2018-09-15: Overbooked
- Log: Overbooked
- Cast: Boomerang, Fei Fong Wong, Josephine Lovelace, Erzebet Lefanu, Ida Everstead-Rey
- Where: Hilton's port
- Date:'2018-09-15'
- Summary: Boomerang...on a boat?
<Pose Tracker> Boomerang has posed.
The Drifters needed boats.
It was a mundane problem, but thanks to information that got around through rumor -- and courtesy of one Ethius Hesiod -- it was known that Mother was on Elru. That meant that the way to Mother was across the ocean, because flight was denied to humans. Thus, people needed boats. Boats aren't in short supply, but they are expensive. The port city of Hilton is one such place to acquire one.
A lead led to news of the S.S. Wind's Gullet, a ship that could make the treacherous path. A few contacts has led an unlikely group of Drifters to the deck of the ship. The first mate turns, to look at them, wringing his hands.
"Sorry," he says, not for the first time in the last five minutes. "I know you came here to meet the Captain, and he's usually not so late..."
The first mate is a bearded man in his late thirties. Some salt and pepper is in his beard; his big frame and salty look is quite at odds with the way he, literally, wrings his hand. The latter may suggest his true character. But it is a pleasant day.
The sun is bright in the sky. A warm breeze blows in off the Narrow Sea. There is the smell of salt in the air, and the cry of seagulls.
And, after a moment, the captain's door swings open. The hinges creak when they do.
Boomerang steps out, wearing his sleeveless duster over his armored frame. His head turns, faceless mask regarding the Drifters in turn, before he nods once. Something different is perched upon his brow: a sea captain's hat. He tips it to them.
"Top of the morning to you," he says.
"TH-THAT IS NOT THE CAPTAIN," the first mate declares loudly.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Honestly Fei figured Mother was on Elru but confirmation is nice, and well Elru IS a continent so a more precise location is also nice. She could have also, like, moved maybe. Or not. It's not like he knows what Mother looks like, only what Mother feels like.
Fei figures that the more boats the better, frankly, since the Metal Demons do have people like Dva who might be very ecstatic about finally being able to murder people in water albeit not like Dva since it's hard to imagine her doing that NOW from the lady who shattered a statue.
"It's alright," Fei says, though the knowledge that this is atypical for the captain is rather unnerving to him so he's still tense. "In times like these, there's bound to be unexpected interruptions."
The captain's door opens and Fei's eyes widen in shock, a mixture of fear, anger, and concern on his features.
And then it fades into a deadpan gaze as he says, "Top of the morning to you." to Boomerang. "I see you've decided to enter a new line of work. It's a noble profession, I'm proud of you. There is nothing nobler than being a man..." He pauses. "Of the..." He pauses again. "Sea. ...So about the boats, we have the coin to pay."
DC: Ida Everstead-Rey switches forms to Chained Devil Stylist Ida!
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Josie has done a great many foolish things in her life. Enough that even an executive summary would be far too long to mention.
But looking for a boat that would take them to Elru -- Elru, of all places -- so that they could find and quite probably kill the Metal Demon queen just about tops the list.
The things we do for love, she thinks, leaning against the railing of the ship. Smoke drifts in the salty breeze, caught from the end of the cigarette held between her fingers.
"...No skin off my back," she tells the first mate, her dark eyes turning sidelong towards him. A nod meets Fei's own assessment on the matter; fleetingly, she looks his way. "If he needs time to freshen up or whatever, that's his business."
Her gaze returns to the sea and sky. This is going to be an expensive one, no question about it. If ships were still traveling to Elru, it would be one thing. But there's a reason why they're not.
And there's a reason why they're asking this captain of all people.
The door creaks open.
Josie straightens, gesturing towards the door with her cigarette-less hand. "Well, here you are. It's about time--"
She looks over at the door.
Her cigarette slips from her fingers to tumble down into the lapping waves below.
"...Who the hell are you?" she asks, her expression no less than bemused in those seconds before she reaches down for the ARM holstered at her hip -- the Reaper's Hand -- and draws it with enough speed that it seems fit to just about leap into her grasp. She rolls her hip back as her hand lifts and at the top of the ARM's arc through the air
fires at the so-called 'Captain'.
GS: Josephine Lovelace has attacked Boomerang with The Quick And The Dead! GS: Josephine Lovelace has gained 1 Combo! GS: Josephine Lovelace has completed her action. GS: Boomerang takes a solid hit from Josephine Lovelace's The Quick And The Dead for 119 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Erzebet Lefanu has posed.
EARLIER
"Excuse me, are you looking to hire a boat...? Can I club in with you? I am a features writer for the Linga 'Spark'. Do you get it? The literary magazine? No? Well, we are kind of doing a 'Drifter Life' thing, you know? To find out how the Drifters really think, for they are so often overlooked, you know, by the nations," said Erzebet Mara Lefanu.
She had then smiled.
- Unhealthy skin
- Inexplicable heavy weapons
- Old and slightly dirty clothing
- Overelaborate backstory
WRITER SYNCHRONIZATION RATE: 107%
NOW
Erzebet was slouching halfway over the railing with some kind of mid range black cigarillo in her teeth. She hadn't even bothered to light it. "Oooogh," she says. "I already feel seasick. Is it normal to feel like this? Maybe it's the sun. I don't like going out in the sun like this too much without a hat, but the last one I had blew away and I haven't been able to find a replacement. It's getting to the end of summer now so it's hard to get a straw one, and since Filgaia is dying due to -"
The First M8 speaks to them. Erzebet actually quiets up because it might be important. She looks towards him, blinking several times. Somewhere a ship's bell rings.
