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Lyner Barsett      It's time.

     After much trial, hardship, and loss, the time has finally come for Project Sotiris to be enacted. It's terribly unfortunate that Ayla herself isn't here to helm the proceedings, but her memory will be carried on by those who succeed her. And it's for that reason today that everyone gathers. All of the Wills that they know of, are present in the Phantom Cocoon. Suzunomiya stands by the main control unit, a high tech throne that looks to be meant for a Reyvateil to link up with the entire facility. And from either side of her, stand the others.

     Saki is on her right side, a big bag of chips in an arm, her other hand plucking one up to pop into her mouth periodically. Ar Ru stands on her left side, turned away slightly with her arms crossed. ... And then there's Soma. She's not particularly expressive, staring blankly at the floor, then up to the ceiling. Her arms are bound together by the wrists in a compicated looking set of shackles, but it really doesn't look like she's planning to escape at all.

     Lyner is the first to arrive, having been the one to call everything together. He entrusted Saki with the gathering of the Wills, and focused on the gathering of those who had been helping all along. It was a simple message. "Hey everyone. ... It's been a long time incoming, but it's finally time to do this. We're going to break through the Sea of Death, and put a stop to the crisis on Ar Ciel one way or another."

     After that, he arrived at the Phantom Cocoon, Phonon leading him inside to the control room where everything will start. There are dive chambers on the perimeter of the room, all linked up to the main throne. A change Phonon made by request of the others. Beyond that, there was a large screen to show what wouldd be outside once they get moving, and many different workstations for various other functions. Likely not to be used, but they're there just in case.

     The main doors slide open, and in steps Lyner, decked out in his usual white cape and armor, with a sword pod strapped behind him. Phonon, in maid form, follows behind him. "Looks like you got everyone together, Saki. Thanks." He greets the silver haired girl, raising a hand. Saki grins and returns the greeting with a peace sign. "It was super easy! ...Uh, minus Soma. Church was super cagey about letting her out." She droops. "Had to take her out in high grade shackles to even get her out at all." Soma slowly rolls her eyes, but says nothing. "But I did it! Here we are!" Saki bucks up and spreads her arms. "Alright! Let's do this! Let's show Ar Ciel that humans don't suck!"

     Suzunomiya shakes her head. "Saki, quiet. This is a big day. You could, at the very least, be just a bit more proper." Jade eyes narrow at that, but Saki giggles and shrugs. Ar Ru watches all of this, and then mumbles to herself.

     "We're all going to die."

     They're all going to die.
Yuna Kagurazaka For some people, 'saving the world' is pretty much the unmatched pinnacle of their heroic careers.

For the Savior of Light, saving worlds is literally part of the job description, if not the job *title*. And since Yuna is the one currently bearing the title, mantle, powers, and duties thereof - well, it's fortunate for her that she generally keeps a sunny and optimistic disposition rather than feeling like it's too big a calling. She's learned not to take it for granted - but you might not know that from the optimism she brings to the missions she's been part of.

Today is no exception. While Yuna is currently in her uniform rather than the Light Suit, she's all smiles and confidence as she enters the Phantom Cocoon, waving or nodding to the Wills and her other allies as she meets each of their eyes in the control room. "Just tell me where you need me, and I'll do my best," she states.

Yuna's got the full Matrix of Light with her for good measure, assuming there's room for them. Not that Elner needs much space to itself; the tiny robo-faerie can ensconce itself almost anywhere, while Jiina, Marina, and Erina can easily man secondary control stations if they're trusted with same. This is, as Lyner said, the final effort - Yuna assumes that means bringing everything to the proverbial table.

Then again, when it comes to the dive chambers, Yuna's probably the only part of the Matrix of Light who needs to use one. So there's that.
Taro     The last time he answered Lyner's summons, he made the mistake of coming underprepared. He's making no such mistake today. Especially since they have little idea just what to expect once the other side. Assuming they reach the other side, a thing that is not completely assured.
    The android priest is dressed in his combat armor, with a pair of beam sabres and another pair of buster pistols on his hips. He carts a rolling hardcase along with him, which also serves as a handy perch for a couple of cyber-elves as they make their way to Phantom Cocoon. "Permission to come aboard?"
    There's no reason he expects to be denied entry, and so he folds in the case's handle, picks it up, and carrys it along with him inside. He'll put it wherever seems to be the safest spot while still having easy access to it, before making his way to the control room. A quick scan of assessment, which slows as his eyes meet each of the Reyvateils, lingering upon Soma and Saki in particular. Then, a deep nod that's both acknowledgement and greeting to them, then to Lyner, and Yuna, and the others as they all arrive. "Wherever my skills will best serve."
Reina Kinney Save the world, yeah. That might be something out of a superhero movie or something for some people. But for Reina, it's just another day on the job.

And when it's time to save a world (this is the Multiverse, after all) there's one golden rule that Reina follows: She will not fail. It's not a statement, not a promise, but a solemn vow she intends to keep, no matter how difficult it might be.

Reina arrives inside the Phantom Cocoon via teleportation down from her ship, and she nods to those she recognizes in some form or other. A slight smile is given to Yuna as if to acknowledge her upbeat attitude, before she becomes stern again and looks to Lyner. "We are going to succeed! I'm ready, and I'm sure the others are ready too! We will do this!"
Jakuri     "If we die, we die. At least we died trying," Mir says in a rather brusque manner as she follows in shortly after Lyner. Dressed in the usual Harmobody suit because, well... She doesn't like showing off the rest of her wardrobe, generally. Despite the blunt but decidedly 'positive' attitude her words show, she seems pensive. Which is unusual, considering her general show of aloofness to the world at large; unless she's feeling smarmy or grumpy. Today, though... Today she is subdued and doesn't even seem to entirely be paying attention to those around her. She isn't even hovering around Lyner in her usual satellite fashion, ultimately finding a corner for herself and simply giving the impression of staring at one of the various monitors in the control room. Whether it's activated or not.
Kazusa Ujikane     Kazusa is here. She's a tad uneasy, but she's here. Saki might be getting the occasional pouty look. Soma is probably getting some that are a little darker than 'pouty'. But she is here, and she is ready, shuffling through her still-active cards with a thoughtful look on her face, both at the cards themselves and at the members of the group.

