2019-10-05: Stand Our Ground
- Log: Stand Our Ground
- Cast: Ambrosius, Elvis, Kaguya Alathfar, Amaterasu
- Where: Lake Macalania
- Date: October 05, 2019
- Summary: The Veruni -- minus Yue -- reunite in Macalania to make their stand against Sin.
DG: A party led by Ambrosius is now entering Clash at the Cliffs. DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
==========================<* Clash at the Cliffs *>=========================== ======================<* CHALLENGE - Sinspawn Lolona *>======================= |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 3 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- In the distance, Sin slams into the water. A tremendous splashdown erupts into the air, and those who rush to the cliffs find that seaspray rains down on them from above. Lombardia floats above the enormous monster, her metallic jaws open, and the sun glinting off her wings. Sin, it seems, is aware that some might come to help. The cliffside overlooking the water is riddled with chasms, switchbacks, and rivets. In many of these, flashes of light erupt -- as Sinspawn are summoned by the great beast. These resemble towering, twisted networks of coral. They pulse with a shuddering green glow -- and then hurl globs of sticky, emerald miasma at those approaching. The Sinspawn Lolona are large, rock-like creatures that hurl poison-aspected attacks at those that come close. They also emit an ear-piercing screech -- and indeed, you see one directly ahead, between you and the cliffs overlooking the battle of the titans. =Dungeon Conditions: Injure, Tire, Cripple====================================
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Sin had arrived at Macalania Temple. Any plans and machinations that had been devised beforehand were out the window now - or, at the very least, forced to undergo a rather severe retooling.
And Sin did not arrive alone - a great metal dragon had appeared to combat it, striking it with a force and power beyond expectation. But she could not fight Sin alone - despite the Metal Dragon's power, Sin had the advantage of numbers in the army of Sinspawn and Sinscales that spawned wherever it rose.
And so, the Veruni have reconvened to do battle, and perhaps provide assistance to the Metal Dragon in whatever way they could.
...Not solely out of the goodness of their hearts, of course. There was a practical side to their intentions, as well. The existence of a singular being capable of doing battle with Sin, and with a chance of victory, was unprecedented. By assisting the Metal Dragon, they could put themselves in a position to monitor and analyze her capabilities.
And, of course, to prepare countermeasures, should her eyes one day turn upon them.
But that day, if it ever comes, is far in the future. The threat in the present is very real.
As the Veruni arrive at the cliffside, they spot in the distance Sin crashing down into the water. Lombardia floats above it, her jaws opening and her wings spread wide, the sun glinting off them.
Even as occupied as it is, Sin has taken notice of those arriving to assist. Before the Veruni squadron, chasms and rivents in the cliffside begun to erupt with light. And from them, Sinspawn emerge, resembling towering, twisted networks of coral. They pulse with a shuddering, sickly green glow before, with an ear-piercing screech hurling globs of emeralda miasma.
The Veruni face not one, but many - each of them bearing down on the party with vicious intent.
Ambrosius, at the very least, is not perturbed.
"Minerva." Ambrosius states. The mechanical soldier accompanying him acknowledges this with a slight incline of the head and then rushes forward, frost trailing behind her. A sweep of a bladed boot bisects one instantaneously, and where it strikes ice rapidly overtakes the creature before it shatters completely in a cloud of fireflies.
But, more yet remain.
Ambrosius, for his part, elects to remain at range, taking advantage of the seaspray raining down on them from the battle ahead. He weaves it into a healing flow with his Etheric talents, supporting his Veruni allies so that they may fight without concern.
DG: Ambrosius has used his Tool Minerva toward his party's challenge, Sinspawn Lolona.
<Pose Tracker> Elvis has posed.
The temple had such interesting promise. Entering this so-called religious grounds yielded fascinating results. To learn of these backwater human's ways of life, use of magic, and their abhorrent hatred of technology. Finding that out was possibly the most curious quest Elvis had currently
THeir texts state Sin came about do to their avarice and reliance on such devices. Was this actually true? If so, why would it attack here? He fails to believe that a creature just suddenly appeared.
Funny how subjects arrive at the time they are mentioned.
Sin's appearance has halted the potential infiltration of the temple. Not to mention detected fighting at its doorsteps.
More shocking, however, is a great metal dragon has revealed itself to be the enemy of Sin. "By the Queen, look at that thing..." he says. While no ally of this strange dragon, it was attacking that which he was fully against, so you know how the old proverb goes...
"Look sharp," Elvis states, seeing ominous light twist and shape into creatures, remiscent of the one fighting Lombardia, in only their aberrant nature. "We got a fight on our hands. Stay close...!"
Hands are wrapped, and the man begins to emit a violet-blue aura, as he wades into combat himself. Not having wielded a weapon that didn't break on him in a long time, he has relied on his fists to do the work. And work they shall this day, for the field is covered in enemies of the Veruni,
DG: Elvis has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Sinspawn Lolona.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya Alathfar has posed.
Kaguya has not gone for her Golem. She has not gone back to the temple. She has chosen, for now, to engage in the plan she discussed with Ambrosius, to go after her sister Amaterasu. And she walks along, quiet, but not exactly gentle at all. She looks, observing, working her scanner--and ah, there. Sin, in the water, finally struck by something...
The light bursts forward, and Kaguya stares down at the Sinspawn before them. Emerald miasma come, an entire crowd of gigantic, horrific monsters, it would seem.
She doesn't move. Poisonous acid crashes towards her, and impacts her ruined armor without comment. The small Veruni simply stares back down at them, calculating. "...If you've got support covered," Kaguya says to Ambrosius--and instead of finishing the sentence, she reaches into her belongings.
