2019-08-24: They're... Gonna Rampage
- Log: 2019-08-24: They're... Gonna Rampage
- Cast: Ivan, Hilde, Naelle Sylkirk, Kaguya Alathfar, White Knight Leo, Margaret
- Where: The Moonflow
- Date: August 24, 2019
- Summary: The Guard investigates the tunnels beneath their Highroad base, and encounters a most memorable opponent.
===============================<* The Moonflow *>=============================== The Moonflow is a large river that bisects Spira's largest island into southern and northern halves. Strange flowers called Moonlilies grow on the Moonflow's banks, attracting pyreflies that gather on its surface at night, making the water sparkle. Although a beautiful area, the weather tends to be overcast more often than not, the souls of the dead providing the most reliable source of illumination. The primary method of crossing the Moonflow is aboard a shoopuf - an elephantine creature that can swim across the expansive river. The crossing service is funded by the Temple of Yevon and is free of charge. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wcVnJQ-FN4
<Pose Tracker> Sheriff Star has posed.
Ever since the Guard discovered those tunnels, leading through the Highroad and into their territory, they have had scouts keeping an eye out. Something, which let a plate of metal in its wake, has dug the largest ones.
Now, they have found where it has struck some bedrock -- and is caught underground.
The path here has involved an hour of walking through a large tunnel. The cavern led through twists and turns in the Highroad, until finally coming to this point: a large, cavernous tunnel. The machina that dug it is advancing down the tunnel -- backtracking, as it happens.
Bevelle has machina -- those approved for use by the Yevonite Church. This one is a thing of white and blue, massive armor with a huge wheel in the front. A pair of mechanized arms are to each side, ending in claws about a cannon barrel.
Inside, voices can be heard.
"Otherworlders!"
"They found us!"
"SMASH THROUGH!"
BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEcsIYMFz_I
DC: Sheriff Star switches forms to Bevelle Subterranean Machina Tunnel Armor! DC: Kaguya Alathfar switches forms to Damsel of Distress Kaguya!
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
The limestone the Highroad rests on is riddled with tunnels, and as the Guard found out, not all of them are natural. This one happens to be one of the unnatural ones--and freshly-dug, too. The quarry is close.
At the head of the Guard's formation, White Knight Leo stops in his tracks, and raises a clenched fist to shoulder height--a signal for the others to stop. His voice drops to a whisper as he speaks into a crystalline brooch pinned to his cape. "How close are we to Rast's reinforcement?" The wind carries his words up the shaft, to the speaker on the other end of the magical conduit--barely 500 yards away, but at the very edge of communications range. A minute later, the wind carries a message back. Leo's ears flatten in irritation. "If he didn't, then--" The sound of grinding treads draws his attention away from the conversation. He draws steel, sliding into a fighting stance. "It's here." Steel gleams in the distance. The armor's pilots can likely see the (half?)-Ronso(?) as he glares at them, motioning for the other Guards to scatter. "Naelle! Kaguya!" Leo barks. "Immobilize it!" The Ronso(?!) steps forward, his blade sweeping through a full 90-degree arc in a brilliant flash. A bright crescent of chi snaps free of the weapon, and races through the darkness at the machina.
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
The limestone the Highroad rests on is riddled with tunnels, and as the Guard found out, not all of them are natural. This one happens to be one of the unnatural ones--and freshly-dug, too. The quarry is close.
At the head of the Guard's formation, White Knight Leo stops in his tracks, and raises a clenched fist to shoulder height--a signal for the others to stop. His voice drops to a whisper as he speaks into a crystalline brooch pinned to his cape. "How close are we to Rast's reinforcement?" The wind carries his words up the shaft, to the speaker on the other end of the magical conduit--barely 500 yards away, but at the very edge of communications range.
A minute later, the wind carries a message back. Leo's ears flatten in irritation. "If he didn't, then--" The sound of grinding treads draws his attention away from the conversation. He draws steel, sliding into a fighting stance. "It's here." Steel gleams in the distance. The armor's pilots can likely see the (half?)-Ronso(?) as he glares at them, motioning for the other Guards to scatter. "Naelle! Kaguya!" Leo barks. "Immobilize it!" The Ronso(?!) steps forward, his blade sweeping through a full 90-degree arc in a brilliant flash. A bright crescent of chi snaps free of the weapon, and races through the darkness at the machina.
GS: White Knight Leo has attacked Sheriff Star with Demon Fang! GS: White Knight Leo has gained 3 Combo! GS: White Knight Leo has completed his action. GS: Sheriff Star guards a hit from White Knight Leo's Demon Fang for 105 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Margaret has posed.
"It's always hard to go deep like this, isn't it," says REX, in the back rank.
MARGARET, THE BLACK PEARL OF NEO VANE, is in the front rank and is sweating because it gets pretty warm down here underneath the ground. She has a cloth wrap around her forehead to absorb sweat. Both of these magi have small torches - made using the domestically sourced glow-effect light-up spheres instead of Literal Fire, Literally - with Margaret holding hers stuck in the side of her headband.
"I've never had any difficulties," Margaret answers.
DOLLY, noted healer with staff and heavy face paint, snorts into her hand.
"What," Rex asks Dolly.
"Nothing, just -"
"Haven't you ever gone deep, Dolly?" Margaret asks, shifting her grip on her naginata.
Dolly's mouth opens and closes several times, and for the first time in her life - but no doubt not the last - she is relieved to see an approaching war machine, or at least to hear word of it.
"Son of a hubbard," Margaret says as she spots the machine. "So that's what been rooting out all the fundaments of this miserable landform!"
Her colleague raises his short bow, whose body is made, not of wood, but of a tempered metal forged in Neo Vane. He pulls it back - Rex's big beefy arms makes it look kind of absurd - but the near-gun-like fwish! of its passage is not nearly as funny. That said, powerful and metal-tipped as it may be... can one arrow make the difference? (Maybe if it hits a view slit... but Rex is trying to shoot the barrel!!)
GS: Margaret has attacked Sheriff Star with Why Can't Johnny Blink?! GS: Margaret has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Naelle Sylkirk has posed.
"What is thaaaaaat?" Naelle coos at the sight of the digging machine. "I want to take you apart and see what makes you go," she tells it, eyes wide with delight at the thought of a new machine to disassemble, study, and build improved versions of to use against the foes of the Guard.