Boomerang emerges.
Erzebet's brow furrows as she straightens up.
She adjusts her glasses with one hand, but they stay resolutely transparent. Fei is addressing him but... that faintly feverish feeling clings to her. What's she missing? There's some nuance here, something she's overlooking. What does the presence of a towering metal demon as a ship commander MEAN?
Josie shoots a gun.
"Well," Erzebet says, straightening up heavily, "sure." Both hands go to her weapons and draw them from their leather resting places. "Why not!"
Where Josie shoots once, Erzebet shoots like four times, wincing slightly at first but then seeming to draw strength from the cracking, searing song of gun fire!
GS: Erzebet Lefanu has attacked Boomerang with I'm feeling a little sick but I'll do my best! GS: Erzebet Lefanu has gained 1 Combo! GS: Erzebet Lefanu has completed her action. GS: Boomerang takes a solid hit from Erzebet Lefanu's I'm feeling a little sick but I'll do my best for 98 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida stands at Fei's side, watching the first mate with calm, observant eyes. She actually looks the part of the Drifter, now--her trusty wide-brimmed hat has been joined by a leather trail coat, and a goldenrod cotton bandana is tied around her neck. Her hair has been pulled back into a long, loose braid, a sort of compromise between the tight bun she had when she left home and the unbound hair she wore as a Hellion. She still looks pretty thin, and that upper-class Galadian accent sticks out anywhere that isn't high society, but she actually seems a little more comfortable in the role now.
"Let the man have his time," Ida says, flashing the first mate a reassuring smile. "It isn't as though we sent a calling card." Ida knows all about sending calling cards. She glances sidelong at Josie, whom she's... avoided talking to, mostly, because their last significant interaction involved wanting to punch the archaeologist for questioning her life decisions. She doesn't truly know what to make of Erzebet. Can they ditch her?
The Captain finally shows. Ida blinks, owlishly, as she takes in the immense form that steps out from the cabin. That armor looks more grown than made, and she's not sure if there's a full face behind that plating. "Pleasant day to you, sir," says Ida, even as a part of her brain starts reeling in surprise.
The other two start firing. Ida tucks into a roll, clearing the arc of fire as she tumbles across the deck. She ends up in a crouch behind the main mast, puts a hand to the top of her hat, and reaches for the small of her back with the other. Something very familiar is waiting there, eager for battle once more. "Might we have your name, sir?!" Ida cries, over the sounds of Erzebet and Josie trying to murder the man she and Fei are trying to negotiate with.
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has attacked Boomerang with Basic Move Action! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has gained 1 Combo! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has completed her action. GS: Boomerang takes a solid hit from Ida Everstead-Rey's Basic Move Action for 0 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Boomerang has posed.
"I'm afraid I'm interested in a rare sort of coin," Boomerang says. "How much do you have? I--"
Josie shoots him. The armored shoulder has a bullet hole plunged into it; sparks explode and fly out from it, and he stumbles backward. There is a grating metal sigh from the Metal Demon; he lacks a mouth, so it sounds odd to the ear. Erzebet's shots rain in a moment later, scarring the armor and bouncing off. A few leave holes in the already battered, worn duster that he wears.
"Boomerang," he tells Ida. "If the rest of you were curious. And..." He whistles. He doesn't move his fingers, but the whistle is piercing. Then, the air shimmers about him -- and a massive, purple hound with red highlights in its wolf-like fury and glowing golden eyes appears. "And this is Luceid. Glad to see you lot..."
He reaches over his shoulder. His trademark weapon appears -- a boomerang -- and he sends it flying. The weapon has a bladed end, and is massive in comparison to a normal boomerang. It slashes out across the lot of them, before it hits the mast of the ship.
The mast, cut into, begins to topple.
GS: Boomerang has attacked Fei Fong Wong with Fang Slasher! GS: Boomerang has attacked Josephine Lovelace with Fang Slasher! GS: Boomerang has attacked Erzebet Lefanu with Fang Slasher! GS: Boomerang has attacked Ida Everstead-Rey with Fang Slasher! GS: Boomerang has completed his action. GS: Josephine Lovelace takes a solid hit from Boomerang's Fang Slasher for 145 hit points! GS: Fei Fong Wong guards a hit from Boomerang's Fang Slasher for 86 hit points! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey takes a glancing hit from Boomerang's Fang Slasher for 72 hit points! GS: Erzebet Lefanu has gained 1 Combo! GS: Boomerang has lost 1 Combo!
DC: MISS! Erzebet Lefanu completely evades Fang Slasher from Boomerang!
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei isn't really trying to negotiate, he's just being stubborn. It's clear that he recognizes this guy. Josephine naturally shoots at him and Fei places a hand on his forehead and lets out a long, aggrieved sigh. He knows that a big cool fight is exactly what Boomerang enjoys most and now they're all playing into his hands, but he does suppose, at least, that shooting Boomerang was what Josephine wanted so a lot of people are getting what they want today except, Fei suspects, boats.
"Wait, really?" Fei asks. "A rare coin?" He looks to Luceid. "........"
He takes in a deep breath and exhales slowly.
"....Hey Luceid."
Fei is sheared across the chest by Boomerang's boomerang but he seems more upset by the mast. "Oh come on!" Fei says. "It's not exactly sportin' to stop us from reaching the battlefield!"