It's casual; she pulls a small, strange object from her jacket pocket, what looks like a pair of Twin Stars, each shining lightly. Lifting the strange thing up--
Kaguya crushes it in her hand, a gold-dusted aura abrubtly springing up around her, and the power of Ether surges in her location.
Extending her hand, the scientist stares up at the first of the Sinspawn to bear down in her direction. Rather than moving, she narrows her eyes--
The ground bursts abrubtly with the scent of something rotten. The ground starts to melt underneath it, decaying by the second in a horrific display of ether prowess that, when it touches the Sinspawn, seems to start eating at its form outright, sending a scream of Pyreflies where she outright obliterates a strange limb.
This is only the start--she pulls her ARM, and starts to pull strange, glowing shells.
"We'll be fine, Professor," Kaguya says to him with a glance to the side, stepping back before she looks to the next--the first isn't down yet. They'll have to fight all of them.
"Anything can die, right?"
DG: Kaguya Alathfar has used her Tool Extravagant Inventory Overuse toward her party's challenge, Sinspawn Lolona.
<Pose Tracker> Amaterasu has posed.
Until relatively recently, Amaterasu had been engaged in a battle against Odessa, among others.
Until recently, Amaterasu had been engaged in a very important and rather tense conversation with her sister.
Until recently, Sin had not been here.
Until recently--
"Kaguya. There you are."
Seemingly from nowhere, the Veruni commando alights on the stones nearby. Her faceplate snaps up, revealing an expression most grim. In her hands she bears Valkyrja, ablaze with white light.
Her gaze is stony and rather than the creature before them, is for Kaguya alone. Her stare there lingers for a good five, ten seconds.
Before averting, towards the other two here.
"Sentinel. Ambrosius." She dips her head in a curt nod. "I see that you have found my wayward sister."
Did... something happen between them?
"Sin has returned. I believe it best that we attempt to strike against it now. You can see that the dragon," and she points, for Lombardia, "has been able to hold its own against it. Perhaps with sufficient force we may be able to destroy it for good now."
And make the moon safe for Veruni patients, while they work to speed the TF System to a more operational status.
The faceplate slides back into place; the glow returns to the 'eyes' on the mask. One hand leaves the shaft of Valkyrja.
Amaterasu draws out a pocketwatch a moment later.
"The last time we fought a creature like this it took us far too long. Now! Let us see it done swiftly!"
She starts the timer.
And, like a shot, she is for the Sinspawn, Valkyrja's blade a trail of light in the air.
DG: Amaterasu has used her Tool Stopwatch toward her party's challenge, Sinspawn Lolona.
==========================<* Clash at the Cliffs *>=========================== ======================<* CHALLENGE - Sinspawn Lolona *>======================= |Type: Entry |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 3 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- In the distance, Sin slams into the water. A tremendous splashdown erupts into the air, and those who rush to the cliffs find that seaspray rains down on them from above. Lombardia floats above the enormous monster, her metallic jaws open, and the sun glinting off her wings. Sin, it seems, is aware that some might come to help. The cliffside overlooking the water is riddled with chasms, switchbacks, and rivets. In many of these, flashes of light erupt -- as Sinspawn are summoned by the great beast. These resemble towering, twisted networks of coral. They pulse with a shuddering green glow -- and then hurl globs of sticky, emerald miasma at those approaching. The Sinspawn Lolona are large, rock-like creatures that hurl poison-aspected attacks at those that come close. They also emit an ear-piercing screech -- and indeed, you see one directly ahead, between you and the cliffs overlooking the battle of the titans. =Dungeon Conditions: Injure, Tire, Cripple====================================
=====================<* Clash at the Cliffs - Round 1 *>====================== ========================< Results - Sinspawn Lolona >========================= Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Elvis 0 --(5)--> 5 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ambrosius 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Minerva 3 Combat Effects: Fanfare ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Amaterasu 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Stopwatch 4 Combat Effects: None ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kaguya Alathfar 0 --(5)--> 5 Fail Extravagant Inventory Overuse 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Ambrosius 0 --(20)--> 20 Pass Conditions: Cripple|Injure(2)|Tire(2) Effects: Cleanse ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Ambrosius has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Ambrosius looks toward Amaterasu as she alights. His helmet currently masks his expression, but he is not surprised to see her here - only surprised that they were able to catch up to her before she began to cut down the enemy.
"We are in aggrement, Commander." Ambrosius replies with a nod. "We believe this may also be our best opportunity to monitor the dragon's capabilities."
Reunited now, the four Veruni march against the Sinspawn before. Even just one was a fearsome sight to behold on the battlefield, but the four of them together constitutes a disaster for any standing against them.
Even the Sinspawn find themselves overwhelmed.
As a being of steel and technology, the Sinspawn's poison-aspected attacks prove ineffective against Minerva, permitting her free reign in cutting through their ranks.
And while Elvis may not be made of steel, he might as well be. The worst that occurs as he wades into combat, crushing Sinspawn with a single swing of his great fists, is the risk of globs of miasma landing on his clothes - though this may be the most damaging possibility of all. Great care will be necessary to avoid this.
Kaguya, meanwhile, calls upon a horrific display of power. It even gives Ambrosius pause - halting in his spellcasting to observe as the ground bursts.
While the Sinspawn might defy common understanding of living creatures, even they all subject to certain laws - the result of which sees any Sinspawn that touches it utterly eaten away from wherever Kaguya's power touches it.
