Scene #5077: No Place Like Home

Owner	Pose
William Pauwel	The swamps of the Expanse are a terrible place to live when you're anywhere near ground level. The risk of trenchfoot is bad enough even without factoring in the fist-sized mosquitos and the marrowleeches and all the other terrible things that live in the murky waters. But all of these things combined also means that anyone who lives deep enough in the swamp can expect their privacy, which is something that the Watch can make great use of in any world, but especially this deep into what Will would call 'enemy territory.' Fortunately, the Watch's contact with Anders, the mysterious Fiddler in Green, has paid off in a big way in that regard. He's told them of an old retreat of his, within a day's travel from a certain robotics factory. It's theirs if they claim it, clean it up and use it. That brings them... Here. The directions Anders provided led them deep into the swamp indeed, where the mangroves are thick and where one needs an actual boat to make any real progress. They arrive at a lonely, overgrown island out in the middle of practically nowhere. The night air is abuzz with swamp insects, thick with cool, grey mist, and bright with starlight and the gentle glow of fireflies. Will steps off the boat first, onto an old mooring carefully hidden in the reeds. "This looks like it's the place," he says, tugging the boat closer to shore with a length of rope. "Let's get a move on and see what Anders' got for us, huh?"
Genji Shimada	There is at least one person along for the ride that doesn't have to worry about leeches or trenchfoot or mosquitoes for the most part, even particularly beefy ones. He has no organic feet to speak of, very little flesh and blood, and what he DOES have is encased in not-insignificant amounts of metal, plastic and sundry other materials. It's little wonder that Genji Shimada doesn't seem bothered. He rides the entire way at the very front of the boat, balanced on the prow, arms crossed over his chest. His step off is light, and so is his tone of voice. "Hm. Cheery place. Very full of life."
Reinhardt Wilhelm	REINHARDT IS HERE He doesn't fear trench foot, unlike his ancestors, nor does he fear leeches or whatever. "This place is full of evil, be alert, friends!" He leaps over the boat's railing, his suit causing him to land HEAVILY into the earth. He might be stuck in the swamp, but he doesn't need help to pry himself loose. He might splash literally everyone with gunky water, so that's a thing. What a rollicking good start to this mission.
Yuna Kagurazaka	As usual, Yuna sets foot on Tellian soil with no small amount of trepidation. Having to navigate through the swamp makes things substantially worse - if she tries wading around in the basic Light Suit past a certain depth, the battlesuit's systems start failing, and the path they need to follow (to the extent that such a path exists, anyway) isn't going to all be deep enough to make Marine Form practical. Powered Form isn't necessarily going to be much better off. And given what happened the FIRST time Yuna ventured into the swamps of Tellus (even with a group), the chances of her going without her battlesuit are basically nil. That leaves Flight Form, which does have the possibility of taking up one less space on the boat itself ... although Yuna'd be sticking close enough to the boat that she might as well be riding on it. Elner is sticking similarly close to her; Jiina and Marina are following a little ways back, flying above the mire rather than trudging through it, both ready to pull up sharply if anything mistakes either of them (armored androids that they are) for 'potentially edible'. Yuna moves to hover next to Will for a moment as he's tying the boat to the mooring. "How long did he say this place has been abandoned?" she wonders, both looking and sounding uneasy. She'd much rather be almost literally anywhere else, but she's made promises to help Will out with finding the parts of his father's gun and dealing with the other crises this world is up against, and she's -- "Ack!!!" --- getting splashed by Reinhardt, at least until she bolts upwards and forwards. She might well wind up being the first person to lay eyes on Anders's old retreat.