    There is, however, the briefest glance at Ar Ru. "I won't let that happen! To you, to anyone else here, or to the planet itself." And finally, she smiles. It's the first real smile she's offered since she arrived. The whole business has been weighing on her more than a little.
William Pauwel It's been a long time coming. Now it's time to do or die, semper fi, gung-ho gung-ho gung--

Wait.

Will's bike was parked just inside the egg. Where is he even?

*Snap-click-crank-whirr-whizz-wham-boom!

A panel falls out of the ceiling.

Will's head pokes out of the panel.

"All power conduits look fine to me! Final checks are all done and green, except for a few weird gemstone-squirrel things I found nesting in a box upstairs." He disappears back into the crawlspace, but pops out a moment later somewhere closer to ground. "But that should be fine. No problem. We all ready to go?"

Yep! Everyone's here. All the multiversal friends, three of the Wills of Ar Ciel.

Soma.

Yyyyyep.

Still awkward.
Moonlit Saber A few footsteps of geta on the floor sound before Saber fully fades into view, lifting a hand to rest on Kazusa's shoulder. "Do not worry." Her other hand rests on the hilts of the two swords at her side as green eyes scan the room. "We are not going to die trying, because we are not going to die. I will not speak of baseless optimism, but..."

Pausing agin as she glances around, Saber gives a brief nod. "We have quite a bit of power in this room. So long as we all watch out for each other, we will be fine."
Deelel It was a time of trial it was a time of change for this world for good or bad she did not know. She likes sai and is glad she's going to help however she looks to Saki for a moment as she summons her keyeblade it was time to put Dual Disc to task again. She knw there would be a fight and she had helped worlds before hell she was seen as a Goddess on afterus and she always teied to live up to that as flawed as she might be. It's also something she does not broad cast to the watch as a whole, she'd expect some to try and kill her just for being as such. She's now at the dive chambers and ready taking a deep breath, out of habit from hanging aroud humans than actual need and she seems to be ready.
Lyner Barsett      Everyone starts arriving soon after Lyner, and things get set up relatively swiftly. Yuna is given a look from Lyner, and he waves. "Glad you could make it, Yuna. And thanks." This probably isn't going to be easy, so he has to thank her. Her and everyone else, really. A case could be made for why he doesn't just get the old crew back together again and do this himself, but... Well.

     Things didn't line up. Really.

     Phonon gives Yuna a bow, and then directs her, and her associates all to seats at workstations below. "I do not believe that you will be required to attend to these functions. But do sit down and allow yourselves to become comfortable."

     Taro is, of course, allowed on, and Phonon helps him place his gear aside and out of the way. The main control roo has enough space for people to stand about without much worry. But it's best not to have clutter. According to the maidbot. But of course. Lyner looks to Taro and smiles. "Taro, good to see you." He greets, giving the android a lazy salute. "I have no idea what's going to happen, but for now, just have a seat and be ready to mobilize."

     Soma meets Taro's gaze evenly and unblinkingly. Then she merely looks off to something more interesting in her eyes. Saki realizes that she's not really garnering a ton of positive attention and shrinks over behind Lyner. "Lyyyyyneeeeeer, they hate me don't they?" She whines, hiding halfway behind him all dramatically.

     "Uhhhhh... I mean... you did kind of attack us under the guise of being a friend and all..." He answers sheepishly, glancing back at her. Saki pouts. "Uuuuu! I told you that wasn't a guise! I had to do it, but I meant what I said about- ow ow ow!" Suzunomiya plucks Saki off of the knight and drags her aside. "That will be enough of that, you fool."

     Lyner chuckles and rubs the back of his head, but looks to Reina after and nods. "Yeah. I'm sure we will." At that, he catches sight of Mir off in one corner kind off vaguely looking to be not a part of the crowd. "...Mir?" He asks, stepping towards her. "Everything okay? You look like something's up."

     Meanwhile, Saki shrinks under Kazusa's pout and uses Suzunomiya as a shield this time. Soma's gaze settles on Kazusa's quietly, the raven haired one looking bored and blank. Just... nothing. An empty shell without a purpose. She blinks slowly, then turns away and walks off to have a seat somewhere. Nothing else to do until it's time.

     Ar Ru glances the card bearer's way and shrugs a shoulder. "Talk is cheap." She's not easily convinced of their success. Even if she is here to 'help'. Hm.

     And then there's Will. Phonon looks up at the fall of a cieling panel and blinks ever so blankly. "I believe those creatures were Sonnet's... hobby?" She tilts her head a bit, brows furrowed in mild confusion at herself. A moment passes, then she shakes her head. "Yes. All preparations are complete." She looks to Lyner and nods.

     Lyner in turn looks to Mir. "Alright, Mir. It's showtime." He gestures to the advanced looking throne in the center, connected to everything else. "Ready to do this?" It's now or never, after all.
Jakuri     "Ready to potentially kill us all? I was, once," Mir replies in her characteristic snark. She doesn't even look towards Lyner to reply, having apparently chosen to ignore his asking how she is initially. She takes a few steps before stopping, biting her lip and finally directing her sharp eyes to the knight with a piercing gaze. Not the usual Reproachful Reyvateil Stare, but something else. Perhaps she wants to say something. A gloved hand rises to rub her face before she stomps on over to him and pokes him in the chest. "Before I park my ass in that chair and potentially doom us all, I have something I want to say to you. You're going to need to sit down."
Kazusa Ujikane     The smile Kazusa gives Saber seems to be more of a silent, 'I'm alright, no worries' than anything else. But before she moves to sit down, she finally takes her choice of card... and walks over to Will. "After what happened, ah... before," she says with a bit of a sheepish look, "I kind of feel like it's only right I copy you for this." Up comes The Marksman, and after a moment-

    O keen-eyed ranger, will you lend
        your eye to this brave soul?