This proves a brief distraction for Ambrosius, but he soon returns to the task at hand, especially when Amaterasu begins to time them.
Valkyrja cleaves through the air leaving a trail of light, and wherever it passes Sinspawn are cleaved in two, as if nothing.
In mere moments, the only thing left on the battlefield are the four Veruni amidst a cloud of fluttering pyreflies.
The path ahead is clear.
Time to get moving.
DG: Amaterasu has drawn a new Challenge.
===========================<* Clash at the Cliffs *>============================ ========================<* CHALLENGE - Titanic Impact *>======================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Although Lombardia does her best to be mindful of those helping her, the Metal Dragon can only pay so much mind to anything beyond Sin. The next gravitational blast strikes her in the chest. It warps and crushes in blue and silver armor plates, and then hurls the Metal Dragon back. She shrieks as she flies in towards the cliff. Towards you. The moment that she strikes this section of cliff, it will crush all nearby -- and that means the only thing to do is /run/. =Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Injure=============================================
<Pose Tracker> Amaterasu has posed.
"Very well," is Amaterasu's response to Ambrosius' confirmation of their current trajectory. Then they will attempt to kill Sin, and possibly gain a great deal of information about various parts in the doing however their attempt may go.
She, for one...
She demands satisfaction for the blow -- psychological -- that Sin had dealt against her.
Perhaps it is impossible to kill a god. But she will find out. One attempt is hardly sufficient information.
And so she goes forth into battle, as she has for most of her life. With the combined force of the lot of them, she is able to see this one felled in--
She stops as the Spawn implodes into Pyreflies and clicks her stopwatch.
"...Fifty seconds. Better," she remarks, before pocketing it. The commando turns then, her long blonde hair caught in a soft breeze from across Macalania. It is as if she were about to say something--
Before she whips her attention back at the battle as Lombardia roars in pain.
Is forced back.
Is flung at--
"Run!"
Valkryja's light fades. The weapon folds up into its compact shape, is secured. She will grab hold of whoever cannot make sufficient haste (her sister, perhaps?) and then take flight.
Up and along the wall.
DG: Amaterasu has used her Tool All-Surface Boots toward her party's challenge, Titanic Impact.
<Pose Tracker> Elvis has posed.
Elvis wades into battle, as many times before, and leaves little standing after. It could make others wonder, if he was more keen to inflict harm upon Humans, just how far frather the Veurni would be on their conquest. And while many a Sinspawn busts before him, still more remain before they are dealt with, and the miasma they emit is difficult to avoid. The Professor gets jsut a small whiff, and feels dizzied for a few seconds.
He shakes it off and continues forward, but feels his movements slow.
"You know, you always did enjoy your anatomy dissection classes a little more than everyone else, didn't you?" he says with a wry smirk under that moustache.
"Now now Amaterasu, Ambrosius! Don't tire yourself out on the small fry!" he calls. Amaterasu in particular seemed quite into it. Then again, she was a soldier. That which came with the station felt in sync.
A look back to the battlefield in which was torn asunder by them in but seconds. "Not bad, I must say. You all do well in these foreign lands." and then the Sentinel turns back toward their target and...
"Oh... good." The body of the titantic dragon Si nfaced is now hurdling toward them at high velocity. "I do believe I will be taking orders from you at this moment, Amaterasu, as that is logically sound advice!" he says, before putting great power and force into his jumps, and just trying to get the HELL away from the cliffside!
DG: Elvis has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Titanic Impact.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya Alathfar has posed.
"I'm not as fast as you are," Kaguya answers Amaterasu with a shrug. "But I thought it was important to gether our allies."
A glance to Elvis, who comments--rather than to Ambrosius, who simply observes, distracted. "I like knowing how things work." The Duchess stows her ARM.
"Yeah, better," Kaguya agrees. But--there is no time for talking, and hanging around. She'd like to, naturally--but with that--
Kaguya is picked up along the way, because she doesn't move very quickly at first. Rather than protesting this, Kaguya lets her small weight be carried along as she pulls a small syringe--and despite the rushing movement, pulls off a plate of her armor and jabs the needle through her clothes into her thigh. "Mm--"
The formula energizes her, helps for the moment--and so then she looks up. The Metal Dragon shrieks--
Kaguya reaches out. As Amaterasu carries her, Kaguya begins demolishing obstacles in their path in further bursts of magic, each more powerful than she's displayed until tonight.
"This way--"
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
"It is alright, Sentinel. I still have much more left in reserve." Ambrosius replies to Elvis...and then pauses, as his attention turns toward the battle at hand.
There is one notable, ever-present possibility that comes from being party to a battle between titans, between beings far greater in scale than oneself.
The possibility that one may be caught in the crossfire - not out of malice, but out of simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Ambrosius looks upon the dragon now, as its form flies toward them. He looks upon it, and the only thing he can say is...
"...Hmm."
He isn't particularly known for his agility, but even he now is forced to run. But fortunately, he has some assistance.
Minerva waves her hand, and the ground ahead freezes over, forming of path of ice framed by a chilly tailwind, pointing out of the way of the impact zone - much like she did before, when they first faced Sin as it began to prepare its most dangerous expression of power.
It might not be the most graceful means of egress, but it's better than staying here. He takes advantage of this, while Minerva meanwhile glides along beside him.
DG: Ambrosius has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Titanic Impact. DG: Kaguya Alathfar has used her Tool Formula AM-22X toward her party's challenge, Titanic Impact.
