rocks torn out of the ground fly, the first and largest of them connecting directly with Tartufo's chest and sending him hurtling back, crashing into one of the still standing trees at the edge of the long clearing, snapping it in half like a toothpick. He remains motionless for a split second, the lights gone from his eyes, before sputtering back to life, vaulting over the rock and nimbly flipping out of the way of the second behind it, ducking and rolling under the third and fourth, before launching off the earth Adelyn summons to clear the line of fire entirely, sliding into a low crouch and rapidly firing off a quartet of energy arrows in return.     Frisco remains behind Maya, taking a moment to look for her in the smouldering ash and assess the situation, using the Abstractum's sensory network to acquire alternate viewing angles to better locate her. Spotting her engaging with Tartufo, he throws out his tattooed arm, and the black that wraps around it from fingertip to shoulder suddenly unravels, launching itself towards her like a striking snake. The strangely organic black cord splits as it reaches her, aiming to ensnare her in a crushing grip, pinning her arms by her sides where she can't use them.     Meanwhile, Horologium has all but reaches its target. Its spiderlike, gear driven legs stab into the ground one more time as it settles position at the base of the grand tree, before the casing at its front pops open slightly, and allows it to unfold a set of multi jointed arms, which each produce giant, quadruple needles with a sharp, electrical hum. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     Were Vrenyn to glance back to where Kyra was moments ago, she would notice the white maage completely absent. She's on the move again, running at a 90 degree angle away from her previous position, moving to flank Reker. The most favorable position for support would be behind him though the demon's capabilities so far left her wondering if that was an ideal place for Kyra herself to stand. It would put her in the path of danger pretty firmly which was something she wanted to mostly avoid. Mostly. Instead, her movement carries her forward, which would put her in a better spot to watch both Maya and Reker.     Attentive to the fight and their opponent, she sees the magic suddenly merging with Vrenyn's strike. Geomancing? Sword magic? It seems to be a little bit of both, the weapon being used as a conduit for magic that didn't seem to come from Vrenyn herself.     She knows exactly what to do about that. A grin forms on Kyra's face as she focuses her counter-magic, Dispell, upon Vrenyn, seeking to sever the magical assistance being, unknown by Kyra, doled out by Adelyn herself. 

:'''{{#var:631|Reker (631)}} has posed:''' Despite the attempt Reker is making to unleash all he has on his target, his bullets, striking home when they do, don't seem to be doing a lot of damage. Maybe it's because his target is dead. When the walls get up in the way, he tries to prep himself for the incoming attack, but it doesn't seem to be much use. His magazine clicks empty and he soon finds himself trying to reload, until the sword finds it's way into him. He jerks visibly when the blade impacts, but there's no blood, no spray of vital goo. There's a red mark in his body around the blade, and his health bar visibly drops down by quite a bit. He looks at the blade inside of him for a second, "That hurt. Did you see how much that chunked off my life bar? Holy crap." He swaps hands quickly and pulls his handgun up, deciding to fire at point blank range on his target. No way he can miss from this range, and it'll be hard to deflect when the blade's in his gut. 

:'''{{#var:19|Maya (19)}} has posed:''' Things are getting crasy but damn it's showing the calibure of Nox's minions and she wonders what Nox dirclty would be like. AS she's now going over possible counters, but some would possibly cause issues too. SO for now she's trying to keep from getting wrecked here, as there's something else tha thappns the arror drtonates and she's going to try to make use of that. She seems to have got a good hit, but doesn't asumee it's down. This is good as it does get back up in short. She soon has a hostile incbound and Maya attempst to open fire on the incoming attacker even as he attemps to catch her with the cord. She's caugh and is attemping to get lose now she howeve ris flaring up with something which is clearly magic a fair bit of it she's up to something but owhat even as she struggles to get lose as she knows what's comming, the bot will try to finish her. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     The Earth magic might have been good for a few more strikes, but the tenuous enchantment is removed by Kyra's dispel. Vrenyn is not very bothered by this, though Adelyn immediately notices. Another peculiarity, and an important tactical consideration, but the connection itself between summoner and servant is not so easily broken.     Vrenyn is much more bothered by the lack of reaction to her sword getting into Reker's gut. Her rictus grin turns to a grimace, eyes squinting down. Kyra's Wall may be partially to blame for her present lack of success, but she doesn't realize this. No, far more important is this lack of reaction.     For her part, her body jerks with every impact. It's natural to be damaged when shot, and so her body is damaged. She's magically animated, but that doesn't mean her strength isn't tied to her physical condition. Enough fire is going to put her in serious trouble.     "The DEAD," comes a horrible hiss-screech of wildly fluctuating volume, broken rhythm and shifting tones, "do not SCREAM." Her good arm, the one that hasn't yet been shot, wrenches the blade to try to cut Reker entirely part. The other, the one with two missing fingers and a bullet lodged in the forearm, tries to loop her gold chain around his neck.     Adelyn is not presently paying attention to that matter. She is concentrating on supplying a wind enchantment to Tartufo's next attack. Ideally, it will actually allow the shot to curve around around obstacles, by controlling the airflow between archer and target. Vrenyn is on her own for the moment. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     By Kyra's approximation, what with the sword in Reker's gut and the overt attempts to cut him in half entirely, it seems time to give Reker some much needed healing. Only this time she doesn't invoke her own magical ability for some reason, even as she grows farther and farther away from the two, trying to get closer to the Horologium. Ultimately she wants to stop the machine from draining the tree-or if not, then to try to minimize the damage that it's doing. But would she be able to pull that off AND the support of Reker and Maya? Unlikely. There was also the matter of those glowing, insect-like drones accompanying the Horologium. Who knows what those could do yet.     From where it is strapped to her back, Kyra pulls a very golden and very shiny rifle down, keeping the strap around her. She pauses briefly to take aim at Reker with the Aurumal Autodoc.     When fired, the unusual weapon unleashes a laser-like burst of white and blue energy that in fact heals anything it hits. Wounds fixed by the rifle retain a blue glow for a few brief moments afterwards. One hit with the "weapon" is actually a pretty weak healing spell on its own. However, moments later Kyra demonstrates that the rate of fire on the Autodoc is actually good, covering the weakness of the healing when she's able to focus fire. 

:'''{{#var:546|Nox (546)}} has posed:'''     Gunfire slams into Frisco at full force, the puppet making no attempt to dodge it. Bullets puncture the bandages to spark and spang against something metallic inside, causing the steady blue light from the hole in its body to flicker intermittently with every few new ones. It holds Maya still just long enough for Tartufo to continue firing, now guided by Adelyn's wind spells so that the arrows converge inwards from all directions. Its hand on the strig is a blur, firing over and over again with impossible speed, needing no pause to draw fresh arrows so long as the energy bow can keep generating bolts. The storm of deadly accurate projectiles hammers into Maya from behind for as long as she remains still, shaking the air with explosion after explosion and flattening trees to either side of the trench. Only after she has either suffered extensive damage or tries to break free does Frisco finally reel her in. The moment she comes close enough, he'll swing a deadly uppercut for her midsection, fist flashing with blue light as internal conduits amplify the force a hundred times over.     Horologium continues uninterrupted in the confusion of battle, reeling its colossal arms into place around the middle of the world tree's trunk, and then slamming them inwards with a hiss of discharging pistons, puncturing its thick bark in eight different places. The forest is filled with the sound of high pitched keening as the machine's clockwork circuitry spins up, followed by the steady crackle of arcing electricity as cyan bolts writhe and crackle along its limbs, drawin inwards towards the fortress' interior. Almost immediately, the trees leaves begin to brown, flaking off at a pace that steadily increases as they lose their colour, until it looks as if it is raining. 

:'''{{#var:631|Reker (631)}} has posed:''' The blade inside of Reker tears it's way out of him, reducing his HP bar down by another huge chunk. He decides that maybe he should start taking this seriously at this point, as she starts trying to choke him. He tries to reach his hands up to grab the chain, his other hand reaching to try to grab a hold of his combat knife from his vest. Once he manages to get the blade into his hand, he swings it in a wide arc, trying to cut the chain, or at the very least, the hand that's holding onto the chain. The whole idea is to try to get the attacker off of him. Thankfully the heal gun is in place, and Kyra is hitting him with it, so his HP bar is starting to fill back up. Reker is really glad he saved the healer, because now she's saving him, "You're outnumbered! No way you're going to beat the both of us!" He calls out, trying to swing the knife back around a second time. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     "NEVER alone," Vrenyn hisses with malice aplenty. The knife can't break her bone that easily, and the chain itself is extremely sturdy, but cutting into the wrist of her already-damaged arm reduces how much power she can put into that choking attempt. "You canNOT cut the BINDS, can never FREE me, DEADMAN."     It's true that she isn't alone. Adelyn's magic needs only a moment to flow into her blade, a glowing, red rune appearing on Vrenyn's sword in that fraction of a second before it's swung for Reker's neck. A nick will be all it takes. Even with one arm useless, and her body full of pistol rounds, the undead hero's swordsmanship is flawless in its brutal efficiency. One nick, or one impact against anything, and the rune will swallow the target in a fiery explosion, burning itself away.     If she can't chip away at her opponent's health, she'll just got for a critical hit, with all the force of master and servant. 

:'''{{#var:19|Maya (19)}} has posed:''' Things are going bad she's able to do some damage with the shots she fired earily however she was forced to drop the weapon when she go hend but her legs are still free and she's going to use them leas she gets wrecked. She's able to roll free and is just able to keep from getting caught seriously these two have some very damn good team work and it's wrecking the rather disoraganied response from the untion. This is where however Maya's finally able to wriggle free of the line while she's down and she starts to cast a spell as she pull too cards free focusing on the melee expert of the pair. There's a huge spicke in magic from Maya as she's casting actively now powerfull spell in one hand, is the law card. In the other? Chaos and that's when reality might start to break a bit about nox's minion as for a moment she attempt sto attack the fundametal bits holding them togehter as it were break them apart and then reality go wait what and pull them back together. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     "GO FOR THE HEAD!" Kyra calls out, finishing off the sudden burst of healshots. She lets the rifle hang by its strap over her shoulders again before briefly abandoning the fighting pair now that she's managed to get in close enough to the Horologium. Inwardly, she cringes as dead leaves begin to rain down all around them.     The big machine is daunting and clearly quite durable-looking. Ultimately, she wants to try at least something against it to say that she /did/ something. With a frenzied flourish, she pulls the front zipper down to her hoodie so she has better access to her host of potions and mixtures. From her options, she selects two flasks, one held in each hand, one of yellow liquid and the other of red.     The yellow liquid, actually a collection of old, rancid cooking oil from one of Kyra's kitchen disasters of several weeks past, is hurled at the closest of the construct's legs to coat it as much as possible. The second flask follows which immediately explodes upon the flask breaking, the liquid napalm igniting upon contact. 

:'''{{#var:631|Reker (631)}} has posed:''' He's gonna have to make this quick if he wants it to count. He sees the blade coming in, sees the strange glow on it and knows that he won't really be able to do much to deflect the blow at this range. His non-knife hand goes up to his vest and yanks the pins out of the two grenades there as the blade decends on him. When it strikes, it does what it was designed to do and detonates. Reker's HP bar drops to zero, and his body explodes into digital shards. Those grenades that he pulled the pins on drop to the ground after his body disappears, though. One last ditch attack from the trooper before he has to go through the respawn process. Meanwhile, he gets to look at a nice black screen with a simple message on it: YOU DIED 

:'''{{#var:546|Nox (546)}} has posed:'''     As the law and chaos cards hit Frisco, the bindings seeking Maya dissolve as part of the strange magical effect, letting her slip free entirely for a few precious seconds as the spell destructively reassembles the puppet. As the constituant particles slam back together, the puppet suddenly lets off a blinding flash of light, pseudo-electricity coruscating over its form as something delicate inside is put back together incorrectly, interrupting the flow of energy. Though not damaged badly enough to be destroyed, Frisco falls onto the ground face first, the light leaving his eyes. Tartufo however, is still up and swinging. While Maya is busy casting, he pulls back a fresh arrow and holds it fully draw, causing the 'arrowhead' to suddenly swell into a blazing sphere of raw power. A violent wind kicks back from the charging arrow, blowing his long hair back in a current of airborne ash, before suddenly reversing direction and rocketing forward with the white-hot bolt launched by the release of the string. Whatever the arrow impacts will go up in a spherical, cerulean blast that levels over a hundred meters of trees to either side, incinerating everything within its globe of influence before halting abruptly and dissipating.     Meanwhile, one of Horologium's legs goes up in flames. The disadvantage of using so much brass is that it has a rather low melting point, causing the metal to glow cherry red ascending into orange almost immediately. As Kyra watches however, the process of melting appears to be happening extremely slowly. In fact, judging by the way the droplets of molten metal fall to the earth at a surreal crawl, it may actually be happening in slow motion; an effect immediately triggered in response to damage so as to contain it. Displeased by this turn of events, a miniature swarm of noxines detach from their flight path, buzzing towards Kyra in an angry column, before remotely detonating their payload of energy in a rippling daisy chain of violent explosions. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     Vrenyn would probably have something more to say to Reker at this point, but he's already escaped. She has not, and likely will not. Adelyn recognizes the danger, but her mental order to withdraw will come late. Vrenyn's image of a 'grenade' is in a different technological style, and working out the nature of the attack from context is unfortunately slow.     However, her legs are uninjured, and she retains her superhuman reflexes. When the grenades do go off, she's gained a few feet of distance. Not nearly enough to be outside the killing radius, but more than the point-blank explosion it would have been. She's knocked the rest of the way as a rag doll, injuries now spread throughout her body. Without any support, it will take her some time to recover, and she won't have the same speed as before, even then.     Adelyn has again shifted her attention. She is now looking directly at Kyra. The bolts of raw, Arcane energy, enveloped in guiding Wind, will take a few, long moments to reach their target, simply because of the significant distance involved. When they do, Kyra will need to deal with a blasting, explosive force of air and a heat strong enough to flash-melt the ground. The archmage prefers not to allow the clockwork to be disrupted. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     The fire seems to be a bit more effective than Kyra had expected. As she sees the melting occuring, she realizes that the construct is made out of brass. Yes. Low melting point. If she set it on fire more-wait.     The melting rate seemed to be extremely slow. While she could reason that it was due to it being an extraversal alloy of some kind, due to Nox's nature, she's more liable to suspect it as some kind of time magic. Slow, maybe? That could be dispelled too and casting the spell is clearly Kyra's next course of action.     ...or it would be, if her spellcasting wasn't suddenly interrupted by a swarm of the blue-glowing bug drones suddenly descending upon her. Kyra's eyes widen as she grabs another flask of her liquid napalm and hurls it upwards into the oncoming swarm-which, unfortunately, only makes the resultant explosions only bigger. Luckily for her that the Wall is still in effect, meaning the blast does not immediately paste her into the ground. It does send her flying away from the Horologium.     Before picking herself up off the ground, she tears a syringe free of one of her bandoliers and jabs it into her arm, using a potion on herself in this manner since turning the Autodoc onto herself was unwieldly and clumsy to do. As she stands, she realizes that Reker is no longer there. As she frantically looks for him, she feels a prickle of oncoming force moments before Adelyn's magic strikes. Again it is her own protective spells that prevent her from being boiled alive along with the ground underneath her but it doesn't stop her from being hurled in a completely different direction.     "Urgh...where the /hell/ did that come from...?" Scrambling to her feet, she runs for the Horologium again, striving to finish the Dispell before something else explodes her and finally fills her explosion quota-at this point she's looking very worse for wear. 

:'''{{#var:19|Maya (19)}} has posed:''' Maya sees that Frisco is down finally, and she's glad there's still a lot to worry about here such as the archer. Seriously these guys are /good/ at team work. This is fairly stunning and she's going to need to fig up more on Nox. Howver that's a hecll of a big arrow omming her way. Maya's gong to hve to bring up a barrier of her own to tank that there's no way she's going to be dodging that blast. 

:'''{{#var:546|Nox (546)}} has posed:'''     Unfortunately, the noxines passing by Horologium's leg couldn't have failed to notice the napalm burning away through the superstructure, which leaves Nox with no choice but to intervene. Setting the clockwork fortress to autopilot, he abandons his command station once more, teleporting to interpose himself between Kyra and the burning leg. With one hand levelled towards the conflagration, he fires off an unstable blast of temporal decceleration, slowing the vibration of air particles without intefering with their overall timeline, resulting in the ambient water flash freezing into a shell of ice that spreads over the damaged section, extinguishing the fire. With his other hand pointed towards Kyra, he compresses space several times in upon itself into his palm, before releasing it as a violent pulsation of negative gravitational force, expanding outwards in such a way as to hurl anything caught in the way far, far away.     "It seems I wasn't entirely prepared enough. You three have been enough of a nuisance already. Move along now. I'm sure you've damaged enough of my equipment to make yourselves happy." The blast shields over the lenses set into the xelor's mask narrow to slits, as if to express his intense displeasure. The aperture in his hand begins sucking into tiny motes of blue light, spooling up with an electronic whine as he prepares to unleash a spell should Kyra try to charge him again. He seems to be making no movement to engage her however. It seems he's already had enough of her group, and would rather they retreat rather than use up more assets fighting them. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     Kyra's hand reaches out and words rumble from her too soft to make out over the fighting and operation of the Horologium. Just as she is about to finish the spell, Nox unfortunately appears in front of her. A yelp of alarm escapes her and she instinctively dives sideways, unsure if her action would do much since she knows he can stop time and pop up in front of her. But in this case, it does spare her the pain of taking a direct pulse of gravitational force that would have sent her flying very, very far. Instead, she sides across the decimated forest on her back.     It's around this time that Adelyn starts threatening her on the open broadband. Kyra cringes-she was right, they just didn't have the strength to keep this up. "Maya!" she calls out, looking nervously over at Nox, reaching to wind up what looks like a steampunk egg timer on her belt. "We're getting out of here! Now! Before we get gibbed like Reker did!" The chocobo appears again in a flash of green light and through no small effort of Kyra, she hauls herself up on the animal and retreats. 

}}

1479/Dressing for Adventure

2015-02-14T08:32:19Z

Kimiko: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2015/02/03 |Location=Tomoeda-865 |Synopsis=Eiko comes to retrieve her coat. +10 cold resistance get! |Thanks= |Cast of Characters=648, 650 |Tinyplo..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/02/03
|Location=Tomoeda-865
|Synopsis=Eiko comes to retrieve her coat. +10 cold resistance get!
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=648, 650
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:648|Tomoyo Daidouji (648)}} has posed:'''      It's been unseasonably warm in Tomoeda these past few days. The locals are taking as much advantage of the sun as possible! Clothes are hung out, people are running around in clothes more suited for summer, businesses are leaving their doors open...      One such business is Tomoyo's Boutique, where business seems to be picked up. A crew of six are just leaving the store, all tans and muscles. Yamazaki is bowing to them as they leave. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Eiko arrives in seasonably appropriate attire, which basically means she's here in jeans and a t-shirt. (Hey, it works.) She's hoping to leave in something else, but was /also/ hoping she'd have a chance to put it to use right away. Ehh. Well, maybe soon.     "Hey, Tomoyo!" is the way she greets upon entering, bearing no regard for anyone else already being in the shop, or the girl already being busy. Honestly, she barely notices details like that in a peaceful place like this. 

:'''{{#var:648|Tomoyo Daidouji (648)}} has posed:'''      "Welcome!" Yamazaki says, bowing to Eiko as she enters. The store is customer free now, and Tomoyo is behind the counter, filing away several pages of sketches. She looks up at Eiko enters and smiles, bowing deeply.      "Hello Eiko~! Are you here to pick up your coat?" she asks sweetly, tilting her head? 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Eiko gives a toothy smile and a short wave. "Yep! That's the thing I came in to see. It's ready, then? Can't wait to see it." Only then does she really look around. "Hey, business did pick up, didn't it?" 

:'''{{#var:648|Tomoyo Daidouji (648)}} has posed:'''      "Oh, yes it did~ Yamazaki can explain, I just need to go upstairs to get it!" Tomoyo turns about and starts up the stairs behind the counter as the young man begins to explain.      "It turns out that protective clothing is popular among non-Elites too! Especially those who participate in extreme sports. That group who just left are surfers who wanted strong wetsuits so they don't get bruised so much." Now, most people would stop here. But Yamazaki isn't most people.      "Speaking of, did you know that surfing was invented by the Ancient Romans? They used it to deliver shock troops onto beaches from ships that had weighed anchor away from it. They would swim underwater to conceal themselves until a big wave came! Then they rode it, firing arrows at defenders to cover their attack! They sheathed their bowstrings in animal guts to keep them dry. The process of making those sheathes was quite interesting actually. They would-"      Thankfully, Eiko is spared from further ear-chewing by Tomoyo arriving with the coat wrapped in a big plastic bag. "Okay! The dressing rooms are over here~" she says, leading Eiko away from Yamazaki and into a booth, drawing the curtain behind her. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Eiko looks fascinated by the story. Sure, she thinks she'd have heard something about this before if it weren't total bullshit on her world, but this isn't her Japan she's standing in. "Ya don't say." Though, she is much more interested in the actual product, so when Tomoyo gets back Eiko turns right around to her. "Great! Let's see it, then." She's not sure why they need privacy to try on a coat, but whichever, she won't sweat the small stuff. 

:'''{{#var:648|Tomoyo Daidouji (648)}} has posed:'''      Tomoyo extracts the trenchcoat from the bag, and helps Eiko slip it on! It's the dark blue of deep water underneath clear ice. It's also a bit longer than most trenchcoats, the hem sitting just above Eiko's ankles when it's put on. "I left it a little long to maximise protection~"      The sleeves are slim, fitted to match Eiko's own. The buttons are double-breasted, black with little white snowflakes painted onto them. The collar is quite wide, and when popped, the ends can be buttoned together to cover Eiko's mouth. It also has a belt added to the waist that can be secured so it hugs the adventurer's curves a little more. In addition, there's a pair of gloves made from the material in one of the pockets. "There was a bit of the material left over, so I made you some gloves from them. Free of charge, of course~"      "So! What do you think?" 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Eiko stretches out her arms, rolls her shoulders, and gives a few kicks with either leg, doing a little skip to see whether the length will trip her up, and how the fabric drags when cinched up. She's actually concentrating, now, in contrast to... possibly every other moment in which Tomoyo has seen her. She works the gloves over her hands, working out the range of motion, and feeling the grip. She windmils an arm, then reaches her hand to the opposite hip and lashes out with her palm, up and to the side, knees bent nearly into a crouch. Then she straightens, cracks her knuckles, and turns toward Tomoyo with a grin. "I like it! You done good work. Still gotta see how it handles in the cold, but that'll come. The length's good, too. Should have plenty of work with when I need an upgrade, if I've figured that right." She gives a little nod to herself, arms crossed. 

:'''{{#var:648|Tomoyo Daidouji (648)}} has posed:'''      Tomoyo does note how uncharacteristically serious Eiko gets as she tests the coat's physical limits. She supposes that the adventurer wants to make sure it won't trip her in a vital moment. Better time to be serious than any, she supposes! As such, she politely gives Eiko plenty of room to stretch and strike.      "I actually tested a scrap of it myself before making that~ Even when exposed to liquid nitrogen, it just got a slight coat of frost. Didn't become brittle at all! I think you'll be fine~" she says with a nod. "Of course, if you want any mundane alteration, come see me! I charge discounts on alterations to clothes you ordered here~"      Leading Eiko out of the booth, she goes behind the counter and produces the price for the coat. It's actually pretty cheap, since she only charged for the labour, as Eiko gave her the material. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Finger-snap. "Sounds cool."     And then they're both back out to settle the price. On the one hand, Eiko's adventuring has proven profitable to the point that high-quality, custom clothing really isn't all that noticeable an expense. On the other, she is *really* cheap--but with just the labor charge, there's really nothing to complain about, there. She isn't sure what the frostweave would have gotten her otherwise if she'd looked hard for a buyer, but overall feels like she's still getting a good deal out of this, given the effort she's had to put in.     "Sure thing. Might have another opinion once I really put it through its paces, maybe." Meaning, if it does slow her down, she'll have to address the mobility. Probably not, though. She's a good, firm feel of the kind of motion her style needs.     "Bank card's okay, yeah? Putting this through the Syndicate." 

}}

1547/Academy Tour

2015-02-14T08:29:47Z

Kimiko: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2015/02/11 |Location=Galianda |Synopsis=Alexander Academy hosts a few Confederate visitors. |Thanks= |Cast of Characters=127, 202, 626, 633, 658, 6..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/02/11
|Location=Galianda
|Synopsis=Alexander Academy hosts a few Confederate visitors.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=127, 202, 626, 633, 658, 665, 670
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     Stepping through the gate to Galianda immediately slams into the sight of enormous plates of land rotating about a tightly-wound core. It may give off the initial impression of an oversized children's toy instead of a world at first glance were it not for the abundance of people upon the Great Span. It is upon this ever-shifting bridge where the warp gate lies and where Adelyn's demon representative and his interpreter will arrive. It is also where they will first meet the two Alexander Academy students sent to escort them: Kyra and Artyom.     The differences between the two students are vast, from size, to Jobs, to demeanor. Kyra is cheerful and even immediately jumps at the chance to shake a chitinous feeler or leg in greeting. She also seems extremely eager to get on the way to Chocobo.     Immediately noticable to the visitors is that everyone else here seems to be human. They also give any non-humans decidedly...itchy looks. This is the source of Kyra's need to speed along the journey to Alexander Academy-fortunately, there were some reasonable accomodations made for this in the form of a small school-owned airship that shuttles them directly to Chocobo and drops everyone off in the massive 'courtyard' of the Academy. Courtyard is a bit of an understatement, the space itself the size of, or maybe a little bigger, than New York's Central Park. Circling the space are the wings of the Academy which the visitors can see sprawling all throughout Chocobo from their brief view above in the airship. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     Arriving in the normal fashion are two obviously abnormal visitors. Some of this world call them 'extraversals,' though in particular, these are visitors from the Nation of Towers, a Confederate-controlled portion of a planet called Realm. Adelyn Lysen seems to keep too busy a schedule to attend in person, but was still interested enough in the facilities to send a few of her own on a fact-finding mission. There's nothing untoward; she made sure to let the headmaster know ahead of time the general nature of her servant. Any others, she did not mention.     Of the visitors themselves, the one mentioned is brutishly large and roughly centauroid for the forward upper body, while somewhat insectoid for the appearance of the black armor entirely covering him. The armor may not actually be removable, for how some of it seems to fit against him, and his head is not even vaguely humanoid. He's a clawed, horned, armored demon with an unnatural gait on six oddly-jointed legs.     The figure to his side, by stark contrast, seems human enough. A young woman, or possibly a teen, in black and varying shades of purple, with an apparent fondness for ribbons and lace, and matching coloration in eyes and hair. She's a sharp-eyed one, but moves with a hint of deference to the demon, to his side and slightly behind. Both are looking about, though she's much more obvious about it, in part because her eyes aren't set as far apart as the demon's.     The demon is the first to speak. His voice takes 'gravely' to new depths, as if he were actually rolling rocks against each other in his throat. It is just barely intelligible, but takes most some work to decipher, unaided. It's immediately clear that this is the reason for the other's presence, as she begins to speak in the usual human range.     "Greetings. This is Azon, servant of Archmage Adelyn Lysen. I am Eirtryn Biskof, assigned as interpreter and observer." There's a bit of a trill to her accent. "We look forward to this experience." That is much what Azon said, for any who care to listen carefully to both.     With greetings made, they're not going to take overly long to follow along, once their guides lead the way. 

:'''{{#var:658|Annia Shirley (658)}} has posed:''' From her vantage point in the branches of a tree in the courtyard, it was hard to miss the arrival of the airship's landing. Even harder to miss the people coming out of it thereafter. The solitary dancer takes a bit of her apple as she observes. This seems like something she won't touch with a ten foot pole, but doesn't mean she can't watch what's going on with the odd mix of humans and less than humans here. From the bottom of the tree, legs can been seen dangling down, as if torn between moving to the ground and staying up there. She's not trying to attract attention either mind you, she prefers when she's left alone usually. She recognizes at least two of the small group, schoolmates, although she didn't talk to either of them. 

:'''{{#var:665|Artyom W. Valodjn (665)}} has posed:'''     The other student on escort duty today is- to the surprise of a good portion of the student body- Artyom W. Valodjn. For him to volunteer for this kind of thing is... Unusual, certainly, but it seems like he's become more active than most are used to ever since the Unification of Galianda.     He's also about as different from Kyra as you can come. Standing at just about eight feet in height, with broad shoulders for his frame, Artyom could be easily mistaken for a giant from those worlds that actually have proper giants. Even here, he's tall for a Titan- but his great size is tempered by a calm, courteous demeanor and habitual gentleness brought about from being all too aware of his own strength. He, too, shakes an appendage if one is offered, though he casts his guests a bit of a curious look as well. It's easy to see why the demon might be a subject of interest, but the other one... Well, let's just say that she reminds him of someone else he knows.     "It's a pleasure," Artyom rumbles in his usual, unflappable tone, "I am Artyom, and my companion is Kyra. We hope that we can make your visit as comfortable and informative as possible." He follows along not long after Kyra leads the way, bringing up the rear of both demon and interpreter. His large size can be useful, you see. For instance, in case he needed to intercept someone with too much fear and too little intelligence. 

:'''{{#var:127|Kirikou (127)}} has posed:'''     Visiting for the first time, Kirikou is definitely human, as are the two kids with him. Well, mostly human at least. He's looking around in fascination and interest, no sign of dismay in his assessment of the weirdness of the multiverse... or at least this part of it. From a land with a living smirking sun, where the moon is close enough to be reached through common flight, the idea of flying continents isn't really that disturbing at all.     Kirikou, joining the others on the ground after the trip, grins at Kyra before looking up at Artyom. "Glad to be here, big guy." he says affably. "I'm looking forward to seeing more of Alexander Academy!"     The point, right now, is to accompany Adelyn's servants. Not that Kilik's part of the expedition... he'd just heard of it and followed along for no stated reason, just for interest and/or giggles. Unspoken is Kirikou's knowledge; the paperwork is going through now. The students here probably don't know yet, but everything's all but official. He'll be attending classes here in an exchange from Death Academy. Multiversal understanding, and all that. Two schools, both full of elite fighters and tacticians, future leaders of their respective worlds. Both places where people learn to fight and destroy monstrous threats. Similar enough, at least on the surface, to make the differences a bit less glaring. 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     Kyra actually seems pretty happy to see Kirikou here. Sure, she's already cheerful and excited to be doing the escort job to begin with but having a friend here too made it even better.     Patiently, Kyra waits as the demon speaks, trying to understand his words but finding herself pretty much unable to. She's grateful for the translation provided by Eirtryn. "Pleased to meet you, Azon, Eirtryn. If either of you have any questions, feel free to interrupt us at any time!" Her gaze falls upon Eirtryn herself, the girl's clothing reminding Kyra of a friend with similar tastes. These were similar tastes that said friend had attempted to get her into to little success.     Once they have touched down on the central courtyard, Kyra eagerly begins an introduction of the campus. "So this is Alexander Academy, the premier educational institution on Galianda. It's where the talented and/or very rich attend school, training in their jobs to become the next generation of civilizations leaders. Graduating from here is stupidly rigorous but also pretty prestigious! Of course, some people do drop out but the administration doesn't like to talk about that very much, heheh."     She starts gesturing around her with her hands, pointing to various sets of buildings. "So over there we have the dorms. We'll go there last. Then we have the Administration building which I'm not sure is worth visiting at all. Allll that over there is just for sports and clubs. We've got a lot of those and a lot of the sports facilities take up quite a bit of room. Sometimes professional teams will even come to use the arenas. Over there is the theoretical education wing and finally we have the practical educational wing. Our library is in the theoretical education wing if you're into those kinds of things." 

:'''{{#var:127|Kirikou (127)}} has posed:'''     Kirikou may have business in Administration later, but he kind of wants to arrive with a bang. Show up in classes as a surprise to those few students here he knows. Kyra, Dominic, and those other few voices he's only heard over the radio. Until everything's official, he's not going to spoil the surprise by announcing he'll be joining them.     "Which are you?" Kilik asks Kyra, though with the slight smirk on his face he's only teasing by his asking. He's already pegged her as a 'talent' student rather than a 'money' student. True, the chains and piercings might be the acts of a rebellious rich scion, but she doesn't seem like the nobility type. Dominic seems like a rich sort, though not incompetent or anything, but he totally has Kyra pegged as more of a normal sort. More someone like himself, or at least someone like the Thompson sisters, two of his favorite people at Death Academy.     "And also..." he adds, considering. "What's taught in the Practical wing? We have a couple of fields and gymnasiums, but most of our practical training's done as supplemental off-campus fieldwork." Kirikou grins. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     Eirtryn looks over toward Kirikou and the two extras, but doesn't say anything else until Azon begins to speak again, and the demon isn't commenting on the other Confederate's presence being for any different reason than his own. Again, as Azon rumbles, the beribboned girl speaks, far more easily intelligibly. "Of course, we will have many questions."     It doesn't take long for the first one. "How literal are you in referring to the 'next generation of leaders'?" It's too similar to educational advertising rhetoric to immediately take at face value, no matter how true it might actually be. "We are most interested in the variety of 'jobs.' Current understanding is partial in this area." It's not like they have Galiandans in their own ranks or anything to help broaden that understanding. "In particular, the methods of magic employed here. It may be mutually beneficial to find some common ground in our understandings of mana." Eirtryn, for all her youthful appearance, has a very refined--or perhaps merely well-educated--manner of speech. Azon's speech patterns are slightly different, though it will take some care to notice how she's rephrasing the gruffer demon's queries.     Both in appearance, and actuality, she's a sharp one. While Azon's head moves little whenever he looks from one side to another--he needs to move only that much--Eirtryn more visibly catches a few of the eyes of those staring at the visitors with her own. If not one's imagination, she smiles directly to Annia across that distance, before again turning toward their guides.     "Unfortunately, this outing does not allow much time for listening in on lectures. But your class environments are also of interest." 

:'''{{#var:658|Annia Shirley (658)}} has posed:''' Annia Shirley slips down the tree after a while, still eating her apple quietly. She's just getting a better look at the new arrivals. She has good enough hearing to listen in at least, from her spot. She's not that surprised at the various looks of the visitors at least. There's enough variety in the multiverse to tune that kind of feeling out after a while. As long as they can speak, doesn't matter what they look like in the end. She keeps the apple between her teeth as she reaches down for her bag, that she left at the foot of the tree while she was perched up in it, rummaging for a notepad that she pulls out, along with a pencil, starting to write things into it. 

:'''{{#var:665|Artyom W. Valodjn (665)}} has posed:'''     Artyom was not expecting a third visitor! But that's fine. One more isn't that big of a deal. At least it's not another demon, or anything. "Mostly practical combat skills, as the name might suggest," Artyom answers, looking toward the set of buildings that, if he were to be forced to choose, would probably be his favorite part of campus. It has this one spot right on the roof that's pretty much perfect for his favorite school-time pass-time after all. "There are areas set up for students to utilize what they learn in the theoretical lectures without damaging the facilities overmuch. Black Mages hurling fireballs, and Blue Mages learning Goblin Punch, so on and so forth. There are also rings for one-on-one practice, but larger skirmishes are usually conducted in the sporting facilities."     He turns towards the demon and his translator, then. Artyom nods, "It's as much a symbolic statement as a literal one. Alexander graduates some of the best and the brightest of all Galianda, and many prestigious families and companies have close ties to the school. Students are often scouted to join one corporation, adventuring guild or some such organization shortly after graduation." Nothing is said about Alexander's drop-out rate, or the school's rigor. Artyom doesn't like talking about grades, no sir.     "If you like," he goes on to say, "We can stop at either the practical studies department first and see if there are any Magic classes going on. I'm sure that would help answer a number of your questions better than either of our explanations." 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     "The and/or." Kyra says, smirking back at Kirikou. "I'll give you some Hyral 101 later if you -really- want to know, Kilik." Other than that little teaser, though, she doesn't seem to up on spilling her own personal history in front of their guests.     Admittedly, the first question is a reasonable one. Kyra adds to Artyom's answer. "Sounds like a line straight off the front page of our website, doesn't it? It's pretty literal, actually-a number of big business heirs send their kids here as do various degrees of royalty from all over Galianda. The Prince of Ramuh comes here, for example. It's not everyone, though."     Kyra turns to the practical studies wedge off in the distance. "I agree with Artyom, watching one of those in action would be a lot more fun than hearing Artyom or I drone on about magic particles and physics." 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason has had a long day fighting extraveral monsters she was able to just get back and had been making hee way about the school ground whchn she comes upon group seemingly lkead by Kyra with several people whom she assumes are extraveral in origins from the looks of them. She picked up a few bits of what was being as said as she closed. It seemd to be a toury she was clad in clothing that seemed more suited to being on a ship or a beach given while not incdent it wasn't exactly covering she also had a bold streak tatoo across her face which was easy enough to see as she approached. "Good day and welcome! I see you have some pretty good guides already." She gives Artyom, Kyra and Annia a nod. While Eirtryn and Kirikou get grin from the Levitani. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     Eirtryn blinks at something Azon says, before turning to again smile at their guides. "We see." The demon was, one might notice, amused at the answer regarding leadership, if they could figure out that that purely unintelligible rumbling was a laugh.     While it's clear that the Realm duo and Kirikou are here with different interests in particular, there's enough overlap to agree to moving on to some place where both aims might be satisfied. "Theory can be as well transmitted on paper, to the extent sought today. Demonstration of practical application may be more enlightening." As his interpreter says that, Azon raises a single claw to gesture in the direction indicated earlier. For the moment, neither seem to be paying much attention to any others, though one of Azon's glowing eyes may focus on Lyria for a moment. 

:'''{{#var:127|Kirikou (127)}} has posed:'''     Kilik might take Kyra up on the Hyral 101 course at a later time because she's interesting. Not only does she remind him of his friends back 'home', she's... to be honest, she's cute. Not that the other girls aren't attractive of course, but he can't help his preferences even if he doesn't intend to try to pursue. He's seen enough of that sort of behavior to automatically not want to be 'that kind of guy' even if that means risking being a perpetual friend. Better that then being 'that guy', right?     "I prefer fighting to magic, personally." Kirikou states, dropping a hand onto the shoulders of the twins with him. "But I can see fighting anywhere. Your magic's what makes you guys distinct from us at Death Academy, so I'm pretty happy to check out that sort of thing!" He looks over at Eirtryn, shrugs. "Works out for everyone that way, right?" he adds, easygoing as always. 

:'''{{#var:665|Artyom W. Valodjn (665)}} has posed:'''     Artyom nods back at Lyria in greeting, then glances back to their guests. "Is it really so unique?" Artyom asks Kilik, inclining his head inquisitively. "Many worlds I've visited seem capable of magic. Perhaps not to the extent that we can manage, but still."     Demonic chuckling illicits a quick flicker of a glance up at the demon emissary. Perhaps it was not the best idea to mention such a thing to this creature? Well, too late now.     "We'll proceed there first, then," he continues, skipping not a single beat. "Please be aware that some of the students there may be somewhat... enthusiastic, if classes are on. Keep an eye out for stray projectiles." 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     A frown crosses Kyra's face briefly as the demon and Eirtryn make a somewhat nondescriptive remark to the whole 'literal next generation leaders' thing. The feeling is quick to pass and Kyra leads the group into the inside of the first practical education building. It's extremely huge with large hallways and even larger classrooms. The walls are extremely thick and in several cases many of the classrooms are 'opened' to the outside. It looks like there are also mechanisms present to shut the open areas of each room if needed. Several of the classrooms have stadium-style seating. One such is occupied with a number of students in the center practicing at...each other, it seems.     It doesn't take long to determine the nature of the class. It's black magic-pretty basic black magic of the status ailment variety. Via enthusiastic chanting and what seems to be a final word of power, the students are having a grand old time casting sleep and poison on each other. A lone professor garbed in a fancy red hat stands by, occasionally removing status ailments with esuna when they become too burdensome.     "On Kilik's world magic kind of has a stigma going as something that witches use. His soul resonance energy stuff, however, seems more in line with our magic? But overall I will agree that the extent of magic particles throughout everything surpasses the degree of magic in quite a number of other worlds by quite a bit. For example, it seems that on the majority of worlds physics functions on its own, without magic. Though seemingly so. I've been picking at this subatomic stuff and all these attractions and forces seem magic-y to me." 

:'''{{#var:127|Kirikou (127)}} has posed:'''     Kilik nods at Kyra's explanation. He didn't really care about getting into details, but he wouldn't deny them either. "I just meant distinct from my own school." he explains. "I've seen plenty of magic in the multiverse. And no, I don't think you're witches." he grins. And if they are? Well, he's got a few witch friends as well. Really no big deal. Magic makes him slightly uncomfortable, at least if he's not familiar with its source, but what he really has a problem with is those who revel in destructiveness.     The black magic IS pretty fascinating, of course. And Kirikou seems to find the mages casting poison spells on each other quite amusing. The twins watch with open mouths, as students appear to be perfectly willing to turn each other green with stomach-churning magic. Got to be great fun for parties and stuff. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     "Magic differs between every civilization, with the exception of those that lack all ability to manipulate mana." Eirtryn replies. "A degree of uniqueness is expected."     While Eirtryn listens attentively, Azon seems to be.. doing something else. The claws of one hand make remarkably dextrous gestures in the air while they all watch the black mages practice. The claw-tips leave glowing impressions in the air for the barest of moments, brief enough to cause one to question what they'd seen afterward, if they weren't expecting it. The effect of this magic is nothing obvious, as it has no effect on anyone else present, and his own chanting is low to the point of unreadability.     In the meantime, "Some worlds demarcate such that 'physics' includes only those physical principles that do not interact with magic. Mine, Realm, is not such a world." She makes a light, shrugging gesture, turning herself to directly watch the poisoning for a moment. "The terms make no difference." Kilik gets a bit of curious look from her, then. Yes, it's pretty safe to say she's some kind of mage, too, though she's yet to show it. 

:'''{{#var:665|Artyom W. Valodjn (665)}} has posed:'''     Sometimes it helps to have a red mage teach the more basic magic lessons. After all, they've got the black magic to scare kids into line, and the white magic to make them better if they hurt themselves. Red Mages are both versatile AND useful!     Artyom nods, "That much is true. I haven't had my magic limited in any particular fashion during my travels... Except that one time, with that bizarre pocket-world, and when we visited the Courier's Mojave Desert." He... doesn't like dwelling on that latter one. The former got him loot, though! Lots and lots of shiny loot! He doesn't /wear/ any of it, of course, but it's nice to have it nearby to look at. Artyom may or may not be accumulating a dragon hoard in his bedroom.     "I don't think we have a Witch job," Artyom says to Kilik. He ponders for a moment, though. "...I think the closest one might come to the... stereotypical image of your common extraversal witch is a Black Mage who dabbles in alchemy." Kind of like Kyra, except black magic instead of white.     "Galiandan magic is a study of patterns," he explains, "The students are weaving their magical energies into specific patterns that produce the desired effect. Poison and sleep, in this case." He... looks up at the demon. Artyom makes an inquisitive noise. "Might I ask what you are doing, sir?" The Titan inquires, eyebrows creeping up towards his hairline, "Some magic of your own, I presume?" 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason gets loocked over and is curious for a moment as she looks back. She's just curious really Kilik also gets a bit of a look. She doesn't pay full attention to the stuff about the school entirely she knows most of this. "Magic is in everything in this world I admit. What Gets me to be honest are the worlds where there is no magic. I'm getting ahead of myself I'm Lyria Mason and it's good to meert you." Lyria got that next generation of leaders bit she darn well knows what this school is. Whatever her politcal views she's never really stated them before. "Wait ... magic with Stigma?!" That gets her attention she neven even dreamed of such a thing that's more alien than a lack of magic. "You been to Mr. Trailbranchs's world Artyom?" 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     "We can't all be witches." Kyra laughs, giving Kilik a grin. "I'm glad that didn't cause us too much of a problem when Dominic and I visited."     Eirtryn adds something interesting that Kyra can't help but respond to. "Mana...yes. Everyone here can manipulate 'mana'. Some people even have a greater ability to do so but everyone on Galianda uses the magic particles. How they do it depends on the Job the have." Looking up, Kyra watches Azon as he does some sort of magic of his own.     Kyra is not the only one to notice either. The professor looks up suddenly, staring straight at Azon. Gradually, the other students in the class slow to watch as well, leading to an awkward silence.     Kyra waves suddenly, speaking up, "Professor Hakaril Silvar! Please, continue, we are showing guests around!" 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     Azon completes whatever he was doing in only a few seconds. Turning to face Artyom--a more obvious motion of attentiveness than he's shown thus far--one effect of his magic, if it is related, does become clear. His eyes had glowed red beneath his armor. They now shine blue, and a fair bit brighter. The intensity varies, though that may just be him squinting. Again, Eirtryn relays. "Diagnostics."     She seems about to say something else, checks, and instead continues with, "Detection spells, to observe the mana being manipulated within the room. A variety are necessary, to map the full spectrum of effects, but this is to be a short visit." As she finishes speaking, the demon returns to intent observation of the students practicing, but lets out a heavy, snorting breath as they stop and turn.     "Ahh, the old problem of 'measurement impacting that which is measured...'" That was clearly the human's(?) own words, and not the demon's. Eirtryn continues, then, in response to both Kyra and Lyria. "The ability to use mana varies across a variety of metrics. Within the variety of the multiverse, it should be no surprise that some people are entirely crippled, nor that this trait perpetuates between generations, broken only by rare exceptions." She says all this with an academic aloofness.     Again comes the demon's rumbling, and the interpreter relays, "Shall we continue? We have already provided more than sufficient interruption for this class." 

:'''{{#var:127|Kirikou (127)}} has posed:'''     "No problem, no." Kirikou says, returning the grin. "Because you knew better than to USE MAGIC in a place where people might notice and think it's weird! Or something." he adds, broadening his grin into a smirk. He doesn't look around to Adelyn's demon or anything like that, nope. To all appearances he completely missed the subtle magic. Sensing isn't one of his talents after all, but of course there's his words. Who knows how much he actually noticed? Probably nothing more than Artyom's words, when it comes to that.     "Witches in my world... aren't exactly like popular witch culture." Kilik says, answering Artyom. "More... well, more like the image of the warlock, or the demon sorceror, or something." he says, wincing. "Their gift is destruction, and for most of 'em they can't help it. They destroy because that's what their gift makes them do." he explains. It's not a pleasant situation, and ... well, he DOES have several witch friends. One too young to have fallen under destruction's sway yet, two that are (so far) too weak, one whose magic is completely nondestructive in nature. 

:'''{{#var:633|Soan Sagittarius (633)}} has posed:'''      It is very hard to see, if possible at all. It's certainly not impossible to miss it. However, with the vast, huge mass of movement, activity and busy people bustling about the place, even if many gives the visitors a wide berth, or not. After all, even at less active hours, this is a very well travelled place. Open-air classes addes further to the sheer 'vastness' of people here.      Let's set aside fancy words: it's a busy place, for busy people. Eating a sandwich counts as very busy.      While a common thing that happens, a figure arrives from outside of the academy's grounds from elsewhere on Chocobo, sails through the air donward at the aisle that would be describled later as the Theorical Education section of the Academy. It is lost briefly behind the Time Mage's Observatorium Telescope, then leaping upward on top of it seamlessly. It is an humanoid figure, with his arms crossed, staring out and around the glaring presence of Phoenix in the skies. The armoured figure stands there, the Divine in his back, staring out downward at the academy. It's hard to tell where it is looking at, or if looking at anything in particular. What does further betrays his presence is the faint glinting of Phoenix over his armor, occassional, following his moments.      After a few moments, the figure crouches, then leaps off effortlessly into the skies into deeper parts of the Academy -- or Chocobo. It is hard to tell.      He went pretty damn high. 

:'''{{#var:665|Artyom W. Valodjn (665)}} has posed:'''     "Ah, I see," Artyom bobs his head at the massive demonic creature. Well, that's certainly less worrying than what he was thinking. Of course, that doesn't exactly help much when the entire class turns to stare at their guests. At least one of the children slooowly starts backing away from the thing that looks very much like what you'd find at the bottom of a dungeon.     "...I believe you may be right," he says to nobody in particular. "Best we leave before we cause too much of a stir," though it seems that it may be a bit too late for that already, given how Professor Silvar seems to be frowning hard enough that you can almost /feel/ the (possibly literal) frost building beneath his hat.     Artyom leads the group away before the famously overprotective mage decides to do much more than worry. They move a couple doors down to observe a slightly more advanced class. These are maybe a year older than the previous class, and seem to be caught up in what looks to be a game of Stop and Go. ...Except that the Stop is literally 'casting Stop, Slow or Gravity' and the Go is 'managing to caste Haste to negate the Stop-Casting.' It seems they've walked directly into a Time Mage class. The professor is a man with a phenomenally pointy orange hat and quite a tremendous beard that he may have chosen to grow that morning in particular.     "Warlocks, eh?" Artyom looks to Kilik. "...That's unfortunate, that their nature dictates it. Is it truly the way of their 'gift' that they must destroy? Or is it simply that, whenever they do try to cast magic, it ends up destructive no matter what?" 

:'''{{#var:127|Kirikou (127)}} has posed:'''     "Their gift is destructive." Kilik replies. "And most don't want to do anything but destroy with it. Some... can channel it, destroy only what they want destroyed. Others never learn control, and have to be killed before they hurt too many other people." he says, not without a bit of regret. Meisters and Weapons kill witches, it's true. For hundreds of years, there was no thought involved. It's just something that needed doing. Kirikou, and a few other students besides, are the first in a very long time to actually question this policy... and mostly that's because they befriended a witch before knowing she was a witch. 

:'''{{#var:202|Adelyn Lysen (202)}} has posed:'''     As they walk on, one may notice that the 'diagnostic' spell is still functioning. Or, at least, Azon's eyes still glow a bright blue. Eirtryn walks directly in front of the demon, this time, her hands clasped behind her, head turning this way and that. The next class has both their attentions quite raptly, though more so the interpreter's, after Artyom asks his question. When the demon begins to respond, she has to tear her attention off well enough to parse and relay.     "Demons, it is well-known, are destructive by nature. They enjoy and lust for violence--Azon is not an exception to this, and would not be here peacefully without the Archmage's bindings." The next line may be her own, "It is as natural as that a fire consumes, and as up to the governing mage to control."     After a few more moments of silence, "Time magic, and with students so early in their studies? Fascinating." 

:'''{{#var:626|Kyra Hyral (626)}} has posed:'''     "Well of course, Kilik. We're not total idiots." Though certain Murasame heirs might disagree with Kyra's assessment of herself to be free from idiocy. Kyra seems a little spacy for a moment as she watches Azon work his magic, which turns out to be analytic in nature. With this in mind, she turns back to the rest of the class.     "Just an extraversal version of Scan, Professor Silvar! Nothing to worry about, just go back to work." Though it seems that, unfortunately, their presence has pretty much derailed the instruction. Quietly, she sighs at this, but she is at least relieved that nobody goes so far to try and attack Azon and Eirtyrn. "Yes...well, let's move on." And so they do.     Kyra is perceptive enough to spy the briefest of appearances of Dragoon Man. It brings a smile to her face, though it's tempting to call out in greeting to him, she does not.     "A person generally figures out what their Job is pretty early in life." Kyra adds for Azon and Eirtryn's benefit. She's a bit quieter this time, hoping to not disturb the class and rob Azon of his observations. It's clear to the demon that mana is flowing from the students to create the magical effects but in the case of time magic, it is distinctly different from the black magic (and small amounts of white magic) he just observed in the other class. The flows all seem pretty similar between each of the students on the same type of magic with some minute differences. 

:'''{{#var:670|Lyria Mason (670)}} has posed:''' Lyria Mason thinks about this topic, extraveral situations with magic are more complicated than she thought. She takes careful not but damn it feels like she's listening to one of her teachers. She does not discount it however. She's about to say something she pauses she catches movment and a super high jump she stops and stares for a moment. "Did ... anyone else see that?!" 

:'''{{#var:665|Artyom W. Valodjn (665)}} has posed:'''     "I see," Artyom says with a slight frown. "Just like any gift. It depends not on the nature of the magic, but on the character of the user, I suppose." It's just that, when power is acquired too soon, it quickly /becomes/ that character. Strength acquired unbidden can turn into a crutch. "...It's unfortunate, what you must do." He glances toward Eirtryn, then nods. "As Kyra says, we typically know where our talents lean towards the beginning of our studies. But otherwise..." He chuckles, chest puffing out just a little bit, "Well, we do claim to teach the best and the brightest, yes?"     Lyria says a thing, Artyom's brow twitches. "See what?" He asks, clearly having missed Dragoon Man in all the business of being a tour guide. Or perhaps Artyom simply doesn't believe hard enough in fairies, or something. That's how that works, right? 

}}

1422/Tokyo Dungeon

2015-01-27T05:47:28Z

Kimiko: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2015/01/26 |Location=Earth-490 <49> |Synopsis=A mall in Tokyo turns into a demon-filled dungeon, which then gets cleared. Dungeon boss whereabouts:..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/01/26
|Location=Earth-490 <49>
|Synopsis=A mall in Tokyo turns into a demon-filled dungeon, which then gets cleared. Dungeon boss whereabouts: Unknown.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=7, 342, 571, 575, 617, 650, 665, 672
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Early 21st century Japan. It's a bustling time, right around evening rush hour, with really nothing especially odd to see. Eiko is standing there on the street, attracting passers-by thanks to the sword she's carrying, though they again go on about their way after staring for a bit. It is pretty damn crowded, though the people all have places to be and aren't going to do more than jostle tourists, no matter how foreign they look.     She seems to be standing in front of... a mall? And fidgeting. She's fidgeting a LOT. There doesn't seem to be anything weird about the mall. People are walking around or going in. It takes some more careful observation to note that very few people are coming out, and it takes some very refined or fairly specific senses to notice the dimensional anomaly superimposed over the entire building.     "Come on, come on, come on..." 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     A black muscle car carrying two occupants will be tearing ass through the highway towards the scene. The vehicle only parks upon finding a massive gridlock ahead of it near the mall, with its occupants climbing out. Alexis Maaka flashes ID tags to avoid the cops flipping their shit about some six foot cyborg and her sidekick pulling out subguns and approachin the mall itself.     Maaka tosses Kotone a second MP5 along the way just as she spots a girl with a katana, guessing she's the one who made the call earlier. "Hey, sorry for the wait. Fuckin' rush hour, y'know?" The redhead has a ballistic vest on, and a pistol is holstered on her right thigh for backup along with a hilt-looking device and some 'nades. Simple stuff, really. 

:'''{{#var:342|Nozomi Houken (342)}} has posed:'''     "Were you aware that your mall is in the midst of a dimensional anomaly?"     The deep and slightly sarcastic voice of a robot tiger issues from the crowd as it ambles through it, no doubt receiving a wide berth from passersby. TIGER's ability to part a crowd is nigh-on universal purely for his oddity and vaguely dangerous appearance. The girl sitting astride him, however, is anything but. She looks a tad nervous, especially in the crowd of Tokyo, so a chance for them to stop and talk to the anxious-looking girl carrying a sword is a chance she is willing to take.     "If I had to guess, I would conjecture that you are the only local presence capable of dealing with such things," Taiga offers. "I am the Technology-Integrated Gensou Engine Rampart. This is my user, Nozomi Houken." Nozomi bows her head faintly. 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     Ayako walks quickly with the crowds in Eiko's direction. She's actually pretty careful not to push or jostle anyone, but still be swift enough to make her way through the crowd quickly. It doesn't hurt that she fits in pretty well with the normal people and is cute, making her seem like a young girl in a hurry.     After a moment she makes her way to Eiko and stands next to her. "Hello Eiko! So. Where's the fire?" Ayako's head inclines to the side gently as she smiles softly. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     The STARBOUND FLOTILLA arrives. For a world that has little interaction with the multiverse, they're... Sssssslightly conspicuous. A fishman, a monkey-man, a robot-girl, and a bird-woman are all walking down the street. They also have a human in their group, but that's less remarkable. LUCKILY, they look exactly like rubber-headed aliens as depicted in television sci-fi, even down to their gimmick outfits.     They appear to have teleported somewhere nearby and walked here. Moonfin is the one who moves forward, giving an extremely approving look to the katana sheathed at Eiko's side. "Greetings, I am Moonfin of the Starbound Flotilla, and we have come to assist."     The robot behind him beeps several times, then says in a feminine monotone, "Agitated. Distortion anomaly detected in the vicinity." A pause. "Urgent. Is that the cause?"     All six of the group seem ready to start, and will follow directions into the structure as soon as given them. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa does resto work and so she does love going for rides in thisw old mucle car of Alexis the thing is lovely as far as she's concerned as she catches the MP5 and nods to Alexis and sighs. "Rush Hour no matter the world can be murder. Good to be here though." Kotone is geared for trouble form the looks of her and she is indeed armed right now. "This is quite the mess." Still Kotone is fairly chipper having time to chill out on Rory's ship for a day or so seems to have done her some good really. "Anything else we need to know about this Distortion?" She also looks over to see the Foltilla's personel arriving. 

:'''{{#var:617|Chloe von Einzbern (617)}} has posed:''' One moment Chloe von Einzbern was not there. In the span on a breath, without so much as transition in any way shape or form, she is. Simply appearing as if from thin air, hands folded behind her head as she shifts her weight to lazily rest on one foot. Right by Nozomi, as a matter of fact. "Yeahhhh there's something up with that mall, alright." 

:'''{{#var:342|Nozomi Houken (342)}} has posed:'''     The moment Chloe appears, Nozomi lets out a startled little yelp and jumps about a foot to the side. 

:'''{{#var:665|Artyom W. Valodjn (665)}} has posed:'''     There are foreigners in Japan, and then there are FOREIGNERS in Japan. While not standing out nearly as much as the Floatilla crue, the fact remains that being eight-foot-nothing in the middle of a Japanese city makes you stand out a little. Doubly so when it looks like you're carrying a surfboard on your back. Artyom grunts curiously as he casts his eyes upward at the vast, gleaming towers. A train passes nearby, its wheels roaring along the tracks. This place, Artyom muses, reminds him vaguely of Ramuha- or of Titan at its most crowded. He's apparently stopped somewhere for what appears to be a stick of dango. It's half-eaten, and, judging by the way he's munching at it, will soon be /fully/ eaten!     But he's not here to sightsee. Not necessarily. Artyom arrives in front of the mall, his brow scrunching at its front doors. "Hmm, this is the place," he asks, swallowing a bite of his snack, "Is it?" His eyes glance over at the others, idly taking them in, before pausing at Eiko. "Sorry if I was late. I got--" there's a pause, the camera flickers briefly at his nearly-gone stick o' food, "--A bit distracted." 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Of note, Earth-490 is only very, VERY dimly aware of the multiverse at all. At least, all the crowds are. Therefore, they assume to the most probable with every strange thing they see. To whit, basically everyone that shows up is assumed to be a cosplayer. Except TIGER, which must be here for a robotics trade show. No one is sure what show that is, but obviously there is one. The police are unamused by Maaka's parking job, but flashing a badge will get them off her case for probably long enough to get out of there.     Eiko looks up as people arrive. TIGER has her double-take, because that is very close to being a giant robot. Just needs to be a little bigger. She recovers quickly, though, as she is also feeling pretty rushed about getting through this.     "Actually, no! There are probably others. But they're not showing up right now, which is probably bad! There should be dudes already here and they aren't and that is both vaguely worrying and a HUGE OPPORTUNITY." She seems almost unnaturally energetic. Someone probably had their coffee fix just now. "Also, YES, there are things I gotta explain."     Anyone with especially good stealth/observation abilities may have noticed that, in fact, some pretty damn stealthy but /mostly/ mundane observers have been keeping an eye on... every single off-worlder that has shown up, with the possible exception of Kuro. Eiko does not show any awareness of this.     Eiko gestures up behind her. "This is what happens when some big-wig from the Other Side makes an invasion. Takes over some place and starts doing some kinda cosmic replacement gig. /Long/ story short, we use this gimmick I've got," she holds up what looks like an ordinary Shinto-style amulet, "and we go in, and we end up in a dungeon full of nasty horned horrors and crap. We punch 'em in the face, jack their stuff, and break the dungeon's core, and it goes back to the Other Side, and we get back our piece of /this/ world. We don't do that, and... bad stuff happens." She shrugs. "Usually they're a LOT smaller than this."     While she talks, there is still a big crowd around. Some people are taking pictures, of all involved. Some weirdo with a backpack is trying to get his hands on the robot tiger while muttering at high speed about servo-mechanisms. Some pair of girls are trying to get the eight-foot Galiandan to take a picture with them. A large subset of the crowd are trying to figure out what movie Flotilla crew are shooting. 

:'''{{#var:342|Nozomi Houken (342)}} has posed:'''     "I am government-owned military hardware," Taiga says, turning to look straight at the guy in the backpack. "Please do not touch me." That seems to be all he has to say to the weirdo, although Nozomi is now edging even closer to him than before. "A-ah, so, we... we just have to go in and fight the monsters, right?" That's good. That's very good. Fighting monsters is why Taiga exists, after all. "If I may, permit me to take the lead," the robotiger offers, yellow eyes gleaming. "I am equipped with an advanced magical sensor suite designed around detecting and combatting supernatural threats of many kinds. If there are any nasty surprises in wait, I am well-tuned to spot them."     And so declaring, he pads forward with a clunkitaclunk, moving near the fore of the group and simply waiting for Eiko to open the way. Nozomi, meanwhile, sort of nervously eyes the rest of the group, as if trying to figure out who is the least-threatening person to stay next to. 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     Alexis gives a bit of an amused snicker at Nozomi's reaction, before seriousing up again. She nods to the Starbound crew before flagging them over to join up. Her golden eyes look up at the deminsional wedgie before them in the mall, and she listens pretty close to what Eiko says. "So we get to raid tombs and kill horrors. Sounds good to me." She says with a grim smile flicking the safety off her submachine gun.     She glances back at the crowd of gawkers before flashing some sort of device, if it works on this early 21rst century crap their phones and cameras will momentarily be unworkable for the time being. "No pictures." she calls out in Japanese, clear enough for the crowd to get the message.     Something may imply Maaka isn't a fan of paparazzi. 

:'''{{#var:617|Chloe von Einzbern (617)}} has posed:'''     Chloe is a completely ordinary girl from Germany with really dark skin and a bad habit of just appearing. Really, there's nothing of note about her worth watching. Seriously, don't mind the dusky skinned child. She's even in a Japanese schoolgirl uniform. Though she does slide golden eyes to Nozomi when the other girl near leaps out of her skin. "What? I told you I was coming." She smirks. It's a cattish grin as she rests her hands on her hips. But she tilts her head at Eiko and her explanation. "Oh huh. So it's like a bounded field. Well going in and pummeling stuff sounds easy enough. Might as well, I've been bored out of my skull lately." 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     However people want to handle the attention, Eiko just doesn't seem to care in the slightest. Even for the attention she's getting. She just keeps on talking.     "So this gimmick here is gonna, basically, establish personal reality inside that place for us, using the bearer as a base. Another long story short, trying to use it on everyone here at the same time is going to knock me the /hell/ out. I'm probably going to need to be carried in there, because this is more people than I expected to show. Not complaining! Just save me a good share of the loot. And remember there's a non-zero chance you'll be stuck in the void between worlds forever if you drop me."     Finger-guns at Kuro. "Right! That's a good term. Bounded field." 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     Ayako blinks her eyes slowly. "Hmm... That's quite a way to stage an invasion. And... if this one's big, someone on the other side must be feeling a bit ambitious." Her amber gaze looks upwards. "Either that or they really really really wanted a shopping mall."     Oh. Someone's trying to take a picture! Ayako poses cutely and winks!     She looks back towards everyone. "Oh. People I haven't met... I'm Ayako Hasekawa, a water spirit! Please call me Ayako. If anyone needs healing, that's pretty much all I can do." Ayako giggles a bit nervously. "So pardon me if I leave the punching, jacking, and breaking to everyone else." 

:'''{{#var:665|Artyom W. Valodjn (665)}} has posed:'''     Artyom is about as stealthy as a polar bear in a coal mine. He notices absolutely nothing of the /strange watchers/ who may or may not be taking a peek at their little entourage. Idle concern plays across his face briefly as the crowd begins to gather, however- it's not like this is some kind of game! There's serious, dimensional business at foot here!     But there is also always time to take a picture with giggling schoolgirls. There are a lot of those back in Alexander. It's only polite to pose in their photographs when requested. And so Artyom poses, a bit. He throws up a bit of a peace sign, there's a flash of camera-flash, and Artyom is all business again.     "I see. So we are going to be... Walking into their private reality? Hm," Artyom murmurs, crossing his arms across his chest. "I suppose it's an effective tactic for an invader. Displace the natural environment with his own, establishing an advantage and seizing territory simultaneously," he rubs at his chin, and then begins undoing the fabric covering the massive /thing/ on his shoulders. "This could be problematic. I hope my magic will still be... effective within this bounded field." 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     Ayako blinks her eyes quickly when Eiko mentions that she's going to get knocked out using something on everyone. "U-umm... well. I'll carry you around if you get all drained, Eiko." She flings her mittens downwards and-poof! A cloud of mist obscures her for a moment and then Ayako is in her witch outfit. And holding her usual broomstick. She gestures to the broomstick. "I'll give you a ride by the brush."     Oh boy, now Ayako's getting more pictures taken of her! "But... I'll leave the broom floating for later. Too many people with cameras out here." She giggles brightly. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Only George may have noticed the Flotilla's shadowers, and if he did, he isn't saying anything about it. The rest are busy with the crowd, giving a wide variety of strange answers to any questions that are sure to make for no conclusion whatsoever. "A high-stakes assault. Hmmm." Albert seems to not like this much. "We will do what we can and press our advantages ruthlessly."     Pavo seems encouraged. "I was thinkin' this wasn't gonna be fun 'cause ye said it was about savin' people. I'll be on the loot duty!" She seems quite enthused! The crew heads over to Alexis -- a familiar secondary member of their group -- while Seft breaks off to go be nearby Nozomi.     Meanwhile, George of all people wanders over to Artyom, and half-whispers, "Hey, big guy. You're one of those magic types? Didn't hear this from me. If you suddenly can't use it, go hassle Seft, my robot friend there. She can hook you up." And then he's back with the main group. The main group, of course, is ready and eager to get in there! 

:'''{{#var:665|Artyom W. Valodjn (665)}} has posed:'''     "I, ah, I understand," Artyom nods to George in reply. "I am more concerned with the... Geography of our possible destination. Hopefully it will be a non-issue, but I appreciate the assistance." 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa Says "So this is an actual case of I reject your reality and replace it with my own?!" Okay she was not expecting something like this as she looks over ot Alexis for a moment and make susre her gear is ready. In for a penny in for a pound it's time to get to work she's not going to try ot piss off the cops or nothing but she's got a job to do. She does notice there's quite a few people aboard that she knows pretty well. She also starts at Arty for a moment holy hell he's huge. 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     "I'm good to go, let's get rolling." Alexis says, noting the giant man for a second before she's kinda bunched up with most of the Starbound gang. "I guess we'll be on looting duty, then. I figure Ayako can handle carrying you, since you'll be outta the fight for most of this." She says, checking the sights on her SMG before she clenches her grip on the weapon tightly for a moment.     She doesn't seem too worried, if anything this is the kinda shit she does regularly. No point in being nervous after all.     Whenever the gang makes their way in, Alexis is right with them. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     "Okay, we good? We're good!" That was the last call for questions. Eiko's doing her thing. Talisman up, she steps forward, toward the mall's main entrance. "Everybody be /right behind me/ if you want in. I'll hold the door, but can't say for how long." She then, both literally and figuratively, holds the door.     Inside, this is not a mall. It is not like a mall in any immediately obvious sense, though one might find similarities if they look for them. The floor looks like someone took a nice, tiled floor pattern, and then removed most of the tiles, leaving enough that you can just barely walk on what remains without touching what /would/ be bare floor--except there is no floor there at all, but what appears very much like a bottomless pit. The thin, flat-topped pillars that make up the walkable not-quite-a-surface just go down and down and down. You'll have to kind of hop a bit to get around, with human-sized legs.     The overall structure of the place is a very wide, curving hall--more hall than hallway. It /could/ be about the size of the central thoroughfare of a mall, and it's multi-tiered, with balconies to either side that look like they might be easier to use for getting around than the not-a-floor. Bridges span between them, though there's no obvious way up unless you can fly or jump.     Getting around clearly won't be a problem for the natives, because the figures that are stepping out from doors lining the balconies all have big, bat-like wings. They also have scales and really heavily-muscled frames, but this doesn't seem to bother their ability to hover. Their faces are more bull-like than draconic, and their bodies humanoid, with clawed hands and feet. Their feet are good enough for clutching to any protrusion in the architecture, while their hands are largely occupied with all manner of medieval weaponry. Swords, axes, maces, hammers--all big, bashy-slashy gear. No shields, and little to no armor.     The hall naturally goes both to the right and to the left. There's no clear indicator of which is a better path.     Eiko, inside, is standing precariously on a pair of pillars. Very precariously. She is also starting to wobble and fall. As warned, she's getting faint, and it's happening quickly enough that someone's going to have to grab her.     The defenders aren't waiting for any decision-making to happen. They start leaping down and going for all involved immediately, either striking in leap attacks from above, or using their claws to hold onto the pillars while swinging their weapons, or just hovering in the air while striking. They come two and three at a time, but only because they're noticing the disturbance at different rates and don't seem to care to group up for a combined assault. There are plenty of them to go around. 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     Ayako enters quickly into the 'mall' once Eiko opens the door. Best not to dawdle and drain Eiko too much!     The moment she's inside, she holds her broom sideways and hops onto the handle. Of course, her broom levitates just fine. Ayako is sitting more towards the front of the broom, giving enough space to have Eiko sit behind her by the brush.     And it appears it's a good thing she got on her broomstick right away! With a puff of mist the broom quickly propells itself over to Eiko as she begins to wobble. Ayako grabs her gently and settles Eiko in behind her on the floating broomstick. "Eep. That was quick."     Ayako glances around and just now notices the layout of the hall. She was really focused on Eiko, after all. "A-ahh... well." She eyes the not-floor with a few tiles being supported by a few pillars... and is now glad she can fly. Not too glad, though. Her gaze looks upwards at the balconys. "I can't carry anyone else on my broom so... flying up and around isn't a good idea..." And then she winces when she notes the natives! "Yup! Really bad idea!" Ayako eeps when said natives suddenly start going after everyone! She turns her broom around and quickly moves back towards the group to hide behind them. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     The six Starbounders arrive. Eiko has someone else to go to grab them, so they leave her for now. All six flash a brilliant, deep blue for a moment, abruptly donning their armor from their Matter Manipulators. It's all very appropriate to the anachronistic nature of the place, with Moonfin in samurai armor, Biteblade in steel plating with bone ornaments, Pavo with a pirate-styled segmented-plate sort of thing, Albert wearing some kind of dystopian commando armor, George with a scavenged spacesuit altered into an armor suit, and Seft wearing full-on medieval soldier wear.     Seft goes to take a defensive position at Nozomi, but seems much more concerned with talking to TIGER. "I will keep her defended. You may go as you like." From her Matter Manioulator, she draws a SHOCK BATTLEAXE, which crackles with electricity, and begins to swing it at anything that approaches, using the vicious, brutal battle-methods of medieval fighters. This is /perfectly/ suited for her.     Pavo grins, and leaps into the air! Using her AVIAN AIR AGILITY, she begins attempting to leap between the attackers in mid-air, drawing an ELECTRIC CUTLASS and intending to swipe and stab with her one-handed sword in a swashbuckling, piratey way, laughing! And keeping an eye out for any loot at ALL. Anything the monsters drop, anything that might be precariously on thoise pillars...     Biteblade draws their WATER BOW from their Matter Manipulator. Pulling it back, it'll condense any water vapor in the air -- hopefully none embarrassingly stolen from Ayako -- and fire it in a humming energy projectile that pierces tough hides and then releases a payload of mildly explosive scalding-hot water! They're going for ranged targets!     Albert begins to call out TARGETS, FORMATIONS, and overall provide TACTICAL SUPPORT for his crew and the rest of the group, but for the most part simply equips his ROCKET LAUNCHER and attempts basic anti-air tactics. These two will form up on Ayako and ideally all three could be protected.     Moonfin and George have both taken a place somewhere near Ayako. George has a STUN BATON that is used to brutally lethal effect, electrically stunning assailants and then tossing them into the abyss. Moonfin, on the other hand, dramatically draws a SHOCK KATANA when first approached, using it in a defensive posture to swipe away at the foes with practiced strokes. The pair seem to be quite ready to defend Eiko.     Unfortunately, they are wearing JUST steel armor. If the foes here are more than cannon fodder, the Flotilla will find themselves swiftly bruised heavily by the assault. They intend to move FORWARD, and head to the RIGHT, splitting off from Ayako only at the last moment. 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     There's no real time to try and get academic about this layout, and Maaka's nimble enough to not trip and fall over the pilllars as she takes a leap here and there, firing at the hostiles approaching before she glances behind her at the group.     "Ayako, Kotone, with me!" Alexis says just as the fun begins. While she notes the approaching guards, she spots the balconies and thinks for a second. "I got an idea. Kotone, grab onto me and don't let go." She says, firing a burst towards the winged bull-monster things with her MP5 before slinging the SMG, producing a cable of some sort with a glowy hook.     Tossing it at the balcony, her grappling-wire ought to make it easy for her to climb her way up to the balconies, and she strains a little as her arms and legs begin to carry her way up.     Said balcony leads LEFT, which may be relevant later. 