He looks to Ida. "Ida! We can't defeat Luceid! They're a Guardian!"
He jumps back a bit before darting in suddenly, throwing a series of quick strikes from his palm and fist for Boomerang's body!
But he does ask, "Are you enjoying Mother's return?" with a big bad frown, but with Mother awakened and weakening the Guardians--shouldn't Luceid, too, be weakened?
GS: Fei Fong Wong has attacked Boomerang with Hagan! GS: Fei Fong Wong has gained 2 Combo! GS: Fei Fong Wong has completed his action. GS: Boomerang has gained 1 Combo! GS: Fei Fong Wong has lost 1 Combo!
DC: MISS! Boomerang completely evades Hagan from Fei Fong Wong!
<Pose Tracker> Erzebet Lefanu has posed.
Erzebet says to Boomerang, "Is that coin knowledge?!" over the sound of her guns. She then reaches a lull because a doggy has appeared. That doggy does not look friendly. Erzebet's head tilts to the side as she regards the living form of the guardian Luceid.
"Huh," she says. Then comes the boomerang - as it flies past Erzebet hard enough to stir her ponytail, she says, "Oh, I see - hence your name!" The mast then starts to come down and Erzebet's answer to all of this is to give in to nature and just fall over.
The mast falls. But not on her.
She rolls over and throws one arm and its associated gun over the edge, raising her head just enough to peep over it as she calls back to Fei, "Sounds like quitter talk to me!"
She clarifies, instead of shooting at the Metal Demon. "I don't want to put you down because you're working hard and I can just absolutely TASTE the burdens of the world weighing on your shoulders, but I think you have to think this through, Mr. Wong. Haven't we been hearing through the grapevine for months about how the Guardians are getting their shit absolutely pushed in?"
Erzebet taps her forehead. "So if that's a Guardian, we probably CAN defeat it! There is the question of if we SHOULD, but that's more of a question of moral philosophy, not tactical assessment!"
GS: Erzebet Lefanu has spent 2 Combo on Inspire and Reload, including 0 on Gatling! GS: Erzebet Lefanu has attacked Fei Fong Wong with Can I Give You A Little Constructive Criticism?! GS: Erzebet Lefanu has completed her action. GS: Fei Fong Wong takes a solid hit from Erzebet Lefanu's Can I Give You A Little Constructive Criticism? for 0 hit points! GS: Reload! Fei Fong Wong gains 15 extra FP from Erzebet Lefanu! GS: Fei Fong Wong gains a Combo from Inspire!
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
A Metal Demon? It's likely. Nevertheless, Ida isn't about to discount the possibility that the armored entity might be something stranger--it would be just her luck. "Boomerang, then," Ida says, and she glances back around the mast just in time for a strange presence to wash across her senses. She blinks again, her pulse quickening as the source of that spiritual power solidifies. Whatever it is, it isn't human chi.
Boomerang's weapon whistles through the air, strikes the mast, cleaves clean through it without so much as slowing down. Ida twists away in the nick of time, pulling her shoulder out of the way of the buzzsawing blade--the edge clips her face, tracing a line of red across her cheek.
'They're a Guardian!'
Ida has no answer to that. The knots in her throat and guts grow tighter. The sense of spiritual pressure is unmistakable--and it's far more solid than any Guardian manifestation she's seen since the Temple. Can she get out of here? Can she--
Fei's doing it. Fei's here for her. And so is an ally that was sidelined for over a year. Ida's hand tightens around the warm metal handgrip, the one molded to her hand alone. She pulls, feels the holster strap loosen, feels the weight inside come free. It feels distant despite its familiarity--it feels like her arm did, when she re-learned how to use it after the Wels took their pound of flesh from her. Ida twists on a boot-heel, spins, and steps out from behind the ruined stump of the mast. In her hand is a heavy pistol, one that looks like it might've been a rifle before its barrel was hacked off and replaced with something smaller. It looks like Ida should barely be able to hold it one-handed, but she aims at Boomerang's center of mass with effortless grace. Ida breathes, a golden glow rising from the points where hand meets ARM. It still feels like there's a gap there, but the chi bridges it, saturates the bullet as Ida pulls the trigger. The bullet flies free, flaring brilliantly as it seeks out Boomerang's heart.
Devil's Due has returned.
Even through the battle-focus, Ida can't help but smile in relief--as if still more weight has been lifted from her shoulders.
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has attacked Boomerang with Chi Bullet! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
To be honest, Josie has absolutely no idea who this guy is.
Except for the parts where he's definitely not the Captain, and definitely -- from the look of him -- likely one of those Metal Demons. So under the circumstances, she acts on impulse, drawing on and in a heartbeat firing on Boomerang.
"Don't tell me you're going to ask this guy to sail a ship?" she quips, ARM still training on the 'Captain as she wheels back a step, putting some distance between her and Boomerang in the space between her shot and when Erzebet -- the 'reporter' -- opens fire with an ARM that earns a fleeting raised eyebrow from the archaeologist.
Now that's what she calls an ARM. Unfortunately, now is also not the time.
"Boomerang, huh? Interesting name."
A whistle rings out.
"Luceid? That the name of your dog--"
It takes the 'dog's actual appearance for it to click together. There's no mistaking the hound.
No mistaking this 'pressure'.
Fei's commentary only clinches it for her.