Her tail swishes from side to side eagerly.
White Knight Leo calls an order to Naelle to immobilize the machine. "Roger, boss! Nyat a problem!" She flashes a catty grin and a thumbs up, then pulls out her wrench and rushes forward.
"Okay...weak spot, weak spot...if I were a weak spot, where would I be?" A couple of bangs of the wrench ought to give her some ideas!
GS: Sheriff Star takes a solid hit from Margaret's Why Can't Johnny Blink? for 104 hit points! GS: Naelle Sylkirk has attacked Sheriff Star with Wrench Tap! GS: Naelle Sylkirk has completed her action. GS: Sheriff Star guards a hit from Naelle Sylkirk's Wrench Tap for 72 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.
Hilde was not present for the initial discovery of the tunnels - at that time, she was still recovering from the injuries received during Operation Mi'ihen. Not that she has recovered, however, she is fully willing to lend her blade wherever it's needed.
She accompanies the rest of White Knight Leo's unit through the tunnels, listening intently for signs of trouble. Leo pauses and speaks to someone on the other end of a communication later...and then, suddenly, ahead of them is the sound of something massive moving toward them.
"A machine... It would seem their edicts only apply when it suits them." Hilde comments with a hint of distaste. Hilde acknowledges Leo's motion with a nod, separating from the others and drawing out what appears to be a javelin with a long rope of some manner of durable material attached to one end.
She shuts her eyes for a moment and takes a deep breath...and when she opens them again, her body is emitting a faintly blue aura. Back in Hyland she was renowned for felling massive opponents, and this empowering aura was the secret to her success.
"I shall close in!" She informs them. She cranks her arm back and then hurls the javelin at the Tunnel Armor. If it connects the javelin digs in and she'll pull tight on the rope to make sure it's locked in, before using this to leap up and onto the machina's frame so that she can safely engage at melee range.
"Shut down your vehicle and disembark!" She barks at the machine, once she's close enough.
GS: Hilde has attacked Sheriff Star with Rope Lance! GS: Hilde has gained 2 Combo! GS: Hilde has completed her action. GS: Sheriff Star takes a solid hit from Hilde's Rope Lance for 111 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
Ivan is doing his best not to look noticeably embarrassed by any double entendres and snerking coming from the Hounds of Hell, when they stumble into a big mech!
Well... not exactly stumble. They've been on the lookout for something down here that was carving tunnels -- it might as well be a giant mech full of -- uh -- aliens? Or do the guys inside think they're the aliens? Oh well. As usual, Ivan doesn't consider it his job to ask questions, he considers it his job to set things on fire.
As everyone begins to spring into action, he makes a motion with his hands as if he's turning an invisible globe between them, and a twisting swarm of rocky-cored fireballs takes shape behind him and flies past, slamming towards the machina's outer shell.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya Alathfar has posed.
Kaguya, for one, loves unnatural things. Most of her favorite people, places, and objects are at least a little unnatural, if not moreso. Even the natural things she likes are kind of unnatural by some standards. Some of them. But what does nobody love?
Dirty-ass walking around everywhere with backtracking, that's what. This had better be really interesting because it's kind of awful on the Duchess's breathing. ...Or... It would be more of a problem, if--
"Heheheh," Kaguya answers about the chatting of Margaret and her subordinates, in a much better mood if only because Dolly is kind of fun to watch. But here?
"Hmmm," Kaguya says, looking over the machine. "Gotta give them points for artistic value."
She did hear the order, though--as she's commenting, she's eyeing the machine, looking it over to get a sense of the mechanics. Then--
"See, here's a free lesson, Naelle."
Kaguya, for her part, is dressed in dark clothing, good for travel--and--
Runs on up, picking up a great fallen girder that was once used as support down here. Aaand--
She shoves it straight for the spokes of the wheel.
"Anything's a weak spot if you believe!"
GS: Ivan has attacked Sheriff Star with Fire Swarm! GS: Ivan has completed his action. GS: Kaguya Alathfar has attacked Sheriff Star with Why Would Yevon Do This! GS: Kaguya Alathfar has gained 1 Combo! GS: Kaguya Alathfar has completed her action. GS: Sheriff Star guards a hit from Ivan's Fire Swarm for 71 hit points! GS: Disrupt! applied to Sheriff Star! GS: Sheriff Star takes a solid hit from Kaguya Alathfar's Why Would Yevon Do This for 61 hit points! GS: Slow! applied to Sheriff Star!
<Pose Tracker> Sheriff Star has posed.
The Demon Fang slams into the huge, armored wheel of the Tunnel Armor. The energy splashes across it, chi digging into the armored plates but not through it. Inside the machina, the three pilots can be heard.
"Their leader is here!"
"Doesn't matter! I'll get them with my spells!"
"We're gonna RAMPAGE!"
There is a rumble -- and then a panel on the side of the Tunnel Armor opens. Then, perplexingly, a round steel wheel drops out -- and then flies at the White Knight like a spinning missile. Rex's arrow flies true, a moment later, and smashes to bits on the armored wheel. Then, Naelle comes in close, swings her wrench, and it bounces off the mighty armor!
"RAMPAAAAAAGE!" one of the Warrior Monks inside screams.
The Tunnel Armor tries to barrel past Naelle -- not crushing her, but sideswiping her. There is shuffling from within -- and then a gout of flame explodes out, shooting towards Margaret and Rex alike.
"She's calling on us to get out."
"Yeah. How do you think we'll handle it?"
"Come on, Jescu, you know what the boss is gonna--"
"RAMPAGE!!"
"--do."
Hilde's javelin slams into the armor up top. The lance digs into the armor plates; she leaps up, even as the rope snaps and twists to each side. Once she is upon it, though, there is a terrific crackle of lightning -- and then a bolt of lightning drops down from above at Hilde.
Then the whole Tunnel Armor shakes, as Ivan's fireballs slam into the machina. The armor is pelted -- not breaking, but there are glowing, red-hot spots where it impacts. Then, the girder flies. It slams into the armored wheel. That wheel has less spokes and more interlocking armor plates that cover it. The girder is caught in tbhem for a moment. The engine roars. Smoke belches out. Smoke, and:
"RAMPAGE!!!"
The girder snaps with a loud crack at that fateful word, and the Tunnel Armor continues barreling down upon them, before the mage inside yelps -- and a pair of lightning bolts crash down from on-high for both Ivan and Kaguya.