    -there's that impression of a question. Kazusa will of course go to sit down after Will has answered one way or the other.
Yuna Kagurazaka As the others arrive, Yuna greets each of them in turn, even as she's getting settled in at a workstation with Phonon's help. Elner assumes a position hovering near Yuna's right shoulder, helping her sort out the display and the controls. The sudden fall of a ceiling panel makes Yuna jump a bit (and squeak loudly in surprise as her concentration is broken), but the sound of Will's voice makes her look up at him ... and she relaxes, confirming that it was a friend bumbling around and not the prelude to a catastrophic malfunction in a critical system.

Then Mir gets all pessimistic, or maybe it's fatalistic, and Yuna looks over at her with a mildly chiding look ... one which is undermined somewhat by her good-natured defiance. "Defying the odds against us and seizing victory is what we're all about here, Mir. Have a little more faith in the rest of us? If nothing else, just thinking positive will be a big step in the right direction."
Taro     "We are all vassals to one degree or another." Taro makes the remark mostly to Saki, though loudly enough that the other Reyvateils (and everyone else in general) are not excluded from it. "Some of us are more aware of our servitude than others." He doesn't seem to be particularly upset with her over what happened - that thin frown is his usual expression.
    He then tactically and tactfully moves out of the way as Mir moves to approach Lynder, moving across the way to an empty seat in front of a bank of consoles. This seems to be a prime opportunity to familiarize himself with the readouts and pretend to not pay attention to whatever is about to happen there. He does give a quick sideways glance at Kazusa and Will and what they're doing, but then he turns his attention toward Yuna. He considers saying something for a moment, then chooses against it, instead turning back to the console.
Reina Kinney "Ready? I was born ready!" Reina says with a nod and a smirk on her face. "It doesn't matter what might happen, we're going to be ready for it!" She cracks her knuckles a little and rolls her neck around. "Nothing's gonna stop us! No way, no how, no nothing!"

When Mir gets a bit pessimistic though, she shakes her head and sighs. "You can't get negative now! We've got to focus all our energy into completing our assignment!" She looks around before stage whispering, "If Laia were here, she'd really be peeved!"
William Pauwel     "Her... hobby?" Will gives Lyner a long stare. And then his gaze slowly shifts over towards Phonon, then frowns. "Well, I guess they're Phonon's responsibility now! They're up a few decks, should be safe though. We'll just collect them once we're done."

Will has... a lot of confidence that they'll succeed, it seems. Maybe it's misplaced! Maybe it's not. Maybe it's just...

Being... from Tellus???

??????

But then, someone is bullying a Saki! Suzunomiya seems to have it covered. Also bullying a Soma, nobody seems to have it covered. "Hey, don't worry Saki," Will says with a grin, "I think you're fine! And adorable, so I can't just not forgive you."

Beat.

"Like... I don't know. When I look her way, I just feel..." W-w-what is this? A last minute declaration of love!? "...Like I'm looking at a kitten or something."

Oh.

No. Just Will being Will.

"Anyone else get that?"

Yep.

Then, Kazusa. With another, familiar request! The gunner smiles and clasps her shoulder, "Sure! Always. It worked out great the last time, so I don't see why we can't do it again."
Moonlit Saber As the card appears, Saber tilts her head slightly. "The Marksman?" She actually does not mind that. Even though she knows that her durability comes along with the Knight card copying her, Saber is always worried seeing how reckless it can make her Master.

As she moves to sit down, she looks over toward Soma, especially at those shackles. Something about the girl tells Saber that they aren't necessary, but... well, it's not her place right now. Rather than smile or wave, Saber inclines her head in greeting to the girl.
Deelel So it was time to dive and away she goes., wuith everyone else she gives eveyrone one last look notably to saki before they get ready to go she takes a deep breath and smirks as he doesn't say a thing. Well if they don't succeed they won't be here will they? So in the name of her own surival Deelel is very seemingly confident in her own success and everyone'se else.
Lyner Barsett      Lyner's smile takes on a confused sort of bent at Mir's reply. "Huh?" He murmurs, blinking a few. "What's this?" He asks, stepping back a bit at the chest poking. "Something to say? Sit down?" Wow, what was so important for her to say that he has to sit down? Did Leard have a stroke? Did Shurelia get so lost that she wound up in Metafalss? Did Aurica finally snap and end everything while he wasn't looking? Did Jack decide to become an ally of justice and start wearing spandex? Did Krusche swear off science for the rest of her days? What is it?

     "Uh, okay..." He's not quite sure now is the time for this, but who is he to say so? Mir's the one who's going to be taking control of the place. May as well listen to whatever she wants to say. The blonde knight has himself a seat at one of the lower workstations, hands on his knees, sitting straight. "Okay. What's up, Mir?"

     Meanwhile Phonon blinks at Will and frowns. "I have no interest in 'furry forest creatures'." She states plainly, arms resting over her maid's apron. "I will make sure to release them once we have seen this mission through." Nope. Nope nope nope. Not taking care of a bunch of squirrels thank you very much.

     Saki meanwhile pouts at Mr. Will Pauwel, Chaser that refuses to die despite all the dumb things he does forever. "H-Hey! I am not a kitten! Look! I'm not even furry!" She huffs and turns away, stomping off to a station to have a seat... where she resumes munching on her bag of chips. Suzunomiya sighs afterward and shakes her head, moving to have herself a seat as well. "Enough daudling. Let us proceed." She states decisively, having herself a seat as well.

     Soma glances Saber's way, unblinking, unengaged. Just... she's here. Did she even agree to help save the world? Or did Saki kind of just drag her out of her cell? Well! Either way, she's here. No turning back now.

     Everything is in place. Now all that's left is for Mir to... huh? Mir still hasn't taken her place at the central throne. Mir! Miiiiir!

     Mir please. Please Mir. Mir.
Kazusa Ujikane     Kazusa is now peeking over the back of her seat at Lyner and Jakuri. They have her absolute, rapt attention.