Her lips part. For the moment, she stares. "A Guardian? That can't be--"
Is as far as she gets before he slings that bladed boomerang -- a fitting name, huh -- for the lot of them. It catches Josie dead-on. Red arcs through the air in a splash as she's flung backwards into a hard awkward landing against the crates and barrels along the opposite end of the deck.
She lifts her head, touching the fingers of her bad hand to her wound, even as she takes in the sight of the falling mast.
"Well. So much for this plan," comes her assessment of this turn of events; she scrambles to her feet and cracks off a shot as she rises, spending the moment to simultaneously kick one of the smaller wooden boxes for their opponent (another distraction) before dashing away from the fallen mast.
"Don't know how I feel about this," she comments on the situation at large. The Guardian, the boat, all of it. "Still, as long as this thing's seaworthy and as long as that can bleed-- oh good, you've got that thing working, sweetheart!"
The last is at Ida, as the brilliant bullet burns its trail through the air.
At least they've got firepower on their side.
GS: Josephine Lovelace has attacked Boomerang with Coming Up Roses! GS: Josephine Lovelace has completed her action. GS: Boomerang has gained 1 Combo! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has lost 1 Combo!
DC: MISS! Boomerang completely evades Chi Bullet from Ida Everstead-Rey!
GS: Boomerang takes a glancing hit from Josephine Lovelace's Coming Up Roses for 33 hit points! GS: Cover and Riposte! Statuses applied to Josephine Lovelace!
<Pose Tracker> Boomerang has posed.
Fei comes rushing in towards Boomerang. The Metal Demon is shockingly fast when he puts his mind to it. The strikes from Fei slam out, blurring through the air--
--and Boomerang leaps just before the first connects. It is a near thing, as he is forced to pivot up into the air and do a hard, sharp twist. "I'll take it," Boomerang says. "I don't have any delusions about what she's become. But... it suits what I want. And, besides--"
He twists around, in midair, and brings back his fist backward. The huge, mailed fist slams down at Fei, trying to punch him right to the deck. "--she made me a Quarter Knight."
His feet slam into the deck's boards and rattle them.
Devil's Due returns -- and a chi-aspected bullet screams for Boomerang's chest. He falls down into a three-point stance at the last moment. The round whizzes over his head, then shatters the wooden rail across from him. Splinters of wood fly up; however, kneeling as he is, he cannot escape the wooden crate. Josie's crate slams into him, knocking him back from Fei. "Not bad..."
Luceid roars. There is a rage there as the Guardian of Desire rushes across the deck, and opens its jaws. It tries to bite, mightily, into Ida -- and its jaws flash, dripping a burning green when they do. At the same time, his eyes flash gold.
Then, beads of red light explode outward -- and a shockwave of purple explodes off Luceid, and washes over both Erzebet and Josie. It is cloying; it makes the air burn, and their eyes water. Boomerang barks out a laugh. "Yeah. This Guardian is with me. Surprised?"
GS: Boomerang has attacked Fei Fong Wong with Hyadean Sucker Punch! GS: Boomerang has gained 2 Combo! GS: Boomerang has spent 1 Combo on Poison, including 0 on Gatling! GS: Boomerang has attacked Ida Everstead-Rey with Venom Bite! GS: Boomerang has attacked Erzebet Lefanu with Curse! GS: Boomerang has attacked Josephine Lovelace with Curse! GS: Boomerang has completed his action. GS: Erzebet Lefanu takes a solid hit from Boomerang's Curse for 0 hit points! GS: Erzebet Lefanu has been afflicted by a Curse! GS: Break, Cripple, Jam, Mute, Slow, and Weaken! Statuses applied to Erzebet Lefanu! GS: Josephine Lovelace takes a glancing hit from Boomerang's Curse for 0 hit points! GS: Josephine Lovelace has been afflicted by a Curse! GS: Break, Cripple, Jam, Mute, Slow, and Weaken! Statuses applied to Josephine Lovelace! GS: CRITICAL! Fei Fong Wong critically Guards a hit from Boomerang's Hyadean Sucker Punch for 48 hit points! GS: Hyper, Quick, and Shield! Statuses applied to Boomerang! GS: Fei Fong Wong has gained 1 Combo! GS: Boomerang has lost 1 Combo! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has gained 1 Combo! GS: Boomerang has lost 1 Combo!
DC: MISS! Ida Everstead-Rey completely evades Venom Bite from Boomerang!
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"What she's become?" Fei says. "What do you mean...?" Judging by the DEAD BODIES Mother was bad enough before. He has come to understand Boomerang as someone with very few illusions which, in a way, makes him the best Metal Demon to ask questions of. "I didn't figure that being a Quarter Knight meant much to you. Wouldn't you be doing whatever you want anyway?"
This is clearly not Fei's FIRST run in with Boomerang.
Boomerang throws his fist in a downward strike for Fei's body but Fei intercepts the strike with an upraised arm. It is at this point that Erzebet gives him 'advice' and Fei's teeth grit even more in response. Is this actually helping him fight better or not, well, that's a mystery.
But what's not a mystery is Fei summoning a fiery aura of chi around him and punching an explosion at Boomerang and--
--hold on Fei didn't you say you were trying to protect the boat? Hopefully his aim's good.
"Luceid is right here before us." Fei says. "It's different. They nearly killed a hot dog man with ultimate power."
What.
"Man," Fei murmurss, glancing over to Ida with a small smile. "I almost forgot you could shoot people."