:'''{{#var:342|Nozomi Houken (342)}} has posed:'''     TIGER looks briefly at Seft and then nods, before vaulting out ahead onto the tiles with an almost lazy agility. It's a hop and a hop, and he's headed to the right as well, although several times he stops long enough for his shoulder-mounted cannons to quickly swivel around and unleash bursts of rapid-fire yellow energy towards the foes above. Nozomi, in the meantime, is rather more cautious - and perhaps a bit wobbly. After a few hops across tiles, she is visibly nervous about proceeding further. She doesn't stop entirely, but she is slowing down a lot. 

:'''{{#var:665|Artyom W. Valodjn (665)}} has posed:''' Artyom makes his entrance quickly at Eiko's warning. They will have to move fast, though not /too/ fast. He's seen what happens when a team tries to rush a dungeon- even one of C-Class can become dangerous if it is taken lightly. Unfortunately, this dungeon seems to be a bit higher than C-Class.     Eiko isn't the only one feeling a bit disoriented. Artyom takes a couple steps into the bizarrely twisted space-- and then pitches forward. He plunges a leg ahead of himself, catching his balance in a wide, awkward stride. His eyes swim in his skull as the world suddenly seems to go more than a little topsy turvy. One hand reaches out for a nearby wall, only for its touch to draw a low, uncomfortable note out of the Titan's throat. "As... I figured," he grunts, slowly steadying himself. Wrinkles knit across his brow as he focuses his senses, drawing them inward- away from... Whatever it is that he's feeling, "This place is... disquieting."     He shakes his head as if he were trying to drive the cobwebs from his brain. Wingbeats shake the air- there isn't much time for him to dawdle. Artyom rolls his shoulder foward, reaching over his head to tear what appears to be an enormous stone henge from its sheath. Cloth, already partially undone, unfolds and falls across the checkerboard floor in a tattered, uneven sheet. His gaze flashes towards Eiko as she stumbles, before he turns his full attention on the more immediate threats. Enemy type... Gargoyles? Is that what these are?     Artyom swings his great, stone blade in a wide arc, doing his damnest to keep the beasts away as they make their advance. But it quickly becomes obvious that defense alone isn't going to cut it here. A low growl surges in his throat, as, tentatively, he reaches down into the bizarre, alien landscape, searching for something, anything he can use.     Even if he finds it, the strain across his face makes it obvious that he's not going to be able to draw upon much any time soon. Instead, his voice gives way to a deep, angry yell as his defensive swings shift in pace. His blade flares, producing a dull roar as he cleavies a mighty, horizontal slice through the air. Vortices of residual magic peel away from his enchanted strike as he forcibly pours part of his own mana pool into the blade. For now, unacclimatized to this bizarre world, he's running on his personal reserves. Hopefully, that won't be the case for much longer. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone cradles the mp5 s she moves to hed in she looks over to Alexis for a moment and Arty damn that man is huge, she can't get over it she seems confident enough as everyone heds in but she intends to keep with Alexis ws they enter the strange place. She looks about what this place has beome and lets out a low whstile as she sees the locals she's already making ready to bring up her weapon. She moves and is about to open fire when Alexis tells her to hang on, she moves to wrap her arms about Aleix with no intent to /let/ go. 

:'''{{#var:617|Chloe von Einzbern (617)}} has posed:''' Into the mall! The mall is not a mall. There are no shoes here. The lack of trendy clothes is annoying, but it's not like Chloe didn't know what she was walking into, when Eiko Holds The Door, with Capital Letters. Still, the completely ordinary seeming girl strolls on through with a simple and easy "Thanks." Someone else can grab Eiko, because Chlow is tiny and not suited to carrying people, so she lets someone else deal with that, because there are other issues at hand. Like the beasts that come-a-leaping. A snap of fingers and Chloe's schoolgirl uniform is gone. Replaced instantaneously with a red cloak and segmented pieces of black armor. "Haaaaah... Well I guess it's time for that workout I've been wanting." But she needs a suitable weapon. She finds it. She finds it in the hands of Artyom. Lips tug into that catty little grin as the small girl whispers two words, resonant and thundering with power despite the soft tone of her voi "chr">Trace On." It takes a mere handful of seconds, a large wire-frame of red light forms in her hands. And it rapidly fills in, a massive form seemingly made from... Stone, rather than steel. And taking a two-handed grasp on it, she HEFTS the thing, ignoring constraints such as her small size and swipes it in a viciously wide arc on approaching guardians. There is no yell from her, however as she mimics the exact same strike wielded mere seconds before by the sword's TRUE owner. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Pavo's vantage point will let her see into the small rooms from which the winged defenders emerged. It looks like there might be loot in there! In fact, it's pretty out in the open, with stacked crates and small pouches, and the rooms seem to contain little else; not even proper furniture. The crates, should she investigate, will prove to be empty. The pouches will jingle a bit. There are a LOT of rooms, but equally many enemies. The enemies themselves have a tendency to drop straight into the abyss when struck down.     And they are struck down, one after another, but not without difficulty. They look tough and they are tough, taking a good few hits from even powered weaponry before going down. Strike well and you can stagger one for a finisher, but strike poorly and they'll just carry through with haymaker-style blows, and brawn and no finesse. They could be dodged, but the footing is seriously killer, here, for those who can't fly, nor reach the balconies. They've got a lot of reach, too, even without the 'flying' thing, and aim to use it. Ranged weapons are safer, but still need enough punch to bring them down in short order. A rocket launcher definitely has that, as well does TIGER's arsenal.     Maaka makes it up onto one of the balconies, but that puts even more of the enemies in her way--a pack that haven't yet leaped down. Clubs and axes aim for crushing blows on her positions, if a fair bit telegraphed.     Artyom's sword has plenty enough force to, if not cut apart one of these monsters, cut into and knock one to the side, if hit. For all their size they do have some agility, however, and when the first one goes screaming into the abyss the rest take note. They can't really be said to be using teamwork, but they at least learn based on what's in front of them, and each success makes the next a little warier. On the other hand, this gives him more breathing room while he gets his bearings. On the yet other hand, there are still more enemies arriving, if slowly enough. As Chloe tries the same tactic, she's going to meet with much the same result--if somewhat improved, should the two manage to position to cover each other.     Progress is definitely possible, though it's going to be a running battle, at least if people take Eiko's earlier advice about time limits to heart. There's no obvious evidence as to why they should hurry, though--assuming there actually is an end to the enemies. That isn't /entirely/ certain.     Once people get far enough down either the right or left paths, they'll find large openings in the inner side of the hall's curve, leading to rooms beyond. These are, of course, 'defended,' in the sense that more monsters from further up the hall, in each direction, have made it this far. And that's just going to get worse as time passes. 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     Alexis is about to yelp in surprise as she tries not to get hit by the bad guys along the way up, but she definitely will need cover the finish it off. LUCKY FOR HER and Kotone as well, there are hooks that when interlocked will allow Kotone to comfortably hang onto Alexis's back while she shoots and the bigger cyborg climbs. Alex's strength is more than enough to carry the both of them up, even as Kotone spits lead upwards into more of the bull-demon things.     Her muscles are actually kinda getting a workout out of this, and Alexis pauses only to toss a frag grenade up to the balcony before she finally hops on when the demons are stunned, drawing her sidearm and firing away at them when she's on solid footing after mantling over the rails.     Retrieving her wire, she unhooks Kotone and lets her catch her footing while they both make their way through the path, Maaka taking the brunt of the enemy force in order to spare Kotone a grisly death in close quarters combat. 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     Ayako floats closely behind Alexis Maaka, letting her and Kotone handle the bull-demon mosnters their own way. Why yes, she is going left with them. Once in a while, she checks on Eiko to make sure she really is okay. After all, she is out like a light. Ayako did make sure to sit her very securely on her broomstick, so she's in no danger of falling off.     Arrgh. Here come more bull-demons! Ayako carefully watches the bull-demons and notes their weapons. She thrusts her palms forward in Alexis' direction. At least she Water Bubbled these two and herself beforehand since she's met them before! "Sea's Depth Barrier!" And a bubble of water forms around Alexis, just so happening to shield Kotone at the same time as well.     Sea's Depth Barrier is of thick water that is made to slow down any attacks that enter it and give more weight to attacks that go out from it! 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa has made use of the vest's addons which Alexis has shown her eailer ot secure herself to Alexis on so she has an easier time of staying attyached and taking shots as the actual combat cybor is leaping about. Alexis barks a warning and she aims up opening fire on the defender as they leap about she's going to have to rely on Alexis to not get hit as she's along gor the ride. She will have to reload at some point but she's being careful with her ammuntion use from the looks of it. "...I owe you one Ayako!" She calls out as she fires off another burst! 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     With their focused assault, the LEFT team is making progress. The monsters already telegraph their attacks a bit, and with Ayako's barrier, someone as agile as Maaka is should have an easy time dodging around them, and even putting the hurt back on them. They're still going to need to be careful, but it seems grenades do stun them, and well-aimed bursts of gunfire can bring each down.     Once they reach that doorway inward, they /could/ just ignore it and keep going up the hall--though by this point it's swarming even more thickly with enemies, and a few that were missed earlier are coming up behind them. If they do decide to take it, it'll just be a quick hop over a railing, a run down narrowing, featureless corridor, and then hoping the large door at the end can be opened. It has handles, so probably yes.     Eiko, for her part, is barely conscious, and mumbling. 

:'''{{#var:665|Artyom W. Valodjn (665)}} has posed:'''     Credit where it's due: While these things might seem like mindless beasts, their response makes them seem anything but. Artyom's blade cuts deep into one of the creatures, fracturing its hide and sending it bouncing into one of the many holes in the world- but he's not so lucky a second time. The Rock cuts through empty space, nearly-visible waves of displaced air rippling away in the weapon's wake. He manages to clip a second creature, but it escapes a direct hit. Worse, a half-dozen filter in to replace the one that fell, turning a dangerous situation into an increasingly impossible one. And then, a flash of RED ignites in the corner of his peripheral vision.     Artyom glances aside, and sees... Something that makes him double take, honestly. He's /sure/ that his weapon is in /his/ hands, not clutched in the dainty palms of a girl half his size. As if to verify that this strange dimension isn't totally messing with his head, Artyom lunges forward and swings his weapon into another approaching monster. The expected happens. His blade is still very much real. Then... that one is a copy?     "Did... you copy my sword?" Artyom asks, looking more than a little bit puzzled. He makes an uncomfortable sound in his throat as the team begins to split. Even though this sort of thing was planned, there's a loud voice at the back of his head screeching NOT TO SPLIT THE PARTY, you MORON. Artyom ignores it, because this is not a Galiandan dungeon, and maybe the rules are different here.     Instead, he turns towards the right-hand corridor, electing to stand way at the front of the party-train for the sake of expediency and not being crushed inside a collapsing demiplane. Also because he's eight feet of wall and meat. He calls out to the copycat who done copied his sword. "Stay close! Alternate strikes with mine and maximize field coverage," Artyom instructs, dungeon-crawling experience demanding that he prove Two-Handed Fighters can tank, too. "Let's form a wall for the gunners!" He does exactly that, swinging his weapon in defensive arcs at anything that might try to get past. It's the tank's job to make sure the rest of the party doesn't pull hate, after all! His head feels... Better, now. Soon, he'll be able to press the attack in earnest. 

:'''{{#var:617|Chloe von Einzbern (617)}} has posed:''' Undoubtedly in the hands of anyone other than Artyom himself, or members of his family line, The Rock would be about as useful as a huge hunk of stone. Too heavy to lift, as good as a blunt tool, assumimg they even have the strength to heft it. And yet Chloe, bearing THE FAKE ROCK in hand puts it to just as effective use as itis true owner, the tiny girl not even displaying so much as a bead of sweat on her forehead from the great stone slab's immense weight. In truth, she's using the memories of the blade. Wielding the knowledge of the sword, passed down from member to member of the Vladojn line. It's almost like she's wielded the thing for her whole life as a result. It's EASY for her to fall into line with Artyom, flashing that smarmy little grin as she heaves the stone sword in an alternating arc, letting the much larger youth lead in a dance of defending those behind them with immense swings to deny things from getting past the pair, serving the perfect role as Off-tank. "Yep~." Comes her reply. Yes, she copied the blade. And that grin says she is utterly and completely shameless about it. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Pavo is gonna dive into one of those rooms, bust just long enough to smash some empty crates -- "WHY ye have so many empty goddamn crates!?" -- and then jack some jingly bags, not even bothering to check the contents. Unfortunately, she'll be suffering some damage during that excursion. And she probably can't afford to split off from the main group! So she'll be returning, bruised and bloodied already.     The main crew, reinforced shortly by Pavo, is moving on. At the very least, with their SHOCK weapons, they shouldn't have much trouble staggering and following up. MOONFIN, GEORGE, and PAVO are all immediately forming up alongside Artyom and probably Chloe too. The blunt baton stuns but doesn't finish off, while the katana is more solid for defense and the cutlass is better on the offensive. They work in tandem as best they can with Chloe and Artyom, trying to be a much faster offensive option to strike between heaving blows, intending to stagger and stun using their electrical weapons.     BITEBLADE and ALBERT continue their fire, but the sword wall of five people is likely to keep most of the damage off of them, letting them fire their explosive arrows and rockets into large groups ahead, trying to coordinate their fire with TIGER. They, too, intend mostly to stun so that ARTYOM and CHLOE can finish them off. SEFT, of course, remains hard at work defending NOZOMI, and jumping in front of any attempts to hit her. 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     Alexis thankfully is shielded by the barrier AYako throws up, and she makes that known over the radio before going back to the fight, swapping her CZ for the MP5 again. Nine millimeter rounds are enough to down these beasts, surprisingly enough, and she makes her shots count as four or five shots per beast are used. When her magazine runs dry, she slings her SMG to grab out the hilt on her belt, and it produces a wire with electronic current running through it.     The blade hardens into a length of nearly three feet, vibrating at a high enough intensity to melt through solid steel plate. The chukutou-esque vibroblade slashes at the demon-bulls, and Alexis's superior agility and comparable strength will make her on an even footing with these brutish foes.     Her sword hums fiercely as blue streaks are left in its wake, burning through flesh and armor while parrying axes, swords, and whatever else is thrown at Maaka.     While making her way to the fork in the road, she takes a moment to consider before heading right, this time. "Don't get left behind!" She says, taking off with blade in one hand, and pistol in the other. 

:'''{{#var:342|Nozomi Houken (342)}} has posed:'''     In quick, leaping vaults, Taiga crosses the pillars, maintaining constant suppressing fire at the enemies above as he goes; he has the leaping strength to actually reach the balconies up above, but he's staying where he can cover Nozomi further back in the group. And once they reach the open 'stores', he'll stop and lay down a more steady barrage to clear the path before making each hop.     Nozomi, meanwhile, is at least moving a /little/ more quickly. At least, when she doesn't make the mistake of looking down again. Which she seems to do every now and then. She at least seems grateful for Seft's defense. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     These monsters are intelligent, just not particularly smart. It's a bit above animal-level, so probably more than a Galiandan is used to. So long as he keeps adjusting for how the enemy learns, Artyom's going to keep hitting them. And so long as he keeps moving to keep ahead of the others, he'll keep drawing enemy ire before they do. That is, of course, if Chloe doesn't get there first. Between the two of them, it gets even harder for the enemy to do anything about their tanking force, but they're sufficiently stubborn that they're going to keep trying--and going to keep getting cut apart and sent hurtling. Against swords that size, they've even lost their reach advantage.     Some of the winged enemies, either because they were missed or because they were just that slow to join the party, are coming up on the RIGHT group from behind. That may make things a little more complicated for those playing defense, with the melee mostly up front and the ranged straggling behind. Albert nails the problem only a moment before it occurs.     Nozomi's relative defenselessness is making her a target at the flanks. Fortunately, Seft is there, and it seems that /most/ of the attention is attracted by the overlapping swings of the forward group. These monsters really don't use squad tactics at all.     One way or another, the RIGHT group is now approaching an inward hall, similar to the other side. It's on the ground floor, and clear of enemies--if they can reach it. The bull-demons just get thicker and thicker the further they go up the current hallway, though at least that makes them bigger targets for TIGER and Albert. 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     Ayako blinks her eyes when she notes the blade the Alexis Maaka draws out. "Oohh..." The electricity is just the thing the Sea's Depth Barrier was made for! Alexis' shocking sword strikes would find themselves to be even stronger than usual!     As for the fork in the road, Ayako makes sure to stay with Maaka! After all, she is making sure Eiko is safe. When she hears the mumbling, Ayako looks back at Eiko for a moment. She then gestures around herself and Eiko. "Swirlling Mist Barrier!"     And the water vapor about Ayako and Eiko begins to swirl abruptly about the both of them. A barrier meant to be used with her broom, this one helps Ayako move swiftly, accurately, and happens to help deflect projectiles if any should be thrown their way.     "Okay! Feel a little bit safer about having Eiko as a passenger now." 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     "Sssneaky prey, goesss behind Floran! Floran, gonna show what's on back! Sssurprise! It's SSSTABS!" Albert's forewarning means Biteblade has enough time to put away their bow and draw their pair of SHOCK DAGGERS. It's a very little-known fact, but Biteblade, despite their savagery, is actually the most dangerous combatant in the primary Flotilla group in a fair fight. With a savage cry, it tries to grab one of the bull-like creatures and -- woah, uh oh -- stab it repeatedly in the neck and head, before tearing and arm off and messily devouring it. If they CAN pull this off on any one of the flanking, flying foes, and if the flesh isn't, you know, stone or something, Biteblade will suddenly surge with superhuman power, emitting a low, intense hiss while they metabolize the flesh, and turning into a whirlwind of electric blades.     Albert is the one directing most of the rest of the group. "The next area is in sight. Do not let them establish a choke point! THe priority is advancing, press forward. Target-dense area ahead, crash through while they're stunned! Pavo, take the air, I need the ground!" And Albert puts his rocket launcher away, into his Matter Manipulator, and instead draws a grenade launcher! He begins rapidly arcing explosive grenades into the thick hordes ahead, to stun and disperse and hopefully even paste some of them.     Pavo has to get out of the Sword Wall for a while, taking to the air again! Her superior air agility lets her leap up and between flying foes to intercept and stab them, but she's left alone, and will likely suffer even more severe wounding for her trouble! Speaking of severe wounding, the Starbound Flotilla may be slightly under-tiered for this area. They're pulling through, mostly by virtue of their teamwork and their allies, but it's tough going! Seft is tanking for two and Pavo has gone off alone too much, so both of them are a bit more heavily wounded, but the whole group has dented armor and a strained, exhausted sort of appearance. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Quick bursts will do, but only if the aim's good. Still, gunshots pack some punch, and slow the bull-demons down if nothing else. The sword works a bit better, slicing deeply through scaled bodies, magnified further by the water to stun what doesn't die. Working in tandem is enough to get the LEFT team in toward the door. It's clear as soon as they turn that way--or at least, now they only have enemies on one side. This will last until they get the door open.     As it happens, the door opens easily. It will also close easily and, once closed, will be difficult to open again. It could be broken, but for now it might be more useful as a barrier for all the enemies behind them. In front of them, however...     There's a lot of low furniture in this room. It's set up as a courtyard, though there's nothing past the glass ceiling above but an unsettling blackness, interspersed with... five-foot-wide, circular grills? More such grills are placed on the floor, beneath each on the ceiling, and surrounded by tables, chairs, benches, and low walls. Everything is sized on the small side, though still not small /enough/ for what's filling the room.     There is a veritable crowd of screeching imps. They seem to be more concerned with brawling with each other at the moment the door is opened, but that changes quickly for those nearest the adventurers. The little, leather-skinned creatures jump and claw and make obnoxiously loud, wailing noises, some breaking the furniture in their excitement, as a dozen and more turn to leap for Maaka and Kotone. Ayako won't be spared, either, if they can get a line on her, and there are enough of them here that that is probably going to happen. On the other hand, their wings don't look all that good for actually flying.     Some taller monsters are standing passively, scattered amidst the crowd. They're gray-skinned, roughly humanoid, but with elongated limbs. They don't immediately doing anything. The imps seem to ignore them. 

:'''{{#var:342|Nozomi Houken (342)}} has posed:'''     With Taiga's combination of mobility and firepower, he makes a surprisingly effective support unit; when it becomes clear that there is enough trouble in the back to put Nozomi in danger, he unloads one last barrage of fire to the front before turning and making a series of high, fast leaps - even the walls become just another platform to him for a split second, putting him in the back where his cannons can go about protecting Nozomi and clearing out those 'sneaking' up from behind.     It's probably a good thing. Being in more immediate danger isn't doing much for Nozomi's coordination. After brief consideration of her issues, Taiga comes to a decision. "Nozomi, on my back. Seft, please provide cover for a moment longer." His plan is simple - get Nozomi on his back, and then quickly bring her to solid ground in the inward tunnels, where she'll be safer. He has plenty of weaponry to ensure a safe spot, after all. 

:'''{{#var:665|Artyom W. Valodjn (665)}} has posed:'''     What's better than one giant stone sword? Apparently, TWO giant stone swords. The air is filled with the wonderful din of the two blades cutting or smashing or otherwise knocking about the gargoyle-things. They may be intelligent, but all the intelligence in the world may not be of much help when the opponent is perpetually out of reach. They are many, however. One, two strikes manage to penetrate Artyom's sword-wall, but those who get too lose are driven back by his flotilla-allies. Each wound does ache, but he can grit his teeth and carry on. The trouble is that they're not only coming from up ahead.     The sound of battle reaches Artyom's ears- but not from the direction he'd prefer to hear. He frowns, even as Taiga's tremendous firepower hammers the hallway ahead of him. "We're counting on you, Floran," Artyom rumbles, smashing his greatsword into another creature, "Keep our flanks safe!"     He seems... different from when they had first arrived. Each step is taken with greater confidence, his footing becoming firmer, his strikes steadier with each minute that passes. The vertigo is passing.     Artyom takes in a breath. He can feel the alien power of this place coursing beneath his feet. It is paradoxically solid, yet ephemeral, real yet phantasmagorical. The conflicting nature of the pocket-world tore at him before, but now he has reached some sort of balance. Artyom slides his foot ahead- and then brings it down, hard. The floor trembles, arcs of golden energy seeming to 'leap' from the tiles below. His face contorts with strained concentration-- as the tiles ahead of and beneath the advancing creatures suddenly shift downward and away, buckling and contorting to send some of the creatures hurtling into the void. Or, at the very least, to cause them to reconsider their relentless attack. It takes more energy than it should, but now he knows he can /move/ this place. Good. 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     "-SHIT!" Alexis meets the crowd of imps head-on, her blade slashing into the melee as her augmented strikes deliver a nasty shocking after-effect on the little bastards. She hacks and dodges, raising up a fist to reveal something tucked in her sleeve-     Or in her /arm/ no less. A blast of direct energy is unloaded point-blank into one of the imps, a scattershot blast of sonic power sent to blast through their ranks with devesating force. She shoots again and again until the four-shot mechanism clicks empty, and Alexis goes back to hacking away with her vibro-sword. Her pistol lets loose with accurately aimed shots, mostly blowing brains out all over the place, when slicing off heads and limbs isn't enough.     The bigger guys are noticed, but Alexis is more concenred with the imps' assault. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     While tough, once you get past the scales the flesh of the bull-demons is entirely edible. To a given degree of edibility. Stabbing one repeatedly in the neck is enough to get one to stop moving long enough to pull an arm off, though that does require breaking that hard exterior all around the limb. Biteblade thus succeeds, after a short, somewhat vulnerable delay in which at least one other monster is swinging an oversized sword into his position. That one won't last long if the Floran isn't interrupted.     Grenade bursts do work on that approaching mass--they're clustering together quite a bit ahead. TIGER's weaponry continues to be effective, and he should have no problem getting Nozomi to ground. Pavo, on the other hand--single enemies aren't a match for her so long as she keeps putting her agility to use, but it's going to get more difficult as this keeps going. For now, the flankers are being taken care of, and there doesn't seem to be a constant supply of those, or at least not much of one.     Between air bursts and now ground-manipulation, the advancing force stumbles, with winged defenders finding their footing taken out from beneath them. Their instinct is to grab for support, but everything they can grab is falling. It will take precious moments for them to take to the air and resume.     The hall to the door is clear of enemies, and the ground solid. The door has handles, and there appears to be nothing in the way of going through, once the party has gathered there. 

:'''{{#var:342|Nozomi Houken (342)}} has posed:'''     Nozomi looks a lot better off once they reach solid ground, although she slides off Taiga's back and immediately plops to the ground for a moment just to gather herself. During that time, the black mechatiger remains right by her side, keeping an eye on both the tunnel ahead and the jumping puzzle gauntlet behind. Only once others are there, and Nozomi climbs back to her feet, does the TIGER unit turn and move to the fore again, stopping right beside the door to the next area. 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     Ayako eeps when there are just so many imps! She floats upwards to hopefully exclude some of the imps from reaching her. She would take a look around the room, but she's too busy dodging imps. At least her barrier helps with that! She weaves and waves and tries to stay by Alexis to give her the opportunity to use herself as a distraction to help take out the imps. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone is now no longer hanging on to Alexis s they made it up she's moving along side her and Ayako and trying to keep with the other two women. She does not wnat to get cut off not in a situation like this. She keeps shooting as she moves trying to cut down the imps as they get close, but she's forced to reload and contiune shooting causing a pause in her supresisng fire on the attackers. That's when they are on her and she's noe stuck meleeing with the two that got through to her. 

:'''{{#var:617|Chloe von Einzbern (617)}} has posed:'''     "--Hold up. Gotta handle something" That's Chloe. Though she breaks off from the main tanking force, she takes The Fake Rock with her. Artyom is a big boy and can handle himself, and the others cna more than make up for her absence at the fore. Because when she breaks away and wheels around there's a sudden SLAM. While Biteblade enjoys its snack of body parts, the huges copy stone sword is set down, flat in front of Cloe like a huge wall of a shield; with Chloe placing herself between Biteblade and another beast while the floran is delayed by voracious snacking. Chloe leaps over the stone, two new swords in hand, one a silver-blue, mithril rapier; quite familiar to anyone who might know one Dominic Masoch. The other is an older blade, yet still summoned from seemingly nowhere, a terrible old rapier that drives the unworthy way, wild with fear at the sight of it, the mithril rapier and Tizona flash in her hands like quicksilver, fleeting and flickering glimpses of both as they dance like wild lightning together in a vicious flurry of murder and stabbing. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Unlike the bull-demons, the imps are fast. They fall apart when struck, whether by sword or gun, but there is an enormous supply as more and more of the room takes notice. It looks like, pretty soon, the only thing stopping them from rushing as one is a need to avoid literally climbing over each other to get at Maaka and Kotone. Ayako's slowing barrier will help, but they're still coming fairly quickly and from almost any angle, clambering over the low walls and the furniture to leap high or low. Individually, their attacks are weak, but throwing their entire body at their foe maximizes the impact, and any that reach just keep clawing until they find something weakly armored to scratch into.     Once Ayako is high enough, she's outside of range, as it seems the imps really can't fly. The most they can do is get a little air time when they jump, flapping their small wings frantically. Alas, this safety doesn't last, as some of the gray-skinned demons begin to ponderously move into action. With a feeling of lethargy, a few of them begin to pick up nearby imps in their hands, and then swing their long arms about to launch the tiny fiends in ballistic arcs, all trying to crash into the water spirit and, hopefully, claw up every part of her they can reach before falling again.     That door at the far end of the room is still a long ways off. 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     It's clear Alexis can't exactly hold out much longer, neither can Kotone. While Team CYBORGS (and water spirit) are mobbed, Alexis mutters something upon spotting flung imps flying towards Ayako. Her pistol reaches up, firing at each of the flying imps before she holsters her sidearm and sheathes her sword for a second, swapping to the MP5 once more as she fires at the giant guys.     Her other hand throws down a flashbang to clear the route towards one of the lanky guys, and she fires at his knee to drop him while charging towards it, tackling the wounded leg. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Thanks to that quick intervention, Biteblade DOESN'T get smacked across the room mid-meal. Instead, berserking Floran and dual-wielding Copy Swordsman slice through every one of the flanking bull-demons in range. There might be some more in the distance in that direction, but it's looking pretty clear for them to rejoin the main group at the inward hall. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Seft covers Nozomi and TIGER as best she can, interposing herself whenever she must between Nozomi and an attacker. She's looking a little dented, but in the way that leaves her still mostly functional and at full martial efficacy.     Biteblade is going to need some cover! Otherwise one of those demons is gonna be able to dismember an entire arm off of them! Thankfully Chloe rushes in to help, preventing undue mutilation and permitting the Floran to help clear out the remainder of the flankers, beginning to stab with MUCH gusto! Their power is superhuman for several minutes, letting them wield vastly increased strength, speed, and even reflexes. "Floran THANKSSS!" The bloody-faced plantman says. "Little white-hair meatgirl is good hunter! Strong, teamwork!"     Seft continues to try to cover Nozomi to the inward hall. She charges ahead of the sword wall somewhat, intending to cut up a landing space for each of Taiga's jumps! She's a clanky, clompy thing, but it shit be quick enough! Meanwhile, George and Moonfin are pressing further ahead. Moonfin especially so; the fishman seems to take a much more offensive posture. "Fourth Sea Hylotl Style: Dirge of the Icebreaker." His maneuvers swap from stunning swipes to swift jabs meant to part the sea of bodies between his hops, and while it's riskier for him, it's accelerating the charge. Pavo, for her part, is descending. She can take them one-on-one but she can't maintain this jumping for long, and wants to land in front of the door soon. She disengages swiftly from it, and tries to yank it open almost immediately after slamming harshly onto the ground. 

:'''{{#var:342|Nozomi Houken (342)}} has posed:'''     As mentioned on the radio, Taiga stops in his tracks not long after their arrival in the tunnel, as if hearing something... and then utters quiet frustration. It takes a second for Nozomi to even climb back onto the mechatiger, and the look on her face says it all - as frightened as she might be of the place, she doesn't like abandoning everyone at all. "I..." But that's all she can manage. Even the mechatiger somehow manages to look dissatisfied. But he has his orders, and without another word, he goes leaping back off into the tilepillars, making impressive haste towards the exit. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     TIGER is going to have a relatively easy time making it back to the entrance, though without his anti-magic weaponry, and without Eiko's talisman, he might have a hard time leaving. As is, it's just going to be a slight delay as he follows the general's orders. 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     Ayako whews softly once she's out of reach of the imps... and then eeps when the gray-skinned demons begin to move. "Huh? What are theyy doi-eep!" And then she has to start dodging yet again! "We need some help here! We're being swamped!" At least the demons move slowly, giving Ayako a chance to react to the individual throws!     When one of her dodges takes her close to Alexis Maaka, Ayako quickly cups her hands in front of her body. "Healing Water!" Her hands fill with water that possesses a pink tinge to it. And she quickly dumps the water onto Alexis. Pink healing water is made to restore power to machines! Although it isn't nearly as refined as the red or orange healing waters she has for organic beings. Pink and gray are still works in progress that are the result of her spending lots of time helping out in Union Medical. 

:'''{{#var:665|Artyom W. Valodjn (665)}} has posed:'''     The words in his radio inform Artyom that the situation has just gone from 'bad but tenable' to 'shit is hitting the fan at lightning speed.' As the Mechatiger does the bidding of its superiors, Artyom bites back the bile burning in the pit of his gut. On some level he... Understands. If the Zaibatsu called for him, he too would be compelled to act as it demanded, but even still, this situation is... Not ideal. At this point, turning around to assist the other group would expose both teams to danger. Sending one member of their party away to lend aid would be asking for suicide. The only thing he can do now is make a choice. Artyom reaches for the handle of the door while the beasts are still scattered, grabs tight, and tugs it open. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     The SWORDS team's door is thrown open, and the next room is revealed. It is not the room with the imps. Instead, it is deathly quiet. Rather than randomly placed grates and tables, there are neatly places rows of ten-foot-high shelves, mostly containing crates. To Pavo's frustration, they will prove to be just as empty as those outside. The ceiling is barely another ten feet above, which makes flying possible but slightly tricky for anyone without good maneuverability.     Once everyone is through and the door is closed again, it will be difficult to open for some time, making an effective barrier so long as they keep moving. This is also the point at which the room's other feature will reveal itself.     In-between the rows of shelves are rows of statues. They bear a variety of influences, though all seem to draw from fantasy archetypes, with the noticeable exception of 'wizard.' There seems to be no pattern to the order in which they activate, as several of the statues begin to move. Wielding an axe and clad in demonic armor, all of uniform stone, the first statue is soon followed by a ranger, loading stone arrows and pulling a stone bow with remarkable ease. A rogue with twin daggers begins to move, and promptly disappears behind a corner. A black belt leaps over to land with stone-heavy steps but perfect balance on top of the shelving, before going for the party.     If anyone gets up into the air, they should be able to see the door at the far end. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     The gray pitchers twitch when hit, but don't respond much otherwise. It takes quite a few hits to down one, or a good burst to the head, but they don't really move or resist, so it's fairly easy to do if one has time. They react only by continuing to attack, and attack only by hurling imps.     If anything's going to go well, here, it's that there comes a lull in the attack once enough of the imps are downed--briefly, as more gather up, sizing up their opponents and readying themselves for another rush. It's just a few seconds opening to do something before the attacks resume. And what injuries the little creatures can inflict are light enough that Ayako's healing water will help a lot.     It's when the invading force gets close to one of the grills in the floor that the next facet of the room reveals itself. Yellowish liquid, somewhat thicker than water, falls from the ceiling above. It hisses as it goes, falling into the lower grate. Its exact nature will be more apparent should anything touch it--it's scaldingly hot oil.     As soon as this happens, it begins happening all over the room. On perhaps some complex schedule, oil either falls from the ceiling, or erupts from the floor grates, spreading slightly over the floor in the latter cases. The imps scramble out of the way, but they'd already been avoiding the grates, so this doesn't change their strategy much. 

:'''{{#var:617|Chloe von Einzbern (617)}} has posed:''' Thumbs up. This is Chloe's response to Biteblade as Tizona shatters in her hand, mid stroke, the mithril rapier following suit and breaking next. She shows no sign of loss for such masterfully made blades. She merely sucks on her teeth when Taiga and Nozomi have to pull out, but there's no grudge as she leaves The Fake Rock where it is, a pair of white and black curved short swords appearing in her grasp by the time she returns to Artyom at the fore and the decision is made to press through the door. Fine by Chloe really. At least until statues begin to move. Like boomerangs, she chucks Kanshou and bakuya, not even waiting for them to return as she summons another identical pair to her hands. "Geeze. This has got to be the worst shopping trip ever." 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     Noting how easy the big guys go down, Alexis seems to have little trouble dropping them as she fires away with her MP5. As she spies oil spilling into the grates. She swears, trying to avoid the oil as she pushes the imps towards the blazing traps in the meantime. Ayako's healing water does help to patch up the accumulated wounds she's sustained during this whole scuffle.     Lashing out with a kick to an imp's chest, she reaches out with her fist to launch some sort of spike, the bottom of the large 'nail' beeping quickly before it explodes in the midst of the imp hordes, no doubt making quite a mess of gore and blood in the process. 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     Ayako turns and notes Eiko groaning. Her hands cup together again and this time, green healing water pools inside her cupped hands. She applies this water directly to the top of Eiko's head. Green Healing Water is used to restore magical energy! It also happens to help with headaches too, so there is that.     Hot oil?! Coming from the ceiling?! Ayako is not a fan of sustained heat and so quickly begins to make her way towards the door to the next room. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone is getting clared up fairly badly at this as she manage to finally get free of the imps that have her up close they done a bit of a number on her and she's opening fire, thankfully Ayako is healing and she will not question ot helping her /at/ all no she'd be foolish to but then comes the oil? WAit oh god it's comming all the grates she's trying to back pedal and avoid but she does attempt to kick one of the imps into one as she opens fire. On some others. "This is not your world and you will not have it!" Kotone yells as she keeps on shooting as she moves to keep with the rest of her team. 

:'''{{#var:665|Artyom W. Valodjn (665)}} has posed:'''     Ten-foot hallways, still better than Eight-Foot hallways. Also worse than big antechambers and towering cathedral-pulpits. Matters are made immediately worse when the once-stationary statues begin moving. Artyom recognizes the stereotypes associated with each creature- the Galiandan Job System has its perks. One of them is 'recognizing Fantasy Character Classes.' That doesn't exactly help him fight them, though.     An arrow sinks into Artyom's shoulder, illiciting a pained, uncomfortable growl. Artyom grunts, bringing the great stone bulwark that is his sword down between the Ranger's missiles and his relatively squishier flesh. "Tell me about it," he rumbles to Chloe, "Nothing worth even taking home yet." He feels another projectile collide with the flat of blade-- that's the sniper. The one in armor is the tank-- and there are two strikers. Besides the ranger, the most dangerous one at present is...     Probably the monk. Biteblade can hold off the rogue for at least a while, presumably. His sword can act as a shield for the time being, and the knight is almost as hampered by the closed quarters as he is. The Black Belt is skilled, deft and adept at fighting in these tremendously closed quarters. Eliminating him quickly becomes Artyom's priority number one. But... His mobility- his mobility is the trick. But he is a statue made of stone. Maybe that, then?     Artyom braces against his shield-blade. His brow furrows in concentration, senses focusing on the Black Belt's nimble footwork. If he can hold it in place, even for just a moment, then they can eliminate at least one threat. He extends his will into the floor of this place, feeling out for the monk's position-- his mind reels as he encounters it. A flash of pain blasts across the backs of his eyelids. There is something resisting him; there always is, with these things. Artyom inhales, reaching deeper, visualizing the tiled floor itself squeezing around the monk's feet, joining stone to stone and fusing the construct to the ground. If it works, then maybe this plan may just pull through. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Against opponents like these, explosives help a lot, and Maaka is able to briefly clear a space into which she and Kotone may be able to run. If she can keep that, they'll make the door yet. Even now, they can see it--and also see the large lever set in the wall next to the door. That must serve for a handle, because the door itself doesn't have any obvious means of opening on its own.     The gray pitchers start to go down and, fortunately, there aren't too many of them. They're scattered around the room, though, and it'll take some marksmanship to get all of them, as it's a big room. Either way, fewer of them in the picture means fewer vectors of attack, and clever use of the oil traps can further cut down on how many directions the small group needs to cover as they advance.     Eiko is groaning and mumbling. She's conscious, but only barely, and definitely not feeling too good. She looks a little better after Ayako helps out with that green water.     The noise and smoke gives a little breathing room as the imp assault pauses once more--but only barely. Give them a moment, and they'll be back to leaping and screeching. 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     Thankfully Alexis is fast, so is Kotone, and the former hauls ass through a hole in the mob as the explosives give them some breathing room as well as a way through to the way out of here. Ayako luckily can fly, and she has Eiko with her as well, which makes things slightly easier on the cyborg's mind as she weaves through the crowd.     As she does make her exit towards the other end of the hall, she drops more flashbangs to cover her and the rest of the group's exit, running at a rapid pace. 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     Ayako quickly trails after Alexis and Kotone. Her hands cup together once more and this time, gray healing water fills them. For a moment, she catches up with Kotone and then flings it at her to heal any of the wounds that those nasty imps might have inflicted on her.     But after that, Ayako falls back and stays behind the two of them. She's no fighter after all. And Eiko still isn't feeling right yet! 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     The FLORAN moves to hunt the rogue. They are a HUNTER and ASSASSIN, after all, and so they should be able to track even stone rogues. Biteblade intends to hunt, then pounce upon and stab the rogue somewhere, and then engage in a knife fight! This time, they've gotten out their proper steel blades instead of the shock ones, because what good is electricity gonna do to a statue? Nothing.     Albert is launching his own grenades off towards that ranger, more intending to stagger than to kill. With Artyom taking on the Black Belt, and Chloe's ranged sword-throwing abilities clearly making her more suited to taking on the ranger, the remainder -- the remainder of the Flotilla, less effective than Biteblade in single combat, gang up on the axe-wielding KNIGHT! That's Seft, George, and Moonfin all rushing in! Seft comes in for swipes with her standard steel axe, George swinging a large metal club formed out of some kind of Nuka Cola advertisement, and Moonfin rapidly dash-slicing between their attacks. They were in perfect tandem to try to make an unbreakable onslaught.     Wait, where did Pavo go? Oh, obvious. She's looting more of those strange little sacks from the statues, likely shortly after pushing them over or otherwise making double-sure they don't suddenly get activated by the looting through blatantly destructive looting. She's also focusing on pushing forward, trying to get to that exit after catching a glimpse of it in a high jump. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone is going to haul ass as fast as she's able to as she does not want to stay here and get caught with the others she's making for the door with Alexis and opening fgire on the imps and any other horrors but she's keeping tabs on her ammo she won't be able to hold out forever she thinks as the battle rages and she presses foward and thankfully she's got some pretty darn impressive support from the water spirit which she's thankful for! 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     The demons outside were fairly tough, but a big enough sword with a big enough swing could simply cut through them. The statues are rather hardier yet, reacting as one would normally expect stone to react to being struck. Fortunately, Kanshou and Bakuya are legendary weapons, even when created via projection magic. They have the conceptual force to do things no ordinary blade could. Unfortunately, the magic animating the statues offers a degree of resistance.     The end result is that the RANGER is chipped in the midst of its second attack. It still looses its arrow, after a short delay, but damaging the stone-flesh seems to interfere with its ability to move. The next attack comes more slowly. The grenades are less effective here than in the last room, though the explosions do serve to foul its aim.     That same magic doesn't like another mage trying to control it, and there's a hell of a lot of resistance to what Artyom's trying. But he's working in his specialty, and his actual aim here was fairly modest--he's not trying to reshape the core of the statue, but just to fuse its surface. It's even more difficult for how quickly the BLACK BELT is moving, but then--its feet stop. And they remain stopped. Success! This has confused whatever kind of intelligence the statue has, and in any case it's barely able to defend itself until it can get unstuck again. That might take it a bit.     Biteblade will find that a stone ROGUE is not as good as a more organic rogue. Despite their dexterity, their feet are quite heavy, and their skill can't quite make up for it, at least against a dedicated hunter-killer. The stone does make it difficult to find vitals to stab, however. The ambush is successful, but then comes a wearing-down period as the two perform their blade dance. It's soon enough after the bull-demon-eating that Biteblade has a very obvious edge in speed and offense, but the statue can take a lot of hits, only slowing slightly when nicked hard enough to chip. Enough hits, though, will reduce its threat.      The KNIGHT is the hardest opponent yet, as even a combined effort in cracking its armor does nothing to slow it down, and it's armored all over its body(?). It's also the slowest of the lot, and that huge axe it wields will find a hard time downing anything so long as the trio keep covering each other.     None of the other statues seem to have activated yet, letting Pavo loot as she pleases. All of the pouches have that jingling. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     The imps seem quite vulnerable to flashbangs as well, reeling back and giving ample time to make it across the remainder of the room. It's only once Maaka runs out tricks that they're really going to press Team CYBORGS again. They're reforming for an attack, now, but there's that opening--and there's the door! The door still has no clear means of opening, but it has that lever next to it, and that has to do /something/ important. 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     Alexis mutters something as she finds the door's got no easy way to open. She considers just trying to smash it open, before noticing the lever. Thinking for a moment, she rolls her eyes and just pulls the thing, trying to get out of the way with a leap away from the door immediately afterwards, lest there be some sort of booby trap-door or whatever. 

:'''{{#var:617|Chloe von Einzbern (617)}} has posed:''' There aren't even any fashionable clothes. This is the worst mall trip. Chloe can only snort in reply to Artyom at first. Good as she is with throwing Kanshou and Bakuya, she has another means of conveying ranged death. When that long ranged statue reveals itself, the dark-skinned girl smirks. And as Albert lays down the suppressive grenade fire, from seemingly nowhere, Chloe draws a massive, black, longbow. But she does not draw an arrow. The girl draws another SWORD. Resplendant and golden, a gleaming sword, she knocks it into place- an act which causes the blade to slim, shifting and altering, with a broad piercing arrowhead, a clearly heroic blade turned into little more than ammunition as she pumps it full of mana and lines down her shot. "Bye bye~." A ~TWANG~ of release sounds off as the glowing sword-arrow is released, inleashed with the speed of a lightning bolt. But on impact...? It will explode with the force of a missile. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Maaka pulls the lever. It's difficult to move, but then starts sliding down with satisfying force, clicking loudly into place when it's all the way down.     The door does not open.     The imps rush in. 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     Ayako whimpers softly when the lever doesn't appear to do anything. Her palms then thrust towards Kotone. "Bullet Maelstrom!" And then a watery whirl shields Kotone from her front! Since Kotone is minding her ammo, she might as well help make each bullet count! This barrier helps strengthen outgoing bullets and help shield Kotone from the front. She grips her broomstick and gets ready to dodge imps... again! 

:'''{{#var:665|Artyom W. Valodjn (665)}} has posed:'''     Magic must defeat magic, it seems. Artyom feels the will within the statue push again at his own weavings. The stone rejects his touch, it attempts to repel his will. It fails. The ground seizes the statue's feet, and Artyom sees it seize. Explosions and thrown swords and-- is Chloe turning a sword into an arrow? Yes. Yes she is. He'll have to ask her about that later, because that is a pretty neat trick.     With the archer distracted by /whatever the heck that was/, Artyom is presented with an opportunity. The Black Belt is immobile. His will is keeping it in place- for now. He can't say for sure how long his magic will last in this place. But for now, he has an opening- and he seizes upon it.     Low, dull noise builds from behind Artyom's greatblade. It soon becomes abundantly clear that the source is none other than Artyom himself. He lifts the sword from its anchor on the floor- and begins rushing forward, his sword held out in front of him like the prow of a snowplow. His advance brings him closer and closer to the statue, his will tightens its grip around the thing's ankles, holding it for just a moment longer--     Finally, he closes the distance. Artyom turns The Rock from shield to sword and drives it between the monk's anchored legs. He, pivots, his weight pulling the weapon upward, angling the tip in the split second before impact to level with the Black Belt's midsection. It's as if he's wielding the weapon as a battering ram! 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     The Floran and the Golem do a knife dance for some time. It has to last at least a minute or so, meaning Biteblade's berserk boost is faltering. They won't have their edge for long! As Artyom provides an idea, the Floran attempts to push in hard -- tanking any violent response -- and pin the golem to the ground with a brutal, tribal wrestling technique. "Floran! Knowsss how to butcher meatman! Take partsss off! Normally, not do for thing alive, except the one time! Sssorry, sstone man!" Trying to pin one arm with their legs, and perhaps failing, they initiate their efforts to... Disarm their opponent. Using their fist and their blade, they try to roughly chisel the arm's connection off, bashing it into the stone roughly, and then use the last remainder of their intense strength to do a bone-breaking Floran wrestling attack that has been recast as a dismembering attack.     And then, exchaustingly, do the same to the other arm. And each leg. If this WORKS, it'll leave the Floran vulnerable to several stabbings, but should disable the horrible rogue, even if it leaves Biteblade with a lot of horrible lacerations. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Albert has little in the way of dramatics to add to Chloe's attack. He can't match her sheer DPS at all, no way, not with this gear. The most he can do is level his grenade launcher again, and launch several grenades around the archer, intending to close it in and force it to take Chloe's attack head-on.     Meanwhile, Pavo gets what she came for! Huzzah! She'll be scouting out the way ahead, seeing if there's anything left between them and the end of this chamber, quite eager to make sure they can manage to get through without incident, mostly because that means more loot for her. She continues statue-pushing and bag-grabbing, as well as occasional frustrated crate-smashing. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Elsewhere, Moonfin, George, and Seft are all having trouble. The sheer, overwhelming RESILIENCE of this thing is making it incredibly tough to deal with! The trio halts their attack, for just a moment, gasping and panting for breath, exhausted by the strain of fighting it directly, just outside its axe-range as the fight has a dramatic pause.     Each of them looks to the other and nods, some unseen agreement made between them. They sheathe their weapons into their Matter Manipulators, and then pull them out, the two-pronged yellow industrial tools glowing a sudden blue. They point it right at the titanic knight-golem's feet. Hopefully, there's still an abyss under there, because they project an intense, powerful disintegrating and digging effect, trying to drop the knight into either a hole or an abyss. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     The RANGER, unable to see where to dodge to, explodes. There was a statue there, but now there is /most/ of a statue, missing all of the parts that would have made it a recognizably whole, human figure. What is left falls apart.     The BLACK BELT does not fare much better. All of its skill and agility avails it nothing when it can't move its feet, and Artyom aims a strike strong enough to shatter stone--which it does. It proves a mortal blow, or at least one that renders the statue again to an inert pile of stone, mostly some distance from where it had been standing a moment ago.     At the far end of the room, if anyone is looking, there is a door, and a lever. There is no obvious way to open the door, but this is fine, because the door is grinding slowly open all on its own. What could that lever be for, then?     Whatever vulnerabilities is does have, wrestling doesn't seem to be one of them. And yet, Biteblade is partially successful, because chipping away at the joint causes the limb to slow, and then to stop moving entirely. Trying to break it off will take a great deal more strength with the berserk rage ebbing, and the ROGUE wastes no time in stabbing the Floran as many times as possible, largely in an effort to dislodge it. It clearly feels no pain at the process.     Elsewhere in the room, more statues are waking. The holy armor of a PALADIN contrasts with that of the demonic KNIGHT, as the former wields shield and sword as it begins to stalk toward whichever invader is closest, to do glorious battle--or whatever it is animated statues think of while stomping toward people, and before hitting them with things. The unarmored, fur-clad BARBARIAN stomps rather more quickly from the opposite side of the room, wielding a pair of short axe and sword.     The floor here proves to be very, very resistant to harvesting, but it's possible, with three of the Flotilla crew working together, to get a noticeable chunk out of at least the topmost layer--it gets harder underneath. Alas, there is no chasm, but this does serve to trip the KNIGHT up. It will take another moment before it can axe any of them. 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     Alexis has felt rage before. She felt rage when the company's betrayals against her were revealed, she felt rage when she faced utter destruction just for looking in the wrong place, she's felt rage when she's been stiffed on payments and dragged along on missions she barely knows what the hell the point of were.     But this is nothing compared to the rage one feels when NOTHING works, and effort is wasted. That is the rage Alexis Maaka feels right now. Angrily kicking at the door, she screams in abject fury as she wheels about to take her anger out on the imps, spraying bullets towards the mob. She's definitely at a loss right now, and that's never a good thing.     Little does she know that there is a method to this, and she's gonna look kinda stupid when this is over and the other side activates their own lever. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Pavo has reached the end of the hall. She's soon joined by Albert, who has disengaged and nearly had a horrible run-in with a paladin. Dodging around shelves, he's gonna be knocking them over in the path of that Barbarian, trying to obstruct him as much as he can, before meeting Pavo.     Pavo, for her part, is mostly PULLING on that lever intensely, before heading through that door. While she's a greedy bitch, she's actually quite loyal! And so has pulled the lever as soon as she was told to. Mostly because you don't go around, pulling levers you don't know the purpose of. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     Seft, Moonfin, and George all now set their Matter Manipulators OUT of harvest mode, and into projection mode. The stone is reassembled, hopefully inconveniently around the knight's legs. This was REALLY risky and won't work on anyone twice, and the knight probably strong enough to extricate himself, but the crew CANNOT kill that thing, so they're booking it.     Only Moonfin seems concerned about this. "Is this dishonorable, if he's just made of stone? Maybe it's like when you do something dishonorable to a Floran. They're not really /people/, so it doesn't count?"     George catches his breath long enough to say, "Fuck honor, that was like getting in a fistfight with a wall. Who gives a shit? We need to leave, or you need to get us some energy drinks next time you go shopping." 

:'''{{#var:665|Artyom W. Valodjn (665)}} has posed:'''     There's a satisfying, unmistakable *crunch* when the Black Belt is reduced to so much rubble. Artyom savors the sound- but he doesn't have long to celebrate it. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see the Paladin beginning to move. Elsewhere, something else comes alive- though he's not yet aware of its presence. "Damnation, for every one we defeat, another takes its place--"     But, they have a way out. The stone door in the distance begins rolling upward. Artyom breathes a relieved sigh. He takes a step in that direction when something in his ear catches his attention. Adventuring Rule Two: Never leave a party member behind.     Artyom whispers an excasperated curse under his breath and away from the receiver of his communicator. He hefts his sword over his shoulder and breaks into a sprint. Artyom crosses one set of corridors, then another, then another-- until he finds the Floran and the Statue, locked in their terrible, deadly stabbrace. There is no time for it to go on any longer. "Move, pin his arm!" Artyom yells, clutching his greatsword's grip in two hands. He lifts the hilt over his head, his muscles screaming as he goes to drive its tip into the Rogue's chest, right where its limb meets its torso! 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa has joined Alexis as sh get to the door but she can't well get it open she sees that it's not working and she looks at the doro for hal a secon before she turns about to open fire on the imps she's running low on MP5 ammo ais going to be switching to her pistol at this rate, she has no idea babout the puzzel as she looks about ofr any clues that might hint to how she could open the door. "Alexis cover me I'm going to see if there's an way to get this open!" 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     There are an enormous number of corpses in the room in front of team CYBORGS. This is, perhaps, what is being noted by the ENORMOUS EYE that suddenly appears through the glass ceiling, looking from one to another, and occasionally blinking. It isn't doing anything else yet.     The imps, as ever, are trying to claw and tear. They can be scared off for brief periods but not, it seems, forever. What's left of them are falling to multiplied gun attacks, but it's only having a wall at their back that's preventing them from being quickly overrun again.     Something must have gone wrong with the drainage, because the SCALDING OIL is starting to overflow out of some of the grates and spill over the floor.     Eiko is starting to become coherent--maybe? Ayako's healing is probably to thank for that. She's still just kind of hanging on and cursing everything. It's a miracle none of the imps have gotten to her yet--and what few of the gray pitchers remain are still throwing more. At least, until the spillover oil starts to get them. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     The Floran is well-trained in savage wrassling! Or, well, not trained, but they did DO a lot of wrestling before. And so, despite suffering a LOT of laceration wounds all up and down the side of their body, they're still more than capable enough of grabbing at the wrist of their foe to stop the stabs, and pinning their arm. If Artyom can sever the arm, the statue will be armless!     And then it can get up, and leap off the rogue and towards the exit. It's completely out of berserkerk juice and needs to get out of here now! "Thanksss, tall meatman! Strong, good teamwork for you too!" 

:'''{{#var:617|Chloe von Einzbern (617)}} has posed:''' Statue down. Now just... All the others left. Nimble fingers suddenly spread, displaying a fan of blades identical to the first golden sword, but as more begin to stir, Chlow sucks on her teeth. "Tch." "Hey so. I can't keep this up forever." She does point out to... Just about everyone. She's going to need a serious recharge after this mess. She's not putting as much prana into these, simply changing them into arrows and launching them as cover fire in a quick machinegun volley to cover the flotilla crew in varying spots as best she can with a machinegun hail and a sniper's accuracy. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     The ROGUE is unable to dodge while wrestling Biteblade, and has already suffered a lot of damage. It's pierced by Artyom, and expires. Striking through the chest hard enough seems to work on this type of enemy.     The BARBARIAN is fairly nimble, though not to the level of some of the other statues. Still, obstructing its path does slow it down some. It's now stepping on top of the fallen shelves, demolishing some in the process--this slows it down further, as they can't support its weight.     The LEVER is pulled down, much like its sister. Elsewhere, the door by which team CYBORGS are desperately defending themselves grinds open. It's slow, but none of them are all that wide, so they can squeeze through in just a moment, if they don't want to wait for it to get all the way open.     Like its armored fellow, the KNIGHT is effectively blocked off from making a quick pursuit. It'll be coming up behind them, but at a pace slow enough enough that the crew can easily make it to the door. Its fortunate that the quick-moving statues have all been destroyed by this point, and what's still following them is further slowed by Chloe's covering fire. 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     FInally the door opens, and Alexis manages to slap in a fresh magazine just in time as she guides the group through the crack opened up slowly by the other lever being pulled. "About goddamn time, move your asses let's go!" She calls out to the rest of the group, opting to be the last to go through as she holds the line through automatic fire and fierce punches to the face.     When she slips through, Alexis primes and tosses a frag grenade behind her through the opening as a last middle finger to the hordes, then begins to go through ammo stocks. Three SMG mags and two pistol magazines left, and one grenade left. Hoo boy. 

:'''{{#var:665|Artyom W. Valodjn (665)}} has posed:'''     Another wonderful crunch! The Rogue is no more. Artyom nods his head at the Floran as they make their escape. "Rule Three of dungeon crawling is 'cooperation," he answers, before glancing back at the fallen Rogue.     Artyom dips for /just a moment/ to grab the Rogue's jangly bits. And then he immediately turns and takes off, because sticking around here to fight three burly fighter-types is like asking for an Ancients of Mount Arreat fight. That may be a thing SOMEDAY but Artyom is not quite ready to go fight the Lord of Destruction or to prove himself to his awesome barbarian ancestors. Someday, though. Someday.     He ignores the advance of the remaining statues as he rushes for the safety of whatever is behind that door up ahead. This battle has gone on long enough- expending any more energy here would be... Detrimental to their efforts at this dungeon's climax! 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     "Ah! The door is opening!" While she could easily go through the door when it's opened in the tiniest crack, it's not really an option at the moment. She does have a passenger that can't quite squeeze through like she can. Although Ayako does indeed move her ass as requested by Alexis! That is, the moment the door is open wide enough so that Eiko doesn't get stuck in it, Ayako floats on through. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa is looking to see if the door is going to see if there's another way to open the door but soon that becomes no longer a propblem as the door opens she's going to just dart through the damn door before sometrhing else happens she doesn't need to be told twice as sh dives through, she's got one SMG mag lefgt but her pistol's still at full thankfully. "Good on pistol ammo but the SMG's about spent." She notes as she sees Ayako arrive through the crack. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     As before, moving to a new room effectively blocks off the old. Nothing moves through to follow. This is a separate area in some fundamental way, by this world's rules.     Both doors empty into the same, large, circular room. The most obvious feature is the growth of blatantly magic crystals growing in patterns over the floor. They don't cover the entire space, but form into intricate lines and curves, coming together into the center and rising up off the floor and toward the ceiling in a massive, geometrically complex pattern. They bleed magic so heavily that you'd need a flat zero sensitivity not to notice, and that's just what's getting /released/. These things are some major energy source.     There are what appear to be a pair of golems in the center of the room, one facing each door. Both are large, squat affairs, lacking necks and nearly lacking heads, but with enormous shoulders and arms that reach nearly to the floor. The one toward the SWORDS team is covered in jewelry of all kinds, but mostly necklaces loops everywhere they'll fit, all gleaming brightly with precious stones, just as the ore it's made from underneath is studded with raw gem deposits. The one facing team CYBORGS is more technological in appearance, with lots of hard steel surfaces, perhaps more robot than golem. Antennae extend a dozen points.     Between the two is a man. He looks almost human, but not quite. His skin is a little too pale, and a little too violet. His skull slopes at not quite the right angle. His ears are clearly pointed. His hair is a stark white, and his eyes red. He's dressed in something that compromises traditional mage robes with the fashion of an emperor's court, and his posture and motion are precisely perfect. He looks from one side to the other and slowly raises his hands.     He claps. "Good show. Really didn't think anyone would make it this far. Well. I think I'll just hand this one to you, if it's all the same. Not in the mood for further risks today. It's already been exciting enough." He lowers his hands, then makes a sharp gesture at the air. A large, glowing portal appears in front of him. Both golems turn slowly toward it.     And then, if no one stops them, the man and the golems all leave together. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Assuming no one /does/ stop the golems... the bejeweled one drops several very expensive looking necklaces on the ground as it gets out. One of them has diamonds.     The crystals are still going to be there, either way, all thrumming with obvious magical energy. Though there is the vague sense that it's lessening, as if something were turning off. 

:'''{{#var:672|Starbound Flotilla (672)}} has posed:'''     The Starbounders wander into the room. They look a bit intimidated at the sheer number of golems here! Oh man, that is a LOT. They have a sort of sheepish, frank ":I" look to them, even the Glitch that seems completely faceless.     "Yeah, that sounds good to me."     "Aye, good show. Ye can go if ye want."     "I've no opposition to a gracious, stylish retreat."     "Yes, a tactical retreat should be respected."     "Floransss legsss, too ssstabbed to chasse."     "Affirming. We have no objection."     They let them leave. They wait about a second... And then Pavo says, "Okay, LOOT!" The entire Flotilla immediately goes to town, drawing their Matter Manipulators, putting them into Harvest mode, and going after those crystals with a chaotic abandon. 

:'''{{#var:665|Artyom W. Valodjn (665)}} has posed:''' Artyom peers up at the gigantic, shiny golem. Another tiny voice at the back of his head /squeals/ in girlish delight at such a magnificent construct. So many gems, so much precious metal. Artyom's eyes are agog as he stares greedily at the giant metal /thing./ But it's not the only thing in the room. The man speaks- Artyom looks to the strange, purple-ish man as he... Surrenders? And then retreats? The Titan blinks once, twice, but he doesn't say anything. Even if he REALLY wants to when that big shiny golem goes and vanishes into that portal. Later! He can claim it LATER. There are other things to claim NOW. "Right," he rumbles, clearing himself of the gemstone-inspired reverie. "Alright everyone, go get some l--" Golem dropped a gigantic diamond necklace. Holy shit.     Artyom is over there like, right the heck now. He sheathes his giant sword in its harness and snatches the jewelry off the floor. And like, all the other necklaces. And a few magical stones. Artyom is a big guy, he can carry a lot of things- even if it is really super awkward to carry all of these jangly things in two arms. He stuffs what he can into his belt and bandolier-pouches, though. 

:'''{{#var:617|Chloe von Einzbern (617)}} has posed:''' There's the door, then, and Chloe still has her bow in hand. Though no more swords. Though she shows no sign of fatigue, her prana levels are beginning to edge towards dangerous levels. The sight of the golems and the man gets a quirked eyebrow but if he's leaving and not bothering with the swag, she simple makes her bow vanish, stretching arms before... A snap of her fingers summons another red gridline, which fills out to form... A shopping cart. 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     Ayako opens her mouth to say something when she sees the golems, the crystals, the magical energy, and the mage. But then she slowly closes it when the mage simply wishes to retreat. Well. It's not like she was looking for a fight-just looking to keep everyone healthy and alive. So of course she makes no move to attack-not like she could.     Oh. Right! Looting! Well, why not? It's not like all of this is going to stay there once this place completely loses power! And so Ayako joins in as well! 

:'''{{#var:571|Alexis Maaka (571)}} has posed:'''     Suddenly the bad guy just kinda..leaves. Alexis is confused as all hell by this, and she tilts her head as the golems and their master leave. Shrugging, she can't really fault the Starbounders for their assessment, given the number and strength of the golems themselves. She's more or less low on mags anyways.     "Fuck it. Take a hike, mate." She says, before then going over to loot the SHIT out of things, slinging her MP5 and nabbing a couple of necklaces and then raiding through the crystals before the Flotilla can nab everything shiny. "Mama needs a new set of jewelery..." she says, snagging what she can before Artyom can take /everything/ not already stolen by the Flotilla, mostly the diamond necklace after a bit of negotiation with Artyom.     She only pauses to lean up on her tippy toes, motioning for the big guy to get in close.     And then she pecks his cheek. "That's for being a good sport." She whispers, then slinks off with her acquisition of diamonds.     Formal gatherings are gonna be that much classier soon. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa is tired and low on ammo she knows this is a bad idea to press things harder she lower her weapon at this point knowinf the fight is a bad ide tro press on if the others don't she looks at what was dropped she stares at the loot for a moment and she's making a grab for it well to get some cut of the loot in here really. "I don't think I'm going to press my luck." 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Getting back out seems like it's gonna be a pain, so as soon as everyone is done and Eiko is lucid enough to do it, she pulls out her talisman and snaps it between her fingers. There's a disturbing sense of dislocation as everyone gathered around falls out of one level of reality and into another, escaping the dungeon just like that. Nothing they've yet to loot goes with them, but everything they're carrying does.     They are now in a crowd of people, in the middle of the mall, standing between a pair of kiosks selling jewelry and cell phones. Assuming anyone's hungry, there's a conveniently located food court nearby with all the unhealthy food they want, though that one woman really needs to get her kids under control. (It's embarrassing everyone around her.) Chloe might instead appreciate the large clothing outlet in just the other direction, with its rows of mannequins showing off the season's latest fashions.     People don't seem to notice the sudden appearance as anything strange, imagining that everyone was already here. But they do start taking pictures again. 

:'''{{#var:665|Artyom W. Valodjn (665)}} has posed:'''     Artyom has a little bit of dwarf in him, apparently. But that doesn't mean the rest of him can't be negotiated with. Artyom gives up the awesome diamond necklace, but he gets something out of it! Oh yes. He gets much out of it.     Like a kiss. He wasn't really expecting that. He briefly goes just a little bit red as Alexis saunters off. Like much this trip though, he doesn't have time to appreciate it! He needs to loot- and quickly! And so he does, looting and looting and looting right up until Eiko snaps her Talisman. Space and time invert, depositing them in the middle of a... Pretty ordinary shopping mall. Artyom still totally has a stone arrow sticking out of his shoulder, so this is all just a little bit awkward. Also awkward: the sound his belly is making. Hm. Perhaps he can get some food before going to get his wounds treated. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' It s been a long fight but she's going to make a grab for some of the jewelery as well she intend to get what she can before someone else scoops it all up thankfully the giant posing as a man isn't taking everything yet so she's going to get a cut and is also scooping up a number of the plastic coins before she turns and follows Alexis out, it's been a long day and maybe it calls to party a little after a pay off like this? So Kotone is out at this point. 

}}

1112/Automated Armament II

2014-12-12T06:02:32Z

Kimiko: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2014/12/09 |Location=The Eastern Valley |Synopsis=In which teamwork is lacking, but somehow the day is saved. Mostly? |Thanks= |Cast of Characters=..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2014/12/09
|Location=The Eastern Valley
|Synopsis=In which teamwork is lacking, but somehow the day is saved. Mostly?
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=19, 42, 368, 596, 650
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:596|Zwei (596)}} has posed:'''     The scene is of a picturesque, rolling valley of verdant green, bordered by old forests that stretch out in a sea of vegetation all the way to the horizon, the center of which gives way to patchwork squares of farmland. The shining city built within is especially large; of reinnaissance design rather than medieval, and built in tiers that steadily raise towards the middle. A steady, rainbow coloured light emenates from the tallest tower of the palace on top of the peak, projecting a scintillating dome of cascading colours over the entire capital. It shimmers with every impact, fading steadily by the moment.     Bright flashes pop against a hillside far away from the city walls, going off like fireworks visible for miles. White hot bolts of light streak from the ground one after the other, detonating against the magical barrier in massive, rumbling explosions of smokeless fire; flattening trees all around with the powerful shockwave of each blast, visibly distorting the air. Approaching the source, one can see the hill dominated by a black shape the size of a modern house. A strangely organic, hexapodal silhouette, affixed with what is unmistakably a giant cannon jutting from its back on a turret. It is flanked by a pair of smaller, truck sized shapes, raised high up on three legs, seemingly scanning the area around them. 

:'''{{#var:368|Tesla Armadia (368)}} has posed:''' I'm sorry, but by the end of the night the valley is not going to be either as green or as picturesque as it once was. But that is favorable to having your city reduced to ruins, right? Tearing up the grass and topsoil is inevitable with the treads of the heavy machine rumbling towards the city under seige. The sound of the thing's engine is a growl equal to any monster; smoke and embers belch out of it's towering exhaust stacks like a grumpy dragon roused from it's slumber. Spikes and chains clatter with its movement, while the oversized arm-like constructs are currently folded against it's sides for ease of travel. As shots from the hillside explode against the prismatic dome over the city the impacts are captured by sensors and relayed in still-frames to the multitude of holographic displays within the machine's control center, accompanied in strings of text and calculations speeding by faster than the average eye can follow as computers run dozens of analytical logariths to determine the types of energy used in the shots. One screen does bring up a long distance shot of the hilltop and it's occupants, but despite that Tesla Armadia keeps the Mad Maxizer churning towards the city proper. "Master," Saiga speaks up from her aclove just behind Tesla's head where the Shinki is using the multiple arms of her exo-suit to manage some minor mechanical controls, "shouldn't something be done about those cannons?" "Let the so-called 'heroes' concern themselves with reckless frontal counterattacks," Tesla replies calmly. "That is just attempting to break the defenses, nothing but the first stage in what is certain to be an escalating confrontation." She pauses to flick a couple of toggles, warming up the Maxizer's combat subsystems. "We will be ready for whatever gets past them." 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     The Star Hawk flies from the warpgate, looking like some kind of heavily armed jet fighter. As Staren approaches the scene, he sees the attacks flashing against the field. A sensor scan confirms magic. Could these three invaders be all there is?     They might be all that's needed.     Staren could try to just crush them with his machine, but they may be deceptively powerful. If they dumped all available energy into raiser projectiles, they might just blow him up! So his first serious thought is to pop their shields with the raiser rifle, then just fire ALL THE MISSILES and melt them in plasma.     But that would give them time to react, and they might be able to shoot down the missiles.     The Star Hawk deploys some camera drones as it turns away and flies off.     Staren lands on a distant hill. The Star Hawk changes to humanoid mode as it lands, then turns to face the distant city. He can no longer even see the attackers from here, but he doesn't need to.     The right shoulder pack opens and unfolds into a massive sniper railgun supported on a shoulder mount, the mecha's hands holding foregrips to guide it. Panels with stabilization thrusters open along the barrel, and laser drills in the Star Hawk's feet melt holes in the ground so that stabilization pylons may be deployed. This is the might of magic and technology turned to war -- the entire weapon has been enchanted, magic and science packing as much power as possible and to exploit the weakness of the weapon's original target. Inside the chamber sits a warhead containing a bomb, not of chemical or nuclear power but of magic -- crystals charged with opposing elemental energies, that will explode with great force when combined. Not to mention the kinetic force of impact, nanoseconds before the explosion. On the front of the round is a laser drill, to vaporise a tunnel into the target so the bomb can blow it apart from inside.     As a bar on Staren's HUD begins to fill, Staren takes aim. Miniscule nudges of the rifle swinging the reticle about on the drones' view. Until it is at last centered on the largest of the three machines.     A couple of seconds later, the capacitors reach 100%, and Staren fires.     The Star Hawk's thrusters fire to hold it stable and counteract the force of the railcannon. All that electricity is dumped in a tiny fraction of a second to produce incredible current and incredible force. The enchanted railgun transfers not only kinetic energy, but magically-enhanced power and accuracy to the warhead that's launched straight through the air at several times the speed of sound. The round moves through the air so quickly that there is nothing to see but a streak of fire and smoke, like one long explosion, and a great boom. And, of course, if the warhead operates as planned, there should be some impressive fireworks at the destination! 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:''' ELSWHERE:     In an ordinary-looking city, a young woman moves at a brisk trot down a foot-path lined with shops. Looking through a window, she can see a line of televisions for sale, showing the evening news. One of the screens suddenly devolves into static, and she pauses a moment, to look more closely.     "You are chasing off after that transmission, that the gate guardians have chosen to ignore." The voice coming from within the static is sonorously masculine, unlike the pretty anchorwoman that was on the set a few moments ago.     As if holding a conversation with the TV, the woman nods her head.     "This is a foolish action, likely to result in your demise. You are unready for such forays." The voice continues. The woman shrugs, but she's smiling.     "Very well. It does not contradict the pact. Know merely that my support shall be withheld until your return." The woman leans forward and sticks out her tongue as the new channel reappears with a soft blip. Then, she continues on her way. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:''' NOW:     The same woman is standing in a fantastical city. She's got a sidebag on one arm, and a katana sheathed at her other side. In a hoodie, baseball cap and jeans, she probably could not look more out of place if she'd tried, but she's not showing the least trace of self-consciousness. Not even the panic of the city's inhabitants, nor the bright explosions against the shield, seem to really faze her. She looks, if anything, like a kid in a candy store.     Then she gives her own cheek a slap, dials down the grin, and interposes her (still sheathed) sword between the nearest important-looking person and wherever they're trying to go.     "Yo, take me to your leader." A quarter-pause. "Unless they're not controlling your defenses. You got some cannons, right? Take me there."     Even with the effort at calm, she's just visibly manic. 