Iria	Ditching the usual cape, Iria simply wears her usual armored bodysuit for ease of movement and things like that. But even a protective suit like that doesn't mean she's completely protected against mosquitoes. Granted, the leeches can't suck blood through armor, but mosquitoes are another story. They go for Iria's face and her hands, causing her to swat a few here and there. And as for trench foot, her boots are designed to protect her against just about any kind of terrain, meaning that walking through this stuff won't be too difficult. Regardless, Iria sits with her arms folded and a scowl on her face. "I'll be glad when this mission is over. This swamp stinks!" She's glad when the boat finally reaches land, and with a somersault, she leaps off and lands on the ground in a crouched position, slipping into the reeds as well. She doesn't want to risk being seen, but she doesn't want to be stuck in that boat anymore either!
August Kohler	August is here, because he has been absorbed into Tellus. He is now a true Tellurian, blood, sweat, and tears. He sits as center to the boat as he can, avoiding the water. He's dressed in thick, protective clothing, and has a mirrored bracelet on his wrist. When the boat stops, he very, very carefully steps off to avoid horrible things, before diving onto land to dodge Reinhardt's splash. Which might lead him into a worse situation, who knows? "Guys, swamps are disgusting, be careful. Especially Tellurian swamps, it's probably full of flesh-eating bacteria."
William Pauwel	"Dunno," he answers Yuna, scratching at his cheek and sorely hoping that the itch he's got there isn't the result of an insect bite. Because that would mean he's going blind. Not to say that there ISN'T a bug in Tellus that can induce blindness with a bite, but the ones here are so huge that it'd be almost impossible for him to miss one buzzing up to his face for a bite. "Maybe a few years old? Anders said they had to leave but couldn't explain why." Huh. Weird. Yuna is in fact the first one to reach the settlement. She sprints down an old animal path festooned with winding brambles and in dire need of a good landscaper. Beyond the mangroves and treeline and far enough inland to no longer notice the scent of the swamp is something of an old, dilapidated farm. The field is large enough to sustain just a handful of people but no more. It's surrounded by a half-rotted fence, which now does nothing but protect a crop of weeds and overgrowth from the wilds. The buildings-- an old shed and what looks like a ranchhouse-- are all made of stone likely hewn from the mountains to the north. The decaying shingled roofs and shattered windows show clear evidence of disrepair and dire need for some tender love and care. Will arrives on Yuna's heels, stepping out from behind her to peer at the ruined buildings. "Huuuuuh," he hums and haws, making his way ahead to take a closer look. "T'ain't bad. Honestly when he told me 'bout this place, I was expectin' some kind of horrible plant infestation or something. If we patch the roofs and clean things up a bit, we should be good. Long as the crossbeams are still--" Suddenly, there's what seems like a burst of static. Electronic white noise plays across eyes and hisses into ears. The world fades back into view. It's... Idyllic. The sun is shining. There's a house here, children playing in the field. Someone rocks on the front porch-- Then another burst of static. The image fades, and Will... Will is... gone?
Genji Shimada	For a moment or two, Genji Shimada is completely frozen in quiet surprise, but by the time the image fades, the cyborg has dropped into a wary, hunched posture, shuriken in his right hand and the grip of his shortblade grasped by his left. But it's the disappearance of Will that concerns him the worst. "...Reinhardt. You've always had a hunter's eyes. I'm going indoors to investigate. See if you can spot anything out of the ordinary out here?" Giving his old comrade that bit of advice-slash-request, the ninja begins a quick jog towards the house, planning to head inside and see what might be in there.
Reinhardt Wilhelm	"You mean just an eye." Reinhardt quips back, as he calms himself over the fear of losing William. This is kind of a problem, but they've gotten out of weirder situation before. He nods to Genji, trudging toward the house as well with hammer in hand, as he tries to look around. He might be a bad fit for the house, given his size and...everything. The poor house may just collapse if he so much as looks at it.
August Kohler	August doesn't get splashed! Survival! As the group approaches the settlement, August cautiously glances at the buildings. Huh, this is actually reasonably nor- Nope, everything just went hallucinations and now Will is gone. August doesn't move. Instead, he immediately begins pinging Will's radio, and they get a response full of static. Which indicates he's still around, /somewhere/. "I'll check out the shed. Be safe, guys, and have weapons at the ready." He himself moves his bracelet upwards towards face level, as he approaches the shed, moving to look around it before attempting to go inside.