GS: Fei Fong Wong has spent 3 Combo on Headshot, including 0 on Gatling! GS: Fei Fong Wong has attacked Boomerang with Kakei! GS: Fei Fong Wong has gained 1 Combo! GS: Fei Fong Wong has completed his action. GS: CRITICAL! Boomerang takes a glancing hit from Fei Fong Wong's Kakei for 128 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Erzebet Lefanu has posed.
Erzebet regrets her words and deeds with a swiftness normally associated with criticizing electronic entertainment. Pressed downwards, she grimaces as the wave of pressure washes over her. Spiritual in its intensity, the shockwave pours over her fancy coat. She thinks she's going to throw up for a dizzying moment, but...
Yes!!
She stops herself from doing it. "To be honest with you," she calls to Boomerang, rolling over onto her side and groaning for a moment: "Yes, I am. What is a Quarter Knight, exactly? Are there Half Knights above you...? I am confused at this, I want to knoooow."
And as she says this she brings up her weapon to fire over the partial cover of the mast in the general direction of Boomerang. While the rounds of this ARM are no joke, they are being aimed, at best, in the most desultory sense. Most of them would probably just fly harmlessly past Boomerang.
Probably... they certainly would not twist round on bubbletrail paths of sparking red and come back around for a second go. That would be absurd.
GS: Erzebet Lefanu has attacked Boomerang with I'm feeling a little sick but...! GS: Erzebet Lefanu has completed her action. GS: Sneak! The true nature of Erzebet Lefanu's attack becomes clear! GS: Boomerang takes a solid hit from Erzebet Lefanu's Falling into an Ambush with a Sexy Lure for 149 hit points! GS: Poison! Statuses applied to Boomerang!
<Pose Tracker> Erzebet Lefanu has posed.
Surprise! Life itself is absurd! Sing a song, have some fun! Humor is like food, comrade: Not everyone gets it!
The bullets, on the backswing, deliquesce into a thin film of greasy unpleasantness, which would be bad enough if it was not also at around 700 degrees centigrade, and thus on fire.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Devil's Due spots hot brass onto the deck. Ida looks sidelong at Josephine, and grins. Inwardly, she can't help but feel a little bitter--that's what Josephine remarks on, and not the fact that she's trying her hardest to climb out of the pit? It's hard to dull the joy of having a bond restored, though, awkward and tentative though it may be. Boomerang, of course, does not just sit there and let Ida shoot him, and the apprentice ARMs Meister's eyes narrow. "And what has she become?" Ida says, a hard edge forming in her voice. It sounds almost like she's holding out a tiny sliver of hope that this won't have to end in deicide.
Luceid rushes her. The Guardian's howl chills her bones, threatens to turn her guts to water--but an oddly detached part of her observes that this elemental spirit is dog-shaped, and she has experience dealing with those. Ida twists back and to her right; Lucied's venomous maw closes with an audible snap less than three inches from her right shoulder. Before she even realizes what she's doing, she reaches out with her left hand, grips the side of the Guardian's face, and shoves. This probably doesn't bother Lucied in the least, but it gives Ida breathing room. She tucks into another tumbling roll, comes up to a knee, and takes aim at Boomerang.
This time, when Ida pulls the trigger, the bullet that flies from the barrel seems oddly sluggish. The reason is readily apparent: much of the gunsmoke propellant is billowing out the back, burning off into a cloud of thick, black smoke. The smoke flows down across the deck, and up Ida's legs, covering her in a thick shroud of chi-laced gunsmoke. "Honestly, yes," Ida says, to Boomerang, from within the cloud.
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has attacked Boomerang with Ebon Devil Cloud! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has gained 1 Combo! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has completed her action. GS: Boomerang has gained 1 Combo! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has lost 1 Combo!
DC: MISS! Boomerang completely evades Ebon Devil Cloud from Ida Everstead-Rey!
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"You know," Josie says, as light and airy as anything, as if they weren't fighting a Metal Demon and a Guardian on a badly-damaged boat, "I'd love to give that a look someday."
Still on about the ARM. Does anything else really matter to her?
Quarter Knight. The term's familiar, somehow. Where had she heard that one before? Something from Riesenlied?
"Giving you just what you want, huh..." Josie comments, taking advantage of the space she gains to run a quick check over her ARM.
To switch it over.
"Guess there's something to be said for getting what you want. Unfortunately for you, it looks like you and I want something very different--" She flashes a grin. The sort of grin that dances on the edge of manic.
How could it not? They're up against a Guardian. A Guardian, somehow in the 'flesh'.
A Guardian whose name she's unfamiliar with.
Guess that's why no one talks about 'Luceid', run her thoughts.
Luceid lunges. "Sweetheart, watch it--"
Purple light explodes off the Guardian moments after he lunges to try to tear into Ida. Josie lifts an arm as if that alone could deflect it, stands firm upon her sorcerial training, tries to push her through, past, across the barbed force.
It's not enough. It catches her spirit, body, mind. Rips through her and leaves her reeling, her right hand for the moment touched to her head.
"Turning sides when... heh... things look bad, huh..." she voices to the Guardian and the Guardian alone.
That grin of hers twitches a degree wider. "Heh."
She straightens, her expression distorting in a wince. "Can't fault you there. But, like I said--"
She breaks into a dash, dropping low as she nears the Guardian, as if in preparation for a leaping vault.
"You and I want something very different!"
There at the nadir of her movement, she unloads at rather close range what is quite frankly, a face full of buckshot.
For all its light weight, the Reaper's Hand can function as a sort of shotgun.