:'''{{#var:19|Maya (19)}} has posed:''' SO here they come again something has spilled out of Zwei's universe again not tha tMaya knos the entire details at this point. However what she does know is something moving in and attacking again. Maya's in a craft she's not seen use in a very long time a Alpha Fighter the variable mecha is in jet mode at the moment and Maya's flying in as she calls out over the comm. <<So just what are we looking at here Staren??>> 

:'''{{#var:596|Zwei (596)}} has posed:'''     Tesla finds a very strange truth. As far as she can determine, each projectile launched by the lead machine is comprised entirely of photons. Rather than being emitted as the unique kind of wave that light is comprised of, they seem to be firmly rooted in the realm of particles. Each bolt travels at roughly 3000 meters per second, but slowed down from the speed of light, relativity appears to be working in reverse, giving them 208 times the energy actually used to fire them. With firing intervals of three seconds, the machine stops to vent small quantities of hydrogen plasma between each shot. The explosions appear to be nothing more than conventional light, but of such intensity that the air at ground zero undergoes nuclear fusion, creating a massive fireball every time they hit. The explosive yield can be estimated at roughly 50 tons of TNT, requiring a massive 6 gigajoules of energy just to fire.     As luck would have it, Eiko seems to have pinned down a petty officer, scrambling to the outer walls where other soldiers are gathering. His face is pale, and his expression betrays barely controlled panic. "You're an offworlder, right? With the Union? I don't know what you're planning but it better be good. We've got all available personnel diverted to defense, but I'm not sure it's going to be enough. Follow me." He resumes moving at a brisk job, winding through the lower streets, and producing a key to climb up one of the guard towers, coming out onto a thick, crenellated fortification, where rows of what look like silver mortars are being wheeled up to the edge, and loaded with cannonballs made of glass, coruscating with arcs of energy within.     Tesla, Maya and Staren showing up in large, powerful machines makes them difficult to miss. The pair of tripods flanking the main battle tank turn to scan each inbound Elite as they arrive, fixing them with staggered trios of baleful red optics. One of them in particular turns to Staren, bracing itself on all three legs as it detects the energy signature from the laser drills, locking onto him even at his considerable distance. Almost the instant he fires his railgun, the air sizzles in a straight line from the machine's center to the flying projectile, striking it dead on with a beam only visible on the electronic spectrum, and prematurely detonating the warhead. The bomb is just fast enough that by the time it is intercepted, it is well out of the range it could hurt Staren, but the problem is obvious. The ponderous tank is being guarded by drones entirely dedicated to point defense; defending it while it continues its bombardment. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     <<Really high-tech autonomous war machines destroying anything that might be a threat to their long-gone creators. Every once in awhile one stumbles on a warpgate, and then this happens.>> Staren explains. <<They're annoying to fight, so I'm gonna try to take them out in one shot before they can react.>>     The massive railgun sprays a cloud of vaporized coolant out of vents in the rear. Staren's first attack is over in nanoseconds. The railgun round exploded in midair! "...What the--?!" He replays the video and sensor feeds a few times. <<...They must have shot it down.>>     He switches to broad-band communications: "The little ones are point defenders! I'm going to pop their shields -- anyone tanky enough to get up close and fight them, do so as soon as the shields are down! Once the little ones are down, we can tear apart the big one!"     The Star Hawk retracts its pylons and folds up the sniper railcannon again, then takes off and transforms. When it gets close, it buzzes the attacking machines in hybrid mode, like a plane with arms and legs: One of its right fingers has the raiser rifle inside it, firing a full-auto burst of shots beginning at moderately powerful and increasing until he finds the shield-popping setting. The left arm positions its energy shield under one side of the mecha's body. Staren hopes between the shield and his mecha's armor, he doesn't have too much to worry about yet. Still, he expects to take some hits, and hopes he won't need to do this repeatedly. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:''' "Are you with the Union?"     A. The what now?     B. Of course!     "Yeah, totally." Eiko follows after the guy, glad she didn't have to waste time finding anyone else. Stuff is working out.     Along the way, she gives her sword-sheathe a punch from her other hand, hissing under her voice. "War's your schtick! You gonna stay quiet now that I've found one?" The sword, of course, doesn't respond. It is a sword. It cannot talk.     She's in time to see Staren's warhead go off, to great effect in the air, if less so on the enemy. It takes her a little processing time to figure out that there was something travelling toward the tripod for that particular sight to happen. The gears turn. The petty officer is hopeful for her to take charge--wait, is that normal?     Well, whatever. She's figured out that the enemy's got a big cannon and interception--confirmed a moment later by Staren's voice on her headset. That's enough for a start. Too bad she can't go out there to work any magic on the big uglies, but they'd splatter her under these circumstances, shields down or not. Yeah, that'd be a bad idea. She doesn't even have the armor you'd put on a warhead.     "Man, I was hoping for some big laser turrets or something. Oh well, guess this'll have to do." More inspiring words hath never been spoken in war. She points to the ammo being loaded into one of the cannons. "Only got one trick that might work on this. And I still hate this part." She takes a breath, and then rushes, as if eager to get it over with, "Curse."     Nothing happens to the glass ball. Instead, she doubles over with a sudden, hacking cough, through which she barely gets out, "Cycle," and straightens, apparently relieved. "Cycle. Cycle. Cycle. Cycle. Got it! Transfer. Mutate. Yes!"     The ammunition nearest to her, to some distance, begins to brightly glow, as if supercharged to the point that it'll go off prematurely--but it won't. It will last exactly long enough, and then explode with the full power of the curse she'd laid into it--such as that is.     "Fire it all at once. Overwhelm the defenses. Anything that gets through'll work well enough. Doesn't matter which you target." 

:'''{{#var:368|Tesla Armadia (368)}} has posed:''' "Interesting dissimulation from standard particle physics. Photons do not normally behave in such a manner." But for now the information is filed away for later disection. Tesla turns her attention to the primary problem at hand, just as one of the tripod 'tanks' intercepts Staren's attempt at a quick resolution with a premature mid-air detonation. "I'm guessing that is why you wanted to wait," Saiga murmurs as the detonation splashes through the air overhead. "Precisely why," Tesla replies, even as she's making adjustments to her own controls. "The high ground gives them a strategic advantage over the city, they would not set up there without some sort of planned defense against enemy counter artillery. Power up the gravimetric catapult and load the 'special package'." The Mad Maxizer wheels around in a rapid turn to bring the back end facing the hillside bombardiers as well. Vents hiss and machinery can be heard churning within as some sort of reformation is happening internally. Then warning lights flash as the rear hatch opens upward, the manipulator tendrils mounted on the back of it pulling an additional launch ramp into place over the scrap bucket that forms the lower read of the craft. Within the dark depths of the vehicle, a pair of slits, almost like eyes, briefly flash on and then dim again. Making the adjustment controls is easy with her extra arms, Saiga looking down at her master as she does so. "Do you think they have defenses against close combat as well?" "Most likely," Tesla replied as she reached for the launch lever. "We may have to set our sights... a little lower." Followed by a somewhat ominous chuckle as she pulls the lever. A high electronic whine splits the air as the launch system hits full power, and fires with a rumbling boom, the recoil rocking the Maxizer audibly. What comes hurtling out of the launcher with enough force to rock the heavy machine firing it is not a bomb in the literal explosive sense. No, what was launched out of it was none other than Tesla's own animate war machine, Shardcore. The robotic saurian has its weapons folded away to reduce drag resistance as it's hurtled headfirst into the fracas. An engine of destruction in its own right, easily packing as much mass to it as a tank, flung at high velocity over a relatively short distance towards the invading machine... wait... there's no arc in that path to get to the top of the hill! Which was never the intention. Tesla fired the warmech -into the side of- the hill, intent on causing an impact with that much bulk hitting the hill at exceptional speed to possible cause part of the hillside in itself to collapse. At the very least the resulting shockwave should be from an unexpected method and throw off their stability up top. Considering it's survived one on one fights with the likes of Thor, Shardcore is probably going to walk away from that tactic in the end. "When the enemy has a tactical advantage," Tesla replies calmly to her cockpit company, "Remove it." 

:'''{{#var:19|Maya (19)}} has posed:''' Maya is seeing that there are things heating up she notices the thing coming after them and she ownders about them. She sees that they are all about point defence fine she's going to start closing her machine's moving in fairly fast anf she's not firing any weapons just yet no she needs toget in up close so she can engage the point defence units directly. 

:'''{{#var:596|Zwei (596)}} has posed:'''     Staren recieves no return fire from the interceptors. Point defense beams are likely all they have, designed to punch holes through shells and disrupt energy blasts, rather than having true anti-armour capabilities. That however, seems to mean that a proportionally larger amount of energy is dedicated to shielding, because it takes over half Staren's battery before the shield brightens, flickers, and then bursts. The drone inside of it bounds out of the way at high speed, retreating over the hillside in a strange, three legged gallop to allow its shields to recharge. As he closes the distance however, ball mounted firing ports, like large, metallic eyes, open up in the tank's side; swivelling to fix him with targeting beams, before blazing away at a ridiculous rate of fire in return. The rounds they fire don't seem to be of high enough energy to explode, instead showering him with a computer guided fusillade of armour piercing, anti-tank, hard-light slugs, raking over his target profile in order to maximize the chance of hitting something vital.     The officer atop his own sword, using it to motion the armoured soldiers up there with him to load the new ammunition, shouting orders to be heard over the explosions striking the giant magical wards above his head. Working in teams of three, one loads each cannon, one primes it, and the third works a series of gears and cranks to subtly adjust the gun's elevation and tilt to aim for the second drone. Screaming the order to fire with a downward chop of his sword, the officer's response is the thundering boom of a well coordinated cannon volley. At the same time, the guard towers glow in alternating lights as powerful mages launch a screen of fireballs, lightning bolts, icy shards, flying blades, and just about everything in the book. The converging wall of projectiles is subsequently thinned out at an alarming rate. The point defense beam mounted on that drone is apparently capable of extreme rapid fire, as spell after spell after cannonball is shot out of the air at dizzying speed. Only a tenth of the volley actually reaches it, consuming half the hillside in a coruscating blaze of magical energy. That must have cracked its shields, because it too begins to retreat.     Already weakned by the impact from the capital defense forces, the front half of the hill collapses into a sliding avalanche of dirt and chunks and stone, crumbling like wet sand. As the steadily avancing cliff edge reaches the tank, it lowers its chassis almost all the way to the ground, and then launches its tremendous bulk into the air; leaping back from the newly made precipice and planting itself on the new peak. Its main gun momentarily goes silent as it readjusts its aim, giving the city a very brief respite. The tank doesn't seem content to ignore Tesla or her creation however, as tiny ports all over its back open up and launch a shrieking salvo of blue lights; trail-less missiles cutting through the air and swerving both ways. Though utterly miniscule in size, each warhead contains a tiny quantity of anti-particles held in such fragile stasis that they'll go off the moment they crack open against anything, spreading a disproportionaly huge swathe of explosive firepower over Shardcore and the Mad Maxizer. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren's plan was, as soon as the shields pop, to drop down and engage the drones in melee -- but they have other plans. "Tsch..." Staren is rather irked that it took /half/ the battery to pop /one/ drone's shields... and then, they run away! AND the tank starts shooting at him! Staren gives chase after the drone while the tank's weapons rain down on him. By the time Tesla's collapsed the hill, the underside of the mecha, except for part of the left side covered by the shield, is pockmarked, scratched, dented, cracked, broken, and riddled with holes -- some small sections of plating have just been torn apart, shrapnel raining down below the mech. "/Dammit/!" He can't keep doing that -- but right now, his objective is to destroy the drone in front of him so it can't recharge. In a blur of tiny moving parts, the Star Hawk transforms to fighter mode and pours on the speed, chasing the drone and firing a full-auto stream from the gatling railgun supplemented with some kind of weak homing beams. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     "Got 'em!" Eiko shouts, even though they only got one target, and even though they only forced it to retreat. And she probably can't pull the same trick twice. There's bound to be mages up top with a long cooldown. Damn. "Really wish I had a Gundam right now. Though I'd settle for some flying assassin droids," preferably the kind inexplicably modelled on Japanese schoolgirls, she doesn't add.     "Yo, officer! What've you got to get me out there that won't be blasted out of the sky soon as it shows? I'll settle for a stealth glider. Just gotta get out there before the defense shows back up."     She holds up her weapon. "I wanna hit 'em with my sword." 

:'''{{#var:368|Tesla Armadia (368)}} has posed:''' Prehaps not as effectively as one would of hoped, but it worked none the less in forcing the enemy to readjust their position. Between the Union and the city's defenses the two defense drones have been forced into retreat. This would be the time to move in and take advantage of the situation. But coming under heavy fire kind of puts a damper in that. The attackers aren't the only ones with point defenses. The 'spikes' mounted down the front of the Mad Maxizer burst from their housings and into the air, fragmenting into a spread of interceptive shrapnel. Which is nowhere near as large as the discharge of explosives hurtling towards them, but it does punch a hole in the spread that would of hit something more critical like the control section of the machine. The rest of the barrage slams into the bulk of the vehicle though, sending chunks of armor plating whizzing through the air to impale the ground with their sharp edges. Electrified smoke spirals upwards from the damage, but as it starts to blow clear the Maxizer can be seen still sitting there, battered to hell and back, but still functional. Ablative armor designed to be blasted off with damage to absorb it does wonders. That and Tesla may be using her technopathy to help keep things together under the assault. With a grunt she reachs for one of the controls. "Now that we've got their attention, we need to keep it." She pulls a trigger and the vulcans atop the Maxizer light up, peppering the cannon machine in rather low caliber fire. Probably not going to do a lot of damage if it even gets past its remaining defenses. What Telsa is hoping for is that it, and whatever attacks coming from other vectors from the Union and city defenses, will be enough of a distraction for it to not notice the equally battered by still functional form at Shardcore climbing up to the newly formed ledge of the hilltop, angling his much more potent shoulder gatling cannon at the alien tank and firing away at it. 

:'''{{#var:19|Maya (19)}} has posed:''' Maya is followin in after Staten at this poing her machine shifts into it's half way mode between aerospace unit and mecha. A LArge rifle appears in the machine's arms off the belly of the unit anf is folling him up. She's been lucky enough to avoid damage and she muses another idea she does however follow up the attack Staren is making with the heavil calibure solid slug weapon after the drone. 

:'''{{#var:596|Zwei (596)}} has posed:'''     The officer stares in bafflement at at Eiko talking about gundams and assassin droids, but he at least seems inclined to trust her after she'd just help them, especially with two out of three foes retreating. Calling up a mage from below the battlements, a young woman staggers in like she'd just run a marathon, holding one hand for patience while she tries to catch her breath, before finally standing up straight, holding out her staff, and uttering an incantation. The ground beneath Eiko lights up with a pair of magic circles. The first turns her almost completely invisible. The second wraps her in a gale of howling wind, and then launches her like a catapult, sending her screaming through the air is a trajectory far less controllable than she would have perhaps liked.     The drones are fast, but not fast enough to escape the star hawk on foot. Furthermore, they're lightly armoured underneath the shields, and Staren's railgun and beams, though partially intercepted, chew through the first one easily, shattering it to pieces with repeated kinetic penetrator impacts. Maya has similar luck with her second drone, repeatedly pummeling its thin plating until it caves in completely and the internals are pumped full of lead. The, generously put, 'anti-personnel' guns mounted on the tanks sides sweep from Staren as he flies out of range, towards Tesla and Maya. The projectiles don't seem to lose any energy over distance, ripping through the ground and sky towards them with unerring accuracy.     The tank itself is multitasking, engaging several targets simultaneously while still besieging the city walls. With its gun readjusted, it resumes firing, and the next bolt crashes against the shield with a cascade of multicoloured lightning. The dome fades completely from view, bursting like an oversized bouble. The bolt after that impacts the walls directly; kicking up a titanic cloud of flying dirt and stone that momentarily blots the view of a quarter of the city. The pieces continue to rain down as it goes for a third shot. The soldiers and cannons not far from where Eiko had stood have been annihilated instantly. Before that third shot goes flying into the city however, Shardcore manages to grab the tank's attention as his vulcan rattles against its shield in conjunction with Tesla's. Obviously well fortified, it responds by lifting one of its legs up high and then stabbing down like a piston, hitting the ground with earthquaking force, aiming to crush Shardcore beneath it. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     "Ha!" Staren sees one drone go down, then another thanks to Maya. "Thanks!" Finally free of the tank's fire, he deploys the three longer-range HE missiles and comes around for another pass behind them. The railgun spins up again and sends a stream of metal downrange, and as he closes in, he fires the other half of the RAISER rifle's power in one shot, then the homing beams fire, as does a salvo of nearly three dozen missiles of various types from the main missile pod. If those aren't mostly blown out of the sky, indicating that defenses are down, the missile packs contribute a followup salvo of 60 more plasma minimissiles.     Time to end this! 

:'''{{#var:368|Tesla Armadia (368)}} has posed:''' Despite Tesla's best efforts the Maxizer is starting to suffer from the damage done to it. "Saiga, go repair the main drive systems. I'd like to at least have enough mobility to get this thing back hom again afterwards." "Of course Master!" The shinki opens the compartment hatch behind her niche and climbs into the machine's access conduits. A design addition Tesla made specifically to take advantage of her small size when it comes to internal problems it would take too long for traditional system scans or Tesla's machine empathy to find. Said empathy is being strained enough by the machine struggling to not fall apart around them as it is. Shardcore on the other hand is roughed up but far from beaten. As the leg comes down to stomp on the warmech he throws his hands up alongside his head to catch it. Having a very sturdy cranial structure was an advantage of being modeled partially upon a triceratops. Still the tremendous forces meeting is enough to force bending his legs and slamming his heavy tail into the ground for anchorage, alloy plating and various mechanical components screeching and groaning with the protest of effort in keeping him from winding up like a tin can under someone's heel. Tactical processors fire rapidly, all coming to only one possible course of action at this point. Shardcore's optics flare to an irradiant green color as he shifts as best he can to angle his head up at the alien tank. A similar glow flashes from the depths of his mouth as he opens it, only to erupt outward as he vents overflow from his power supplies to prevent the struggle's strain from overheating mechanical systems. Due to the nature of his experimental, volatile core this resulting in a massive plume of acidic plasma blasting up towards the tank's underside. Are these invaders smart enough to shield the underside of their constructs or not? 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     "Ahhahahaha!" Eiko's only thought, once she's oriented enough to keep her target in sight, is, "FUCKIN' AWESOME." Since it was a friendly that launched her, she has no doubt that she'll land intact and, if not on target, then close enough to it. This may not be entirely sound reasoning, but really, what would be the point in worrying at this late juncture?     Momentary worries, if they'd existed. Her course seems to be carrying her close enough--though not quite dead-on while still avoiding lines of fire. Whoops. What can she do about that? Not a hell of a lot. At least she's too low of an energy signature for the giant machine to care about.     What she has is a hoodie, and in a moment later she instead has a make-shift parachute, just enough to introduce some drag and influence her path. She just doesn't want to be instantly reduced to theoretical particles by taking the main cannon head on, but she /does/ want to land on the thing. She's not going to be able to do much to it otherwise.     And she does. The shield must not have registered her as moving fast enough to be an attack. She reaches a point somewhere past the defenses, on the thing's heavily armored back. She pulls her sword out from under her arm, and gives a tug to the hilt--at which it refuses to budge from its sheathe. Another tug, and she gives up. No time for that. She pulls a common utility knife out of her sidebag, flicks it open, and promptly slashes her left palm.     "Agh! Shit, why!" She does it again, amidst a string of invectives, only one of which is the word "curse," half at some mysterious entity and half at the robot under her, and all against whatever cruel fate renders this an effective strategy. She's only a mildly augmented human, and this hurts like--like being slashed repeatedly in a moderately sensitive part of the body, until the blood is making a good flow down her sword sheathe.     "Infect!" She smacks the armor plate with the blunt side of the sword sheathe, getting more of her blood on both. It's at about this point that she tries contacting Staren over the radio, but a quick look up tells her that that is no longer an option. Should have tried sooner. Oh well, change of plans! Time to take a running leap and maybe scramble down the leg of a giant robot as it's attacked from every side. Not the stomping leg; she'll take another one. This is likely going to be awful, either way.     Meanwhile, though she's paying no attention to it, her Bleeding curse travels into the giant tank 'bot. It doesn't matter if it's dead or alive. So long as it has some kind of fluid that circulates through some portion of its mechanisms, it'll either resist the curse, or it will bleed. 

:'''{{#var:19|Maya (19)}} has posed:''' Maya is trying to do what she can and she eems to get some luck as she is able to put th thing down. She's quite happy about that btu there's no time to celebrate these automatic weapons are a big problem and she wants to be certain they are all scrapped her machine twists about and is heading after the tank ow he machine keeps closes in in as eh closes in on the tank now she drop her machine shifting into a humanoid form and it's rifle comes up now as it hit the ground it might have been winged but it's not out. She comes up and now fires the shoulder mounted missile pods along with the rifle. 

:'''{{#var:596|Zwei (596)}} has posed:'''     What is basically Maya's and Staren's entire payload detonates on the outside of the tank's shield frame, only centimeters above Eiko's head. Despite the blinding, deafening explosion taking place so close to her, washing over her surroundings in clouds of fire, not a single hair of hers is disturbed. As Shardcore adds his own attack to the salvo however, that formiddable shielding finally fails, winking out just in time for Eiko to clamber off. Reprioritizing the two threats (completely ignoring the girl), the turrets on the side of the machine swivel to face Shardcore while he is immobilized, and begin firing on him at point blank. The main cannont swivels to face Staren almost instantly, tracking his trajectory, and then firing as soon as he reaches close range; aiming to completely obliterate him in a single shot, before he can sweve out of the way.     The tank doesn't work on any kind of hydraulic system, and so it won't bleed fluid that will lessen its mobility, but a kind of liquid used for the kerr lensing of the lasing chamber shortly before the machine's guns convert light into rydberg energy begins to gush out of miniscule seams in its armour. The moment after it fires at Staren, its main gun explodes into a hail of shrapnel as the warmup cycle of the second shot superheats the interior mechanism instead. The guns on its sides do much the same, leaving the tank almost completely without weapons. A second set of micromissiles open up in its exterior, primed to fire at any moment. 

:'''{{#var:650|Eiko (650)}} has posed:'''     Eiko is pretty damn sure that the thing she's supposed to be doing now is to get as far away from that thing as possible. More than humanly possible would be preferred. Too bad she's still in terrible pain from her left hand--though a version of her prior trick will handle that for at least the few seconds she needs.     "Mutate," the word is hissed. Bane to boon. Temporarily. A massive endorphin rush dulls the pain and puts strength into her legs. Full on the fight or flight response, she's done both flying and fighting, and is ready to flee. Almost--almost, she drops her bag in the process. But it would take nearly as much time to get off her shoulder and ditch as it would save her by reduced weight. Besides, she's got her stuff in there, and that city didn't promise to replace anything.     Damn. Damn! Damn all invaders who don't give the defenders time to organize payment for services soon to be rendered.     Eiko gets the hell out of the way. 

:'''{{#var:368|Tesla Armadia (368)}} has posed:''' Before they overheat and detonate the guns manage to slam several rounds into Shardcore, who indeed has nowhere else to go with the tank's leg still held on top of him. They tear large junks off the robot, causing considerable damage while at the same time proving while redundant modular systems are a core concept of Tesla's designs, at least when it comes to the commando units that need to remain function under heavy duress and injury. Finally he manages to shove the leg forward and let go of it, leaving it to slam into the ground in front of him. With a lumbering step back Shardcore pauses for a moment to readjust, much of his upper chassis blasted down to the internal infrastructure. As he raises his head several dozen warning points flash across his HUD for the multitude of ports opening up on the tank's body. In response he raises his arms, the blasters he's partially named for extending out of his forearms. The triple barrels fire in alternating fashion, pumping out rapid fire volleys of metal shards aimed to penatrate through those openings being revealed in order to fire the micromissiles. 

:'''{{#var:19|Maya (19)}} has posed:''' Maya makes sure the tank is down ot is it she does see that it's not dead yet, fine she's going to keep after it at this point and she sees the thing is diarmed but it's not dead fine she's moving in at this point she is keeping track it and those whoa re on foot she's got She wants to amek sure it's doiwn as she pops off several rounds from the rifle trying to make sure it's dead. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     "Gaaaah! Break already!" Staren shouts at the offending shield, until finally it /does/ -- but he's used up most of his explosives to do it. (There are still the launchers in his gunpod, but they're currently reloading). He comes in close, preparing to transform and pull the beam swords... when it fires and he barely has time to react -- the projectile is dodged at all costs, sending the Star Hawk careening off and Staren almost stunned from G-forces. By the time he recovers and realizes he's not being fired at anymore, he's far away, and pulls into a loop to come in for a second pass. "Hhhh... dammit!" This time, he keeps his distance, and just fires another salvo of mini- and micro-missiles, about three dozen of mixed-yield armor-piercing and plasma warheads. 

:'''{{#var:596|Zwei (596)}} has posed:'''     Eiko has the right idea in trying to get away as fast as possible. Shardcore's and Maya's firing shatters the warheads currently just under the tank's armour, setting off the miniature antimatter reactions prematurely. One of Staren's missiles collides head one with one of the tank's launched from its opposite side; daisy chaining the detonations so that the backblast hurls the Starhawk away and crashes against the side of the Arma; stripping its hulk away layer by layer, thankfully shielding Shardcore as the internal magazine detonates as well, seriously endangering him if he remains in close proximity. The already destabilized hillside collapses entirely; being driven into a massive crater with an eardrum-popping thump; blasting a wave of white mist through the air as it compresses from the blast wave. The upper stratum of the dirt turns to sizzling, orange glass, leaving a bizarre, crystalline scrochmark on the otherwise idyllic countryside. The remains of the tank are nowhere to be seen, but at the ceter of where it once stood, an infinitsmally small point of light burns away like an ember, steadily sending out overpowering waves of heat that makes the glass boil, bubble and vapourize.     Up in the atmosphere blazes the light of a second, tiny sun, followed by the faint sound of an explosion over a minute later. That takes care of the ship. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Counter-missiles, the bane of every RIFTS missile volley! "Damn it!" Staren curses as most of his volley is wasted again... and then, /something/ happens, and there's a crater with something in it, making it boil. "Did it... self-destruct?" And then there's a fusion explosion in the sky. So that's where Zwei was.     Staren flies around the crater at what he hopes is a safe distance a few times, and radios: <<Is everyone alright?>> 

:'''{{#var:368|Tesla Armadia (368)}} has posed:''' Under normal circumstances like this Shardcore would just do a last minute memory core dump to backup remote drives and let the explosion do it's worse. But being abstractly aware of how much strain Tesla is already under, even the machine realizes how much of a bad idea that could be if she picked up the physical destruction with her machine empathy. Preservation of Creator overrides what would otherwise be the most practical action. Which little other options, Shardcore activates his railcannon, aims it down at the ground, and fires. The recoil of doing so without bracing himself is enough to initiate an improvised 'cannon-jump' launching him into the air with enough force to make it almost all the way back to the starting point before hitting the ground. Hard. Hard enough it takes a few moments of work with the Maxizer's claw-arm to pull him free again. "Well I think that about wraps up here." 

:'''{{#var:19|Maya (19)}} has posed:''' MAya's machine lower it's rifle as she looks to see how everything seems to be over for the moment. She's aware something needs to be done about this. She opens up a radio to the others. "I'm fine, I'm going to see what I can do to help the locals with my healing abilities." 

}}

1067/The Title Passes On

2014-12-12T06:01:28Z

Kimiko: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2014/12/02 |Location=Great Painting of Ariamis <PoA> |Synopsis=Everyone checks out the duke's archives, then blue-boys attack. |Thanks= |Cast of Ch..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2014/12/02
|Location=Great Painting of Ariamis <PoA>
|Synopsis=Everyone checks out the duke's archives, then blue-boys attack.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=6, 42, 70, 168, 183, 253, 347, 560, 570, 598, 635
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     For a rare change of pace, Priscilla has invited the next group of respondants to attend in person, eschewing the usual method of summoning phantoms for a warpgate apparently constructed in the observatory of the Duke's Archives. The upper floors are a complete and total loss, having been iced over in thick layers of that abominable crystal, but with Seath dead, the other inhabitants have either fled, disappeared, or have been cleared out, because the library is seeing its first benign activity in well over a century.     It isn't exactly buzzing with activity, but small handfuls of pilgrims, almost all of whom are dressed in scholarly or clerical manners, mill about the upper floors of the great central hall, traipsing back and forth across the eccentric rotating stairways and up and down elevators to bring their finds to the reading commons; intent on absorbing the history and knowledge of isolationist Anor Londo. In particular, the sorceror boy Griggs from the burg, seems to have attracted a large group of similarly dressed young men in a circle around a torso-sized book spread out over a little table barely supporting its weight. Indra and Cassius can be glimpsed on one of the top levels, though the others may be somewhere else.     Priscilla herself seems to be a little lost in all of this, standing like a wallflower to the side of the central stairway, having absolutely zero presence of ownership despite being the one who the Archives currently belong to. She doesn't seem to be keen on the idea of starting a meeting with so many people around, because the way to the secret back rooms has been opened up ahead of time, though she stands guard to make sure nobody wanders in. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren steps out of the warpgate. It's the first time in a long time... maybe at all... that he's visited without his powered armor. He looks around, taking in the sight. Seeing Priscilla against the wall, he nods to her in greeting, then approaches the nearest scholar. "Hey. Find anything good?" 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     "So Nathan," Psyber begins, following Nathan via whatever method he chose to arrive in. The half-angel has a pad and a pencil in his hands as he trails behind the librarian, "What do you want for Christmas? Is it a jetpack? Motocross bike? X-Treme Skateboard? Fischer Price's My First Basejumping Set? A rocket car?"     In reality, Psyber had already figured out Nathan's gifts months ago, but it's mandatory for him to make Nathan think he's getting absolutely inappropriate gifts, "What about a meth lab? How would you feel about that?"     Psyber doesn't have a terrible amount of reaction to the library, largely due to him not being a librarian. He still wants to stick close to Nathan, though. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko now visits Lordran in person, so to speak, for the first time. In total, for the... fourth time? To this particular place, the second. Without significant expectation of being attacked--again, the first.     That doesn't mean she has /no/ expectation. She's just at her usual, passive level of wariness that something will suddenly try to kill her and/or someone near her. She has yet to find a situation where this kind of expectation is bad to have while outside of one's home. For that reason, she arrives transformed, though unarmored, wearing the not-a-uniform-if-it's-unique dress of a magical girl.     She will mostly be looking around at all the people, as this is also her first time seeing anything resembling a crowd in this world. 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     Somewhere along the line it would seem that silent entries became Mizuki's norm. Or perhaps they've always been her norm and that's just been obfuscated by her general demeanor?     Whatever the case, she could make no less of a fuss. As she emerges from the warpgate she would metaphorically latch on to the shadow of another person, likely Kimiko, and maintain her same, silent invisibility. She would saunter along that way, at least presumably apart from prying eyes, until they had reached the Priscilla's position. There she would break away, slowing fading into existence before the crossbreed to give her a gentle, equally reticent curtsy. "Priscilla." Seems like she's finally dropped the 'Miss'.     And Psyber would get her attention not long eyebrow, earning a quirk of her brow and a smile more curious than any single line in a book by Lewis Carrol that shall not be named. "I'm morosely curious as to where you shop for gifts," She would say, expecting that she needs no more introduction than that.     Ironically, she has no idea what meth is. The thing that stood out most to her was the skateboard. 

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:''' Tomoe was acked to come in person and she had trusted Priscilla on this as she does so. She does not come as Tomoe the Iron lily but Sheena Armstrong people might not even know her as no one arriving has actually seen her real self so far as she recalls. She's a tall girl of European decent at about five 11 she's oddly a bit on the gaunt side, she's got a hoddie on that has the logo for ALO on it, she's got cargo pand and one mighht noitce a strange little pendant she's wearing as she enters. Her voice however is the same. "So you wanted is here in the flesh I'm here." 

:'''{{#var:635|Quentyn Westwind (635)}} has posed:'''     Quentyn looks a little lost himself as he wanders in from the gate, but no less eager to see a new corner of the multiverse. The highschooler fiddles with his glasses, looking around carefully and taking in the room's contents and people. He doesn't look like he particularly recognizes anyone here yet, however. 

:'''{{#var:598|Lezard Valeth (598)}} has posed:''' Lezard has been frequently present since the removal of the previous owner. His capacity for transport has served him well in this case, allowing him to peruse many books on his own volition. He seems to have set up a table in one of the anterooms with a large stack of tomes with strange and complicated titles. He also occasionally confers with the 'sorcery crew' in the other area, but it's questionable who's getting more out of those discussions. He doesn't seem concerned with the presence of any heroic types. He's not breaking any rules, right? 

:'''{{#var:168|Nathan Hall (168)}} has posed:'''     Nathan Hall is here, in person this time.     "Even though I know there is no practical reason why it should be such, for some reason I always seemed to think that the dread inherent to the atmosphere of your world would be more intense in-person. But it is actually not quite so bad." He says, mostly to himself. Then a few winces at Psyber. "All of those sound... Somewhat excessive. I think my transport needs are met, thank you. No... No meth lab. No."     "Ah, Griggs. Hello again. Good to see you well, or as well as anything can be." Nathan makes sure to greet him on the way. "Let me know if you find anything I should take a look at." And then, hey, here's Priscilla! "Salutations." He says, walking over to her and giving a nod of greeting. "I am nothing short of green with envy at your inheritance. You seem less enthused. Perhaps we may speak more privately? Ah, I am rude to immediately jump to business. How have you been since the matter of the Duke? Still feeling better?"     He's... He seems much more social, somehow. Why is that? The answer is obvious. He's in hs natural habitat. 

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''     Given what else has happened on this world, Shirou's a bit worried about people going there in person. Lordran's a crazy darned place! but he does arrive in person. he comes through the warpgate wearing a jacket and extremely tense, eyes flicking about left and right in case any weird stuff's happening. But it's not, so yay! There's that.R     Spotting Priscilla soon enough, Shirou wanders over to her. "Priscilla! Your crew's sure found a good base of operations. How's everything been?" 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Priscilla looks relieved to see Staren, as the first familiar face to arrive, though she is apparently still too self conscious to wave. The man nearest to him is carting around a small stack of extremely thick books with utmost care, dressed in fancy black and gold, courtly clothes that might mean he is a professor of some sort somewhere prestigious. He drops them down on a lectern and pulls up a seat, popping open the first book and reading the title aloud for Staren. "Volumes one through four of the comprehensive history of the Vinheim dragon school of sorcery. Over a hundred years old. I guarantee you that nine tenths of this is entirely lost information in this day and age. Most of Vinheim's greatest minds have turned their attentions away from passing down knowledge to the curse as of late." Kimiko finds that there are several people that look much like this man. Though actually fairly evenly split between genders, the average wealth class here is pretty high, which might indicate that learning Anor Londo's written language might be reservedf for the upper crust of other countries.     "Lady Mizuki." Priscilla isn't about to drop the titles any time soon. "And thou were more than welcome to use thine Avatar, Lady Tomoe, but we shalt not be bothered here." She seems more or less content to ignore Lezard for the time being. Griggs and co. are more than happy to elaborate on any terms he brings up, though their own knowledge is far from comprehensive, probably due to their youth. The young sorceror greets Nathan as enthusiastically as always, shouting "This stuff on crystals is absolutely brilliant! I mean, potentially at least. Not a fan of how it's been used so far but . . ." he trails off like a socially awkward teenager. Quentyn will quickly be able to assess that, between the ground floor and the open balconies that surround it, stacked one on top of the other, this particular archive probably has as much text in it than the largest of libraries he is familiar with, and that the small number of people making use of it would require years to get through it all.     Priscilla does her best not to make a thoroughly undignified noise at the sight of Psyber trying to sell Nathan on a meth lab; taking her time to choke down the urge to smile before responding to the librarian. "It is still torture to the nerves to be around this place, even with /him/ gone, but I am resolved to grow used to it. The sooner I replace my old memories of these halls with happier ones, the better. Likewise, once that abominable laboratory can be remodeled and the crystal scraped clear." She looks to Shirou. "I believeth it shalt serve well. For the time being however, there is something more pressing to discuss. I will lead thee to somewhere more fitting of its nature." With that, she turns towards the mechanical bookshelf, leading everyone through it before pulling the lever to rotate it shut. She takes a different path than the way Solaire had led them last time, ignoring the ladders down into the basement, and instead going through layers upon layers of hidden shelves behind the common room's walls, into a rather large, and strangely cozy study; vaguely oval in shape, with several desks, wooden floors, and comfortable magic lighting. Spread out on the main table is one of the massive tomes from downstairs; likely unsealed after the death of the one who had created their wards to begin with. The two page spread appears to be a map of the country, but with a convoluted series of connected dots drawn across it, most radiating from a single, central location, immediately recognizeable as Firelink Shrine. 

:'''{{#var:635|Quentyn Westwind (635)}} has posed:'''     Noticing where others are tending to gather, Quentyn too wanders over to more or less where Priscilla is, but he stays towards the back and just listens. Keenly, trying to figure out what's going on. When Tomoe's name is mentioned--"Tomoe..?" the student murmurs under his breath, looking between those gathered quickly. But he doesn't seem to find who he's looking for.     When Quentyn notices Staren, however, the Galiandan holds up a hand in a wave and flashes a grin greeting. But he leaves it nonverbal and seems content to simply follow the others, using their conversations as his weathervane. 

:'''{{#var:598|Lezard Valeth (598)}} has posed:''' Lezard is perfectly happy to be ignored by Priscilla, despite her frosty, formal demeanor being so /familiar/ to him in some ways. He's not taking any of the books, simply referencing material and taking extensive notes. He is used to doing research in comparative solitude. The activities of the Union members gains some note from Lezard in passing, but he does not interject. Nothing seems to be gaining his attention at the moment, though the comments on the Vinheim school of sorcery to Staren does gain a moment's pause from the Sorceror of Midgard. He doesn't butt in though. The books aren't going anywhere, and if nothing else, he'll outlive basically all of these scholars. He'll /guarantee/ it. 

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:''' Tomoe tilts her head a little bit at Priscilla. "You asked me to come in person so I did, and it be a bit of a hastle to go back to log into it at this point." She does seem to be in a good mood and she does owe Priscillia much and it's why she was trying to respect hert request after all. She's not without protection after all. "That's a pretty wise idea my friend." She pauses at her name being called and looks to Quentyn, her face would match up with Tomoe's as would the voice but not much else. "Oh hey Quentyn, good to see you." She is not thinking about Lezard at the moment dhe doesn't know him too well... 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren hmms. "Wish I had time to read through it all... Hopefully you guys can give other scholars the highlights after awhile?" Others are arriving! Psyber's antics get an eyeroll, everyone get nods and waves, and then Priscilla calls them all over.     Staren blinks as he passes close to Tomoe and looks up at her. "You're tall in real life too..." he comments.     "Ooooh, secret passage!" He looks around until they come to the study: "What do we have here? ...What do these dots mean?" 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     Getting a choked back laugh and a near-smile from Priscilla is enough to make Psyber's harrying of Nathan more than worth the minimal effort, "Come on. We could get you a hat and sunglasses. Shave your head. You can manipulate social situations to make yourself a drug baron while you slowly lose your humanity in a riveting five-season arc that shows us all how good intentions can breed dark outcomes." He smiles, putting his hands on Nathan's shoulders and rubbing them playfully.     Looking to Priscilla, Psyber nods his head firmly, "I think once you clean it out, maybe personalize it all a bit, it'll look nice. Hang some of those like... cat pictures. 'Hang in there' and 'I hate Mondays' and one of those black-bordered posters with a stock photo, a single word, and some quote from a half-assed author or famous person. Maybe a throw rug. Oh! Get a picture of Seath's dead corpse with a funny word bubble like 'This week is just Dragon on'."     "Sorry, I was rambling. What are we doing today?" 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko does have some interest in identifying the different groups that are now using the archives, and takes note of the similarities--noticing Lezard in the process. As that last encounter is her only experience with him, she's no more on edge than she is with any other stranger. For the most part. And he's not the only one, though Quentyn has what she sees as more of a harmless look. Sheena she recognizes by voice. Mizuki gets a curious look as she chooses to appear. Kimiko herself offers the barest greetings.     And then they're away and passing through the shelves. Kimiko's reasonably certain that she wouldn't be able to read, much less understand, one out of a hundred of the books stored here, so she pays more attention to the people than the books. Priscilla, in particular--but it's just curiosity, mainly.     The map, when opened, has her attention briefly, but loses much of it as soon as she realizes she has no frame of reference for anything on it. 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     Nathan isn't the only one in his element here. Mizuki is, too, and she would quietly follow along after Priscilla as the group makes their way to the secluded study. And as soon as they arrive she would saunter over to the large tome, arms folded neatly behind her back as usual, before she looks with some concern after her words to Nathan. "Well, the business of life is the acquisition of memories. Perhaps we'll acquire some here that will aid you in ousting the less savory ones you may harbor now?" One can only hope.     She would attempt to glance over the pages of the book, albeit briefly, electing to pull a chair over if she spots anything interesting. If there's no chair to be found then she would find one elsewhere, pulling one out of a portal opened with Aelinos. As usual, this would come with all her typical flagrant disregard of what others may think of a portal to the Void opening out of nowhere. Which would probably be very little anyway, but nevertheless.     Kimiko would get a small nod in greeting, too, when she makes eye contact. "Miss Kimiko." And still an honorific for her. In light of her interactions with Bedivere, Saber, and others, she contemplates referring to her as 'Sir', but since 'Miss' has registered without complaint thus far she sees no real reason to interrupt a working formula.     Now, back to the book. Well, the plethora of books, but mainly the big one. Big things are often prevalent, a la Chekov's Gun. 

:'''{{#var:168|Nathan Hall (168)}} has posed:'''     Nathan leaves Griggs to his studies with an approving nod and focuses on Priscilla. "Well, I look forward to a better time, when we can make this a better place for you. I would say that it has already improved a great deal." He moves on in and seems to much enjoy the change of scenery, even though the last was quite fine. As he does, he casually banters back with Psyber. "I have no intention of losing either my humanity or my hair, both are integral to my identity. I barely wear sunglasses anyway." Then there's a look to Staren. "They originate at Firelink. If I had to guess, they are likely the bonfires, but I would make no assumption. What is our business today, Priscilla?" He takes a respectful, attentive position standing at the corner of the table. 

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''     With Tomoe nearby and saying that she's not come as her superpowered self, Shirou's now even more alarmed by the situation. If the place did fall under attack by anyone... hoo boy. Oh well, no changing it now.     "Something important?" He follows along. What else can he do exactly?     The boy strolls through the strange path Priscilla leads them on... and ends up staring at the map... 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Priscilla really seems as if she is about to laugh out loud at Psyber's decoration tips, right up until the last one, at which she completely loses all semblence of good humour. That particular joke may have been a little too soon; even for someone she held absolutely no love for to begin with. Mizuki, unfortunately, is denied a good natured response for this reason, though not the opportunity to get a chair.     Reaching the study, Priscilla pulls up one of the chairs from the smaller desks to seat herself in front of the book, tracing her finger over several of the lines in sequence. "Sir Hall is correct. This central location is clearly Firelink shrine. Several of these others art places we hath been to before. The base of the Parish. The belltower under Blighttown. These Archives. The Cathedral of Gwynevere. As far as I am able to ascertain, each of these marks a Bonfire, and the lines denote to which each is linked. Those which retain, or once possessed, a Firekeeper, trace their origin to Firelink, after which the lesser Bonfires art spread into their surroundings. It denotes a clear flow of power. Possibly from the First Flame itself. With this in mind, I hath devised the probable locations of our next quarries, by reading where these paths converge."     She spends a few moments in tense silence as she tries to formulate the words to express the gravity of the situation. "For most of thee who art not so familiar with the history of Lordran, the acquisition of the Lordvessel perhaps seems a typical quest for an ancient artifact of sufficient use. In reality, it served its role as a vessel for the very first souls to come into existence; as ancient as the world. It is a symbol of the origin of life itself, to which even the gods trace their lineage. It is not a simple key made to open the way to the Kiln of the First Flame. Lord Gwyn made that place inaccessible without the Lordvessel out of grave need. In order to return to the originating point of all existence, the Lordvessel will not be satisfied without these first souls returned to it. Lord Gwyn's is one, and the mightiest of them all, so for such we need not worry. Duke Seath's was another, lesser shard of the whole. If we art to go forward, we must reclaim three more, and two of them belong to original Lords of the Age of Ancients. Gods amongst gods. Seath is but a pale imitation of those we must contend with next." 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     Psyber makes a sort of 'blech' face as he spots Priscilla losing her good humor from his joke, "Sorry, Pris." He says softly, hands going to his pockets before he simply relegates himself to silently hang around at the side of Nathan and listen to the new plan and Priscilla laying out what she's managed to discover so far.     He probably won't be saying much for a while, not happy with himself that he upset the dragon girl. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko is only half-paying attention to the actual content of the banter. If she has a sense of humor, she's not choosing now to show it. Though a slight expression shows agreement with Nathan's stance of "no meth lab."     As the explanation comes, she again looks at the map, trying now to read this pattern of linkage and see, as she has, how it might be read to tell them where their quarries lie. And yet, she hasn't been to any of the locations mentioned, so a good deal of context is still missing. Still, perhaps it will become clear. 

:'''{{#var:635|Quentyn Westwind (635)}} has posed:'''     Quentyn blinkblinks and takes up a cautious look when he's called by name. "Umm, do I--" He frowns as he tries to place the voice and face, then it dawns on him. He fiddles with this glasses again. "Tomoe...?" the student-adventurer asks carefully, and more audibly this time.     But it's not long before Quentyn's attention is pulled back to the here and now, and the map and its dots. He still stays behind and out of the way of the others. Firelink? Bonfires? The mage looks faintly puzzled, but still attentive. Firekeepers, Shrines, Kilms... Ok. Quentyn reaches into his bag, pulling out a notebook with attached pen & pencil and, well, he begins to rapidly jot down notes (and for anyone looking over his shoulder, roughly sketch the key parts of the map in said notes)-- only pausing now and then to think while faintly chewing on the end of his pen. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren looks over at Psyber and Nathan. "People seem to have enough stories in their heads about how good intentions will cause loss of humanity and dark outcomes..."     STaren listens to the history lesson. "Great. So, why do we think these gods-among-gods are hiding where the lines converge? And if they're so powerful, why do they need to hide in the first place?" 

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:''' Tomoe looks at Staren and just smirks. "Yes, yes I am." She gives Psyber a nod as she gets ready to fall in line with everyone else heading out and she did not come without the means to protect herself, right? One might notice she does have a sword on her person after all. She's got a sword over her back it seems she's feels naked without a balde she's found no matter the world or form she's in. She tilts her head for a moment and nods. "I see so we're ... trying to get fragments of the original creator's soul back more or less?" She looks at Quentyn for a moment and seems very amused. "Yes it's me." She looks o er to Mizuki for a moment. "Tentacled horrors wouldn't shock me Mizuki, and you do have a point about not letting the creators of a world be forgottont htne again if they are like the Duke..." 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     Mizuki would gingerly rest her elbow on the surface of the desk bearing the tome, looking and nodding along with Priscilla's explanation. This is likely done with far more interest than she lets on, because in earnest she looks a bit glassy-eyed; hazy. Once the crossbreed has concluded, Mizuki's eyes would train on her, the girl leaving only a few moments of silence before speaking. "If I did not know any better," She would start, copping a grin, "I would say that you've become quite invested in this whole 'staving off the dark' business." She would close her eyes, as if reverently. "It's an interesting transformation to witness, or perhaps more appropriately... impressive. It may seem an easy thing, putting all this information together and drawing up a plan of action, but I can assure you: it is not."     She would give the woman a break afterward, though, allowing her eyes to meander back to the map within the pages. Addressing no one in particular this time, "Though I do wonder what sorts these 'elder Gods' will end up being. Seath was clearly too far gone, but perhaps... perhaps we'll have more opportunity for conversation with these others. I expect very little in that regard, but if not, mayhap we could keep some part of them with us after our scuffles? Keep them alive, in some small way. Surely the founders of a world should be remembered in some capacity?" She would continue to study the book somewhat lazily for a spell. She's probably thinking.     Soon, though, she stands, meandering over to Psyber. Very quietly, she would whisper, "Any harm that has been done will be mended. As they say, 'Any friendship that could be made or broken with a single word is no friendship at all'. Not to say that you've no right to privacy and worry, but I thought I would at least say this much."     And with that she would wander back to her seat, resting her eyes. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     "Those stories exist," Kimiko responds to Staren without looking up from the map, "because of the mistaken, yet widespread belief, that good intentions will prevent terrible results."     Hopefully, she can at least figure out from the map where either the archives or the crystal caves are. Perhaps not Ash Lake. It seemed well off the beaten path. "And we do not know that they are hiding, do we? Anymore than Duke Seath did. We went into his home to kill him. I would be surprised if we did not need to do so again."     Her first actual words, this trip. A few more, to Mizuki. "If we are taking their souls, it seems unlikely they could... live, afterward." 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     "Yes," Mizuki would glance faintly to Kimiko, "but life is a word with more definitions than most give it credit for. Sometimes life is a biological pulse. Other times, a psychological imprint left within a collective memory. And it is my earnest belief that the latter is worth very, very much." 

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''     "Worse than Seath?!" Shirou blurts, face paling. That was pretty hard. He's not sure if they can beat anything much worse than him without losses. Ugh. "There isn't any other way to this Kiln?!" This whole thing seems incredibly messed up... how did the land GET like this?     "How are they worse than that guy?! 

:'''{{#var:635|Quentyn Westwind (635)}} has posed:'''     Quentyn gives Tomoe-in-the-flesh one more curious look, but most of his attention is taken up by the plans and the planners. He continues to scribble things down hurriedly, looking satisfied as the picture starts together.     Until he suddenly stops, looking up from his notebook at the others with his mouth slightly open until he remembers to close it. But the boy looks a bit wide-eyed, clutching his notebook close to his chest. Killing gods, stealing souls? Slowly he starts to pad backwards and--if he can get far enough while escaping notice--Well, hopefully that path Priscilla took is easier on the way out than the way in. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren rolls his eyes. "Yes, but the stories make it sound like a crapshoot. Certain people are doomed to cause trouble no matter what unless they give up, others don't have that problem. Where's the story that shows people taking precautions instead of getting lucky or unlucky? The story that shows it's worth /trying/?" 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     "You willfully ignore those stories because it doesn't fit your personal narrative in which all stories are made to discourage you," Psyber says in an almost flat tone to Staren, "Because you wish to take a stance in which your morality and ideals are persistently persecuted, you willfully ignore the fact that the bulk of narratives, both literary and in other avenues such as games and televised media, focus on a group of heroes with good intentions overcoming insurmountable odds to achieve victory due to their personal moral codes and their idealism." He pauses a beat, "It's not that the narratives don't exist, it's that your observation bias prevents you from acknowledging them due to your personally argumentative and combative nature towards the fact that narratives which do not support this format exist."     Psyber then looks over to Mizuki when she consoles him and nods his head. 

:'''{{#var:598|Lezard Valeth (598)}} has posed:''' Lezard is stil hovering around in the background, listening intently to future plans while reading tomes. When Shirou exclaims about Seath, Lezard finally comments from behind. "There are many forms of power. Duke Seath had become complacent in his obsession and his solitude. The others may not be so simply dealt with. Attempt to rise to the challenge, magus, and learn from the examples before you. Such challenges are how blades are truly forged." His smile is somewhat ominous. 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     Mizuki would add to Psyber's commentary: "We are living that story at this moment, Staren." She would study him a bit tiredly for a moment. "We would likely be better served to contemplate on how we, now, could craft contingency plans rather than chiding figures of the past who drafted the first pages." She would attempt a smile, here. "Indeed, isn't history a story of trial-and-error? Never forget that their attempts have made ours possible. There is much we have to thank them for." 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Priscilla gives Psyber a slightly miffed but otherwise faintly apologetic look before continuing. "I doubt that they wouldst hide from anything, which is what begs the question. One soul was split into fragments and given to the four kings of New Londo; the only city built and ruled by humans within the borders of Anor Londo, and viewed as the pinnacle of their civilization. From what I hath read, New Londo hath since been sealed off almost a century ago, in order to contain some manner of disaster. The Four Kings may well be dead, and their souls merely dormant within the ruins. The two I am most concerned for art Nito, the first of the dead, and the witch Izalith, who were inheritors of the original Lordsouls, and companions to Lord Gwyn in the ancient war. Nito hast long removed himself from the concerns of the mortal world, instead keeping watch over the remains of those slain in the war . . ." Her finger drifts to a dot remarkably close to Firelink Shrine, but apparently under a mountain. "In the Tomb of the Giants. The fact that a plague of deathlessness couldst hath spread for decades without sight of him is worrisome. The witch built a city in her name . . ." next to somewhere between to the underground belltower and Anor Londo. "In order to rule her own kingdom dedicated to the way of Flame rather than Gwyn's kingdom of the sun, but we hath already seen two of her coven disfigured to a hideous extent, by gods knoweth what now resides there. Neither one of them shouldst hath remained so idle at the oncoming of the Dark."     Priscilla stops for a moment's reflection at Mizuki's observation. "I had not noticed. Perhaps I am simply too tethered to memories of what Lordran once was, and hath no place in its present, but I am unable to help mineself after coming this far. I will see it done." Then another for Kimiko. "As for the matter of the Lordsouls, it is obvious that these beings existed in some manner before obtaining one, if they were able to claim one in the first place. Seath was alive well before he came into power, as were the kings. It is entirely possible to give up a part of one's soul in this world, but whether they wouldst do so willingly, or if they art even in any shape to do so, is another issue entirely." Next she moves on to Shirou. "Only in terms of power. Seath is- . . . was, a defective being. A malformed cripple of a dragon, who betrayed his own to pursue the strength and glory of the gods. In terms of primacy, he lies above the kings of New Londo, but far below that of Izalith and Nito. Attempting to engage either one of them in battle wouldst most likely be suicide without extensive preparation, hence mine hesitation to rush blindly ahead in the case that some manner of madness hath possessed them. The Kiln, however, will not be breached. Such a venture wouldst be akin to attempting to reach The Root of thine own world." 

:'''{{#var:168|Nathan Hall (168)}} has posed:'''     "Good intentions never manifest anything good when they come from a meth lab. That is the core of the discussion and a point on which we can all agree." Nathan says, attempting to cap the discussion about Breaking Bad off very swiftly, until it escalates. "Of this we can all agree." Then he leans over the map, making worried noises.     "Now, on the more relevant subjects. Am I to assume those were the ones referred to in the fire-saturated and bone-saturated visions provided to us by the dragon? 'First of the dead' seems straightforward, and this way of the 'flame' reminds me of the heat from before. What of the vision of the submerged city, then? Should we start there, or do you feel that weshould take this in another order? I hesitate to confront the more overwhelming challenges first; I would very much prefer we attempt to take things more in a gradual order." 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren turns and glares at Psyber, hands in his pockets. "Oh, you wanna go? You know that's not what I meant--" he starts, but Nathan makes an attempt to defuse things, and Staren grumpily nods to him. "Okay, that's fair. Good intentions don't result in meth labs in the first place."     Staren looks around. "Sounds like we need to visit this place secretly somehow, and gather information about who's there now and what their powers and weaknesses are. But how do we go about that?" 

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''     "...First of the dead?" Shirou puzzles on this verbally. What's that kind of title even supposed to mean? Several ways to interpret it. "Everyone of importance in this land sure doesn't seem to be doing their jobs, Priscilla. What in the world happened to get things like this...? We can't just go tell these people to cooperate, I'm guessing..." 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     Mizuki would steeple her fingers, reclining slightly. "The gravekeeper, the witch, the kings, and the wardrobe." She would smile faintly at that. "Truly, it almost sounds like a fairy tale. I'm sure it will manifest quite differently, but even so. Even so." Afterwards she would glance to Nathan, her own eyes lighting up at the mention of the dragon's visions. "Oh, I'd quite forgotten about those waking dreams. But true, true -- Priscilla's words do bring those images to mind."     Then, regarding progression. "It may not be my place to comment, but if we're referring specifically to ease of ultimate confrontation I would personally recommend challenging these kings first. If they were given a soul and it was split between them, then there's a good likelihood that none of them have the strength the others would possess. And even if we could not isolate them, per se, we could still use our numbers to abate them." She would bow. "Just my thoughts."     Then, a trifle more personally, to Priscilla. "And I would commend that conviction. I can think of few reasons more just than nostalgia, and I do not say that with any sort of contrary insinuation. Truly, personal attachment is a pure feeling -- quite a bit moreso than 'moral quandry' or some such thing, if you wish to hear my opinion." 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     Psyber looks at Staren, "'Do you wanna go?' is the worst phrase you could possibly have used with a Union Colonel. Do not do so again. This is your one warning."     At Nathan's comment, he will let his own statement stand. He looks down at the map, "I think Nito would be a productive first stop." Psyber says, looking over the information, "While he has been non-present to date, he may still have valuable insight into properly countering the curse or into alternative avenues we should be pursuing. Hopefully he will not be so far gone and will be more rational and we should be able to achieve discourse with him." 

:'''{{#var:635|Quentyn Westwind (635)}} has posed:'''     Warpgate, warpgate, warpgate... out of the study, well, it should be easy to go the rest of the way back from here, right? Hands a little jittery, Quentyn stuffs the notebook back in his pack and walks back-- the kind of walk that is all but a run. One of the scholars or sages milling about the place may overhear him yammering in urgent undertones into his radio, something about crappy leads and offworld cultists.     And then-- Yes! Warpgate! The boy hastily steps through, as long as his departure continues to go unnoticed and unhindered. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     "If the city is sealed," Kimiko says, putting aside the matter previously spoken of, "then we should be careful in unsealing it. If we go elsewhere, first, we might be better prepared to act once we do enter. Otherwise... releasing a disaster seems like something we should avoid, if we do not know how we can contain it again."     She nods to Psyber. "He may have no information regarding the others. Or he may. Likely, valuable, in either case." 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     "This is most likely the case, Sir Hall, Lady Mizuki. I was never able to meet mine grandfather's comrades, but I knoweth that the Tomb of the Giants is so named for it being the burial ground of the gods and the races of their creation that were extinquished in the war with the everlasting dragons. It follows that the bones of a great many creatures wouldst comprise it. Izalith is less of a certainty, but only the original, primeval fire arts wouldst hath the power to burn a city of stone to the ground. The one beneath the waves is almost definitely New Londo, which most likely means that an underwater expedition may be required to search for the remains of the Four Kings." She gestures towards Psyber and Kimiko. "I will defer to thine own collective judgement as to which order we shouldst tackle the ways ahead of us. New Londo wouldst be the most time consuming, but likely the least threatening. Izalith may be the most dangerous to traverse, populated by demons as Lady Quelaag didst suggest. Nito wouldst be perhaps the being we shouldst wish least to maketh an aversary of."     More explanation for Shirou. "Nito is named such as that he was dead the moment life and death came into existence. He was never alive, and so, first of the dead. His domain is that of mortality. Recieving the souls that art left to wander after death, rather than being embraced by another. In defense, Lordran hath prospered for well of a millenium before this curse. The Lords 'not doing their jobs' is an entirely recent affair."     All of a sudden, a familiar, eerie sound begins echoing from the hall outside. A slurred succession of musical horror stings played over a crackling, grainy monotone, wafting up from the ladder down into the laboratory. Even if it must be more than useless by now, the fact remains that someone had gone downstairs and turned on that awful gramophone thing, and the trespass has Priscilla up-in-arms enough to slap the book closed, stand up from the table, and grab something leaning against one of the desks, wrapped tightly in blue cloth. Either silently livid, or intensely nervous, she exits through the study doors and makes for the downstairs, not making any eye contact on the way there. 

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:''' Tomoe hsa a lot of information to take in here a whole lot of information to take in here a whole lot. She listnes as some of it goes over her head but she gets the basics damn this is really heavy. Then Staren does something, ya if it gets bad she does not want to be near that even if she's wearing her Abstractium. "I think I get the idea and humm so they did their jobs until recently? Do you think some force may have taken them out? Then something goes on, oh dear... 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren gives Psyber a surprised, confused look. This seems like an overreaction to implying someone challenged him to a debate, but... Whatever. Perhaps he needs to keep his guard up better around Union officers, he thinks. The surprise turns back into a glare, and then he turns back and listens to Priscilla. Nodding and thinking about how to choose, although it sounds like some of his allies already have ideas... and then she walks off. Well, okay then. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:''' ...The catboy nods at Kimiko. "That makes sense. I wonder if there's any way to find out what that catastrophe was... could it be in this library?" 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     "Perhaps, though we could take a long while looking for it. Maybe one of the others reading..." Kimiko is answering Staren, before the music starts. Well, that's curious. She recalls the sound, and tries to look in the direction it's coming from, though with how maze-like this place is that may be a bit difficult to immediately ascertain.     As soon as Priscilla takes off, the Puella Magi is soon after her, assuming she doesn't go invisible on the way. 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     Psyber actually takes a moment to stare at Staren and then go, "OH. I thought you were challenging me to a FIGHT. That's what 'Do you wanna go?' means on the East Coast. It's shorthand for 'I want to step outside and have fisticuffs with you'. I thought you were challenging me to a fight."     "Anyway, sorry. My point is that there are those stories. I think you just only notice the ones that don't have it because you're so used to people picking on you, you know? Kinda like how I'm used to people picking fights with me, so I'm naturally aggressive," Psyber notes, toning down into a more casual tone as his hands go to his pockets, "It's like how a person only notices the things that bother them naturally."     He'd have more to explain to Staren, but then Priscilla is taking off, "Shit. Nathan, stay behind me," Psyber notes, taking a pair of pistols out of his jacket and running after Priscilla and towards whatever turned that stupid grammophone back on. 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     "In the interest of having the most knowledge to approach future circumstances," Mizuki would bow her head, "I would concur that we journey to the crypts, first, provided that we are confident in our ability to see ourselves through it with the most gentle touch we can muster. Second, New Londo would likely be prudent, with the the witch's dominion being our final destination. There may well be details we do not know of the latter two that we could glean through interaction with Nito, although," She might smirk, "going in to a grave in a world of death seems an equally foolish gesture. But alas, we've no phenomenal choices in any event; only greater and lesser evils."     She would scarcely have time to finish her statement before music would begin. Does her gramophone yet live? Ah, well, no time to wonder about that before Priscilla takes off. It doesn't surprise her terribly that Priscilla would depart without a word, but nevertheless she cannot deny her worry. And so long as she isn't given hint that she should not? She would follow, summoning her sword and growing somewhat pensive.     The irony of summoning a sword named 'dirge' in response to lyrical damnation, though, is as thick as the atmosphere. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren gives Psyber a confused look. "Well, I meant it metaphorically. Like... you wanna fight? but with /words/. I felt you were a bit unfair with your... oh great, what's going on /now/?" Staren watches them go, then shrugs and looks at Kimiko, wondering if anyone is going to stand around planning or if we're all investigating this noise. He may have missed why the music is a big deal. 

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''     "Dead without ever being alive? That's..." Shirou makes a face. That's utterly weird, that's what it is. He ends up scratchign the side of his head, CLEARLY perplexed, but what's the use bringing this up? "Err... recent or not, they still aren't. I don't know the details, but something about this feels like a colossal failure somewhere.... either way, what do you think--"     And then the crazy sound, and out goes Priscilla. This gets him frowning and--     "W-wait!"     Running off after her... 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Priscilla is after the source of the sound at a pretty fast pace. Those following her have just barely enough time to catch which corner she turns down, though anyone who can fly, or has the guts to slide, can easily skip the ladder. The laboratory is in much the same state as it was last time, though without the corpses of channelers, snakemen and pisacas littering the floors, and lacking the overwhelming aura of magic from the massive books encircling it. The gramophone is indeed playing all by itself, and the lever connected to the gears that power it has been pulled, but nobody appears to be anywhere in sight.     Priscilla senses something amiss halfway down the first staircase, because she spins around just an instant before a streak of luminescent blue lunges from the upper rafters and collides with her. Throwing the wrapped object up in front of herself, the blue phantom is stopped dead with a shower of sparks and a peal of clashing steel, before nimbly backlipping down to the next landing, brandishing twin swords shrouded in a glittering aura of magic. Three other blue shapes drop down from above, landing behind the last of the party and cutting off access to the door; all of which are wearing an identical set of slim, articulated plate in shades of brass and silver. The one at the forefront speaks up.     "A tresspasser, a defiler, and now a thief and murderer. Did you really think Lord Gwyndolin would stand idly by while you claim what rightfully belongs to Anor Londo? We will evict the filth you have let in shortly after we have finished our business with you, abomination." Without waiting for him to conclude his speech, a seemingly unarmed phantom at the rear casts some sort of spell, sending a wave of force rippling through the air in a wide sphere around him, where motes of golden light rise from the floor like snow falling in reverse. Everyone inside the sphere has a series of glyphs hovering in the air encircling them, with the effect of severely restricting their mobility. Any attempt to move at any speed greater than a gentle walk is met with drastically increased resistance. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren finds himself... all alone. He somehow missed Kimiko dashing off.     Staren blinks. His eyes widen as he realizes where he's heard that music before. "Oh, /shit/." Didn't they destroy that thing?! He finally gives chase!     Which means he arrives a bit late to the party, with the three blue phantoms between him and them. Trying to be quiet, he reaches into his bag and pulls out a plasma grenade (proximity airburst) and hurls it right at them, his other hand activating the henshin device in his belt buckle to transform it into his armor. 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     "And your Lord Gwyndolin is a coward. He hides in a hole, dispatching his servants to fight a battle he cannot." Psyber says seriously, managing to get himself caught in the circle that restricts mobility. For someone like him, that is a particularly large disadvantage, since he relies on that mobility for many of his fancier tricks.     He pushes through at a snail's pace, though, trying to brute force his way towards the phantoms. The one up in the landing that attacked first is the one he targets first, "No matter how many assassins he sends, I'm going to come for him. He's just making this more and more personal every time. Frankly, I probably would have gotten distracted with all the new missions, but he had to make himself a more pressing concern."     Psyber lets loose a volley of bullets from his twin handguns, "Now I'm just reminded of my grudge." 

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''     Shirou senses hostility from Priscilla's actions and it's a good thing he isn't caught ENTIRELY flatfooted. As sparks fly through the air when Priscilla's weapon meets the intruder's... "Trace ON!"     They also fly from his hands. Golden light sparks and flares, solidifying instantly into Kanshou and Bakuya. He reaches Priscilla - just in time to get caught in the motion trap. He stumbles to his knees and staggers, but then rises. "What kind of spell is this...?!"     Nothing he's familiar with, that's for sure. With teeth grit, he points at the speeking phantom with Kanshou!     "And with Lordran a land of the dead more than anything else, what is Gwyndolin doing? Chasing down the few people trying to help? Why?! I don't get what he's thinking!" 

:'''{{#var:598|Lezard Valeth (598)}} has posed:''' Lezard had vanished in the middle of the discussion, as fascinating as Nito is. Don't worry, Lezard will definately be there to discuss the finer points of the undead condition with the Gravelord. The noise of the gramaphone drew him away as well. He's easy to miss when he hangs in the background, isn't he? However, he has other things to account for. Like the arrival of Blue Phantoms. The screaming against Priscilla is met with... laughter? "How /pathetic/." Lezard says, appearing at the balcony overlooking the spiral staircase downward. "Your objections are the screeches of the typical judgemental beings that infest the land. You believe yourself so devoted? You who hold yourself as judges, behold judgement yourself!" He withdraws a rupy-tipped scepter from his cloak, appearing similar to other catalysts of sorcery in Lordran, and points it downward at the blues. "LIGHTNING BOLT!" He calls out. Wait, what? Lightning from a catalyst? WHAT TRICKERY IS THIS? Blue, sizzling bolts of thunder rake across the enemy forces, leaving Priscilla unharmed. but he is not done yet. Power surges around him as a circle of light appears beneath him. Energy flows upwards about him as the lights dim and he draws upon true Power. The darkness is filled with clouds amidst the stairwell, a deep trembling made apparent in the air as lightning courses throughout the sudden indoor weather. Lezard's voice can be heard reverberating. "As the harmoniums of Asgard sound, their very melody stirs the ancient lightning to wake. DRAGON BOLT!" The clouds part, and a long, sinouous dragon skull is seen, a mane of lightning apparent as its ruff and sizzling bolts for a long, sinouous body and claws. The beast slithers in the air, howling, before it descends upon the blue phantoms, engulfing them in sizzling pain and destruction. The light returns afterwards, the area about it unharmed, but the same likely cannot be said of the blue phantoms... 

:'''{{#var:168|Nathan Hall (168)}} has posed:'''     "Right, well--" Nathan started, and then, suddenly, a change of scenery, of sorts! He is good at running towards and away from a crisis though, and obeys Psyber's demand to keep behind him. Especially now that he's here IN PERSON. Nathan, for his part, immediately calls out, in soft, calm tones. "Flankers have dropped at the rear. Three. Please neutralize immediately. One leader at the fore," He starts rattling off tactical data, intended to increase the accuracy, response time, and awareness of his allies around him! Useful!     He's not gonna be moving fast, though, so someone should really cover him and keep him safe! 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     Mizuki would rush after Priscilla with all due haste, summoning her wings as she reaches the ladder and beginning a gentle descent. She would stop just short of Priscilla to size up the figures, tightening the grip on her sword. "... your words are miserable. I know not what spell you must've lived under that would have so blinded you, but --" At that word, she feels... a pressure. Her steps towards the crossbreed are all but paused as the canopy of magic rises above them, and all at once, she becomes a statuette at herself.     This brings back bad memories. Horrible, horrible ones. This may not be so severe as to force her to the ground, but nevertheless there is something restricting her movement. And her movement is her only defense. Her eyes would widen faintly and she would pause, paling, even her typically ceaseless discharge of words grinding to a halt. She would look to Priscilla with horror she might have forgotten she is capable of feeling.     Nevertheless, she eventually musters the strength to raise her sword, gradually, at the phantoms. She has counters against this, if this effect is temporal at all; in the best case she might even be able to get Priscilla out via a stitch in time. The only hindrance here is the girl's own hesitation. She has apparently accrued a certain fear of these limitations since the last time, and it's proving a diabolically difficult thing to surmount. Mizuki would draw a breath, focus her thoughts on Priscilla, and trying to give her the precious few seconds she would need to leave the stasis zone.     Though there are many things beyond her psychology that might foil her, here. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko cannot fly, but she can jump well, and sliding along surfaces that should actually be too rough for sliding is among her many talents of acrobatics. This makes her fairly adept at keeping pace, though that changes drastically as the blues appear and the area is--cursed? Some kind of binding magic, but not of a form she can directly combat. Like Psyber, she's severely disadvantaged. Unlike Psyber, she doesn't even know how to shoot a gun, let alone carry any. She has some offensive options, but her immediate concern is defensive--if she can't move, she can't cover anyone without already being right on them.     That, then, is what she does. When Psyber goes forward, she goes back, summoning a blade and shield, her usual mainstay, and covering Nathan's position as well as she can, while trying to keep all of the enemies in sight. Her shield is not fully raised, but her sword tip is up in a warding stance. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     As Staren drops in behind, one of the phantoms is just quick enough to intercept him, turning on the spot in a lightning fast lunge to put his sword straight through Staren's sternum just as he throws the grenade. The explosive itself sails over his head, and detonates between the remaining two, sending one tumbling down the stairs, and the other careening off the edge, where he manages to catch a railer further down where the stairs spiral in on themselves. The one directly in front of Psyber takes a succession of bullets to the breastplate, accompanied by spurts of glittering phantom blood, but dives out of the way as soon as she starts shooting. Though the bullets themselves aren't slowed, Psyber's ability to aim certainly is, and he takes advantage of it by leaping onto the half-angel's shoulders, attempting to jam one of his blades down through his collarbone and into his chest, and then leaping at Shirou with the remaining one, swinging directly for his neck.     Lezard's lightning catches Staren's attacker straight in the back, hurling him on top of the scientist, where he attempts to simply maintain his hold until he cuts his heart out, but the other two are much quicker to dodge. The one who had fallen down the stairs is quick to produce and hurl a flurry of knives for the sorceror in the middle of his cast, before being struck by the dragon bolt in turn, crumpling to a smoking heap on the ground. Mizuki has only just enough time to make her move before the assassin on the staircase below unbuckles his crossbow with his free hand, takes aim, and fires a sizeable bolt straight for her head, before vaulting up over the railing and moving to a better position. He fires again halfway up the stairs, but his bolt is intercepted by Kimiko's shield as she brings it up, rather than planting itself in her chest.     Priscilla is given just enough time to break free from Mizuki's spell, but the leader seems to have already anticipated that tactic. Kicking Shirou down if necessary, he slings his own knife straight for the crossbreed the instant she turns invisible, giving away her position with a gasp of pain and leaving her with a floating hilt protruding from her shoulder that she has to take the time to remove. 