GS: Sheriff Star has attacked Margaret with Fira! GS: Sheriff Star has attacked Naelle Sylkirk with Roughneck! GS: Sheriff Star has spent 1 Combo on Interrupt, including 3 on Gatling! GS: Sheriff Star has attacked White Knight Leo with Wheel! GS: Sheriff Star has gained 1 Combo! GS: Sheriff Star has attacked Hilde with Thundara! GS: Sheriff Star has gained 1 Combo! GS: Sheriff Star has spent 1 Combo on Poison, including 3 on Gatling! GS: Sheriff Star has attacked Ivan with Thunder! GS: Sheriff Star has gained 1 Combo! GS: Sheriff Star has spent 1 Combo on Poison, including 3 on Gatling! GS: Sheriff Star has attacked Kaguya Alathfar with Thunder! GS: Naelle Sylkirk takes a solid hit from Sheriff Star's Roughneck for 105 hit points! GS: Cover and Riposte! applied to Sheriff Star! GS: Hilde guards a hit from Sheriff Star's Thundara for 93 hit points! GS: Disrupt! applied to Hilde! GS: Kaguya Alathfar takes a solid hit from Sheriff Star's Thunder for 137 hit points! GS: Kaguya Alathfar suffers an additional 25 from Poison's Combo effect! GS: Poison! applied to Kaguya Alathfar! GS: Sheriff Star assumes the Stoic stance! GS: Ivan takes a solid hit from Sheriff Star's Thunder for 142 hit points! GS: Ivan suffers an additional 20 from Poison's Combo effect! GS: Poison! applied to Ivan! GS: White Knight Leo critically Guards a hit from Sheriff Star's Wheel for 20 hit points! GS: White Knight Leo has lost 2 Combo from Interrupt! GS: Margaret critically Guards a hit from Sheriff Star's Fira for 27 hit points! GS: Sheriff Star has adjusted their boss level for 6 opponents! GS: Sheriff Star has completed his action.
<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.
The pilots of the machina give the answer in a form of lightning crashing down from above. Hilde manages to pull her shield from her back just in time to intercept it - but even so, the electricity courses through its metal and to her armor. She grits her teeth, trying to bear through the surge.
It's not a pleasant experience, but it's still better than if she had been struck by it directly.
"...I see. Very well." Hilde replies, electricity still skittering over her armor. Her armor gives her stability, though, even as the machine shakes from Ivan's attack, as well as those of the others.
She holds on tight to the javelin as the vehicle revs up and starts to move, using it to hold herself in place as she returns her shield to her back and draws out her sword.
She brings her sword down onto the machine, then. Her strike reverberates from the point of impact, even through the machine's thick armor.
"I will be fine, my friends, do not be concerned about me! Do what must be done!" She calls out to the others. Sure, they hadn't expressed concern yet, but she didn't want anyone to hold back on her account. This machine must be dealt with.
GS: Hilde has attacked Sheriff Star with Silver Arc! GS: Hilde has gained 1 Combo! GS: Hilde has completed her action. GS: Sheriff Star guards a hit from Hilde's Silver Arc for 94 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Margaret has posed.
"Hrmh," Rex says as he sees his arrow shatter to flinders. He raises his voice. "Mag, we're going to have to get at the meat filling."
"SIGH," says Margaret.
("Mag?" says Dolly.)
Margaret leaps out of the way - the advantage of her lack of heavy attire or armor or anything really other than a polearm and a bad attitude and a couple of protective charms is that she can move fast. The Tunnel Armor bulges forwards, filling the passageway or seeming to.
Flame bursts out! Margaret vaults upwards - Rex, less agile due to being OLD and STOUT, guards himself. The countermagicks keep him from horrid injury, but he drops his bow, spinning aside - "Heal me," he grunts to Dolly. ("Mag???" "DOLLY." "-- oh! Calm--")
Margaret, for her part, bounces off the wall, does a backflip, and aims to get up on the machine's back. For starters she stabs the naginata down, hard, seeking for a join in the plates - an anchor! Somewhere to set her feet. From there--
She'll worry about that later.
GS: Margaret has attacked Sheriff Star with Crab Crack Thrust! GS: Margaret has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Naelle Sylkirk has posed.
Naelle pays careful attention to Kaguya's words of wisdom--so careful that she is almost taken unaware when the machine rushes forward, batting her to one side. "Nya!" she cries in surprise and alarm, also pain, but more of the first two things than the third thing. Which is pain.
"You want a rampage?" she demands of the big machine, not, apparently, realizing that it is being piloted, or if she does, not caring. "I'll show you a rampage! It's going to be catastrophic! Nya ha ha ha ha!" With a slightly crazed look in her eyes, the young beast woman shifts her grip on her great big wrench, and slams the jaw of the tool into place, prying at one of the armor plates.
"This is exactly what a wrench is made for," she declares. Is this becoming a catchphrase with her?
(Yes.)
Then, with a heave and a nya, she twists and yanks!
GS: Naelle Sylkirk has attacked Sheriff Star with Twisting the Wrench! GS: Naelle Sylkirk has completed her action. GS: Sheriff Star guards a hit from Margaret's Crab Crack Thrust for 70 hit points! GS: Mighty! applied to Margaret! GS: Sheriff Star guards a hit from Naelle Sylkirk's Twisting the Wrench for 100 hit points! GS: Cripple and Disrupt! applied to Sheriff Star!
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya Alathfar has posed.
Bzzzzt. The lightning that crashes into Kaguya as her admittedly simple attack doesn't fix everything is... surprising. Yes, that's the one. Sadly, she is unaware of talk of aliens. Just as sadly...
"Huh. Well, all right then." Kaguya frowns, blinking off the spots in her vision from the admittedly large attack, sparks still scattered about her person now and then in the next few moments.
"Okay, so like--" Kaguya pushes herself back up, dusts herself off a little, first one arm then the other. "I respect your operating philosophy. 'Rampage' is a solid way to go when you've got a big drilling machine."
Hilde says not to worry about her! ...Kaguya was... definitely... going to worry, because she's a kind, good person. (She was not.) "What must be done..."
Considering, Kaguya gets an idea--and pulls something from her item stash. She leaps back up, and charges sideways, moving up to catch where the Armor is about to be, rather than where it is, and right underneath its path--
Tink. That's the sound of Kaguya pulling the pin with her teeth and shoving the grenade down.