GS: Josephine Lovelace has attacked Boomerang with Insult To Injury! GS: Josephine Lovelace has gained 2 Combo! GS: Josephine Lovelace has completed her action. GS: Boomerang enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Boomerang has gained 1 Combo! GS: Josephine Lovelace has lost 1 Combo!
DC: MISS! Boomerang completely evades Insult To Injury from Josephine Lovelace!
<Pose Tracker> Boomerang has posed.
"She isn't the goddess that Siegfried thinks she is," Boomerang says. "Actually, she never was. It shows more, now. Guess we all got old and pay attention more." That prompts a laugh from the newest Quarter Knight; he swings up Sabre Fang, and catches the fiery-punch, holding most of it back -- and it still slams him backward, closer to where the mast fell.
He swings Sabre Fang down, hard -- and tries to slam Fei Fong Wong backward with the hard blow. His eyes dart, then, towards Erzebet.
"Heh," he laughs, sounding amused. "Guess you don't follow the news. I'm a leader in the Metal Demons, now. It's kind of a joke."
He ducks to the side -- and Erzebet's shots fly past. "Tch." Then, he turns -- and expertly ducks aside from Ida's next shot. The billowing smoke surprises him, but then her shot goes wide. It blasts a chunk out of the mast.
Which is when Erzebet's bullets swing back around. They slam into his back, knocking him away from the fallen mast. He stumbles. "Ha... not bad! Didn't expect that!" he yells.
There may be a cloud about Ida, but this does not distract Luceid. The wolf-like Guardian howls -- and it is a terrible, shaking thing. Then, lances of shadow all reach up from the floor boards -- and stab outward, to lash and slash at both Erzebet and Ida.
A moment later, Josephine comes down -- Reaper's Hand firing. The Guardian Lord of Desire flickers. The buckshot passes through bursts of a black energy that shoots up, as the creature teleports. The Guardian reappears, to her side. His eyes flash golden. Then, he speaks.
"I follow my nature... to the strongest desire...!"
And then Luceid rushes. There is a flash of light -- of red and violet, and his claws slash twice, rapidly. Then, his jaws clamp down, and tries to bite into Josie. Then, with a flick of his head, toss her right over the side of the ship.
GS: Boomerang has attacked Fei Fong Wong with Crescent Fang! GS: Boomerang has gained 1 Combo! GS: Boomerang has attacked Erzebet Lefanu with Shadow Fangs! GS: Boomerang has attacked Ida Everstead-Rey with Shadow Fangs! GS: Boomerang has attacked Josephine Lovelace with Mad Luceid! GS: Boomerang has completed his action. GS: Erzebet Lefanu has gained 1 Combo! GS: Boomerang has lost 1 Combo!
DC: MISS! Erzebet Lefanu completely evades Shadow Fangs from Boomerang!
GS: Josephine Lovelace critically Guards a hit from Boomerang's Mad Luceid for 40 hit points! GS: Josephine Lovelace has gained 1 Combo! GS: Boomerang has lost 1 Combo! GS: Fei Fong Wong takes a solid hit from Boomerang's Crescent Fang for 191 hit points! GS: Fei Fong Wong enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey takes a glancing hit from Boomerang's Shadow Fangs for 83 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
'She isn't the goddess that Siegfried thinks she is. Actually, she never was.'
A chill runs down Ida's spine. Take it with a grain of salt, she reminds herself, but the protest is feeble. The evidence that Mother has malign intent is piling up in mountains. A familiar twinge of pain tugs at Ida's heart. God, she thinks. Kalve. Could she even convince him?
The deck shakes, as if trembling in fear of the Guardian Lord's howl. Instinct takes over, urging Ida to move--she leaps to the side, and doesn't quite clear the danger zone in time. A shadow fang grazes the back of her thigh, tearing through her pants leg and the flesh beneath. She hits the ground and skids, leaving a red smear on the increasingly-broken deck. Ida's hand tightens on Devil's Due as the deck shifts beneath her. If they destroy this ship...
Ida forces herself to her feet, pain spiking through her injured leg. "How about a change in scenery?" she says, as she meets Fei's eyes. She looks down the gangplank at the dock, meaningfully. "And you, sir," Ida adds, to Boomerang. "Would you care to tell us what she's planning? The last thing I want is for more of your people to suffer and die for false promises." Her voice wavers, ever-so-slightly, as if this were an earth-shaking admission. She takes a breath, straightens up, and surges forwards, blurring across the broken deck. Chi boils around her fist as she slows, stops, and flows seamlessly into a right cross aimed at Boomerang's sternum. There is enough power behind that strike to punch through wood, or thin metal.
"Ida," the young woman says, as she looks up into Boomerang's eyes. Fear and determination mix on her face. "Five Precepts Chained Devil." She does not add 'Method Mercury'. Part of her wants to.
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has attacked Boomerang with Steel-Breaking Fist! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
As it happens, you can't just shoot at a Guardian.
There's a split-second here where Josie realizes it too, shock alight in her eyes before her gaze hardens. Before she glances sidelong and turns, all in the space between a heartbeat.
Her body twists. She angles her upper body and left shoulder, as if to ram the Guardian with both as he rushes for her. The Guardian's magic burns in a red-violet flare around her. Through her.
"Girl! Pay attention! Perhaps this time even you can learn the basics."
She's the daughter of an archmage. He taught her well.
Luceid's teeth catch and clamp down. Gritting her teeth, Josie's right hand lifts to slam -- that movement too elicits a gasp -- into the Guardian's face, and from there...