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''     Shirou swerves and parries! Sparks fly from the married swords as he catches the assassin's blades between them. The motion's a little clumsy, but much better than nearly tearing his arm off with a Servant's insane skill, right?     Well, these enemies made a huge mistake. They came as Phantoms! meaning... Shirou doesn't need to feel the least bit bad about going all out.     The assassin's blade is turned aside, and Shirou launches a counterassault! Kanshou and Bakuya are swung precisely in swift yet strong slashes and thrusts! 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     As if this situation wasn't traumatizing enough without the sharp objects, a bolt comes soaring at Mizuki's head. The girl has barely enough time to conjure speeding fields at the extremes of each of her appendages, including her head, giving her just enough time to fall to the ground and avoid the shot. Still, this doesn't prevent damage entirely -- the bolt scrapes the skin hiding just before and beneath the pinna of her ear, causing a hand to reflexively raise in its defense as she topples over.     She remains on the ground a moment to focus her energy. They'd predicted her maneuver before, so this time she attempts something a bit more crude -- combining all of her miniature speeding fields, Mizuki cloaks her entire body in one now, hopefully normalizing her movements. Focusing particularly on her wings, she would attempt to fly up again, weakening and intensifying the focus of the field sporadically to make her ascent harder for the crossbowman to gauge. She would weave her way to Priscilla if she's able, pausing time just long enough to blast a circle of bullets around the leader if he is still still present, and attempting a straightforward thrust at their shoulderblades if they are present after that. 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     The blade in Psyber's collarbone and chest is quite sharp and blood-y-making. But the half-angel is in a far more durable form than his usual phantom persona. So he tanks that hit dead on, wincing a bit as he steps back, letting the blade deeply sink into him.     Then, with one hand, he seeks to grab that blade buried in his chest. His other hand swings around powerfully, aiming a devastating and armor-crushing haymaker at the kidney-ish-area of his opponent. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     The forcefield appears, a hollow amber sphere around Staren, and the blade goes right through it. Cheater!     Staren's eyes widen in surprise and shock. The nanomachines in his body quickly work to deaden the pain and keep him focused. Light glows around his body and the armor forms, but it doesn't really stop the blade. Staren looks at the phantom, and starts to make a move when lightning blasts the man on top of him, sending them both to the ground. "Get OFF!" The armor's strength is in human strongman range, and Staren tries to use it to shove the phantom away! If he can just get the sword out of him things will get better. If the guy is somehow able to stay close enough to cut out his heart though, he could be in trouble... 

:'''{{#var:168|Nathan Hall (168)}} has posed:'''     "Engage the foe immobile on Psyber." Nathan says, remaining completely calm and utterly tranquil despite an attempted assassination. He figures that target is gonna be less mobile! "Same orders for Staren. Priscilla requires medical attention and cover." He keeps close to Kimiko, crouching and keeping immobile and trusting that she'll manage to intercept anything incoming. And he continues to rattle out tactics and be the designated Save the NPC Objective for this, just for now... 

:'''{{#var:598|Lezard Valeth (598)}} has posed:''' The blue phantoms are fortunate they were so spread out. Lezard simply exudes scorn from his perch even as the aftermath of the magical blast causes the ruby to shatter. He tosses the now-useless scepter aside, and he sighs. He is about to say something before a number of knives strike, sinking into his flesh. He yells in pain, blood flowing freely from his delicate mage flesh as he takes better cover behind the balcony wall and withdrawing a less ornate cane. With a great deal of asperity, he yells, "Why must these insects not /die when they are bade to/? PRISMATIC MISSILE!" A series of glowing spheres appear before him in a circle, and launch out with tracking bolts after another Phantom. Much like similar spells from other settings, they come with a variety of nasty status effects. 

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:''' Tomoe is going to need protetion if she's going to do anything dshe's now caught up in the effect of the spell and she sees there's horrible things comming she looks down to the penant about her neck. "Now would be the time my friend or we're going to become smears!" She's wondering why the hell she went off her earht to anywhere but the Union HQ, she really has to wonder about that. IT'st oo late she moves to draw her sword and will protect her self as besrt she can. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "Now that's my kind of party." A confident voice speaks up from Tomoe's neck. "Powering Strife Drives. Look at this! Group assassination attempt. Perfect kind of surprise party." The pendant shines bright red for a moment, before becoming a light, firm armor chestpiece, flooding Tomoe's mundane human body with superhuman endurance and resilience. Not as much as her avatar, but hey, better than nothing! 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Keeping track of her opponents pays off, as Kimiko is able to see the crossbow come up and raise her shield in time. That kind of weapon could cause a problem for her, as her opponents are, annoyingly, not doing her the courtesy of coming to her while she is unable to go to them. Still, she's got to stay on Nathan, or someone is going to stick something sharp and magical through him.     Keeping a shield up only takes the one arm, and while her sword isn't doing her much good here, it's time to take one of those other options. Her arm whips around, and it's a brace of throwing knives that fly from her hand, instead. She's taking targets of opportunity, focused on other combatants, but if everything looks handled, she'll just aim for the guy with the crossbow. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     The leader of the pack turning his attention from Shirou gives the magus his window to respond, catching him on the defensive as he is forced to parry incombing blows from two swords with only one of his own, having left the other one in Psyber. Even without the spell slowing Shirou down, it is abundantly clear that the Darkmoon Blade is a more skilled swordsman, and fights with a speed and stregth just beyond the limits of peak human ability. The half-angel having not actually died from being impaled lengthwise through the chest cavity must not have occurred to him however, because in the middle of a riposte aimed at Shirou's throat, he seizes up as Psyber's blow caves in the armour around his midsection, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to drop his sword. It's a simple tast for Mizuki to dive out of the air and take him out with a well-aimed thrust; his phantom disintegrating on the spot. His knife clatters to the floor in a small pool of blood as Priscilla finishes yanking it free, thus obscuring her location again.     The crossbowman running up the stairs is caught full on in the barrage of magical missiles from Lezard, but doesn't slow for a moment. Ducking, leaping, vaulting and rolling, he narrowly avoids each and every single shot before arriving at the next landing; ducking behind a shelf for cover and counterifing on the sorceror immediately; launching a flashing bolt of lightning from his crossbow rather than a physical one. Most of Kimiko's knives hit the bookshelf instead, but one tags him straight in the shoulder, forcing him to brace his crossbow by foot while pulling back the string.     The assassin on top of Staren doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Nearer to the Darkmoon Blade's elite, his physical abilities are enough to match the powered armour with his superior positional leverage. Though the physical point of the sword doesn't quite penetrate the plating, the gleaming light surrounding it burns the flesh underneath like cold fire; steadily incinerating his internals and coming dangerously close to burning out his heart, before the assailant suddenly gushes phantom blood, grasping for something protruding from his chest, and then disappearing completely. Staren has an invisible hand yanking him up from the floor. The caster actually pulls himself out of the scorch mark on the floor, withdrawing a mace from his belt and lunging at Kimiko with an impressive second wind, attempting to smash her shield aside and hurl her off the ledge. 

:'''{{#var:598|Lezard Valeth (598)}} has posed:''' The crossbowman would have been better served using a physical bolt. Lezard is a Sorceror, and thus he knows how to deal with incoming energy damage. The bolt sizzles as it nears Lezard, partially dissipating as it strikes a mystic barrier of some kind. This reduces the bolt from 'lethal' to 'painful' as it slams into Lezard and sends him crashing into the wall. "CURSE YOU! MAY WORMS FEAST UPON YOUR FLESH!" He yells in pain and irritation, and hunkers down to break line of sight. You'd think this would keep him from retaliating, but a purple circle flares near the crossbowman, and a large, armored undead skeleton with a dragon's head arises, bellowing out a hollow challenge as it brandishes two massive cleavers. It sets upon the crossbowman with relish. Should it kill the phantom, it'll continue hunting down more blues. Damn blues. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Seriously? Stabbed outta nowhere and then tackled and unable to push the guy off? This is such a dumb way to die... Staren tries to position his arms to blast the guy, when Priscilla (presumably) kills him and yanks Staren off the ground. "Thanks..." Staren croaks out, hands reflexively moving to his chest -- his armor's untouched, of course. He activates telekinesis and calls the Phantom's sw--aww, it disappeared.     Fight not over yet. Think and recover when out of danger. Right now... he draws his laser pistol with a groan as burnt muscles are moved, and fires a couple of shots at the crossbowman, perhaps somewhat wildly. 

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''     Shirou's forced to fight his best, just to keep his opponent from getting in a blow at his vitals! The skill he's drawn from the paired weapons this time is keeping him alive, but there's plenty of risky moments! His limbs scream in pain and his mind's pushed to a panic! Still, he's trying to fend off the enemy and--     And then he's stabbed by Psyber. Opportunity!     But just as he's winding up for a finishing strike, in comes Mizuki. So Shirou's assault goes nowhere. Instead, he catches his breath. "You saved the day, Psyber-- are you alright?!" He has a SWORD IN HIM!     He glances around, spots the issue with the Crossbowman... "How many left?!"     And HURLS Kanshou and Bakuya both for the distant enemy. One would think that swords can't fly too well, but these ones are great at it. They spin like boomerangs and come whirling in at their target! 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko is trying for an easy target, but when are things ever easy? She gives up on catching the crossbowman from where she is, counting herself fortunate to have gotten one hit in before he was entirely behind cover and focused on someone else. Her hand is empty, but only for a moment, an identical sword to the last appearing in a brief flash of silver light.     And then, the caster pulls out a mace. Aha.     Normally, she could move out of the way, or at least take a half-step so as to glance or knock aside her opponent's weapon, throwing the assassin further off-balance and giving her the necessary opening to strike. That's all effectively impossible while under the spell's continued effects. She can't even back up, with Nathan there to be defended and a ledge behind her.     She ducks, though that will do nothing against a blow from a heavy weapon bearing down on her at such force--should she let it continue on that path. Instead, she strikes first, with certainty and precision. Her arm, entirely unaffected by her other immobility, sends her blade in at an angle to avoid the head of the mace and to instead meet the grip, and from there slide hard enough to throw sparks in a straight path to the wielder's fingers. Here she is in her element, and so the counter blow comes at blinding speed. 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     Psyber steps back and away as the phantom vanishes. Even with his superhuman durability, taking a blade to the chest THROUGH his collarbone is an incredibly painful and taxing injury. The dissolving of the phantom lets him take some time to heal, dropping down to a knee as he soaks into his shirt with blood. That same blood pools on the floor around him, "Yeah, I'm fine. He just nicked me. I've done worse shaving." He says to Shirou.     He rolls towards his side a bit, trying to find a new target and crack off a couple shots from the hip. Less accurate than his normal fighting style, due to the slowness and his own injury. 

:'''{{#var:168|Nathan Hall (168)}} has posed:'''     Nathan's first reaction is to instantly call out the number of attackers he can perceive on the field. So Shirou's query won't go unanswered, with Nathan instantly collating the comprehensive tactical awareness he has here. "Staren is disengaged from his attacker, as is Psyber. Two major assassins remaining, caster and bowman, engaging the Confederate and Kimiko. Stand by."     Kimiko counters her attacker. Nathan moves. BARELY. He puts one foot out, attempting to press his leg into the arc of motion that Kimiko's attacker is about to take, stoically attempting to... Trip him! I mean, he's probably gotten his lunge parried. And, to be honest, if he's attacking Nathan's tank, he's a little close for comfort. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     The crossbowman finishes reloading just in time to fire one more bolt of lightning at Kimiko, in serious danger of arcing to Nathan and Tomoe behind her, before Lezard's rampaging skeleton comes after him. Abaonding his reload, he reaches into his belt and hurls a black powder bomb for the sorceror before making a break for it; expertly diving under the undead's cleaver and out into the staircase, only to be caught dead on by a wildly aimed shot from Staren's laser pistol; blowing his head off in a shower of blue dust and disintegrating him before his next step hits the floor. The mace wielder is inches from smashing Kimiko before her blade slams into his fingers, causing him to lose grip on the mace and instead sending it flying into her at a glancing angle rather than as a mortal blow. He draws a dagger from the back of his belt with his other hand, reverse thrusting it straight into her wrist as a counter-counter strike, but is summarily tripped by Nathan, and then hoisted by an invisible force while he tries to regain his balance; then hurled bodily from the stairway.     Caught in freefall, he angles himself so that his descent curves towards one of the lower railings that he can grab hold of. Halfway down, Priscilla reveals herself at the edge of the upper landing, and in a single motion, yanks the blue silk from the parcel she had used to intercept the first strike of the battle. The cloth falls away to reveal a slender war-sword of entirely unfamiliar make; the hilt of which is a twisting spiral of gold which runs up through the fuller, and the blade of which is a stark cerulean ivory, casting soft moonlight on the railing as she brandishes it over her opposide shoulder. With a dispassionate sweep of the blade, a blinding flash of magic slices through the air between her and the remaining assassin; cleaving straight through him and then splitting the staircase ahead of him in two. A split second later, the point of impact explodes into a roaring conflagration of ghastly blue-white fire; bathing the area in the incandescent flame of the soul that Seath himself had used. The phantom is totally annihilated by the blast, leaving nothing but the grating sound of the gramaphone playing in the distance. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     "Got him..." mutters Staren. He looks around for remaining targets, and fires laser and plasma shots wildly at the last target, but... he's a bit out of it now. This may be the most injured he's ever had to fight through.     "Is that... all of them? Oh gosh, this hurts..." The nanomachines can only do so much, after all. His left hand goes to his chest again. "Aaaaaggh what the hell /was/ that?" 

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:''' Tomoe is very happy as her partner powers up and she looks to see soon she'df find she's now not just going to become a bloody smear on the ground so with a bit more confience she gets into the tick of thing as she tries to reach one of her attackers and strike out with her blade, it's not fancy but she can endure a hell of lot more than she could before. then comes the lightning oh she's not dodging that but well she does feel and there's a scream but she hopefully /won't/ die! 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko really did not expect the assassin to be that quick-thinking. Most people tend to be stunned and confused for a moment after getting disarmed. She'll make a note of it later, and adjust estimates accordingly. For now, she's taking a dagger to the wrist, enchanted with strong enough magic to pierce through the chainmail and overlapping plates covering the joint, and get a pained grunt and an, all things considered, rather moderate grimace out of her. Painful, but not, sadly, unusual. It burns, though. Perhaps best to pull that out, even if that will mean a lot of bleeding.     Her eyes flick up as the crossbowman again comes into view, and she just has time to raise her shield again, forgetting the dagger through her arm. Unlike Lezard, she /prefers/ physical bolts. Lightning is quite a bit harder to handle. As the flash of light comes down at her, her eyes widen, and her silvered-steel shield is covered by the faintest glow of light as her magic forms a less material shield over it. It's a little thing every Puella Magi is capable of to some extent, but of which she usually has no need. A portion of the bolt disperses around her in an impressive light show on impact, while the rest goes on through. Any physical portion is blocked, but what isn't leaves her wheezing for a moment, struggling to keep her lungs functioning. That will pass in a minute or so. Her healing factor isn't like that of a specialist like Sayaka, but it'll do. 

:'''{{#var:168|Nathan Hall (168)}} has posed:'''     Nathan takes further cover behind Kimiko, and hopefully she'll be able to intercept that bolt incoming! Who are we kidding. There is no way she won't intercept it, she's Kimiko. The only question is what damage it'll be doing to her, instead of Nathan.     When all that ruckus is over, he peers down at the fire blazing soul-fire in the stairwell, then back up to Priscilla's just-revealed explosion-shooting sword. He blinks once, and then turns to Staren. "An answer to our questions, and a clarification of the first priorities. I have decided what I support most. We move to see Nito first. His realm is that of death; the servants of Gwyndolin are dealers of it. The First of the Dead should be able to inform us of leads on his location."     He turns to Kimiko now. "You have my gratitude for your assistance. Especially at this time." Then he's moving to go help Psyber up off his knee, despite needing to grab at a thoroughly bloodstained shirt. Psyber, he knows, will keep, so to speak; he'll live and heal fine, after a while. "Priscilla, did the Duke keep any medical supplies in his home for his channelers?" 

:'''{{#var:598|Lezard Valeth (598)}} has posed:''' Lezard didn't expect them to actually know how to use explosives. HE is the alchemist around here, dammit! He gets promptly blown up, laid out and smouldering on his back. Were the blues not swiftly dispatched shortly afterward he might have had to contemplate retreat. "How.... disgusting..." He groans. "The fools here are much more... persistant... than I have seen elsewhere. I will have to... prepare more adequately for next time." Still smouldering, he drags himself up against the wall and mutters to himself. The Dragon-Tooth Warrior stomps over next to the ladder up. Being a Large Sized Creature it can't climb the ladder, but it can play guard duty just fine. It doesn't complain, it's undead. They don't /get/ to complain. 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     Mizuki would wearily meander down to join Nathan as the battle concludes, seeming greatly relieved when she can finally allow her sword to fade away. She keeps her wings out, though, preferring to levitate gently in the air to fully exploit the freedom of movement she has finally relocated. Though that fight might've been short, it felt like an eternity to her.     "Seeing Nito seems the most reasonable course of action." Here it seems as though her mirrored speech takes upon not only the same ideas as Nathan's but the same tone; she's attempting the same sort of monotone here and, as some of the more astute among them may see, copping it for precisely the same reasons. That whole experience was a blatant reminder of the one time in recent memory when she had been completely helpless. And not helpless in the cerebral sort of way she is when something bad happens on her world -- the standard kind of helpless. The 'physically incapable' sort. Being the coddled thing she is, that remains just foreign enough to be wholly insipid when felt.     Eventually she would alight somewhere slightly removed from the rest of the reconvening group, opting to listen rather than contribute further. 

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''     "What do you shave with? A sword?!" Shirou retorts Psyber's way. Yeah, he knows the half-angel's just being boasty. Shirou can tease back a little! Though he's feeling way too serious to inject much humor into the tone... until the last Phantom disintegrates. Then he comes crashing off of the adrenaline rush... and wobbles. "...That was crazy... those guys just won't let up! What's their problem?! Priscilla's not done a single thing wrong!" 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko gives a nod to Nathan. She's still recovering from the lightning bit. Her next thought is to reach for the blade embedded in her--only to discover that it's disappeared, along with its owner. Well, that's... convenient, in that she won't hurt herself removing it. Inconvenient, in that she now has an opposing pair of open wounds in her arm, letting bleed seep out of her armor. Bother.     While what Nathan said made sense, she has to add a point of uncertainty, "No one is able to really die and... stay dead, like this, so couldn't the weaker ones also survive?" She's not sure on some of the mechanics of Undeath in this world. She's also trying to distract herself so she doesn't have to fully detach from the pain. That always messes her up a bit, afterward. Having a healing speciality sure would be nice, sometimes.     At least it was a very sharp dagger. Small comforts. 

:'''{{#var:598|Lezard Valeth (598)}} has posed:''' "You clearly do not understand." Lezard answers Shirou. "They only care about their warped sense of 'justice', much like most self-proclaimed 'heroes'. Bloodthirsty barbarians." 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Everyone decides to see Nito. Staren shrugs. "Ow." Sounds like as good reasoning as any...     He looks to Kimiko. "The people here lose their Humanity when they die. If they die too many times, they become mindless zombies. ...Ow. Kind of hurts to breathe..." 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     "I shave with a lance through my torso. Duh. It gives you a closer, smoother shave." Psyber notes to Shirou, standing up and dusting himself off as he takes a deep breath and then holsters his guns with the help of Nathan to keep him standing for the moment. He nods to the librarian gratefully and then opts to disagree with Nathan.     "Nathan, I respectfully disagree. Before we can proceed forward, we need to neutralize the lingering threat of Gwyndolin." He says this in a firm tone, "The outlier attack when I was not present was one thing, but he has shown that he can and will strike at us using inopportune tactics and at definitive moments of our planning." He squints a bit, "Were he only able to operate in a limited capacity, I would agree with you."     Psyber shakes his head, "But he has agents who can strike us. Say we meet Nito and he pre-empts diplomacy using an attack like this. Or he strikes after a battle when we are at our weakest. I have to press forward the obligation to remove him now that he is becoming a more persistent source of intervening danger." 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Priscilla steps back from the balcony, swinging her sword in a lazy, singing arc through the air before planting its point at her feet with a shimmering, bell-like sound. "At this point, I am forced to accept Lord Psyber's insistence. Now that Gwyndolin realizes we hath a measurable chance of succeeding in gathering the Lordsouls, he will not be so patient as to simply hunt mineself. Asides from the fact that Sir Oscar may be in danger as well, these were not yet the most elite of the Darkmoon Blades. Next time, he will most likely sendeth his personal guard. The ones whom hath been divinely blessed by him specifically. It is also likely that they know our plans, and will attempt to intercept us at the most perilous parts of our future journeys, if not to simply turn whoever we may find against us. As it stands, I believeth I also possess some idea of where he may be, if I knoweth him as well as I think. I was hesitant to indulge this before, but after slaying one tyrant, I no longer think it so difficult to slay another."     At hearing the call for medical supplies, Priscilla seems to abruptly come to the realization that nobody here is a phantom. "O-oh. I . . . do not believeth so. As far as I am able to ascertain, greivous injury for a channeler wouldst only be an excuse to experiment with living crystallization. I think it wouldst be best were we to appeal to the pilgrims for what they may spare." 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     Psyber looks from Nathan to Priscilla and then nods his head at Priscilla seriously, "I'm glad you agree. Truthfully, for all that I want to take him out due to a personal vendetta, as much of it is the best tactical decision for the team if Priscilla knows where he can be found."     "I want to confront him on both a personal and moral standpoint as well as a tactical one." 

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:''' Tomoe is hurt but alive she's got some very nasty burns but she's lived though what should have killed her. She cringes a bit trying to cradel her wounds and well then gets the idea it's a bad idea to touch them she is not freaking out but it's clear she's in pain and not used to it like this. "...right I have to agree but I think your right Priscilla...I'm going to stick to coming as my avatar here. I got very damn lucky tonight." She pats the pendant clearly thankful for her partner's help. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren nods. "I see... So... Where do you think he is?" He nods to Tomoe. "Yeah... I think that would be best for all of us... Coming as phantoms, I mean..." 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Priscilla stands aside for anyone to limp up the ladder if they need to. "One of two places, however I do not wish to play mine hand at this time. Thou shalt be summoned in time. For the meantime, the Archives art thine to use." 

}}

1011/CatP - Reverberance

2014-12-12T06:00:28Z

Kimiko: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2014/11/22 |Location=A Quiet World |Synopsis=Node scene. You-know-who, stop trying to kidnap spirits. |Thanks= |Cast of Characters=7, 33, 42, 70, 1..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2014/11/22
|Location=A Quiet World
|Synopsis=Node scene. You-know-who, stop trying to kidnap spirits.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=7, 33, 42, 70, 152, 183, 253, 495, 562, 570
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     Snow.     Echoes.     Fog.     That seems to be all that exists here from the moment anyone takes a step out of the warpgate. Frigid precipitation falls gently amid the soft howl of an ethereal snowstorm, and its haze obfuscates vision beyond a few feet. No civilization, nor any people, can be seen, and yet the presence of warmth can be felt all around you. Perhaps this is why, even in as spears of metaphorical ice bite into your flesh, you may feel as though the expansive white is a blanket rather than a sheet of inversal coals; a bed rather than a tomb.     Mizuki is here and dressed the same as ever, the skirt of her dress undulating softly with the errant, cutting winds. Laurel is here, too, huddled behind the artist in a bid to find warmth, her body shivering in its cocoon of white wool. The aforementioned sentinel is resting a hand gently on the girl's head, stroking her hair in a manner that seems all too fitting considering the scene about them. Less like a 'plain', some might realize; much more of a tundra.     "Welcome again." Mizuki's first address is quite a somber and terse affair itself, and quite in keeping with the atmosphere. "Today we're off to find an old ruin. Sequestered in the place we seek is a teleportation matrix that will whisk us all up to Echo, the home of the next number. I hope you'll pardon the old 'floating city above a desolate waste' cliche -- I was feeling rather self-indulgent when I created this place." She might sigh, some of her breath pushing through the air in the form of mist. "And I daresay the people who wait above us reflect that. Their hubris is a dangerous thing."     Without another word, Mizuki would turn to walk, her shoes crunching against the snow. Quickly, the pervasive white would swallow her form, but not quick enough that she couldn't be followed. And for any stragglers? The Artist and her little shadow would lag slightly behind, providing another point of reference a few paces back.     Naturally, the world about them isn't alltogether quiet, but the wind should have relented enough now for people not to have to shout to maintain conversation. If anything, this place is -too- peaceful; eerie in its absence, but perhaps calming to someone like Priscilla who has lived among precisely this sort of melancholy for the duration of her life. (Mood music: http://tinyurl.com/qgpvgsc ) 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     "You know, temperance is a virtue," Psyber says to Mizuki in a chastizingly playful tone, his hands in the pockets of the short coat he's wearing. A lit cigarette hangs out of one corner of his mouth while he looks around, "So is Humility."     Able to shrug off the cold as well as any dedicated resident of the Atlantic Northeast, the half-angel continues to look around the desolate wastes. He doesn't have too much to say about the landscape itself. It's icy, it's cold, it's kindabiting. But he more comments on the reflection it puts on Mizuki's rather... hubristic design choices.     "You should consider the beauty of simplicity. A small town of minimal detail." 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''      Eryl emerges from the warpgate, clad in his standard suit. The cold doesn't seem to bother him too much. In fact, his breath barely mists up at all, his lungs augmented to drain moisture from the air he breathes. However, there is one thing different about him. That smile he usually wears is not present. Not that he's frowning either though. His face is just utterly impassive, mouth a straight line, eyes unreadable.      He inclines his head to Mizuki slightly. "Miss Mizuki, good to see you. Let us hope this endeavour is more successful than the last." He also nods to Laurel and the Artist, as well as to everyone in the party. "Stay close everyone. If people get lost, look and listen for a loud explosion." W-What does he mean by that? Before anyone can ask though, he sets off after Mizuki, tie fluttering in the wind. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Priscilla is probably more at home here than even Mizuki is. Despite the fact that her usual dress (now washed free of bloodstains) looks as though it were made to keep her warm, she seems to have no compunctions about trudging through the snow barefoot, nor does she so much as flinch as the icy wind fingers through her long hair. She still isn't feeling in top condition after the beating she took the previous day, but she owes Mizuki enough to at least show up when there isn't any reason to immediately expect fighting.     "I do not suppose thou hast any general notion as to where this matrix is located? Perhaps it possesses some distinguishing features visible from afar, or is crewed by living beings? I cannot imagine searching this entire tundra for something too easily missed." Yep. Definitely right at home here. It's actually kind of soothing for her. 

:'''{{#var:152|Faruja (152)}} has posed:''' Faruja Senra has come dressed appropriately in fur-lined cloaks and robes this day. Thus, between the odd warmth of the area, and his clothes and natural fur, the rat isn't looking too discomforted. Particularly after he casts a float and haste spell. Thus, he has little problems keeping up with the good lady. "'Tis bloody inconvenient, and desolate. Pray never imagine up some sort of great war in a place like this, mine dear." Hello, Napoleon. Then, a shrug. "Still. 'Refuge amidsts the wastes' can well lead to interesting stories. And /that/ is something ye art well versed in offering us all the opportunity to create. Let us all endeavor to ensure 'tis one of triumph and righteousness rather than loss." He remembers well the loss of some of Mizuki's world. White mist floats in the air as he breathes, tail lashing lightly. "Hmph! I shall properly instill within them a sense of humility and piety if they show such sins!" Pot, meet a really fuzzy kettle. Eryl, Psyber, and Priscilla get a bow as they arrive. A quick glance to Priscilla in particular. At least she looks like she belongs here! 

:'''{{#var:33|Arthur Lowell (33)}} has posed:'''     ARTHUR LOWELL is here!     He is covered in AWFUL BULLET WOUNDS, and therefore has a healthy smattering of Anime Bandages on him to ensure a one-hundred-percent clean recovery within the span of twenty four hours. This hasn't stopped him from heading to Mizuki's world! Today, his mage robes are lined with warm white fur and feature some nice mittens.     "Well HELL." Arthur says. "Hope they're not in control of the ALTITUDE. Y'know, HUBRIS and FLYING and all. Some ICARUS NOISE is some shit I won't ABIDE." He's probably sticking mostly close to Psyber, though he pays a fair amount of attention to both Laurel and the Artist, both of whom he knows very well by now. He gives the occasional little wave or grin, making it clear he's open to conversation (even if he doesn't much like the Artist...) but otherwise is mostly trudging.     Priscilla gets a quick laugh. "Half the time, this place works on NARRATIVE. Just WALK long enough and I'm sure we'll hit SOMETHING interesting, right? Don't STRESS on it." His hiking through the snow-covered tundra is casual and jaunty. 

:'''{{#var:152|Faruja (152)}} has posed:''' Blink. "Dear /Lord/, Ser Lowell! BE HEALED, BY THE LORD'S GRACE! What /happened/!?" A flash of magic, and the Esper Fairy appears, soon frowning at the Space-Time God. Cue much healing. 

:'''{{#var:33|Arthur Lowell (33)}} has posed:'''     Arthur accepts the healing from Faruja, with a grin and possibly a bit of enthusiastic handshaking as a sort of greeting and gratitude! "I got in a FIGHT! Fuckin' MAFIA, man. They had TONS of guns, and you know that shit ain't my STYLE, so I didn't really have a choice but eating TONS OF LEAD up ins. You should'a seen the OTHER GUYS." He slams one fist against the opposite palm to insinuate a heavy message about righteous beatdowns. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko is here, though her appearance differs from the last few deployments she made via Njorun. Put simply, she looks less a Puella Magi and more just teenaged girl in winter clothing. The clothing was already on hand, it being winter in the Japan of her world. Coat, scarf, and she's supplemented her usual with fuzzy earmuffs. She'd half-thought it might be unnecessary on getting through the warp gate, for which she had a plan--but it seems it isn't, which is just as well.     She gives Mizuki a bare greeting, as well as nodding to the others with whom she's familiar, and follows along. Priscilla gets a second glance, so soon after that business with Seath. Arthur is--someone whose voice she recognizes easily, but rarely sees in person. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren steps out into... snow! His clothes reshape into a fur-lined, light blue parka and his Gatecrasher's Union scarf, which is overly long and sea green with the guild's logo on it. Staren offers Mizuki a smile in greeting, and shrugs at her warning. "I've heard a couple of stories like this, but I dunno if it's a /cliche/..." He catches sight of Arthur. "Woah, buddy, what happened to /you/? ...Do you think you could imagine yourself healed? ...Would a prop help? Oh look, a save point!" He pulls a sparkle out of thin air and sets it floating at about chest level between them. "If you use a tent here," he holds out a palm-sized, pitched tent, "You'll heal to full, right?"     ...But Faru heals him anyway. Staren's tail droops, and then he shrugs and tosses the items aside. He pulls on his googles and heads off after Mizuki.     After a moment, he shifts to cat form, which grows to a white fluffy lynx type thing. Which is still wearing the goggles and scarf. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' She'd been uncertain about Mizuki when they frist met but zhe'd come to consider her a friend. Also she did not feel helpless in Mizuki's world either. She grins at her friend about ruin hunting. "This sounds like a fun way to spend and afternoon. Hummm there's likely a reson hubris features as a fatal flaw in so many old myths." Greeks anyone? 

:'''{{#var:495|Riva Banari (495)}} has posed:''' Riva continues to stare in wonder at the various vistas that lie within Mizuki's mind. There is so much that be looked into and examined... And yet the lands are being wiped out one by one. And she's helping. This leaves Riva in a bit of a quandary, especially as she watches Mizuki closely. Her bubbliness is not quite up to maximum this time, the Templaress listening to Mizuki. "This is the kind of weather that makes me want to open up a good book and read next to the space heater. Maybe put some music on." She tilts her head a bit, thinking for a moment. "But I've got the plan! Let's get searching." Riva follows Mizuki, but naturally drifts towards the Artist. "Hi there. It's been a little while." She smiles to the Artist. "Are you doing all right? What's been going on lately?" Psyber's words cause Riva to comment, "Virtues are a thing, all right. Sometimes I wonder how much virtue is the right amount though." She smiles a bit at that. Eryl gets a wave. "Heya Diplomacy Man! Good to see you again! And to you too, Miss Priscilla. Glad you look like you're doing fairly well." Faruja's and Arthur's antics get Riva crossing her arms and watching the exchange with a concerned expression. "You know yourself better than we do, Arthur, but be careful, all right? You look like hell. Also, I totally agree on the Icarus thing. That's been so done." Kimiko and Kotone get a wave, and then Staren pipes up. "I dunno, something feels... off about that." She comments. "What would you do if you could just always jump into a world of imagination and make everything perfect? What would that do to people?" 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     Though it might be swallowed in kind by a gust of swirling flakes, Mizuki would likely sneak in a sigh after Psyber has spoken. Not necessarily facing him as she speaks, she would reply, "I most certainly do consider the beauty of simplicity." Pause. "... you simply haven't seen the regions that embody that yet. This place, ironically, is the nearest to that of any of the 'primary regions', we'll call them -- a place of little more than snow and scattered ruins. It's a world lost to time with as little to say of itself as any corpse might have, which is why it happens to be juxtaposed with the most flamboyant capital of all." She would gesture to the sky at that. "Should you persist in visiting me at these times, you'll likely see more simplicity. But mind you, that simplicity is often more cherished than all of this gaudy nonsense put together, and I am quite protective of it."     Her reply to Eryl would, likewise, be as reserved as his own countenance. Her head lowers faintly in his direction, but her expression does not budge in the least. Nor do her eyes. "Let us dearly hope that we get some idea of what constitutes 'success' as we go along. I am beginning to have my doubts as to the worth of what I'm doing. I feel like a pawn in a game of my own creation. It..." Another sigh. "... it is wholly unpleasant." She would quirk her brow when he mentions 'explosions', yes, perhaps a bit averse to the idea of having something so obtrusive enter this region... but also finding it hard to deny it as a useful tool. She'll worry about that as the time to do so comes, she supposes.     In response to Priscilla, Mizuki would simply gesture in Arthur's direction. "Arthur has the right of it. We'll find what we seek as we continue, sure as if we were following a path wrought from stone and driven upon by the most astute stallions in all Creation. That is simply how this world works." A small smile becomes visible. "... if one simply has faith, all that they wish for will come to them. That is the sort of world this one is." So, basically? No, she has no idea where she's going. She seems fairly confident that she'll get there anyway, though, as long as they keep walking.     She's look to Faruja next. "Something had to crate the ruins scattered about this place, I suppose. Perhaps we're standing in the aftermath of a war now. Perhaps one will take place here in the future. Or perhaps it has only existed so long as you've stood here to perceive it. Somewhere, I'm sure each of those possibilities is equally true." Seems like she's in full-on riddler mode tonight. Thank God no one is asking questions about anything critical. She would continue with: "Ah, but without things like loss, we could not know triumph. What in Creation's name is victory is it has not been won through adversity? ... or so says the mortal mind, at the least." Under her breath, she would add, 'And my mind as well, much as I'm loathe to say'.     Mizuki seems almost appreciative of Kimiko's silence, returning her nod with one of her own, and perhaps a smile only so prevalent as to crease the tiniest fractions of her cheeks. Staren receives the same, though perhaps with the addition of a small verbal greeting as well. Oh, and Riva! The mental image the girl conjures in Mizuki's mind seems to please her ever further, eliciting a more upbeat 'Mmm~' of reply and a clasping of her hands at her chest. "That is a scene I know very well, as you could likely imagine. If ever you wish to know what I do in my times of idleness, you need only allow that image to come to your mind." 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     As for The Artist and Laurel, they actually break up rather quickly once they've been walking for a spell. Laurel... actually dashes from her embrace to join Arthur by Psyber, perhaps even taking his hand if he allows her to. This would elicit a small frown from the older woman, perhaps, but thankfully she has conversation to distract her now. To Riva, she would say, "I've been... well. I've taken some time to establish a new studio on a floor of the Clock Tower. I'm glad to say that this has been successful, and that I'll be able to get started on my projects," She would smile quietly to Faruja, "rather shortly."     As they continue on through the veils of cold, nothing much seems to change. The floor of their world and the roof are each coated in a familiar ivory. Certainly, though, this sameness could never last forever in a world so driven, as Arthur put it, 'narrative'; another image resolves as far in the distance as their eyes might allow them to see. A woman with hair so light that it can barely be made out from the snow that billows around it trudges on dauntlessly, one hand locked on to the scabbard of a blade, the other wrapped in a modest cast. Otherwise she would seem to be wearing a robe, perhaps something akin to a humble Eastern garment.     Truly, the story never leaves one to wander for long. 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     To Riva, Psyber replies with a rather simple, "To be honest, it's more a personal thing. You should have as much as you need of any virtue to keep you from losing sight of who you are. Those without self control will need more temperance to practice, and the like. It's a deep quest of the self." He admits to her, "One that I think everyone should struggle with. If understanding your virtues is easy, you are not exercising them correctly."     Most other people get a police nod in greeting from Psyber. Arthur gets a slap on the back despite his injuries, Psyber fond of the God of Space. But he also has to reply to Mizuki:     "If you say you do, I won't judge you outwardly about it," Inwardly he may still hold concern for Mizuki's actions. But she seems to dislike their vocalization, so he keeps them on the inside until a suitable time as to have a dramatic speech. Who knows when this will be? But it'll be totally sweet.     Mostly, though, he simply walks along and smokes. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Priscilla attempts a faint smile in Kimiko's direction at seeing that double take, followed by a faltering attempt at a laugh towards Riva. "Fairly well is not how I wouldst describe things at this time, but there was only room for them to be worse otherwise." She smiles much more successfully as Mizuki explains the eccentricities of her world to her; genuinely charmed by the sentiment. "That is the kind of order and direction that most wish their own lives possessed. For events to be knowable, patterned and meaningful is a fervrent desire of those who study history. Even if thou art a pawn in a game, any game hath rules, and such is what we shouldst be thankful for, over the random chaos that can otherwise afflict any noble venture."     Walking along in contented silence, Priscilla's gaze drifts unconsciously towards the woman making her own journey not far from them. Speeding up a little to be closer to Mizuki, she speaks in a low enough voice not to be overheard. "Is she another of our number who I shouldst familiarize mineself, or someone entirely new?" 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren rolls his eyes. "With the tools I have now, I could live in a world of imagination if I wished... But, I care about other people, and discovering and understanding stuff that wasn't imagined by me. Even when I come here, it's not to play, it's as part of this quest to help Mizuki -- so, why not have some fun between serious encounters that decide Mizuki's fate as part of some vast plan we only see a tiny part of?"     The snow woman catches his eye, and lynx-Staren, who's steadily grown to about lion-or-tiger size, looks forward. "Speaking of quests, do you think that's the ghost of someone who died here and wants all to share her frozen fate? Or a mysterious wandering warrior on a quest that takes them across the desolate wasteland and to the castle in the sky?" 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''      "Miss Banari. Good to see you as well, looking much less bedraggled than the last time we met," Eryl says to the Templar with no inflection in his tone. To be frank, he doesn't trust her entirely. Last they met, she seemed to be talking about him to someone. But, she seems better now, so he puts it out his mind. More important things to concern himself with right now.      Like Mizuki's quiet anguish. "This is a world of stories and belief. If we progress as the plot dictates, meet the challenges that it throws at us and have faith that things will work out in the end... they will work out. That is how it works, yes?" Eryl says calmly, his voice even and balanced to the point of being monotonous. He sighs softly, so quiet it might be snatched away by the winds before it reaches anyone's ears. "But, I understand how you feel. Things do not always work out according to plan..."      But, there is a woman ahead! He raises his hand, fist closed for the benefit of those behind him. Then realizes that not everyone here might be learned in military hand signals. "There is someone ahead," he calls over his shoulder. He begins to approach her, slowly, hands raised, palms facing her. "Hello, Miss? Are you with Sophia?" 

:'''{{#var:33|Arthur Lowell (33)}} has posed:'''     Staren's offer for help gets a laugh from Arthur. "THANKS, but NO THANKS! I mean, not only is it gonna GO AWAY after I leave..." He makes a helpless sort of open-palmed gesture. "I got REASONS I gotta REVEL in shit like this. Get stuff done the HARD WAY, through STRAIGHT UP MANUAL stuff, y'know? I'll tell you LATER sometime, if you're wantin' to KNOW. BELIEVE ME, I think you'd TOTALLY understand." 

:'''{{#var:33|Arthur Lowell (33)}} has posed:'''     Mizuki's brief burst of despair gets a comforting hand on her shoulder. "HEY. Don't get into that. We're working on SAVING STUFF. For REAL. IMPORTANT SHIT that needs doing. Don't lose steam just 'cause it looks HELLA BAD. This'll all WORK OUT! We'll lose a lot ON THE WAY, but we're still heading to a RAD FUTURE."     And then back to Psyber. Oh, hey! Laurel. "Oh." Arthur's not really objecting to her holding his hand, he's just kinda confused. Wait, huh? "HEYA, been a while. How's GRUMPY? Think I last saw you on that RAD TRAIN, whatcha been up to SINCE?" He's not really commenting on the hand thing because there's no words that can really be used there.     And, huh, someone in the distance... Arthur peers out, trying to figure out who that is! And he figures he needs to catch up, so he's probably walking that way. 

:'''{{#var:152|Faruja (152)}} has posed:''' Riva gets a squint. "Virtue is the infinite wellspring from which all proper and Godly morals descend, Templar Banari!" Chides the rat. Faruja crosses his arms, and gives a good Priest Stare! Surely she's used to such by now. Faruja wobbles up and down as he's so vigorously hand-shook! The rat-man smiles to the young man. "Ahh, bandits and organized brigands! I pray ye heal swiftly, then, and that these vile highwaymen shall be frightened from their illicit lifestyle by thine righteous fury!" The church-cop approves. "I hath had quite enough of war as things stand." Responds the rat simply to Mizuki, head tilting. Something seems off about the woman today, and there's a hint of convern in the rat's glances. "Quite so. However, one must still do all that they can to ensure such loss is minimal. 'Tis the duty of all knights, and guardians of worlds." That last bit seems to be aimed at Mizuki herself. The artist gets a barely restrained grin. "I shall look forward to watching thine progress, mine Lady!" Tail wiggle! 

:'''{{#var:33|Arthur Lowell (33)}} has posed:'''     Arthur accepts the slap on the back from Psyber, his wounding probably mostly healed by now, to the point where it's unlikely to cause any issues. "HEY GUY, what's up? What kinda RAD ADVENTURES have I been missing, stormin' your LIFE, huh?" 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     Mizuki pauses, and Psyber gets a lingering look. It might seem an uncomfortable gesture on her part, yes, but equally hard to place; irritation doesn't characterize her expression so much as a sort of teethgrinding contemplation she doesn't seem entirely keen on fixating on right now. Perhaps it is for this reason that she seems vaguely relieved when he excuses the subject for the time being, and she nods. "... yes. Perhaps that would be best." The bow that she follows up with is one that would at least attempt to reconcile her rather transparent reaction, though she knows it could never do so in full. Silently, somewhere, she probably sees that lecture in her future. And she's not entirely sure how she'll react when it comes. But if she was then it wouldn't be anywhere near as impactful as it was meant to be, now would it?     Priscilla, as she typically does, banishes this inner fidgeting in short order. She might swear the young woman's smile grows with every word she adds, and her nods ever the more wide and sweeping. "Yes." She would close her eyes. "Yes, exactly. That is..." She rubs a pair of fingers together, not entirely sure how to complete that statement. Her goal? Her vision? She becomes so fraught over choosing one that she ultimately fails to give one at all, though she assumes her appreciation would be well conveyed to Priscilla regardless.     It's extremely had to explain how she responds to Staren, though. It's a mixture of her pretending not to hear, and the rest of her narrowing her eyes just enough for some treading beside or in front of her to discern their mood. It's nothing so vehement as distaste, but something he said clearly didn't 'click'. To Eryl, she would give a barely restrained 'tch' sound. "It's almost as though the halcyon cycle has been invaded by the clashing realities outside my domain, yes. Nothing is predictable anymore. Here I had thought the greatest torment of all would be in knowing when things were doomed to failure, and yet again the world has proven me wrong in terms of the anguish it can enable me to feel." Realizing how bitter and petulant that sound all too late, she might add a more quiet 'I'm sorry' when she's finished. Her mood right now, though.     The woman ahead of them finally turns to face them, giving Eryl and Staren particular attention. Mizuki would speak in a similar hush to Priscilla to say, "I've... no idea. I am equal parts surprised and intrigued to say, but I don't believe I have ever seen this woman before." The woman would tighten her grip on her blade, not easing in the least when she calls back to Eryl. "I know her. I am not involved with her." Spoken with not a breath in excess of what need be. She would acknowledge Staren as well, only shaking her head in collective reply to his assumptions. 

:'''{{#var:33|Arthur Lowell (33)}} has posed:'''     "HAH, not like I could AVOID it 'round you, huh? And hell YEAH, scared those motherfuckers straight outta their PINSTRIPES." Arthur says, boastfully, to Faruja. "Got some BEATINGS, fixes all the MORAL BANKRUPTCY, yo. That shit be HELLS KINDS OF PUNISHMENT, yo." And then a wave to Riva! "Hahaha, lady, I DUNNO, caution? Maybe. Tried kinda COOLING OFF since that time that bein' MAD RECKLESS got me KILLED TWICE, so, you pro'lly got a point." A friendly shrug! 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa has had a lot to take ad she simply listens for the moment, she wonders about this place if she's seen some crazy things already? She smiles a little bit as she thinks of something and takes a moment to rmind her self she's in a place of the mind. "Hummm a curious way to put things Mizuki." she wonders about her comment to Priscilla a bit more. She then looks over to Faukra for a moment and gets ready to move out. "I hope ou been all right it's been far too long since we been able to catch up Mizuki." She does not seem botherd by the enviorment at all. "So we'll find out but lets not focus on things like that Stren? C9ome on let's have some fun for once, right?" 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     Arthur would get a fairly resigned series of nods from Mizuki in reply, as well as a small sigh. "I would like to think so. And considering what you seem to know, I shall have to trust you for the time being." Under her breath, she would again mumble a small 'thank you'. To Faruja, she would nod fervently again. "We've all had enough of war. All those of a sapient persuasion have had quite enough of war, I should think. It is a depressing blemish upon history, and we..." A bit more softly. "... we should see it purged. But alas..." She trails off again here before being called back to attention by the latter affirmation of responsibility. Mizuki's response to the statement is lukewarm, but she would nod even still. Sigh.     Laurel would just tilt her head at the mention of 'Mr. Grumpy'. "You mean Mister Cartwright? He's..." She puts a finger to her cheek, tapping. "... he's been locked in a room in the Clock Tower for a while. I've knocked on his door and tried to get him to come out, but he never responds. I sorta hope he's okay." Finding a bit easier to speak of herself, she would lift her gaze to say, "I'm fine. I've been worried about what's happening here, so I wanted to come and see what's going on..."     Still no clear indication of why she came to take his hand out of everyone else there, though. Maybe she's just more comfortable with him or something? She's kinda weird about expressing these things, so it's difficult to tell. 

:'''{{#var:495|Riva Banari (495)}} has posed:''' Riva chuckles at Eryl's response. "Yeaaaah, I've gotten a chance to get lots of sleep since then." She will not admit to drinking all the orange Healing Water in the Heaven or Hell building. Priscilla's response, however, causes her to falter slightly. "I see. Then I'm glad that they went as well it could be hoped." She ponders Priscilla's words, then. "What if we don't like the part we've been assigned, though?" She asks the half-dragoness. Arthur's confession causes her to start. "Killed twice? I mean, I..." She pauses, and thinks for a moment. "Huh, well, I guess you are kind of awesome like that..." She trails off, a bit confused. "Your world is complicated." She mentions to Arthur. Staren's reply causes Riva to frown slightly, but she doesn't respond. Psyber causes her to nod. "Yeah, it's a really personal thing, I guess. Since we're all different, we all do it differently, right?" She sighs slightly, thinking again, and knowing Faruja would get in on this one. "That's basically true, Faruja." She replies. "But we're not gods. We're just people. We all have our problems, right? What works for you doesn't necessarily work for me or someone else." The Artist brings Riva back from her meandering, and she jumps a bit excitedly at the news. "That's awesome! I'll definately stop by soon and we can talk shop. It'll be great!" It's been so long since she's been in a studio in a relaxing situation!Mizuki's affirmation of their winter burrow pasttime causes Riva to smile, but that gets interrupted by the appearance of the unusual traveler before them. She listens to the response from the woman but doesn't seem like she has much to add to it. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Priscilla seems vaguely pleased that she'd made Mizuki a little happier in the middle of one of her pessimistic moods, but little else. She doesn't mind walking, but worries slightly for her companions who might grow either too bored or too cold to continue. Or both. The fact that one of these myriad, important looking women in Mizuki's mindscape is actually entirely new to her puts the crossbreed on guard, but the stranger's claim to not having picked a side with Sophia prevents any outright hostility.     "Then, praytell, where art thou headed. I cannot imagine thou wouldst well fit in with Echo." It's her best attempt at stepping up to the plate of socialization, even if it does sound a little suspicious. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''      Eryl could read the bitterness in Mizuki's words, even without Original Face. But, he realized that he might not be in the best state of mind to be trying to console her. So he simply said, "You have every right to be upset, and no cause to apologize," before gently petting her back.      But, this woman. Not aligned with Sophia at least, so that's good. His implants draw a little more than they usually need from his KOAN Core here, to bring a friendly smile onto Eryl's face. "Well, neither are we, so we have that in common Miss. My name is Eryl Fairfax, diplomat for the ReGenesis Corporation. Currently, we are accompanying Miss Mizuki here to retrieve something important. By any chance, have you seen any ruins hereabout?" 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     "Uh, well. Crazy redhead mage I hang out with. Punches things and has lasers. She's pretty epic. Hot too." He answers to Arthur, rubbing his hands together to fight the cold, "Uh... hmm. Weekend meeting with a sociopath. Helped Priscilla out with her world." He jerks a thumb over towards Priscilla. "And also some major spirit war on another planet. What about you, man?"     Mizuki gets a pretty stony silence from him, though, despite her bow. Despite chit-chatting with Arthur, Psyber has switched into a more business-like demeanor. And in response to the new woman, he carefully draws a revolver from inside of his coat, pulling back the hammer on it. He's not pointing it at the woman, but she does have a sword, so he doesn't want to be caught unarmed. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko does not, outwardly, appear to tire, nor to give much of any particular reaction to the trek. She does seem slightly cold. Magic might protect her under other circumstances, but she seems not to be relying on it at the moment. Following Staren's advice might help, but she's not yet willing to mess with that kind of thing on her first visit to this world.     Following several statements, Riva's the most recent, she adds, "Following a script is only comforting if the story is known to end well. If not..." She shrugs. Talking about things she understands little of doesn't really suit her.     Arthur's mention of 'dying twice' reminds her of something, but it's unlikely to be relevant here, so it just gets another passing look. The stranger with the sword demands more immediate attention, particularly as Mizuki seems unfamiliar with her. 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     "I did not." Is the woman's equally terse reply to Priscilla. As they've approached her, her expression has begun to resolve as one of perfect balance; her blue eyes do not waver, and the straight line of her mouth does not budge. "And I have no destination. This valley is my home." She would simply stand in silence after answering, the grip she has on her blade not easing at all, and her posture stiff and symmetrical save for the incongruity of her wounded arm.     Eryl would receive an involved and careful looking-over, the woman's eyes seeming to pierce his own as he engages his diplomacy. To his inquiry, she replies evenly, "Many. This realm is littered with them. However, the one you seek is likely the one I have come to consider my home of late. I would lead you to it if such a thing were necessary, but it is not." Her delivery is very matter-of-fact, and it's clear enough that she doesn't intend to leave anything out or be coy so much as she doesn't wish to talk at all. Something about her expression, unmoving though it may be, may quietly whisper: 'Get out'.     Kimiko and Psyber would both receive lingering, cautionary looks from her, though it may be clear at this point that she wishes to be left to her own devices more than she wishes for any sort of confrontation. 

:'''{{#var:152|Faruja (152)}} has posed:''' There's a deep, respectful nod to Arthur. "Toil and penance cleanses the soul!" What a pious man, this ARthur Lowell! Faruja perks an ear. "...Purge war itself? 'Tis not so easy, mine dear. Only when people art gathered in harmony and common purpose doth war end." The rat gazes upon Mizuki for a long moment, eye searching. Something about what she's said has caught his attention. "And only when we share faith and purpose, shall we ever come to /solving/ those problems." Squint! No, Faruja isn't budging on that one, Riva. Mizuki's near-depression only has him worrying more. The rat teleports nearer, and he whispers to her. But Staren points out something important. He draws his Blaze Gun. "Let us find out. HAIL TO THEE AND GOD'S BLESSINGS, TRAVELER! FROM WHENCE COME YE!? LADY MIZUKI AND HER GUARDIANS ART COME!" 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa looks to Riva for a moment and then to Arthur at his comment eariler about being killed. "...I nearly died once it's not osmething I want to repeat givne how it was." She fgocus on some bad memories before she shoves them away. "Really him locking himself up doesn't sound too goot." She takes a moment focuing on the terrain. "This places is never our of new things to show off is it?" 

:'''{{#var:33|Arthur Lowell (33)}} has posed:'''     Arthur gives a firm look to the woman. Not Laural, of course, the wanderer. "HEY LADY, no need to STONEWALL us here. What's the DEAL? We're not the kinda guys who're gonna, you know, MAKE it necessary, but it KINDA does have to happen. Like," He does a plaintive sort of open-paled gesture. "We're on a QUEST here. Don't you have some BIG TASK or some TRIAL or something we can be ALL UP IN to go earn gettin' to SKYLAND TELEZONES, or what's up?" He gives his usual cool, wide smile to her.     Laurel gets a shrug. "What can ya do? Shit happens that way, sometimes. Some dudes, you gotta wait on 'em to be WILLIN' to do ANYTHING other than shut themselves UP somewhere." There's a heavy sigh. And then he tilts his head at her. "You know, WAY BACK, I'da been all SUSPICIOUS and shit of the sudden change of heart. THESE DAYS? Man," He sighs heavily. "Startin' to see it may not be that BIG a CHANGE in the HEART to begin with." With a more easygoing nature, and a laugh, he winks. "GLAD t'have you HELPIN', anyway!" Hey, if some girl wants to hold his hand, alright, sure! Just as long as Elsa's not around to declare her a love rival and try to kill her, whatever, you know? 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     The woman's gaze would shift to Arthur amid a clean, fluid movement of her body to face him more fully. She listens to his words, even those that rise in volume, with the same calm expression. Surprisingly, though, as his statement concludes, her hand would fall away from her sword and into a more neutral position at her side. "I do not wish to impede you progress, but there is little I can offer you that you do not already have." She would gesture toward Mizuki. "You are in the company of one who knows far more than I. I need not lead you because, as you likely already know, your feet will naturally find their way. I know this, and so my personal preference would be to recover my solitude."     Faruja gets a look as well, but little else. Seems she won't reply if something isn't phrased in such a way that requires a response. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren's not sure what to say about Mizuki's sadness. "So, what are you out here for then?" Staren asks.     "I thought we /were/ having fun. Kind of." he asides to Kotone.     He looks back to the woman. "Well, your disposition is certainly... cold. We'll continue on our way, then -- as you say, we don't really need anyone to lead us there."     "Purging war? As long as there are people who disagree with eachother, there will always be conflict. To remove the source of this conflict utterly, would change people into something else. Although, we can try to change people's situation so they need not fight to survive, at least."     Staren nods to the woman. "Well, have fun being alone then. If that's what you want." 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''      Hm. Eryl knows this type. Stubborn to a fault, and confident in their ability to deal with anyone who refuses to bend to their will. He glances back at the party. "Please. Put your weapons away," he says to everyone, his voice firm, eyes narrowing slightly. He then turns back to the woman, the smile back again. He begins to speak, in a smooth, kind voice.      "Here is the thing ma'am. We need to use the teleporter in that ruin to go somewhere and retrieve something important. This thing is so important that we have already fought for others like it, and we will fight again if we have to."      "But, we do not /want/ a fight. And I can tell that you do not either, else you would have attacked us on sight. Once we have this thing, we can leave through other means. As such, the best way to be rid of us forever is to show us to these ruins. Once we have used the teleporter, you will never see hide nor hair of us ever again."      As he talks, he slowly walks closer to the woman, palms showing, utterly threatening. "So please, do us a favour. We've all seen enough violence already, I'm sure." 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     "Playing a part and following a script not to thine liking seems the less appealing option when that with no narrative seems to be going well, but once the unknowable strikes and brings everything to ruins, one wishes that they wouldst hath known such wouldst happen from the start." Priscilla says quite finally to both Riva and Kimiko. Maybe a little bitterly too. 'Did not' is something pretty interesting to hear from their new, unfamiliar companion however. Past tense. It implies she used to live in Echo, and does not any longer; most likely for reasons of not being able to integrate with its form of society. Something Priscilla can see some resemblence in.     "It wouldst seem that the way our feet hath found is the same as yours. Surely there must be some reason for it. We couldst not hath crossed paths by random chance amidst such an expanse of this. Either thou art heading to the same destination as we, or else the place thou callest thine home is the one that we seek." 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     Psyber doesn't have a reason to believe Eryl can't accomplish what he seeks to do. And so when it's requested that he holster his weapon, he simply gives the man a nod and then slips it back into his coat, "So be it. Weapon away." He notes, putting up his hands to show the woman he has no weapon in them any more. 

:'''{{#var:33|Arthur Lowell (33)}} has posed:'''     "SHIT YEAH I'm awesome. And YEP, this soul be MAD SPOTLESS, mostly." Arthur says, grinning wide and clearly appreciating the compliment. He would give Riva and Faruja a double-fingerguns gesture if one hand wasn't occupied. He substitutes a brief TOOTHGLEAM SHINE for the other side.     Psyber gets a nod. "Sounds CRAZY, bro! I like it. Gimmie a shout if y'ever NEED stuff. PUNCHING and LASERS sounds rad. Been doing a lotta ROBOT FIGHTS, some CRIMEFIGHTING, uh, y'know, just GENERAL ADVENTURING." A casual shrug! "I go with the FLOW."     Kotone gets a headshake and a friendly laugh. "Don't worry!" He says. "It only STUCK the SECOND TIME! HAH!" He seems amused by this. 

:'''{{#var:495|Riva Banari (495)}} has posed:''' Riva squints right back. "I think what you're trying to do is cool, Faruja, but faith is a little weird when we're walking around with actual gods and stuff. People gotta figure out what they want to believe, and sometimes it's not what we'd expect." Or like. Riva doesn't even have her weapons out. She hasn't had to really fight much here at all and she doesn't really expect things to get out of hand. She nods to Eryl as he does his job. Priscilla brings up a salient point, then, and Riva nods. "I guess that is kind of the irony, isn't it? Everything is fine until we're dealt a hand we didn't want. But I'm kind of weird. I like surprises and not knowing what's around the corner. Maybe I'll chill out when I get older." Never mind Priscilla is speaking from thousands of years of experience, right? 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     Laurel would continue to look up at Arthur in some mixture of bewilderment and confusion. He could swear at some points that she doesn't have the faintest idea what he's talking about no matter how immediately relevant it may be. "... change of heart? I didn't really feel that strongly about anything. I just thought it would be unfair if Mizuki and all her friends fought Miss Nightingale and Miss Nightingale was alone. So I helped her instead." She would nod hesitantly when he says he's 'glad to have her helping', but would still become rather reticent afterwards. She would eventually release his hand and walk on, not seeming upset or... much of anything, really, as she rubs her gloved hands together for the warmth of friction.     The snow woman just stands, eyes locked seemingly perpetually into a pattern of glancing between Priscilla and Eryl. Eventually, though, her lips would move again. "Very well. If we go to the same place, we may travel together. Follow me." With that, she would turn from the group, giving several of them - Psyber, Kimiko, and the aforementioned two - wary final looks as she does so. Then she would continue her walk, moving in the same direction as she had been when they stopped. She may wander dangerously far ahead, and it may seem as though her form may be mere steps from being overtaken by the white fog, but she keeps her word; never does she wander past that point, and ever does she stay where the group can see her. Stubborn, perhaps, but at least cooperative when it matters.     If Priscilla remains within earshot, she might comment idly, "And you are correct. Nothing in this world happens by chance. It is not designed to accommodate coincidence because it was built with meaning in mind." 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     Looking tiredly to Staren, Mizuki would aside, "I am here because I do not know where else I should be, and because I feel that I have as good a chance of figuring that out by being here as I would have elsewhere. All else would just be cloaking and-or extrapolation." Incidentally, she, along with the rest, would follow the snow woman. She uses the unique quirks of her existence to remain somewhat unnoticed for the time being, or at least as much as she can; she's doing what she always does when she's conflicted, after all. Sinking into the atmosphere.     Why the hell else would she do that so often in a world like Lordran, anyway? The melancholy is overpowering, so she attaches herself to whatever beauty she sees to get away from it. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''      Relief washed through Eryl when the girl agrees to lead them. Not that he doesn't entirely trust the whole 'your feet will guide you' thing, but he just feels a little better about having a guide. Another part of him, deeper down, is relieved at the prospect of not having to find out if this girl could best him in a fight, but he would never admit to that part.      "Alright, keep up everyone!" he calls over his shoulder as he starts to follow the girl. To facilitate that, he decides to strip his black coat, holding it by a sleeve and lifting it above his head, letting the wind flutter it like a flag. Hopefully, the dark colour will make it stand out against the white snow, maximising visibility.      He breaks into a jog to catch up to the woman, his smile a little more genuine now. "Thank you for this miss... er, could I have your name? It is a little awkward to call you 'miss' all the time." 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko doesn't have anything in particular to say to the wanderer, as Eryl is doing a better job than she likely could. For her part, she never had any weapon out in the first place. In fact, she appears to be entirely unarmed and is wearing nothing that a 21st century Earth civilian wouldn't consider typical, given the month of November.     Given that, the suspicion directed her way strikes her as curious. If it's not the people with guns she's fixated on, then what? But curious looks in return is all she'll give. If they aren't to see her again, and the important matter is settled, then she'll not bring it up. 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     Psyber uses Arthur's offer of help for any of the problems as a chance to bust his chops, "Oh great. Aoko and I could double date with you and Elsa. That fixes one of my problems right up."     He's not even remotely serious, and instead of pressing the point just gives Arthur a playful elbow to the ribs. This may be especially an awkward topic due to the girl holding Arthur's hand. After that he's mostly just following along with the pack and trying to look non-threatening at the moment. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren looks back at Arthur to give him a curious look. "Twice? And it stuck? Doesn't look like it stuck. Have you been a ghost the whole time?" He gently whaps Arthur with his tail, as if to see if it will pass through the boy. "Double date? Psyber, you have someone?" Staren doesn't recall eharing about anyone in particular, though come to think of it he's seen Psyber flirt before, if asking people to dinner counts.     Staren sweatdrops at Mizuki. "I was asking her... but, it seems she's joined the party after all." He bounds off after her into the snow -- keeping up as a moderately large four-legged creature isn't hard. 

:'''{{#var:152|Faruja (152)}} has posed:''' And suddenly, they have a new companion. Faruja doesn't comment, letting Eryl deftly handle things. For now, he's following Mizuki along. Riva gets a look, and then a sigh. "Ye shall understand one day, mine child!" 

:'''{{#var:33|Arthur Lowell (33)}} has posed:'''     "WELL, hey, that solves THAT problem, huh?" Artur says, giving the snow lady a knowing sort of smirk. "I FIGURED it'd be somethin' like that, but hey, nobody just SHOWS UP with a COOL SWORD and RAD THREADS like this without bein' RELEVANT, and YOU KNOW WHY." A few chuckles and he follows along.     Then a tilt of the head at Laurel. And then he laughs. "WELL. Girl's got a sense of FAIR PLAY, huh? I can respect that. Sorry, I thought..." He starts laughing again, for a moment. "Ahhhh, never mind. So, NO HARD FEELINGS if we go up against each other again, huh? I can DIG IT." He's sort of working against the group sometimes himself.... 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     Psyber waves a hand at Staren absentmindedly, "Don't worry yourself with the details of my personal life. I'm just busting Arthur's chops right now." 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Priscilla gives Psyber a look befitting someone just being clued into some utterly heinous scandal. Three guesses as to why. She opens her mouth to say something, and then decides better, huffing slightly as she speeds up her steps to place her closer to the lead of the group and out of earshot of hearing about how eligible Aoko is. "Such is the case, Lady Banari. Faith and living gods however, art not mutually exclusive. Faith need not be professed to a single thing in order to still be faith." She says to try and distract herself.     Admittedly, having someone actually do what she wanted after reasoning with them is a new experience for Priscilla. She even seems taken off guard when the stranger agrees to lead them, having fully well expected her to do her best to dissuade the group from continuing on. "That is what I had gathered. At the very least, it doth makest it easy to discern which events art meant to have meaning." 

:'''{{#var:33|Arthur Lowell (33)}} has posed:'''     "Fuckin' CHRIST man, don't... AUGH." Arthur makes frustrated noises at Psyber, then goes to heavy, sighing mumbling. "She's not... God damn it, man!" Flustered, he goes back to what he was talking about before.     He gives a quick wink to Staren. "ACTUALLY, I'm only a ghost ONE THIRD of the time! I'm HALF DEAD, you know. I was TWICE AS ALIVE as anyone you know, but then got HALF KILLED, and that's what stuck." He makes a firm gesture with both hands. "MATH." He accepts the tailwhap without comment. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa kust keeps moving along now and seems to be having fun and semes to look over at Staren. "I dunno you seem less fun somedays than waitress android." She may br barbing, teasing? It's hard to tell really. She seems to be in decent enough of a mood. "My own soul would be an utter mess really." 

:'''{{#var:495|Riva Banari (495)}} has posed:''' Psyber's personal life is something of interest to Riva. At the mention of a double date she seems to slump slightly. This isn't helped by Faruja piling on. "Didn't you know? We automatically know everything as soon as we become a teenager." She jokes, but it's halfhearted at best. Riva follows along with the others, thinking about Mizuki's commentary. Priscilla adds to it, and she nods. "I think I get it..." She might. She might not. That was a complicated concept. "Don't you believe there is any meaning in happenstance, and how people might react to unexpected events?" Riva asks, though, regarding the other subject. 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     Psyber puts up his hands defensively at a couple people, "Don't give me a death glare. I'm busting Arthur's chops, come on now." He says in a defensive tone, "I need to make a mental joke to never, ever approach this topic again."     Psyber would be digging a hole in the snow here, but he lacks a shovel. He used it on the hole he dug himself into five minutes ago. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     "...Wait, hang on..." Staren sits, lifting his forepaws and motioning as if counting on his fingers. "Third of the time... half dead... But he was twice as alive to start..."     ...Staren shakes his head. "If you were double alive and then half killed, then that leaves you once alive and once dead... or if it was half of a /normal/ death, then you're now once-and-a-half alive and half dead, which means over all you're /three-fourths/ dead. I mean alive. Three fourths alive."     At Riva's comment about knowing anything, Staren offhands, "Sooner than that..." More loudly, he adds, "The meaning is in what it says about those people. But to see a purpose behind happenstance... that way lies madness."     Staren bounds after the snow lady again. 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     The woman would glance to Eryl again for a moment, her reply coming in earnest when she turns again to the path in front of her. "It has been long since I've considered that. There aren't many in this place who would see fit to address me in any way substantial enough to require such a thing, but if you must have something to call me, then I am White. It is fittingly simplistic, relevant, and easily remembered." A bit less attached to the romantic symbolism some other things in this world surely hold, it seems. But any more addresses to her, the woman either acknowledges only vaguely or outright ignores. Any more glances, she would hardly seem to notice. The most she would give that seems prevalent is a nod to Priscilla.     The walk is surprisingly quick. In a short interval, the group arrives at what would appear to be a hollowed out ruin of an altar wrought from austere, plain stone. More buildings that might've been surround it, giving the impression of a town that has been eaten alive by time It almost seems a powerful irony, really, for such a place to appear after Psyber's commentary regarding a more 'simple setting'. He could almost swear it was spite to conjure this image on her part, but it doesn't seem to be in this case; just more of the same somber scenery here.     'White' makes her way to the altar, coming to stand in the center of the dais, staring pointedly at an indent in the very center of the floor. Mizuki would walk up beside her, fixing her gaze on the same space before White simply remarks, "Gone." Perhaps reviving some of her earlier vigor, Mizuki would turn to face the group - and Arthur in particular - with a smile. "I get the impression that we are being faced with a 'fetchquest', so to speak. A small mission. I would assume that this altar cannot be made to do its duty without some sort of a catalyst, which is quite likely some variety of small gem. The gem is likely hiding in this vicinity, so we need not look very far for it. It might be in one of the buildings that surround us, perhaps?" With the same grin, Mizuki would look back to White. "How far was I correct in my assumptions?"     White would just bat her lashes several times. "It is not a gem; it is a keystone. Otherwise you are correct." Another nod from the 'author', who then turns to face the rest of the group. "So our objective here is simple enough, for once. We should search this region briefly to find a keystone in the shape of..." Mizuki briefly studies the indent, "... a cross with an arrow shape defining its lowest point."     Speaking of THE HUNT, the several buildings here are at least still neat enough for people to guess at what they once were. Slightly to the East lies a small, hollowed out chapel whose steeple survives in the absence of a window whose frame yet remains. To the West is what might've been a cottage, its door absent as the aperture of the religious institution, open so that all may see the mounds of snow crowding its fireplace. And to the North is what might've been a well, far less likely a place for an artifact of any significance to rest than the other two but nevertheless a prominent structure of sapient make. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren cocks his head and looks at Mizuki, tail swishing. "If it's gone, why would whoever took it leave it nearby? Why don't we just fly to the flying castle or whatever it is?"     Still, the party is /probably/ going to refuse to sequence break, so Staren reverts to his normal form, still in winter clothes, and sends out coconut-sized, hovering camera drones to search the buildings, monitoring their feeds. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko follows along quietly enough, stopping as they arrive, and absently taking her hands out of her pockets just long enough to rub them together. She might be starting to get a feel for how things work here, if it's the same track of thought Arthur seems to be on. A fetch quest. Right. So there shouldn't be anything attacking them along the way.     "There looks to be a church that way. I'll look there." Ah, words. So she hasn't lost her voice.     She goes, glancing back to see where others are headed, but not waiting to join or be joined.     She wants to look around as much as find the thing. 

:'''{{#var:152|Faruja (152)}} has posed:''' Faruja perks his ears as the description of their Quest. Much like Kimiko, the rat makes the obvious connection. Besides, he knows well to play to expectations with an audience. The rat follows the goodly knight-slash-demigodess. "Such a valuable item shall nay doubt be upon hallowed ground! Lord be praised! Let us see if we can salvage this long-forgotten House of the Lord!" The rat's float-walking off towards the Chapel. "Mmm. Bloody shame, good architecture. Aught be restored..." Faruja might be /thinking/. That's likely a bad thing here. Particularly, he can't help but imagine the chapel in its former glory, interposed with Ajoran religious symbols. Hmm. 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     White would open her mouth to respond to Staren, but Mizuki would reply a bit more quickly. "In light of the snow, none of us have actually seen Echo, correct? Even if there were no snow at all, we wouldn't have -- the city hides within a fold in space time. Were we to find it, we would not see anything, and would be transported through space to an adjacent region rather than the city itself. Though this technique could certainly be dispelled, it is likely easier for us to solve this triviality instead."     That is, unless Arthur feels like finding and breaking a spatial anomaly. Which he probably could. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     "Ah. I see." Staren turns and walks to the cottage, drone floating along with him to search it faster. The well can wait for last. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''      Eryl smiles. Things were going better than expected, a fact that is soothing his ego a little bit. The way White describes her name, Eryl suspects that she would prefer it without any titles or honorific. "White it is then. A pleasure to meet you, White."      Now that he's calmed down a bit, Eryl can appreciate his surroundings a little more. He runs a hand along the simple stone structure, a ghost of a smile on his face. "You chose a fine place to dwell White." But, of course. Things can never go simply, his face falling at hearing that the teleporter is missing a component.      "Hmm... I can only assume that White was not the one who moved it, else she would tell us so we can be out of her hair all the sooner. That means that someone else did, someone who may still be here. I recommend we search in pairs to mitigate ambush."      His eyes sweep across the group. While he wasn't really listening to the group earlier, Original Face was, and it was feeding him recommendations. "Ideally, a group should not include a combination of Mister Lowell and Mister Psyber, nor Miss Banari and Mister Faruja. They have been bickering, and we need to be focussed."      But, Kimiko is jumping the gun and wandering off on her own! Thankfully, Faruja is going with her, so that works out. "I shall go check the cottage," he announces, heading West! 