    She is not even bothering to hide the fact she's kneeling backwards in her chair and peeking over it.
William Pauwel A-aww, look at her, retreating into a chair to be all kinds of secure and cuddly with her bag full of safety chips and---

NO. Will. Stay on task. You have a job to do! A job. To do.

"Well uh," Will says to Phonon, "If you don't want 'em, I could take 'em. I'm sure they'll be fine on Tellus! And they were real friendly, so it'd feel bad just... lettin' them go out in the wild here." 'They'd be fine on Tellus' he says. More like 'They'll get eaten by a Phase Coyote' or something.

"Well, anyway, I'm ready to go whenever!" He falls into a chair and buckles up, but then... Mir? Lyner? Uh? "Huh? What's everyone staring at?" Will is approximately as dense as a certain blonde swordsman. "...Mir, what's wrong? Do y'all have a stomach ache or something?"
Deelel SO here they go she looked to Saki and this time speaks. "come on saki we're reay to go for this? We need to run this line and complile a soultion." Deelel's falling into local speak from her world and away she goes with everyone else.
Moonlit Saber For a moment, Saber meets Soma's gaze. Just... staring. She eventually stops and lets out a soft breath, though. It would be nice if there was more she could do for someone she felt at least a little connection to, but right before a battle is probably not the best time to worry about it.

Instead, she reaches over and carefully pokes Kazusa in the side with a finger. Not that she isn't watching as well.
Taro     Taro is still ostensibly studying the console in front of him and not paying attention to the discussion (confrontation?) between Mir and Lyner. Unlike many of the others. Let the two have their space, and let Mir release whatever it is that is bothering her before she assumes the chair. This would be wise.
Yuna Kagurazaka Yuna is still keeping an ear and half an eye on Mir for whatever the constitutionally grumpy Reyvateil wanted to say, but she's at least putting some of her attention back to work at her station. Will's comment about 'I'm sure they'll be fine on Tellus' makes her start worrying, but she's trying to focus her attenton on the tasks at hand.

Break through the Sea of Death. Reach the core of Ar Ciel. Revitalize the planet, or something along those general lines ...

Okay, she's less sure about what happens after 'reach the core of Ar Ciel,' but the step after *that* is 'save planet, return home, and celebrate'. Which is probably more than one step, but again, details.
Reina Kinney Break through the Sea of Death? That's an adventure to Reina, not a challenge. After all, the GUARDIANS operative loves a good challenging adventure!

Retivalizing the planet is good too.

Of course the task is actually getting there, but once they do, Reina's gonna be ready for anything. She decides to let Lyner and Mir have their arguments or whatever, while taking a seat as well. "We know what our objective is, now we do it!" She smiles even more than before.
Jakuri     The central throne can wait, she takes a different throne first... After swinging Lyner's chair about and away from the console and brushing his hands out of his lap, she instead parks herself in it side-saddle. She looks awkward for a moment, not directly at Lyner despite being in his lap, only to slide her arms about his neck and at last look him in the eyes with a stern face... It fails at being stern because of the growing blush. "Lyner," she starts quietly, perhaps so only he can hear. Although everyone around likely knows what it must be about...!
    "Lyner, there's a real possibility that this doesn't work and we might, well... Die. There's something i've been choosing not to tell you for a while, and couldn't even tell you for a while because of, well... Misha." She pauses at this point, frowning a bit and looking down at her own feet for a moment. "So, look, anyway... Lyner. I like you Lyner. Not just..." Frown. God damnit why must this shit be so hard. Finally overcoming her own social ineptitude, she just looks at Lyner and grabs his cheeks before planting a firm kiss upon his lips. It lasts for a few moments before she tugs away and glances aside, face even more red. "I want you to know I love you, just in case we don't come back from this. If we do, well... Hopefully you're not THAT damn dense." She flashes him a smile then, the sort of pleasant and genuine smile that NO ONE EVER GETS FROM MIR. "Okay?"
Lyner Barsett      Saki stuffs her face in an effort to ignore Will. ...B-Because she's got an image to maintain and cats are not part of her image. She's not like a cat at all! It's not like she thinks they're super cut and cuddly, and there is absolutely no way on Ar Ciel that she's got a song in her memory dedicated ENTIRELY to them or something. No way!

     ...She's blushing and spacing out with a blissful look on her face. Fission Mailed. Fission Mailed hard.

     It's only when Deelel speaks to her that Saki snaps out of her daydream. "O-Oh! Um, yeah! Right! We'll do this thing!" A glance over at Lyner and Mir. "...Juuuuust as soon as they work out whatever the heck is keeping them." Really now. Is now the time for this?

     Phonon blinks at Will. "I... am not certain that this is advisable." She pauses for a second, then goes on. "As I have come to glean from cursory research on the Multiversal Web... Tellus is a land fraught with dangers. The chances of them being devoured by an Arch Tiger or a Drop Bear seem to be in the high eighties." A hand raises to gesture. "Be that as it may..." She trailed off, eyes lidding halfway. "... I suppose that I should take them."

     Meanwhile over at Lyner and Mir's corner, in which pretty much everyone seems to be watching. Ar Ru looks on blankly. Suzunomiya is politely looking away. Saki is watching rapt with attention, munching on chips all the while. Soma could not care any less than she already does. Which is not at all. Phonon observes blankly. Having utterly no investment in these proceedings.

     And Lyner just remains utterly confused. Even moreso when Mir sweeps his arms away and chooses his lap. "Huh? Mir, if you need a chair, there's one right ther- Yes?" He immediately shuts up and answers his name with a simple yes. She explains that this might not work out and they'd all die. "I... I mean, that's possible, but I reall don't think it'll actually- Huh?" He blinks. "Something to tell me?" Now he's even more confused. What is all this before the big trip? He can't think of anything!