It really is a basic sort of spell. The type tattooed onto beginning students. But that only means when the electrical jolt spirals down Josie's arm and into Luceid's face that it comes in fast.
"Here's mine."
After that, the archaeologist is out of time, flung right over the railing with a snap of the wolf-shaped Guardian's jaws for the lapping waves of the sea below.
GS: Josephine Lovelace has spent 3 Combo on Headshot, including 0 on Gatling! GS: Josephine Lovelace has attacked Boomerang with Bolt Lance! GS: Josephine Lovelace has gained 1 Combo! GS: Josephine Lovelace has completed her action. GS: Boomerang guards a hit from Ida Everstead-Rey's Steel-Breaking Fist for 78 hit points! GS: CRITICAL! Boomerang takes a solid hit from Josephine Lovelace's Bolt Lance for 60 hit points! GS: Cripple and Jam! Statuses applied to Boomerang!
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"Then what is she?" Fei asks. Got old and pay attention more? "Wait...when you came to Filgaia, you were...??"
There is just enough hesitation in Fei's form that Boomerang, the expert warrior that he is, can easily slice through his guard and down Fei's face and across his chest. Fei is sent spiraling backwards from the blow, almost perfectly mimicking the motion Timothy had made when he was pumped full of holes, albeit with less of a spray albeit it is clearly a grievous wound. Fei crashes down on his side and howls in pain, curling up in a ball.
"Nhh.... Why is it...whenever we want to get a boat... fate conspires against us?!" This isn't really him talking to Boomerang so much as complaining about the karmic universe. He had JUST been stopped from hitching a boat ride to Pentaluga after all.
Dripping red, Fei stumbles up to his feet, clutching at the wound in an attempt to stem the flow.
Fei takes in several sharp breaths and steadies the chi within his body, stabilizing it. It just takes a few moments and then he's able to stand and move relatively freely despite the wound. It must be agonizing, but Fei's self-mastery allows him to move through the pain. Some of that energy that Fei used to fight Siegfried is coming to him, but it didn't work against Boomerang LAST time why would it--
--actually it didn't work againts Luceid last time, come to think, Boomerang is not Luceid. He steps forward, suddenly moving into Boomerang's space as he throws a palm strike for his chest.
GS: Fei Fong Wong enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Fei Fong Wong has attacked Boomerang with Yin Yang Strike! GS: Fei Fong Wong has gained 2 Combo! GS: Fei Fong Wong has completed his action. GS: Boomerang takes a solid hit from Fei Fong Wong's Yin Yang Strike for 144 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Erzebet Lefanu has posed.
"Oh, I got that," Erzebet says, rather breathlessly. "I understand it's a title. But why a quarter knight? It's so peculiar. Is it a translation? Do you speak some other language? It sounds like one of those things that you can only describe in Middle Lingan, or..."
She is stopped by the lancing shadows. For the space of several moments there is absolute silence and a wet noise from behind the fallen mast.
A pale and sallow hand rests on the timber.
Erzebet pulls herself upright, her coat straightening out. She rolls her neck and reaches over to tug the coat up where it was threatening to slide off of one shoulder. "Have you been counting my shots?" she calls to Boomerang.
Her glasses shine.
On the inside, Erzebet sees things! Words, after a fashion. On the left hand lens she sees a read-out on the top side of the view that states: accrete complete 7 + 7 = 14/2 =
- wide angelle
- suppression
- penetrant (low)
And on the right side she can see yonic reticules blurring around Boomerang. Luceid crosses her field of vision and the ARM attempts to lock onto the mighty entity, but Luceid is moving too fast - the reticules seem to fall apart before they can form.
"I'm starting to think," Erzebet says as she raises her guns up with a rustle of old Kislevi fabric, "that perhaps this isn't actually your boat."
Erzebet makes her choice:
- suppression
Her mouth waters obscurely. Even as her head turns slightly to track Josie (she can swim, right?) she glances towards Ida - and then does the most enthusiastic motion she has done in this entire scenario, pitter-pat stepping over the mast and running in a lateral circle around the deck.
Ida closes. Fei closes. Both of them strike and when they seem to have turned away Erzebet pulls both triggers at one. She feels lines of pain in her hands, but in a good way, as the two barrels are briefly limned with some kind of strange red pattern - the shining seaside sunshine makes it hard to make out in detail. A lot clearer is the shotgun-esque k-BLAM and the wave of red force that aims to sweep up Boomerang.
"Once he's in the sea, we'll just have to worry about the Guardian," Erzebet says, happily.
Then she frowns.
GS: Erzebet Lefanu has attacked Boomerang with Let's Break The Laws Restraining Our Hearts!! GS: Erzebet Lefanu has gained 1 Combo! GS: Erzebet Lefanu has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Boomerang takes a glancing hit from Erzebet Lefanu's Let's Break The Laws Restraining Our Hearts! for 115 hit points! GS: Poison! Statuses applied to Boomerang! GS: Hyper, Quick, and Shield! Statuses applied to Erzebet Lefanu!
<Pose Tracker> Boomerang has posed.
Boomerang is a skilled combatant; he lacks the raw finesse and technique of Siegfried, but he combines brutality, speed, and expertise in a way that few mortals can. Ida's repeated blows are met, each chi-enhanced strike blocked with armored forearms. That armor bends and ablates, but crushing blows against his sternum and chest never land. He deflects them quickly, and he just looks at her with a moment of confusion.