===========================<* Clash at the Cliffs *>============================ ========================<* CHALLENGE - Titanic Impact *>======================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Although Lombardia does her best to be mindful of those helping her, the Metal Dragon can only pay so much mind to anything beyond Sin. The next gravitational blast strikes her in the chest. It warps and crushes in blue and silver armor plates, and then hurls the Metal Dragon back. She shrieks as she flies in towards the cliff. Towards you. The moment that she strikes this section of cliff, it will crush all nearby -- and that means the only thing to do is /run/. =Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Injure=============================================
======================<* Clash at the Cliffs - Round 2 *>======================= ==========================< Results - Titanic Impact >========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elvis 5 --(5)--> 10 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ambrosius 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amaterasu 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass All-Surface Boots 2 Agility Effects: Quicken -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kaguya Alathfar 5 --(0)--> 5 Pass Formula AM-22X 2 Agility Effects: Stalwart -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Ambrosius 20 --(20)--> 40 Pass Conditions: Injure(2)|Slow(2) Effects: Quicken(1) ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Ambrosius has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Amaterasu has posed.
"Hmm," is Amaterasu's sole remark -- if it can be called such -- her sister's way. Perhaps because certain comments -- certain long overdue airing of grievances -- have not yet been properly 'digested' she turns her attention after on Elvis.
"I am at your commend, Sentinel," she says, before giving her assessment on the situation they have found themselves in.
Before handling the Sinspawn.
"Do not worry, Sentinel," comes her response, coupled with a shake of the head. "I am well-prepared for what may come. I felt it imperative to eliminate that one as promptly as possible," continues.
Before the situation abruptly tilts in a dangerous way.
Elvis opts to leap out of the way and indeed, his mighty jumps see him free of the disaster-- and skidding ahead of the rest of them as they take flight on a piece of rock, flung free by the impact.
For Amaterasu the decision is perhaps as much academic as it is familial: she hefts her sister and makes tracks, running near horizontal to the ground before punctating her defiance of gravity with a mighty leap as the cliffside explodes.
It doesn't simply explode from Lombardia's impact alone.
Neither does the stones upon which they may have landed, which cease to exist by the time Amaterasu touches down.
She sets Kaguya down after and tilts her head, as if to take that second to regard her sister curiously.
Indeed, it is that same action that clears the way ahead for Ambrosius -- and Minerva's road of ice, which provides the both of them with quick egress from the cliffside. He'll come skidding to a smooth stop not far from where the sisters stand.
DG: Elvis has drawn a new Challenge.
==========================<* Clash at the Cliffs *>=========================== ===============<* CHALLENGE - Reenabling a Disabled Machina *>================ |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The cliffside is dotted, periodically, by twisted and rusted metal spires. It appears that these were, at one point, machina similar to the lightning towers on the Thunder Plains. These, however, are inert and many are in poor repair. Nonetheless, one is near you -- and it seems it has, at its center, a crackling orb of yellow. Lightning sometimes leaps and arcs from it. This isn't a lightning tower, but rather a coil designed to loose electricity stored from storms. Lombardia soars overhead -- and a beam of energy from her mouth scores a line across Sin's back. Pyreflies erupt and fly upward, where the beam strikes. Sin lurches, then -- and sends up crackling orbs of black and white, that distort the gravity about Lombardia, and force her to climb ever higher. The lightning coil, if reactivated, may offer a way to assail Sin. =Dungeon Conditions: Reckless, Slow, Wound====================================
<Pose Tracker> Elvis has posed.
There is knowing how things work, and knowing right where to place a bullet. Both have much in common.
"You were ever resourceful, Ambrosius!" Elvis returns with over the crashing cliffside. It is rare to see him over-extend himself. The Professor fliats through the air, and manages to keenly land on a chunk of rock, using it to make it farther forward.
Lombardia makes a sound something between a grown and a growl, that makes the earth rumble, as she takes to the sky once more. The firefight begins anew, as the titans clash with beams of light and orbs of gravity over the waters.
"Hm! Perhaps now is a good time to strike, but they are too far out over the water for any close-range combat..."
Eyes look around for options, and one is quickly established. A loud POP of jumping electricity comes from a nearby monolithic pylon. An ancient device, it courses with unseen (but not unfelt) electricity until the snapping lash of a bolt strikes a nearby spot on the ground. "An opportunity presents itself!" the man says, smiling and nodding. "Come! Let us see if we can re-wire this old gadget to do something!"
Elvis un-wraps his hands, and takes out a small tome, full of notes on found Machina, to see if anything he has found out in his journeys can help him in this pinch.
"It will be like re-wiring the defenses in the Arctica Control Zone all over again!" Hopefully they will be able to make use of it before the battle steers towards them again. "Perhaps if we can send all the power from the units across this cliff face to a single one..."
DG: Elvis has used his Tool Copious Research Notes toward his party's challenge, Reenabling a Disabled Machina.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
"Thank you, Sentinel." Ambrosius replies to Elvis with a polite bow of his head at the compliment. Thankfully, he manages to get away without any trouble - he attributes that to everyone's assistance.
And then, Elvis calls their attention to something. Ambrosius walks toward him, observing the device Elvis has located.
"...An astute observation, Sentinel." Ambrosius says fondly, nodding toward him. Leave it to him to come up with a clever idea to turn the situation to their favor.
Ambrosius reaches deep into his poncho, drawing out a familiar long, silvery device. It's the multitool he always carries with him. It may have many features, such as acting as a radar or detecting energy signatures, but it is still, first and foremost, a set of tools. It's perfect for a mechanic like him.
He can produce any tool they might need to help repair this. With luck, it might even be able to do appreciable damage even to Sin.