:'''{{#var:33|Arthur Lowell (33)}} has posed:'''     Arthur leaves the question of math unanswered, electing to do a lot of knowing smirkng. "Man, there's ALWAYS someone MOVING things like this! Hahahaha. ALRIGHT, let's DO THIS THING. Fuckin' FETCH QUESTS, yo! Let's see..."     There go Faruja and Kimiko to the chapel! Staren and Eryl are off to the cottage... Sure, a well might be unlikely as a place for important plot objects, but hey! Who knows... It might not actually be a well! He swaggers off to it, crunching through the snow, intending to look down, or if it's particularly clear, possibly even fly down its opening! 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     "Harsh, Original Face! Harsh!" Psyber says, "I'm not bickering. I'm busting chops. It's different. Mutual. Like a good debate."     So, in his act of social defiance, Psyber follows after Arthur towards the Well. And away from the embarassment brought on by both Riva and Priscilla separately reacting. Though he does helpfully call, "I promise to be good! Less chop busting. More chop marinating."     "Well, well well. What have we here?" He says to the well. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     "I am giving thee no such glare. It was obvious from the start." Priscilla says to Psyber. Yes. Totally convincing. "However, it wouldst be best if thou were to refrain from making such frivolous comments in future." Huff.     A fetch quest though. Priscilla is familiar with the terminology from SAO. She is also familiar with the idea that it is supposed to be the single most boring task anyone can be faced with in a videogame. Not that she really minds all that much, but still. It seems likely that the altar is mean to be the teleporter if they'd wound up up at it by !chance. That means the keystone is a necessary component, and not something White was simply ordering them to do on frigid whimsy. It only occurs to her now that White must be somewhat like herself if she is apparently able to survive alone in a frigid wasteland with nothing to eat for any prolonged period of time.     Despite making her displeasure towards Psyber known for the moment, Priscilla feels the strange urge to check the well herself, feeling no significant draw to either the chapel or the cottage. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa is moving along at a good pace and is enjoying the landscape she notices the building and takes intrest in them for a moment. "Humm an alter?" She sighs for a moment at the mnention of a fetch quest that's how it always seems to go really. She sighs and then grins. "So Woof woof shall we go fetch it then?" She'll head for one of the buildings to check out the Chapel and see what might be in there. 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     = AT THE CHAPEL =     On account of the abysmal state of the roof, most of the floor is covered with snow. The altar, however, and the rightmost half of pews are free of the stuff. There aren't many obvious places to look here for a THING OF NEBULOUS BUT OBVIOUS IMPORT, though there is a locked donation box toward the back. And there's always the chance someone could've left it in the back of another pew, or on the seat of one? Maybe someone was so absorbed in their pious observation that they left the thing sitting somewhere. Faruja could certainly understand -that-, couldn't he?     But alas, they would not be left to search for long before a plume of water - completely unfrozen in spite of the temperature - would rise from the deposit of holy water resting upon a slab at the altar. Slowly, that plume would resolve into a face which would blink its large, innocent eyes at the pair, curiously. "Uh." Blink blink. "... who are you people? Been a long time since I've seen anybody here. Churches down here kinda stopped being used when they made churches up there, you know?" 'Churches up there' might hint that Echo is a heavily religious place, or it might mean nothing at all. "But, uh. If you need anything, let me know, okay?"     A few tattered tapestries still barely clinging to life on the right side of the chapel might flutter in an errant breeze. 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     = AT THE COTTAGE =     Staren would find very little of note to greet him here. The entire edifice has been consumed by snow, of which there are prominent mounds concentrated in the western corners. If he studies the area for a while longer, though, he might notice the extreme corner of a lone wooden panel on the floor. Considering the scenery and the situation? Probably a trap door. But if it is, it's trapped under a pretty massive amount of snow. He would have to dig a while to get in there, but certainly he would have a better way to go about that. Ooorrr he could ignore it alltogether -- there are other places on the floor to look, and some crates.     Still, the door. It beckons. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     "If it was removed recently," Kimiko says, for Faruja and Kotone's benefit, "then it won't be under the snow, unless there are signs of disturbance." She can't be sure that it was recent, but White seemed to have expected it to be there. In any case, moving over to the less-snowed part of the interior seems a more useful expenditure of time.     Oh, there's someone here. "...hello." She coughs. "I am Shinobu. We're looking for a keystone. It's been misplaced. Have you seen someone carrying one?" Politely enough. 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     = AT THE WELL=     Naturally, the well does /not/ turn out to just be a well. A glance down into it would reveal a passage fathomlessly deep. Quite likely too deep for one to simply jump down and expect not to break their bones, and likely too narrow for one to fly into it through any means save sheer levitation. All of this Arthur would likely take note of as he descends, but when he reaches the bottom, there's nothing to be found. Nothing, that is, save for a small quantity of ice water and a skull whose eyes are filled with it. Not exactly the best of omens he might've found.     So one would assume that would give him reason enough to leave, but on the way back out he might notice a structural weakness in one of the walls. And when I say 'notice', I mean his flying past would disturb the air just enough to knock a block loose, giving him all the audible indication he could ever need. Should he look beyond the opening that makes, he might see another passage, this one significantly wider.     No more inviting than the well itself, though. 

:'''{{#var:152|Faruja (152)}} has posed:''' ~~ Some Years Ago ~~ A gentle priestess stands before Faruja Senra, newly made as a Temple Wizard. He kneels before her, head bowed as he listens. "Faruja Senra, you are a most pious man. However..." WHAM! A staff about the head. Lightly so. "Leaving empty booze bottles on an altar after a touch /too/ much indulgence in the Lord's most holy fermented grains is a Sin! Mucking the chocobo stables for a day for you, my child!" ~~ Now ~~ Oh yes, Faruja knows how that goes. He searches amidst the pews dilligently, and the altar especially. A nod to Kimiko. "Nay doubt. Lord be willing, some Acolyte hath repeated mine own mista..." Suddenly, Holy Water Elemental. Faruja kneels instantly. Could this be a young esper of holy water? He tries not to think too much of Ayako. "Lord's blessings, oh God-Servant! Hail to thee, Lady Esper! Inquisitor Faruja Senra, and Dame Kimiko, at thine service!" Smiiile! Faruja might be slightly off priorities here. Besides, he nods to Kimiko, who gets to the point. "As an ordained Summoner and Priests, I wouldst know thine name. If ye languish in this snow-covered chapel, holy though it may be, is there any way humble servants of the Lord might ensconce ye within a place worthy of thine assistance and worship of God? Bluntly, honored Esper, 'tis a bloody shame ye linger here, without the love of fellow pious souls. How might I serve thee?" 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     "Right, right," Is Psyber's reply to Priscilla. He really wants to move off the topic. It's awkward.     So instead, Psyber, who cannot fly down a well and so is stuck on the outside of the well, shouts down, "Yo! What the fuck is down there?" 

:'''{{#var:495|Riva Banari (495)}} has posed:''' "Madneeeeeess!" Riva says, dorng the jazzhands as Staren mentions it. What does that even mean? The revelation that the necessary objectto activate the teleporter causes Riva to frown. "I wonder who took it. It couldn't have just walked off on its own, right?" Eryl's mention of her bickering with Faruja makes her flush red in embarassment. She waits to see how things roll with the searching since people seem to have spread out already. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''      Eryl looks around the cottage, stretching Original Face to its limit. It catches the corner of the trapdoor, of course. Logically, there is no way the keystone could be down there. The snow on top is too thick, with no signs of being disturbed. But, then again, this might not be the only entrance to... where ever it leaves. Worth a look.      "Don't suppose that armour of yours has a flamethrower in it?" he asks Staren, indicating the trapdoor. Regardless of the answer given, he starts searching right away, quick and methodical, opening up crates, peeking through cracks in the floor. 

:'''{{#var:33|Arthur Lowell (33)}} has posed:'''     "SKULLS!" Arthur calls out. "No, wait, just ONE SKULL. GRODY. Also, ICE. Less grody." He's shouting up the well. "And a HOLE IN THE WALL, sorta. I think someone tried to HIDE it! Fuuucked. HEY, I'LL CAST A GATE UP THERE."     He attempts to summon a gate far up atop the "well(?)" and the exit down in the well's base, and also trying to shove his way bodily through the bricked-up wall to see if there's anything beyond, because who cares if it's inviting! There's SECRETS here, and he must find them. He's gonna leave the actual legit skull to someone who isn't nauseated by corpses. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren feels drawn to the trap door, as if it were highlighted with a great big OPEN contextual action icon. He considers how to go about this. Dig? No, he needs to uncover the whole door. A snowblower? No, he's inside...     ~TWO MINUTES LATER~     "ARISE, MY CREATION! ARISE!" Staren shouts, spreading his arms wide as the snow takes form and stands up, a humanoid of snow. "AHHHAHAHAHAHAHA! IT'S ALIVE! Well, not really." Staren slips his hands in his parka pockets, demeanor returning to normal, if pleased with himself. "Alright, step aside and open it. Let's see what's down there." 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     = AT THE CHAPEL =     The 'esper' boggles at Faruja's initial input. "U-Uuh... I'm not..." Its gaze would fluster about. "I'm not h-holy or anything! I mean, some people who poured me here seemed to think I was, but I'm not. Really." It blinks and fusses even more when its name is requested. "I'm. Uh. Fluorite. Er, nonono, I mean... Fluorette! Yeah. The second one, I mean. I am that." And more awkward blinks when he offers to move her elsewhere. "I... you /could/ put me in a bottle or something and put me somewhere else, but I don't... really care? I mean, it's kinda pleasant here. And there aren't any people around to dip my hands in me. Do you know how unpleasant it is when people dip their hands in me? No. No, you probably don't. Unless you've had stomach surgery or something."     It would practically bounce out of its chalice when Kimiko speaks, seeming not to have noticed her when she first entered. "WAHHH!" It flusters again, its tiny, snakelike form struggling in vain to escape its confines, but only small droplets are able to do so in the end. So it crouches down and cowers... before realizing she means no harm, and rising again to respond. "Oh. Uhm. Yes? I mean... no. I haven't seen anyone carrying one, but I'm seen a keystone. Does it look anything like..." It would gesture back, indicating a figurine in exactly the shape Mizuki described resting in the land of a small, idol at the foot of a far larger statue bearing the likeness of an angel.     Um. Score? 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko nods, giving no other outward reaction as she say, "Thank you." She does not, however, move immediately to inspect the idol. Instead, she approaches Fluorette and, this being the second time she's gotten an unexpected reaction from a native--and off the second native she's encountered--she hazards a question. "Is my appearance... disturbing?" 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     = AT THE COTTAGE =     The narrative voice will possess the will of the newborn snow golem just long enough to indicate that it does, in fact, step aside and open the trapdoor. Said door would lead to a cellar, filled to the brim with boxes, barrels, ice, and stone. A file of painfully narrow stairs allow access to this place, and each one would creak in just as agonizing a manner as they would make their way down.     And once they do? They would realize something else quite readily: the cellar is not all that there is down here. A gaping hole in a wall cleared of the aforementioned storage units would allow access to a sloping, improbably shaped path of ice, so narrow that it would make a regular at the circus squeamish. Beneath this line of ice rests a massive pool of frigid water, and on the far side? A small 'plus' sign levitates in-between two stakes of ice, magically.     It's a good thing they can fly. Otherwise they might actually have to -do- the balance puzzle! Man, that would suck. 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     = AT THE WELL =     The stones easily fall away for Arthur, revealing a dank, frigid recess of... well, more morbidity. This relatively small room has an abnormally high roof by comparison, and on the floor rest six slabs, equally spaced apart from one another, and each of them decorated with flowers that have long since shriveled and died. From this, and perhaps the priming offered by his encounter with the skull, he would likely have no trouble at all discerning what these slabs really are, and what they contain.     So, a crypt. Seems like a good enough place to stow away a cross-shaped artifact, but where is it?     ... well I know where Arthur is hoping it isn't, but let's worry about that once everyone else comes through the gate he summoned. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren nods slightly, and looks down the stairs. They are uncomfortably narrow, so he gets smaller, padding down in housecat form. "Man... I hope we don't have to search all of this. Help me out, Narrative Causality." Aaaaand tunnel. "There we are..." He returns to normal form, looks around a bit, then flies over (transparent, orange insect wings appear on his back) and tries to grab the plus. "Hope I'm not about to waste a healing item..." 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''      Eryl looks away for couple of minutes to look at boxes, and when he looks back? Snow golem. Here he is, having a good time in a place that doesn't make Original Face call him defective every five seconds, and Staren just had go and ruin it with his superscience.      Of course, Eryl does not vocalize a single word of this anguish. A diplomat would never make that mistake. Instead, he just says, "That is one way to clear the snow. Good job Mister Staren," before going down into the cellar. He tenses at every creak, worrying that the extra weight of his limbs will break the steps, but he manages to reach the bottom unscathed.      Only to be confronted by a more precarious obstacle. "Okay, there is no way that this can support my weight. I am afraid that I will have to leave this in your capable hands once more, Mister Staren," Eryl mutters, his ego taking another small blow. 

:'''{{#var:152|Faruja (152)}} has posed:''' Score indeed! Faruja glances towards said Item! But no, he doesn't move there yet. Time to help Miss Espere...Flourette! Thankfully, Faruja tends to /not/ argue with Espers. He just assumes the watery sort are humble. Thus, the resulting smile in brilliant. "As always, thine kind art humble beyond compare! Honored Esper Flourette, 'tis mine pleasure." He actually winces at the description. "Y...yes. Forgive we mortals, mine Lady! Nay doubt 'twas not meant in harm! Please! What might I do to repay thee such disgrace?" he asks gently of the water-creature. He ponders. "What I wish is hardly relevent! I /can/, however, bring ye to a place where but a few words wouldst both ensure ye solitude for all but the most momentous occasions, or proper reverence as a God-Servant without said hand-dipping. Lord's own truth. Either way, 'tis mine duty as a Summoner to obey." A bowed head...even as he summons Carbuncle. The little Esper goes off to grab the key, and he radios the others. "Our goal is found, mine friends! The good Esper shall give it to ye! A moment, I hath a...survivor to see to." 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     "I think she took the imagery a little too far on this one," Psyber says as he steps out of the portal and looks around the crypt, "I mean, come on. Boy goes down a well, finds naught but death at the bottom? A bit on the nose here."     A flashlight comes out of his jacket. Looking around, Psyber WOULD still try to pry open a sarcophagus or two to see what's inside. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren looks back at Eryl. "You can just call me Staren. Mister is... I never really liked formality. ...You know, this is a land of imagination! You could fly too if you want..." 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''      Eryl gives a wry smile. "Staren then. That might be nice, but I would rather not try doing it in such perilous circumstances," he says, gesturing at the pit underneath the narrow path of ice.      "Either way, you are there to retrieve the key stone. Or... a keystone." Eryl listens to his radio and rubs his chin. "Apparently, Mister Faruja has also found the keystone. Perhaps one is a fake, or they all need to be brought together..." 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     = AT THE CHAPEL =     The water face would nod its acceptance of Kimiko's thank-you, but might tilt its head faintly when she asks if she looks scary. Well. Fluorette seems to contemplate this carefully a few moments, and when it finally replies, it shakes its head. "Not really -scary-, but it is weird. I'm just wondering why your voice is coming from one place and your body is levitating somewhere entirely different. It's like you're a ghost or something! But still, not scary. It would be sorta ironic if I was a talking blob of water and thought that was scary, I guess."     Faruja would again be met with a whole bunch of nervous stares and jolts. Somewhere along the line, the little water spirit flails and announces, "I-I never said I was a lady! And seriously, I'm not holy! I'm not saying that to be -humble-, I'm saying it because it's -true-!" It faintly lowers itself back into its bowl of water, looking a bit timid in light of Faruja's sheer exuberance.     In the meanwhile, Carbuncle's 'retrieval' might not quite go as planned. The artifact falls like a lever, and a massive trap door would open up beneath the idol, quite possibly sending the summon spirit plummeting. But, we'll see. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     "It is hardly so unimaginable that someone falling down such an impressive well wouldst meet their end upon hitting the bottom, even in such a fanciful world as this, is it Lord Psyber?" Priscilla remarks as she steps through the other side of the gate. She takes just long enough to crouch down, pick up the skull, and rattle it around a little to see if anything will fall out; not really expecting any exceptional loot from doing so. Next she moves on to the crypt just behind the other two, extending her awareness into the area to try and sense any manner of ghosts or spirits that might still linger there. "I am not certain as to how one didst cometh down here to offer flowers before the graves. Or fill them in at all." 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko just kinda tilts her head at that. "Floating?" She looks down, to be certain she isn't. Her feet do seem to be on the ground. Then she sighs, not expecting to get a more thorough explanation at this point. She'll ask Mizuki about it later.     In the meantime, Faruja summons something and triggers a trap door. Well, that's convenient. Kimiko takes a step over to look down the opening, before turning to ask Fluorette, "Did you know about this?" Just, curious. 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa is exploring the Chapel now and seems interested for a moment. "I see, so mistaken for a god you were? I'm Kotone and it's good to meet you." She tilts her head for a moment. "Err I don't think ya I kinda get how your feeling there." 

:'''{{#var:33|Arthur Lowell (33)}} has posed:'''     Arthur's looking a little green around the gils here. "God, it's always DEATH DEATH DEATH with me around here. UGH." He rubs his temples, displaying a brief bit of uncharacteristic stress! "Look, I'm just gonna kinda... I'mma stand OVER HERE," He says, doing a twirly little gesture with both fingers and pointing off to the side. "While you guys get your LOOT ON. I don't like messing with CORPSES." He goes over to stand in a sufficiently cool way, arms crossed, in a forced relaxation posture. 

:'''{{#var:152|Faruja (152)}} has posed:''' Today is not Carbuncle's day. He goes plummetting down! Faruja gasps, stands, and dismisses the mana that is the Esper's body. It might not truly hurt the creature, but he has no doubt it can feel pain. Then? The rat incants, and tries to use a Gravity spell to flick the thing towards him without braving the trap like a proper cheating time mage. Cue hands on hips. "Quite. Come, come! UP with ye! Out of this desolate place. Hardly fitting for an honored Esper!" No, Faruja isn't listening at all. He hefts the bottle that Flourette's in. "I know /just/ the spot for ye. Good Ser Boris shall be a faithful companion and caretaker!" A faithful skeleton-knight and an esper? Clearly the rat's trying to start a Church in Mizuki's head. Quite literally. 

:'''{{#var:152|Faruja (152)}} has posed:''' And a nod to Kimiko. "The good Lady is most upon the ground. However..." He casts a float spell on her. To best not trigger traps. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko... frowns. "Faruja, she stated that she did not wish to be moved. Do not move her." Calmly, firmly. 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     = AT THE COTTAGE =     The cross is retrieved with decidedly little effort on either of their parts, but as soon as it's taken, something of an eerie transformation begins in the room around them. The previously bright ice cave dyes itself a sickly, almost greenish hue as the ice water toward the bottom of the trap region follows suit, losing any sheen it might've had at one point. The ice path shatters as well, falling slowly to the ground as things worsen still. With a decidedly organic squelch, the walls of the room begin to squeeze closed, twisting into an unnatural, grotesque swirl as they reform the wall behind Staren.     The rest of the changes Eryl might've noticed as Staren was making his way back from the far end: the wooden barrels and othersuch have, in the few moments Staren has been gone, rotted, as have their contents. A stench of decaying produce fills the room, and that unnerving shade of green might follow. The cellar door seems to have shut itself, too, which Staren would know not to be anything to fret considering imagination power, but something about the similarity between this scene and typical horror media might be unnerving.     Just, -why-? What the heck was up with that? 

:'''{{#var:152|Faruja (152)}} has posed:''' Faruja /pouts/. "C..come now! She deserves a proper place to be enshrined, at the least!" He /does/ motion to put her down, however, if Flourette wishes. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     And then the room changes and starts shrinking -- yeah, this isn't good. Time to leave, post-haste! "Time to go!" He flies back, past Eryl, "Come on!" and tries to open the door -- if it won't open, he pulls out his staff and blasts it, and probably a good chunk of the cottage too! 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     = AT THE WELL =     Corpses.     What the heck else did Psyber expect to find when he pried open sarcophagi, though? Though he might find it a bit odd that none of them have fully decayed. Perhaps some of it was preserved by the weather, or perhaps there just aren't enough bacteria here for rigor mortis to actively continue. But, wait -- none of that matters in this world, right? So, these are just corpses. Set out to be unnerving for absolutely no purpose whatsoever, laying in a crypt sequestered by a well, in a place that is otherwise blanketed with snow.     Psyber might begin to see the moral of this story: never trust an innocent first impression. Might bode poorly for further exploration of the region, but there you have it.     Eventually, he does find a corpse that happens to have a particularly obtrusive triangular shape welded to its forehead. Also somewhat excessive, but at least he seems to have found what they came down here for. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''      Eryl crosses his arms and waits for Staren to return with the idol... a wait that is instantly made less boring when things start going green. Eryl's nose is hit with the stench of rot, and his implants kick in, suppressing the olfactory system so that he is not overcome with nausea.      Thankfully, Staren did not need help getting out of the enclosing walls. "Right!" He follows after the transformed catboy, ignoring the creak of the steps and hoping his staff is sufficient to open the door. Otherwise he might have to break out Golden Wind, which is not advisable in a closed space. 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     = AT THE CHAPEL =     Fluorette shakes its head fervently. "I-I didn't! Honestly! I mean, I might've /known/, but it's been a long time since anyone has been here. Maybe it's down in the hole that opened up? Maybe you should look." As Faruja starts to pack them into the bottle, they would resist him every step of the way. "NO, NO, NO, NO!" Far more vehement now than before. "I don't _WANT_ to go anywhere! This is my HOUSE. I don't want to MOVE!" Aquatic needles would begin to rise from the font, all of them pointed at the ratpriest. Self-defense or no, that might've been a little excessive. Still... 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     = AT THE COTTAGE =     No, the door does not open the first time Staren tries it.     Yes, it is fairly easy for him to blast the thing open.     Stone and snow burst forth from the 'cottage' which, at this point, is really little more than a few leftover stone spires and an errant smokestack. Mizuki and Winter both stare in the direction of the explosion, the former calling out to them. "Staren? Eryl? What in Imagination's lofty visions is going on over there?" Recognizing the futility of shouting such a thing from where they could hardly hear, she might repeat that over the radio.     In fact, she does repeat that over the radio. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren busts out the Masenko, sending an energy beam shining into the sky for everyone in the village to see.     Maybe that was a little too much.     <<...The basement tried to trap us. I didn't want to stay. ...Maybe I overdid it a little.>>     He heads back to the village center altar thing, snowlem following along. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''      Freedom! Eryl climbs out of the cellar, coughing a little as his olfactory system goes back to base levels of sensitivity. In response to Mizuki's question over the radio, he says, "The walls became alive and the place filled with rot."      However, they still have a job to do, disgusting sights and smells be damned. Fixing his tie and straightening his coat, he joins Staren as they walk back to the altar. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko will very sternly convince Faruja to put Fluorette back down, which he was already doing but apparently not fast enough to appease the concerned water spirit. Apologies may occur, depending. We'll skip over that a bit since an involved player had to leave.     That done, Kimiko moves over to the trap door, checking first that the lever /is/ just a lever and not actually a removable keystone, and then climbing down in. She braces herself against the sides, sharp-clawed gauntlets appearing over her hands both to help in that and to keep her fingers warm with their inner padding. Let's see what's down here. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     A triangle isn't exactly what they'd come looking for, but if her brief exposure to videogames had taught Priscilla anything, it's that questgivers like making you search for things in pieces. A triangle is part of an arrow, which is a feature White had mentioned the keystone having, and so she decides to at least take it with her for the meantime. Kneeling over the body, Priscilla produces her dagger and begins carving away at the ice (or anything else) securing the stone to its head; completely unphased at the prospect of handling a corpse in stark opposition to Arthur. She'd spent so long around them that seeing one in a relatively clean state is more unusual than seeing one at all.     "This seems an extremely unlikely place for one to attempt to hide a stolen stone. I am beginning to suspect that such was disposed of for a very good reason." 

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:''' Kotone Yamakawa Seems to be giving Fluroette aq bit of a look at this point. "You don't wnat to leave I see but may not e wise to stay it really depends." She's looking to Faruja for a moiment and raises her hand for a moment. "Faruja how about we keep talking abit longer?" 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     = AT THE CHAPEL =     Like the well, the hole revealed by the trapdoor seems endless. No matter how far Kimiko goes, the darkness at its might-be 'base' does not relent. At least, not for some time. Eventually, the walls themselves would turn dark. And as her gauntlets would dig into one of their sides, she might notice they've begun to feel like... felt, or some similarly soft and spongy material. Lights begin to emanate from the bottom of the region as though it were a fire, and they its cinders. Their soft pulses occasionally linger close to the walls, which Kimiko might notice to be covered in moss whose growth should be improbable given the climate.     Then vines rise from the chasm at once, like tentacles connected to some creature truly belonging to the abyss. Its weaving, grotesque mass raises itself nearly to Kimiko before, all of a sudden, its movement grinds to a halt. It makes no effort to wrap around her or harm her; rather, a single vine reaches to offer her a small, rectangular object. She would have to reach a hand from the wall to take it, so this may be deception on its part, but if it had wanted to it might've tried to drag her down already.     But then again, abyssal tentacles are not exactly known for their amicable natures. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko is, at least, confident in her stability, under most circumstances. These circumstances do not qualify, so she'll take additional measures. Apart from the clawed armor over her hands, her feet wedge to the sides with not-quite spikes, extruding metal meant to save a knight from being toppled, here being used as impromptu climbing gear. That done, she feels safe enough in extending a hand to take the proffered object.     "Thank you." 

:'''{{#var:33|Arthur Lowell (33)}} has posed:'''     "YEAH, don't stick stuff in a CORPSE unless you want it BURIED, yeah? Especially a SECRET CORPSE at the bottom of a well. You just, yeah, YOU go ahead and grab THAT, huh?" Arthur's aversion to the corpses may be as obvious as his intense desire to appear apathetic about them. "Lemme know when you wanna head UP, huh? I figure you don't wanna get your CLIMB ON up ins." 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     = AT THE WELL =     The triangular shape can eventually be wrenched free, though the fragile corpse might suffer quite a bit of mutilation in the process. Once she retrieves it, though, a similarly sickly hue would pass over the region, this one more red in color. The corpse's arm would reach for Priscilla and lock itself around her wrist, but afterward would become unresponsive. The head of all the exposed corpses would have risen in observation, their expressions completely locked upon Priscilla's position and, perhaps, one with its gaze dedicated to Arthur as well. Still, that is all they do: stare, and continue staring. In the meanwhile some of the stone on the walls might melt, denting as though they were made of cloth rather than rock.     All this might illuminate a boarded up staircase in the corner of the room that might've served as a primary entrance, once. It seems someone did indeed want to bury and forget about this place, though evidently they've been unsuccessful.     Unlike in Staren and Eryl's case, nothing appears to bar their exit. A charge lingers in the air, something that might grate at the both of them, but beyond that no damage has been, or presumably will be, done. All that remains is to head back. 

}}

1009/Perfection in Immortal Crystal

2014-12-12T05:56:27Z

Kimiko: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2014/11/21 |Location=Great Painting of Ariamis <PoA> |Synopsis=Priscilla and her phantom co. face off against Duke Seath. |Thanks= |Cast of Charact..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2014/11/21
|Location=Great Painting of Ariamis <PoA>
|Synopsis=Priscilla and her phantom co. face off against Duke Seath.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=6, 70, 168, 183, 253, 395, 560, 570, 598, 610
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Again, the summoning rituals are drawn in another strange place, though this one is by far a more surreal sight than simply rare or memorable. The circle has been written on what appears to be one of the flat sides of a giant, hexagonal crystal, stretching across the yawning abyss of a gigantic cave, over which looms a tower of glittering blue glass that bristles in all directions like a monolithic snowflake; shining with a bright, steady white light that harshly illuminates the mountainside despite the perpetual night sky of Lordran. Almost everything as far as they eye can see is rendered in the same textures and colours. What perhaps once might have been a mine is now the inside of an enormous, blue geode; crystal growths of gargantuan proportions growing from wall to wall and locking into each other, upon which rest what look to be butterflies of some sort, but obscenely large if the distance is gagued correctly. The circle is far enough in that the observatory tower of the Duke's Archives is just barely visible by looking up out of the cave mouth, but there is still a ways to go deeper.     Adalbert must have gone home safe to Firelink Shrine, because Oscar has come all the way out here after being brought news of the area, and for a change, he and Priscilla seem to be getting along. She's in the middle of handing him something with a verbal explanation as sight and sound slowly come to the phantoms one by one, which he seems to accept gratefully, letting her turn to address her more familiar cohorts instead. "I see many of the same faces as before. I trust thou cometh out of equal desire to put an end to the Duke for his crimes as much as offering any form of aid to this world. Such is more than an acceptable feeling. Duke Seath hath lived too long and misused the time and powers given to him too greatly. Give no quarter, as he is a known liar and traitor many times over. I suspect he shalt giveth none himself."     To each phantom in turn, Priscilla hands out curious little grey stones in the shape of malformed human skulls, though the shape appears natural rather than carved. "These crystals are a deliberate, engineered blight. The magic that courses through them is harmful to thine body and spirit. It shall most likely be used against thee. Whence the physical side effects beginneth to show, crush this in the palm of thine hand. It shalt work only once." 

:'''{{#var:598|Lezard Valeth (598)}} has posed:''' Lezard Valeth has had interest in Lordran ever since hearing some interesting details of the situation there from Priscilla. He is a man very concerned with the nature of the soul, after all. So why is he here, limned in red? IT IS A MYSTERY TO EVERYONE and surely has nothing to do with his general moral outlook, that's just silly. This does not prevent Lezard from presenting himself with his normal aplomb. "I am most grateful for this opportunity to work alongside you, Milady." Lezard states smoothly. "Be assured that we will have an end to it this evening." He smiles, then, and adjusts his phantasmal glasses. He accepts the small skull-stone, and examines it intently. "Fascinating." He states, but he says little more. 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     The BLUE SPIRIT known as Psyber is summoned in a pretty uneventful manner. He adjusts the coat he's wearing and then looks around, twirling a revolver in his free hand as he lets out a tired sigh and listens to Priscilla explain the situation, "Alright, Pris. As ever, I'll follow your lead and watch out for Nathan. Not that I'm happy this has turned into a two-part mission, now featuring one hundred percent more sidequest."     The hand not twirling a revolver tiredly rubs along his jaw and he lets out a yawn. 

:'''{{#var:168|Nathan Hall (168)}} has posed:'''     Nathan, as is often the case, is here to provide a brief, secondary briefing, shortly after gratefully accepting the... Human skull. Uh.     Well, anyway, he provides his data. "The information we have been given so far is indicating that the Duke himself may have become physically and spiritually enhanced by various acts of experimentation that have caused no shortage of difficulty to other warriors who confronted him. It is said that his vitality is unending and that he heals instantly from all injury. We have no indication thus far of how much of that is true. Expect high endurance from our enemy. He is also extremely intelligent, even now."     "From the sound of it, he is using the functional equivalent of chemical warfare. Watch for environmental hazards. The duke himself may have altered his form. Expect something draconic, but do not depend on that." Hall takes a deep, calming breath and gives a brief nod to Psyber. "Thank you." He says, simply. "And know that I expect you will be helping Priscilla quite a bit, alongside helping our efforts to restore Lordran, today. This is no 'sidequest'." And hey, Oscar! "Thank goodness you are here, sir. I have the feeling we will need your help from the beginning of this." Now he seems intent on moving on, or at least discerning how to do so. Where's the exit off this platform? Nathan's ready to hike through crystal dragon hell, clearly, and intends to press on. 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     The group is summoned into the CAVE OF CRYSTALLINE CONGLOMERATIONS, in which copious amounts of the eponymous (would-be) precious gems make up the walls, the floors, the lethal abyss below, and virtually everything else in sight save for those haunting butterfly creatures. One would think this sort of environment would get a real rise out of Mizuki's quirky tastes, but it seems this might be an exception after all; rather than greeting the area with reverence and a soft smile as she usually does, she instead arrives with faintly narrowed eyes that demonstrate considerable irrititude. That, incidentally, is not a word, but it's the only thing Mizuki can readily conjure to describe her feelings. Her arms would fold and her gaze would skate across the spires of the cave's roof until she finally announces her sweeping assessment.     "Gaudy." Evidently less verbose when regarding things she doesn't much care for. "That's all this place is: gaudy. It completely lacks the temperance fine craftsmanship that the archives themselves were possessed of. Never did I think I could be surrounded by crystals and be so utterly repulsed as I was in that festering, dank hell in which we encountered that spiderwoman, but alas." Turning to Priscilla, she would conclude: "Yes. Any 'Duke' who would allow such a gross impropriety to exist deserves schooling of a particularly physical and wounding variety." Because all of his other character flaws are clearly secondary to that. Absolutely.     Mizuki would relent in her ranting long enough to give Priscilla a smile, however, accepting the seemingly plain stone with a thankful bow. Then she would open her palm to give it a thorough inspection. "It's unnaturally lovely to see a stone whose radiance does not wrack my senses with its flamboyant nature in light of our surroundings. I'll treat it with the utmost care." Until it's appropriate for her to crush it in her palm, at least, right? 

:'''{{#var:395|Amalthea (395)}} has posed:'''     Once again a journey to the land of ancient Lords, and once again the gold phantom of an old knight emerges amid the group. Rather than the lighter chain and surcoat of an Astora knight, Amalthea is decked out in the heaviest of her gear, gleaming yellow-lit full plate, her lance; Wishblade in one hand, shield slung on her back and a mug of coffee in the other.     It reads 'Multiverse's #1 dad'.     A long slow sip, and she heaves a small sigh. "Are you sure you're alright with this, Priscilla?" She does ask, before elbowing Psyber for his attention, and passing her mug over. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko appears, rising to her feet in the form of a gold phantom. It occurs to her again just what a convenient method of summoning this is, a thought soon followed, as it ever is, by wondering when the land will force her to take advantage of its 'not really dying for reals' rule. She's actually a little surprised that things have gone this well so far, though less so considering the people involved.     She takes the not-human skull, placing it somewhere secure without much comment, then listening to Nathan further summarize the dangers they know of.     "He did try to kill us already, didn't he?" The armored Puella Magi slowly twists her arms, absently checking the articulation in her joints as she looks at the surroundings. "That... adds to our sufficient cause, for coming here to put a stop to him."     She'll move out along with the rest, summoning a kite shield as they go. 

:'''{{#var:610|Sakina (610)}} has posed:'''     Sakina appears once more as a white phantom, coming into being near the back of the assembling group. The quiet pyromancer takes a moment to look around the brilliantly crystallized space before she mentally files this whole area in as 'unimportant'. At least in her own goals. Still, she's offered to help, and she's not one to waste a chance to gather more souls.     The hooded woman walks up to the group, then accepts the strange stone Priscilla hands to her. Holding it between thumb and forefinger, she lifts it up, turns and examines it, before tucking it into the satchel at her hip. That done, she listens to the situation in further silence, manifesting her pyromancy flame in her right hand and slowly curling her fingers around it in contemplation. She's being given full freedom to go all-out on this dragon; not much more she could ask for, really. 

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''     When EMIYA SHIROU appears, he's wreathed in the golden aura of Phantoms of Justice! What else would he possibly be?     And he takes a few moments to adjust his fiber-weave protective vest and some other bits of armored gear he's been picking up from the armories. He's experimenting with a set of armored gloves, right now. Not the plate-armored gauntlets of knights, but something more modern instead. These strangely-textured gloves offer much better grip and protection than they let on.     But other than that, he's dressed in utterly normal clothes. And seems to be unarmed.     Yeah, like that'll last.     The boy makes a face when he's handed a weird skull-stone thing. Distaste! That thig's ugly. and creepy.     "Do I want to know why they look like this?" he mutters aloud before pocketing it and nodding gratefully at Priscilla.     "Trace.. on!"     A few moments of concentration later, while he walks on with the others, twin swords appear in his grasp. In the right is a dull-matte white shortsword, and the left has an identical shaped black one - with a hexagonal crimson pattern covering the blade. The Yin and Yang symbols are elegantly workd into the joining point between grip and blade, and they have no guards.     It's Kanshou and Bakuya. Now he's definitely ready for anything! 

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:''' Tomoe is ready once more she knows horrors awaits the order to gert going she falls in trying to get to the front of the group knowing what her job is going to be here. She's got her sword out and shield she's ready as she's ever going to be here. "So here we go, I'm not sure honestly either way shall we put an end to this madness?" They can at least cut the Duke out of the world, right? This world's got enough bad things going on, without this guy around and she's not very intent to show mercy for once not after what she saw... 

:'''{{#var:598|Lezard Valeth (598)}} has posed:''' "Considering your temperment?" Lezard replies with a smile to Shirou. He seems perfectly pleasant for having tried to kill him the last time they met. "Ignorance may be the best policy in your case, Magus Shirou." He smiles for a moment, turning to examine the area with an intense expression. "Similarly, I would advise against examining the crystals too closely. They might be... quite upsetting to you." 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     "A second part was inevitable. We were in nope shape to challenge the Duke and had no information as to his abilities. After reading some of the more accessible tomes, I now believeth his obsession with crystals and immortality art not unrelated. At some point inside of this mine, there must be an originating point from which all the crystal grows, most likely dispersing its power through it. Locating and targeting it may considerably cripple him, as far as I conjecture." Priscilla seems to mostly brush off Lezard being a red phantom. After all, nobody who used the word 'milady' ever turned out to be a bad person, right? Oscar seems to be feeling a little grim this evening judging by the subdued nod he gives Nathan as his sole reply. Perhaps he is beginning to feel that his companions are starting to reach their limit, because something is obviously weighing on his mind.     I do not believeth this place was designed purposefully, Lady Mizuki. It grows in much the same way that the accursed crystal hath grown inside the living subjects exposed to it." She hesitates for a moment before replying to Amalthea, but does so with confidence. "I hath been sure of this for longer than thou hast known me." She helpfully offers to Shirou "It is the form those souls slain by crystal . . . crystallize into." Petrified souls. Cool. Oscar doesn't really know the history here, and he doesn't really care. Shifting impatiently the entire time, once Priscilla seems as if she's done talking, he immediately takes the helm.     The way forward is a series of perilous makeshift bridges of crystal that slant back and forth across each other, leading to slippery downward slides and even worse upward climbs. The drop below is absolutely dizzying, so anyone with a fear of heights is very much advised not to look down. Strangely, despite passing fairly close to several of the alarmingly large butterflies, they do little other than slowly flex their wings, steadily releasing glittering flakes of what almost looks like snow into the gorge below. The walkways are just barely large enough to walk single file across, but the space between them is so vast that one could steer a jet through them. Finally, as the base of the tower is reached, the glassy walls funnel in to a wide tunnel, which then opens into a series of broad caverns linked to each other.     The first few steps into the forefront of one of these caverns meets with a thunderous rush of air. The luminescent flakes falling softly through the air shake and tremble from the downdraft that suddenly beats against the floor. The violent breeze fills the caverns with a dull, chiming roar, and then a thundering crash as 50 feet of dragon smashes into the open floor. Even for those who had met the everlasting dragon of Ash Lake, Seath is a bizarre sight to behold. Stark white from head to toe, cast in shades of blue by the reflections from the walls and ceiling, there isn't a single scale on his gaunt, skeletal body, where every bone shows through his leathery white skin. Six, brightly glowing wings extend from his back, insectoid in appearance rather than draconic, radiating shifting hues of cyan and violet in the same way that do the short tendrils extending down his back. The lower half of his body terminates into three, massive tails rather than a set of lower legs, trashing over the ground like the tentacles of an enraged octopus, and visible shards of crystal jut from out of them like malignant growths, piercing out from the inside. The room shakes again as the Duke 'speaks'. Though the sensation is somehow less inextricably alien than that of the true dragon, the sound seems emenate from the vibration of the surrounding crystal itself, pounding into the ears from every direction as something fierce and heavy clamps down on the mind. An unintelligible howl of shaking glass and keening wind resolves into a single, understandable expressiong.     /YOU/!" 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     "A second part was inevitable. We were in nope shape to challenge the Duke and had no information as to his abilities. After reading some of the more accessible tomes, I now believeth his obsession with crystals and immortality art not unrelated. At some point inside of this mine, there must be an originating point from which all the crystal grows, most likely dispersing its power through it. Locating and targeting it may considerably cripple him, as far as I conjecture." Priscilla seems to mostly brush off Lezard being a red phantom. After all, nobody who used the word 'milady' ever turned out to be a bad person, right? Oscar seems to be feeling a little grim this evening judging by the subdued nod he gives Nathan as his sole reply. Perhaps he is beginning to feel that his companions are starting to reach their limit, because something is obviously weighing on his mind.     "I do not believeth this place was designed purposefully, Lady Mizuki. It grows in much the same way that the accursed crystal hath grown inside the living subjects exposed to it." She hesitates for a moment before replying to Amalthea, but does so with confidence. "I hath been sure of this for longer than thou hast known me." She helpfully offers to Shirou "It is the form those souls slain by crystal . . . crystallize into." Petrified souls. Cool. Oscar doesn't really know the history here, and he doesn't really care. Shifting impatiently the entire time, once Priscilla seems as if she's done talking, he immediately takes the helm.     The way forward is a series of perilous makeshift bridges of crystal that slant back and forth across each other, leading to slippery downward slides and even worse upward climbs. The drop below is absolutely dizzying, so anyone with a fear of heights is very much advised not to look down. Strangely, despite passing fairly close to several of the alarmingly large butterflies, they do little other than slowly flex their wings, steadily releasing glittering flakes of what almost looks like snow into the gorge below. The walkways are just barely large enough to walk single file across, but the space between them is so vast that one could steer a jet through them. Finally, as the base of the tower is reached, the glassy walls funnel in to a wide tunnel, which then opens into a series of broad caverns linked to each other.     The first few steps into the forefront of one of these caverns meets with a thunderous rush of air. The luminescent flakes falling softly through the air shake and tremble from the downdraft that suddenly beats against the floor. The violent breeze fills the caverns with a dull, chiming roar, and then a thundering crash as 50 feet of dragon smashes into the open floor. Even for those who had met the everlasting dragon of Ash Lake, Seath is a bizarre sight to behold. Stark white from head to toe, cast in shades of blue by the reflections from the walls and ceiling, there isn't a single scale on his gaunt, skeletal body, where every bone shows through his leathery white skin. Six, brightly glowing wings extend from his back, insectoid in appearance rather than draconic, radiating shifting hues of cyan and violet in the same way that do the short tendrils extending down his back. The lower half of his body terminates into three, massive tails rather than a set of lower legs, trashing over the ground like the tentacles of an enraged octopus, and visible shards of crystal jut from out of them like malignant growths, piercing out from the inside. The room shakes again as the Duke 'speaks'. Though the sensation is somehow less inextricably alien than that of the true dragon, the sound seems emenate from the vibration of the surrounding crystal itself, pounding into the ears from every direction as something fierce and heavy clamps down on the mind. An unintelligible howl of shaking glass and keening wind resolves into a single, understandable expressiong.     /YOU/!" 

:'''{{#var:598|Lezard Valeth (598)}} has posed:''' Lezard nods, having knelt to look intently at the crystalline wall. "Your analysis is logical, milady. Manufactured crystals must begin with a seed of some kind." When Priscilla explains the origin of the stone, Lezard simply smiles faintly. They travel through the caverns, and Lezard moves with the others, refraining from additional comment. They reach the innermost caverns, and Seath makes himself known. Lezard looks up and adjusts his glasses in the face of the horrifying appearance of the Duke. "Well well." He says to no one in particular. "Most impressive indeed." He withdraws to gain distance from the terrible Dragon. He removes a book with no title from his coat, and withdraws a scepter tipped with a ruby. He does not bother to shout his defiance. That's for people with personal investment or people who have the capacity for moral outrage. Lezard simply prepares. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     On the long trek downward, Kimiko has time to wonder at just how dangerous this environment is, even without monsters or brigands and blue phantom armies or giant butterflies actively impeding them. Forget bringing an army down here, under the best of circumstances--even for someone as good at keeping on her feet as she is, there's a risk of plummeting. She is not afraid of heights, and does look down. The sight is a bit unreal. Where would she even end up, if no one caught her before she slipped off the edge?     The dragon arrests all prior thought--if a dragon it is. The appearance bears certain resemblance to assumption, but the differences defy all expectation. Still, there can be little doubt. "That's him, then. So, now he talks. Of little, I imagine." Her tone is soft, but there's a hint of scorn. She doesn't think much of the one who gave up the earlier opportunity for diplomacy to spring that trap, nor of the one who engineered the trap in the first place.     "General Hall, commanding?" She's working her way out in front, but also keeping just enough to the side not to block field of view for others in the group. 

:'''{{#var:168|Nathan Hall (168)}} has posed:'''     Nathan follows, shuffling over the walkways carefully, deliberately, and with a neutral sort of mannerism, as if this were an ordinary, everyday hike. He is, of course, saturated, emotionally, with terror at the idea of possibly being eviscerated or having his friend killed by a sociopathic Mad Doctor dragon, but he keeps that, as ever, under his hat.     He doesn't flinch in the slightest as a rush of air meets him, nor when the massive dragon slams into the ground. This is what Nathan lives for: High tension moments, staring down a hostile foe while they speak. "Her, yes." He says, simply. "I come expecting the traditional welcome appropriate to the friends of the rejected daughter, and I have no doubt you will be happy to provide. However, you are an intellectual and I know you value the merits of discourse and mutual benefit more than the violence typical of lesser races."     Despite the wind, Nathan stands firmly, crossing his arms as his robes flap around him, still completely blank-faced and stoic, speaking in his monotone. "Our intentions are to recover the souls necessary to utilize the lordvessel and restore this land. As we understand it, your intentions are to achieve immortality and power not unlike that which was denied to you by your birth. Each of us have secondary motives, but this is the core. And they are not, by necessity, mutually exclusive."     Nathan attempts to open up a dialogue here. And he's trying to do so in a way that minimizes the time expenditure for Seath. He figures the dragon will appreciate an approach designed to respect his intellect and not waste his time. That's the only hope he has, really; chances are, Seath might just ignore him and intend to squash him. "Are you willing to negotiate? Or will we escalate immediately to the barbarism?"     He's put one hand up, fist clenched, signaling to hold the attack until Seath indicates that he will not speak, but making the rather reasonable assumption that Seath will refuse to negotiate entirely. But Nathan is required to try. He can't NOT try, in fact. 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     "Nathan get back!"     A phrase Psyber would utter several times along their way forward. In front of an icy drop. Near any given monster. Around an icicle that looked just a LITTLE too sharp for Nathan to be near. These are all things Psyber says this about.     When SEATH appears, however, Psyber goes ahead and switches over to, "Nathan, stay behind me and try not to get hit."     His tone is stone-serious and, after Nathan makes his speech, Psyber deliberately moves to step between Nathan and Seath. The last time Nathan tried to reason with him, it was a trap. Now, Psyber isn't taking any chances. Though Nathan has told them to hold the attack, he does raise his revolver and aim it, pulling back the hammer. 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     Mizuki's wings and sword would appear in unison, making for a fairly dramatic display as she turns her head vaguely to respond to Priscilla. "Like a parasite, then; a blight that threatens to encroach upon Anor Londo and Creation knows what else should it be allowed to continue on as it is. All the more reason to see it purged. I've no interest in seeing beauty overtaken by mindless monstrosities, whatever forms they may take."     As they walk on, Mizuki finds herself more and more glad that she chose not to wear a dress this eve. Less chance of tripping and falling to one's imminent doom that way, generally speaking. She stops before one of the butterflies for a spell with interest, her mouth forming a small 'o' and a folded fist raising to her chin as it usually does when she's thinking. This likely puts her at the back of the group, but she doesn't mind that particularly. Especially given this walk is so dull, dull, insufferably -dull-. Crystal upon unchanging crystal, footstep upon agonizing footstep. By the time her hair is blasted by that rush of wind, she's practically grateful -- if she had to stand that trudge for another moment, she would've...     ... oh dear metaphorical -God-, what is that.     One of her feet would slide across a crystal as she fixes into a more formal sword pose than usual, leveling her blade with as a pronounced frown burns itself upon her countenance. Flinching only slightly at the final, resonant howl, Mizuki would ease her posture. Her arms would fall to her sides - though the left hand keeps firm hold of her blade, of course - and she would stare down the illustrious 'Seath' with a decidedly scathing glare.     "What a warm welcome this is. Truly befitting a Duke to loose guttural cries with no conversational value whatsoever upon seeing the first guests he's likely had in many a year. Truly, kudos, kudos -- I'm sure our negotiations with one another will go marvelously in light of your hospitality." And that will have to be her word in edgewise. As soon as she's finished she would point her sword toward him, attempting to anticipate any movements born of anger, spontaneity, fear, or some combination of the three. Likely the former two considering their opponent's hubris, but one never knows.     She would back up just enough to be able to whisper to Nathan, "I have little confidence in negotiation amounting to anything. The moment he strikes - indeed, I do not need any sort of foresight to know he will - I can allow you to leave time briefly to arrive at safer ground if it would behoove you to do so."     Phew, man. Between this guy and Tesla Mizuki is about freaking sick of mad scientists for the time being. 

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''     Oh dear. Shirou only suddenly realizes that LEZARD VALETH's been with him the whole time. He gets jumpy pretty fast, and has to tamp down the sudden tensing up he does! "... Eurgh." But Priscilla sets it straight anyways. Yeah, Lezard's right - that is pretty grotesque by Shirou's temperament. He grips his weapons ever more tightly in anger. This stuff's supposed to be NATURAL?     And if that wasn't bad enough, when they finally make their way through the crazy caverns - quite a hike, that - and to the Duke's chambers... "Wh-whoah!"     He's almost bowled over by the gale. he -is- frozen in place for a few seconds by a jolt of fear. Seath is... a terrifying sight to behold.     And not good at pleasantries at all.     "Come on, what is it that anyone important around here has against Priscilla?!" He blurts. First Gwndolin, and now this.     ...He really feels sorry for her. Doesn't she have any friends? 

:'''{{#var:395|Amalthea (395)}} has posed:'''     Sure of it for longer than Amalthea has known her. If that is the case, the unicorn purses her lips. Still, her gauntlet curls around the haft of her lance as her horn dips in a nod. "So be it." She trudges along with the rest through the journey of bridges and dizzying heights, and once upon the entrance to the caverns does she pause to steel herself with a breath.     The very caves shaking with Seath's 'voice' is all it takes to put her on her back foot, fingers clenching around the grip on her shield. She does the best she can to not look hostile, but the immense white beast that is Seath the Scaleless is... Unnatural.     Amalthea has never held much fear for dragons, but time and taboo research can drive the mind wild and insane, and Seath has had a lot of both, which could lead to an extremely violent situation should he deem Nathan's attempt at negotiation not worth his time.     One hand reaches forward, setting on Mizuki's shoulder. "Izuki-May, ix-nay on stigating-in-ay the uke-Day." Hissed quietly.     Speaking of. Very slowly and very subtly Amalthea turns the mug in her hands so that 'Multiverse's #1 dad' can NOT be seen by the ancient dragon covered in crystal. 

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:''' Tomoe is ready to fight and more than willing to put the Duke down she's not even sure what you might consider the duke to be. She's got no fear of heights so the glance dowanwards does not put her on edge. She grips her blade as she moves in and then well as they pres onwars they finall run into the Duke and she calls back to the Duke. "So your the Duke." 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     The crystal cavern continues to scream out in such volume that the air shivers with every resonant vibration, sounding as if it is about to crack and fracture at any moment. "Immortality is already mine. I do not intend to give up anything. Soon, the sun will set on last of the gods of Anor Londo, and only I will be only one fit to be its lord. The others will surrender their souls to me, and I will succeed where Gwyn failed. There is no place for your intervention here, nor will I engage in 'discourse' with my inferiors. You are not guests, and I will not negotiate with you. Instead, I will be taking back what is mine." It is at this point that the fact that the dragon has no eyes becomes obvious, because there is no stare to judge the intent of when he pointedly turns to look at Priscilla, standing motionless at the back of the group.     Priscilla freezes the instant he does. Her fingers squeeze around the haft of her scythe to keep from trembling, and even her tail completely ceases to move, looking like a deer caught in the headlights of an onrushing car. She'd spent so long thinking of this moment. Fantasizing of her return home and her finally having her revenge. And yet, even surrounded by her closest friends an allies, she finds her blood running cold and her feet glued to the floor. Ages old fear, ingrained into her psyche, threatens to overpower her; drowning out her common sense in a deluge of overwhelming panic. At the very instant she takes one, halting step backwards, Oscar breaks into a dead sprint, finally grasping the situation, and unwilling to stand for it a moment more. The knight of Astora charges headlong in a display of near suicidal bravery, closing three quarters of the distance before anyone can do anything to stop him.     Seath doesn't let him get any closer. The dragon rears back his head like a snake gaguing the distance of its strike, opening his mouth, and then the set of secondary jaws inside, with a rumbling hiss of air, and then a bone-rattling, primal roar. A blinding beam of pulsating white light issues forth from his maw with a deafening screech, lighting up the cavern in dazzling, prismatic colours as it strikes the crystal. The beam races over the ground towards Oscar, who hurls himself out of the way at the last second, and then continues straight into the mass of Elites behind him, carving through the ranks with enough magical energy to incinerate a person where they stand. Where the light hits the ground, the floor explodes with jagged, knee high crystals, fit to impale anyone unfortunate enough to be standing close. 

:'''{{#var:168|Nathan Hall (168)}} has posed:'''     "I understand, then." Nathan says. "There will be no offense should we choose to make an ineffectual gesture, in that case. I am sure you understand."     His clenched hand is thrust forward, pointing to Seath, the simple wordless gesture clearly meaning that the group should attack now. And he instantly assesses the situation; Kimiko's defense, Mizuki's time manipulation, or Psyber's forceful movement, he allows to handle the matter of his own personal safety, as at this point diving out of the way on his own with his own unpracticed motions is really going to be more inconvenience than good to him. But, you know, someone should handle that. Otherwise he'll be incinerated painfully.     Somehow, while he doesn't have the presence of mind to dodge reliably on his own, he instantly makes several battlefield assessments. "Split. His breath attack does not spread. Minimize clustering. VIP is Priscilla, get her out of the way." She's frozen, and they need to make sure that beam doesn't hit HER too! Oh god this is kind of terrible. 

:'''{{#var:168|Nathan Hall (168)}} has posed:'''     Assuming Nathan isn't otherwise impeded (by being incinerated), he's going to attempt to activate his [SCAN] Scholar Magic ability, attempting to discern ELEMENTAL, MAGICAL, SPIRITUAL, or ANATOMICAL WEAKNESSES in the physical body of Seath the Scaleless, utilizing supernatural perception to try to discern the appropriate route for harming him. 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     With an immense beam of power and light raking across the floor and carving into the ranks of Elite, Psyber's priorities shift. 1) Protect Nathan 2) Survive Initial Assault 3) Ascertain Attack Vector 4) ??? 5) Watch Seath Die for upsetting Priscilla.     First order of business is to protect Nathan, "Talky-times done, Nate. You need to get back now." Psyber says. The half-angel plants a palm square in the center of Nathan's chest and pushes with an immense amount of force. It's not painful, but it definitely carries his usual superhuman strength. The goal of it is to send Nathan sailing straight back, maybe drop him on his rear a bit roughly, but put him out of the way of the initial assault. Psyber would rather see him with a scraped knee than impaled.     With that accomplished, supplemented and aided by whatever other external forces, Psyber turns to step two. The half-angel makes a risky maneuver and runs in towards the dragon as it arcs its breath towards the group. The half-angel would rather run INTO existing crystals than risk being caught in the breath. This means that he drops into an easy-paced slide, but that the action of it causes him to run straight through the razor sharp additions to the battlefield. Boots seek to clear out anything that might directly impale him, but there's a lot of low-ground mineral to draw cuts and wounds across him.     Coming out of his slide, Psyber rolls easily and in a practiced motion, coming up onto a knee. His revolver is raised. The cylinder is opened to quadruple check for this mission it's still loaded with the ammunition Priscilla gave him. As he brings the weapon up, he recites something:     "Jeremiah, Chapter Six, Verses Thirteen to Fifteen. It reads: For from the least to the greatest, they are all greedy for unjust gain. And from the prophet to the priest, they have all dealt falsely. They healed the wounds of the people lightly, proclaiming 'Peace, peace' where none can be found. Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they had no shame, for they did not know how to blush. Therefore, they shall be chief among those who fall, and at the time of their punishment, they shall be overthrown. So judged the Lord."     The half-angel then fires off all three Lifehunt bullets in his revolver. 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     Once she's finished giving Seath a baleful gaze and 'advising' Nathan, she would turn her attention next to Priscilla. Priscilla, the girl who is currently standing unflinching in the face of the scaleless dragon's rage. Or... wait. "... Priscilla?" She calls to her once, hoping for a reply that, given her tension, likely doesn't reach. "Priscilla!" No, that isn't 'being unflinching in the face of fear' at all -- that's the epitome of fear itself. She mobilizes as quickly as she can to dash to her aid, but by the that time Oscar already has his shit in gear. His brazen charge elicits a white lazerbeam, blinding as any of the crystals that were already choking the atmosphere. Thankfully, Mizuki is able to use this as an opportunity; the strike likely doesn't have the luxury of any precision, so Mizuki blinks in instants over to Priscilla, grasping her hand in attempt to either (1) break her out of her stupor, or (2) drag her out of harm's way if the former plan fails.     We can fret over the flagrant invasion of personal space later.     Should Priscilla allow her hand to be held or not, Mizuki would proceed to cloak as many people as she can aside from the two of them - likely inclusive of Kimiko, Psyber, Nathan, and Shirou before she reaches her limit - in personal speeding fields to work their magic. Still assuming Priscilla's cooperation, Mizuki would yank herself and the crossbreed out of time for a matter of seconds, likely just long enough to ensure that the pair lands outside of the path of the oncoming lazer and a good distance away from the Duke to allow for acquirance of bearings.     That little burst of activity has her good and exhausted, and she would vastly prefer to worry about keeping up her speeding fields than hacking at Seath herself, so she uses her sword for the thing she usually uses her sword for when she's being lazy. A hole is rent in space-time, and a pair of figures appear from the void before it closes. One, a pinkette bearing a poisonous grin; the other, an eerily serene silver-hair with folded hands. Each of the two have big ass scythes in addition to their assorted traits and effects.     The pinkette would rest a horizontal hand over her eyes, letting out a punctuating whistle. "/Phew/, man. Talk about ugly!" A fanglike tooth would peek from her mouth as the hand lowers, joining the other to grip the scythe as she turns to face her more demure acquaintance. The latter would ask, simply, "Do we go, sister?" The reply that follows is, of course, "You better freakin' believe it."     And they're off. Like the inhuman blurs of energy they most certainly are, Callia and Palora begin to dart around Seath's head, not necessarily trying any strikes of their own but still doing their utmost to get up in his cranial business, Palora shouting at the top of her lungs to get his attention. Might be helpful given the whole 'the Duke is blind' thing. 

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''     Shirou sees the mouth opening and his experience with dragons - that is, from mostly rumors and myth - says MOVE. So he does. He puts power into his legs and leaps, vaulting forward, up, and to the side at an awkward angle! Kanshou and Bakuya are brought up to parry some of the beams, and Shirou manages to plow through most of that relatively unscathed. A bit scorched, but nothing too bad.     But he bungles the landing. Even if he's drawing on the experience of the hero who wielded Kanshou and Bakuya, and even managing to Reinforce himself a bit better because of it (hey, at least his legs aren't exploding from the inside out this time!) he's simply not used to such manuevers!     He bungles the landing, rolls weirdly, and slams hard into some sharp crystal edges that dice into his flesh. "Aghh--"     The crystals are stained crimson, but he bites down on the pain and rises up... only to FLING BOTH ARMS open widely.     Kanshou and Bakuya are released after being charged with prana! They fly in opposing boomerang arcs... and their intersection point is Seath!     If they strike, they will explode into a hell of pure magical energy running wild, akin to small grenades!     Well, THAT's a new trick! As is the tremendous speed with which Shirou projects a second pair of his newest weapons and drops into a new combat stance.     "Don't even think of touching her, you old beast!" 

:'''{{#var:598|Lezard Valeth (598)}} has posed:''' Lezard happens to be prepared for this. Dragons always do this. A teleportation circle completed, charging up and flashing brightly as the maws of Seath open. Nathan is sent sprawling from Psyber, and Lezard steps over to stand beside Nathan, inclding him in the effect moments before the blast hits. They reappear on the other side of the cavern, the crystalline growths spearing through his former position. The Sorceror of Midgard levels his cane and shakes his head. "Seeing you suffer such a fate /would not do/, sir." Lezard states simply as the circle fades. He then quickly puts a little distance between himself and the Librarian for what comes next. He levels his scepter, and channels his power into one of his spells. "Fire Lance!" He pronounces, and a series of flames erupt from the scepter to smash towards Seath's rear while he's occupied. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Given the other oddities of the duke's origin and appearance, Kimiko has doubts that Seath will attack with something so mundane as setting the field on fire. There's not much here to burn, anyway, apart from the more flammable of the phantom elites. What the first attack will do, she has no idea, and if she doesn't know what it can do, trying to take it head-on is less of a safe plan than getting the hell out of the way. That thought finished, and Seath's first attack clearly coming as the knight charges, she gives a word of advice via radio.     "Dodge." At the duke's words, she clicks her tongue. Whether his confidence is deserved or not, he is now a mortal enemy, and non-tactical thoughts slowly bleed away as Kimiko acts at the limits of her reflexes, enhanced now by Mizuki's magic.     Psyber's in a better position to get Nathan out of the way, so she leaves the two of them to that, without so much as watching it happen. In fact, she leaps in the opposite direction, obeying the directive to scatter, and then comes charging in from a slightly different angle than the others, avoiding the path of that first strike and the crystals it shot up. She further doubts that line-based attacks are all Seath has to work with, but claws, tentacles and wings are all, generally, easier to block with a shield than are magic crystal growths.     The following thoughts go through her mind, a little too quickly to properly verbalize: Point: Seath claims immortality. Unverified. Likely extremely resilient; high pain tolerance. Attracting attention via attempts to directly damage may take unacceptable time. Physical strength? Uncertain. Worth testing.     Kimiko does not know what Psyber has loaded in his gun. She does know that he believes it enough to kill the duke. She has no such confidence in any weapon in her arsenal, so again, she trusts that he'll handle it. If it doesn't turn out as expected, they'll work with what's left.     A thick cleaver coming to a razor edge appears in Kimiko's hand as she runs, and she strikes the cavern floor as she does, throwing up sparks and finally swinging the weapon around to crack the ground beneath her, as she comes to a dead stop about sixty degrees off from the direct approach to the scaleless dragon. The planted blade morphs into a more firmly planted stake as her hand leaves it, yet still holding on, now, to rapidly lengthening, weighted chain. With a full-body spin, she tosses the weight in an arc that curves through the air in a manner that wouldn't be possible were she not also manipulating the motion of the chain in flight. It goes /past/ Seath, curves around and returns to her, morphing into a second that she slams into the ground at full force beneath her heel, before grabbing both chains and pulling as hard as she can.     She might not be able to damage an immortal dragon, or even hurt him enough to get him to pay attention to her, but if his strength isn't infinite, and she catches any part of Seath beneath the loop, she'll get his attention this way. Maybe in time to help some of the rest get their shots off. 

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:''' Tomoe says "All right then since you won't talk, shall we get to fighting." She looks at this /thing/ for a long moment trying to get ready to fight as he's got no plans to talk. Not that she had any expections that this would end peacefully. She keeps her weapon ready as she now moves in trying to back up the knight whose charnging in. Tomoe's totally going to try her think to get in the Dragon's face she knows what her job is. 

:'''{{#var:395|Amalthea (395)}} has posed:'''     That went as well as expected.     Seath thinks himself better, and worthy of ascension to the position of ruler in the darkness. Amalthea is vaguely unsurprised when he refuses to negotiate.     And becomes hostile.     The lancing beam of prismatic light, and sudden onrush of blooming razor crystals that it spawns in its wake is horrifyingly fast. "Well shit. Okay Mizuki NOW you can antagonize the duke." She concedes before flinging herself aside. Normally Amalthea is all for soaking damage with her body. But not this time, when the risk of corruption from those crystals presents itself. With a clanking rattle and clatter of heavy platemail she tumbles, and it takes her a second or so to pick herself up due to the heavy weight. For a brief instant she regrets not wearing her lighter armor this time. But she asesses the situation with a keen eye. Mizuki has Priscilla taken care of. Nathan is... Apparently rescued by Lezard. This leaves her free to not worry about them. For NOW.     Shifting her grip on her lance, the unicorn sets her boots only briefly in her stance. Before snarling, launcing herself in a mighty jump-pack assisted LEAP that vaults her up to the ceiling of the crystal chamber. A flip and her boots hit the cave roof, before her legs push off with an immense force, doubled by another burst from her jump-pack, aiming to join the fray against Seath proper and plunge Wishblade in somewhere deep, where it looks like the cancerous crystal growths are the thinnest. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Nathan's SCAN finds that Seath has no vitals or weakpoints to speak of. The lack of scales make his exterior soft and weak, but the crystalline 'infection' appears to have spread throughout his whole body, making his inner structure increadibly tough. Despite having relatively low elemental resistances, his defenses against magic seem almost perfect, meaning it would take a ridiculously powerful sorceror to so much as scratch him with the arcane arts. More importantly, he can sense not only Seath's connection to his remaining channelers all across the country, but also to something else. Something possibly even more powerful than he is.     Priscilla flinches as Mizuki grabs hold of her hand, seeming not to even notice her until she makes physical contact, and then recoiling violently when she feels it. Put off balance by her reaction, it is fairly easy for MIzuki to yank her stumbling out of the way, putting her just clear of the maelstrom of crystal blades that jet from the ground behind her. The crossbreed falls to the ground, but swiftly picks herself up, finally remembering to breathe as in the few seconds of frozen time she has. Staring at Mizuki with a dumbstruck expression, she opens her mouth to say something, and then abruptly stops, turning invisible equally as suddenly to hide any emotional response to being saved like that.     Seath seems to have no intention of moving from his spot as the rest spring into action. Callia and Palora orbiting around his head seem to distract him, but only enough to give a couple of swings with his massive claws, by no means slow, despite his size, but aimed mostly to backfist them away from him rather than kill. Emiya's blades explode against him with little effect; the magic mostly absorbed by the crystals permeating the Duke's body. He would be best advised to rely on them as physical weapons instead. Lezard's fire magic seems to have greater effect, blasting open a scorched crater in the dragon's back with a shower of smoke and crystal fragments, revealing bone beneath. Amalthea's high speed plunge takes her lance straight through Seath's neck, accompanied by a jarringly anticlimactic puff of blue dust rather than a proper spray of blood.     No sooner has she done so than her lance is forced straight back; shoved out of the wound as the Duke's flesh restructures itself faster than possibly any regenerator any of the gathered Elites have ever seen. The wound closes flawlessly in a fraction of a second, possibly fast enough to knock her off her perch if she isn't careful. The smoke hasn't even cleared from his back when Lezard's wound does the same; the flesh literally un-scorching itself as it returns to pristine condition and the crystal beneath it regrows. The cavern rumbles with a pulsating wave of force that feels like psychic laughter of such metaphysical volume that it hurts just to experience.     Seath raises one palm, and in it, a conflagration of blue fire springs into existence like the birth of a tiny sun, drawing in some manner of mist from the air around it, before it is crushed in his fist. The space above him suddenly fills with a swirling constellation of stars, each glowing the same, ethereal, blue-white colour as the souls left behind by the dead in this world. Winking into existence in rapid succession, what must be hundreds of them cascade over the ceiling, bearing down on the party with an overwhelming glow. Then, almost all at once, they resolve into a meteoric deluge of magic; resolving as man-sized spears of light that rain down across the entire battlefield in a howling storm, detonating where they make landfall.     Then Psyber's bullets take Seath straight in the chest. The wounds are tiny. Laughable even. But for some reason, the dragon lets loose an agonized shriek as the miniscule potholes appear in his flesh. Rather than healing over, they swiftly begin to worsen; crystal dulling and cracking, skin flaking away, and flesh peeling back as it seems to necrotize in fast forward. The dragon might have given as good as he got ho 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     however, because for Shirou and Psyber, their open flesh wounds are starting to freeze over; petrifying as their phantom flesh turns to the consistency of glass. Kimiko gets the chain over Seath's neck where it locks in behind his horns, preventing him from raising his head all the way. Having to give up on Mizuki's summoned fighters for the moment, he wraps both hands around the thick chain. Rather than attempting to pull it free however, the metal simply begins to smoke in his fingers as it slowly turns to brittle glass; leaving a brief opening before it finally shatters completely. 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     Were Psyber in his normal form, his natural regeneration might be able to at least stave off Seath's effects, creating an equilibrium between necrosis and regeneration. Unfortunately for Psyber, he does not have such an effect at this very moment. He'd be crushing one of those skulls like Priscilla said, but a particularly large gash across his hand has caused his arm to lock up in a crystalline form and be rather difficult to use, even with his immense strength.     "Well shit," Psyber says, finding it rather difficult for himself to move as the crystal and petrification spreads over his body. Eventually, the buildup becomes such that the half-angel, trying to reload and get a couple more shots off, finds himself totally petrified. He really should have listened to Priscilla about dealing with that curse buildup as soon as possible.     Because moments after this last lockup, the blue spirit cracks and shatters in a cascade of crystals. Big reward, but sometimes you have to make a nasty trade. YOU DIED 

:'''{{#var:168|Nathan Hall (168)}} has posed:'''     Nathan is shoved away, his face showing no reaction as Psyber and Lezard ensure his safety. Always a completely stoic face, even as he barely escapes a massive, deadly beam unscathed. He simply says, "Thank you." In his usual calm, tranquil monotone as he gets to his feet. And then, massive spears of light are raining down. At least Nathan's now more around the edge, giving him room to break into a sprint and dodge around the environment with the efficient but clumsy movement of a battle-hardened Action Survivor, barely escaping being impaled multiple times.     Well, there goes Psyber. "You were supposed to crush the skull." Nathan says, darting by Psyber as his phantom fades. Sliding under one of the massive spears and scrambling to his feet, only barely escaping unscathed because of Mizuki's magic, Nathan comes to where Mizuki herself has taken Priscilla. He tries to snap her out of her trance. "Priscilla, the Lifehunt bullets appear extremely effective. It would appear that you are uniquely predisposed to assailing your creator. Please, can you assist?"     Meanwhile, he's looking, intensely, around the environment. For more crystals, honestly, but for UNUSUAL kinds, that may appear connected to Seath in some capacity. If he's channeling his power into something, they need to be aware of it, and it's clear by now judging by Psyber's bullets being effective that his power is extremely effective if used against himself. Seath is the kind of dude to keep a magic death ray around here. Are they needing to worry about that? What is that thing his channeler-power was being directed into? Or maybe out of? Nathan can only really observe using his regular old non-magic eyes for clues, though... 

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:''' Tomoe has an idea that that magic is going to do jack here after all and she wonders is her magic /really/ magic? When she thinks about it she's a almost like aq solid light hologram right? So would it even be magic? She's not sure she should risk experoimenting rtight now as so many othes are having the idea to focus in on hte weak poiints psyber made. "Hey you? Ya I'm talking you." She launches into a sword art striing rapidly for his chest to make the wounds even worse. 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     I've said it before, and I'm saying it again now: tanking ballistic magic the likes of which Seath is calling into existence now is not Mizuki's forte at. All. Worse still, her ability to fade out of existence doesn't work nearly as well on spells and incantations as they ought to. So, in a bit of a panic, Mizuki responds in the only way she can fathom at so late a point: she calls a massive slowing field into existence around herself and, assuming she's still in some shock, Priscilla, attempting to use it as a temporary protective dome. To the crossbreed, she would state the following quickly and cleanly: "The moment this field falls, this attack will come down right over our heads. If we leave precisely as the outside spell concludes, we may at least be able to mitigate the damage to ourselves. Now, when I say 'go'..."     The spell hits outside before she can even finish. Flames billow into the sphere from all sides. Mizuki strains to constrict time near the top further, and at least marginally, she might succeed; the flames outside the field would likely dissipate before the 'ceiling' of fire would reach Mizuki and Priscilla outright, giving them just enough time to dash out to the left and right. Once Mizuki is certain Priscilla has reached a safe distance herself, she would drop the barrier, allowing the final bit of Seath's magic to scorch the field with some delay. Much of this fire would at least graze her as she leaves, searing her legs and causing flakes of energy, curiously similar to Seath's own, to flake off of her person.     As she fumbles to find a safe place to land, Callia and Palora would be returning from alcoves of safety they had sequestered themselves in higher up to avoid the brunt of the spell's devastation. Darting about as before, this time they would focus their attacks on the wounds left by Psyber. Moving so quick as to mimic warping, the girls would indiscriminately hack and slash at Seath with their scythes with intent to deal as much damage as possible to the nonregenerative regions in that time frame. Then they would attempt to retreat, ideally regrouping at an extreme of the cave that's a good distance from the Duke himself.     "Damn," Palora would likely be wiping some blood from her jaw; she didn't escape those swats from Seath's hands entirely unscathed either. "overgrown lizard's got more fight in him than I thought." Spit. A toothpick goes flying, and another grimace blossoms. The girl's hands grip her weapon tightly. "Nothin' we can't handle, though." Callia would nod her agreement before the two would resume their assault on the weak points, at least until they run out of energy or are otherwise incapacitated. 