"Who knows?" Boomerang asks. "And really, who cares? Mother came here -- with us in tow -- and she gave me the chance for the one thing I wanted most in this world." He lowers his head, and then he starts to jerk to the left.
Fei comes from the right. That palm slams into him, chi exploding off it, and Boomerang is hurled backward. He slams into the aftcastle, wood cracking and groaning. He looks up at Erzebet. "What? No. I bought it."
This may be a bad joke.
Then, her shot slams into him. It cracks, shaking the door. Boomerang tenses, and then--
There is an enormous crack-boom of thunder when Josie's spell discharges. The bolt of lightning throws Luceid's face to the side; Josie, in her flight, likely cannot appreciate the way that wisps of red and black rise, instead of blood and burnt skin. Luceid is not a creature of flesh and blood, even if he is capable of hitting like one.
"Damn... Luceid," he says. "Let's get out of here."
The Guardian of Desire turns to look at him -- then nods. The two vanish, after a moment, in a flash. The first mate, after a moment, pops his head out from behind the mast. "That... that was a Quarter Knight!" he says. "And..."
He looks over the ship. "...and the captain will be very unhappy..."
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei radiates with chi energy and is clearly rearing up for something big when
'Let's get out of here'
"What?" Fei says, wincing as the two vanish in a flash of light. When he unsquints his eyes, Boomerang and Luceid aren't there.
"Come back and fight me! I'm not done punching the truth out of you!" Fei yells to, well, nobody, and strangely uncharacteristically since that's not really a Fei thing to say, but then that energy dissipitates and Fei exhales out a sigh and shakes his head. "No, no, this is for the best. If they wanted to I doubt the ship would've survived at all."
He frowns severely. "And we couldn't recover the hat either."
<Pose Tracker> Erzebet Lefanu has posed.
Erzebet slumps to her knees, guns akimbo. She passes out for a couple of seconds, though this is not obvious.
When she wakes up again, her glasses aren't doing the glinty thing any more. "Uh? Did he say his greatest dream is to buy a boat?"
A moment later and she looks at Fei, then at Ida, then at the first mate. "Did we just steal this ship?"
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
It really is unfortunate: there's not the space or the opportunity for Josie to ever see what her spell inflicted upon the Guardian.
She lands in the sea with a splash, resurfacing with a gasp moments later. Treading water, she catches just the Quarter Knight's parting words before there's a flash.
"Hey!" she shouts, before starting to kick her way towards the docks. "Is he still up there?!"
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei opens his mouth to correct Erzebet...
...but then decides not to. "No, Josie. He's gone." Fei shakes his head. "But much like a boomerang..."
He stares into the distance, out towards the sea.
"...I'm sure he will return."
This goes out to you Hiro.
<Pose Tracker> Erzebet Lefanu has posed.
Erzebet will remember that.
She cackles at Fei's joke. It is loud and unpleasant and she finally ends up coughing herself back into semi-conscniousness after about eight seconds.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Metal gives beneath Ida's knuckles. That uncertainty in her eyes fades, and her lips pull back in something resembling fierce joy. She slips back into a defensive stance, watches Boomerang a moment, and then--
Boomerang decides that he would rather not stick around. The smile twists into a scowl. "Where do you think you're going?!" Ida demands. She's never seen a Quarter Knight do this before. The weight has fallen off her shoulders, but she feels frustrated more than anything else. "What does that bloody dog see in you," Ida grumbles, at the air where Boomerang stood mere moments ago.
"No," she says, because she isn't going to let Fei have the last word on that.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Josie, with some difficulty, crawls up onto the docks.
"Junior," she says a moment later. "I didn't know you had it in you." She laughs, only to cough herself and then wince.
Then she just sort of sprawls out there in a puddle of water, because she would like not to move for a moment or two just now.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
It turns out that Fei doesn't get the last word because moments after Ida says no, Fei falls over from significant blood loss.
Ouch.
<Pose Tracker> Erzebet Lefanu has posed.
Erzebet turns her head to look at Fei flopping over and bleeding.
She points her ARM at him... but just waggles it. "You and me both, brother." Holstering her iron, she slowly leans forwards to rest flat on her face, silently adding to Ida's emotional burdens.
While still face down she says, "Was that the other lady talking? Is she OK?"
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida winces visibly at the thud of Fei's body hitting the deck. "Miss Lovelace?" she says. She reaches into a pocket, digs around, comes up with a packet of sterile gauze. "If you have any medical supplies, we, ah, need them."
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Josie doesn't answer for a good half-minute.
"Yeah. Waterlogged, but I got some stuff. How're the lady and the kid makin' out, sweetheart?"
At a remove she ultimately climbs to her feet and starts to make her way back to the ship.
She needs a damn drink.
GS: Josephine Lovelace has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida is already lifting Fei's injured extremities above his heart, and propping them up with bits of broken crates. "Fei is unconscious, the woman is..." She glances at Erzebet, sizing her up. "A little pale, but conscious."
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"Overdid it again, huh."
Josie's reply only comes once she takes a (still-dripping) step onto the shipdeck. Her gaze takes in the damage to the ship coupled with a low whistle. "Hope we're not on the books for that one," she comments, before making her way on over.
"Just got the basics. Bandages, heal berry ointment..."
They're all pretty wet.
<Pose Tracker> Erzebet Lefanu has posed.
"I just have a weak constitution," Erzebet says. She seems to have a little blood on her hands but it's like 'she screwed up paring her nails' level of blood. "I'll be good in a moment. Help him out! He's very brave."