Minerva, meanwhile, stands off to the side - her gaze remaining fixated on Lombardia as she moves and fights. Taking everything in, no matter how small.
DG: Ambrosius has used his Tool Advanced Multi-Tool toward his party's challenge, Reenabling a Disabled Machina.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya Alathfar has posed.
There's a lot of danger here, frankly. Kaguya doesn't mind it much, in the moment. And they do make it out. Kaguya doesn't press her earlier reaction, to Amaterasu--No...
Indeed, Kaguya doesn't seem calm, exactly, but she is far, far more controlled than in that conversation they had before. Maybe she has matured; maybe she's just nursing her grudge for later. It's hard to say, from the outside.
But she doesn't react to her sister's curiousity, either. She just rolls her shoulders, as if she weren't casually exploding things, and steps forward. And forward. And... "Hmmm..."
Kaguya looks at the bolt that Elvis mentions, his opportunity. "Yeah," she agrees. Looking at this..."
His idea rolls around her mind--and she nods, thinking about it. Ambrosius has the tools--
"Here, I've gotten good at jury rigging power couplings and wirings. Sec, I've got some connectors in my bag..."
Kaguya moves up to start constructing things for Elvis to place, handing them Ambrosius for the finishing touches with his tools.
DG: Kaguya Alathfar has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Reenabling a Disabled Machina.
<Pose Tracker> Amaterasu has posed.
"Indeed. We must get closer, Sentinel," is Amaterasu's remark once the crash into the cliff and the tremors that follow in its wake have settled -- where they stand will not join it, though it may seem unstable for now.
"Good work," she remarks to Ambrosius (and possibly also Minerva) as they head onwards and ahead along the cliffside. They find their way ever closer to Sin, bit by bit.
And in time--
Amaterasu looks at the device. She regards it in silence for a moment as Ambrosius and Elvis wonder over it.
Then:
"Kaguya," she prompts, though, really, her sister needs no prompting.
She fully intends to let those who specialize in this attend to it. She will stand and watch for trouble.
DG: Amaterasu has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Reenabling a Disabled Machina.
==========================<* Clash at the Cliffs *>=========================== ===============<* CHALLENGE - Reenabling a Disabled Machina *>================ |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits |Challenge Rating: 2 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- The cliffside is dotted, periodically, by twisted and rusted metal spires. It appears that these were, at one point, machina similar to the lightning towers on the Thunder Plains. These, however, are inert and many are in poor repair. Nonetheless, one is near you -- and it seems it has, at its center, a crackling orb of yellow. Lightning sometimes leaps and arcs from it. This isn't a lightning tower, but rather a coil designed to loose electricity stored from storms. Lombardia soars overhead -- and a beam of energy from her mouth scores a line across Sin's back. Pyreflies erupt and fly upward, where the beam strikes. Sin lurches, then -- and sends up crackling orbs of black and white, that distort the gravity about Lombardia, and force her to climb ever higher. The lightning coil, if reactivated, may offer a way to assail Sin. =Dungeon Conditions: Reckless, Slow, Wound====================================
=====================<* Clash at the Cliffs - Round 3 *>====================== =================< Results - Reenabling a Disabled Machina >================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Elvis 10 --(0)--> 10 Pass Copious Research Notes 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ambrosius 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Advanced Multi-Tool 2 Wits Effects: Enlighten ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Amaterasu 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kaguya Alathfar 5 --(0)--> 5 Pass Investigate 0 Wits Effects: BASIC ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Ambrosius 40 --(20)--> 60 Pass Conditions: Injure(1)|Reckless(2)|Slow(2)|Wound(2) Effects: Enlighten(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: The party led by Ambrosius has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Elvis has posed.
If there was one thing the Veruni were known for, it was there understanding of science and technology. Such benefits brought them to where they are nw. Space travel. Weapons that rival the old ages upon Filgaia. The combined minds and efforts of the Veruni assemble easily crack how this device works in short order.
Elvis finds a functioning control panel and begins to get to work. It reminded him of the attempt at Operation Mi'hen. Just this time, the Clysmian is distracted.
While Elvis programs, Ambrosius is able to use his tool to detect dangerous fluctuations of power, and make quck repairs. Kaguya's supply of parts does not go unwanted in such repairs, and Amaterasu's watchful eye helps the other thre concentrate and work together much better, though thankfully no other threats emerge, though Sinspawn can be seen far off crawling the cliff areas. Surely motes of the beast shed from Lombardia's light blasts.
"It is ready! Everyone step back!" he calls, hitting a button and throwing the switch!
The device begins to rapidly build power, and soon it becomes apparent that standing anywhere near the device when it lances may be a poor idea, because it very well could explode.
Time will tell how effective it is! "Good work, everyone."
DG: Kaguya Alathfar has drawn a new Challenge.
===========================<* Clash at the Cliffs *>============================ ========================<* CHALLENGE - Sinscale Waves *>======================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Lombardia slams into the cliff below, though with her claws rather than her entire body. The blast of gravity that slammed her fades, and then she pushes off with her tail and feet. That sends her soaring back at Sin -- and she rakes across the whale-like monster's body. Pyreflies shoot high into the air, as Sin bellows and screeches. It seems, despite those animalistic noises, that Sin is quite aware of you. Before you can rush to intervene more, the skies above you darken. Dozens of Sinscales come raining down upon the cliffsides -- trying to bury you under them, before you can rush to the Metal Dragon's aid. =Dungeon Conditions: Fright, Weaken, Stupify==================================
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya Alathfar has posed.