Yuna Kagurazaka	The sudden wave of static makes Yuna pause in mid-air, blinking and rubbing at her eyes. She's never had THAT happen before, except maybe that time she was trying out an old head-mounted VR display - the sort that actually had a screen and wasn't just covering the eyes against outside light ... Then it passes - and takes Will away with it. "What ... ? - Elner, full scan!" she calls out to the robo-faerie. "Find Wil's life signs if you can, do a full sweep for active power sources hereabouts, anything that the others aren't covering!" And with Elner setting to work scanning what's left of the old retreat, Yuna flies higher - trying to get a good overhead view of the field, of what used to be a farm. In the middle of a swamp yet ... well, as far as protection goes, distance and improbability can do a lot. Who'd expect a viable farm in the middle of a swamp where almost everything is inclined to kill anything that might be lower on the food chain? And then that very same hostile ecosystem is an additional layer of protection in its own right. But clearly, those AREN'T the only defenses the farm has. "Everyone stay in radio contact," she advises her allies over the tactical band. "If we get another VR-ish 'flicker' like that, EVERYONE sound off as soon as it passes."
Iria	One moment she's getting her bearings, then the next thing she knows, there's a huge wave of static coming out of nowhere seemingly, and it causes Iria to drop to the ground and close her eyes. "Unngh, what the hell?" She begins to feel like she's going crazy or something, but then it stops and she opens her eyes, looking around. "Is everyone all-" She cuts off as she notices William is missing. "Oh, hell no!" She's genuinely pissed based on her scowl and the way she bangs the ground with her fist. "Looks like we're up against more than we bargained for!"
William Pauwel	Elner's sensors run into issues right off the bat. The whole farm seems to be inundated with some kind of weird electronic fog that makes active scanning a difficult prospect. But that alone reveals that there's something going on here that runs deeper than just 'a mysterious abandoned farm.' From her vantage point high in the air, however, Yuna IS able to catch sight of... An abandoned farm and a lot of fog. But from up there, she can also see something much like a storm cellar door on the far side of the house. Meanwhile, August is heading off towards the shed. The outside of the building is home to a rusting well-pump and what looks like a decently sized doghouse. The inside of the shed, however, is home to... Darkness. Lots and lots and lots of darkness. The murk makes it difficult to see, but not to the point that it's impossible to tell what's in here. There's a whole bunch of tools lying around, a few workbenches-- it seems to be a workshop of some kind. But strangely, not all of these tools are for farming. Several seem to be for... Digging? Mining? There're several pickaxes here, and a number of shovels. There's also something large and irregularly shaped at the back of the shed, but it's hard to make out just what it is in the murk. Up at the house, Genji and Reinhardt make their way up the porch and to an unlocked door. The foyer they find themselves in seems to be more of a trophy room than anything else. Stuffed beasts and monsters line the walls and loom over doorways. Was Anders a hunter? Or maybe one of his men? The shadows seem to dance between the menagerie. There's a picture on a wall of an older gentleman in fancy clothes with a child perched on his shoulder. Opposite to that, an unusually clean fireplace.
August Kohler	As he walks into the shed, the darkness and murk makes it difficult to see. August rubs his eyes, and considers summoning his Persona to use his fire as a light, but would rather not accidentally burn the place down. So instead, he slowly walks towards the end of the shed, looking around at the various things, before moving to inspect the weird thing. He feels around it and checks to see if he can figure out what it is now that he's up close.