"Cover your ears!"
GS: Kaguya Alathfar has attacked Sheriff Star with Improper Munitions Safety! GS: Kaguya Alathfar takes 27 damage from Poison! GS: Kaguya Alathfar has completed her action. GS: Sheriff Star guards a hit from Kaguya Alathfar's Improper Munitions Safety for 73 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
The mech is full of spellcasters, it seems, and unleashes a torrent of elemental attacks, among other things.
Ivan barely spots the lightning crashing down in time to --- oh -- nope, it got him. He has been struck by lightning before because that seems to be one of the joys of visiting Spira, but this one jolts him real good, seeming to shoot right through his bones. He's immobilized for a while, waiting for his nerves to stop popping and fizzing and his muscles to un-seize.
When he gets his motor control back under control, he looks up to find that it seems like everybody is climbing all over the machine to get a piece of this it, and he barely dented it. Need to fix that!!
He leaps up and tries to parkour up the side of the thing, waiting until he thinks he's found some footing and then summoning his warhammer in a driving smash, and bringing in an accompanying close-range fireball for good measure.
GS: Ivan has spent 1 Combo on Gatling, including 1 on Gatling! GS: Ivan has attacked Sheriff Star with Hell Pyre! GS: Ivan takes 20 damage from Poison! GS: Ivan has completed his action. GS: Sheriff Star guards a hit from Ivan's Hell Pyre for 98 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
The good news, Leo thinks, is that the ARM doesn't have much room to maneuver unless it makes more. The bad news is that the same is true for him and his soldiers. "Scatter!" Leo roars, as that low rumble emanates from the Tunnel Armor. He sidesteps, blurring towards one of the tunnel walls--thinking, at first, that the machine's preparing to ram them. Instead, it does something unexpected.
"Fools!" Leo grinds a heel into the tunnel floor, and the rock beneath him responds. Limestone shudders, cracks, and surges upwards, forming a wall between the White Knight and the flying projectile. Instead of striking him dead-on, the wheel slams into the stone with a hideous squeal of burning rubber, ricochets off, and bounces off the tunnel wall. It whizzes past Leo's head, blowing his hair about and missing his horn by inches. "The earth heeds my will!" The Tunnel Armor charges like a maddened bull. Leo sets his feet, and takes a deep breath, stoking the flame of his life-force.
The White Knight springs. The Tunnel Armor roars forwards, its drill-cannon passing beneath him as he reaches the apex of his jump. Leo shifts his weight, putting everything he has behind a single, powerful strike--his sword comes down at the weapon's barrel, with more than enough force to crack the armor on a direct hit. Theoretically.
Then Kaguya's grenade goes off. Leo lands in a crouch; his face twists in a grimace as the unholy cacophony echoes in his ears. "PRESS THEM!" Leo shouts, over both the roar of the machine's engines and the infernal ringing.
GS: White Knight Leo has attacked Sheriff Star with Rising Falcon! GS: White Knight Leo has gained 1 Combo! GS: White Knight Leo has completed his action. GS: CRITICAL! Sheriff Star guards a hit from White Knight Leo's Rising Falcon for 181 hit points! GS: White Knight Leo assumes the Avenger stance!
<Pose Tracker> Sheriff Star has posed.
Hilde slams her sword into the top of the armor of the Tunnel Armor. It sends up a shower of sparks as she cuts a deep groove into the armor. She doesn't quite break through the thick armor on the top of the huge machina.
Then Margaret lands next to Hilde. Her spear slams into the armor, too -- the naginata bites into and through some of the armor, sparks exploding where it hits.
They are joined by Ivan. He has to kick off -- and do a good leap -- but then he comes crashing down. Hammer and fiery rock combine, smashing into the plate and finally cracking through where Margaret and Hilde weakened it.
The Tunnel Armor continues rolling onward. What brings it to a stop is Naelle.
She slams her wrench into one of the armor plates on the wheel -- and it half-pops out, then grinds into the cavern floor.
"That's bad!"
"Real bad!"
This means it stops just short of the grenade. It explodes with a fiery report, Kaguya's weapon scorching the armored plates on the wheel black.
"He's coming for the cannon!"
"OH NO--"
Leo rises, blade slamming down into the left claw-cannon. He splits through it, and there is a tremendous and fiery explosion as his sword slashes clean through. The weapon crumples away, with a shuddering burst of electricity from inside. it.
"Critical damage! Boss, what do we do?"
"The only thing we can do... RAMPAGE!!"
Which is when the front wheel lurches, despite the plate caught in the round-- and then the Tunnel Armor flips over. The wheel is built to allow this -- the back of it slams down, smaller wheels spinning, and then it flips again and again, trying to smash into those below... and hurl those atop it off!
GS: Sheriff Star has attacked White Knight Leo with Sick Flips! GS: Sheriff Star has attacked Ivan with Sick Flips! GS: Sheriff Star has attacked Kaguya Alathfar with Sick Flips! GS: Sheriff Star has attacked Hilde with Sick Flips! GS: Sheriff Star has attacked Naelle Sylkirk with Sick Flips! GS: Sheriff Star has attacked Margaret with Sick Flips! GS: Cover and Riposte expired! GS: Sheriff Star has completed his action. GS: Naelle Sylkirk takes a solid hit from Sheriff Star's Sick Flips for 158 hit points! GS: Margaret takes a solid hit from Sheriff Star's Sick Flips for 189 hit points! GS: Kaguya Alathfar takes a solid hit from Sheriff Star's Sick Flips for 124 hit points! GS: Hilde guards a hit from Sheriff Star's Sick Flips for 122 hit points! GS: Ivan takes a glancing hit from Sheriff Star's Sick Flips for 111 hit points! GS: White Knight Leo critically Guards a hit from Sheriff Star's Sick Flips for 96 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.
"Excellent work!" Hilde congratulates to Margaret and Ivan both, as their combined assault does significant damage to the machine's armor.
Kaguya and Naelle do a number on it as well, and Leo comes in to cleave one of the cannons in half.
And then, the machine begins to rampage. Hilde grits her teeth as the machine begins to flip. She can feel herself losing her footing - she elects to detach now and save herself some pain she might otherwise receive. She pushes the javelin in to disengage it and then pulls it out, after which, without something to hold onto, she is sent flying, smashing into the ground.