     Mir says she likes him, and Lyner blinks... then smiles. "Oh, yeah. I like you too. Along with Shurelia, and Misha, and Radolf, and Jack, and Aurica, and- MMPH!" The fool's dense response is cut off with that action, and his eyes widen. A few moments pass before they separate. Once they do, his cheeks light up slightly.

     "Uh... uh, no... I'm... not." He scratches his cheek with a finger, completely and totally lost at this new flood of information. "I... Uh.... I'm sorry, I can't answer you right this second? Let's focus on what we've got to do, and then after that... Yeah."

     Suzunomiya clears her throat. "AHEM." Lyner snaps to attention and looks aside, seeing all the faces looking at this. "GAH!" He jumps in his seat. "SORRY! SORRY! WE'RE GOING! WE'RE GOING NOW!"

     Your move, Mir.
Kazusa Ujikane     The only response that Saber gets from her Master is a silent 'shh' gesture when she's poked. Nevermind that there was no actual noise there. This is a moment not to be disturbed. This could mark the very instant when-

    It happens.

    It Happens(tm).

    Sure, Lyner didn't give an actual answer. But it's there, in the open, and he's been made unmistakably aware of it.

    The instant Mir's eyes land on her for even a moment, Kazusa gives a silent clapping movement (without actually bringing her hands together to make noise), followed by a big, goofy grin and a pair of thumbs-up.

    d_^.^_b
William Pauwel "Oh!" Will bobs his head. Phonon is... Probably right. "That's... Probably more true than not! We do have some pretty scary stuff. Heh. Uh. Well, if you're going to take care of them, then there's no problem. Yeah!" MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! Phonon status: Does in fact have a heart.

And then there's... Lyner and Mir.

Well.

That... Was a thing that happened.

It's a thing that apparently makes Will turn approximately as bright as a tomato in a red light district. He immediately whips his head back around and sinks down into his chair. "H-hey. That sure was a... A-anyway! Let's... Let's get a move on, huh?"
Taro     It is a moment that should by all rights not be interrupted.
    It is also a moment in which Taro has no need and sees no reason to directly witness, and so he continues to studiously pretend to ignore what is going on behind him.
    There is no doubt someone much more qualified than him to offer them relationship advice later.
    Suzunomiya seems to be taking charge, or she's reminding Lyner that he is in charge. Only then does he swivel in his seat to look between the two, his posture that of one awaiting orders.
Yuna Kagurazaka Yuna is humming something quietly as she turns her full attention back to her console, in the wake of Mir's hard-fought confession.

Those who've heard enough of Yuna's actual songs will recognize the melody from 'Starry Heavens,' which could be considered a love song. Sort of. It's a mix of that and a desire to protect, both of which resonate very well indeed with Yuna personally.

She's not being so obvious about it as Kazusa, but clearly she approves; she just doesn't want to put Mir on the spot by drawing attention to it.
Moonlit Saber Kazusa is given a questioning look. What is this all about anyway? curiously, she glances back at Lyner and Jakuri and... oh. Oh. Well then.

Were she not already in her Mystic Robe, Saber's reaction would likely be pretty different. Her Master has seen her getting pretty into things while watching television, and this was many times better than most things she's seen on her shows.

But for now, all she really does is give a brief nod of approval when Jakuri inevitably looks at her manically grinning Master.

There are other things to focus on for now, though, and Saber soon returns her attention to the matter at hand. Don't worry though, Mir. Internally, she's squeeing, even if she doesn't so much as crack a smile.
Reina Kinney While Yuna's humming to herself, Reina's taking the time to check a few things on her wrist console. Namely that her weapons are ready to be used at any moment, in the event something goes wrong. She's also taking a sip of water beforehand, since using TECHNICs makes the user rather thirsty, and she wants to hydrate herself well beforehand in case the need arises.

As for Mir, she approves too, but she's not going to say that right now. She's just focusing on preparing.
Jakuri     "So think on your answer while all this is happening," Mir tells Lyner pointedly, the smile fading as she slides from his lap... Aaand deliberately allows gloved fingers to drag along one of his cheeks as she leaves it. Sure enough, her eyes do briefly catch Kazusa and she offers a small, bashful sort of smile in response to the goofy grin as she heads to her seat; that damned throne. Before she sits in it she glances around and then looks at Will. "What are you squawking about, you rock-headed clown?" she says, fixing him with the expected Reproachful Reyvateil Stare. And then she does the 'i'm watching you' motion with two fingers, pointing at her eyes and then him as she settles herself in.
Deelel Deelel looks again to Saki thereis nothing else ot sya the confession of love to Lyner from mir is shocking to her but she's not able to ... do much more than watch. it's time to go it's time to dive they are making the plunge a deep dive if you will.

"System start."
Lyner Barsett      Lyner clears his throat and stands up. "Okay! It's time! It's time! Mir?" He gestures to the central throne, and then smiles, a bit sheepishly, foolishly, awkwardly, but nonetheless, it is there. "... I'll think on it." Once she's gone and sat herself down, the knight goes and does the same at a different, more viable workstation. It's time to do this.

     Phonon glances at Will and blinks. "... I suppose that I will make the attempt." There's a pause. ... Another pause. And another... "Sonnet would have preferred this. I do believe." Her eyes close. Sonnet, huh? ... Both her and Ayla are gone. She's here alone in this metal shell. About to go save the world or get blown up trying. Hm.

     The maidbot shakes her head and steps over to Mir's side to instruct her. "Once you are comfortable, close your eyes and focus. Extend your senses and you will soon feel a connection with the rest of facility." A hand raises to gesture. "Once you do, you need only mentally command the cradle to rise and commence Project Sotiris." Her hand lowers. "Now, please make the attempt."

     Once Mir goes and does so, a feeling like having a USB cable connected to a larger system; AKA her cosmosphere, a flood of information is dumped in, giving the Reyvateil access to all the minute details of the Phantom Cocoon's system. And once the command is given, the lights dim, and the entire structure shakes.

     The supports keeping it up outside in the forest are broken off, and several layers of shell are shed as the sleeker form of the craft is revealed. On the main screen, which powers on to show the forest outside, a bar appears which grows from 0 percent to 100 percent. Then, the thrusters engage and the craft blasts off at ALARMING SPEEDS.