Reinhardt Wilhelm	Reinhadrdt decides after all to go join Genji on the porch, approaching the house as he ducks his head. "Hm. I may need to do something drastic..." He steps back, before his armor opens up to reveal Reinhardt in a t-shirt and jeans, and he hops out of the suit. THe German is still -huge-, but at least he can fit indoors, if he ducks his head. He'll let Genji take point, as he produces a flashlight and looks around, noting the picture of the gentleman. "A hunting lodge, perhaps?"
Genji Shimada	Immediately, Genji is drawn to the fireplace, looking over his shoulder now and then to keep an eye on Reinhardt. He may joke, but he'll still keep an eye on the big guy to make sure nothing catches either of them off guard. "It appears so. It also appears as if it is not as abandoned as we were led to believe." He crouches down at the fireplace, investigating it /very/ closely. Signs of how recently it's been used, what's been burned in it, any scraps of clothing or hair, or foot-or-shoeprints in the ash or dust... anything.
Yuna Kagurazaka	Sometimes, not being able to find anything is a clue in its own right. Whether the fog and the EM jamming are aspects of the same phenomenon, or unrelated to each other, the fact that SOMETHING is jamming Elner's sensors tells Yuna a lot - almost none of it good. Combined with the fact that the fog lies so heavily over the farm ... Well, they're in a swamp, and those TEND to be pretty humid. All that moisture in the air becomes visible fog when it's chilled enough; the water vapor starts to condense into droplets in the air. Cool it further, or just let it condense more, and it settles out of the air entirely. But they can't wait for the mist to settle or anything. Yuna descends behind the farmhouse, materializing the Matrix Divider in her hands and poking experimentally at the storm cellar door; if it doesn't do anything from the light tapping, she reaches down to try opening it - and then gets both hands on her weapon again. Whatever's going on here does NOT seem to like visitors. Maybe she should have asked one of the others to be with her before she tried opening the door ...
Iria	Meanwhile, Iria has drawn her handgun and loaded a clip as she approaches the house carefully. She attempts to keep herself as low to the ground as possible, letting the others go on ahead, before she goes around the back where Yuna was. She gives a slight nod to Yuna to indicate that Iria's got her back, then looks at the house itself. "You know, I don't think this is Old MacDonald's farm anymore..."
William Pauwel	Reinhardt's investigation of the room reveals something interesting-- particularly with regards to the photograph. The backdrop doesn't at all seem to be in the swamps or anywhere near as awful. It looks instead to be a rather nice looking town or city somewhere. There's a monument in the background, but it's unfamiliar. The animals are impressively well put together, each one could be worth quite a bit if properly repaired, but none of them are beasts he'd recognize. One appears to be some kind of enormous hippopotamus's head, except covered in thick plates of armor like some kind of armadillo. Further investigation of the same room reveals that it was apparently evacuated in a rush. The bandits' old gear seems to be strewn about somewhat haphazardly, including what appears to be rather hefty axe-- maybe used to cut nearby trees? There's also bits of some lighter combat armor lying about, definitely not as sturdy as the knight's usual fare but still better than going... Au Naturale. Something flickers in the shadows cast in the flashlight's wake, but it's gone again once he takes a closer look. Meanwile, Genji has taken an interest in the fireplace. His diligence is well-rewarded when he notices that the dust does seem to be disturbed. Digging around in the ash would reveal a handle to some kind of switch. Pulling back on it would lead to... Well, it'd lead to the door that Yuna's poking at to come unlocked with a quiet 'click.' Her first few attempts at tugging it open would have proven fruitless, but with that switch thrown, the door swings open and allows passage into the murk below. Does she gather her party before venturing forth!? At the very least, Iria seems to be on the approach. But it still may be a good idea to wait for the others. Well. Maybe they might not have a choice. August gropes at the darkness. He feels something... Warm. Warm and soft and-- Breathing? Oh. Oh dear. A pair of eyes open in the darkness. Two slitted pupils framed in gold stare back at him. He'd feel a sudden rumble of vibration rush up his arm... And then, for everyone, reality would seem to flicker again. Everything turns to static. The images now are more vivid, of a lush jungle. The world rushes past-- it feels like you're running. A gunshot rings out, the image flickers and fades again. August is alone, the shape at the back of the shed is gone, leaving only empty space. ...Empty, except for the strange jagged shapes creeping out of the darkness where the beast used to be. Inside the house, the shadows between the stuffed creatures grow long and then seem to solidify, giving rise to similar entities-- what look like jagged, staticy /rifts/ in reality, each apparently shaped like the creature whose shadow they were born from. They peer at the group with crackling, flickering eyes, and begin to close in.