:'''{{#var:395|Amalthea (395)}} has posed:'''     That... Did not go as planned. When Wishblade is summarily shoved free of the wound it had caused, Amalthea grunts. She does, indeed, lose her purchase and perch, sent tumbling backwards through the air. It's training and quick reflexes that flip her to right properly and land on her boots with a heavy CLANK-CLANK, with enough force to shatter the stone and crystal beneath her in a tiny crater.     There's a particularly foul curse as Psyber is rendered a petrified mass of crystal, but she pushes herself on. He'll be fine back at Njorun. She can still fight. Which is why she pushes herself on without much of a second thought.     She spies where Psyber's bullets hit. Where the effects of Lifehunt begin to wear at Seath's 'immortal' body. This is her target as she re-adjusts her grip on her lance.     And hucks it.     A mighty throw, worthy of the legendary spear it flies straight and unfaltering. But this is not done without a cost of her own. Caught in trying to re-balance herself after putting all her weight into the heaving toss, her shield comes up too late, the mass of souls turned into magical spears hail down, and several slam the gold phantom unicorn construct. With a grunt she staggers, the beginnings of petrification beginning to show, slowly creeping up her boots, cancerous crystal growth spiking out from mithril shins, locking knees, distorting thighs, hips- creeping upward. "Agh god fucking dammit."     Up it goes, slowing her body as she takes a single trudging step before her legs freeze- then torso- arms- locking her face in a snarl of frustration where she stands. YOU DIED(?) 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     As the first point in the chain corrupts, Kimiko loses her ability to control it. This is immediately apparent, and she reacts quickly by causing a clean break further down. So--she can get a chain around Seath, and it can hold him. But he can break any weapon she touches against him. Can he do that from any part of his body? Possibly worth checking. But if she wants to make it strong enough to hold, she can't also resummon it over and over, not without paying a price.     Psyber disappearing like that causes the girl to flinch. It's not something she expected, and it's not something she's seen before, unless you count the way the blue phantoms that ambushed them that time before faded out after being defeated. It takes her a precious moment to remember that this can't properly kill him. It's not supposed to be possible, anyway.     The moment passes. She charges in. Magic spears fall and explode around her. She's not directly covering anyone this way, but if she can make a nuisance of herself, that means she's more likely to direct attacks here than let the duke focus on anyone else working at opening up the wounds Psyber's charge left. Not that that'll be possible if he can keep up with attacking the entire room at once.     Even with Mizuki's magic, without any kind of safe zone, she can't dodge everything while also trying to attack. First she's grazed against her shield, then against her back, then the explosions knock her off course. Her armor, at least, is no more pervious to direct magical attacks than it is to physical ones, but damage materializes as if the plates have been crushed and then scorched, and she's looking rather the worse for wear when she picks herself back up off the ground. Still, she leaps, kicks briefly one crystal-covered tentacle-leg, and throws a weighted chain to, if her aim is true, loop several times around Seath's wrist. Back to the ground, she pulls and she runs, working on the idea that he needs to touch something with claw or tooth to destroy it. Might be wrong. Let's see. 

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''     The moment Shirou feels his body crystallizing, he slams a fist hard against his pocket where the skull is! That stings, but it does the job. The curative effect had better work like Priscilla said it would!     Because while Avalon's able to counteract the curse, without Saber nearby it will be quickly overwhelmed. As it is, right now the Sheath is only slowing the curse's progression... just enough.     Enough that Shirou managed to save himself, anyways. But he won't get another shot at that...     Shirou gazes skywards, feeling the insane flood of magical energies gathering. The moment he sees the beams start coming down-- "Uuooahhgh!"     He swings Kanshou and Bakuya at the one that comes straight at him. The energy compresses momentarily, and Shirou's repelled backwards just as the swords break and all that power's unleashed. He's hurled backwards - but from the explosions' rim. It scorches a nasty gash down his side, taking out chunks of an arm, but he avoids being utterly vaporized at least.     That hurts. The pain's enough to get his head pounding and heart screaming at him to run, but he just grits his teeth.     This creature is a dragon. If the swords that fell monsters are no good against Seath, then the spear of Ornstein should be another story.     "My body...is... made of swords!" Biting down the pain, he executes projection two more times. IN his left hand a modern bow compound bow appears, and quickly fills up with magic to reinforce it tremendously. IN his right... Ornstein's Dragonslayer spear congeals from golden light, crackling with lightning as Shirou closes his grasp about it.     What happens next is probably very unexpected. The spear lightly reshapes, the cross guard stretches and warps into a shape similar to fan blades, while a notch grows in the hind end. Though the proportions are pretty damned weird and the bow can barely take the weight, Shirou draws the altered Dragonslayer Spear back... and lets it fly.     The moment it leaves his bow, well... the bow tears itself apart and snaps, the string flailing back and lashing him across the shoulder. It vanishes quicly enough.     The SPEAR, though? The spear crackles with a storm of lightning, quickly entering a corkscrew spin to stabilize its flight. It's headed straight for Seath's side! 

:'''{{#var:598|Lezard Valeth (598)}} has posed:''' "You are welcome." Lezard replies to Nathan, not wasting any time himself. Lezard purses his lips as he looks over the situation. The beast is immediately healing from the damage except for where the special bullets were used. "Interesting." Unfortunately for Seath, Lezard Valeth is well versed in the vagaries of souls and life force. The book in his hand opens, and he looks over the pages for several seconds. He does not have time, however, as the howling Soul Storm crashes down upon them all. The surge of magical power causes Lezard to look up, the glowing souls reflecting in his glasses. "Tch!" He says, before immediately raising his scepter. The impact of the magic is colossal. The barrier becomes visible as the power strikes, Lezard's barrier holding it at bay... for a few seconds. And then the barrier cracks and shatters, the piercing hail of souls striking Lezard and knocking him down. He gets back up, grunting in pain, but his hand comes away from his side covered in blood. "Well..." Lezatd states. "Now this has become personal." He looks up at the mighty dragon, and he frowns, watching him intently for several seconds. "Where is it? Where..." He's searching for something, his hands seemingly running across invisible threads. A moment later, he pauses, and blinks. "Such arrogance... You will live to regret it. But not much longer past that..." He says with a smile, teleporting again. Where is he going? 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     "For the love of the Lords, do not call him 'creator'." Priscilla spits out at Nathan with an unusual amount of vitriol, especially towards someone she likes so much; before finally murmuring. "Such was mine intention from the start." Shaken to her senses by Mizuki, she regards Seath with visible, palpable loathing; the helpless fear of before nowhere to be seen. According to instruction, she waits just long enough for the last of the soul spears to hit the ground outside before running out from under those hovering over her head, vanishing into the aether as she makes a straight line for the dragon's flank. A few moments later, a massive, gaping slash splits open in his side, sending gravel sized fragments of crystal rattling against the walls. This wound too, fails to regenerate, but with Priscilla so close to him, Seath can't possibly miss. He reignites his breath weapon, blasting the crossbreed full on with a blindside angle, where she reappears with a sickening thump as she collides with some of the crystal spears from before. It takes her several seconds to start moving again, where she wrenches herself free of the spikes one limb at a time; dripping blood, but seemingly unphased by the curse; stopping only to pick up her scythe again before stumbling forward, where the dripping trail of blood suddenly turns invisible as she does.     The dragon's beam continues from person to person in an elaborate, tracing sweep, going from Mizuki to Shirou to Lezard to Kimiko, and then to Pallora, Callia and Tomoe in the air, only to be pulled off target before it can continue to Nathan as Kimiko's chain upsets his balance by pulling down on one side of his body. Tomoe's blades slash in quick succession over the slowly spreading wound in the dragon's chest, instantly healing where the edges of each blow land outside of the affected area, but cleaving deep within its bounds. Amalthea's weapon plunges all the way up to the hilt into the gap left behind, where it should have gone straight through a living thing's heart and lungs, but Seath still seems to have the presence of mind to yank it free with his free hand and cast it at Amalthea in a casual effort to shatter her body. The dragonslayer spear itself pierces clean through his ribcage from one side to the other, exiting cleanly before shattering against the ceiling of the cavern. The exit wound heals over, but the entry wound, right near Priscilla's attack does not, and the sheer power of the anti-dragon weapon seems to have completely caved in several ribs and shattered the crystal beneath, causing the dragon to clutch his side in abject agony.     "DO NOT EVEN PRESUME TO DARE." The air itself utters to everyone around. Finally wrenching the stake of Kimiko's chain free from the ground after several attacks have landed on him in quick succession, Seath brings both his hands together in fromt of him and sets off another miniature solar system of spiritual flame between his palms. The flare of magic grows in size and intensity for several seconds, and then explodes outwards in an overpowering wave of fire that engulfs the cavern from wall to wall, carrying a bone-shattering shockwave along its already lethal, disintegrating winds. Lezard is just in time to avoid being caught in it, but Nathan should be able to get the idea of why. The wizard had been looking to the very rear of the cave at the time, which Seath's body conveniently blocks. All the way behind him, something is glowing ever so slightly brighter than the surrounding crystal. 

:'''{{#var:598|Lezard Valeth (598)}} has posed:''' Lezard doesn't need to deal with silly things like 'body blocking'. Seath might feel the twist of space warping behind him, but by then it's already too late. "Your research... To freeze the soul, immortal, in purest crystal forever, is it not? And with the soul thus preserved, the flesh will ensure. It is fascinating, really." A hand reaches out, brushing lightly against a thin, delicate crystal. It seems almost organic, solitary and unusual amongst the others. There is a brilliance to it that is unlike anything else seen outside of Seath itself. "It is so beautiful, is it not? But as I warned you... Such arrogance does not deserve to go unrewarded." He then clenches his hand over the crystal, black lightning crackling from his hand as he begins channelling dark power stright into the delicate construction. "Such things travel both ways. The prevention of death also allows for such /exquisite suffering/." The energy wracks the crystal, growing in power rapidly as he draws it out to just long enough before Seath can attempt to crush or blast him, before he proceeds to shove a massive surge of power into the crystal which should overload and shatter it into pieces. "Now watch as your life /literally/ crumbles around you, Duke." Lezard pronounces with dark pleasure. 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     Mizuki comes to rest in the air, her paralyzed legs hanging in useless suspension, her scorched wings barely able to keep her aloft. She's breathing heavily now, the residual blue flakes falling off of her spectral form growing ever more dull in color. The world might well be blurring and twisting for her, now; she's wasted too much energy. Too much power. Too much time. And yet, something exists in the background the serve as a source of renewed energy. It exists, but does it ever go down like a tank of the most insidious bile.     A horrifying visual is reflected in the light of her irises: Priscilla is lain upon a crucifix of crystals which she must forcibly extricate herself from, bleeding all the way. She couldn't care less as Seath charges another lazer -- rather, she just hangs there for a spell, dumbly. But then there's a sudden change. The hand carrying her blade quivers. Her already red eyes seem to burn ever hotter with a sort of indignation her demeanor might not have been thought capable of accommodating. Nevertheless, though, it does; filled with a rush of adrenaline the likes of which she has not been born to in too many years to innumerate, Mizuki is able to summon the strength in her being to arc over the lazer, though her left wing likely endures another paralyzing scorch that begins to visibly cripple her movement immediately after. But still, she stays aloft, her form off-kilter as she levels her blade at Seath, her expression crazed.     "Tell me if you would DEIGN, Great Duke: what manner of paradise does a corrupted essence like yours seek to create? What manner of utopia?" There's a flash behind her eyes, and a spur of the moment inkling thrust into her mind via an unusually well-timed fit of authorial foresight. "Tell me: haven't you experienced all the pain Priscilla is enduring now, at your bidding? That isolation, that hate, that scorn, that exclusion? Are you really so far gone as to have disregarded the meaning of all your struggle, all your ideals, your very -soul-... all to achieve /immortality/?" She would cleave the wind with her blade. "NONSENSE! All you've bought yourself with these aeons of struggle is your own eternal DAMNATION! It is your business if your masochism exists on so grandiose a scale, but no longer will you doom this world - and doom that which is dear to me - with your ill-conceived delusions of grandeur! Seath the Scaleless, you are not immortal! You are a phantom of the past, and on this day you shall be exorcised from the world you haunt! Be it by my hand or some other, you shall be reminded of that inevitability you fear more than anything. You will know the face of the abyss. You will know demise!"     Her sermon concluded, Mizuki would summon all the strength remaining in her wings to charge forward. On her way she would summon speeding field after speed field after speeding field, launching her at the widest wound of non-regeneration. This charge would occur -as Seath's second barrage occurs-, meaning that her phantasmal essence passes straight through the blast on its way. Though she might yet make it to her desired endpoint in time, this would still likely be lethal; her form would be frozen fully, her blade flying to an indistinct point on the ground before it, along with its wielders spirit, vanish from the world. So, in other words, YOU DIED.     ... though that was only one part of the plan. Callia and Palora receive and inaudible cue from their mistress, moving stealthily but quickly to Priscilla's defense as Mizuki falls. Thankfully for them, however, Nathan already has things under control when they arrive. Palora indulges a long, deep sigh of relief while Callia pats down her dress, meandering over to Priscilla. "Is there any way I can ease your pain? Please, if there is any particular area upon which I could focus healing, make me aware of it posthaste." 

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:''' Tomoe has clearly got this thing's attention as they all move in upon it he rblade scoers a hit making the wound woorse and she says. "What that your a mad, power hungry, have no sense of respect for people or life?! I'd take Zeus over your sorry ass as a god any day of the week!" Tank job to get the hostile's attnetion on her but then comes something else. The massive burst of energy. "Oh hell." Wings kicks in and she jets up into the air just barely avoiding the shockwave even then she's clipped and her HP bar drops from green down into the mid yellow somewhere. "..." She drops back to the ground and laucnehs into another assult this time there'sd several rapid sword strikes followed by a shield bash. "It's beings like you that make it hard for a lot of worlds to sleep at night! YOUR MADNESS ENDS HERE!" 

:'''{{#var:168|Nathan Hall (168)}} has posed:'''     "Well he has certainly disqualified himself from the term 'father'." Nathan says, dryly, as he begins to run anew. "And other words I could call him would not be /polite/." Then Priscilla gets wounded! "Oh dear." Nathan says, concisely. "Kimiko. Amalthea--!" He sees Amalthea suffering the effects of HORRIBLE CRYSTAL GROWTH! "We need defense immediately." He sees that spiritual power building up in Seath's claws! He rushes by Amalthea, SLAMMING his skull-remedy against her, trying to get the awful crystal blight out of her. "With me." He says, trying to get her to come along.     And then he leaps to Priscilla as the massive fire-wave approaches, slamming both hands together and speaking briefly in Old Realm language to cast a spell, allowing any further defenders to reach him, and then flaring both hands out to cast IMPERVIOUS SPHERE OF WATER, summoning a magically-breathable sphere of intensely damage-resistant water-barrier, trying to halt at least most of the flames and ensure their phantom-summoner doesn't die, thus dissolving their phantoms.     And also, you know, trying to protect the wounded form of one of his friends, but who cares about that, right? He sees Lezard already has Seath's... Whatever it is, covered. And is doing something to it. It seems important enough, so he assumes Lezard knows what he's doing and is helping out properly here. 

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''     Dammit! Shirou should be protecting Priscilla, but this enemy's too much for him. He can barely not die here! "Damn, what good am I against a dragon...?!" The spear did the job, sure, but it didn't kill Seath, he is only getting the occasional attack in because Seath periodically focuses on one person instead of EVERYONE.     But if there's nowhere to dodge, what is Shirou supposed to do?     The incoming beam is too big, too wide, and too fast moving. He cannot possibly dodge this one. So if he can't dodge--     "Trace, on--!"     Then he can at least try to endure it. No other options left at this point! Prana surges through Shirou's magical circuits as he prepares several designs, all copies of the same thing! The magus extends a hand and forces them out into existence. A silvery, filmy light manifests out in front of him, becoming several Tower Shields stacked one in front of the other. That's a BIZARRE arrangement, alright, but it saves him.     The beam slams straight into the first and endures for a third of a second before shattering. The same fate sunders the second. Then... the third silvery shield caves just as the beam sweeps on past. it buckles...     But it doesn't utterly break until the fire slams into it, HURLING Shirou off his feet and into one of the cavern walls. He hits like a sack of bricks and then topples to the ground, bleeding from a plethora of cuts along his arm where the force of the impact became backlash.     NO. He can't fall here. His life isn't even at risk here. He exists to be Priscilla's sword and shield, her knight. That's his purpose for this battle.     "Nnnnnnnnggggguuuuuuuaaaaaghhhh...."     So even though his battered, bruised, broken body wails in protest, he stands up. His shifting and rising flesh creaks, however. Like dozens of swords jammed close together like teeth, grinding against one another. Creak, CREAK, SCREEEEEEEEE.     He can't take another blow or two like that. So there is... "... No reason left to hold back!"     Even if he 'dies' here, it can have an impact. He can help. There is something he can do that even Seath cannot ignore, no matter how grand his magical resistance might be.     Shirou's eyes close, and the warrior-in-training focuses. Both hands drift downwards and grip at the air. Though his head begins pounding from the strain, he reaches down deep, putting every erg of his will to see Priscilla triumph into the effort. He ignores the crystal dragon, he ignores the sharp and chill air. He ignores the screams and sounds of battle. For this one brief moment he doesn't ned any of tehse distractions. His own weakness is a worse enough enemy, he can't afford any more.     An image appears in his mind - a glorious sword not made by human hands. It's entire length is a gleaming silver, with a metallic grey-blue handle. The weapon is sleek, masterfully crafted, and utterly without ornamentation. A pure weapon made to defeat enemies and nothing more. A weapon fit for a brave knight.     Sir Gawain's prized weapon begins appearing in Shirou's grasp, though the weapon's still slowly coming together. Sparks of prana fly every which way from the blade as it extends into existence, congealing from motes of light and a surge of prana, and Shirou sharply yells from spiking pain.     Mental pain, not physical.     Of all the swords he knows of, this one is the greatest. It will do.     If he can complete it, and use it fast enough! 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     If Seath had first targeted Kimiko, it is nearly certain that she would not, at this range, have been able to avoid it. As the fifth target, she has a moment's chance, and she makes as much of it as she can. With another kick, she both slams down her holding stake and sets herself to leap away from it, making a moving target as the beam begins to sweep over the room. The speed with which it moves still catches her by surprise. Seizing on some desperate chance, she executes a roll in armor remarkably similar to Oscar's--and comes up alive, but with crystals spearing half her body. It rather looks as if she /shouldn't/ be alive.     Her hand is still free. It clutches the skull-like charm, and crushes it in the same motion as she grabs at the ground with her other hand and pulls herself free, tearing her legs yet further in the process. This should be fatal, but she won't yet allow it to be.     She has the chance, then, to see the next attack coming. The flare is growing, and at any moment she knows it will explode and finish her off. It's undirected--she won't be able to dodge this one, and in her current state, expects not to be able to block it, without any knowledge of the precise form the attack will take.     She stands, a sudden motion bereft of signs of pain, though somewhat clumsy, as if fully numbed--as she is, sense of pain disconnected for the sake of continued action. Her balance is good enough to last just 'till the spell goes off, a sudden leap carrying her in front of where she's--pretty sure Priscilla still is, a large, round shield freshly summoned to her arm. She sets herself behind it, fully expecting the heat of the ensuing explosion to conduct through her armor and flash-fry what's left of this life. YOU D--     Instead, Nathan rescues her. What gets through is so far diminished that the minimal in-combat healing her powers allow her is just barely letting her hold on. Her wounds will take more time to close than she can realistically expect, especially with how her left leg has been mangled, but her armor is strong and there's no immediate problem with her magic.     Taking this chance, she pulls back her arm as if preparing to toss a javelin, and a steel pilum conveniently materializes in her hand, the end opening to a series of wicked barbs as she throws it for the wound left by Priscilla's scythe. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Seath turns too slowly to stop Lezard. He is only just able to look over his shoulder, partway through a rotation, before the wizard's dark magic courses through the primordial crystal, and then back along the link to himself. Coruscating arcs of black energy crackle over the dragon's massive frame, blasting open holes that heal over as fast as they appear, but sending the dragon into shrieking paroxysms of racking pain. Just as Lezard finally breaks the delicate crystal in the shape of a budding tree, he is caught full on by a straight blast from the dragon's maw, turning the wall behind him into a glass-edged blender.     The destruction of the crystal throws the Duke into a rage, abandoning words entirely as he simply begins blasting left and right, aiming at anyone who makes the slightest sound. The Duke snatches Tomoe up hacking away at his tails up in his claws, crushing her in his grip, and then firing on her at such a point blank distance that she is practically in his mouth when the breath weapon goes off. Mizuki's sword connects bullet wound to scythe slash in a single, cleaving swipe, before the shockwave takes her out completely, but thankfully Nathan prevents Palora and Callia from being wiped out as well, from whom Priscilla begrudgingly accepts the bare minimum of healing, before closing in once more. Kimiko's pilum plunges deep into the previously existing wound, and similar to Mizuki's sword blow landing just a moment before, none of the damage that falls outside the affected area regenerates at all. The damage stays permanent.     Having been lost in the confusion, Oscar reasserts his presence by having finally finished scaling the dragon's back, having survived every spell thrown the party's way by simple virtue of being in bodily contact with their caster. Finally pulling himself over the Duke's wings, he takes a short sprint across the slope of his neck, and then drives his sword into the dragon's skull with a leaping plunge, stabbing it all the way through and into his mouth. He hangs there for several moments, hacking and stabbing with vicious strength, until the dragon finally wrenches him free and tosses him aside.     Thoroughly shredded by attack after attack, Seath makes one last ditch effort by slamming his tails against the ground in unison, causing the ceiling to crack and a hail of crystal ejecta to fall from it. The jagged stones freeze in midair before coming close to hitting the floor, with one especially large spire hovering over the Duke's head. Rearing back with a seething roar of anger, pain, frustration, and desperation, he fires the next flare of magical energy straight into the largest crystal, where it diffuses into a cascade of white-hot lines that bounce from shard to shard, splitting over and over again, until every levitating crystal is completely saturated. All at once, they discharge thundering pillars of light that smash into the ground like bombs; curving through the air with a limited degree of homing to find specific targets rather than hitting indiscriminately. Oscar manages to brace himself behind his shield, but is hurled into the wall for his bravery. Priscilla seems to have escaped unscathed as the beams have all aimed for cisibile targets. As for everyone else . . . 

:'''{{#var:395|Amalthea (395)}} has posed:'''     What a terrible situation. Frozen and encased in crystal, the unicorn knight may as well be dead. A few last twitches of her hand around the skull-shaped object in her grasp says she's trying- and failing to crush it herself, as her very own lance is returned to her with violent force.     It is Nathan Hall that comes to her aid, smashing the purging stone against her, and with the faint shimmer of an inward glow of gold, the unicorn's crystal form twitches again. And then SHATTERS. A cascade of shimmering stone and crystal sloughs off her body as Amalthea's body instantly surges into motion- snatching the Wishblade out of the air on its return course to her, the impact and last second grab forces her into a twirl that she quickly recovers from.     "Shit, thanks Nathan, I thought that was it there, for a second."     She need not be told twice to follow on him, immediately taking a protective stance over the union general as he races for Priscilla and Kimiko. In an instant, as the group is enveloped by the protective water bubble and Kimiko frees herself of crystal, the unicorn is at the Puella Magi's side, shield up and forming into a practiced two-woman phalanx wall.     She missed Lezard utterly ruining Seath's day, while she was petrified, but this does not mean she does not CAPITALIZE on her new freedom, hoisting her lance once more, reeling her arm back and...     Hucking it AGAIN.     The winged silver spear practically sings as it sails through the air on course for that vulnerable decaying patch of lifehunt afflicted crystal once again.     Shirou is tracing. She sees this. He will need time won't he? This might be why she tries to get Seath's attention on her. Specifically her.     "You seek to rule, but long after all your precious crystal has turned to dust, I will keep walking this earth." Figuring to enrage the dragon further by flaunting her own immortality, while Oscar decides to stop playing Dark Souls and start playing Shadow of the Collossus on the Duke and brutalize Seath's skul..     "Well I'll give him credit, that knight's got stones." 

:'''{{#var:598|Lezard Valeth (598)}} has posed:''' Lezard is still laughing as the annihilating breath rushes over his body and it begis to crystallize. A hand crushes the Purging Skull as it begins to glass over, and the crystal breaks off of his body, leaving him to merely be shredded. YOU DIED A teleportation circle begins forming within the center of the cavern several seconds later. 

:'''{{#var:168|Nathan Hall (168)}} has posed:'''     Nathan disperses the water sphere, letting those who took refuge in it leave immediately. And he knows what to do now. He's going to tank whatever magic hits him. Nathan Hall is not a very good tank, but he shouldn't need to tank for long. "It is no trouble, Amalthea. Now, just a moment."     Nathan Hall cannot kill another sapient being.     However, in such an urgant situation, Nathan has no trouble helping them to kill themselves. One more bit of Sorcery. Emerald Countermagic, specifically. Nathan blasts up and towards the crystal shards that fall from the ceiling. Several blasts slam into him as his mechanical wing-pack spreads wide from under his robes, flapping wildly. They blast through his body with intense traumatic force, blowing vicious holes in him.     He slams, clumsily, into the massive spire that hangs over Seath's head. by this time, the followup attacks from his allies have likely taken Seath's attention, hopefully. Nathan himself finishes summoning the willpower and essence needed to execute Emerald Countermagic. And he casts it on the great spire that hangs over the Duke's head, in spite of the pain caused by the explosive magic that slammed against him. As he does, he says, in a firm, monotoned voice:     "You are an awful father."     Emerald Countermagic, the targeted magic-dispelling attack, attempts to disrupt the levitation of Seath's own massive crystal above his head. 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     The sisters streak and zigzag through the air once Nathan's guarding field has fallen, doing their utmost to avoid the hellfire of luminant crystals. Their speed may yet be enough to keep them from considerable harm, but nevertheless each of them would likely accrue small bits of damage along the way. A corner of Palora's cheek sears and crystallizes. One of Callia's arms - thankfully not the one handling her scythe - is frozen entirely, falling limp in the air as she continues her circuit.     When each of them finally cease moving, it would likely be after all the stones had fallen. Palora, whose right eye has been fully crystallized at this point, would exchange nods with her sister. Then they would each sink their scythes into the open, non-regenerative wounds in unison, using their curved edges to dig into is flesh and hold themselves against him. Then they would ignite their blades, ideally sending fire coarsing through his insides. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     "I'm alive." It's with some surprise that Kimiko notes this, but there isn't much time to dwell on it, as that fact may shortly change. Amalthea is also alive, which the Puella Magi is very glad to see. With her, Psyber, and Mizuki all gone, and she being on her last leg, herself, even with the advantage Lezard just bought them... But she does not plan to see this fight end in defeat.     "There's always hope." That comes in a murmur.     Nathan is doing his own thing, and she doesn't know /what/ he's doing that requires him to take all those hits, but she's going to assume it's necessary, and in any case she's not in a good position to do anything about it. Her left leg is nonfunctional and it's only through direct control of the armor over it that she's able to keep on her feet. Worse, this next attack is coming from multiple directions, and is at least partially tracking.     Kimiko gets to see Oscar's attack, but not how he blocks one of those beams on his shield. It would make her feel a little better about how she's now doing the same thing, moving to Amalthea's rear, and taking advantage of the unicorn knight's presence so that both their backs will be covered, magical death raining in from all sides. 

:'''{{#var:560|Emiya Shirou (560)}} has posed:'''     Shirou's eyes are half-closed, but they open quickly enough when danger swarms overhead. Soul Arrows EVERYWHERE, every which way. But he doesn't simply stand there.     He PARRIES.     With Gawain's combat experience flowing through his muscle memory and subconscious, Shirou ducks and weaves some Soul Arrow shots, only to bring the Noble Phantasm weapon about for a full-parry against several. The parry efforts do pay off! Soul Arrows explode on contact, sending fragments of magical energy through his body in a wildly spreading pattern. Various sized beams dice through his body, vaporizing through skin and muscle and inner organs. A full quarter of his body mass is seared off. There's not one place that doesn't bear a scorched, sizzling wound. There's a hole through his stomach and the only reason things aren't spilling out is that they've been vaporized.     He's not dead, yet.     Though the boy staggers, spitting out blood, his focus wavers only briefly. He's probably dead.     That doesn't concern him. Only one thing concerns him right now, and staying alive through the fight isn't one of them! "All processes complete... trace off!"     With a triumphant swing, Shirou casts aside a cloud of magical energy to reveal the finished weapon. A shining holy sword filled with power far beyond what he put into it. The shortswords from earlier can't even compare!     Gathering his strength he flings the sword up towards the cavern's ceiling. The spinning weapon freezes in midair and SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINES     SCORCHING HEAT emanates from the ceiling area even as Excalibur Galatine falls back down. Where it floated only briefly, a MINIATURE SUN now burns with radiant glory. The light streams down around Shirou as he grips the weapon with what's left of his hands -- he's missing a few fingers from one of them. Blood leaks from the boy's lips, but furious determination burns in Shirou's eyes - he's not falling yet, even as his Phantom manifestation wavers.     Scorching prana streams across the ground under him and outwards, forming into a swiftly expanding Magical Circle of intricate and ancient design.     "Sorry, Priscilla. This is all the help I can offer.... Holy Sword of the Stars swing once again! The Resurrected Sword of Victory.... EXCALIBUR..."     All of this gathered energy floods into Shirou's projected weapon as he raises it up and, with ALL of his remaining strength, takes a single step forward and SWINGS.     "....GALATINE!!!"     For one instant, all sounds, all vision, everything is drowned out by the blinding power that flows from the sword. The horizontal slash transforms into a broad yet somewhat focused arc of scorching sunfire drawn through the air. It is not a projectile, however. For that slash covers much of the cavern at an upward angle to avoid catching anyone else! The blade slashes into the crystalline walls and almost certainly will engulf Seath... but if it doesn't...     The ensuing scorching wave of sunfire probably will! It's over in an instant...     ... And the moment it's done with, SHirou's body loses all strength. it topples forward, and both it and the sword swiftly vanish as Phantoms do. 

:'''{{#var:598|Lezard Valeth (598)}} has posed:''' The teleportation circle completes in the brilliant aftermath of Galatine's strike. In the brilliant light, there is a shadow. "Heh. Very impressive." The shadow adjusts gleaming glasses, and everything eventually resolves as Lezard observes what is undoubtedly the final moments of Seath. He says nothing. He's said all he needs to. He just wants to watch Seath embrace his final fate. Because it's so richly deserved. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     As Nathan approaches the core crystal at the center of Seath's diffusion array, the dragon takes a swing straight at him, aiming to snatch him out of the air and crush his fragile body in the palm of his hand. His claws just barely scrape the librarian's back as Amalthea's spear takes him in the chest, and then sends him reeling back, missing Nathan by a hair. Mizuki's creations catch him before he can make a second attempt, ripping into him with their scythes and thoroughly charring what intact white skin remains into charcoal black, even more effective without the ability to heal. This buys Nathan just enough time for the emerald countermagic, and the massive crystal spike resumes plummeting along with the others, smashing down between Seath's shoulders and slamming him flat against the ground, leaving him in no position to move as he struggles back up once Shirou gives his all for one last attack. The surge of prana blasts over over him like a supernova, turning the ceiling and rear wall of the cavern into a shimmering blaze of molten-red light as the crystal overheats, pops and shatters. One of the dragon's arms comes free entirely, hacked off along with all the wings one one side.     The ground rumbles once more as the Duke finally feels the need to resort to words once again, clinging to life by a thread. The bizarre double set of jaws works slowly as he speaks; the psychic sound of which is barely audible, rather than the skull-splitting tremor of before. "Wait! You've bested me! I submit! If you want the Lordsoul then I will give it to you! The archives are yours! Clearly it is you who-" His speech cuts off suddenly with a wet, cracking thump; simultaneous with the neck at the base of his skull splitting open with a spurt of, finally, black, liquid blood. The once mighty Duke goes silent, and then completely still, crumbling to the ground with a resounding crash. Priscilla resolves into existence with one foot on the back of his neck, her scythe lodged in the back of his skull, and the parting words to her father: "I hath waited long enough for this. I shalt not wait one moment longer."     The draconic corpse ripples as if caught behind a heat haze; dispelling as though a mirage from the start. The ruined flesh turns into colourless mist, which then spews forth a veritable torrent of souls, burning as a ghastly white inferno that consumes Seath's body. Finally, at the center of it, one can see one particular flame that outshines all the rest. A blazing sliver of golden fire that illuminates the entire cavern as the midday sun, painful to the eyes to look at. Spiritual senses of any kind register it as a blistering wave of heat that is uncomfortable to even be meters away from, and yet Oscar limps towards it all the same, stopping in front of Priscilla just long enough for her to give him a subtle, silent nod, and then thrusting his hand into the fire. The blazing light of the golden soul envelops him for a moment, before slowly fading into his armour, and then vanishing completely, leaving the cavern as cold and silent as the grave. 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     The Blue Spirit of Psyber has managed to slowly meander his way back through the zone and over to the fight area, looking around carefully. He lets out a low whistle as he watches Seath die to scythe-related-cranial-trauma.     "Damn," Is pretty much all he says. 

:'''{{#var:395|Amalthea (395)}} has posed:'''     Back to back, weathering the onslaught of Seath's final desperation with Kimiko, Amalthea only peeks out from behind her shield as it all dies down and Seath meets his end. At the scythe of his own daughter.     A slow, weary, sigh and the gold phantom unicorn rolls her shoulder out. Arm numb from holding up her shield during the magical assault, steam venting from the joint in a hiss.     That's it then. Planting her hands on her knees for a breather, the unicorn closes her eye for a moment. And then picks herself up, gaze lingering upon Priscilla in her act of defiance. "Mn." Is her only thought on the matter. It was a rough battle. If not for the fact that the group was comprised largely of phantoms, some of them might not have been coming home now. A good thing they were.     "The fuck did you do, anyway?" That. Was to Lezard, on his return, as she stands up straight. More observant than she acts, it seems, as she bends to pick something up off the ground.     It is her #1 dad mug. A slow sip of cold coffee and she elbows Kimiko, passing it her way for the last gulp or two. 

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:''' Tomoe is getting into quite the fight hwere with the Duke but she's trying to keep him on the ropes for the otehr t be able to finish the damn beast off. She isn't going to call him anything else other than a beast for as far as she sees it? He is nothing more than one a ramid animal in need of being put down. She's done a lot at this point and now she gets in their face once more just trying to keep her self up but one more wack and even with all her endurance she's gong to go down. IT thankfully seem to be over as Priscilla comes in and finishes off the Duke as he grovels for his existance. "Offer declined." She walks up with her blade intending make sure the Duke is down but there's no need. "Thus this world's a little less horrible..." 

:'''{{#var:168|Nathan Hall (168)}} has posed:'''     Nathan's kinda heavily wounded. Slamming into Seath on that giant crystal tossed him away. That, alongside the explosive wounding, crystalization, bruising from being thrown... Yeah, he's just kinda KO'd on his back, but he's aware enough to watch. It is an impressive display. Thousands of years worth of emotional catharsis! The death of an evil, awful immortal dragon! The recovery of a super-powerful spiritual construct!     "Clearly."     He can barely struggle his way to his feet. Time to talk mostly to Oscar now, giving him a firm nod. "Well." He says, with a dry sort of tone. "We have slain an immortal dragon together now. I would call this a very good start to our endeavors, if it were not painful, deadly, and indicative of profoundly awful trials yet to come. It was an honor to fight alongside you again, good work. I would shake your hand but I think both of my arms are wounded beyond that state."     That done, he heads to Priscilla now. He just sort of stands next to her, staring at the awful spot where the corpse was. He just kinda watches the proceedings, figuring she'll do the same for a bit. Then he asks her two questions, in sequence. "Do you feel any more at ease now?" And then, "Do you wish to talk it over?" He clearly doesn't mean "right now", just sort of, you know, in general.     There's also the palpable sense that he'll definitely be fine with accepting "no" for both answers. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     It's over. It's over, isn't it? Kimiko's looking this way and that, keeping her shield raised, making sure she hasn't moved out of position relative to Amalthea, even after the magic ceases. Is there anything else, anything waiting to snatch their victory from them? It's not really possible or her to just accept and relax immediately, but after repeated confirmation, she does. Her shield lowers.     Her senses are a bit dulled. An unfortunate side-effect of the tecnique that's keeping her up. Not /all/, however, and she can still smell coffee. It's not her usual addiction, but she takes it all the same, with a silent nod of thanks.     What the heck did Oscar just do, anyway?     Nathan seems to have the other pressing matter in hand. Other than 'everyone being wounded.' But that'll mend, right? She's not sure how this is supposed to work, exactly, but at least they're in Njorun and close enough to medical, either way. 

:'''{{#var:598|Lezard Valeth (598)}} has posed:''' "The description supplied by Milady Priscilla of the motivation of the Duke, as well as what I have observed myself of the properties of the crystal spoke to me of a possibility this would exist. The Duke sought immortality. Therefore, his research would be based around some method to defeat the flow of time. Flesh must, after all, eventually fall to Time's ravages." He casually walks past Amalthea, gesturing to the cavern. "Upon observing that he was recovering rapidly from most of the wounds, it became apparent that he was using a method of linking his life force to another object. A phylactery, if you will, which would both preserve his life force and amplify it to render all damage moot. He would need a connection for such a thing." He stands within the nook where the Primordial Crystal had grown, now shattered, and he bends down to pick up a fist-sized shard. "So I simply followed the connection. The rest is as observed." 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Oscar takes to gingerly sitting on the floor, unbuckling a glowing orange flask from his belt and taking a deep couple of swigs, barely even lifting the visor of his helm to do so. Priscilla, shortly after him, drops to her knees; letting her scythe clatter to the ground beside her as she leans back and stares emotionlessly at the ceiling, letting her blood gradually soak into her dress as she stops to simply comprehend the fact that she had finally killed Seath. It wasn't nearly as dramatic, climactic, or even satisfying as she had always envisioned it would be. She feels . . . blank. Spent. Out of anything left to feel. And yet, at the same time, a weight is lifted from her shoulders; one so old that she had gone numb to the feeling of it being there. ". . . yes." She finally says to Nathan. "It was not what I had expected but . . . I will give it time to fully sink in."     Oscar does Nathan the kindness of a knight's salute, still waiting for the estus to fully kick in. "And with any luck, this will be the first and last of the four that we are meant to fight. Seath's power was owed to but a shard of Lord Gwyn's greatness. I cannot imagine crossing swords with the Lord Izalith or Nito. This soul however . . . I can only carry it, not take it into myself. It is too much for someone as human as me to embrace." As if on cue, the silent flames of the massive repository of souls left from Seath's death begin to drift towards both him and Priscilla, slowly swirling around them as the personal gravity as a world native absorbs them. Priscilla regains her senses just in time to stand up, wade through the flames, and clasp something with both hands at the very thick of it.     "I will see thee put to better use than any good thou didst make in life." 

:'''{{#var:253|Psyber (253)}} has posed:'''     The amazement of what just happened starting to fade, and the battle at its end, Psyber's priorities almost immediately shift.     Heading away from the place where he was standing, Psyber wanders over towards Priscilla when she leans back and looks up. He's not very good at individual emotional support. In fact, he's pretty crap at it. Which is why his form of comforting her is to shove her in the back slightly. Not hostile, but more a way to get her attention.     "Hey. Red's not your color, you'd look like shit in a red-hemmed dress. Stick with the white outfit." He notes, trying to drag her away from the pool of blood. He's not addressing the incident with Seath or any of that at the moment. 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     Palora is probably leaning against a wall with a new toothpick in her mouth like the coolgirl she is, but Callia is doing something a bit different. Hefting her scythe for what is likely to be the final time this evening, she creates a portal to Mizuki's world in much the same way the lady herself does with Aelinos. Some moments later, the girl steps through the portal and glances about, her gaze coming to rest on Priscilla when she finally locates her. She contemplates offering some words, or approaching her, but ultimately she decides it would be best just to be a presence. Somewhat uncharacteristically clamping a hand around her wrist and standing neutrally, Mizuki would remain, herself entirely unsure of why she had even seen fit to return to the scene in the first place.     Maybe it's that morbid curiosity she's so fond of. Or maybe, just maybe, she couldn't help wanting to be here for Priscilla. But is it really -for- her? Some small part of her can't stand the thought of leaving the crossbreed to her devices when she's likely hurt, so maybe this is more her deal. Genuine empathy isn't entirely foreign to Mizuki, but to the extent she's feeling it right now? Perhaps a little bit.     Her eyes may wander shyly to Psyber somewhere along the line before eventually leading her to study the ground.     Somewhere in the distance the softest -plink- of another of Palora's discarded toothpicks might be heard. 

:'''{{#var:70|Priscilla (70)}} has posed:'''     Seeming to have what she needs, Priscilla allows herself to be dragged off by Psyber, making a mumbled noise of inarticulate complaint before giving in and limping after him. She does everyone the courtesy of dismissing the phantoms who are damaged enough to be in severe pain with the use of her black crystal, and then begins the long trudge back to the nearest bonfire. 

}}

958/Assault on Heaven's Gates

2014-12-12T05:54:44Z

Kimiko:

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2014/11/11
|Location=Earth-1111
|Synopsis=Shanghai's gate to Paradiso is destroyed.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=10, 42, 238, 255, 481, 570, 575
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:238|Beli Klum (238)}} has posed:'''     Shanghai, China: with a population of over 24 million, the bustling city proves to hold the single largest concentration of people on Earth. In a war that makes use of souls as resources to form troops, then, such a location would no doubt be a choice target for anyone.     Right now, it's under the possession of Paradiso. This is obvious enough just by looking at it; the entire city seems graced by a resplendent light. The sky, even at this dimming hour, is a soft light blue, and though night approaches, what shadows are cast by the city's towering buildings seem less dark than they should be. Everything gleams gently, as if suffused in pure white light. If a place could be called 'blessed', this city would certainly seem to fit the word.     Even the people seem strangely pleasant. Nobody travelling through the busy streets would hear the blare of a siren or voices lifted in anger. People simply aren't interested in aggression, it seems, and if one weren't aware of the cause of this, it would no doubt seem like an unexpectedly wonderful place to live.     The source of all this beauty, of course, is the towering gate that sits in the center of the city, larger than the tallest skyscrapers. The frame is formed from what appears to be marble, shaped like angels and spirits whirling and dancing together in their ascension to the top, with a billowing light blue smoke serving as the portal in the center of the gate. This, unsurprisingly, must be the gate that leads to Paradiso, serving as a symbol of Heaven's conquest and a transit point for reinforcements to pass into the city should it fall under attack.     And Beli, flying on six black wings, is gliding between the towering buildings, heading straight toward the gate. A few people look up at her from the sidewalks and streets, some pointing and making remarks, but while none of them seem particularly fond of her (judging by their looks of distaste and annoyance), they also don't seem interested in stopping her. Better to ignore the thing they dislike; maybe she'll go away then.     Beli herself isn't concerned with the looks she gets. She ignores them, continuing straight ahead until she reaches the gate at the heart of the city. There she swoops down, banking up at the last moment to flap her wings and gently alight on the ground several feet in front of the heavenly gate. Her wings fold onto her back, her eyes narrow as she looks up at the gate's swirling fog...and she waits, hoping her allies arrive soon. Before the angels do, at least. 

:'''{{#var:10|Crys Gattz (10)}} has posed:''' Crys Gattz fighting angels? That was something she was used to and she hat to admit at least the air didn't require a full hazard suit to deal with. Still the price was likely too high. Crys was here she kinda felt out of place. While not off the darkness she's been touched by it rather forcefully long go and who knows what the lingering traces of that would get from the angels not that she's thinking much about that. She's walking along the street at a sadate pace her one good eye looking about. She's seen very peaceful soceities like the Federation of Planets, but even they still had problems criminals the odd malconent and the like. The entire place while wonderful to look at made her wonder as she looked about she had only some of the details about this world and would likely have to ask Beli more later. Though her style of dress and her eatrs get a mix of looks from people, some with intrest and some with dislikel because she's clearly not human, yet disturbingly close to being one. 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     Ayako flies behind Beli, riding side-saddle on her broomstick. She's not particularly fast in the air, so she falls behind Beli quite quickly. Nonetheless, she looks downwards at the city gently glowing white light. "Ooh... It's quite pretty. But..." Her gaze turns back outside the city as she notes night starting to fall. "Not right at the same time... night needs to fall too!" She nods her head once as she notes the gate.     When Beli suddenly swoops down, Ayako hops off her broomstick while grabbing it with her right hand. And of course, floats down to gently land on her feet next to Beli. She begins to absentmindedly sweep the ground with her broom as she glances around curiously... 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     If the heavenly forces that stand watch over Shanghai didn't have an inkling of impending attack before, they do now. Setsuko Kaminagi's divine presence is stronger than ever, a clear beacon 'visible' for dozens of miles to anyone with the senses to pick it up. There is no disguising her approach, a pure divinity that speaks of neither holiness nor profanity, but simply lies in the colorless domain of 'the oncoming storm'. The demigod knows that she cannot conceal herself, and so she moves as fast as she can to reach the city before she can be intercepted.     There are those who might ask the swordswoman why she would bother coming astride her usual Union-issue hoverbike when she herself is now capable of flight. To those people she would respond with a simple rhetorical question: 'Why ride into battle astride a charger when your own legs serve just as well?' The hoverbike is capable of more speed than she herself can manage by a fair margin, and while she doesn't dare risk it in the actual fighting, it's at least worthwhile for getting her there swiftly. As soon as she's over the city, however, she taps a button on the yoke, and then simply turns and leans out of the seat.     Months ago, this would be the precursor to a demigod aerial drop, a plummet from above that dropped her right into the thick of the action. Today, she simply hangs in the air, aloft on her own power and overlooking the city. Both announcing her presence simply by being present, and taking a look over the city's layout, considering lines of attack, likely choke points, places where her blade might be needed. They're going to have to figure out how they actually take this city; having a rough idea of the layout in her head will be incredibly useful. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko is not here, or at least, she's not here in any form most would immediately recognize as her. Instead, there's an armored, humanoid form which could almost be one of Paradiso's angels. The armor makes a complete covering from crown to toe, with overlapping plates covering the joints, and the face entirely obscured by a blank, opaque visor. The armor's surface is a pure white with elegant, flowery engravings that glow with a soft, silver light, in the same color as the transparent wings extending a short distance from her back, and the halo over her head. The feet are the least 'humanoid' portion, coming to points that should cause some difficulty in walking, though the wearer seems to have an excellent sense of balance as she moves through the city in long, loping bounds.     Around the figure's waist is a knight's belt and scabbard, the sword sheathed there showing less of the angelic influence in its silvered metal, and more of the Puella Magi that summoned it.     She comes to a stop near the portal, coming smoothly, if slowly, to a stop, then standing with legs apart, looking up at the cloud-like transference point--if that can be inferred from the motion of her helmet--and then taking a few, careful steps back, before coming again to a rest near Beli. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     War.     This is war for people's very souls. And it's a war where even a single battle can make a difference.     At the front is the Star Hawk, a 40-foot-tall mechanical man of metal, which stomps up to and through the city, the ground shaking with each step. And behind it... A platoon or two of mechanical spiders larger than a man, supported by the mass-produced, animated metal unicorn statue guardians, and several larger spider constructs shaped of crude clumps of stone and earth held together by magic, and several more humanoid shapes, maybe ten feet tall, made of stone or dirt or whatever was handy.     This is a war, so Staren brought an army. 

:'''{{#var:481|Kirika (481)}} has posed:'''     Welcome to Shanghai. Kirika arrives atop a purring motorcycle, wheeling onto the scene with a pair of goggles protecting her eyes as she joins up with the others when she figures out where they're gathering. She switches the bike off, then hops off with sword in hand.     Offering a bow and a stoic nod to Beli, Kaminagi, and company, she then rests a hand on the pommel of her sword as she eyes the arrival of Staren's constructs. "Curious." her world has those, and they are plentiful. So it's not like she's surprised when Staren arrives with them, but the fact they all bow to his will is something notable in of itself.     Her crimson eyes glance up at the gate with a grim look, steeling herself for a battle with for the ages. The civilians are barely acknowledged, beyond a single token glance. "Lady forgive your servant for what we are about to do, our sins are great." She says at last in a soft tone, closing her eyes momentarily.     Fighting the Holy Host definitely is one of those 'I'm so going to hell for this' things. 

:'''{{#var:238|Beli Klum (238)}} has posed:'''     The arrival of others alongside Beli certainly doesn't go unnoticed by the populace of Shanghai. This is, after all a relatively normal, modern Earth; cybernetics, witches, hoverbikes, and hulking robots are completely out of the ordinary, at least when not in connection to Paradiso or Inferno. And, considering how news has spread about the last time small groups of strange people arrived in various cities around the world, most seem to be assuming that this is not a good sign.     At least Kimiko's arrival seems to still the people's concerns somewhat. Surprised as they are by the armored girl's rush through the streets, she looks remarkably like the very angels that have claimed the city, though not like any they recognize. Perhaps she's some kind of new angel, sent to ensure that the hybrid aberration doesn't cause any more trouble. Whatever the case, they begin quickly clearing away from where the group is headed, certain that nothing good will come of what is about to transpire.     As each person settles into place, Beli offers them a brief nod and smile of greeting. She's still not certain about how to go about this whole thing, and it shows in the nervousness on her expression, but, still, she tries to keep firm in her resolve. This was her choice, and she will have to see it through to its end.     Her wings spread again, and as she ascends higher above the ground, her feathers take on a crimson sheen to match the blood-red flames that form in the centers of her halos. Anyone sensitive to such energies would be able to feel that she has shifted to purely demonic powers, no doubt to be far more effective against their next enemies than anything else she has may be.     "I am not sure who will come to meet us," she calls, her voice echoing with its strange angelic and demonic reverberations, "but I will try to help however I can. If one of the archangels comes to meet us personally, it will be a projection that will not be as strong as their full power. Keep an eye out for anyone who looks...well, more significant than the rest."     Not even a moment after Beli finishes, the air fills with a sound of music. Harps, specifically, plucking and strumming a beautiful harmony that grows louder and louder with every passing moment. It seems to be coming from the gate, whatever it is. 

:'''{{#var:238|Beli Klum (238)}} has posed:'''     BGM: http://goo.gl/9AL6S5     And soon, the source of the music makes itself known. Dozens of angels emerge from the fog, their forms constructed from many hovering, opalescent crystals arranged into a vaguely humanoid shape, but without any piece completely attaching to another. The only piece that remains completely static is a single radiant orb in their heart that sends a constant glimmer through their crystalline bodies. Two 'wings' spread from their backs, stretching out with crystals hovering along their lengths like feathers. The halos that hover above their featureless heads are decorated by dangling crystals like an assortment of wind chimes, and in place of legs they have similar arrangements of crystals that trail down beneath them. Their hands, however, are the most abstract, for they are simply assortments of crystals hovering around a central orb in no discernable shape, constantly orbiting and whirling.     Beli's frown deepens. One of the angels speaks in a voice that thrums like a gorgeous harp, though nonetheless booms out as if in command. "Whatever your business is here, aberration, you and your allies have no place. Our lawgiver may have fallen, but that does not change that you have committed the greatest of crimes in the premature deaths of the archangels and demon lords!"     The angels' 'hands' shift, then, changing to what appear to be weapons: swords, mostly, though some arrange into halberds, spears, and bladed whips instead. "In the name of our Lord, Gabriel, the Powers will hereby condemn you all for your sins against our world!"     The Powers don't seem interested in talking the matter out. Without any further hesitation, they spread out, rushing at each person who stands in front of the gate. Angelic weapons are swung to cut down each offender, with Staren's large suit drawing several in particular due to its size and the reinforcements behind it. Those weapons are remarkably sharp, too, and more durable than one might expect from crystals. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     "Yeah, yeah, whatever. In the name of humanity, I hereby condemn /you/ all for stealing its future and sealing its potential!" When they move to attack, he opens fire -- The gatling railgun on the right arm, and homing beams of light shoot from the leg packs -- but he can't catch all of them and he seems to be saving his missiles for reinforcements. Though his constructs surge foreward and his mecha's left arm manifests an energy shield of some sort, he can't really protect the whole mecha from hits. He hopes it's tough enough to tank some of this...     The clockwork spiders, meanwhile, spew acid at the angels, and the humanoid golems charge forward, smashing with feet, fists, and crude metal clubs, while the spider-golems try to crush with their great stone legs. The metal unicorns, lastly, try to interpose themselves in the way of the angels' attacks, soaking hits for the other constructs to some extent.     When Beli says to use engulfing attacks, Staren stops firing the railgun and readies his missile launcher -- great balls of plasma fire soon explode near any angels that aren't too close to his allies or constructs! 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     Ayako nods her head once when everyone has gathered. "Better do this now!" She quickly spins in place, brushing the ground in a wide circle around her. Her broom's brush is then waved towards everyone! "Water Bubble!" Spheres of water form around everyone for a moment and then fade away. Yes, even Staren's army gets Ayako's basic barrier that really doesn't do anything but be a foundation for her other barriers.     Ayako sits on her floating broom sidesaddle again once Beli ascends a bit and looks up at her. She nods her head slowly. "Umm... alright..." And then the harp music suddenly appears from the gate. Her eyes go straight to the angels and her head inclines to the side gently. And then they suddenly attack everyone! "H-hey! Geez! Don't just attack people all of a sudden!"     Ayako floats back quickly with a small burst of mist and then quickly gestures around herself with her hands. "Abyssal Water of Coctyus!" A water barrier forms around Ayako that greatly slows the weapons suddenly brandished in her direction by the angels to give Ayako chance to dodge or get behind someone else! 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Floating above the city as she is, Setsuko has a high-angle view of the Powers' arrival, watching in simple silence and listening. The arrival of the powers brings no more response from her than an arched eyebrow at first. Her expression is nothing but calm resolve, and their condemnation does not move the demigod in the least. Even when they form weapons and launch themselves to attack, she is utterly still in the air-     Until the moment a sword-wielding opponent drives a stab straight at her. Her hand moves with superhuman speed-     And the blade meets what seems to be a wall of metal. The full-sized blade of Zanjintou takes shape in less than a second, and the first couple of feet are all she needs to stop the Power's stab outright, turning herself into a blade lock with the massive bulk of her sword fully horizontal. Only then does she speak. "You're the first opponent against whom I'll be testing this blade's full power. Don't disappoint me."     And then the demigod turns and /shoves/, pushing herself out of the clash to give a couple meters' distance. "I suspect that you have none - but all the same, I ask your name, if any. I am Setsuko Kaminagi, Major in the Union Armed Forces Elite Division. And this sword-"     She sweeps her massive weapon around, holding it out behind herself in a ready stance. "-is called Zanjintou."     And then she lunges forward, bringing the colossal blade in a sweeping horizontal slash of sheer, simple brutality. 

:'''{{#var:481|Kirika (481)}} has posed:'''     "You have come to dominate this land and its people, seeking to disrupt the harmony your God has created! You would impose order on those you could be-" And Kirika's train of thought is derailed the moment Staren throws diplomacy to the wind in favor of badass one-liners and explosions.     Kirika herself is less than comfortable facing off against the Holy Host, but judging by what Beli has said before, this is a regretably necessary course of action to be made.     The minute Staren launches off five-rounds rapid at the powers, Kinugiri is removed from its sheath, and Kirika coils up before making a massive leap, running off into the fray with sword drawn.     Her blade raises up just as Kirika sees an attack her way.     "It is time for a devil's blade to slay an angel, regretable as it may be to do so! It-"     A heavenly sword meets steel forged by a masterful smith, infused with the magics of a demigoddess of Kasun. The blade glows with red inscriptions, and Kirika grunts in effort as she fights to stay standing. "-'s name is Kinugiri." 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko--as that angelic figure certainly is--looks up, first, to see Setsuko arrive. Seeing Setsuko fly on her own is still a new thing. The arriving army catches her attention next; those are something she's never actually seen before. Those arriving after her each get a nod, somewhat more pronounced with a glowing, white halo above her head to make that slight bob with her head. Once done, she stands straight once more, and moves her right hand to rest against the pommel of her sword.     It's a subtly aggressive stance, one that knows of conflict soon to occur. It will likely do little to ease the minds of the citizenry, whatever they thought of the "angel's" arrival. Their peace was somewhat distant in her mind, though she hopes fervently that they will not suffer greatly for what must be done here.     The town's guardians appear, in a form as alien as she could have hoped for. She would be confused longer were it not for Beli's explanations. As it is, she'll take heed of that prior experience, as well as Setsuko's stratagem, should an opportunity for that well-present itself.     "We do not bow," comes the calm voice from behind the blanked visor, as one leg moves back and she lowers into a poised crouch, "to your Law." Her sword is brandished high. "Tyrants are unneeded."     Her blade strikes. She slashes, thrusts, twists and carves arcs through the air that seem to defy laws of motion. The soft glow over her armor is bright, now, shining a silver-white visible even through a distance in daylight. Still, for all her magic, it is as she said--difficult. She's not striking for the cores of her nearest opponents, but forcing motion to avoid, and avoiding in turn. Those blades that come at her strike into a swiftly summoned kite shield sharply enough to embed, but she allows nothing to reach through to her with more than a glancing blow, forcefully turning her shield to present unmarred surface to each strike and make it that much harder to withdraw any crystal that strikes into it.     She dances this way and that on pointed feet, the difficulties of balance simply another facet handled by her battle trance as she attracts as much attention as possible. As many foes as she can manage to pull toward her and frustrate at once, between her shield and her sword, before she'll unleash her true weapon for this round.     Her sword strikes, but in the moment it changes direction, it also changes form. A massive hammer, its haft some eight feet long and head large enough to take out a man's torso, swings in a complete circuit to crash into the core of every angel within her reach. 

:'''{{#var:10|Crys Gattz (10)}} has posed:''' Crys Gattz sees the angels they are not how the humans, CASTs and newmans see suicvh things on her world. No they seem alien almost somewhat rmeind her of the falz she looks at them for a moment. She folds her arms. "Your war should have ended with ... the fall of your leaders and tell me?! What of your sins against the world and it's people?!" She summons a weapon it's a huge hulking blade it's entirely made of metal and one might see faint letters near the hilt but it's too hard to make out. Her one good eyes narrow she gets ready to enter the fight. The blade it old very old it's origins are unknown yet ths blade has found it's way into Crys hands almost like it had wanted to fight the Falz with her so long ago. She bring up the 3weapon attemping to use it to defend herself. She breaks into a run with her large blade and tries to get in close enough to one of the angels to strike out with all the force she can muster. 

:'''{{#var:238|Beli Klum (238)}} has posed:'''     The Powers assaulting Staren meet with mixed results. On the one hand, the gatling railgun is too fast for them to avoid completely; its shots pierce through their crystal bodies in more than one spot before the angels shift out of the way, forcing Staren to adjust his aim if he wants to hit them. The homing beams are slightly more effective, for while the Powers suddenly disperse their forms into storms of crystals to let the beams pass through them now and then, a few simply try to shift out of the way, suffering chunks of crystal being blasted away once the curving beams adjust to strike them.     Fortunately, his shield seems durable enough to prevent their assaults from doing too much to him directly. Whips lash at it from a distance, slashing and crashing against its surface from afar as the Powers are held at bay by Staren's constructs. Their thrusting fists and crushing clubs are avoided by further dispersing of the Powers' bodies, but it's not perfect; one club outright crushes the heart of a Power whose dodge was misguided, shattering it with the crack of glass and causing its crystals to tumble to the ground. Its whole form soon vanishes in a mote of light, and a white, ethereal orb rushes from where it was over to Beli. The others prove more skilled: razor-sharp swords seem more than enough to puncture and slice the armor of the constructs in front of them, and while some of the horde of Powers find themselves drenched in acid and plasma that consumes their crystalline bodies, they are relentless, pushing themselves into the constructs with little care for their own safety.     Ayako's water barrier proves to be a surprise to the two Powers that rush toward her. They find themselves abruptly slowed to a crawl, their descending swords falling much slower than before and giving plenty of time for her to evade and find somewhere safe to run to. She won't have too much time, though, at least after that barrier is gone: the Powers have no interest in letting her go that easily, and the moment they find themselves free of the barrier's slowing effects, they rush at her again with musical battle cries to try and stab her through wherever she runs.     The Powers that have been drawn to Setsuko are similarly and abruptly hindered. The one that rushed ahead of the trio finds its thrusting sword suddenly halted against Setsuko's much larger blade, and while they lack faces to express with, the angel's gestures of abrupt frustration and confusion clearly mark its surprise before it begins pushing against the demigod's sword.     It is, of course, a futile effort. The Power is soon hurled back toward its companions, though a beat of its wings stops it before it crashes right into them. Its voice echoes contempt through the elegance of harps as it snaps back to Setsuko. "We are the Powers; we need no name, not under our Lord's grace!"     The sword swings around, but it doesn't find a clear purchase. Instead, the three Powers disperse into a storm of crystals as the massive weapon passes between them, the blade cracking against a few crystals in passing. Rather than arrange into their separate forms, however, the trio shifts and expands into something much larger: a single giant Power formed from three, with all three hearts orbiting in its chest and swords large enough to match Setsuko's forming from each hand. The giant angel lifts its swords before bringing them crashing down on Setsuko. "Now fall, and see the folly of your alliance!" 

:'''{{#var:238|Beli Klum (238)}} has posed:'''     A Power has found itself locked with Kirika, too, its joined hands formed into a crystal halberd of elegant beauty. The weapon's blade is locked just at Kirika's sword, but the angel can push it no further down, not against Kirika's strength. Its voice of harps rings out again. "Our God is the one who leads us to our victory! The Lord Michael shall see to it that darkness is cast from this world, and in our unity, we shall find peace in virtue, not the storms of chaos that aberration embodies!" Abruptly, the angel shifts; its halberd is hoisted up and out of its brief lock, then swung in a horizontal slash to cleave right through Kirika.     The angels, meanwhile, are briefly confused in the face of Kimiko's presence. Her form is angelic, but if she stands with Beli, then she must be an imposter of some sort; her words claim as much. That realization only seems to draw their ire further, as several of the angels rush toward her with weapons at the ready. As planned, six come flying after her, prepared to assault with crystal blades. Strikes come from one angle after another, the angels pursuing her relentlessly as she retreats, blocks, thrusts to force their brief splitting and reforming in a constant delay.     And then she strikes, her hammer swinging around to shatter three of the angels who are too caught by surprise to adjust in time. Three more souls rush toward Beli as their crystal forms disperse in light, while the other three split in time to avoid the crushing hammer striking at their hearts. The resulting storm rushes immediately toward Kimiko again, reforming just in time to thrust at her from three different angles as she's recovering from her last swing.     More shouts are directed from Crys to the angels, and as they rush toward her, they respond in angered harp songs. "Not all of our leaders have fallen, for the grace of Paradiso is not so easily blotted out! Our Lord Gabriel still stands, and by this night's end, he will see you eliminated for your trespasses!" Bladed whips crash against Crys's weapon, but find no purchase on her, and she proceeds to strike against the four that have chosen her as a target. Her huge weapon strikes at them, but one Power's sacrifice helps to dampen the strike, as it forms a shield from its whole body to protect its companions. The strike shatters its form and sends it tumbling away in dozens of pieces, but it grants just enough time for the others to fall back before their lashing whips fall on Crys again from afar.     And what of Beli? The rephaite is currently dealing with a few herself, lashing at them with bursts of scarlet hellfire and swirls of darkness to confuse and disperse their forms. A few strikes hit her, drawing black blood from fresh wounds, but she doesn't allow them to slow her down. She flies, ducks, weaves to try and avoid the brunts of their attacks, all while retaliating where she can against her assailants. The souls that fly toward her from the successes of her allies simply vanish. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren hasn't seen these allies in a fight in a long time, if ever. Kimiko is like a flying angel now, and Setsuko has a giant sword? Okay. He chalks it up to the Multiverse being the Multiverse. He doesn't know it's supposed to be surprising!     "You can't help it, can you? You're bound by your programming." Staren observes somberly. "Well, then we have no choice but to come to blows, until the hazard you present to humanity's freedom is no more!"     Staren's shield is like the projected-energy version of a physical shield, as in the sort of thing a fighter or knight might carry on their arm, rather than a fully-encompassing energy field. Staren tries to block attacks with it, but those that make it past scratch and tear at his armor. Nothing severe... for now.     Staren's retaliation is to fire out another salvo of missiles, seeking out angels that are clumped together or too far from the front lines and then exploding in great plasma fireballs!     New commands are radioed out to the constructs -- The clockwork spiders stay back and spit acid, while the rest focus more on being a defensive line than going on the offensive, though they try to push the angels back when they can (they can't fly? That makes this easier...). Crystal weapons that are sharp enough may slice off parts of the golems -- hacking off a limb or two maims them, while successfully cleaving the torso of one causes it to collapse lifelessly. 

:'''{{#var:10|Crys Gattz (10)}} has posed:''' Crys Gattz weapon clashe with the angel's weapon, and moves quickly twisting her body and moving to keep her self from being able to get one good hit in it's not enough to gt the one she was after. "Go a head, my fuse is short anyway." Crys twists again as the whips come in but this time she's not quite quick enough and the hit her some of them are dampened by the photon field others of them are not as she's hit pretty hard and she's also bleeding a bit given they managd to bypass the field that protects her. She still standing and she raises one hand off the blde and mutters somethingl. "RA Foie!" There;'s an explosion of flame about her homing in on those angels that have got too close but it's clear they got her good. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     "Disappointing," Setsuko replies simply. "I would have expected warriors championing a force of goodness and light to hold more respect for their opponents." She allows the mass of Zanjintou to carry her through a half turn, and then shifts the momentum to dance through the air back away, all in one fluid movement that leaves only the smallest of gaps for attack. By the time she's retaken her 'stance' in the air, her trio of opponents have taken a much larger, singular shape, one swinging weapons each a match in size for her own blade. Size, to be certain... but not power.     The demigod whips Zanjintou up in a lightning-fast block, planting one hand on the flat of the blade and letting its sheer surface area serve as a shield against the two-handed overhead strike. Despite her utterly inferior size, she has the strength to stop the attack cold, arms quaking briefly with the effort of holding it steady. But only briefly. For after just a moment of that block, she allows Zanjintou's full-sized blade to disperse entirely hurling herself right up through the gap between swords, close enough for the crystals to scrape shallow cuts all along her shoulders as she passes. But it allows her to lunge up above the Power's guard, and in the next heartbeat, Zanjintou has retaken its massive shape, and the swordswoman hauls her sword around in a diagonal power slash aimed straight for her opponent's 'head'. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     "They AREN'T championing a force of goodness and light, that's why we're fighting them!" Staren observes, to Setsuko. 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     Another blast of mist flies from the brush of Ayako's broom as she takes the opportunity to fly off on her broom in the direction of Staren's constructs. Her sphereical barrier goes with her to help her evade any pursuers. She moves towards the constructs, trying to lead any tunnel-visioned Powers into the defensive strikes of the constructs. It seems she's trying to get behind the defensive line!     As she flies over the wall of constructs, her right hand goes over her head and grabs her witch hat. She flings it down towards them-and the barrier goes with it! Upon hitting the ground, the sphereical barrier quickly turns into a single concave dark bluish shield to help fortify the line.     Once behind the constructs, she pulls another witch hat out of her muffler and plops it onto her head. She then cups her hands in front of her body and starts focusing. It's going to take a moment to make enough gray Healing Water for these defenders! 

:'''{{#var:481|Kirika (481)}} has posed:'''     "Your god is mistaken." Kirika growls simply. She is having none of this dogmatic shit, regardless of what she was taught about rights to religion. Right now, what matters is taking that Power out.     She mutters something unladylike under her breath as the Power slashes its halberd at her, moving to evade by leaping back. Its weapon gives it a hell of a lot better range against her blade, and she knows for a fact fighting someone with a polearm when all you have is three feet of steel is suicidal, magic sword or no.     So she plays it smart, backing far as she can afford to before launching a firebolt the Power's say, then another for good measure. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko is good at little if not at knowing how to roll with a blow. Sadly, the lack of feet make this particularly difficult. Ankles are useful things, and she rather lacks them at the moment, as hindered as they would be by any armor. The storm of crystals is confusing to look at, and yet more confusing to determine how to counter, even with reflexes as sharp as hers. When her strike fails to bring down more than half her intended targets, her best effort is to strike the ground, using her weapon as a lever throw herself back and out of the way.     The hammer is large, and her speed is slowed. Rolling with the strike as she is, her opponents' weapons still reach her, if at reduced force. She's about to find out just how well angelic armor stands to angelic weapons--though in this case, she's little expectation. Those crystals look too physical to be worried over mystical alignments.     Yet, it holds, magic reinforcing what material may lack. She feels the sharp impacts, but is spared the more agonizing (and distressingly familiar) feeling of sharp implements being thrust through her chest. She's knocked yet further back, to be sure, but she lets herself fly, knowing this will make it that much harder to penetrate her defenses in a single blow. Her hammer is lost from her grip, and her "wings" are sadly useless for actually stabilizing her imminent crash.     On the other hand, her grip is strong and dextrous. She thrusts her fist into the ground hard enough to break concrete, and certainly hard enough to slow, then halt her fall, turning her momentum into a spinning kick aimed with lethal intent at her nearest pursuer. She spares only one more strike with the opposite leg before leaping back to her feet, such as they are, and then taking off at a full run. Not toward her remaining opponents, no. Her run seems to ignore them entirely as she fairly flies across the battlefield, taking a circuitous, dodging route that finally takes her to Kirika's opponent, against whom she aims a blow of her first--which has suddenly sprouted a decidedly wicked set of spikes, as if grafted over the gauntlet's angelic base. 

:'''{{#var:238|Beli Klum (238)}} has posed:'''     Unfortunately, the angels do, in fact, fly. Lacking legs as they do, that seems to be about all they /can/ do. Nonetheless, Staren's forward push is effective; the salvo of missiles manage to get clumps of the angels, shattering crystals and cores alike to send more souls Beli's way, and those that were already weakened by acid and plasma are only eaten away further until they find themselves force to fall back. Directly pushing through Staren's forces isn't working, apparently. Time to shift tactics.     As if on cue, several more Powers emerge from the gate to replace the forces that have fallen in battle, joined by those that have given chase to the fleeing Ayako. Those fighting Staren fly up, rising above the scientist and his own army, and, once joined by the new forces, they disperse. The storm of sharp crystals, however, isn't mean to defend, but attack. They fall from above in a spreading rain of blades, each crystal relatively small but falling with such density and speed that they prove to be a great risk nonetheless as they try to fall over Staren's entire army, including Staren himself and Ayako. The cores, meanwhile, remain floating higher above the army, hopefully in safety.     Crys's explosion of flame is another effective assault. The roiling flames blast into the grouping of Powers, rushing through their assembled forms to engulf their cores in roiling fire. It's clearly effective in the way they give pained harp songs, their cores cracking and soon shattering under the intense heat. Three more souls are sent toward Beli, but Crys is given only a moment to breathe: two more Powers emerge from the gate and immediately disperse, hurling their crystals at her in a concentrated storm like razor-sharp bullets.     The giant Power assaulting Setsuko finds its strike blocked, but only for a moment; in that brief recovery, Setsuko suddenly rushes between the twin swords as they continue their cleaving descent. Before the Power can adjust, Setsuko is right in its face, and a quick cleave of her sword slashes right through its head, cutting through many crystals in its assault. The angel gives a disjointed thrum of harps as it staggers backward, though its head doesn't seem to fall apart. Rather, its whole /body/ shifts, dispersing into another storm of color that swirls around Setsuko before settling into the form of a gigantic serpent with is cores serving as three 'eyes' on its head. The angel attempts to constrict Setsuko in its coils, but those are not only crushing; the mass is bladed as well, slicing and grinding with every squeeze it offers.     The first bolt fired by Kirika is avoided, of course, by the dispersing Power, but it's the second that finds its mark. Dispersing as it does exposes the Power's core, and while it tries to shift out of the way, that blast shatters through a good half of it mass, leaking light and mist from the wound. Just before the angel can reform, however, Kimiko comes in with a blow that shatters the rest of the core, sending the Power's crystals tumbling to the ground before its whole form disperses in light. Another soul is sent to Beli...and several more Powers emerge from the gate, too. With whips as their weapons, they send crossed lashes at Kirika, while Kimiko's pursuers catch up to her. One had found itself shattered and briefly stunned by her thrusting kicks, but the other two have formed halberds of their own to try and stab through her from behind, pinning her to the ground if they can manage it. 

:'''{{#var:238|Beli Klum (238)}} has posed:'''     Beli, meanwhile, has continued leading her pursuers in a careful dance through the air, but it soon comes to a halt as she whirls around to face them. With a shout, her left arm is thrust toward the grouping of angels, and all at once, she consumes them in a swirling blast of hellfire. The angels are consumed, shouting their pain before falling silent again. Those, too, vanish in motes of light, their souls sent toward Beli as she pants and gasps for a moment's breath.     It's a moment she isn't spared, however; a brilliant light forms from the gate, and soon the archangel of charity shows himself, slipping free from the smokey portal in all his shimmering glory.     BGM: http://goo.gl/YZaCPY     Like the Powers, Gabriel appears to be made entirely of radiant and separate crystals, but these resolve into a more human shape, albeit one that is extremely tall and slender. Even more significant is his heart, which holds such radiance that it makes his entire form glimmer with many brilliant colors. His feet taper into points, and from his back extend four of those same abstract, floating wings like crystalline windchimes with light trailing off each 'feather' in radiant bands. His halo is formed similarly to those of the Powers, but what is very different is his weapon: a long spear whose head is a similar collection of those orbiting crystals hovers where his right hand would be, and as he floats free from the gate, he casts it to the side in a defiant, regal gesture.     Without a moment more to spare, the archangel rushes toward Beli with a resplendant harp's song. The crystals at the end of his staff suddenly arrange into a long scythe's blade that he sweeps to impale Beli right through. The rephaite, however, is quick to protect herself: while not the best move available to her, she casts up a wall of darkness beside her, the pitch-black shadow hardening into a barrier that catches Gabriel's blade. Beli is knocked aside in the process, wincing along the way, but she manages to stay in the air as Gabriel twirls his weapon and braces it for another attack. "You should have kept your head low, abomination," Gabriel remarks, his voice full of contempt. "Now that you threaten our peace directly, we have no choice but to cast your stain from this world, as should have been done long ago."     Beli just gives a hateful snarl to the archangel. She says nothing; her response comes in the rush of dark spears that fly at Gabriel, each one quickly parried aside by an expert twirl of his weapon. 