     Hope everyone buckled up. The turbulence is insane!

     Into the sky, speeding through the clouds they go. Then, they begin to dip downwards... downwards... Phonon speaks up at this point. "Commencing entry into Sea of Death. Prepare for any unplanned occurrences." And then the craft BLASTS downwards, piercing into the gray colored sky sea. Immediately, the ship is being battered from all around by unseen forces, even ass they blast down into it at blinding speeds.

     "Damage rising... rising.... rising..." Phonon reports, her eyes on the main screen, which is just a blur of gray. But occasionally, one can see the vague shapes likened to that of Antibodies...

     Are they attacking the craft as it speeds through?
Kazusa Ujikane     Kazusa briefly gives Saber a look. A knowing look.

    Then her attention is on the task at hand as well, and she's watching displays with interest. "...hey, what's that bar that's filling u-" Launch. "-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Oh, you bet she's holding onto her chair for dear life.

    "H-hey," she calls out to Phono, with an unsteady sort of laugh to her voice. "This thing was designed to take all this punishment, right...?"
Moonlit Saber Saber glances back at Kazusa. She doesn't say anything, but her lips are pressed together in a perfectly horizontal line. What.

And then, sudden acceleration. As her Master begins to scream Saber reaches out to grab hold of the girl's arm to help keep her in place, just in case. Of course, her other hand is gripping the seat of her own chair as the ship is buffeted about.

"This is not just air turbulence, is it? Is there something out there besides the cloud?" There are those vague shapes, which could be attackers. Or Lyner could be that bad of a driver and just keeps ramming them into mountainsides on the way down.
William Pauwel YES, LET'S GET A MOVE ON BEFORE THINGS GET EVEN STEAMIER IN HERE.

Oh, if only Will could be Saki. Lost in a world of cute kitty cats and delicious but not at all nutritious chips, safe from this HORRIBLY AWKWARD atmosphere. Though Will could probably do without all the... Pink.

"Y-yeah," he says to Phonon, nodding. "I think she would. And, you know, once this is all done, I think... I think it'll give you something to do? Something in Ar Ciel that belongs to you, you know?" Will grins, his ETERNAL SHAME forgotten. "Phonon Sotiris, ace crystal-squirrel breeder!"

Someone's gotta do the job.

But then, the signal comes to depart. Will fastens another seatbelt. Then two more. And then things... Start getting bumpy. Nothing he's not used to; the Mistral isn't the smoothest ride in the world. But something he sees on the screen is... Disconcerting.

Antibodies!?

"Hey! Ar Ru!" Will calls, "Don't you control those things? Can you get them to leave us alone!?" He pops open a nearby console and shoves a weird little duct-tape covered box into one of its ports. That goes into a cable, which goes into his gun. "Hold on, Judgment, help us out with the computation, would you? We need to optimize the shield frequencies--"

Roger a strange, crystalline, mechnical voice humms out from the Solano. Testing barrier configurations. Optimizing projection geometries for descent protocols.

"Right. I'll support from this end. Let's keep this old girl in one piece...!"
Taro     
    Taro did in fact strap in at about the same time that Mir assumed control of their ship. Even so, he finds himself gripping the edges of his seat when they hit some of the worse pockets of turbulence. His brow knits further, but he makes no complaint. He is, however, going to keep a close watch of the readouts of the Cocoon's hull integrity. "If it wasn't," Taro answers Kazusa, "it's too late to do anything about it now."
    Down where his gear was stored, two cyber-elves cling to the case's handle for dear life as everything shakes and bounces.
Yuna Kagurazaka Yes, Yuna had strapped herself in.

She thought she had, anyway. It's the actual ignition of the Cocoon's engines that prompts her to make sure she's securely buckled into her seat; Erina, Jiina, and Marina had done that well before now, though. As for Elner - Yuna actually grabs the robo-faerie (prompting a quiet "Hey!") and tucks Elner into the belt of her uniform. "Wouldn't want you getting flung around!" she calls out over the noise of engines, turbulence, and possible hostile firepower.

It's probably just as well that she did so, really. Even if Elner would be fully capable of staying safe while the ship gets shaken around, the robo-faerie *could* conceivably have somebody else propelled into it at a harmful speed and/or angle. For now, Yuna peers at her display, glancing occasionally at other screens she can see. "Do we have exterior turrets or anything to help ward those things away from us? Or do we just focus on maintaining shield and hull integrity?"
Reina Kinney Buckle up. That's always rule one of Reina whenever she sits down in a seat someplace. So the turbulence doesn't bother her at all. She keeps an eye on her display all the same, not wanting to be caught off guard by anything at all.

Shaking her head, Reina says, "If we have exterior weapons, will they even be useful against whatever's hitting us? If not, we may have to tough it out." She wipes her forehead a little, sighing at the last part, remembering how she got a quality reprimanding a few weeks ago for trying to tough it out with her craft during a dangerous mission. Laia was not thrilled, and Reina's remembering that now. "Still, I think defensive actions might be useful."
Jakuri     Accepting the instructions without so much as a moment's snark, Mir settles into her seat and closes her eyes in order to do just as instructed... She frowns and flinches a bit upon the influx of information, but after a moment she settles down... And up they go! With a rumbling and thundering that is, well. Yes, it's rather concerning. Then they're being attacked and the hull is being battered... A moment later and the barriers, several layers of barriers, flicker into being and start taking the hits and deflecting where they can. Mir growls a bit in frustration, but this silliness requires concentration; so she can't voice her annoyance at a complete lack of weaponry. Seriously, who doesn't put weaponry on something like THIS thing? She'll have to have words with whoever the hell designed this tub.
Lyner Barsett      Suzunomiya eyes the display and frowns. "Those are indeed Antibodies." Her eyes slide right over to Ar Ru, and Saki looks over to her as well. Soma doesn't even look. Her eyes are closed and she's seated, shackled arms just over her knees. Nothing to say. No reason to say anything. Either they make it through, or they all die.