She manages to roll into a kneeling position with some amount of effort, but it takes a second for her to stand up. Even for her it isn't easy to get right back on one's feet after getting tossed from a moving vehicle.
She might be distanced from the machine, but that doesn't mean she's out of options. Hilde focuses for a moment, and the aura around her sword brightens. She looks the machine over, her eyes fixating on the other cannon, the one still intact. She takes a step toward the machine and thrusts her sword toward the cannon, sending out a focused beam of cutting force that flies toward it.
GS: Hilde has attacked Sheriff Star with Force Blade! GS: Hilde has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
Perhaps Ivan should not have joined the bandwagon of those jumping on the mecha's back, because it turns out the mecha... CAN FLIP!!! AND FLIP! AND FLIP!!!!!
After summoning the heavy hammer into his hands, Ivan's grip on the mecha was tenuous at best, and the sudden swivel jostles him free. He vanishes the hammer on the way down and manages to land well, but then feels the ominous shadow of the mech overhead as it smashes down!
...This is not an acceptable way to die!
He dives away with a flip of his own, but fails to fully clear it, taking an indirect hit that slams heavily into him from behind. He does not stick the landing, but at least flies clear, rolling a few times landing sort of partially upside-down against the tunnel wall, where he watches dizzily as the thing keeps flipping and flipping, and maybe he's just imagining some of those flips?
He squints at it, shaping his hands to call a red-hot sphere into existence that he tosses toward the mech, letting it grow as it rolls towards it on a path to envelop the machine and heat things up inside.
GS: Ivan has attacked Sheriff Star with Searing Sphere! GS: Ivan takes 26 damage from Poison! GS: Ivan has completed his action. GS: Sheriff Star guards a hit from Hilde's Force Blade for 91 hit points! GS: Sheriff Star critically Guards a hit from Ivan's Searing Sphere for 28 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya Alathfar has posed.
So, thick armor. Explosions. ...Hammers, and fire. kaguya watches as the armor continues to take damage, and nods in some approval as Naelle's wrench seems to take off something important. It stops short of the grenade... And--
Well, good enough.
"Hey try to leave the other one intact, I wanna study it!" Kaguya says about the arms, rather than something nicer, and then it--it flips. It spins, and flips, and smashes, and--
"What the--"
Kaguya blinks, stares--and then decides it's the perfect opportunity. Crouching down, she puts up her arms to protect the more vulnerable spots like her face, and--gets a feel for the bounce. The heft. The dimensions. Slam, slam, slam, she ends up on the ground a bit away... But when she rises--
"Huh. Bouncy little thing." She pauses, raises her voice. "HEY! You guys okay in there??? Are there stabilizing gyros or am I going to have to make someone clean up in there before I study it?"
Ivan's sphere is tossed--but Kaguya approaches differently, this time. At the next time it slams down, Kaguya jumps, runs up--it flips again, and she springs to the cavern roof.
...Then, she touches hands to the top and pushes, hard. An instant later, a ball of Kaguya rockets down like a meteor straight for the tank.
"Ha-HA!"
GS: Kaguya Alathfar has attacked Sheriff Star with Satellite Break! GS: Kaguya Alathfar has gained 1 Combo! GS: Kaguya Alathfar takes 21 damage from Poison! GS: Kaguya Alathfar has completed her action. GS: Sheriff Star critically Guards a hit from Kaguya Alathfar's Satellite Break for 32 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Margaret has posed.
Margaret winks at Hilde. A little purple heart seems to fly from her winkin' eye as she does so. A moment later the machine RAMPAGEs.
Flip the script. Flip everything. Spin it around. What if the thing was the other way around? It's a horrifying and sudden way to invert things, and in Margaret's case, it means that she is smashed down onto the ground and there is a horrid CRUNCH and a grinding as purple flinders fly out --
-- On the far end of the Tunnel Armor, Margaret looks at her foreshortened naginata.
FACT CHECK. A "naginata" is distinct from many other polearms by the fact that its blade is not a custom made penetrator point or intended to be greatly distinct from a sword. While of course there are differences of shape and material, they are minor compared to the differences between, say, a xiphos or a tanto. They're the same basic idea. A blade. A sword. Just a sword you can hit someone with from across the room, fulfilling Man's ancient dream.
But Margaret's dream is foreshortened... for now she has about a foot of wood and eighteen inches of blade.
Margaret starts to kick and wail and scream on the ground and...
Margaret stands up and starts to pray aloud to the goddess and...
Margaret pulls out something that kind of looks like a gunsmoke ARM from... somewhere in her top and pivots to take aim, and...
Margaret bifuricates, swiftly filling the immediate area where she was with the multitude 1of illusions she has brought forth in the past, though rarely here, or on this scale. Margaret proper is in there somewhere. But where?
Ivan gets the opportunity to momentarily smell ylang-ylang before a superior officer says "Allez-oup!" and vaults over him in the air, raising up her naginata's remains to stab into the superheated metal, twist, and PULL!
"We're fine," Dolly answers Kaguya on reflex.
GS: Margaret has attacked Sheriff Star with Seventy Seven Sisters! GS: Margaret has completed her action. GS: Sheriff Star critically Guards a hit from Margaret's Seventy Seven Sisters for 37 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Naelle Sylkirk has posed.
"Nyaaaaaa," Naelle comments. It's a comment loaded with pain, because she just got flipped on, but also with awe. "I want to take this apart even more now! Whoever designed this must have been brilliant! But not so brilliant as me! Nya ha ha ha ha!"
She's a simple cat, though, so rather than anything clever or special, and in deference to Kaguya's request to leave some of it intact, her next move is not another teardown--it is, instead, a very simple, straightforward, and enthusiastic smash on the top (? it did some flipping, she can't tell top from bottom!) with her wrench, making a mighty CLANK!
"This is what a wrench is made for!"
GS: Naelle Sylkirk has attacked Sheriff Star with Spanner Smash! GS: Naelle Sylkirk has completed her action. GS: Sheriff Star critically Guards a hit from Naelle Sylkirk's Spanner Smash for 29 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
Direct hit. Leo grins, his fangs gleaming in the torchlight. "Surrender your machine!" he bellows, raising his sword--as he sometimes does when issuing orders on the battlefield. "Abandon your false gods, and you will be--"
'RAMPAGE!!'