Reinhardt Wilhelm	Reinhardt kneels down, grabbing the axe and an armored vest. THis will do fine, for the moment, and hopefully the vest fits his chest. He may not be as strong as he normally is, but the axe and vest do help him feel a bit more comfortable in this situation. "Bandits seem to have been picking this place clean, and just as soon were driven away." He says, hefting the axe with satisfaction, before he looks at the fireplace. "Notice something?" He asks, gripping the makeshift weapon tightly as he looks inside. Then he sees SHADOW THINGS. Jagged stasticy shadow things, and they're definitely hostile. "No negotiation? Very well then, HAVE AT THEE!" He bellows, issuing a shouting challenge as he runs toward the creatures outside, swinging his axe at one of them. The Crusader suit just kind of stands there gormlessly, while this happens. Reinhardt, King of Bungle.
Genji Shimada	Genji is diligent and swift in his work, as any shinobi should be. He investigates, he brushes away; behind his mask he frowns, and then he reaches down to hit the switch he's discovered. Over the radio, he begins to say, "Has anyone noticed anything changing? I just used a-" Reality flickers again. Instant Jumanji. Genji leaps back into a ready stance the instant the vision fades. He turns steadily, checking for any sort of attack resulting... but it's directly behind him that the shadows begin to take shape. He almost seems to be unaware of them; until, of course, the exact moment he suddenly turns and flings a trio of shuriken, each one aimed at a different shadow creature.
Yuna Kagurazaka	Yeah, waiting until the party has gathered DEFINITELY sounds like a great plan. She nods to Iria, grinning briefly ... It sounds like the others are possibly having some trouble. Still, the door is open, and Yuna takes the precaution of running a charge into the Matrix Divider's business end. Maybe she can shed a little light on what's down there before they actually venture down the stairs. Unless of course they need to go help August first. "Elner," she calls out, "go see if Iria and I need to help the guys with whatever they found?" The robo-faerie flits off to try seeing what Reinhardt is fighting. Elner will be keeping out of melee range, thank you very much - and a sphere of golden light surrounds Elner for additional protection, just in case 'out of melee range' is not far enough to be safe.
Iria	Iria sticks her head through the door just briefly enough to get a glimpse of what's going on in there. She doesn't want to take any risks but she doesn't have the same capabilities that Yuna has, so she has to do this herself. She peers just enough to see what's inside, but not to make herself too visible. She's made that mistake before.
August Kohler	As August touches the thing, he notices that it's warm and soft. Some sort of mold maybe, or- no, it's breathing. Crap. As the eyes open up, staring at him, he feels his heart freeze...and then everything change. Reality changes. Is he being hunted? Is that...a gunshot?! And then reality returns...and the creature is gone. Alarm bells ring in his head, as he looks down, seeing the jagged shapes. August isn't taking another second to delay. "Tin Soldier, to me!" And with a call, his robotman Persona appears, and August begins moving back to the entrance. But when he gets far enough away, he takes control of the Tin Soldier...and has it point its gun at the creatures. Fire roars out, and it keeps roaring until it's engulfed the empty corner. August moves to rush out of the shed, bringing his Persona with him. Here's hoping it doesn't spread.