     Simple.

     Ar Ru narrows her one visible eye and sighs. "These ones are being controlled by Ar Ciel itself." Nevertheless, she stands up and paces over to the center and front, eyeing the main screen. "......" A hand raises, palm outward, and she closes her eye to focus.

     In the meantime, the shields that Judgment helps bring up are a boon to the process of buying time. Phonon also steps over to a console and types into it, supplementing Judgment's alterations with the activation of addtional defensive systems. While she does so, she answers the general questions asked. "No, there are no offensive mechanisms equipped to the craft itself. This is a vessel meant for high speed entry into the lower atmosphere. What it instead has, are several layers of defensive shielding."

     And they're going to need all of it.

     The battering gets less and less severe, thanks to the shielding, but it won't hold out long. All the while, Ar Ru strains, her eye closed, and lips pressed into a line. ".......Mmnghn....!" And then her eye shoots open. She closes her hand into a fist. And something miraculous happens.

     The blurry sea of gray, literally an ocean of Antibodies, begins to part like the Red Sea, rapidly opening up a path down to the surface. As this happens, Lyner fist pumps at the combined efforts of everyone to keep this vessel going. "Almost there! Phonon! What now?" He asks, looking the robot's way.

     Phonon glances Lyner's way, then back to the main screen. "Lady Mir. It is time to engage the second part of the process. Command the cradle to enter Phase Two. At this altitude, we will be fine to proceed onward into Ar Ciel's core. Once we do, we should be free of Antibody forces." She looks to everyone. "We will proceed with Phase Three once we reach a suitable depth. Do be prepared."
Kazusa Ujikane     Well, at least the answer to Kazusa's question in particular is 'yes'. That's reassuring. The card-user looks a /little/ more relaxed as they descend. And then much /more/ so when Ar Ru is finally able to open a hole in the antibodies. She immediately adjusts her glasses as if to confirm she's seeing this, then turns in her seat just enough to give Ar Ru a great big, beaming smile and thumbs-up. That didn't look easy on her! "Good job~!"

    Kazusa even says it in english.
Yuna Kagurazaka "So the Sea of Death was basically all Antibodies?" Yuna wonders, relaxing in her seat as the Antibodies disperse.

This suddenly feels like it should be a lot more disturbing. Even Yuna knows that antibodies, in the human body, are part of the immune system - they help the body fight off infectious diseases: bacteria, viruses, other bad stuff. So the planet's immune system was trying to keep the Cocoon out. That much she can understand.

But if the Antibodies have withdrawn .... does that mean Ar Ciel has left its core open to more than just the Cocoon and its passengers?

"Elner, help me monitor external sensors again," Yuna murmurs to her robo-faerie; Elner slips out of her belt again and moves to hover in front of Yuna's chest, where both of them can watch the console's display.
Taro     Taro's tips tighten to a thin line as he watches the readouts continue to dip. There is question in his mind as to whether the ship will still have enough integrity for the return trip, but he decides that this is not the time to voice that concern. Instead, he points out, "Having weapons ports or weapons mounts would have meant creating weak points in the shielding. In this case, better to have a stronger defense without offense." Thankfully Will's alterations along with Phonon's additional support are further keeping the Cocoon intact during this mad dive.
    Their continued survivial is further helped by the very Will who once set those Antibodies against them. "Thank you, Ar Ru." Spoken with sincerity, along with a deep nod of respect. "I suppose this makes clear that Ar Ciel is still determined to stop us."
Moonlit Saber Well, that was unexpected. While she saw the Antibodies outside, Saber didn't know that the entire cloud was just Antibodies. But as Ar Ru does her job and the cloud clears, Saber's eyes widen a bit. "It seems the way is clear now, at least."

She glances aside at Kazusa, giving the girl an amused look. But it sounds like there's not much time to relax, and she rests her hand once more on the hilts of her swords, mentally preparing for what is to come.
Reina Kinney "Antibodies? In a Sea of Death?" Reina now scowls. "And they're withdrawing?" She narrows her eyes. "Dammit, I think we just did ourselves more harm than good."

Unlike Yuna, who doesn't have another set of eyes on her, Reina simply focuses extra hard on her console, trying to keep a close eye on things. "Whatever happens now, well," The sarcasm drips from her voice noticeably, "I hope it's just as beneficial for us as those antibodies should've been!"
Deelel So here we go, she's dived before but nothing into something like this. She soon ins herself wihin the dive and the talk about damage and other things does have her concerned she lets out a cry and for a momenet deelel eyes flash bright blue and she seems to space. She comes out of this a moment after the otehrs get going. She shakes her head a little bit and makes an veyr unhappy noise.

"those are antibodies all right."

With the dual disc in hand as she makes use of it the keyblade lights up and she now gets to work as she starts to chant a bit launchin ice shards at the various antibodies trying to keep them at bay.

"BLIZZARD!"
William Pauwel "That would explain why nobody's been able to penetrate the thing in a few hundred years," Will muttered as his fingers kept clicking right on across his console. "High energy and acid ain't that big of a deterrent once you get proper engineering going. And the tower goes all the way to the ground, so there had to be a reason that people couldn't go down that way aside from 'horrible death field.'"

They could have sent robots, right?

There's a beat as the shield outside flickers again. "Shield frequency rotated," he explains. "Instead of exposing each one 'till they break, better to switch 'em out to let the weakened walls recharge. Seems to work out in my head that way, anyway."

There's a long pause, before... Something starts beeping.

Judgment sounds.

Frequency detected. Decoding. Signal translated, message received.

It's a staticy, sinister, broken sound, like nails against the chalkboard of the soul. But one that is altogether, singularly understandable.