Leo's never seen a machine do that before. The big Ronso(?) grits his teeth, and braces; a dull amber glow flows from the ground beneath him, traveling up his body and hardening into plates of earthen crystal. Leo drives his blade forwards as the Tunnel Armor thrashes about. It catches on the machine's chassis, and rings like a struck gong. Thanks to that moment of sorcerous preparation, Leo doesn't break every bone in both arms on impact. Instead, the thrashing of the Tunnel Armor's body throws him backwards. Leo hits the tunnel wall with a crystalline crunch and a whumph of rushing air. Cracks spiderweb down his armor, and across the wall, spreading outwards from the site of impact. "Keep it-- distracted--!" Leo grunts, as Margaret and Ivan get to work. Even if they can't break through, he reasons, Ivan can at least make it too stiflingly hot for the crew to stand. (Theoretically.)
The Beastman finally catches his breath. He sinks forwards, dropping to the floor. His cloak is covered in dust, and bits of limestone crumble from the roughly Leo-sized crater in the wall behind him. "Surrender!" Leo demands, again. His blade blurs as he makes two lightning-quick strikes, a diagonal slash and a vertical cleave. Each strike sends another wave of energy racing at the weakened Tunnel Armor, targeting the parts that seem to be glowing with heat.
GS: White Knight Leo enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: White Knight Leo has attacked Sheriff Star with Double Demon Fang! GS: White Knight Leo has gained 2 Combo! GS: White Knight Leo has completed his action. GS: Sheriff Star critically Guards a hit from White Knight Leo's Double Demon Fang for 20 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Sheriff Star has posed.
The Tunnel Armor flips and flips again. It comes to a stop against one end of the tunnel, its back wheels kicking up dust. Hilde rushes in -- and the armor about the cannon proves thick, and needs the right swing. Sparks fly as her blade bites into the armor. Then, a beam of light explodes from it, firing at her.
The Tunnel Armor spins, then, and turns just in time for the burning sphere to smash into the thick armor on the side and splash over it, turning it black. A mage inside casts a spell, then -- and three blue orbs swirl around Ivan, trying to siphon away some of his vitality -- before swirling back around the Tunnel Armor.
And then Kaguya slams down into the top of the armored machina... but not the part that had a crack, as it moves. She leaves a large dent in the blue armor on the top of it -- and yet, it holds. A moment later, a gout of flame explodes undernath Kaguya and tries to scorch the short Veruni.
And then the Tunnel Armor begins rolling forward, its damaged wheel churning up stone. Margaret lands next to Kaguya -- which means her blade also meets largely intact armor. A momoment later, a smaller blast of fire explodes next to Margaret.
"We're fine!"
"We've got great seatbelts!"
"RAMPAGE!!"
Naelle lands up top -- and just as her wrench gets a grip, the spanner slips -- as the Tunnel Armor jerks to the side. That sends Naelle flying back off. In mid-air, there is a sizzle -- and a second beam of light fires at the cat beastwoman!
The machina whirls -- coming towards Leo, and then the wheel spins through the two Demon Fangs. They are thrown apart by it, scattering over its surface. Then, a lightning bolt comes crashing down towards the White Knight's head.
GS: Sheriff Star has attacked Hilde with Machina Laser! GS: Sheriff Star has attacked Ivan with Drain! GS: Sheriff Star has attacked Kaguya Alathfar with Fira! GS: Sheriff Star has gained 1 Combo! GS: Sheriff Star enters a Counter stance! GS: Sheriff Star has attacked Margaret with Fire! GS: Sheriff Star has attacked Naelle Sylkirk with Machina Laser! GS: Sheriff Star has gained 1 Combo! GS: Sheriff Star has attacked White Knight Leo with Thundara! GS: Sheriff Star has gained 1 Combo! GS: Slow expired! GS: Sheriff Star has completed his action. GS: Hilde guards a hit from Sheriff Star's Machina Laser for 84 hit points! GS: Mighty! applied to Sheriff Star! GS: Hilde enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Disrupt expired! GS: Naelle Sylkirk completely evades a hit from Sheriff Star's Machina Laser! GS: Mighty! applied to Sheriff Star! GS: Sheriff Star heals Ivan! He gains 100 temporary hit points! GS: Ivan enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Poison expired!
<Pose Tracker> Sheriff Star has posed.
"YEVON DAMN IT JESCU!"
"I NEED TO PRACTICE MY CURA, SHEV!"
"RAMPAGE!!!"
GS: White Knight Leo guards a hit from Sheriff Star's Thundara for 89 hit points! GS: Disrupt! applied to White Knight Leo! GS: Margaret completely evades a hit from Sheriff Star's Fire! GS: Kaguya Alathfar takes a glancing hit from Sheriff Star's Fira for 77 hit points! GS: Kaguya Alathfar enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Poison expired!
<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.
Hilde isn't sure how Margaret made that purple heart happen, but she appreciates the theatrics, at least.
So too does Hilde appreciate that her projectile did not cut through the arm - as, right after she attempted to, Kaguya voices her request to keep one of them intact.
"Understood!" Hilde calls back - just as a beam of light fires from it toward her. Hilde brings up her shield to deflect it, but the laser proves rather powerful. It pushes her back, and causes her shield to heat up. She winces from the effort.
Even after all the punishment they've delivered upon it, it's still moving.
Hilde frowns for a moment. Indeed, it seemed to need the right swing...and she had a feeling she had just the thing for it.
She returns her shield to her back, taking her sword up in both hands and fixing the machine with her good eye.
She takes a moment to study it carefully, looking for vulnerabilities in its armor...and then steps forward with a powerful downward swing, looking to cleave right through it and its armor.
GS: Hilde has spent 3 Combo on Gatling, including 3 on Gatling! GS: Hilde has attacked Sheriff Star with Titan Cleaver! GS: Hilde has gained 1 Combo! GS: Hilde has completed her action. GS: COUNTER! Sheriff Star counterattacks Hildewith Counter Attack! GS: Sheriff Star guards a hit from Hilde's Titan Cleaver for 125 hit points! GS: Hilde critically Guards a hit from Sheriff Star's Counter Attack for 23 hit points! GS: Hilde enters CONDITION GREEN!!
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
Ivan extricates himself from his awkward inverted slump againt the tunnel wall with as much grace as possible under the circumstances, only to have Margaret hop onto his back and use him as a springboard in a leaping attack.