William Pauwel	Battle is joined against the SHADOW THINGS. Reinhardt's axe cleaves into one of the strange bestial things. The sensation is oddly similar to striking a pane of sugar glass. He feels and sees the thing come apart into countless motes of white noise. The same happens to each of the creatures Genji strikes with his shuriken. Their bodies seem to dissolve upon impact, starting from the holes left by the passing throwing stars before consuming their forms utterly. But where they fall, more seem to be rising to take their place. One of the shadows lunges at Reinhardt, threatening to cleave into his flesh with jagged, jittering claws. A pair of smaller, more agile ones attack Genji from either flank. One goes for his legs, the other for his throat! August incinerates a shed. The flames consume the black entities utterly, causing them to disintegrate almost instantaneously-- but not before flickering to white noise first. It's somehow a similar sensation to fighting weaker shadows. Somehow, these things don't feel quite /HERE./ More emerge from the flames after him, however. A swarm of them, sweeping in like a cutting wind. Meanwhile, Iria and Yuna are investigating the cellar door. They find... A tunnel. Or rather, a reinforced tunnel dug in the ground, beneath the storm shelter built into the house. There're obvious signs of digging equipment strewn around the concrete shelter, and the familiar (to Yuna, at least) glow of Ancient electronics are just barely visible in the murk beyond. There's the sound of machinery humming in the distance as well. But from the corners of the room, as if walking through the walls, more of those weird jagged things start pouring in, but they're not in a position to attack just yet.
Reinhardt Wilhelm	Reinhardt grunts as he feels a sharp edgy claw go into his wrist. He feels pain, and his wrist bleeds pretty badly as a result as well. "GAH!" He grapples with the creature for a bit, abandoning his axe in favor of military training and sheer muscle mass to try and fend off the being before he looks in the corner of his eye and thinks 'oh screw this'. He tries to throw the being off, if only for a moment, before he goes back to his armor, the Crusader suit rumbling to life as he gets it back to active mode. Before his helmet's even on, Reinhardt swings wide with his hammer, trying to swat the creature away if not crush it immediately with the force alone.
Yuna Kagurazaka	Well, that's a familiar sort of technology in there, isn't it? But the 'jagged shadows' that the others are fighting have Yuna's skin crawling, and she's not even fighting them. Let's face it, the first time Yuna saw Tellus Ancient technology was also (as best she remembers, anyway) the first time she ran into the 'Black Dust' nanomachines that they've learned so much about from Marchosiel and Juno. And if tha'ts not quite right, well, the two incidents have kind of conflated in her head; it was at least the same facility, she's pretty sure. So she's still extra-cautious about heading into the 'baement'. She calls Elner over and lets the robo-faerie do a full scan for nanomachine activity, having come to the conclusion that yes, fire is probably the best solution to whatever August ran into. Elner's quiet report of, "No nanomachines doing anything," doesn't quite come as a relief to the blonde girl - but it's enough for her to start making her way down the steps, trusting Iria to follow. Oh, she thinks as she sees a shadowy jagged shape coming through the wall, those must be - The Matrix Divider's barrel/blade abruptly flares a LOT brighter before spitting a crackling bolt of concussive radiance across the room, as if Yuna were trying to obliterate it by the sheer luminance of her main weapon. More bolts of weapons-grade hard light follow the first, possibly creating a strobe effect of sorts in the chamber as Yuna continues firing; Elner is hanging back, staying OUT of the cellar with its forcefield up again, and continuing to scan as best it's able from out there.
Genji Shimada	Claws scrape across armor. It's a surprise attack not even Genji is fast enough to quite respond to. The one at his throat misses, but as a result his left leg now has some nasty-looking damage. It's not enough to stop him from using it, but it's not superficial, either; just enough to be a problem, and enough that the shinobi decides to beat a retreat. It's still gonna be a /fighting/ retreat, of course. As he backs away, the cyberninja begins to hurl shuriken in earnest, one trio after another after another. He also draws his shortblade on anything that gets too close, keeping himself as well-defended as he can. His main aim is to go and link up with everyone else - or at least whoever's closest.