                       I SHALL GIVE YOU ENDLESS EARTH                      
Jakuri     "Phase Two," Mir repeats as she does as asked... Whatever that means! More turbulence perhaps? She's too busy focusing on keeping control of this overcomplicated egg contraption to be worrying too much about such things, what with trying to reach their destination and not get them killed along the way. It feels annoyingly difficult. Whatever insanity Will is up to is missed!
Lyner Barsett      Ar Ru would roll her eyes, were she not focusing all of her effort on keeping the way parted for them to blast through and downwards. Suzunomiya remains calmly seated and watching the screen, Saki is... somehow still just munching on chips like a damn chipmunk stuffing its cheeks. On nom nom nom. This really is all so riveting, she can't stop ea- ... Oh. She's out. Soma remains unchanged from previously.

     Mir takes Phonon's instructions and proceeds to command Phase Two to activate. This causes the soaring vessel to change form. There's additional turbulence as the entire craft becomes sleeker and pointed. Like a bullet. The barrier layers also become more pointed in response, now looking more like a drill then a defensive mechanism.

     "Brace for impact."

     "Huh? Hey wait, what was that about endless ear-" Lyner starts but doesn't get to finish.

     For that is all the warning Phonon gives before... BOOM. They hit the ground hard. But they don't stop. The cocoon violently shakes, but then proceeds to tunnel down into the earth, cracking through dirt and stone. Each barrier strains, then shatters one by one, layer by layer. It burrows deeper and deeper, until...

     There is a flash of light, and all becomes a kaleidoscope of colors. As if they entered another dimension entirely. The display is not playing tricks on them. This is... Ar Ciel's core. An otherworldly space that looks like it belongs elsewhere, not here. But it's in this place that they are the closest to the chief Will of the Planet

     "Wow..." Lyner starts, once he pulls himself back up. "... This is it, right?" He asks over to Suzunomiya.

     She nods, a pensive look on her face. "Indeed. This is the core of the planet. The closest we will come to her presence. Now..." She looks to all present. "Now is the time for all of you to rise up and show her that all beings on this world deserve life. Not death."
Kazusa Ujikane     Okay, that message Will just decoded? That was creepy. Kazusa visibly shudders at the sound of it. "...She's mad," the girl murmurs.

    But no time to dwell on that. They need to un-mad Her; that's the entire point of this mission. It's just about time for- "Wait what?"

    BOOM.

    Kazusa jerks in her seat with the sudden impact. And... they keep going, down and in. She's riveted to her seat now. Which means that she's watching in the moment when the entire world becomes one of color and light. "...Saber... Saber, this is..." She doesn't finish the sentence, but the unspoken 'beautiful' is strong in her tone.

    It takes a minute or so before she's even willing to pull herself out of her seat. "Well, uh... I guess we'd better get going then." She holds The Marksman in her hand, looking at its image of the Solano thoughtfully. If there's any card she can trust to let her get her feelings through, it's this one.
Deelel TO day is the day that Deelel Wham deelel almos is thrown from her seat she smacks her head and is looking fazed again there's a faint crack in her forhed that's glowing the same colour as her outfits circitline. She takes a bit to get hersel out of her seat and staggers to join theparty.

"Right kazusa we need ... to get moving before osmething else hpppens and ... Mac me, I never seen anything quite like that..."
Taro     Taro braces himself by gripping the edges of his seat once more and gritting his teeth. The impact of ship into ground is jarring, and he almost smacks his head against the console. The crashing against the subterranian barriers is less so, but still distinctly uncomfortable. He's still keeping an eye on the readouts, for all the good it seems to be doing, the sensors apparently having trouble interpreting what's on the outside.
    Finally, mercifully, their harrowing trip comes to an end with everything more or less still intact. He gives a quiet grunt as he releases the overworked restraints. "The atmosphere outside appears breathable for the rest of you," he advises. He then rises somewhat less than gracefully from his chair, turning to regard Suzunomiya. "I don't suppose you have any last-moment advice for us on how to accomplish that...?"
Yuna Kagurazaka 'Endless Earth'.

Yuna can come up with one or two possibilities off the top of her head for what *that* might mean, and if she thinks abouit it for a while, she might come up with even more. It might mean a good thing. It might mean a bad thing. And even the brief opportunity she gets to mull it over suggests a couple more possibilities, mostly bad at first blush. Paradise and Heaven certainly sound like good places, after all, but if you have to die to get to them ...

Phase Two drives that train of thought right back out of her head again, and she has to fight not to shriek as the Phantom Cocoon turns into a Phantom Bullet to penetrate the last layers of Ar Ciel's shell before the core.

"... It's kind of beautiful," Yuna says, looking at the radiant void which constitutes Ar Ciel's deepest, most-protected place, the Core of the Planet itself.

Then the blonde bows her head for a moment, closing her eyes. Her lips move almost silently; if anyone takes the time to try and listen in, she's praying. Intensely. Mostly she's praying for guidance and protection, which she's sure they *REALLY* need at this stage ...

But then, so does Ar Ciel herself - maybe more than any individual mortal, native to this world or not. All of this led to a point where the Core is potentially vulnerable, and if the Cocoon's occupants are deemed a threat rather than accepted as supplicants, there's no telling what the planet could still do even *without* Antibodies.
Moonlit Saber That was unexpected. Saber thought this was a trip down to the surface, not to underneath the surface. The shaking gets even worse, but she just carefully holds onto her seat, waiting until the view ahead is clear.

"I did not know the core of a planet would look like this...." It's not as if she's ever been inside a planet before, but the sight is enough that she stands up very slowly, awed by the view.
William Pauwel Well, that's...

Ominous, certainly. Disturbing, how the planet is aware of their presence. But the Wills are onboard, so of course it must be. It must know. It has to be capable of recognizing their approach, if part of itself is onboard. Will presses his lips together into a fine line as he watches layer after layer of shield disintegrate into meaningless, useless static. Just a little more...

The turbulence... Stops.

And they emerge... Someplace incredible.

Will's eyes are wide as discs as he watches the swirls of color-- of life-- ripple by. This is... This is just astounding...! "Wow," he breathes. "Judgment. Hey, buddy, are you getting this?"

The gun is pointedly silent.

Will doesn't notice. There's so much to see.