Kaguya does not reply to Amaterasu's prompting, at first. She just does her work; it goes quickly enough. When Elvis says to step back, Kaguya does...
And the resultant explosion of lightning draws Sin's attention as Lombardia slams into the cliff. She rakes across its gigantic body, but the bellow of the titanic force of destruction above them watches it turn its strange 'face', full of what could be eyes, towards them. The skies darken, suddenly--and Sinscales rain down in great number towards the cliffside, sticking into rock, jabbing through stone and seeking to bury the group outright, landing among them. Some each aim at the others--since, well--there's so many...
But Kaguya doesn't move. Instead, she lifts a hand, and batters the one coming towards her out of the air with a burst of magic. "Hmmm. So it detected us..."
"Heh heh heh... Are these your creations, then, Sin? Do you grow them? Are you aware of them? It's said it always returns for them..."
"...So let's see how it likes their destruction."
From her bag, Kaguya pulls a Chocobo Feather, and as she tosses it upward she suddenly blazes with speed. Her ARM comes out in an instant, and she picks up a shell--before imbuing it with a strange energy. Cla-CLACK goes the chamber--
The projectiles the shotgun fires blaze with malign force, intense, disintegrating stone and Sinscale on impact. She lifts it, aiming over the sights--
Her shooting is strangely precision, and utterly merciless. She stares at one, fires straight for its center mass as it begins to unfold into its horrible little bug-like form. Then, the next; then, the next. The ground where they stand sizzles, as if afflicted with some unholy acid after each shot.
The air does not lighten.
DG: Kaguya Alathfar has used her Tool Extravagant Inventory Overuse toward her party's challenge, Sinscale Waves.
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
There may be, from Minerva, a slight incline of her head in acknowledgment of Amaterasu's remark, but no verbal response is had.
Ambrosius, meanwhile, takes a step away from the device, observing as it rakes across Sin - and, watching as it turns its attention upon them in response.
"So, our actions have had an effect on it. Good." Ambrosius observes. Would it have taken notice of them, if they hadn't?
Either way, there are consequences to this - they soon find a rain of Sinscales falling toward them.
Ambrosius glances toward Kaguya as she speaks. Their destruction... It was curious, the connection between Sin and its spawn. What was the relationship there?
...Well, whatever it was, Kaguya's method is perhaps their best option.
Ambrosius looks toward Minerva. She meets his eyes and then, with another slight not, extends her hand.
The temperature of the air ahead of them, coinciding directly with the Sinspawn's flight trajectory, drops rapidly as more ice sorcery is invoked.
Some of the Sinscales begin to ice over, the added weight throwing off their trajectory. Some collide into their allies due to this, and still others freeze completely, shattering as they collide with the ground.
It'll provide some leniency for the others to act under, but there's still plenty of Sinspawn to go around.
DG: Ambrosius has used his Tool Minerva toward his party's challenge, Sinscale Waves.
<Pose Tracker> Amaterasu has posed.
"Very good," Amaterasu announces at length, inclining her head in a single nod at their accomplishment. "We should be able to get closer to it if we can maintain this pace."
This is, perhaps, a state of affairs that Sin has also noticed.
And now reckons with.
"--Hmph," Amaterasu utters, turning her head up towards the creature as the Spawn begin to rain on down.
She reaches for Valkyrja. The polearm weapon snaps out into the air, unfolding at a rapid pace. The blade itself erupts with a flash of light.
"Its 'children', are they." She inclines her head in a nod. "I see. So that is their connection to it." She takes one step forward, gazing up again now at the creaturs as they fall.
"Then the child will die before the parent."
And she launches herself upwards, seeking to use the back of one as a temporary platform before becoming a blossom of carnage herself. Valkyrja is a blur.
DG: Amaterasu has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Sinscale Waves.
<Pose Tracker> Elvis has posed.
Even as the pylon charges, those Sin seen in the distance become more numerous, raining in from the skies and coming from the cliffs. So, so very many... "You know," he posits to Kaguya. "It makes me wonder if it is a hivemind type of creature. Each of this tiny specks are it in every way. Seeing, sensing, feeling. What say you?" Is this really a time for a hypothesis exchange?
Possibly. Any time is a good time for science.
"I would assume the ability to damage what it sheds helps, Ambrosius, but I cannot help but wonder if letting those motes of light go free makes it a futile effort." Elvis has tried to capture them. He has nothing to show for it.
"Keep alart! They are coming from our flank, as well!" Elvis says, mostly toward Amaterasu, so she can concentrate on fighting rather than surveying.
Much like before, it was time for fisticuffs. And he was going to pop as many of these creatues as it took. The ywould need to hold here to protect the pylon.
DG: Elvis has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Sinscale Waves.
===========================<* Clash at the Cliffs *>============================ ========================<* CHALLENGE - Sinscale Waves *>======================== |Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat |Challenge Rating: 2 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- Lombardia slams into the cliff below, though with her claws rather than her entire body. The blast of gravity that slammed her fades, and then she pushes off with her tail and feet. That sends her soaring back at Sin -- and she rakes across the whale-like monster's body. Pyreflies shoot high into the air, as Sin bellows and screeches. It seems, despite those animalistic noises, that Sin is quite aware of you. Before you can rush to intervene more, the skies above you darken. Dozens of Sinscales come raining down upon the cliffsides -- trying to bury you under them, before you can rush to the Metal Dragon's aid. =Dungeon Conditions: Fright, Weaken, Stupify==================================
======================<* Clash at the Cliffs - Round 4 *>======================= ==========================< Results - Sinscale Waves >========================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Elvis 10 --(5)--> 15 Fail Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ambrosius 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Minerva 3 Combat Effects: Fanfare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amaterasu 0 --(0)--> 0 Pass Fight 0 Combat Effects: BASIC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kaguya Alathfar 5 --(5)--> 10 Fail Extravagant Inventory Overuse 1 Combat Effects: Cleanse -----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------ Leader: Ambrosius 60 --(20)--> 80 Pass Conditions: Fright(2)|Reckless(1)|Slow(1)|Stupify(2)|Weaken(2)|Wound(1) Effects: Cleanse ===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Ambrosius has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya Alathfar has posed.