Iria	Iria follows Yuna into the cellar as well, and as soon as she gets there, she too sees the strange shadows, and she begins opening fire with her handgun. "Damn it!" She cries out. "I dunno what these things are, but I don't like them one bit!" She tries to keep moving while firing upon the shadows, hoping she can do some damage to them.
August Kohler	These creatures feel like Shadows. /Shadows/. August shudders, and then, he stops. He stops moving. Because the Tin Soldier is spraying judicious amounts of fire at the swarm, spinning around to burn all of them, disintegrate them into nothingness. "Die, die, DIE!"
William Pauwel	The area in and around the house becomes a whirlwind of violence as Reinhardt and Genji take the fight to the mysterious Jagged Shadows in earnest. The knight's enormous hammer shatters them easily, rendering the beast that assaulted him into a fine mist of nonresponsive static. Genji does the same with sword and shuriken, hewing through the static creatures like they were made of so much paper mache. August unleashes the full might of the Tin Soldier, setting the old wooden fence alight as he turns so many of those creatures to dust. In the basement, Yuna's blade and Iria's gun fare equally well, seemingly instantaneously disincorporating the shades. Each time, they fall apart only to be replaced by another rising out of the ground or slumping out of a shadow in the corner of a building. They seem to be... Endless. Really and truly endless. But Yuna and Iria keep moving. They keep fighting through the caverns, towards that familiar light at the end of the tunnel, until finally they reach a chamber... And a strange, glowing sphere, inlaid into a computer console. Moments before everything fades, again, to static. The world comes back into focus, but... Different. Immacculate. The night sky is filled with light. A city of bright towers and a bustling populace thrums with life all around you, marred only by the vision of the very fringes of a wasteland far off on the horizon, but everything here is magnificent and glorious. Vehicles and people alike soar through the air on roads of light. An intricate pattern glimmers visibly on the moon high in the sky. You have the vaguest sensation that you should pick up a present for your daughter. Maybe that teddie bear that she wanted. The world flickers again, now to a howling maelstrom of black ash hammering at the doors to a shelter. The black creeps in through the cracks in the seal, then floods your sight and fills your senses with the vague notion of something entering through your pores. But through it, Yuna and Iria see an orb throbbing through the blackness.
Genji Shimada	In the midst of a fight, images from the past assail Genji. They are confusing at first. And then frightening. But by the time they bear down on him like an impending doom, he has come to grips with what they are, taken them to heart. The shinobi responds to them by... closing his eyes. Taking a slow, deep breath. Another. Finding his center, calming himself. Grasping for those sensations that he knows are 'him' and not 'being shown to him'. It isn't hard. This vision is letting him feel organic arms he simply doesn't have anymore. And finding 'himself' will go a good long way to shaking this off, and calming himself besides.
Yuna Kagurazaka	The nice thing about the Matrix Divider, and the reason why Yuna tends to pull it out in favor of her smaller, potentially one-handed weapons, is that it's both a sword and a gun without needing to reconfigure; she just changes her grip as necessary, which isn't a whole lot of difference. When she can blow the shadows away at range, she does so; when they get too close for her to shoot, or too close together for her to rev up a suitable blast in between, she switches to melee. At least until reality steps out for ANOTHER smoking break, this one nearly double the length or at least double the content. Was this what Tellus was like? Before the Black Ash, and at the time of it? Reality gets back to its desk again before Yuna can resolve the question further, and the Savior of Light resumes pressing forward. Too many of those jagged shadows; she just lets the Matrix Divider disappear ... but in its place, her vambraces pop open and she begins raining fire on the jagged shadows with the arrays of rapid-fire pulse blasters specific to her Flight Form. It's not a whole lot of damage per individual shot, but she can spray the firepower around a lot better, a little bit like some of the girls she knows from Gensokyo who can lay out thick spreads of 'bullets' using their magic and their spell cards. .... Just a little bit, to be fair; Yuna doesn't quite have THAT much firepower, but she can make sure any shadows getting too close to her get an everythingful of her pulse blasters, hopefully enough to either dissuade or destroy them. She really wants a better look at that orb right now. If it's not physically and permanently integrated into that console, she'd like to pull it out and see if it can be accessed; if it IS an integral part of the console, it's probably a button or control of some kind. And either way, that console HAS to be related to the 'visions'. The old-style 'electronic' quality to the sights and sounds makes her think it's some kind of recording, only playing back in fragments, not necessarily a defensive system at all. ... but in that case ... She needs to get to that console, THEN worry about 'in that case'.