The look of ABSOLUTE SCANDAL which passes across his face is probably missed by her, but may possibly be enjoyed by some of the others.
"You can't just hop on people whenever you want!" he calls.
The mecha finally ceases its flipping, and goes on another RAMPAGE. Ivan is caught within a mysterious blast of light, but finds himself...
... ... ...feeling?? Kinda better??? He's strangely energized, and some of the pain of his injuries lifts away!
I NEED TO PRACTICE MY CURA, SHEV!
Ivan just...slow blinks a few times. These guys are kind of a disaster? But sometimes life is full of surprises, apparently! He decides to deliver his thanks for this odd magical windfall in the form of fire bees.
He flicks three throwing knives from his hand toward the mech, and each becomes the center of a swirling fireball shaped in the semblance of a fiery hornet.
GS: Ivan has attacked Sheriff Star with Fire Wasps! GS: Ivan has gained 1 Combo! GS: Ivan has completed his action. GS: Sheriff Star takes a solid hit from Ivan's Fire Wasps for 142 hit points! GS: Poison! applied to Sheriff Star!
<Pose Tracker> Naelle Sylkirk has posed.
Naelle is many things. Most of the time, she seems like an over-eager kitten, hero worshipping and being scared by loud noises and thinking she's a lot more impressive than she actually is. And then sometimes, she does things like mid-air dodging a spell with cat-like grace, rebounding off the tunnel wall, and carrying the momentum of her leap into a two-handed flying wrench ker-smash onto the mechanical monstrosity.
This is one of those times.
"Nyaaaaaaaaaaa!" is her battlecry. It's not a very eloquent one, it's not especially pithy or witty, but it's very enthusiastic and very forceful. This time, the clank shall resound into history. It's guaranteed to impress the Boss.
She hopes.
GS: Naelle Sylkirk has attacked Sheriff Star with Titanic Nyaaaa!! GS: Naelle Sylkirk has completed her action. GS: Sheriff Star guards a hit from Naelle Sylkirk's Titanic Nyaaaa! for 109 hit points! GS: Shieldbreak! applied to Sheriff Star!
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya Alathfar has posed.
"I wasn't asking you! I was asking Corporal Vomit and his rampage buddies in the tank!"
Still a very small target, Kaguya feels the pressure and the chill that comes of impending fire--so she gets her feet under it. it surges up from beneath, the flames licking her form as they rise, but this also propels her off of the Armor, sending her clear where she hits the ground in a roll and then takes her feet.
The small Veruni takes a moment to roll her shoulders and cough. "Ugh. What does this thing run on, diesel?" She shakes her head, looks over the others for a moment. Heat--wrenches...
"Gotta say, White Knight. At this point if they don't accept your mercy I might have to mercy a couple of them in the face. I'm impressed by your committment, here."
Pause. "Ivan..." She facepalms. "You know what? I'm not going to tell him."
She accepts a Cura for happening, because good things happen sometimes to people. Besides--there's an engineer ahead trying to beat something to death with her wrench. "...Gonna have to give her a bonus," Kaguya reflects, but she isn't just standing around sassing instead of helping. Instead...
"But hey, guys. If that's how you want to play it, that's okay." ...In point of fact she's pulled something small and vaguely luminous, a sort of... very small box, oblong. (it's like a modern gun clip. ...More or less.) "I was going to be nice, maybe try to throw things around, but--
Kaguya reaches behind her back and--pulls out a very strange, very shiny weapon. Beautiful, shining white--darkly gleaming black. Chrome. The plastics and metals that make up the TK-38K are literally not of this world, and its vaguely shotgun-like form is.. bigger, than it once was, a larger stock and an attachment on the barrel. She pops open a chamber--
And with a CLACK, slots the clip into place. "I'm gonna show you a real machina."
Pumping the loading action, she flicks a switch on the side. An insistent green light turns on, and Kaguya takes the weapon in both hands.
"Might not wanna look directly into the blast."
A hum rises from the weapon, intensifying into an ear-splitting whine--
Kaguya's feet are planted solidly to make up for the recoil as her ARM starts to discharge green bursts of automatic laser fire that has absolutely no business existing in the hands of a member of the Guard.
GS: Kaguya Alathfar has activated a Force Action! GS: Kaguya Alathfar has activated a Force Action! GS: Kaguya Alathfar has spent 2 Combo on Gatling, including 2 on Gatling! GS: Kaguya Alathfar has attacked Sheriff Star with Forbidden ARM: Otherworldly Blitz! GS: Kaguya Alathfar has completed her action. GS: Sheriff Star guards a hit from Kaguya Alathfar's Forbidden ARM: Otherworldly Blitz for 131 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
Leo rushes forwards, twisting to the right as the Tunnel Armor starts moving again. "Gh," the Ronso(?) grunts. "What the hell is that thing made of?" He fixes his gaze on Kaguya, earnestly expecting an answer--after all, she did build the Golems. Naelle, likewise, gets a bit of a look, but the enemy pilots interrupt him before he can ask anything of her. Leo smells ozone, and knows what that means; he grits his teeth, raises his blade, and swings for the lightning bolt as it falls at him. As Hilde found out, it's somewhat less awful than a direct hit. Leo's sorcerous stone armor blunts some of the shock, but lightning still crawls across his body. His teeth chatter as the muscles in his jaw twitch uncontrollably.
"Sometimes--taking the high road--is--" Leo chokes out, to Kaguya. And then, the small, sickly-looking woman pulls out an ARM that he does not recognize, and shoots the enemy machine. Leo stares, but only for a moment--he does his best to choke down the sudden feeling of trepidation. "On your right, Hilde!" Leo roars. He surges forwards, a brilliant golden-amber aura igniting around him as he levels his blade. He fixes his eyes on the very center of the machine, studies the way it moves, analyzes the weaknesses in his armor. He raises his sword.
With a mighty kiai, Leo strikes, a stroke that could easily chop through wooden planks, or cleave an armored soldier in two. By itself, it's dangerous--but it's not the main threat to the Tunnel Armor. That would be the veritable tidal wave of energy that erupts from Leo's blade, shaping itself into the likeness of a roaring lion as it bears down on the machina.