It surely wouldn't have acted on them otherwise. Kaguya does not seem to ask many more questions as she fires, though. Indeed, she doesn't seem to... concern herself with much of anything--needles spray at her from those still there because they can't destroy them all at once, some seeking to try to charge her. She simply tanks all of their attacks, ignoring her injuries--one makes it all the way in front of her before she points her weapon down and destroys it.
But many never make it to the ground, thanks to Ambrosius's ice, and more than that slide across it as they try to attack, vulnerable thanks to the bad terrain. ...And every vulnerable Sinspawn is a potential target for Valkyrja. Pyreflies erupt all around Amaterasu as she ravages the front lines and beyond, the faint moaning of their spiritual departure echoing all around her.
"I don't think it's a hive mind," Kaguya answers Elvis. "The fiends aren't, and they operate the same way--but it seems that more pyreflies means more power..."
Thanks to Elvis, none of the Sinspawn make it to the pylon--but a number hit him. He and Kaguya take the most damage in this battle, though...
Frankly, it isn't a lot. The smaller Sinspawn, even in numbers, are little challenge for these Veruni elites... though they couldn't keep up this pace all day. And Sin surely has more tricks in store for them--they have not reached it yet.
DG: Ambrosius has drawn a new Challenge.
==========================<* Clash at the Cliffs *>=========================== ===================<* CHALLENGE - Behind the Shield Wall *>=================== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 4 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Lombardia screeches in the skies above -- and then sends another colossal beam of green energy down. It slashes into the right fin of Sin. With a titanic explosion, sending pyreflies and crackles of energy outward, the limb falls away -- and dissolves into so many pyreflies before it ever strikes the water. Lombardia hovers there, staring down at a creature that looks, for the first time, injured and strained. And yet, the damage to her body is no less severe. Armor plates are crushed in; silvery blood drips and splatters on the rocks below. Her head turns down, looking at Sin. "We are not yet done, are we, beast?" Sin meets the queen's question with a terrific roar, which shakes the very stone under your feet. Then, it opens its maw. The attack is familiar: Giga-Graviton, the same that so wrecked Azado and the beach at Mushroom Rock Road alike. A bead of pulsing black energy appears, shining white. "No!" Lombardia descends -- and the damaged Metal Dragon lands on the cliffside. The ground under her cracks and strains under her great weight, as claw and tail dig in. Then, a massive barrier of interlocked white-green octagons appears before her, like a dome. "Humans! Gather behind me! There is precious little time ere it unleashes its fury upon us!" =Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Hesitate===========================================
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
Lombardia was not just sitting idly by while Sin's attention was on the Veruni, however briefly. It gave her time to ascend...and then, to breathe out a colossal beam of green energy that slashes right into - and through Sin's right fin. An explosion rips through it with an eruption of pyreflies and crackles of energy.
The fin falls, dissipating into pyreflies before it touches down.
This is the most injured they've even seen Sin - but Lombardia, too, is showing the fatigue of battle. Armor plates have been crushed in, there are drops of silvery blood splashed about the rocks.
Ambrosius stares on in awe. Though his face is hidden, there's no doubt about what's going through his head with the way he's frozen in place.
"We are not yet done, are we, beast?" Lombardia's voice rings out...and, in response, Sin lets out a terrific, earthshaking roar.
And then, it opens its maw.
"...A drastic increase in gravitic force has been detected. Energy levels are rising exponentially." Minerva informs them - but, they can see it for themselves, the bead of pulsing energy that signal's Sin's Giga-Graviton. The attack that erased Azado from the map, and annihilated the forces gathered at Mushroom Rock Road and permanently altered the areas geography.
"No!" Lombardia shouts, and descends, landing on the cliffside. The ground cracks as her claw and tail dig in, grounding her. And then, a massive barrier of interlocked white-green octagons appears before her.
"Humans! Gather behind me! There is precious little time ere it unleashes its fury upon us!" Lombardia shouts.
"...Chance of survival in the current location is less than one-percent." Minerva notes.
They are not human, but even so it may be wise to accept her invitation. It's a mystery if Lombardia would even know the difference, but that doesn't matter right now.
"...Yes. Let us move, and quickly." Ambrosius advises.
As a rule, Ambrosius does not do anything quickly. This time, he makes an exception. He runs, and he does so at speed. Minerva is not far behind.
DG: Ambrosius has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Behind the Shield Wall.
<Pose Tracker> Elvis has posed.
The fight rages on the rocks near the electrical pylons. There are so many of their enemy, and yet they must continue. Elvis sustains some superficial injuries from powerful jaws, But don't go too deep; Veruni cellular structure makes his flesh far too dense to tear right through, liek they might have done a Human.
"I can keep this up all day!" he bellows! "Who is keeping count?" he asks, as if to boost morale.
In realistic terms, this may be a bad situation. Taking out entire armies is a simple task, but when that army is reproduced as quickly as it is hewn down... that is another story.