:'''{{#var:481|Kirika (481)}} has posed:'''     Kirika can fight and evade as much as she can, but she's not good enough to dodge that many whips at once. The half-kitsune is snared in the Powers' lashing whips, three of them wrapping around her leg, her wrist, and her neck as the fourth strikes her across the back. Flesh is flayed from Kirika's back, and she lets out a howl of pain as she struggles to keep conscious and fighting.     Gritting her teeth, she tries to slash at one of the whips holding her down while she has a chance to cut herself free before another whip strikes her.     This isn't going well. 

:'''{{#var:10|Crys Gattz (10)}} has posed:''' Crys Gattz is not giving much time to breath but she takes what she can she does see Beli sucking up the souls, it's a good thing she's got an idea of what's actually going on with them and not that she's just going to devour souls, right? Anyhow Crys comes under attack and the huge blade is banished a smaller one appearing in hand the SB saber humms to live as Deelel move to intercept and parry many of the incomming crystals at her, cutting them apart or defelcting them away from her self. "So ... you keep coming?" Those who'd know crys would find it odd she normlly barely talks during fights, she's being a postive chatter box today, it's kinda odd. "SAVARIT!" Her mag appears hovering at her shoulder and then she summons something a creature of light that looks like a stag forms up bside her and raises it's head high raining light beams which are like lasers down upon the Power's attacking her. 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     Ayako's gaze turns upwards at the large amount of crystals threatening to rain on Staren's forces and herself! With the cores far above them in the air. She stops cupping her hands in front of her body and wrings them in front of herself.     "Hey! That's cheating!" Ayako puffs her cheeks out and pouts. "Fine, I'll cheat too!" She grabs the broomstick she's sitting on with both hands and slams the brush into the ground. It doesn't appear to have done anything-and Ayako quickly darts close to a construct to shield her from the raining crystals! Even so, she still gets scratched and slashed up quite a bit by them. Said wounds bleed a little bit of water, but her appearance rapidly begins to reform to seemingly 'heal'.     And then the ground starts to rattle. Every single water main in a thirty meter radius suddenly bursts and water geysers up from the streets! Ayako's gaze goes straight up to Staren! "Staren! It's up to you now!" The broom's brush is moved to point straight up at the giant robot Staren is piloting. "Here's one for guns! Bullet Maelstrom!" The water geysering up from the streets suddenly swirls up and around in front of Staren's giant robot, the whirlpool's wide maw extending out from in front of the robot and pointing towards the gate.     Any bullet that goes through that is going to be far, far more powerful than normal! 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko doesn't normally give off much of an indication as to when she's pulling out her strength, until the form of her efforts materializes. The Paradiso armor changes that, to what little good the warning will do those attacking her. Rather than turn to face her attackers, she uses her mobility to its best. The blows to her back are too shallow, falling too short to bring her down, hard though their impacts may be felt as they dent the heavenly material inward. Her next leap comes up with a new hammer, though shorter than the previous. With this she spins end over accelerating end, and strikes forward, against the ground.     The ground craters more than it cracks, a resounding crash that sends fissures in every direction, a network of cracks criss-crossing as the city's grounds are wrecked in a terraforming blow.     The angels can fly, of course. To disrupt their footing is not her arm. It's the storm of knives that erupt from those cracks that are her true attack. Like an eruption under pressure, the cutting stream surrounds and intersects the positions of both her pursuers and the whip-wielding opponents Kirika faces, stopping barely short of the latter's position.     From the center of that brief maelstrom, Kimiko rockets upward. She's still not flying, as it's only her legs that propel her--along with the quickly disappearing spell circle at the center of her crater. Before she can noticeably slow, she's leaping again, leaving another circle mid-air. Another, and another, and she's carried high enough to reach the position of Setsuko and her airborne opponents. There's not the barest moment to rest, now--her magic won't let her stand. She can only move without ceasing, a shield in one hand and a lance in the other, charging into and /through/ any opponent that comes Setsuko's way, not heeding the impacts, seeking only to disrupt and crash against, again and again. If she can hold their attention, that's enough. She's prepared to be wounded in turn. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     The form of a massive snake is one Setsuko can't quite defend against with so little warning, not when she's fighting conservatively. It has too easy of a time getting around her, the crystals crushing and gouging at the same time; while her previous wounds were shallow enough that they've already stopped bleeding, these bite deeper, drawing a hiss of pain and annoyance from the demigod. But the reinforcements have proved enough of an issue that Beli has called for something drastic, and that call sets the swordswoman's face into a mask of resolve.     "I'm sorry. I don't have any more time to waste here."     As she is now, Setsuko no longer shows her aura by nature. All the power that once boiled off her is now bound up in every fiber of her being and every inch of her sword. But that doesn't mean that she cannot still apply it as she once did. With no warning, there is an explosive rush of divinity in every direction, Setsuko whirling herself around with her blade and blasting a concussive burst of blue divine power at every single shard squeezing in around her. The Zanjinto lashes out, left and right, but it's a clearing strategy more than an actual attack. She's giving herself just enough room to hurl herself skyward, trusting Kimiko to deter the giant Power from pursuing.     And so she does, launching straight for the clouds, putting every ounce of her power into rising high and fast. Fast enough that twin jets of blue erupt from her shoulder blades, downward fountans that almost seem like wings in a way, carrying her to the heavens as if that were where she belonged. "And with the speed of a shining cloud...!" There is a moment at the very height of her arc, a moment wherein the divine thrust ceases and she is left high above all as if floating. "ZANJINTOU..."     Her voice rings out in the moment she finally turns herself over and descends. And if her rise was as a god's, her fall is as a meteor, the power of flight interweaving with the pull of gravity, the swordswoman pushing her fall to terminal velocity in a heartbeat - and then far beyond. Down she descends, a falling bullet, the massive blade of her sword held high above her as she goes, every second of her fall adding more and more speed, more and more power to the inevitable moment when her impossible plummet takes her straight to the top of the heavenly arch. And in that very last instant, at precisely the perfect moment to transfer every last newton of force into a single overwhelming strike with a divine sword strong enough to carve steel like tissue- "ITTOU RYOUDAN!!"     -Setsuko Kaminagi swings her blade. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Some part of Staren is elated that he's pushing them back, but it's subsumed by his focus on analyzing and directing the battle. When the angels fly up, Staren sends up yet another salvo of missiles to greet them, but that's probably not enough to take care of them. When he sees them spread into a cloud of crystals, he realizes what's up, raising the Star Hawk's shield over its head and commanding the larger spider-constructs to move back and the smaller ones to dive under them for cover!     The shield saves his mecha, and the larger spiders save the clockworks, but most of Staren's army is destroyed in one fell swoop -- sliced-and-diced unicorn statues fall in pieces to the ground, while a couple of the stone constructs crack and fall to pieces.     Curiously, when a stone spider cracks apart, it reveals an inactive clockwork spider as its core.     Staren stares at the devastation of his army, the mecha's shield arm drawing a beam saber and slashing at the crystals on the ground -- but when Staren realizes he doesn't see any cores down there, more missiles and a spray of railgun fire are sent up to the sky to deal with them.     And then a new threat emerges: An archangel that attacks Beli. Staren's ready to charge in against Gabriel, but there's a change in plans as their objective is     chw">DESTROY THE GATE! 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     The spider-constructs and remaining humanoids run for it, skittering back down the road, spitting acid at any pursuers.     As for Staren's mecha, it deactivates its shield and puts its missile pod back on the holder clips on its arm, to free up use of its hands. The right shoulder pack opens up and unfolds, expanding out into a long-barreled rifle-looking weapon. A track on the Star Hawk's shoulder allows it to rotate into a horizontal position, the mecha's hands steadying and aiming it at the gate while shifting its feet into a steady stan     cGx">ANTI-WIRELESS RAILGUN 20%      Panels with stabilization thrusters open along the barrel, and laser drills in the Star Hawk's feet burn holes in the ground so that stabilization pylons may be deployed.     ANTI-WIRELESS RAILGUN 40%     Normally, Staren has to aim with precision. This time, his target is a stationary object! Staren shifts the rifle slightly, moving the targeting reticle on his HUD over the side of the gate.     ANTI-WIRELESS RAILGUN 60%     "C'mon..." Staren mutters impatiently as he waits for the capacitor banks to charge. "Thanks, Ayako!"     ANTI-WIRELESS RAILGUN 80%     Those who can sense such things might sense magic on the massive railrifle -- the entire weapon has been enchanted, magic joining science to pack as much power as possible and to exploit the weakness of the weapon's original target. Inside the chamber sits a warhead containing a bomb, not of chemical or nuclear power but of magic -- crystals charged with opposing elemental energies, that will explode with great force when combined. Not to mention the kinetic force of impact, nanoseconds before the explosion. On the front of the round is a laser drill, to vaporise a tunnel into the target so the bomb can blow it apart from inside.     ANTI-WIRELESS RAILGUN 100%     Staren exhales, and holds out his breath, as he holds the reticle still and begins to squeeze the trigger. At the Star Hawk's feet, attachments to the feet laser drill into the ground and deploy pylons deep within as stabilizers.     Now.     The Star Hawk's thrusters fire to hold it stable and counteract the force of the railcannon. All that electricity is dumped in a tiny fraction of a second to produce incredible current and incredible force. The enchanted railgun transfers not only kinetic energy, but magically-enhanced power and accuracy to the warhead that's launched straight up into the air at several times the speed of sound. And of course, now it's enhanced by Ayako's magic too! The round moves through the air so quickly that there is nothing to see but a streak of fire and smoke, like one long explosion, and a great boom. And, of course, if the warhead operates as planned, there should be some impressive fireworks at that arch. 

:'''{{#var:238|Beli Klum (238)}} has posed:'''     Kirika's slash helps disperse the whips lashing at her, but they aren't exactly severed. It gives her some space to recover, at least, and perhaps some more time to retreat...particularly when Kimiko comes to help. That erupting storm of knives rockets up into the air, consuming the Powers around them in a strange reversal of the tactics they've been using themselves. Separating their bodies isn't so useful here; the knives blast upward, blocking off a couple of the Powers and consuming those that are placed poorly to have their cores shot through. More souls move over to Beli, and for now, Kirika is spared.     The Powers assaulting Crys seem to gain a moment or two of the upper hand as they fire their constant barrage at her, but once their shards are all spent and they try to reassemble themselves, the advantage is completely lost. The stag's barrage of beams rain down on the cores trying to rebuild their bodies, crashing through them and obliterating them in the process. The Powers raining down on Staren and Ayako face a similar fate, their cores being shattered and exploded in the salvo Staren sends up at them.     The giant Power Setsuko has been dealing with suddenly finds itself greatly damaged by that sudden swirling explosion of power. Most of the serpent's lower body is shattered, crystal shards raining harmlessly down on the streets below, freeing her at least for the moment to rush upward. The serpent's lingering head gives a tinkling bird's song of anger, but as it rushes after Setsuko again, mouth agape, it finds itself faced with Kimiko. The Puella's lance crashes through its head, shattering and dispersing its form again. The storm of crystals attempts to re-orient itself to face her, but as it solidifies again, she charges once more to disrupt it. A few more Powers have slipped through the gate again to join the fray, but in their efforts to subdue Kimiko, they face an all too similar fate amid their attepts to cut her down again and again.     Fortunately, Gabriel is too occupied with Beli to turn his attention to the people trying to destroy the gate. As he rushes toward her once more, his scythe rearranges itself into a glaive, and before Beli can move aside completely, she finds herself run through the stomach with it. The rephaite gasps in pain, black blood like tar slipping down the archangel's blade...but she isn't down yet. She's taken worse than this and stayed standing, after all. This close, she manages to look up at Gabriel and offer a bloody snarl before another rush of darkness comes in, shattering the hilt of his weapon in a powerful blunt strike.     ...but as Gabriel falls back slightly, the broken end he holds actually regrows itself. It extends up into another crystal glaive, and as shock and surprise flit over Beli's expression, he thrusts this new one in to join the first, grabbing both to rush forward and pin her against a building's wall with both polearms. 

:'''{{#var:238|Beli Klum (238)}} has posed:'''     However, as successful as that may be, it's not a complete victory.     In the next moment, Setsuko cleaves down through the gate's center, slicing it clean in half. At the same time, its power accentuated by the swirling whirlpool formed by Ayako, Staren's cannon fires a single shot of incredible force that speeds through the air, crashing right into the side of the arch. The resulting explosion consumes a good portion of the gigantic structure...and, after a moment more, the portal dissolves and the gate begins to collapse. First the half that was weakened by Staren's shot, its structure tumbling down in a cascade of gigantic chunks and shards, and then the other half, imbalanced and forced to crumble without anything to support it. Debris and clouds roll up, sending a wave of rushing wind through the city streets and tumbling white debris.     Gabriel's attention is swiftly drawn back to the destroyed gate. His shock is clear in his silence, and then the resulting rage that echoes in his voice. "Wh...NO! What have you done?! That was-!"     Whatever he was next about to say is quickly silenced, as a spear of darkness thrusts through his chest and pierces the glimmering orb at his heart. The archangel freezes, silent for a brief moment, before his form steadily falls apart, pieces cascading down to the earth. Soon enough, those pieces and the remains of his weapon dissolve in flashes of light, though he leaves no soul behind. At least it frees Beli from being pinned; the rephaite catches herself in her fall, wings spreading to steadily descend to the ground despite the pain lingering in her expression.     There are only a few angels left, now, easy enough to clear up. And the sky's strange light is steadily fading, giving way to a more natural night, letting evening's shadows linger as they should instead of the overwhelming radiance of Paradiso's influence. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     Setsuko's momentum carries her through, straight down to the ground, in a crash-landing hard enough to crater whatever asphalt or concrete her feet may slam into. The tremendous force of her descent can have no other conclusion; but even so she lands boots-first, and sweeps her massive sword up into a perfect vertical, declaring with the tone of ritual, "There is nothing my Zanjintou cannot cut!"     And then the blade disperses, the weapon returning itself to its katana form as the silver-haired woman turns and launches into the sky once again, headed straight for Kimiko to fall in step on clearing out the remaining angels. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     After the shot, vents at the back of the rifle expel a cloud of vaporized coolant.     Staren's focus was on the gate, so he didn't see Beli get stabbed. Indeed, he lets out a sigh of relief when the portal dissolves, finally looking between his allies... "Beli!" He turns to aid her, then has to steady the machine against the sudden winds. By the time he recovers and has put the sniper railgun away, she has slain Gabriel. "Are you alright?" The mecha huries over.     He's content to let the remaining angels run. If they make a nuisance of themselves, though, they will be swiftly destroyed.     When she transmits that she's fine, he nods, the machine echoing the gesture. "So... how many more of these gates do we need to destroy?" 

:'''{{#var:481|Kirika (481)}} has posed:'''     Kirika manages to slip out of her bonds, before she sees Setsuko carry out a seriously epic feat of swording things. "...impressive." She comments, wincing from her wound as skin knits itself together. When she's good to go, Kirika notices the remaining angels, and then she takes off towards them with sword in hand.     Blade slashing at the divine warriors, Kirika leaves behind burning slashes as she goes to work on these things, her technique impeccable despite her wounds. The half-kitsune's suit jacket practically flies off, followed by her shirt. Thankfully her tank top seems to have stayed on, but it's clear her tailor is going to be PISSED when he sees this. 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     Ayako glances up into the air as she watches the aerial battle taking place as she holds the maelstrom in place. It's all she can do until Staren fires! And winces visibly when Beli is run through the stomach with Gabriel's glaive. She hops back onto her broomstick, but can't do anything else... And then Setsuko cleaves the gate cleanly in half, followed by Staren firing! The swirlling whirlpool in front of the giant robot Staren is piloting disipates quickly after boosting that one shot.     The very moment that her boosting barrier falls, Ayako emits a burst of mist from her broomstick's brush flies quickly through one of the now quieting geysers of water. She sighs softly in relief as the moves through the water and then glances up quickly at Beli up in the sky. To witness her finish off the archangel. Her broomstick is pulled up quickly and yet another burst of mist accelerates her towards the slowly decenting Beli. "Beli!"     Ayako's hands cup together in front of herself and purple healing water quickly fills her hands. "Healing Water!" She quickly flings the water at Beli's nasty-looking wound to heal it! 

:'''{{#var:10|Crys Gattz (10)}} has posed:''' Crys Gattz is able to take zome of them down and she notices others are falling but she wonders how many are coming and well Gabriel is very busy with Beli so there's not much she can do about this save she can seem to turn her head at the commenbt of what they'd done. "They are no longer fuel for your war." She says before readying her weapon to look at things as they seem to be getting back to normal. "We got to boot both sides off the world and lets be honest both places are going to make a play for here..." She pauses to see that Beli got pretty mauled in that fight and she baihses her wepaons to go to see if they are all right. "Beli?!" However it seems Ayako and possibly others are the job. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko is using a power-intensive technique rather unlike her usual, for the sake of buying time--which means she has to keep using it. She seems fine from her motions, but it will cost her some extensive downtime later, especially so soon after a certain business involving a Dead Apostle and a darkness-amplifying field magic.     But for now, she charges and strikes, again and again, even as the crystals strike and batter her, seeking to impale, or run furrows against her plates. They've yet to succeed, her armor holding, but some force is always transferred through. She can't avoid feeling it and still fight with all her senses intact, as much as adrenaline dulls the pain.     With Setsuko to help, it's just a mop-up operation, to bring down the last few that came through the gate before it could be shut down, cutting off the city from Paradiso. Little enough chance they can't readily deal with it--until one of the last Powers lands a luckier blow than most, striking the spread protective plates over Kimiko's knee, denting a point just hard enough to lock the joint into position. Despite the wings that appear at her back, she isn't flying, but repeatedly jumping, her magic making momentary surfaces. With just one working leg and her hands full, that plan falls through, as does she, as an armored mass likely to leave another crater in the ground below. 

:'''{{#var:255|Setsuko Kaminagi (255)}} has posed:'''     She never hits the ground. In the blink of an eye, Zanjintou is in its sheath, and a pair of bare, scarred arms have caught Kimiko neatly and effortlessly.     "It feels strange being able to catch you in mid-air like this," she remarks idly, looking skyward to the angel. "Can you fix the joint quickly?" 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     *FOOM*     Staren grabs his missile pod and fires another missile at the angel responsible. Since they /didn't/ run, he starts spraying railgun fire at the others. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko is caught. "A-ah, just... give me a second, I'll be fine." It's all she needs, really. A little uninterrupted time to concentrate on figuring out how to smooth over the dented material with her magic. It's resistant, given how tough the stuff is, and even without impending collision with the Earth distracting her, it takes her longer to fix than it would have for her to hit the ground. Though, she is still a little distracted. 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     Ayako wheels her broom back around and another burst of mist sends her flying towards Setsuko and Kimiko. "Oh very nice catch! Here you go! Healing Water!" She flings the purple water at the injured Kimiko's knee so that once the dented armor is fixed, so will her knee. 

:'''{{#var:238|Beli Klum (238)}} has posed:'''     The remaining Powers are easily swept up with a few more focused efforts. More souls are carried along to Beli, pulling some more people from their enforced roles as angels...save for one. But that will be addressed shortly.     Beli's descent is slow, but she fortunately stays out of the way of the gusts of wind before they vanish. Staren's concerns are answered with the brief lift of her hand and reassurances over the radio, and, soon enough, she finds a stumbling landing on the ground. Again she winces, but before she can do too much more, Ayako rushes in to toss healing water into the deep wounds in her stomach. The angelic demon yelps softly in surprise, but not pain; she only looks down at the wounds as they steadily seal up, blinking in brief confusion. "...wow. Thank you, Ayako, that is...very helpful." Her head lifts, and she smiles a little to the watery girl as the flames in her halos and the sheen on her wings fade away. "I do have my seraphic flames to heal, but...I am very grateful not to have to expend more energy myself."     Beli's head turns just in time to see Kimiko falling at a very uncontrolled rate. Beli's eyes widen, and she looks ready to bolt over and try to help, but it seems Setsuko has taken care of it. Another well-aimed missile shatters the remaining angel as it rushes down in a last desperate attempt to finish its work, briefly raining down opalescent sparkles around Setsuko and Kimiko. It's enough to let Beli breathe a sigh of relief, at least, before turning back toward the ruins of the gate.     All things considered, the hybrid can't help but smile to herself a little more when she looks up at the sky. "...it is...normal," she remarks, almost in awe. "Perhaps...that is another key, rather than trying to kill their leaders..."     The rephaite gives a soft sigh, then, when Staren asks about the gates. She looks up toward him, her smile fading a little. "...well. There is...one for every large, concentrated population on Earth, mostly cities and town. So..." A frown. "...a few hundred, I guess?"     The rephaite straightens up a little more. She's still a little sore, it seems, but Ayako's healing has certainly taken care of the worst of it. "Gabriel has not died, either. That was only a projection of his power, so that his true body would not be at risk. I doubt he will be very happy about this whole thing next time we see him. In the meantime, though, I guess neither Paradiso nor Inferno should be able to actually hold this city without a gate sitting in it. Not that I know if they can simply rebuild it or not...or what they will choose to do if they cannot..."     Another sigh. Beli's hand lifts to rub the back of her head as she turns back to her allies. "Well. I am very grateful to have had your assistance, all of you. I suppose...we will have to see what comes from here, then. For now, I think this is a victory, all things considered." 

:'''{{#var:481|Kirika (481)}} has posed:'''     Kirika finishes the last of the angels, and by the time everything is done, she's already sheathed her blade in appropriately dramatic fashion, flipping her blade in reverse and sliding it in the sheath in a crouched position.     She links up with the others, observing Ayako as she heals the wounded with a nod to Beli. "She's quite useful in that regard, aye." She manages a smile, her own wounds not needing quite a much attention, but her back could use some patching up from a dedicated healer despite Kirika's powers.     However her mood darkens, a frown creeping across Kirika's face as Beli explains. "A war between Hell and Heaven, with mankind in the middle...as it will inevitably be." She shakes her head, sighing in regret. "We'll be here to assist you, the next time battle comes to this world, Beli Klum." promises Kirika, gripping the hilt of her blade tight. 

:'''{{#var:10|Crys Gattz (10)}} has posed:''' Crys Gattz listens at the number of gates she thinks for a moment they should hit the largest ones first and work theere way down she mused for a moment. She wonders for a moment about GAbirel but it looks like things are going to get messy with him. "They may attempt to deny the enemy resources." A cold way of putting it, Crys didn't mean it as such but she's tyring to not think too hard of them purging things. She takes a deep breath. 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     Ayako smiles cheerfully back at Beli. "You're always welcome, Beli!" She nods her head quickly, and quickly begins checking everyone else for injuries. Several balls of healing water of various colors materialize around her, most of them purple however, as she checks up on Kimiko's knee. She quietly douses Setsuko's wounds with a ball or two while she's nearby and then floats over to Kirika. After a careful look at Kirika... she startles at her back and swiftly heals Kirika's wounds.     Ayako then winces as she listens. "Several hundred gates... this..." She nods her head once quickly. "Un! If I can be of help, please let me know, Beli!" Followed by a bright smile. 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     Ayako sheepishly floats over to the water pipes she broke, and fixes the flow of water and starts fixing the pipes and street with gray healing water. "Sorry, city..." She hops off her broomstick and bows politely downards towards the ground as she curtsies. "But!" She perks up. "You have to admit. They were cheaaaaaating." Ayako nods her head quickly as she gets to work. "Cheaters." Her tongue sticks out playfully. Why yes, she is talking to the city. 

}}

934/NODE: Game of Souls E03

2014-12-12T05:40:55Z

Kimiko: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2014/11/07 |Location=The Homeworld |Synopsis=Node scene. Oh, and the Dark Lord is a woman. |Thanks= |Cast of Characters=1, 6, 38, 42, 73, 151, 215,..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2014/11/07
|Location=The Homeworld
|Synopsis=Node scene. Oh, and the Dark Lord is a woman.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=1, 6, 38, 42, 73, 151, 215, 317, 347, 570
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     There is no gate today. No door and hallway acts as the entryway to the Node proper. Rather, all there is is a simple IP address - the IP behind the URL of Abstractum.Net - and a port therein, though port 111111 is technically not one that ANYONE should be using, right?     That doesn't much matter. What's relevant for now is that when they join, even without Kirito doing any fussing with logins, the server recognizes him as the leader of a lobby; the others are forced into pending connections as they wait for him to approve them individually. And, apparently, to actually download the game client for this server. It looks like he still has control over who gets to access his Node! Just like anyone else. Even the Abstractum seem to be connecting, though they seem to be doing it on another port. It looks like they'll be along too.     The game's a small download for multiversal broadbands. Upon full connection, several things are immediately obvious to the group. The first is that each of them are being given options to create or import characters. Those who have played ALO are given the option to import their characters; others are given ALO-like character creation options, and most (those among the group that are actually, you know, human) are given the default of presenting themselves as simple humans with their real-life appearance. Even those who have AmuSphere, and should not have their real-life appearance visible. Hmm. No classes or anything like that; one has to assume there's a certain degree of skill translation, or that it works like ALO, where all that skills do is let you equip a wider range of mostly-equal weaponry.     Once everything is worked out, though, the group is going to find its spawning point is particularly unusual. It is... What appears to be a massive, dark throne room. Huge obsidian spikes from the ceiling and floor make massive, sweeping columns to support the chamber. Around the room is a ring of boiling lava that emits a soft, warm, cozy kind of heat, with a bridge leading over it from the main entrance, which is a carved stone door about five stories tall and extremely wide. Massive firey wrought-iron torches burn pitch, attached to the walls. It looks very, very much like a final boss room.     There is also a humanoid figure here, who looks very much like a final boss sort of fellow. A titanic human, at least ten feet tall, clad in jet-black plate armor. It is the very cliche of the dark lord, with a shadowy helm that bares vicious spikes, intimidating pauldrons, sleek and cruel-looking gauntlets, and a powerful, black, burning aura, with a titanic mace clasped in one hand and two deep red fires visible under the helm. They sit on a throne at least a story tall, which bristles with black spikes.     "Oh, welcome back." The Lord of Shadow says. Their gravelly voice and reverberating tones are familiar to Kirito and those who have joined before. Pure evil. But, friendly, like a co-worker, or a roommate. "Good to see you again. We're thankfully not being raided again at the moment, at least not more than we can handle. We've managed to prepare a few teleportation spells for you since your last visit. We've managed to replicate the one that my Archmage's assistant used to escape the tower destruction, to take you wherever he went, and we're at work on other locations that may be good to start on taking on the other 'players'. But is there anything else you're wanting to look into, or that we can help with?"     Such a friendly evil overlord looking person. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren arrives, as usual, as an avatar that looks just like himself if he beat up some Wayne Reynolds artwork and stole its clothes. This involves a coat worn over leather and a questionable number of belts. There are also goggles. On his left arm, of course, is Eureka, the brass-colored segmented gauntlet with an armored plate and wires running along the back and a blue crystal eye behind the wrist.     On arrival, Staren gives the Lord of Shadow a friendly nod and a wave. "Good to hear. We've gathered some more information on the players, but we've yet to test a way to enter their realm. I was hoping to see if we could find the Archmage's Assistant... although, thinking of that... Why haven't they contacted you? Was there no procedure in place for the event of the Archmage's fall?" 

:'''{{#var:215|Iria (215)}} has posed:'''     Also arriving rather quickly is none other than Iria herself. Her avatar looks just like the one from ALO, although a few minor cosmetic changes have occurred. Aside from that, it's still the same Iria everyone knows and loves... or something to that effect. Regardless, Iria enters the area rather quickly and looks around, before seeing the Lord of Shadow. She gives a slight nod, but little else.     When the Lord finishes speaking, Iria gives another nod, but says little else for the time being. Instead, she simply folds her arms and stands there, looking a tad bit on the impatient side at the moment. It seems she's eager to get things on. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley logs in, with the suitable animation for appearing in the game. She appears to be wearing that leather armor she tends to wear during certain adventures, and she has her longsword and daggers, but she also has a cape that covers most of her body, with only her lizardy toes visible under the lightly-swaying cloth.     She opens her eyes, looking around with a mildly queasy look. The sensation of being brought to a digital world is not something she is used to yet, if she ever gets used to it. Her eyes peer through the glasses that are perched on her snout, the Abstractum known as Nom de Plume providing no sight assistance and instead there in case she needs to do odd concept-based copying and analysis.     She turns to regard the great big 'final boss' fellow. "Hi," she greets, raising a gloves hand in greeting, flashing a smile in his direction.     She looks over at Staren briefly, and then decides, "I agree with finding that Assistant. It may be a good idea to get everything in order here before we go deal with the players giving these people so much trouble." After this, she looks around for Kirito, wondering what his input on the matter is, if he has a differing opinion of what they should be doing. During this sweep, she examines the party as they arrive, carefully soaking in who is here and trying to recall what their strengths and weaknesses are. 

:'''{{#var:73|Frederica (73)}} has posed:'''     Frederica's avatar, as before, is that of the Cait Sith Frika. Not as good in a fight perhaps, but the avatar's flexible for investigation and has plenty of inventory space for the group's secondary intent.     She grins up at the huge Dark Lord. For reasons, she actually seems to like the 'evil' one. "Has any progress been made on what we found last time?" she asks. "The cloak, the ... the spell..." she says, a bit hesitantly, not sure she remembers all details of what they'd found. Apparently the Dark Lord has learned a couple of teleportation spells and that's cool, but there might well be more. "Or... you know, players being too much of a pain?" she asks. 

:'''{{#var:1|Kirito (1)}} has posed:'''     When Kirito materializes, it's as the Black Swordsman of Aincrad, not the Spriggan many people would know him as. Still, the appearance is close enough, and most people've been here already, would anyone NOT notice him?     He has a friendly smile to show for the 'Lord of Shadow.' Reassuring and warm. But it only lasts for a few moments before he puts on a more serious expression, does a few stretches, checks over his equipment (he's got both Double Fault and Elucidator for his weapons... the crystal longsword 'Dark Repulser' is nowhere to be seen.)     "Yeah, good to see you again too. So you had some luck deciphering the escape route... great! We'll use that then. Sooner or later the GM might notice he's out there somewhere. On the other hand, KING's not going anywhere." His tone turns sour when talking about that jerk...     He does have one question though. The swordsman plants a hand on his hip. "The other thing we're looking into is pegging down the world where KING and the other 'players' are connecting from..." 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko Shinobu is fairly easy to recognize despite certain differences in her present appearance. Her ears are pointed, but her face is nearly identical, with the usual expression of calm even in the face of a Final Boss. Her hair is a touch darker, more steel-gray than silver, and she's got on some generic ALO-style armor that at least looks more mobile than her usual chain-and-plate. Most strange are the mechanical attachments at her back--they seem to serve as her wings, but they seem tooled and crafted rather than gossamer half-illusions. A kite shield and longsword complete the picture, slung and sheathed. Her abstractum, Koishin, doesn't precisely count as equipment, but she's also present on the girl's right wrist.     Regarding questions posed, she allows others to speak. After looking around, she takes a few steps toward Kirito, crosses her arms, and waits. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren blinks at Kirito. "Pegging it down? We know where it is, it's inside this node." He waves his hand around. "The trick is figuring out a surefire way to /get/ there, though I have some ideas." 

:'''{{#var:317|Theo Morrison (317)}} has posed:''' Theo logs in with his usual ALO-style appearance: a white-haired, grey-eyed Leprechaun wearing a fantasy smith's idea of light power armor, with a big-ass hammer slung over his shoulder. Aetherwright is affixed to a spot on his breastplate, as per usual. It looks pretty snazzy amidst all the quasi-machinery. "Escape spells? Sweet." Theo has kind of gotten used to the volcanic motif of the throne room. "I'd like a copy of that, if that's possible. Never know when you need to get out of the path of an enormous explosion." 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "My mages believe it'd be irresponsible to follow you, but I'm coming with you. I'd like to speak to him myself, if you can find him. And if I can fit wherever he is." The Lord of Shadow says, to Staren. "Because you're right, he's had every opportunity to speak with me." There's a nod, and a heavy, thumping sort of noise as the massive armored figure stands up. 

:'''{{#var:1|Kirito (1)}} has posed:'''     Kirito unsheathes Double Fault and executes a swift little kata before sheathing the Abstractum again. Showing off a little, but all to make a point.     "You're safe with us. What I'm worried about is, is everyone else here safe without you?" 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "I've looked into the issue of the cloak myself. It looks like it's some sort of autonomous weapon. Either the cloak isn't meant to be worn, or the enchantments on it are meant to work without the wearer doing anything."     The Lord of Shadow's current top mage catches up with Frederica. "It's some sort of reverse-engineering of a highly weaponized enchanted artifact of some sort. We know that much, at least, but we're not sure what it means. Hopefully uou can look into it more in the field." 

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:''' Tomoe was here once more again in the game of Souls it was a kinda twisted nightmare given the given the suffering of the native AI's the mobs as some might call them were all aware, had feeling and were flat out people. The players were the real monstera and it was quite disturbing to her once again she has to get used to the fact the noble king looks like he is the spawn of Sauron but hey she's getting used ot it. She doe sliten to the report at this point. "You and your people have my thanks for all the work your doing to help us Lord of Shadow, I'm here to protectg you and your people as best I can." She's a tank she's face Heathcliff after all. She muses if she gets a chance she should tell the king of the Dark Knight vs the evil Paladin. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     The Lord of Shadow shakes their head as they start walking down the hallways leading off to the side of the main throne room. "I've no idea where they come from, just that it's some other world. There's a lot of rumors that say the Lord of Light opened the way there himself." They say, somberly.     Their mage speaks up again. "If you can get rid of his three champions - the ones going after you now - permanently, you'll have your best chance at finding out... Something, about dealing with that. We can move a team capable of more study to the kingdom of light, determine where they originate from... Perhaps find some way to control who comes through, or at least stop more from coming." 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "According to the time traveller who gave us this information, the escape spell was prepare well in advance. It sounds like a traitorous act to me, if I'm spealing honestly." The Lord of Shadow says, grumbling a little.     "The It needs inscription far ahead of time, but I'll give you the information when we're back, sir." The mage who's accompanying them - he's a tall fellow, long hair, looks a little elvish - speaks up, to Theo. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "I believe they'll be safe without me. Few people know I planned on leaving. My armor will let me recall to my throne if necessary." The Lord of Shadow says, nodding in a serious way to Kirito as they duck into the side room where a teleportation spellcircle has been inscribed on the ground. There's a nod to Tomoe. "I'll trust you to keep me safe in the meantime. Thank you for letting me come along."     The spellcircle sits, ready for teleportation. The destination, of course, will be revealed shortly... 

:'''{{#var:317|Theo Morrison (317)}} has posed:''' "Nothing wrong with a contingency plan," Theo remarks. He shrugs a little bit, and then nods at the elvish-looking man. "Awesome. I'll remember that. I'm Theo, by the way; no need for 'sirs'." He sticks out a gauntleted hand to shake. He'll follow along to the Convenient Teleportation Spellcircle in just a minute. 

:'''{{#var:73|Frederica (73)}} has posed:'''     "Right-o!" cries Frika happily, bouncing in a way wholly unlike her player's normally sedate and dignified manner. "Dibs on scouting!" she cries out, dashing for the teleportation circle, using her running speed to advantage as she sprints forward. She can't actually cast whatever spells are needed to ACTIVATE the circle, but given Cait Sith speed and her in-game skills she should be the first to go through... or among that group at the least. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren seems surprised that the Lord of Shadow wants to come with them, but okay! The game's Final Boss is probably the NPC best able to defend themselves here, after all.     "Leaving... where can people even go? How far does this land extend?" Staren wonders, then walks with them to the teleportation circle. "Are you prepared for the possibility that the Archmage's assistant betrayed you?" 

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:''' Tomoe is keeping alert as she can at this point. "No one playing an MMORPG expects someone of your job to go out and about." Seriously they don't but she's also thinking anti world boss tactics. Well what tactices the players would uses and how to counter them some she discounts which would be to train hostile mobs givne the natives are people but PVP sabotaging them using abilities that would mess them up such as divine intervention in this one game he dat told her about. Many a tank who cheesed off htier healer found them self unhutable but unable to do /anything/ while they lost agro and the raid wiped. She also muses on taking out the clothies aka healers and mages first too. "Thank you and hopefully we can make some progress together." 

:'''{{#var:215|Iria (215)}} has posed:'''     Cracking her knuckles and rolling her neck around a little, Iria nods as the teleportation circle appears. "Finally, we can get going!" She says, the impatience showing in her voice as she moves towards the teleportation device. She watches as Frika goes running in and raises an eyebrow while her eyes look upward. "Hooboy," She whispers to herself, before continuing. Apparently Iria is taking a serious tone with this as her sixth sense is telling her something isn't right. 

:'''{{#var:38|Noble Six (38)}} has posed:''' So yes, Noble Six has actually been here this whole time. She's been trying to figure out the inventory system and seems to have been struggling with it for a few minutes. Soon enough, however, she has outfitted herself with a decent set of armor, that full face helmet and the bow she picked up last time they were here. "Alright. All good to go." She takes the bow into her hands and moves to catch up with the rest of the group. She'd been catching the outside edges of the conversation, so she knows they'll need to escort the Lord of Shadows. That is probably easier than it sounds, she would be the first to admit. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Frederica is the first through the hijacked teleportation line.     The exit spellcircle is in a small side-room of a rickety-looking house interior environment. Dark, unlit, creaky old wood floors and walls. Definitely built hastily, and it'd be impossible to see if the spellcircle below wasn't glowing.     Beyond the door is a crowded combinaton living space and magical workshop. Thaumaturgic equipment lays strewn about on tables, a crappy little futon is sitting in the corner near a small pile of food items and healing potions, and there's a few knives out and about. A section of the room where the low ceiling is damaged reveals that this is underground; no doubt the safehouse section of some more innocent-seeming structure above.     There are several glass cases containing oddly flickering constructs that need more examination to see their proper nature. Alongside these are several large pieces of softly glowing wood-carved headgear chunks strewn over a table. One table in particular has a large quantity of glowing white flat objects on it, with strange writing on them... Rickety stairs on the opposite side of the room lead to, presumably, the less deceptive side of a false wall. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "The Kingdom of Shadow is made up of a great deal of land, though we've lost entire territories and a whole continent to the Kingdom of Light since the arrival of the 'Players'. I can show you the geography at some point when we're back." The raspy, gritty voice of the Lord of Shadow says. "As for the betrayal, nobody's ever prepared for that. I'll do what I can to give them fair justice for whatever violations of their duty they've made." The Lord of Shadow teleports through as well, though the low ceiling means they have to hunch over something fierce now, and cram their way through the door a little clumsily. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren suddenly wonders, as he steps through, if the mage's assistant could have escaped to the physical world...     But it's soon clear that that's not the case, unless things are very weird...     "I wonder why those potions aren't in his inventory?" Staren muses, and then he's drawn to the mysterious glass cases. What could be in there? 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     Ainsley follows Frederica through the teleportation spell, making no further input on the matter of where they're going. She does make a grunt as the Lord of Shadow gets in the way, mostly from the effort of moving around him. In lieu of any conversation, she quickly assesses the new environment, frowning at the state of it. As someone who has a lot of practice in setting up a magical workshop, she has some things to nitpick about the place. But seeing as it's an assistant, she makes no audible remarks about it. Instead, she lets herself get distracted by the first oddity she comes across when scouting the first room.     She steps up to look at the wooden headgear. She furrows her brow, considering what concept to check for.     "Conceptual Sight."     "These might be reverse-engineered NerveGears." She checks for the concept of, say, VR and connection capability, since this topic JUST came up a few minutes ago, and the convenience of finding the person researching this would be absolutely uncanny. 

:'''{{#var:1|Kirito (1)}} has posed:'''     Kirito's satisfied by this answer, so he nods agreeingly at the Lord and heads with the otehrs for the teleport zone. "A betrayal would explain why he's not come around. So might being on the run. I'm hoping it's the latter, though we'll have a hard time finding in that case." Yeah, he'd been wondering about that too. But maybe this assistant is more than he seems, or is continuing research... or something really important... maybe.     "What's this about the Lord of Light opening a portal though?" 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Once they'er through, Kimiko decides to take point. They've got a lot of elites here, but that also means a lot of things could go wrong. There's supposed to not be anyone else here, but what kind of person trusts reasoning like that? Paranoia can be healthy. Besides, there's probably interesting things in any adjoining rooms, too.     Giving Koishin a friendly rub (something like ruffling a younger friend's hair, in her mind) for the assistance, she makes her way, sword drawn, up to the next floor. 

:'''{{#var:215|Iria (215)}} has posed:'''     Once they're through, Iria takes a look at things after she gets accustomed to the fact that it's a little cramped in here. She grits her teeth a little as she takes a look around, trying to move for some breathing space. As she surveys the general area, trying to take in what's here. Her eyes stop at the unusual headgear, and she frowns a little, lowering an eyebrow. "What's this?" She wonders aloud as she walks over to take a look at it. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     LIMBS     This is a familiar thing, or at least, not something that's too much of a major revelation. Staren will find these are even more rudimentary. They're wireframe hands, wireframe arms leg-sections, nothing but hitboxes. They're flickering softly, producing their own mild light. It looks like the traitor might have been trying to recreate what was being studied at the Archmage's tower...     "It would seem that our potential traitor did take something valuable. Perhaps he intended to finish the work his colleagues were doing. These are newer than the destruction of the tower. More rudimentary, though." Eureka speaks up briefly, with a concerned tone. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "Conceptual Sight." Nom de Plume speaks in unison with Ainsley. The data recovered from the headgear is unusual, though. Her hunch was completely accurate, it seems, at least to a degree. They definitely are NervGears, or, at least, the concepts Ainsley is searching for - "immersion" and "control" - is found. The enchantments on these are hastily-built, and designed to work with the natives here, though. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     "They were making NerveGears?!" Staren looks surprised at this revelation -- he glances at the headgear, but Nom de Plume has it, so he looks to the glass cases. And blinks. "An... they were building an artificial avatar... Of course, they'd need a NerveGear to control it..." Staren looks back at the Lord of Shadow. "I wonder if the fake Player and the Cloak were meant to be used together?" Then he wanders over to the flat white objects with writing on them and scrutinizes them. Half expecting computer code, at this point... 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Iria's own examination of the headgear finds something else. Her own practical BOUNTY HUNTER EXPERIENCE is giving her enough awareness of the wood here to lock down specific regions of forest where it might have been recovered from; potentially useful information in TARGET HUNTING, should the group seek to bring the traitorous NPC to justice. 

:'''{{#var:317|Theo Morrison (317)}} has posed:''' Theo eventually follows through the convenient teleporty surface after making his greetings to the elvish guy. He's so used to planeshifting himself that using a device to do it is kind of weird. Fortunately, doing so in games is way less so. Theo takes one look around and goes for the things on the table. He wants to check out the glowy writing stuff, in part because he suspects they'll be menus. He spots the other objects, but he doesn't need to physically examine those, probably. "This is weird... Aetherwright, any insights? Similarities to the fake player we found?" 

:'''{{#var:1|Kirito (1)}} has posed:'''     now that they're in what seems to be a mage's workshop, Kirito decides to have a look around. Especially at the headgear chunks... and DOUBLY so when Ainsley announces what she does. "reverse engineered NerveGears?!" ... from WITHIN VR? What the...     Kirito's surprised by this to say the least. What could it mean if she's right? He rubs at his chin with a now troubled expression... "... For the fake player project... I get it. Yeah, that's what I'm thinking, Staren."     He wanders over to the nearby glass cases and their flickering contents to get a look at THEM next... 

:'''{{#var:38|Noble Six (38)}} has posed:''' It's a relatively small room, and Noble Six isn't really a small person, so she tries to keep out of the way. She figures there's a lot of people who are a lot better qualified for this sort of thing than her. Though she does sift through some of the papers that are near to where she's standing, in case anything looks important enough to give to Staren or Ainsley. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     A troubled remark, "These are VR control units." Ainsley leans in to squint at them, checking for a sign of workmanship that she cannot otherwise spot with her Conceptual Sight or a cursory lookover. "The fake Player may, in fact, be connected to this." She leans back and looks toward Theo, her brows raising. She looks over to Iria with some interest, since she was giving them a lookover. 

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:''' Tomoe Says "Humm the Kingdom of Light is it entirely player based?" She wonders for a moment ot guesses the leader of it might be imporant at htis point she keep moving along now in the work shop she starts looking about trying to see if she can find anything that might be of use to them. 

:'''{{#var:73|Frederica (73)}} has posed:'''     There is method to Frika's madness, of course. Mind you there's probably at least a hint of actual madness, but not entirely the bad sort. When she'd originally designed an ALO character she knew she had little time to develop her skills, to contribute. She'd built a scout, emphasizing skills such as running, perception, and animal handling.     Feeling the need to help, especially with so many people here, she literally leaped at the chance. Only to be somewhat disappointed as she finds herself in an enclosed room. Oh well... at least she's able to make sure the room is free of hostile enemies!     "Who IS this Lord of Light?" Frika asks as she heads for the rickety stairs to continue 'scouting', senses tuned. "Another Pure? The big bad boss? Will we have to deal with a god once we've defeated the trio?" 

:'''{{#var:215|Iria (215)}} has posed:'''     After taking a few moments to look over the headgear, she looks to the others and says, "This... the wood for this headgear..." She pauses for a moment, trying to figure out how to phrase what she has to say. Then she says, "I've isolated the area of the forest as to which this wood came from. Or rather, a few areas. This may help narrow it down, but..." She frowns. "I can't fully place it." 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Kirito gets a heavy sigh from the Lord of Shadow, which prompts a quick fit of coughing. "Sorry, I need..." Cough cough cough! The Lord of Shadow clears their throat. She takes off her helmet, letting her long blonde hair go loose and displaying her proper princessy face, and now speaking in your everyday feminine voice. "Sorry, it's just... The lava fumes, you know? Mmmmh. Anyway," The Lord of Shadow continues, putting her massive, spikey helmet under one arm.     "The Lord of Light is said to have summoned a great army by opening a gate, or a portal, or setting up some kind of summoning circle. It's all very... Unclear, nobody's cleared up anything specifically. But that's where the 'Players' come from." She shakes her head solemnly, seriously. "Everything's gotten so mixed up since this war started. I wish we could have found a better way of solving this." She kneels down, examining the thaumaturgical gear while the others look at various things.     "The Kingdom of Light isn't made of 'Players', no, it's... Well, you know, there's people like us there too. But they've been sort of hijacked by their champions and heroes. They don't really have a lot of power compared to their soldiers." Then Frika gives her query and the Lord of Shadow looks a little forlorn. "He's my uncle, brother of the old Lord of Shadow. Or, at least, I guess he was. I don't really know what he is, anymore." 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren listens to the Lord of Shadow's words. He seems unsurprised at what's under the helmet -- he's seen it before, after all. "Is it possible that the Lord of Light used the same or a similar ritual to what you used to summon /us/?" Staren asks, only briefly glancing up from the flat white objects. 

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:''' Tomoe says "So they are basically using the people of light as pawns to butcher you and your people." she muses they have to do something for them they have to figure out how to take out the Prue and put a stop to the madness she thinks this world should if they succeed be put on an isolated server maintane and allowed to live in peace. "I see hummmm that's a possiblity Staren. If we could get the kingdom of light to ... no longer support the players..." 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Koishin lights up, giving a soft glow to the environment, and illuminating Kimiko's way. Which is good, because otherwise she's about to step right into a tripwire trap, which threatens to jam several large bolts square into her head. Good paranoia.     Frederica's 'scouting sense' by which I probably mean experimental enthusiasm, will be what lets her figure out the way to open the faux paneling from this side of things, letting her get through without setting off the explosive trap setinto it. Beyond is the storage closet of what looks like a mansion, judging by the sheer quantity of cleaning supplies therein. The loud clomping of boots outside the door beyond suggests the presence of ARMORED GUARDS, who have not yet detected the group! They could be in and out like ghosts, if they can manage not to set off any alert from them or otherwise leave traces of passage... But this place, wherever it is, is guarded, and presumably the possible traitor lies beyond. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko's quite thankful for that light. Triggering a trap would likely have been noisy, one way or another. Noisy and painful. More so for the explosive at the top of the stairs.     She listens, speaks silently into party-chat, and takes a post by the door up. "You can help investigate back down there, if you want." she says to Frika. "I'll keep an ear out here." Kimiko doesn't imagine she'll be too much good with the strange devices down there, anyway. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Theo and Aetherwright are the first ones to get here, to the strange flat white constructs. "This is simple to manipulate." The little crest Abstractum says. "It is the same sort of magical construct. Watch." The flat white things have incomprehensible text on them, but Aetherwright is... Moving around a menu! When it selects things, or does some arbitrary 'back' signal, the white constructs scoot around, lighting up.     "Obviously it's a control interface. I think it's an attempt to emulate a player's menu. He is constructing by hand the interface used by yourselves."     "I am more troubled by the fact that the menus have to be created in the first place. This seems like something that ought to be called directly from the game. Something is nonsensical here." Eureka's speaking up, as Staren gets here to see what all this nonsense is. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Kirito's examination of the wireframe is done with skilled player's eye, someone who has played games like this for ages and ages.     That is why he can notice that these wireframes are just off proportion. The hitboxes are incorrect. It's not summoning parts of a player, it's definitely crafting them by hand, somehow. 

:'''{{#var:1|Kirito (1)}} has posed:'''     "The Lord of Light... SUMMONED the players? ... so that's about when this became a 'game...' ... what does the Hollow Avatar have to do with that? There's got to be a connection. ... I knew there was something fishy about him being a 'GM.'" He does, however, gawk a bit at the sudden revealing. He's seen her with the helmet off before, but it doesn't change the fact that she is very pretty. Enough so that even he finds it hard to not stare just a little.     Thankfully, however, he is not Klein, who would be trying to date her several times now.     "Why you cover your face with that ferocious helmet is a mystery." He lightly remarks. It's kind of a compliment!     "Yui, wake up!" he prods at a pocket and... despite usin his SAO avatar, Yui apparently IS around for this debacle. She manifests with a blip of light, wearing a tiny dress made of flower petals, and flits around on wings of light. "Good evening, papa! Miss Lord of Shadow! Everyone!"     "Good evening, Yui! We're kind of in a rush. Can you have a look at some of these things? It's supposedly some kind of FullDive knockoff..."     Yui makes a troubled face, but does glide down to take a closer look. Is she picking up anything?     Though when he returns to examining the parts in the cases... "... This is weird. It's like he's trying to hand-craft stuff the system would normally handle...?" 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Noble Six looks through paper instead of at all those fancy artifacts, which is probably pretty prudent. There's a great deal of RESEARCH here, incomprehensible to a soldier. But there's enough basic understanding to figure out some relevant things. Apparently this is all reverse-engineered based on a single artifact stolen from the Lord of Light. By this very traitor too, apparently! 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren gasps. "Oh my gosh they're /fake menus/. This is... well, I'm not sure /what/ it means. Maybe since they don't have access to the game's code, they're trying to imitate player 'tech' in other ways? A moment." Staren steps away to the center of the room, holds out his hand, and intones a series of vaguely nordic-sounding words, as circles of runes appear around him, then selected words flash and the rest disappear. Finally, he finishes casting a sound-muffling spell on the room. Stealth spells like this are something his ALO avatar is built for! 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     The Lord of Shadow shakes her head at Staren. "No, we only intercepted part of his ritual, we didn't summon you entirely. You would have come into our realm over in the Kingdom of Light's forward capital in our territories, and... Well. There was a 'welcome wagon', as the Players say." She frowns a bit at that. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     The Lord of Shadow then nods to Tomoe. "The Lord of Light isn't stopping them. I honestly hold no grudge against the people in the Kingdom of Light. I'm guessing they're just as scared and weak against the 'Players' as we are." She makes a soft, uneasy noise about that. 

:'''{{#var:73|Frederica (73)}} has posed:'''     Frika, hearing turned up, shrugs. "There's lots of people searching the room." she says. "Here, I might hear or see something important." she adds to Kimiko. "I don't expect to be much good at stopping anyone from coming up here or anything. If it happens, that'll be your job. I'm just here to scout." she says, her voice somewhat calmer and more rational than her earlier remarks. Frederica's intellect winning over Frika's enthusiasm, perhaps.     She does hear Staren's gasp however, and it rings a bell. "That physical menu I found embedded in a wall!" she exclaims. So this is related to that. And it's about ... about what? About characters trying to mimic player character interfaces? Is it some weird cargo cult thing, or is it something a lot more significant? 

:'''{{#var:317|Theo Morrison (317)}} has posed:''' "A-ha! That's what I thought!" Theo snaps his fingers. It doesn't /really/ work, because he's wearing gauntlets. "Alright, so --" He quiets down. Someone else around; riiiight. After Staren casts and Frederica exclaims, he speaks again. "Yeah, exactly. It sounds a little like they're trying to put together a player to counter the ones terrorizing people. Maybe whoever did this thinks that it's the system elements that give us the ability to do what we do, so they're trying to make all of 'em and slap it together like an item set." Theo picks up one of the menus, addressing Aetherwright again. "Can you translate it to English? I'd like to know if it's a carbon copy or if they took their own liberties with it." He tries to scroll the fake menu while he's at it, and holds up one of the panes. Can he affix it to the spot one of his windows would appear at and manipulate it that way? 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren nods. "So... aside from the different location, how is the partial summoning different? Is our physical nature any different from that of the other players?" he asks the Lord of Shadow.     "Exactly what I'm thinking, like... like a sort of cargo cult thing. Except way more advanced and might actually work." Staren comments, to Theo. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "The Hollow Avatar is the head of the 'Player' presence. Ever since he appeared, the Lord of Light's been less and less involved in his politics. I doubt the Lord of Light could stop him if he wanted, now. It's one of his generals, but always wearing some kind of cloak. We can't tell who it is. It looks hollow, and thus the name." The Lord of Shadow says. "I don't know if it was... The cloak, summoned with the Players, or the cloak was developed alongside, or..." She sighs and makes a helpless sort of gesture. "I'm sorry."     She smiles a little, sentimentally. "The helmet, the whole set of armor actually, it belonged to my dad, before... Well, you know." She makes a quick, simple little throat-crossing gesture. "Yeah." 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Yui examines the Player bits. These are legitimate. Each of them has a completely unique player ID, and all of them are at full HP, but it's... Only a partial player FILE, so to speak, it's just a gib-part and nothing else. No full player save file. Even worse, somehow, than the "empty" player they found earlier. 

:'''{{#var:151|Ainsley (151)}} has posed:'''     "You wear it well," Ainsley remarks over in the Lord of Shadow's direction, as she's frowning at the headgear and all the implications she has overheard so far. She shakes her head slowly.     "If this is what he's researching... is he researching an /army/ of these?" A look of horror develops on her face. "Can these even be banned like the Players can be...?" She puts a hand up to her face. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko nods to Frika. That division of responsibility works well enough for her. She spends the remaining time checking over her equipment and trying again to familiarize with the menu system here. She doesn't have the experience of SAO, nor ALO, for this effort.     Kimiko frowns, briefly, at Kirito. Helmets are for protecting the head, you silly girl-crazy person. 

:'''{{#var:215|Iria (215)}} has posed:'''     "So we definitely know that there's something going on here, and it's not within the rules of the game," Iria comments after a moment. "I've narrowed the location down to a few locations, as to where the wood came from, but that still means we have a few areas to check." She frowns at the comment made by Ainsley, then her eye twitches a little. "I knew something wasn't right!" 

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:''' Tomoe Says "You have a good point they are likely as scared as your people are My lord." She keeos looking about at this point wondeirn how best o be of use and shifts slightly more to be ready for guards that are clearly about. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko and Frederica stay up here to listen. They get two different sorts of information pieces. Kimiko's more defense-minded ear gets a listen of the PATROL ROUTES, allowing her to get insight into the routes the guards outside take during their patrols, and when. When the group DOES eventually decide to head out, this data will make it assured that they'll have accurate data on where people are going to be. Advantage of listening to people in heavy armor, you know.     Frederica, on the other hand, can get an earful more of the social end of things; she gets to hear about the guards discussing the current status of a "guest" who arrived a while ago, and their infrequent discussions occasionally contain snippets of the guest's HABITS in terms of where they tend to be located in the mansion itself on a day-to-day basis. Useful! 

:'''{{#var:38|Noble Six (38)}} has posed:''' Noble Six is doing her best to not move too much. All she needs to do is screw up and bring the guards down on them, and then they'll be in huge trouble. As she sorts through the papers, she hrms a little bit to herself. Normally in an instance like this they would just bag and tag everything and take it back to base to let the intel guys sort it out. She decides to do just that, carefully folding the papers up and putting them into storage so she can hand them off to someone who can decipher them better than her. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Staren manages to mask this area; the magical residue ought to wear off before the inhabitant around here actually gets back, of course, and in the meantime, it makes sure that the group doesn't have to worry about anything that isn't "shattering a bunch of glass" or anything like that doesn't suddenly draw guard attention. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko can't actually tell just what the floor layout is out there, but she's getting an idea for it by follow the footsteps, and a bit of guesswork. Mentally, she adds a few points where there are possibilities of off-shoots from main hallways, based on anything like a pair of feet pausing, as if to look down a path without feeling an obligation to walk down it. All of this will be committed to memory and likely written down, later, since her memory is only at the usual human-level. 

:'''{{#var:73|Frederica (73)}} has posed:'''     "Hmmm..." Frika muses, power running through her mind. Sharpened hearing isn't exactly a strong psychic talent. Not nearly so useful as other more physical Rise talents, no. Still, it's got its uses. Even as the strain of elevating her senses begins to settle around her, she works on focussing it harder and sharper. A headache is a small price to pay to learn somethign useful.     "There's a guest staying at this mansion." she states, directing the words back to the room of investigators. "Might be nothing important. But then it might be this assistant mage, right? Or one of the Pure Users? I wonder, once we've looked around as much as we can up here, if we should go hunting?" she says, grinning. 

:'''{{#var:1|Kirito (1)}} has posed:'''     "Mass production... maybe this is some way to fight back?" Kirito thinks out loud.     Yui announces, meanwhile, "Each of the parts has its own Player ID! It's only a stub, but this is valid player data! ... I don't know what the mage was doing or how, but it's like they're trying to..."     "...mass-produce players, huh?" Kirito rubs his chin. "..If it was just one or two, it might be for spying, but this many... I wonder if he thought about turning the situation around!"     He ends up nodding nevertheless at the 'Princess.' "Ah...right. Well, it's not my business... I think this place might've been a retreat for Plan B. Also, would an assistant be able to do all of this? Was the Archmage doing all of this research or the whole group...?" 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "The problem here, Theo," Aether wright says, its eye taking on a concentrating, frustrated look. "Is that this seems to work. It's not a 'cargo cult', as the psychic upstairs says. This is entirely functional. It seems to be an internally-constructed equivalent. There's an inventory system in this. Incredibly clumsy though. I can't translate it because it's garbage. Junk letters. The man who made this is an amateur. Give his research to the Lord of Shadow and she'll have this perfected easily."     Eureka makes a few soft, troubled noises, but doesn't seem to be commenting much. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "I didn't bring you into this world. I just changed where you'd show up to start with." The Lord of Shadow says, plaintively. "And only just barely, if what my mages said was right." 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "If he wanted to raise an army, he could do better than betraying both of this world's factions. I expect his intent was more greedy." Nom de Plume speaks up, simply, in response to Ainsley. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren smiles at Aetherwright and Theo. "Great! Once the Lord of Shadow mass-produces players, we can arm them with your armory, and no more NPCs will have to die fighting!"     Staren blinks at the Lord of Shadow. "Wait, so... you... Okay, so basically, the Lord of Light's ritual summoned /us/ too, you just... diverted where some of us showed up with your own ritual? Wait, no, that doesn't fit, the players have already been here for awhile..." 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Noble Six takes the papers! We'll get those deciphered later. The guy who did all this doesn't seem organized enough to really miss it, so it shouldn't be a big deal, really, so easy to grab one or two things, as long as you don't loot the whole place. 

:'''{{#var:317|Theo Morrison (317)}} has posed:''' "She will, huh," Theo remarks, quietly. He looks down at Aetherwright, and then looks to Staren. He nods at him, but looks distracted. Theo starts to put the pane down, looking around again, but thinks better of it. "Good to know..." There's a slight bit of hesitance, maybe suspicion, in his tone. It's difficult to detect if you don't really know him. He steps up next to Staren, keeping his voice down, offering him one of the panes as if he'd found something. He pings him with a private message when he does: 'feels too convenient; keep an eye open before we give her anything.' Maybe he's just being paranoid because of a title like 'Lord of Shadow.' Maybe. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     The length of time available to Kimiko means she can easily trace the routes and with enough consistent listening, she'll be able to mark out even a bit of the halllways too! This is gonna make stealthing through this a LOT easier when they go through this. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "We should come back with the proper equipment, the proper group, and the proper timing." Shinrin admonishes, to Frederica. "But you are right. A hunt. For the guest, and for anything else that could solve the mysteries here. But a careful one. If we spook the people here too early, we may lose the chance to learn something valuable." 

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:''' Tomoe thinks for a moment "Mass produce them? Humm I'm not sure I like where that is going. Humm I wonder it's hard to tell to be honest? My Lord?" She looks to the Lord of Shadow Wondering what he might hae to add. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "It's a gate, or a summoning circle, or... Listen, I don't know, the Mages just intercepted your avatars as best they could. It worked, is all that matters. Mass producing players for us, though..." She frowns, putting up one cruel gauntlet to her chin. "It didn't work out well for the Kingdom of Light. I'd need to do it carefully. Cautiously. Consider all the options, make sure there's enough failsafes. But you, you're my best hope right now, not some... Impersonal army. It's not something I need to think about while this solution isn't even clearly working, and while you all are willing to help, anyway."     She seems uneasy about going down this path. Worried, presumably, about compounding the issue. "As for the Archmage, I don't know what was going on over there. It's not very clear right now. I'm starting to think we weren't hearing about this because of whoever /this/ person is..." She seems a little frustrated about that. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren gives Theo a thoughtful look. After a moment, he PMs back: 'I suppose it's up to Kirito.'     ...'Or, the Lord of Shadow could overhear anyway.' He shrugs to Theo and turns back around. "Not impersonal. Remote-controlled by your own soldiers." Staren rubs the back of his neck. "Although this is enlightening... this isn't what I was hoping for." He turns back to look at the glass cases. "I wasn't looking for a fake player. I was looking for a /fake GM/."     "...Or a way to access administrative tools, anyway." 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "The cloak." Eureka says, simply. "That seems like the more relevant matter. Which explains why the players scavenged all of it immediately. The Hollow Avatar likely wanted it recovered immediately." 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     "Yes." Staren nods slightly. "If we could make another cloak... or find /that/ research..." 

:'''{{#var:215|Iria (215)}} has posed:'''     "Is it possible to make a cloak without the original research?" Iria asks, not being fully keen on these things and the technology behind them. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "I'd guess someone made the first one. But... Well, that's deep in Light territory, and probably shrouded in secrecy to begin with." The Lord of Shadows says, with a heavy sort of sigh. "I don't know if I want to in the first place, if we can win this without resorting to the Kingdom of Light's weapons... I know it's probably a little irrational, but I feel uncomfortable taking the routes they do, if you're all able to find a better way. Father was more that kind. Steel in his gut, that sort of man. Not me, honestly." 

:'''{{#var:1|Kirito (1)}} has posed:'''     "... now that you say that, I like this even less." Kirito's face has gone pale. Yui frowns upon spotting this, but he doesn't seem to be willing to speak on the matter quite yet. His expression's still rather ponderous...     He wanders around, looking at more of the stuff... "Here's a theory. The players didn't exist until recently, right? ...And until the Kingdom of Light's ritual, this world wasn't part of any 'game.' If this isn't a virtual world running in a server... then you can't just generate an avatar from nothing, right? We might not be looking at attempts to IMITATE players here." 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     "That makes sense, but then, like... They respawn, is the thing. And I'm pretty sure we respawn too. Something more is up here, I think." Double Fault says, its eye "frowning". "Man, this makes my rhetorical head that doesn't exist hurt. Might be, though. This sure as hell doesn't act like a normal Seed world, that's for sure. Let's keep looking into this, see if we can find more places to check out." 

}}

680/Purgatorio's Defense

2014-12-12T05:38:43Z

Kimiko: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2014/09/26 |Location=Earth-1111 |Synopsis=Possible defensive measures for Purgatorio are discussed. |Thanks= |Cast of Characters=183, 238, 359, 520..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2014/09/26
|Location=Earth-1111
|Synopsis=Possible defensive measures for Purgatorio are discussed.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=183, 238, 359, 520, 541, 554, 570, 575
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:238|Beli Klum (238)}} has posed:'''     Earth-1111, a world at once similar to and unlike most modern iterations of Earth. It would appear perfectly normal if it weren't for the influences of Paradiso and Inferno, who have conquered nearly every stretch of the planet and demarcated their territories among human civilizations with swirling clouds of blue or red, respectively. Those who live beneath these clouds are subject to the influence of either Paradiso or Inferno, their very souls goaded into performing acts of good or evil so that they will end up in the afterlife that has claimed them and eventually add to the ranks of the angels and demons that fight in an endless war.     One particular location is spared from this: a certain forest where the wind blows fresh and clear and the sky lacks anything abnormal. Though it is far from any city, the forest is nonetheless silent save for the wind rustling through branches and leaves; no wildlife roams the landscape, from the smallest mosquito to the most majestic deer. It could be the large lake deep in the forest that causes it, which those who have come to visit Purgatorio have been directed to. The waters feel suffused in a power at once blessed and cursed, and despite that oddity, the Union members who have come to visit have nonetheless been informed that they must enter the lake until they have been fully submerged.     Strange as it is, there's no need to hold one's breath. A transportation begins immediately after entering the lake, lending a temporary yet disorienting feeling of displacement. Only a moment later, those who enter the lake find themselves strangely dry and standing right on the beach of Purgatorio's lone island in the center of the endless ocean.     What's readily apparent at first is the unchanging time of day, marked by the black sun hanging in the daytime sky to the west and the white moon brightening the night to the east, their skies melding into an eternal twilight above Purgatorio's single massive mountain. That towering spire stretches for miles straight up, divided into eight layers accessed by stairs carved into the mountain's steep cliffsides. The island itself is gigantic to match, though it has to be, as its purpose is to provide enough space for every single soul that has died on Earth to live comfortably enough there. Those hundreds of thousands of ghostly spirits can be seen lingering on the beach or ascending the spiral staircases up to the higher levels, each one only dimly recognizable as human through their smokey forms.     What about Beli herself? Well, the transportation to Purgatorio places those entering it right in front of one staircase leading up to the second level, and Beli sits waiting on one of the lower stairs with her legs dangling over the edge and gently swinging back and forth. Her wings and halos aren't visible at the moment; save for the faint glow of her marble-like skin, she doesn't look like much more than an abnormally tall and strangely dressed young woman. Not a terribly imposing guardian, is she? 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko Shinobu has arrived. She had little trouble entering the water, but is appreciative of the fact that she's not still soaked after having gotten through it. She's no convenient way to dry off that isn't also wasteful, even dressed as she is--in her 'uniform' as a Puella Magi, though yet unarmored.     "Beli." It's been some time since she's been to this Earth, but her memories are still vivid, as she gives her host a nod--perhaps too respectfully for their acquaintance, but that's her usual mode. 

:'''{{#var:359|Elasaid Hood (359)}} has posed:'''     Elasaid finds the transportation to be very against her instincts... or perhaps they're Hood's instincts. Either way, she finally pushes herself to submerge, then kinda staggers out of the portals. "Ach, Bloody hell that's disconcertin'." she grumbles softly, then straightens herself out, glancing around at the others, then to Beli herself. 

:'''{{#var:520|Zelda (520)}} has posed:'''     The young princess of Hyrule arrives with little fanfare, after setting foot within the lake. She's oddly used to such means of transport. She doesn't have much insofar as less formal attire, so her usual regalia is what she's chosen. Still, this isn't her kingdom, and she is a guest. So, she offers Beli a polite bow of her head, in greeting. "Good evening." 

:'''{{#var:541|Marrik (541)}} has posed:''' "You two sure about this?" Marrik fretted as he looked the pair of ghosts over. Both had vouched for him and had his back when he wound up in Russia when he unified, a cold Russia full of zombies. "This place wishes to war with Heaven and Hell just to keep its people free to govern themselves," One of them, a blonde haired woman dressed in loose fitting fatigues gave a small laugh. "If I become fettered to such a place I gladly would give myself over to serve. The other merely nodded. He had no hair to speak of and wore dark tinted glasses over his eyes. Marrik's bike rumbled low as he looked on at the warring cloudscapes and frowned at what it represented. Angels and Demons should never have that much say on mortal affairs. It angered him, but only until he found the lake he was supposed to step through. For a moment he hesitated. What if he couldn't leave? "Big baby, we have more to worry about than you." Miri dove head first in followed by her companion. Nothing for it but to walk through. The transition felt strange; not good, bad, or anything. It just was. When Marrik found himself on the island he stepped out of the way in case others followed before looking to Beli. The two spirits that came with him bowed slightly before trotting off to have a look around. "So, this is�.. Huh." Marrik hrmed thoughtfully as he looked about. "Interesting place." 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     Well, that was quick! While Ayako herself gets lost easily in the Mulitverse, it seems that Purgatorio's watery entryway was something easily found for the water spirit once she was told what it was and how to enter. When Ayako finds herself on the beach, she's... blushing and her palms are on her cheeks. "Kyaaa... what a wonderful way to enter a place!"     She seems to care little about the ghostly spirits that are lingering on the beach or that are climbing the staircase. Rather, she quickly turns around and views the endless ocean instead, seeming to find that far more interesting than say, the black sun, the incredibly high mountain, nor the enormous staircase. Even Beli Klum and other arrivals are ignored for a moment in favor of that ocean. Just for a minute or so, though!     Ayako excitedly turns around and finally notices Beli sitting on the staircase. "Hello Beli! Such a nice place! You definitely have good taste!" She almost positively beams! 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     As much as Mizuki would love to be entirely invested in the excitement of seeing another new world, she can't be. Not because she doesn't believe that Purgatorio will be a dissapointment, though! Quite the opposite: Mizuki has run into no small number of artistic and beautiful places lately - Anor Londo was a particularly good example - and she's starting to get a bit self-conscious. What with all of the phenomenally poetic landscapes that litter the Multiverse, she can't help but wonder how her own world holds up against them.     So for a while after she arrives at the coordinates sent to her, she stands before the pool and broods behind the trunk of a tree so as to avoid the prying eyes of other people on their way in. No matter the state of this 'Purgatorio', she must be certain to maintain her composure, and that is something she cannot do until she has had ample time to contemplate every scenario that she possibly can. Since she doesn't have the time to be quite that comprehensive, however, she settles after musing on the 17th possibility, and steps back up to the calm waters.     She stares at her reflection for a spell and exhales, dipping a few of her toes into the water to test it. The resulting sensation elicits... a blink! She can't really chalk that up to 'cold' or 'warm', can she? That only worsens her apprehension -- a world where she would literally be hit by a cascade of proseworthy beauty is... well. That's absolutely -brilliant-. It's a pun like none other, and the sheer cleverness of it gives her pause for a few moments more. But slowly, bravery churns from the nonexistence furnace of her heart, and she gently steps in.     And then she's on the other side, and looking up at a divided sky. Twilight in the epicenter, with day and night colliding on the opposing sides. A sudden vertigo hits her, and some degree of deja vu; if she didn't know any better, she would think that she was back home! But she most certainly is not. Glancing around, she's quickly captivated by the light of the moon, and she stares at it dumbly for a while before noticing the girl who is most certainly her host on the steps beyond. After taking a final breath, she begins her climb, greeting Beli with a small bow when she's a bit closer.     "Miss Klum, I presume?" She smiles. "A happy twilight to you. Seeing the sky has only made more certain that my coming here was a good idea, if not one that I was fated to have -- it bears some similarity to my home, I would have you know. But I shall save that banter for later, when we've all had time to settle." With another bow, she steps off to the side, and resumes her gawking.     A 'happy twilight' indeed. 