Iria	Despite what's all going on, Iria still spots that orb as well, and with her gunfire only pausing briefly to load another clip, she moves towards it. At the same time, she's still firing upon the shadows as best as she can. "Didn't bring enough ammo I don't think," She comments. "Let's hope that orb can help us!"
William Pauwel	Visions of the past are, indeed, naught but visions. The illusions that play across the senses are just that: illusions. Genji has the right idea of it- focusing his will, forcing back the crushing darkness. Peering through the veil with the eyes of the mind and soul let him peel back the images. He finds himself again standing in the broken down house-- but the shadows seem to have faded back into the murk. Down below, in the cellar, Yuna and Iria fight through the horde of Jagged Shadows, cleaving through their limitless numbers to reach their final goal. It's not a difficult task; regardless of how many they are, these things are fragile and ultimately can't mount an effective resistance against an elite's firepower. All they have is a crush of numbers. But soon, they reach the orb. Yuna reaches out to study it, but at her touch, the thing seems to tremble. The pattern of the lights on its surface flicker and shift as a wave of static sweeps out from the orb and console. The inexorable tide of black figures shimmers, then fades as the electronic haze lifts and the grey fog that had been permeating the farm dissolves once again into harmless mist. Genji and Reinhardt find themselves back in the home, only to notice that there are more holes than before in the floorboards and ceiling. One of the taxidermy statues is missing an arm. The picture that had hung on the wall before was now lying broken on the ground beneath a thin layer of dust. August emerges from the haze outside the shed. He'd notice, then, that there was... Someone milling out in the field, looking altogether like he'd just run a marathon. It's... Will? The young Chaser staggers out of the field and collapses on a not-quite-ashed section of fence. "Wh-- there was... Tiger." He puffs, huffs and slumps forward. Down below, the tunnel fades into focus as the console deactivates. Yuna and Iria would find themselves standing in a room not unlike where they were moments ago, but... In the corner, there is a very skeletal figure slumped against a wall. Not far from that, the bones of an enormous beast, slumped against the far side of the chamber. There's an-- an egg, tucked up against the bones. It seems to be intact.
Yuna Kagurazaka	And just like that, with the push of something vaguely resembling a button, it seems to be over. The shadows are gone. That's the best news Yuna's had all day; her vambraces snap closed and she lets out a deep sigh of relief, sinking to her knees for the time being. She'd love to take more of a look at the console, but she wants Will to look at it first, and Elner as well. For the moment, though, that skeleton and that egg have her attention. Some of it, anyway. Enough for her to ask Elner to scan the egg and see if it's viable - not necessarily 'what are the odds it'll hatch,' just 'is it likely to hatch at some time and/or under the right conditions.' The robo-faerie doesn't need to waste much time before srating, "It's not developing, but it could prove viable under the correct conditions." "... Okay," Yuna replies after a brief moment spent eyeing the egg and the adjacent skeleton.
August Kohler	Horrible visions. August is stuck in a daze, not sure what is real or not, not sure what he can do. But elsewhere, Yuna and Iria solve the problem. August reappears in the /real/ world, and as he emerges, gaining his footing, he spots Will. "Will!" August would proceed to move over to Will and make sure he doesn't die, giving him some aid. Well, that was creepy as shit!