GS: White Knight Leo has spent 3 Combo on Gatling, including 3 on Gatling! GS: White Knight Leo has attacked Sheriff Star with Lion's Howl! GS: White Knight Leo has gained 2 Combo! GS: White Knight Leo has completed his action. GS: CRITICAL! Sheriff Star guards a hit from White Knight Leo's Lion's Howl for 276 hit points! GS: Sheriff Star has Fallen! He is no longer able to fight!
<Pose Tracker> Sheriff Star has posed.
Hilde's blade slams into the armor, leaving a deep gouge through the front armor on the wheel. With the plate that Naelle almost popped off earlier, it rips into the wheel. The wheel proves to be steel and powerful -- and yet it still cracks and stalls.
Fiery bees assail the machina. They smash against armor burnt, cracked, and pierced in places. The armor plate begins to crack and half-melt under the spell's assault.
This time, when Naelle charges in, her wrench smashes into the armored plating -- and cracks through most of it. The armor on the side falls, shattering into pieces and revealing much of the sensitive mechanics within.
This opens it rather neatly for Leo and Kaguya. The latter fires her ARM -- and the laser blast slams into the side of it. It burns through the wheel and front, the front dropping off. Molten metal runs across the tunnel's floor in rivulets, silvery and shining. Finally, the Lion's Howl rips off Leo's blade. It slams into the broken open, shattered machina. The thing explodes, chunks of steel flying -- the remaining arm cannon rips away, and shatters against the opposite wall -- and it falls burnt and blackened.
"Uh... rampage?"
"Shev! Get us out of here!"
"On it!"
There is a flash of light. As the crew compartment opens, sizzling, the flash fades -- and reveals it emptied.
Tunnel Armor, however, is no more.
<Pose Tracker> Margaret has posed.
Margaret looks towards Kaguya this time.
"Heh," she says. "Corporal vomit. I have to remember that." And a moment later there is a burst of flaming coming towards her, incineratingly hot and --
A yellow force grips Margaret and yanks her out of the way!
Margaret skids to the ground near Dolly, who slumps back against the cavern wall, a hand to her heart. By the time Margaret is back aloft -
Or at least upright -
The Armor is no more.
Margaret marches towards it. ("Let this happen," Rex tells Dolly.)
Margaret kicks the thing in the side, hard, and lowers her foot gradually... she exhales then, her face tight... visibly pressing past the pain of a foolish decision.
"I can't?" she asks Ivan, raising one thin eyebrow.
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
Ivan gapes as Kaguya unleashes some manner of SPACE LASER GUN, and overthinks whether he is supposed to be noticing a mysterious space laser gun as unusual or not.
The machina falls apart under the force of everyone's combined assaults, though its occupants flee before they can be killed -- questioned -- whatever the plan was. Ivan glances questioningly to the leadership, as he isn't sure whether that's considered a win or not.
Margaret queries, uh, whether Ivan can truly ban her from leapfrogging on people... or something?
He flusters. "I don't know! I've never hopped on you, have I??"
...Why does Kaguya look like she's trying not to bust a gut?
<Pose Tracker> White Knight Leo has posed.
Leo allows himself a grim smile as the machine comes apart. He slides his blade back into its sheath and turns to the others, taking stock of their condition. Everyone seems to be mobile, which is a victory in and of itself. The armor, though...
"Is it still salvagable?" Leo says. He glances at the two engineers, and kicks a burned tire.
He has no comment on the matter of Margaret leapfrogging on people. This might be a little telling.
<Pose Tracker> Hilde has posed.
Hilde is too busy tangling with the machine before her to take note of Kaguya's ARM at the moment. Fortunately, Leo warns her of an attack from her right and Hilde shifts her position, swinging her blade to cleave the oncoming attack in two. It also gives her a good view of Leo's attack.
She had heard of this technique before, knew its origins, though she had never seen it before with her eyes. She watches as the Lion's Howl tears through the machina, leaving nothing but molten wreckage.
"...Impressive." Hilde comments, straightening up and returning her sword to its sheath.
She also can't comment on leapfrogging, nor on the salvageability of the machine - she knows very little about advanced technology such as this, so she leaves it to those of them who'd actually know what they were talking about.
"This should deal a great blow to their capabilities." She comments.
<Pose Tracker> Naelle Sylkirk has posed.
"Ohhhhhh yes we can salvage and learn so much from this beautiful boy" Naelle says, back in her enthusiastic take-apart-machines zone. "Boss, can I have bits of this? I mean, to study, but also, can I like...have a bit of it as a souvenir?"
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya Alathfar has posed.
"Good question!" Kaguya answers. "But I have a feeling it's magically reinforced. Once we get the pieces though I can analyze it." ...She could make guesses, but why, when the data's right there??? Besides--
Kaguya smiles in some satisfaction as she spots her blasts make headway. Molten metal partially answers the question! The set of magic and then Leo's attack slamming into the thing--
"Much, much better." Pause. "...Awww. They were kinda fun, weren't they?"
"...But really, I wonder what they're looking for down here."
The small Veruni puts away her ARM, casually. She is definitely enjoying the nervous looks, the gapes, and the part where Margaret--who she likes--definitely hurt her foot. And perhaps most of all...
"We can definitely get useful materials out of it," Kaguya answers. "But we'll have to get into the guts to find out if the internal mechanisms are intact enough to use. Sylkirk! Initiate survey protocol!"
Then she pauses. 'I don't know! I've never hopped on you, have I??'
"Aaaaahahahahahaha--"
Kaguya is just, not going to be talking for a few minutes.
<Pose Tracker> Naelle Sylkirk has posed.
"That's just taking it apart, right?" Naelle clarifies to Kaguya. She wants to be sure.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya Alathfar has posed.
"It's--aaahah--it's the part where we write down everything before we take it apart!"
<Pose Tracker> Naelle Sylkirk has posed.
"Oh, you do that? I usually just work out how it all goes back together from looking at things." Naelle shrugs, and pulls out a notepad. "But you're the...well you're not the Boss but you're in charge of this so uh...I guess that means..."
Naelle doesn't know what to call Kaguya now.
"That means I'll start writing!"
<Pose Tracker> Ivan has posed.
Somewhere in the background, Ivan Finally Gets It and slowly collapses with embarrassment.
<Pose Tracker> Margaret has posed.
Margaret taps her chin with a fingertip.
"My," she says, dryly, glaring directly at Rex as she does it.
Rex says nothing. It takes effort.