:'''{{#var:238|Beli Klum (238)}} has posed:'''     Beli's neutral expression warms to a broad smile when she sees Kimiko emerging in front of her. The rephaite hops off her perch to land on the white sands, standing tall and upright. "Ah, Kimiko," she greets the puella brightly, her soft voice backed by the gentle ringing of small bells and the dull rumbling of a live volcano. Strange, definitely, but it only serves to make her inhuman nature even more apparent. "It is very good to see you again. It has been a while, too; I hope things have been going well?"     Then come others: Elasaid is greeted with a slightly awkward smile. "Sorry. I guess diving into a lake is not the most pleasant thing for a ship, is it? I hope you will not mind going back the same way." Zelda's bow is returned, and while the angel-demon hasn't met anyone from that particular world before, she's aware of it enough to know Zelda's station and attempt a more formal greeting. "Princess Zelda, hello. It is good to meet you. Thank you for coming to join us."     Ah, there's Marrik. He gets a smile and a nod, too, as well as the spirits beside him. "Welcome to Purgatorio, Marrik. Are these friends of yours? They...seem like they might be at home in a place like this, I admit." Surprise quickly comes over the rephaite's expression when Ayako comes in, though; she's clearly not used to such exuberant compliments. Beli chuckles with some slight embarrassment, one hand lifting so that her slender fingers can comb through her dark hair. "...ah...thank you, Ayako. I am pleased to know that someone likes it so much." Mizuki's approach is a good distraction from Beli's flustering: the angelic demon turns to her, then smiles warmly, letting her arm drop back to her side. "Ah, really? I am glad that you are so fond of it, as well. I...have not had the chance to see your own home, but I will have to do so sometime soon, definitely."     With greetings out of the way, Beli takes a breath and crosses her arms over her chest, looking around at the group assembled in front of her. "...well. Welcome to Purgatorio, I suppose. You have seen about the sum of things, at this point. That lake was the only defense it had against any intruders, since I doubt anyone would expect to go through that to get here, but now the Confederacy knows exactly that. So...our options are starting to be limited."     She frowns slightly at the thought, concern clear on her expression. "I am very much open to suggestions. I do have some preferences of my own, though. This place is supposed to be a sanctuary, a place where the souls here can feel at peace, so...I would rather not have anything blatantly weaponized if I can help it, but I will take what I can get. Keeping the lake inconspicuous is a more pressing matter, since Paradiso and Inferno still do not know about the location, and I would like to delay that as long as possible. Otherwise...if any of you have suggestions or questions, please feel free to voice them. I admit I am not experienced in these matters at all." 

:'''{{#var:359|Elasaid Hood (359)}} has posed:'''     Elasaid grins softly. "Aye, tis nay. But I'll get over it. Dunae ye worry lass." she replies good naturedly. Then to business! "I could come up wi'some traps. They'd be li'l threat te an Elite like us, but it may slow 'em down enough fer backup te arrive. Nets, pitfalls... that kinna thing." 

:'''{{#var:541|Marrik (541)}} has posed:''' Marrik mmed softly, "Can spirits enter and leave the lake?" Briefly he looked to where the two that came with him wandered off to. For a moment he considered trying to get them to test that but reconsidered. "Warning, even if not by much, can help." As he considered this he paced while looking at the waters around the island. "Is there any reason these waters are so empty?" 

:'''{{#var:554|Armsmaster (554)}} has posed:'''      At the sound of Beli's wish to avoid anything blatantly weaponized, there's the distinct, vaguely imperious tones of someone who many of them might only know through the radio chatter. "Then you risk compromising your defensive strength." Armsmaster.      In his midnight-blue powered armor, with his Halberd slung against one shoulder, he looks like he's spoiling for a fight. Of course, that is how he always looks.      "If you draw up designs, plans, I can work on them to make them more efficient beyond what you might expect. How long must the defenses last for?" 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko gives a nod. There's a little flicker of emotion across her face--a returned sense of gladness in seeing Beli again--but the girl's quiet soon resumes, her voice quite calm as she responds, "It is good. I have been well, not to worry." From her, that might mean 'I haven't been seriously injured too often lately.'     She turns, taking in the others as they arrive. A short, stiff nod to each. One or two familiar voices, but not so much familiar sights. The extra spirits are unusual, mostly in that their presence contrasts with how the island's spirits are otherwise uninvolved in this meeting. So far, at least. That thought has her looking out again, spotting the nearest groups of souls. More memories surface.     Then, to business.     "How controlled is the position in which new arrivals will appear?" That will determine how much of a 'border' they really have to worry over. 

:'''{{#var:520|Zelda (520)}} has posed:'''     "Likewise, Beli.. I hope I will be able to provide some assistance." Zelda replies, "And.. hm.. insofar as the lake.." She takes a moment to consider, "I'm not sure, but a seal may provide some protection.." 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     Ayako notes all of the people that have shown up! She bows politely towards all of the people, "I'm Ayako Hasekawa! Please call me Ayako! I'm a water spirit," Her eyes sparkle lightly with gold, "And a new fan of this place!" She catches herself quickly and glances away a bit embarassed at her outburst. "A-Although some people know that already... I-I just didn't want people to have to refer to me with adjectives..." After a moment, she recovers.     Her head inclines to the side gently as she listens to Beli. "Hmm..." Her expression brightens, "If that's what you want..." Her ponytail starts swishing side-to-side on it's own. "Then... isn't the best option to use the water? Both on this side and the other side?" 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko turns, inclining her head to Ayako. "Hasekawa-san." Yes, she'll be using that form of address until told otherwise. "Kimiko Shinobu." Her introduction is rather short. It should serve to identify her to the other's she yet to meet, as well. 

:'''{{#var:520|Zelda (520)}} has posed:'''     "Ah.." Zelda seems enthused, as she nods to Ayako and the others, "A water spirit would, no doubt, be most helpful, in this case." 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     Mizuki turns when Beli greets them all, deciding to let the conversation regarding the similarities between their homes wait until after their main reason for being here has been addressed. She waves her hand at the words 'blatantly weaponized', allowing that to serve as her foray into the discussion. "Oh, absolutely not. Having something obtrusive like a cannon pointed at the entrance is deplorable in ways I cannot hope to encapsulate with mere words. Fear not, for I feel any suggestions offered by our company this evening will be far more tactful." Or she hopes, anyway; she's not exactly well acquainted with most... actually, wait, does she know -anyone- here? ... apparently not.     Anyway. "As others have already suggested, it might be best if we make access to Purgatorio via the lake selective, if possible. Also, if anyone is versed in crafting illusions, perhaps the island on which the lake rests could be made invisible? But that would only be effective on non-elites, wouldn't it." She cups a hand around a cheek, and contemplates. "Funny that this should be so vexing in a world where possibilities are infinite and resources on both sides are so plentiful, but alas." 

:'''{{#var:238|Beli Klum (238)}} has posed:'''     Beli gives Elasaid a vaguely pensive look as she considers that offer. "...mm. That may not be a bad idea, but...I would only want that if you could make sure it would not affect anyone here. Or at least that they would be in positions where anyone that is not an enemy would be safe enough. I will consider that, definitely."     Then to Marrik. "I do not know about the spirits of my world, but others should be able to. My world is bound by several rules that cannot be broken, like the laws of nature. Anyone that is not an angel or demon in my world cannot pass between the afterlives." She glances out to the water, then. "...well. I do not really know why they are so empty, honestly, but the other afterlives are like that as well. Paradiso hovers in an endless sky, and Inferno swims in an endless sea of magma. I suppose it is just an effect of these alternate dimensions."     Armsmaster's appearance gets a surprised look from the rephaite. When did he come here? His words don't seem very comforting, either, judging by the light frown that returns to her expression. "...yes, I am aware that there are risks, but...I would still rather avoid ruining the purpose of this place. Perhaps I am overly sentimental." She gives a quiet sigh, lifting a hand to rub the side of her head. "...an eternity, if at all feasible. I do not know how long it will take for Purgatorio to fulfill its purpose. It could be centuries before the souls here have finished regaining their wills, and even then it may still need to remain present. Even if Paradiso and Inferno were to be taken out, there would still be the Confederacy to worry about."     Kimiko poses a much easier to answer question. Beli's arms cross again as she shifts slightly where she stands. "It seems to be the exact same space every time. I do not know /why/, but...no matter where you enter in the lake, it seems to drop you off at the same spot here, and the other way around. That makes things a little easier, I guess."     A nod is given to Zelda. "A seal may not be a bad idea. Even if they know where it is, that may make it harder to pass through." And Ayako offers an insight that makes Beli look up with some confusion. "...well, that...would not be a bad idea, of course. I had no real way to do that myself, but I suppose you are a water spirit. What do you think you might be able to do with what is here?"     A brief nod to Mizuki, too. "Illusions have been suggested. Those would likely work for the lake, at least, to make it more difficult to find. I doubt it would be practical or useful here, considering..." Beli glances back, craning her head to the peak of Purgatorio far, far above. That should speak for her. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko gives a nod. "This makes things easier. There is only one access point. It simply needs to be made defensible. Restrict it so that an army cannot pass through at once. Place walls around it." As she talks, she turns to look at that place of arrival, slowly pacing around it. "Then make it hospitable. A welcoming room. A place to greet arrivals, if arrivals must be greeted. Indoors, hiding one's defenses is far easier. Those who are invited need never know how strong are the walls surrounding their place of entrance, nor what active defenses hide behind them."     She nods to herself a few times, the topic bringing more talkativeness out of the Puella Magi of Armor. 

:'''{{#var:554|Armsmaster (554)}} has posed:'''      "You are," Armsmaster replies, without a hint of shame. He crosses his arms, studying the area around him. For better or worse, the blank visor of his helmet hides his eyes and most of his expression. Who knows what he's thinking under there. "If you are truly set against weapons for whatever reason, there is always the option of emplying Protectorate containment foam. Standard-issue, non-lethal. We might be able to conceal the projectors. Without much modification of the projector designs, maintenance might be required every six months. Possibly less." 

:'''{{#var:541|Marrik (541)}} has posed:''' Marrik nodded slowly as he paced about, apparently lost in thought. Then a glance to Elasaid. Then to Ayako. Pondering. "Why do they not yet know about this place?" He had a lot to diguest and the forest was small. "If they consider it contested grounds it should be the center of heavy fighting. If we arm it we might call attention and cause the two factions to stomp this place neither holds sway over flat." A frown as he let his train of thought flow. "If we could keep the bodies from collapsing I could prepare shells for spirits to inhabit and leave at need." That was stretching his skills. it would be possible, but bloody difficult. "And if my theories are right because the bodies are innert when not used they shouldn't attract attention on their own." 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     Ayako blinks her eyes quickly as she turns towards Kimiko, and then pouts softly. Her cheeks puff out a little bit too. "Call me Ayako, please..." She then smiles brightly, "Or. Or. Or Ayako-chan!" Her smile tones back down to 'merely' cheerful. "Nice to meet you, Kimiko!"     She smiles softly in response to Beli's question, "Umm... I might be a water spirit, but... don't count on me for knowing anything about water magic that hurts people." Ayako thinks quietly to herself... 'Hmm... something with water to keep people that aren't supposed to be there out... but won't mess with things too much?' Of course, Ayako being Ayako, her train of thought goes off the rails fairly quickly. She suddenly says out loud, "But isn't a mop without any water just a weird broom?" She places her hands on top of her head, "Argh, this is anno-Ah!" She brightens all of a sudden. "What if we simply made the entrance really annoying? Like a maze or something similar?" 

:'''{{#var:520|Zelda (520)}} has posed:'''     "We need not hurt anyone," Zelda remarks to Ayako, "We only need bar their path, if that is what it takes." She glances to the entranceway, then strokes her chin thoughtfully, "I do not know how well my magic might work here, but if it was combined with the magic of others.. and perhaps yours, Beli.. it might prove sufficient." 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     Mizuki shakes her head faintly when Beli mentions sentimentality. "No, no. This place is meant to be a den of peace where the inhabitants can feel at ease, isn't it? In that case, placing an instrument of war -- the very antithesis of tranquility -- in a place like this is illogical; it would ravage the atmosphere as much as any invasions would, and completely invalidate the reason for its existence. That isn't sentimentality. Rather, you're being cognisant of your realm's purpose." She gives a calm smile to the rephaite, along with a gently disapproving look at Armsmaster. Not one meant to invite confrontation if noticed, though.     She listens attentively as Kimiko gives her suggestions and nods. "Clearly it would be best if any such fortifications were built outside, yes, but if they do manage to enter... and those entering are always delivered to the same point..." She taps her foot to the ground for a few moments. "If you had forewarning, you could easily set up an ambush point there, along with some magical incantations that activate on contact. Most of the time those leave no marks on the land more obtrusive than runic circles." Grin~. "And those are rather appealing if I do say so myself. But if you are not aware that they are coming, perhaps some more permanent binding magic that could detect hostile intentions. That sounds ridiculous, I know, but it was the first thing to come to my mind." She makes a vague shrugging gesture. 

:'''{{#var:238|Beli Klum (238)}} has posed:'''     Beli gives Kimiko a thoughtful look when she speaks. "So...you are suggesting building something around the entry point? I suppose that would not be a bad idea, all things considered. A point of welcome for non-enemies may not be the worst idea anyway."     To Armsmaster...Beli just gives a weary sigh, letting her arms fall to her sides. "Well...I am not against weapons entirely, I just did not really want them lying around obviously everywhere. I did have an idea for golems that could be set up on the various levels, perhaps even empowered further with the souls I have taken from the archangels and demon lords of my world, but...I do not have the first idea how to do that, honestly. What exactly does the foam do, if I may ask?"     Beli looks to Marrik next. "Well, you saw the approach here. There are no humans for miles, so it is essentially worthless for the war and they would not waste soldiers fighting over it. Furthermore, there are no outside ways of entering any of the afterlives save for gates on Earth, and the only entrance to Purgatorio is...very different from the several entrances to Paradiso or Inferno. I also have not made any real impacts in my world since Purgatorio was created, so they have not been able to find it yet. As far as the bodies...that is an idea, though it comes back to the issue of needing people to arrive here rather than having defenses innately established. I would not want to bind anyone here unwillingly."     A nod of agreement is given to Zelda's response to Ayako. "Harming anyone who wishes to attack Purgatorio is just one way of preventing them from causing harm to this place. If there are other ways, I am definitely open to them. A maze..." She frowns slightly in thought. "...not a bad idea, though I wonder how that could be set up. I do not know that I can influence the teleportation from the lake to here, but perhaps there may be some other kind of enchantment that could be put on the lake to make it more convoluted for those that are not wanted? My own magic is...particular, but I may be able to do something to help."     Mizuki is given a soft, grateful smile. At least she's not alone in her thinking. "Thank you, Mizuki. I appreciate that." Then more insight lends a seriousness to her expression as she considers the continued discussion. "That...actually is exactly what would be helpful, I think. Something to tell those who wish Purgatorio harm from those who are benevolent." A brief pause of thought as she rubs the side of her head. "...some of my own magic is already influenced by my intentions. My demonic powers are more potent if I wish to harm someone, and the shield I can create from Raphael's soul has been stronger the more I wish to protect people with it. Perhaps there is something there we could use." 

:'''{{#var:554|Armsmaster (554)}} has posed:'''      If Armsmaster notes Mizuki's look, he gives no sign. He isn't looking for approval. "It ejects from the projector as a liquid and expands into a foam upon contact with air. It is flexible and porous, allowing people caught within it to breathe. It holds its shape and resists impacts and tearing, even from capes with super strength. It is also resistant to high temperatures and is a strong insulator, elimanting any possibility of being burnt or electrified by the people within it." 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko's head tilts to one side as she stares blankly at Ayako. "Ayako-san." That's the closest the spirit is going to get to her fulfilling that request.     To Mizuki, Kimiko reminds, "There are many entrance points, on the outside. The lake is large, and defending it is difficult without proving obvious. Though," with a glance around, she acknowledges the means outside her knowledge, "there are ways."     Returning her gaze to the spot on which she and the others had appeared, "This is the natural choke point--the point to which any invasion must be funnelled. If nothing else, placing walls around it will require that those who come through do so one at a time, to avoid tripping over each other." She frowns. Magic could render that point irrelevant. The magic of arrival--how would it interact with blocking the entrance? She doesn't know. It sounds like Beli doesn't, either.     After a few more moments, Kimiko nods in Armsmaster's direction. "A restricting weapon could be set up in a welcoming room, unobtrusively, to deal with unwanted guests. Many things could be set up, knowing the location of the target. With forewarning, they can even be made ready. But that means... placing some sort of... alarm spell on the lake. Can that be done?" Another glance around. 

:'''{{#var:541|Marrik (541)}} has posed:''' "Nor would I." Marrik stated as he continued pacing. "Through my travels I have seen many that linger that still feel they need to give something for the union. It would take work, but How I animate bodies pretty much makes the spirit independent so it doesn't matter what vassel it uses. So anyone volunteering wouldn't be stuck waiting." He saw it the same as any other term of service. "Folk rotate out between shifts, check in if anything strange happens, but other than an outright invasion it's mostly just to keep eyes out. Unobtrusive and without making a population center to be fought over." 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     "Hmm... but if the outside gets too developments all of a sudden, that'd attract attention from other things in your world, right?" Ayako inclines her head to the side, her mood suddenly serious. "So maybe a little bit of subtlety is required here... I mean, we should prepare for invaders from your world too, in case the Confederacy spreads the location and method around for their own interests."     "Teacher, teacher, question!" Ayako raises her hand like a schoolgirl in class. Where did that seriousness go? "How do the spirits-" She gestures to one of the nearby ghostly spirits, "Know how to get here or get here?" She smiles cheerfully, "Knowing the rules of your world might actually be the key here!" 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     Mizuki widens her smile at Beli's thanks. "Think nothing of it." She remains quiet throughout the rest of her response, her eyes slowly growing larger as she hears that her ideas might actually be viable. "Oh, really? Well, then we've certainly found a nice point of beginning. If we could perfect some heuristic for identifying malicious intent reliably, we could simply apply that to the lake itself and have a fine way of preventing their entry without massive fortifications or weapons. And if you have any special control over your world, you could apply it on a more grand scale to limit what certain people are capable of doing within Purgatorio's boundaries." Her expression dips a bit shortly after she finishes. "Though if it were that simple, I'm certain we wouldn't have been called here to deliberate..."     And to Kimiko, a blink. "... ah. So there are." That final suggestion really makes her eyes light up, though. "That's brilliant! If we could do so much with forewarning given the static point of arrival, an alert system would be tremendously helpful! Not only that, but it wouldn't necessarily have to be limited by an intention detector; doorbells don't necessarily hurt people, yes?" She glances to Beli. "I, too, would be interested to know whether that could be done." 

:'''{{#var:238|Beli Klum (238)}} has posed:'''     A nod is given to Armsmaster and Kimiko in turn. "Yes, that definitely sounds like a useful addition. If you might be able to provide that, Armsmaster, I think it would be good to set up, if we go forward with the choke point at the entrance. Thank you." An honest smile is given to Armsmaster, at least a small sign that she doesn't /dislike/ him. This just seems to be something that she's not experienced in at all.     Marrik gets her attention next as Kimiko considers their current options. "I guess that may be useful, depending on how things are set up. We will have to see how things develop, but I will definitely keep that in mind, if you think there are people willing to do such a thing."     Blink. Ayako gets her attention with a method that briefly confuses Beli before she gives a quick shake of her head. "Ah...how? Well..." She pauses, frowning in thought as she crosses her arms over her chest. "...for Paradiso and Inferno, they claim various regions on Earth, and anyone who dies there will be sent to their respective afterlife. It is not something they know about or control. I suppose I could end up doing the same, but...for the moment, these souls only came here because I killed about half of the archangels and demon lords that lead the afterlives and the souls that were assigned to them...basically came into me. Then I placed them in here when it was created. Right now...I do not think anyone will be brought here normally, because I have not claimed any regions on Earth. Otherwise...I do not think spirits or humans of my world in general can freely cross between dimensions of their own accord."     The rephaite looks to Mizuki next, pursing her lips together. "...well, that is...part of the issue. I will admit, I...do not even know most of the finer points of my own world. The demon lords and archangels no doubt are much more experienced than I, but...well, I cannot exactly ask them for help, can I?" A quiet sigh before she looks between Kimiko and Mizuki. "Perhaps...? Combining our efforts may be able to create some sort of sensor on the lake. We have a water spirit helping us, so perhaps that could be a start. Supplementing Ayako's skills with our own may be able to do exactly that. Then it is just a matter of building the entryway and installing defenses inside it." 

:'''{{#var:520|Zelda (520)}} has posed:'''     "Hm.. Something capable of sensing malicious intent, that disturbs the water, which would trip this.. sensor? I might be able to devise something that would be able to sense such a thing, but.." Zelda again looks to Mizuki and Ayako, "I would need a water spirit's help to tailor such a thing to the environment. From there, it would depend on what defenses you wanted to have in place.." 

:'''{{#var:541|Marrik (541)}} has posed:''' Ayako raised a good question. Given the spiritual war going on how did ghosts no where to go, and why did that not attract attention? Surely seeing the dead, even a competitive trickle, not going to either plane, should attract notice. Absentmindedly Marrik pulled a thermose out of his coat and poured himself tea to sip while watching the infinite waters. "Aye, I like the idea of a welcome house that can double as a choke point to box an invader in. Makes a great deal of sense. Unfortunately it also means you only have one point of removal of any threat and there is nowhere the locals can go to." He took a breath while considering. "Is there any way to make it look like this is not all there is? Like perhaps this island is merely the first step and the real heart is somewhere else?" His voice was thoughtful. "Even a series of illusionary islands would require tremendous magic that I am unsure exists." More pacing before turning to look at Beli, "Do you draw power from this place? As in does the realm gain as more souls fill it?" The wheels and cogs turned in his head. Visions of ghost fleets flanking grandiose islands designed to draw enemies away from the heart of this place as the souls of a thousand worlds rose up to defend their new homeland. Boy does not think small does he? "What I am thinking is likely impossible, and a simple gate house and some kind of alarm, possibly with watchers stationed regularly near the lake, is the most straightforward and best immediate answer." 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     "Un. Un." Ayako listens carefully... nodding her head once with each sentance that Beli says to answer her question, as if some sort of spiritual period detector. She happens to close her eyes and nod her head thrice when Beli pauses for a longer moment as well. "I see, I see." She smiles brightly, "Then, the outside lake really is the key! We have to figure exactly-and I mean exactly, what we want the lake to do!"     Ayako glances away for a moment in embarassment, "Beacuse you know~." Her gaze returns to the group, "Water's flexible, you know. If you give it too much ground, it'll do whatever it feels like." She giggles softly. 

:'''{{#var:554|Armsmaster (554)}} has posed:'''      Armsmaster gives a short nod of his head. "Then I will see to the necessary arrangements," he says. He promptly turns on his heel and leaves. No pleasantries, no goodbyes - he said he was going to do something, and he does it. 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     "In earnest, I'm not entirely certain how my abilities could be applied here. I'm most versed in the manipulation of time with some exceedingly modest wield over illusion, but even if those things could be helpful somehow, most of my powers are quite... transient. That's to say, I doubt very much that I could aid you in the creation of permanent fixtures." She sighs. "That said, that is no reason not to try. Ah, and not to mention, I happen to have a few friends with some influence over space. Arthur Lowell knows more than I would presume some fathomlessly large portion of the Multiverse knows about portals and magical transportation, for instance."     She cups a hand around her chin again. "Come to think of it, my sword has the ability to rend reality and create portals as well, and though that can typically only be applied to access my home from a distance, perhaps it could aid somehow in the transmission of a warning signal from the lake to Purgatorio. And perhaps my temporal abilities could be used to quicken the transfer of the warning, if it wouldn't be inherently instantaneous?" She glances between Beli and Kimiko. "Or perhaps if the same alarm could also be tied to a major Union installation so help could arrive more quickly? At the very least, that would be helpful if some variety of fortification were to be built; that would take time, and some alternative would be necessary in the intervening period." 

:'''{{#var:238|Beli Klum (238)}} has posed:'''     Beli looks between Zelda and Ayako, nodding slightly. "So Zelda and Ayako can likely work together to apply a sensor to the lake. That is definitely a good start, to limit the ability of hostile forces to enter in the first place. Thank you both, definitely; the sooner you can get started putting together something like that, the better."     The angelic demon's brow furrows slightly as she tries to consider Marrik's question. "...I do not think I gain power from it, no. I do know that if I were to die, then all of the souls here would be granted to whoever killed me, if they were from my world. Or, otherwise, they would hang around aimlessly until Paradiso or Inferno claimed them. The realm would not shift to accomodate more souls either, I think; it started out this large, and I think it has predicted how large it must be to accomodate all the souls in the world. As far as fooling anyone..." Beli gives a tense sigh. "...I feel like it would not fool the angels or demons. Purgatorio follows their structures; Paradiso is a castle with eight levels, and Inferno is a worm with eight sections. I am not sure they would care about other islands, with how significant this looks and how it matches the other realms."     And then Armsmaster offers assistance and walks away. Beli blinks and opens her mouth to respond, but he's already vanished through the ocean! A vaguely confused look settles over her expression before she rubs the side of her head. "...well, I guess that is taken care of...     Her arm drops again as she turns to Mizuki, nodding slightly. "That would also work, if you think your temporal abilities could affect what Zelda and Ayako set up. Making the alert instantaneous would ensure that we can arrive as quickly as possible, if nobody is here at the time. In the meantime, we would need some help building an actual fortification for the entryway, but that should not be terribly difficult to manage with Union resources." 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     Ayako nods her head once. "Okay, Beli!" She cheerfully smiles and turns towards Zelda, bowing politely to her. "Zelda, was it? I'm in your care." She glances off to the side and scratches her cheek with her right pointer finger. "Umm... I don't know much about your magic, so... just tell me what you need and-" She raises her arms into the air, "I'll do my best!" She smiles a bright smile. 

:'''{{#var:520|Zelda (520)}} has posed:'''     Zelda nods to Beli, "I will certainly do my best, as well." She smiles at Ayako, "Simple, or so I hope. Adapting the spell I come up with to respond to the water. I can get it to respond only to malicious intent, but tuning it to the water itself will be your task, in this case. I will return, once we conclude here, and get to work as soon as possible." 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     "If an attack comes in force, from outside this world," Kimiko begins, "it will get through. Nothing should be considered impenetrable against the Confederacy. If it were otherwise, the war would not still be fought." There's a hard edge of respectful wariness in her tone. "Delaying tactics, and an alert, sent outward to the Union, are the only actions of use in that case." A nod, then. 

:'''{{#var:183|Mizuki (183)}} has posed:'''     Mizuki smiles, wrapping her arms behind her back with just a hint of pride. "Then I would say that this is a plan made~. But I would appreciate a moment or two before we do anything if it isn't too much trouble." She paces closer to an edge, fixing her gaze on the horizon. "This place is not charged with the same melancholic energy of which I am usually enamored, but this is still an exquisite view. And its similarity to my local Leviathan... I could swear, it is akin to the reorchestration of a song; the same melody that you so love, but with different instruments to convey its brilliance. Nostalgic, in a way, but the differences are enough to give everything an aura of renewed incadesence." She draws in a breath, looking back to Beli. "In case I hadn't been overt enough before, I shall reiterate: it is a lovely place, this one you call home."     Hey, it's a miracle that she stayed on topic as long as she did. 

:'''{{#var:541|Marrik (541)}} has posed:''' Marrik grunted, "Maybe so, but outsiders or the confederacy might." Another sip before he continued, "the effort could better go elsewhere." He looked about and hrmed. "Best I can do is offer interested folk a seat at the table here if they want something to do and aren't ready to leave. Won't be much against elites, but against regulars probably would work out." 

:'''{{#var:238|Beli Klum (238)}} has posed:'''     Beli gives a nod of understanding to Kimiko. "It is something, at least. Maybe in time I will grow strong enough to provide a stronger defense, but...at the moment, this should at least resist any smaller forces coming through, and buy time for defenders to arrive."     Mizuki is given a small, grateful smile in response to all her praise. "...thank you. You are free to visit whenever you would like, if you enjoy it this much. I am never opposed to appreciative visitors." She turns to everyone else, then, nodding her thanks. "All of you. Your aid is greatly appreciated, and if there is anything I can do for you in return, please do not hesitate to ask. This would not be possible without all of your assistance. Thank you all, truly."     The rephaite sighs softly, leaning back against the cliffside as she folds her arms again. "If you all would like to stay for a while longer, please feel free. I...think I will need to take care of something soon, however, so forgive me if I do not stay around for very long. Hopefully these defenses we have come up with will prevent anyone from causing too much of an impact...at least before aid can arrive. It is just a matter of time now..." 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko turns to Beli, closing her eyes a moment, then nodding. "You know that I will come to your aid, if you call." She does not phrase it as a question.     Her eyes turn to the side, then, as if looking out over the world for the first time. Mn. "It is a nice place. Not like Paradiso. A different landscape." She nods. Nn. 

:'''{{#var:541|Marrik (541)}} has posed:''' Marrik bowed slightly to Beli. "I would like your permission to start gathering volenteers and possibly to look into something to act outside of the lake." His voice was soft as he spoke. his body language subdued as he put his drink away. "I assure you any that come will be of their own free will, and I will give them the truth and whatever time they need. Having resentful help is worse than useless." 

:'''{{#var:520|Zelda (520)}} has posed:'''     Zelda certainly seems to agree with Kimiko's opinion, that if the Confederacy wanted, it's not a matter of 'if', but 'when'. "As I said, I will be returning to begin work on my portion of the spell. If you'd like to accompany me, Ayako, or at some point meet with me, then let me know." 

}}

1124/Luna practices her swordsmareship.

2014-12-12T05:06:02Z

Kimiko: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2014/12/11 |Location=Njorun Station - Ring of Philosophy |Synopsis=Some people wanted to practice with swords, and so they did. |Thanks= |Cast of C..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2014/12/11
|Location=Njorun Station - Ring of Philosophy
|Synopsis=Some people wanted to practice with swords, and so they did.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=20, 337, 481, 570, 628, 633, 642, 647, 655
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:337|Luna (337)}} has posed:'''      Those who enter the Ring after Luna will find the terrain generator has been programmed for a dark, moonlit forest with a large clearing in the middle. In that clearing stands Luna, the graceful mistress of the night. She is a pony (which is quite obvious), so how is she wielding a sword? Well, she is an Alicorn, which means she has magical powers including telekinetics.      Right now, her horn is glowing softly and her sword is floating in front of her. Her wings are spread for balance. Which is curious because she doesn't actually have to move to use her sword. It seems to be fighting on its own, slashing and flourishing about the area in front of her as the midnight breeze makes her mane and tail flow gently. She waits for a challenger or a practice partner. If none appear, she seems content to practice the movements. 

:'''{{#var:20|Toph Beifong (20)}} has posed:'''     Right now she isn't here to spar, but Toph does enjoy hanging out with her fellow Unionites. Besides, she doesn't do swords. But the blind girl walks into the area, a bit curious about the forest area. While she has spoken with Luna before she hasn't met the alicorn face to face. But she offers a grin to her nonetheless and waves. "Heya there." Pretty easy to deduce who it is anyway, unless other ponies decided to drop by. "Just here to hang out for now, don't mind me," Toph informs Luna before she walks over by a large rock and sits down by it, getting comfortable.     "Besides, it would be useful to see what these new guys can do, right?" She did spar with Spider-Man yesterday, and heck, he got some new ideas today it seems. So getting their new allies ready for stuff isn't a bad idea if it means they will be more prepared against the Feds. 

:'''{{#var:655|Dominic Masoch (655)}} has posed:''' For a Sword Saint, albeit one who keeps his identity a secret, encountering extraversal sword users is an opportunity not to be passed up. It was minimal effort to secure his permission to go off-world and then less effort to secure transport. With his half-cloak wrapped around him, the proclaimed Fencer makes his way to this arena that has been spoken of. "Truly Landon al Cid speaks true," Dominic proclaimed, wandering into the Ring to find that the terrain was that of a lush and dark forest. His boots crunch along the underbrush of the forest while he looks around in wonderment, "The extraverse is full of wonderful new things." And he takes a moment's pause to be rather amazed at Luna herself, "And people as well! I am Sir Dominic Masoch of Ramuh. Please call me Dominic." And then his natural instinct for swords kicks in, "It is an interesting style you use, to not wield it in-hand." 

:'''{{#var:481|Kirika (481)}} has posed:'''     Swords tend to be one of the things that gets Kirika's attention, given her own nature as a samurai, albeit one not quite in line with earth history anyway. She arrives with her sheathed blade in hand, cloak trailing behind her as she lowers her hood. The moment she spots people present, she approaches them with her tail following the same movements as her cloak. Her red eyes scan the room's inhabitants carefully, focusing on Dominic in particular.     "I bid greetings to all." She bows respectfully, before standing back up.     Luna's appearance was rather unexpected, as was her technique given her equine appearance. A brow arches, and Kirika observes the Alicorn closely for a moment, before nodding to Dominic. "Well met, Sir Masoch. I am Kirika, we already spoke on the radio before." She says, tone as polite and stoic as possible. 

:'''{{#var:337|Luna (337)}} has posed:'''      Luna turns her head when Toph pops in. "Ah, hello." Luna says, a kind smile on her muzzle. She nods at Toph's observation. "Indeed. Seeing what our allies can do is important to fighting alongside them." the alicorn says before returning to her sword play. Although it is not required, it does seem to add power to her sword thrusts when she starts putting her body into the actions. Flicking her head, rearing up, lunging forward, and other such movements often associated with sword fighting.      When Masoch shows up and introduces himself, Luna stops her swordplay and turns to face him. Her sword continues to float in place, the magical glow around it almost making it appear to be trailing blue flames. "Greetings, Sir Dominic. I am Luna. It is an honor to meet you." she says, then smirks lightly. "Well, when one has the magical abilities I have, one can develop styles of fighting outside the normal methods." she says. She nods to Kirika as the kitsune woman enters. "I understand you were intending to practice your sword skills. If you are not opposed, I would be happy to join you." the pony says, smiling. 

:'''{{#var:628|Kamon Lionward (628)}} has posed:''' Kamon's here. He heard something about extraversal swords(wo)men doing their thing and decided he should put in an appearance. After all, fighting is his /thing/. He supposes he should probably accept that if he's good at it, he should just do it. Practice is pretty awesome, anyway; people don't usually get mad at him for getting beat up when they practice. Staying out of the way, Kamon wanders over to Toph's rock and crouches down next to it. He's wearing a sword, but he isn't out there with the other three, and Toph will pretty quickly recognize his unusually heavy tread and the enormous amount of metal in his body. It makes it hard to hide from someone with her particular skills. "Hi," he asides to her quietly, apparently keeping it down out of respect for the fight that is totally about to break out. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Shinobu Kimiko arrives, in apparent calm, her usual poker face in place regardless of what appears before her. She's armed and half-armored by the time she shows, with a long blade sheathed and hanging from a double-banded belt at her left hip, and a combination of chain and plate. Her breastplate, elegantly articulated heavy gauntlets, and sabatons are the only visible points of the latter, with much obscured by a plain, gray surcoat. She does not immediately introduce herself, instead standing to the side, and watching. With a straight stance, she's not even readying herself to draw. 

:'''{{#var:633|Soan Sagittarius (633)}} has posed:'''      Soan was not straight up invited, but neither was a lot of people. He was rather curious on how some foreing swordmasters (or mistresses in this case) would be able to handle the blade. He's not a particularly talented swordsman, his true talent lying elsewhere, but watching a duel with a Fencer of their school against an Extraversal one might result in some insight. Then again, he could get completely lost.      Like Kamon, he does not get into the fight, instead staying out of the way near-by Toph and his friend Kamon. /Unlike/ the man from Odin, his footsteps were astoundingly light, only 'audible' for her a few dozen metres at most as he causally strolled out for something to lean against to watch the fight.      "Hello, hello." Soan keeps the greetings simple, offering a nod at Kamon. He, too, have a sword and a buckler. The second strapped over his arm, the first sheathed at his side. 

:'''{{#var:647|Noiela (647)}} has posed:''' Compulsive eavesdropper and unable to muster the easy flow of banter when her mind still buzzed with questions resulted in one extra observer; their appearance dwarfed by the chosen tree whose gnarled branches they rest underneath, legs drawn up to support one leatherbound book. As to the strangers own appearance, it is unremarkable; when placed next to winged Luna or the samurai. Just another seemingly human person whose taste in attire runs to dark, hooded coats and chunky bootware. At the precise moment, their gloved left hand idly twirls a pen, suspended above the opened book weighing down their knees. 

:'''{{#var:20|Toph Beifong (20)}} has posed:'''     Recognizing the voice from the radio, Toph offers a brief salute to Dominic as he enters the forest clearing. "Heya and welcome to the Ring, Dominic," she greets. Then she picks up Kirika, offering her a wave. "Heya. You gonna teach the new kid something?" Either way it ought to be amusing. And better than guqin practice.     Man, even more people are coming, huh? The more the merrier. and Toph turns her head slightly towards Kamon. Indeed, picking up the metal in his body is easy enough, and she cants her head a bit. "Heya. You're that... Kamon guy, right?" It's a bit hard to keep up with the reports of all the new people, but she tries to at least. Now she's a bit curious about why he has so much metal in his body, but she has the sense to not ask directly. Soan might be light footed, but for a girl who can sense the footsteps of an ant it doesn't matter, now does it? "This ought to be interesting..." she muses, then opens her bag and pulls out a bag of chips, offering it to the others. 

:'''{{#var:642|Landon al Cid (642)}} has posed:'''      This is the first chance the Prince of Ramuh has gotten to actually leave Galianda. In the wake of the recent announcement of heightened extraversal interaction, Prince Landon finally managed to finagle an outing for himself.      Granted, he isn't exactly alone. Several Judges, dressed in heavy armor but bearing no weapons, flank the young Prince as he arriveson the Ring. They go ahead of him and behind him, eagerly casing out the room - and probably as delighted to get this trip as Landon is. Being extraversal pioneers isn't something everyone on Galianda will get to do, after all!      The Prince himself stands maybe six feet, with bright white hair and bright eyes. He is also clad in dark armor, though his armor lacks a helmet, and he also wields no weapon. He offers a smile to Kamon, Soan, and Dominic, then turns his attention to the rest of the group.      "Good afternoon...I hope I am not intruding?" 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko turns to watch the judges with an appraising look, then nods. "The ring is open to all. Even the unaffiliated." She turns back, then, to cast a sharper look on those with weapons drawn, or soon to be. 

:'''{{#var:655|Dominic Masoch (655)}} has posed:''' "A pleasure to meet you in person," Dominic responds to Kirika with an even tone, the arm hanging under his half cloak placed in one pocket. The long, slender rapier that hangs at his side is left there for now. He turns to face Luna and agrees, "Yes. I imagine it would allow you to utilize unusual attack vectors and to combine numerous maneuvers which the body could not handle. I see." He rubs a hand under his chin before he waves to Toph and then adjusts the beret atop his head. Kimiko does not receive much overt greeting, but her presence is noted and acknowledged with a nod of his head. He turns back to Luna as he unclasps the half-cloak he wears and hangs it on a branch, "Tell me what troubles you about your swordsmanship? In what areas do you feel inadequate?" While outwardly calm and stoic, the appearance of this many people from his academy, and particularly of the Prince, give him an undercurrent of performance anxiety in this battle. 

:'''{{#var:628|Kamon Lionward (628)}} has posed:''' "Yeah, that's me. Uhhh... Toph, yeah?" He's trying to keep the names to voices. It's tricky, with how many there are. He /does/ snag a couple of her chips, munching with a muttered, "Thanks." Kamon spends his time sizing up the current competitors. He scratches his chin, frowning a little at the telekinetically-controlled weapon and coming to about the same conclusions Dominic does. He wonders about the range of control. Could Luna just stand on one end of the field and take swings at people on the other, or is there a limit? Kimiko and Kirika... more traditional weapon styles, and he can guess how they'll fight. "This'll be pretty good," he remarks, among the spectators. 

:'''{{#var:20|Toph Beifong (20)}} has posed:'''     "Toph Beifong. Call me Toph," she replies to Kamon, making sure to pass on the bag of chips after he has taken something to munch on.     Well, somebody brought a lot of friends...     Toph stuffs her mouth with some potato chips, and then she snorts. "Only if your buddies want chips too, buddy. I obviously didn't bring enough for everyone."     It's a bit funny with how tense Dominic seems, but luckily for him Toph doesn't comment on it. 

:'''{{#var:633|Soan Sagittarius (633)}} has posed:'''      "It'll sure be interesting. It's always facinating to see unknown martial styles displayed like this." Soan says, grabbing himself a few of her chips as well with his gloved hand, giving them a taste. Huh. Weird. Nice, but weird. "Thanks you."      He looks down at Toph for a moment, tilting his head for a bit as he sits down on the ground at the moment, giving the swordsusers at the center a look, rubbing his chin thoughfully. 

:'''{{#var:481|Kirika (481)}} has posed:'''     Kirika's keen sense of smell leaves her nose twitching when she sees Toph's doritos. A wary look comes from the half-kitsune, before she nods to Dominic. "The feeling is mutual, Sir Masoch." She smiles faintly, before nodding to the others that arrive, including Kimiko. She remembers the Puella Magi from a few operations a while back, but otherwise they are but acquaintences.     When the Prince arrives, with his retinue of Judges, Kirika bows before them with respect. They /are/ technically foreign dignitaries, and deserve the most reverence possible in this setting.     "I will be content to simply converse, unless someone is in need of a sparring partner here." Kirika offers, looking to Luna and Dominic ofr a moment before she taps the pommel of her sword's hilt. 

:'''{{#var:647|Noiela (647)}} has posed:''' The mysterious stranger with the obsfucating outfit jitters more than a little when the Prince makes his grande entrance, bringing keen eyed Judges to inspect the room. Shrinking back against the gnarled treetrunk, they decide it is better to stand up and be counted-marginally on both counts. A favourable angle later reveals that despite considerable effort to bulk out by added layers the person is decidedly female. The alternative is a rather unsual chest pocket. Stuffed with socks. Politely inclining her head to anyone watching, they-she slides down again, depositing the book tucked underneath one arm back into its place on the knees. "An electic crowd tonight." Murmurs the short stranger, shooting a glance in the direction of Kamon, Toph and Soan. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     As everyone likely to arrive has now gathered, the silver-haired swordswoman chooses this moment to identify herself.     "I am... Shinobu. Kimiko. I would not mind practice involving any weapon in which I am proficient. These include--a variety of swords." 

:'''{{#var:642|Landon al Cid (642)}} has posed:'''      Landon bows politely to Kirika. If she allows, he also kisses her hand in the archaic style common to medieval worlds; if not, he seems utterly amenable to the refusal. It's probably just courtly manners, of which the Prince appears to have in spades.      "I would not, myself, mind seeing extraversal martial styles," the Prince observes, "Nor would I particularly mind experiencing them! In fact, I should like that very much, I think."      "I am Prince Landon al Cid, for those of you I have not yet had the chance to meet in person. It is a pleasure and an honor to meet with you, Union Representatives." 

:'''{{#var:337|Luna (337)}} has posed:'''      Luna offers a polite bow to Landon. "Welcome." she says to the prince, offering a warm smile. "I am Luna, of Equestria."      Luna considers a moment, then sheaths her sword. "Nothing in particularly troubles me about it, but I have had no formal sword training. There may be techniques or secrets I do not know about that could make my fighting style more effective. However, if my style is so different, I am unsure those who use their hands will have the sort of knowledge I would need." she says to Dominic.      When Kirika speaks up, Luna considers a moment. "We could spar so that you can see my style in action and advise me on how I might improve it. If it needs improving." the pony says, looking between the two sword users before her. "That is the nice thing about this arena. There is no need to hold back. The special protective fields allow us to use all our strength without injuring our opponents." 

:'''{{#var:655|Dominic Masoch (655)}} has posed:''' "I see. Well my Job is not Samurai or Ninja, so I could not teach you formally about how to use that sword," Only half-true, but true enough to make his point, "Yet the design of your weapon allows me to offer you basic tips. You should favor sweeping slashes and powerful cuts over thrusting attacks," He notes with a casual gesture, stepping towards her when she sheaths her sword. "The single-edged design with a reinforced blade makes it ideal for more crushing blows and means that you should favor that. While the design of the tip allows stabbing, it is single-edged and so this is unideal for the weapon," He explains simply, giving Luna a pretty obvious explanation about the design of her blade. His hand falls to the hilt of his rapier in a casual gesture, resting there while he watches the others converse and arrange sparring. 

:'''{{#var:481|Kirika (481)}} has posed:'''     "I believe Dominic has you covered." Kirika says, smiling towards the fencer and alicorn. As the prince greets her formally, Kirika turns to face him-     Only to get a kiss on the hand. Human traditions, especially offworld ones, are certainly not the sorts of things she's quite used to yet. The kitsune hides a blush, trying not to look like a sheepish maiden too much in the presence of royalty. She observes the judges for a moment, wondering if they are bodyguards to the Prince, or perhaps officators if there is to be a duel here today. Mayhap both? Who knows?     In any case, she allows Dominic to handle the teaching for now, convinced the Fencer knows his stuff. Kenjutsu is a bit of a different beast than anything Luna is expecting, anyway. 

:'''{{#var:633|Soan Sagittarius (633)}} has posed:'''      Soan looks up from watching the instructions between sword people, giving Noiela a quick greeting wave at her glance, smiling at the mysterious girl. "Yes, yes it is." He replies, his voice low as well, crunching on his last chips.      "Please, sit down, sit down, Noiela. Make yourself comfortable, this ius going to get pretty good, I think." 

:'''{{#var:647|Noiela (647)}} has posed:''' Observing the main duelists, the girls stare wavers slightly when Landon dispenses his princely courtship of everyone within eye and earshot. Attention completely derailed with the sharp eyed Soan directly addressing her, sending her lowered pen skittering across the open page. Ripping the blotchy paper out in one swift tear and crumple, she lugs book and person over to where the rest are situated, lowering her hood to reval a girl with hair and skin bleached white in the moonlight. If one felt inspired to insipid poetry. "You've got eagle vision." She remarks in a rumble, frown unable to hide the smile curling her mouth. Open book, poise pen and hunch back. "Hello, fellow spectators." 

:'''{{#var:337|Luna (337)}} has posed:'''      Despite the obvious assessment of her weapon. Luna seems to appreciate it. "I see. And, do you suppose it is suited for blocking? Or should I focus on avoiding and parrying blows with it?" she says, the young alicorn seeming interested in this subject. "Oh, and..." Her horn glows, and her scythe (shown in the picture in her desc) appears. "...do you know anything about these sorts of weapons?" she adds, unaware of the Job system on Galianda.      Luna nods to Kirika before smirking lightly as the kitsune is caught off guard by the kiss to her hand. With the kitsune and prince and the others occupying each other, Luna focuses on Dominic. She floats the scythe off to the side, away from harming anyone, then gives it a few swishes and spins. "I received it only recently, but I am quite fond of it already." 

:'''{{#var:20|Toph Beifong (20)}} has posed:'''     The blind girl listens to the talk about swords, looking slightly bored. When are they getting to the actual sparring? She does hear Soan speak to Noiela, and the girl earns a slight nod from Toph. But she turns her focus back to the fight soon enough as Luna swishes and spins her scythe.     "Lots of you new people lately. Do all of you fight?" Toph asks to the others who have gathered around the rock. And she makes sure that everybody gets offered some chips to snack on. 

:'''{{#var:642|Landon al Cid (642)}} has posed:'''      Landon beams at Noiela. Several of the Judges glance at each other, presumably because they should've caught her, but they were probably about to anyway - Soan's practiced at seeking out hidden people, after all. They're not likely to lose their jobs at that.      "Good afternoon, Lady Noiela," he offers politely. He doesn't kiss her hand; he's met her before, after all. "I hope I find you well? I understand you're intending to attend the event tonight...do you intend to also enroll in the Academy, now that its doors are open?"      Landon looks over at Toph. "Ah, yes. Combat is something of a necessity on Galianda. Battle can spring up everywhere. Monsters come from the depths of all the Plates, and laxity is often deadly." 

:'''{{#var:633|Soan Sagittarius (633)}} has posed:'''      "Have to be, m'lady." Soan says, watching with some satisfaction Noiela coming down and making herself fully known. Not so much on her frustration that he apparently caused. "Traps are not particularly obvious half of the time, even if theyh are often not nearly as clever their creator like them to be half of the time. Good to see you, Noiela."      The Thief is not worried about giving competition to a bunch of bodyguard judges. They are quite adept at jumping in the way of danger... much like he is, now that he muses about it.      "As the good Prince says, most people know how to fight." He says, leaning back against his seat, quite relaxed. "Even I can fight. Not nearly as well as some of my fellow, but hey. I can avoid detection very well." 

:'''{{#var:655|Dominic Masoch (655)}} has posed:''' "Blocking is possible but should quickly be transitioned into deflection or parrying. You will wish to catch incoming sword strikes at an angle with the flat or thick portions of your sword along the side or back, allowing them to graze down towards the rounded hilt at your hand," Dominic says in a weirdly specific display of kenjutsu knowledge despite being a rapier user by all apeparances, "Then you will transition this into an advantageous position through a parry or push and attempt to score a disabling or killing blow. Direct blocking is not advised as it can damage or distort your sword irreparably." He keeps those gloved hands folded at his back as he explains this to Luna. He takes pause for a moment, bowing about 10 degrees in mostly show to Kimiko, "Dominic Masoch." He introduces for his final time today, "Of Ramuh. Please call me Dominic." When Kirika passes teaching off onto him and goes to wander off to introduce herself to Landon. The Prince is as charming as ever, and that puts Dominic somewhat at ease. He takes a half-deep breath and smiles at Luna. "That is a scythe and a weapon I know very little about. You will see better training in a polearm from someone like Kamon, who has a wider array of knowledge than myself." 

:'''{{#var:647|Noiela (647)}} has posed:''' "Mostly let others do the fighting." Noiela raises a hand to conceal the smirk twitching her mouth at the Judges brief show of bewilderment, gleeful and admittedly slightly childish glee brightening up those darkly lit eyes. It helps to reduce the faint tremble at Landon addressing her; relaxed to a telltale quaver in reply once it becomes clear he will not be grasping her hand to bestow a kiss anytime soon. "Good afternoon." Equally formal, grin reduced to a far more acceptable smile pinched at the corners. "Perhaps, with the intent to purloin your worlds knowledge and apply it further afield. Do you happen to know of any lessons that focus on trap making? Soan feels the current crop lack invention." Dipping into the stock of corn chips with a quiet word of thanks to Toph, the tactician attempts to balance writing up on the interaction between the duelists and munching. Many crumbs are shed. 

:'''{{#var:20|Toph Beifong (20)}} has posed:'''     "Your footsteps are very light, you walk like an airbender," Toph comments to Soan. "And I know /you/ can fight, you were there when we worked to stop Lute and his crazy girlfriend, remember?" It's good to hear that they are all used to combat, however. Most of them. "You can leave the fighting to us, honey." Not everybody fights, and that's fine. 

:'''{{#var:337|Luna (337)}} has posed:'''      Luna nods at Dominic's explanations, then smirks. "Well, it seems there is little more you can teach me with words. Perhaps a proper training match would be in order. I need to keep my skills and my weapons sharp for dealing with the enemies of the Union and the dangers of my own world." she says to him.      Luna then steps a short distance away and draws her sword again with nothing more than a thought. Now, she is wielding two weapons. Dominic might notice that the weapons stay with about 10 feet of Luna as she moves. Perhaps that is the maximum distance her telekinetics can handle the objects. "Are you sure you would not like to join us, Miss Kirika? I do have two weapons." 

:'''{{#var:481|Kirika (481)}} has posed:'''     Kirika shakes her head, "I believe Dominic has this in hand for the time being. I will watch." She says politely, before she backs up to help give the Fencer and Alicorn some room. Grabbing a seat someone, Kirika kneels down and politely remains at rest, watching silently. 

:'''{{#var:642|Landon al Cid (642)}} has posed:'''      Dominic gets a brief glance from Landon. Landon is, admittedly, curious; he hasn't watched Dominic fight very often. Duels aren't exactly in vogue anymore amidst the nobility as a means of solving problems, or at least not minor problems. The sort of people who get challenged to duels of honor tend to be either incredibly good at killing people or incredibly rude and ignorant and thus not likely to last long anyway.      "Ah, I haven't taken any. I imagine the Thieves' Curriculum would be the place to look, and such is not really my idiom, so to speak. I leave that to capable men like Soan." He taps the side of his nose with a smile. "I have my own ways of protecting myself, after all."      He probably doesn't mean the Judges, who are currently watching, milling about, and perusing for other hidden intruders who might possibly try and assassinate the Crown Prince.      "I meant to ask, by the by; when are you free for that dinner we discussed?" 

:'''{{#var:655|Dominic Masoch (655)}} has posed:''' "If that is what you wish," Dominic says with a faint smile and a nod of his head. He takes a deep breath and then steps back a bit, taking off the long coat he wears and his beret, both of which are part of his personal school outfit to blend style, functionality and nobility. This also involves his heavy gloves coming off, but there's no reason to keep them on for a spar. All in all, it leaves the nobleman in a buttoned vest, dress shirt (Which he is currently rolling the sleeves of up towards his elbow) and long pants with those big boots. He makes sure his ponytail is secure before saying, "I will endeavor to show you the skill of Alexander Academy's best Fencer." Capital F. The fingers on his bare right hand coil and he reaches towards his sheathed weapon. With a swift motion, the long and slender blade is drawn, mithril glinting in the moonlight. Dominic shifts his footing, the left foot moving back behind himself and dragging through the dirt on the ground with the toe of his boot. His body slides sideways, presenting in profile while he keeps the blade in a classic swordplay stance in his right. His left arm is formally folded behind his back, kept at the small of it. "En garde." He says briskly. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko, despite her armor, manages a smooth bow to Dominic in return, of the same incline--though hers is clearly not of the European style. To Luna, she shakes her head, slightly. Scythes are outside her ability, apart from those heavily modified for war. 

:'''{{#var:337|Luna (337)}} has posed:'''      Luna nods, a confident look on her face. "Very well." She dismisses the scythe, then turns to face Dominic. She is naturally less of a target when facing something than if she is turned, so she has no special stance to take. Her weapon, a wakizashi, is at best a short sword. Which promises to be very quick when attacking, especially when wielded by telekinetics.      The alicorn watches Dominic for a few moments, then moves toward him quickly. She keeps her ten food distance as her wakizashi goes flying in, spinning like a lawnmower blade. A most unorthadox attack for a sword, and fairly impossible for those who are actually holding the sword. But for a telekinetic unicorn pony, it is pretty easy. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko watches the two spar from a respectful distance--but simply watching is not all she came here to do. Left hand resting on her hip, just above her sword's hilt, she turns her attention to landon. "And you, Prince Landon al Cid? Do you seek practice? Whether with sword, spear, axe, or gauntlet, I may provide." 

:'''{{#var:628|Kamon Lionward (628)}} has posed:''' Kamon, still on the sidelines, produces a crumpled bag of what appears to be cookies. COURAGE COOKIES...?! He looks at them as if he's wondering if he should share. 

:'''{{#var:642|Landon al Cid (642)}} has posed:'''      Several of the Judges look warily at Kimiko. Landon, however, offers a broad smile. "I believe I can accomodate myself thusly. Though I confess I am not nearly skilled enough to claim myself the greatest of anything," the Prince observes wryly.      Landon snaps his hand to the side. A moment later, he holds up what appears to be an intricate, painted card. As the Prince pours mana into the card, the intricate paintings light up; suddenly, the card is no longer a card, but a large, heavy-looking sword with a crescent on the end. It's at least a greatsword, but the Prince wields it in one hand, as though it was no more than a rapier.      "I'm afraid I'm not quite proficient at dual-wielding. This will have to do for now, hm?" 

:'''{{#var:633|Soan Sagittarius (633)}} has posed:'''      "The Thieves panoply of abilities /do/ include trap making and trap disarming." Soan confirms, smiling at at Noiela and the Prince, settling in still to look at the incoming duel. Duels are an interesting proposition for Soan. For one, they aren't to be accepted, because anyone that challenges you either think they've got more than you do on the matter, or are dangerously ignorant. For two, it present a fantastic strike opportunity by a third party.      "I wouldn't say the current crop is, just... most traps, by default, don't /need/ to be very clever. Just clever enough." He comments, turning his attention to Landon and Kimiko. Hm. About their age. 

:'''{{#var:655|Dominic Masoch (655)}} has posed:''' Her style is as he predicted, utilizing her lack of physical connection to the blade to make unorthodox sword strikes that would normally be impossible. The yellow bolts of 'lightning' that accent Dominic's naturally blue eyes flicker as he slowly begins channeling his MP and deciding how best to proceed. His first thought is the potential of parrying a blade, but without knowing the exact strength of her sword strike, the spiral motion of the blade runs a risk of disarming him in the first moments of combat and that is unideal for someone with his Job. He could potentially attempt to press through the damage, but that speed of motion and particular line of attack could see him take 'fatal' damage. So he attempts to go under. In a smooth and agile motion, he shifts his blade to point the tip downwards. He then lunges straight forward, lowering himself to the ground. Boots slide through the dirt and leaves on the forest floor as he seeks to go directly under her spinning blade. If it lowers in time to catch him, a glancing cut appears on his forehead above one eye, lightly trickling blood. However, going under the blade allows him to close some distance hopefully. He thrusts in towards Luna with a flurry of feather-fast blows, aiming to draw damage at her shoulders with swift slices of his lightning-fast blade. 

:'''{{#var:647|Noiela (647)}} has posed:''' The metal nib stratches its way industriously as the main contenders fall into their respective battle stances; a steady hand and composed mind is essential when scribbing down the slanting, angular letters that comprise her own personal cipher. Corner of her tongue pinkly showing as she concentrates almost entirely on the upcoming fight, Noiela belatedly catches wind of Cids reply and question. Quelling any tremour in her elbow, she struggles to speak with equanimity. "Wh-Whenever you are open for such pursuits and I own a dress able to sidestep the stern glare of your guards." Stopped from gabbling when Kimiko engages the Prince; it is gratefully she turns the other way to regard Soan. "I see." 

:'''{{#var:20|Toph Beifong (20)}} has posed:'''     When Kamon pulls out the bag, it doesn't take Toph long to reach a hand over, palm facing upwards to the guy. Hey, she shared chips, so he should totally share cookies. That's how it works.     Her attention is on the sparring in front of her though, her feet resting on the ground to pick up the movements of the alicorn and the fencer. Hmm, not bad really. While she isn't used to swords herself, she focuses on their movements. And it seems like they aren't too bad at all. Perhaps they could be a bit steadier. Then again, Toph has high standards, especially for her students. And these guys aren't earthbenders. 

:'''{{#var:628|Kamon Lionward (628)}} has posed:''' Kamon drops a couple of cookie-lumps into Toph's hand. They're super chocolatey at first bite, and then instantly dry her mouth out like a desert a few seconds after, practically killing all taste sensation from therein. Kamon also holds out a bottle of water as soon as she takes the cookies. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Kimiko nods. "Whatever weapon you wish. Apart from firearms, as I have no experience with those." A mild qualification, as she expects that not to apply, currently. The method of weapon storage is interesting, but she doesn't comment. Her own is no less convenient.     The armored girl raises both hands, as if holding a long-hilted blade, and immediately, a shining, polished sword the size of a German longsword--closer to a claymore than the typical knight's cross-hilt--appears in her grip in a flash of silver light, sparkles hanging in the air as they drift and wink out like so many white embers. She raises the sword vertically, then executes a few swings without shifting her footing, alternating one- and two-handed, as if getting used to the weight. When she stops, the blade is held high, as if ready for an overhead strike at full power.     "You may begin. If not, I shall." 

:'''{{#var:20|Toph Beifong (20)}} has posed:'''     Wasting no time in tasting the cookie lumps, Toph stuffs her mouth. With all of them at once. Why is he holding out a water bottle? It's not like she's thi--     What. The. Hell.     The girl's eyes widen slightly where she sits. And then she starts coughing, hacking as she grabs the bottle, sticking out her dried out tongue before she starts chugging the water with a panicked look on her face! 

:'''{{#var:337|Luna (337)}} has posed:'''      Luna blinks in surprise at the agile dodge, and while she tries to adjust, that tiny nick is all she manages. And as Dominic comes lunging in toward her, Luna's eyes widen and her horn glows. And as those lightning-fast strikes come, a shield of energy appears around Luna. She dodges to one side, using her magic to deflect the blows, and as she does, her sword makes its way back over. It takes up defensive position, twirling as before, but this time to defelct the flurry of attacks. So, this is what it is like fighting a true swordsman. It is pretty impressive.      But, the advantage of not holding her sword comes into play again as the sword suddenly swings out and down in a diagonal arc, then back up in an cross cut. A swing of the blade is like a snake striking. So fast it can barely be seen until after it has happened. But, she apparently can't strike over and over in that fashion like Dominic can. Or hasn't practiced enough to make such a flurry of attacks. 

:'''{{#var:633|Soan Sagittarius (633)}} has posed:''' Soan watches with interests the effect this will have on Toph! It will be FACINATING. 

:'''{{#var:642|Landon al Cid (642)}} has posed:'''      "I imagine that you would look stunning in such a dress, Lady Noiela," Landon notes wryly as he swings the Judge Blade calmly, testing it out. It doesn't appear to be made of any real material at all; in fact, it's completely see-through, and it ripples and shimmers like liquid crystal. It most certainly isn't metal or crystal of any nature, though.      "Then, by your leave, I shall begin!"      The Prince is actually quite a good swordsman. Though he pales in comparison to Dominic or Kamon, what he lacks in swordsmanship, he makes up for in a very specific trick - one that he demonstrates at the start of the charge.      As Landon lunges forward, he throws his hand out in front of him. A spinning card appears, glowing a brilliant blue light. And then...      And then, there's a crystalline barrier in between Landon and Kimiko. Landon throws the Judge Blade upwards; the sword hovers in the air, presumably of its own volition, and then comes swinging down for Kimiko's own. 

:'''{{#var:481|Kirika (481)}} has posed:'''     Kirika supposes she'll wait her turn. When things begin happening, she continues to observe in silence, fascinated by the techniques and powers displayed by the combatants present. WIth two duels going on at once, she works to give both contests equal attention, her crimson gaze eyeing them with impassive silence.     Suddenly a barrier appears, and Prince Landon pulls some impressive magic as per his position as a Judge. Could the others accompanying him here do the same? Kirika supposes so, and definitely makes a note of that for another time as the Judge and Puella Magi continue to spar. 

:'''{{#var:633|Soan Sagittarius (633)}} has posed:'''      Soan gives out a small laugh, if a little worried one as he reaches out for Toph for a support. "It's a big rough, ainnit?" The Thief says. "Just take your time, take a good drink of water and you'll be fine." 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     Aha. A magical shield? Kimiko is not adept in the same, but if the fight is to include such techniques--     To begin, however, she displays nothing truly out of the ordinary, at least in terms of what she attempts. Her response is to parry, with a simple, overhead slash, a maneuver that will avail her nothing if the slightest moment too slow--but here she does show ability that, given her frame, must be superhuman. Her sword is raised in one moment, and lowered in the next, along with her stance. A sharp wind whips away from her with the passage of her blade, and the sound of her weapon--made purely from her magic, despite its solid appearance--striking Landon's likewise resounds. Such a parry would normally leave her opponent entirely open, but Landon's style proects from such a fate quite neatly, so Kimiko instead follows up her slash with a backward leap of some ten meters, landing in a half crouch with her blade at her side, watching, and waiting.     Her eyes are alight with a curiosity almost innocent in its purity. 

:'''{{#var:647|Noiela (647)}} has posed:''' "Stunningly unfeasible for a formal occasion, you m-mean..." Noiela tries her best to be dryly humourous, but conspiring cookie criminals and the fast paced action has her occupied full time, hand gamely keeping its crabbed scrawl. Spare hand folding itself behind her back, she shoots Kamon and Soan a look brimming with injured pride, crooking her fingers slightly. A minor hex in petty revenge to cause jitters; bringing the cookies to an ignominious crunch underneath her heel if Kamon loses his hold on the bag as plotted and it rolls within reach of her foot. In light of how diminutive height wise she is, her legs suffer similar restrictions. 

:'''{{#var:642|Landon al Cid (642)}} has posed:'''      The Judge Blade does not break. It bounces away from the impact with a ringing, high-pitched, resonant and beautiful freqency, spinning upwards into the air harmlessly. Landon snaps his fingers to the side; the blade vanishes, reappearing in his hand. The barrier shatters away as Landon stops focusing on it, dismissing the Law Card's effect with but a thought.      "Ah, now...you are most agile, aren't you, Lady Kimiko?" Landon purses his lips, his friendly smile never wavering. The Prince appears to be a *master* of holding a friendly smile in place, whatever the circumstances may be. He gives the Judge Blade an experimental slash, the weapon humming through the air. The whole time, his eyes are on her.      "You greatly remind me of someone I know," he adds cheerfully as he whirls the blade, "Though she is a bit more...mmmm.../stern/, I suppose."      Landon's smile widens. He flings the Judge Blade forward. "Very well. If I am to fight you, I must cut off the avenue of your escape."      A pair of Law Cards burn into existence in front of him. Landon slashes his hands downwards, making an X, and the cards cross together, burning a blue light in front of him.      The Judge Blade goes shooting forward. At the same time, new barriers appear - one above Kimiko, and one to the left side. Landon means to cut off her avenue of escape and force her into parrying!      "Stunningly lovely, Lady Noiela. You mustn't be so hard on yourself. You're a beautiful woman." He tilts his head over at her, but his eyes are still locked on Kimiko as he guides the blade.      Landon has absolutely no reason to appreciate white- or silver-haired girls.      That is a bald-faced lie. 

:'''{{#var:655|Dominic Masoch (655)}} has posed:''' "Hmm." Dominic lets out a thoughtful noise as his sword strikes and deflects against the shield that Luna projects. He figured she had magic, but had estimated that most of her ability would be tied up in controlling the sword. The shield is an unexpected surprise from Luna. A Fencer does not wear armor. Dominic could if he wished, for other reasons, but he chooses not to for this fight. He also doesn't have armor. This means he must rely heavily on his ability to dodge the retaliation that Luna brings upon him. Feet gently tapping on the ground, he swerves and moves gracefully between those quick strikes. But they come from such strange angles, and a single mis-step allows one of the snaking blows to draw a deep line across his left arm, causing a wince of pain and temporarily staining his outfit a deep crimson on the sleeve. Taking a step back for breathing room, he closes his eyes and briefly brings his thoughts back to one of the many Fencers the Academy brought in to train him over the years. ~Dramatic Flashback~ Listan the Mage-Hunter, he'd been called. A pass-through, a man contracted by the Academy and Dominic's Family to teach him for a month. He worked as a bounty hunter who tracked down dangerous fugitives who happened to have spellcaster jobs. He was a gruff man, with one eye; in his late-30s and dreading the day he lost his edge. "Listen boy. Know how I lost my eye? I thought a mage was out of energy and he caught me with a fireball. I'm going to teach you to make sure you bottom them out. Watch closely." ~End Dramatic Flashback~ Dominic opens his eyes a second later, the yellow in his irises glowing brightly against the blue. He flicks his blade and brings it up vertically. With a push, he channels his MP into it. The blade begins to glow a dim crimson and he lunges in towards Luna again. This time, though, he's channeling one of the staple techniques of the veteran Fencer. Known simply as Manastriking, the technique involves infusing a blade with a negative magical energy into his blade, creating a supplemental effect to his blows. His sword strikes, while still slicing and powerful, also seek to absorb and disperse the magical energies of his opponent. He's trying to mana-sap Luna's shield to land a clean hit. 

:'''{{#var:337|Luna (337)}} has posed:'''      It is a sound strategy, to be sure. But, Dominic doesn't realize how much magical potential an alicorn of Equestria possesses. She moves the moon and stars about the sky on a daily basis. So, while she does feel the drain, and it does make her shield flicker, it doesn't collapse the shield, and it doesn't slow her strikes. So, as Dominic is slicing away at her shield, her wakizashi strikes again. It rises above Dominic, and comes slashing down with the power and speed Dominic suggested earlier, again in a diagonal slice. Because such a cut is much harder to avoid than a simple vertical or horizontal slash.      And if this one hits, it is sure to do more damage than the last few attacks. It has much more of her magical strength behind it. But, still, it is obvious that using a sword is not her strong suit. Dominic can likely feel that she wants to use spells with the sword simply punctuating them. She is only holding back because she asked for help with her sword work, so using magic in the battle seems counterproductive. 

:'''{{#var:570|Kimiko Shinobu (570)}} has posed:'''     "You have not seen me in battle, prince." Kimiko notes, mildly. Apart from her eyes, her expression is unwavering in its neutrality.     While Landon prepares his magic, Kimiko prepares hers, appearing as a softly glowing circle beneath her feet. No movement seems required of her body to do this, so it must be purely an effort of intent. It flares brightly as it activates, a slight moment after the blade is thrown forth. Kimiko is, indeed, forced to contend without the possibility of leaping away, thanks to the barrier above her. Likewise, the one to the left restricts her motion.     In obvious disregard to physical law, she shoots straight forward, her acceleration instantaneous as the magic circle burns away behind her. Straight into the path of the Judge Blade. In the same motion, she raises her blade to guard.     Both weapons strike together, and the path of each is diverted. The Judge Blade, the more massive of the two, continues on nearly on course--but Kimiko is already twisting her body to duck beneath its path. It strikes her armored shoulder, causing a shriek of tearing metal to be clearly heard.     This does not halt Kimiko's forward motion. Her sword, from its guarding position, and with still more than half the strength of her accelerated charge, is thrust forward against Landon's defense. 

:'''{{#var:20|Toph Beifong (20)}} has posed:'''     The earthbender gasps for breath as she finally puts the water bottle down, then she reaches out and punches Kamon in the shoulder. /Hard./ "What the hell is this CRUD anyway?!" she demands, her voice slightly raspy. Then she rises, spitting slightly. "Ugh, I need more to drink..." she mutters and begins heading for the exit. Ugh. "I... I gotta go. Later guys."     Well, at least she's leaving the chips behind. 

:'''{{#var:628|Kamon Lionward (628)}} has posed:''' Kamon loses the remainder of the cookies, the things being crushed underfoot once again. That's /probably/ all of them, right? He accepts the punch, too, in good spirits. He's a pretty hard target. "Lots of things," he remarks, and then waves as Toph takes off. He shoots Noiela a glance, and then turns back to the brawl. Not every day you see a Judge do things. 

:'''{{#var:642|Landon al Cid (642)}} has posed:'''      Dangerous. Landon had expected a lot of things, but he hadn't expected someone to throw themselves into the path of the Judge Blade. The sound of tearing metal confirms it, and Landon lets out a cheerful whistle of appreciation and respect.      "You're more like her than I realized!" Landon replies as the blade vanishes. The barriers shatter and die. Does he have time to rebuild the blade or the barrier before she gets to him?      No. He does not. Kimiko is much too fast, and with the charge, with her daring move, she punches through his abilities rapidly. There's a shriek of surprise from one of the Judges as Landon brings his armored arm up.      He deflects the blade from his chest only barely. Like before, with the Judge Blade, the sword carves through metal; unlike before, the sword draws blood. Landon's face never wavers, nor does his smile change, as he steps back and waves his hand gently. "Goodness."      "You're a dangerous woman, Lady Kimiko. I believe that it's your victory." He places his bleeding hand over his chest with a broad smile. "I salute you."      Landon covers his arm, suppressing his obvious pain, and rubs it thoughtfully. "I believe I ought see Lady Hyral or Mister Westwind before this scabs, mmm?" He observes thoughtfully, like he's *not* in horrible pain. Apparently, being the Prince of Ramuh means being really good at not giving away anything.      No wonder Souji hates him so much. 

:'''{{#var:655|Dominic Masoch (655)}} has posed:'''     Dominic frowns as his strikes are still not landing on his opponent, or seeming to have much effect on her shield, "An admirable amount of defensive capabilities. My sword strikes appear fruitless," He comments in a neutral tone. Stepping back to give himself room to maneuver, he reassesses the situation and then takes another hop back as the sword strike comes in at him in a cleaving blow. He takes a hop backwards and the sword cuts in a shallow strike across his chest rather than the rending blow it would have landed moments ago. Feet skidding across the ground of the forest, he comes to a stop in a crouch, rapier held out easily. He comes to a full standing position and then says, "Mn. Much like the Prince, I am afraid I must call my match after only a few blows. I promised to help the Gigas Class with their Tier C testing today. That is happening shortly." He sheaths his blade again and begins to gather up his hanging cloak and jacket, "With some practice, you will find that your combined magic and swordplay make you a formidable opponent, Miss Luna." 

:'''{{#var:647|Noiela (647)}} has posed:''' "Pay attention." Noiela notes softly, her rebuke tempered by a notice of how elegantly he parries when put against her own remembrance of sparring with another- it took open effort and she held no breath for banter. Keeping her mouth tightly sealed on how the Prince might suceed in his duel, opening it to briefly give an unconvincing "Ah, clumsy." Turning her head away to cover a smile. Then, Landon breezes past the injury with his usual unflappable good humour, prompting from a hidden pocket the emergence of a basic potion, already uncorked. Moving up and towards the pair to proffer it before he can insist 'tis just a flesh wound'. Corked, the liquid inside is colourless, smelling faintly of clover. Of course, forgetting the rules of the virtual realm entirely. Interesting how she completely overlooks his compliment. The trembling is entirely adrenaline based. Entirely. 

:'''{{#var:337|Luna (337)}} has posed:'''      Luna nods as Dominic speaks up, then sheaths her own sword. "Thank you for the practice. Good luck with your testing." she says, then smirks lightly. "It is kind of you to notice my strength." she says, then bows her head respectfully a moment. "I look forward to future sessions." 

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