Sin however, has taken notice to the butchering of its offspring, and aims its sigature attack at the shores they are on. "This just got bad," the Professor states, seeing the buildup of physics-crushing power.
The dragon however, comes to their aid. "We will take what help can be had!" shouts the Sentinel. And, much like some other Veruni, Elvis is not known to be fast. He is a brickhouse, his punches are lightning quick, but his legs, not so much.
Still, he runs and runs and runs for the protection behind the barrier summoned. What creature is this that thinks it can withstand such an attack? A mighty being, indeed.
"Run like Kartikeya is chasing you!" he shouts, trying to beat feet swfitly.
Wait, has that happened before?
Probably, yeah.
DG: Elvis has contributed a Agility Basic Action toward his party's challenge, Behind the Shield Wall.
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya Alathfar has posed.
"Oh COME ON!" Kaguya shouts as she sees Sin and Lombardia--as she hears the roar, sees the attack start. "This is where we're going? THIS?"
She remembers it. She remembers seeing it, in the Al Bhed Machina. She remembers that Ghaleon disappeared after... his cloak left behind. That it erased Azado. She remembers how she felt, when she first saw it.
"No..."
"It's a lesson, isn't it?" she murmurs, and it may be hard to hear her. Kaguya eyes it--and she hears Minverva's notes. She hears Ambrosius's advice. But this time, she doesn't let Amaterasu grab hold of her. This time, instead...
She uses the compound again. But this time she just jabs the needle into her side. Another impact point; she depresses the plunger--
She bends at the knee--and leaps forward instead of actually running, more power than her muscles hold propelling her forward--indeed, she should fall before, but she simply... fails to hit the ground. She jumps once--
And surges towards the barrier in flight. "...I'm not ready yet, Sin, but..."
She turns to look at the charging attack.
"I will be."
DG: Kaguya Alathfar has used her Tool Formula AM-22X toward her party's challenge, Behind the Shield Wall.
<Pose Tracker> Amaterasu has posed.
Amaterasu lands after a fashion, descending amidst a cloud of pyreflies. She swings the polearm weapon through the air but once, as if doing so might dislodge the Spawn's nonexistant blood from its blade.
"Fundamentally primitive, you mean," she remarks, after cocking her head to listen to that conversation between Kaguya and Elvis for just the moment.
She steps forward. "Come. We're close enough. If we keep this pace, so long as the dragon preoccupies it..."
Her gaze tilts upwards.
Even at this angle, Sin seems impossibly huge.
"The head. We should attempt to reach the top of its head. That may be a weak spot. I doubt attacking it from below would be effective."
She takes a step, pushing against the trepidation that traitorously adheres to her heart.
And goes no further.
Any of them close enough to her will hear Amaterasu, fearless, demon of the battlefield, suck in a breath.
A drastic increase in gravitic force has been detected...
"I... am aware of that. ...Thank you, Minerva." Amaterasu's voice in this moment is perfectly control. Perfectly soldierly.
Her head tilts, as if she were seeking for a barrier--
Nearby, Lombardia alights, and beckons them -- all of them -- to take shelter behind her.
Humans, huh...
There is no time to contemplate that any further.
Here Amaterasu moves, reaches for Kaguya--
...Kaguya... is not there.
Her sister...
Her sister takes flight.
"Kaguya--!"
Amaterasu shakes her head, her blonde hair shaking in a wave behind her. Alone, she runs up the nearest wall, her gaze moving between the three of them before, satisfied, she uses the stone as a pivot and leaps.
She takes flight in her own way, however limited her time in the air will be. With any luck--
They will all--
DG: Amaterasu has used her Tool All-Surface Boots toward her party's challenge, Behind the Shield Wall.
==========================<* Clash at the Cliffs *>=========================== ===================<* CHALLENGE - Behind the Shield Wall *>=================== |Type: Final |Dungeon Ability: Agility |Challenge Rating: 4 | --------------------------< Challenge Information: >-------------------------- Lombardia screeches in the skies above -- and then sends another colossal beam of green energy down. It slashes into the right fin of Sin. With a titanic explosion, sending pyreflies and crackles of energy outward, the limb falls away -- and dissolves into so many pyreflies before it ever strikes the water. Lombardia hovers there, staring down at a creature that looks, for the first time, injured and strained. And yet, the damage to her body is no less severe. Armor plates are crushed in; silvery blood drips and splatters on the rocks below. Her head turns down, looking at Sin. "We are not yet done, are we, beast?" Sin meets the queen's question with a terrific roar, which shakes the very stone under your feet. Then, it opens its maw. The attack is familiar: Giga-Graviton, the same that so wrecked Azado and the beach at Mushroom Rock Road alike. A bead of pulsing black energy appears, shining white. "No!" Lombardia descends -- and the damaged Metal Dragon lands on the cliffside. The ground under her cracks and strains under her great weight, as claw and tail dig in. Then, a massive barrier of interlocked white-green octagons appears before her, like a dome. "Humans! Gather behind me! There is precious little time ere it unleashes its fury upon us!" =Dungeon Conditions: Slow, Hesitate===========================================
=====================<* Clash at the Cliffs - Round 5 *>====================== =====================< Results - Behind the Shield Wall >===================== Player Exhaustion Pass/Fail ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Elvis 15 --(100)--> 115 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ambrosius 0 --(100)--> 100 Fail Rush 0 Agility Effects: BASIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Amaterasu 0 --(100)--> 100 Pass All-Surface Boots 2 Agility Effects: Quicken ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kaguya Alathfar 10 --(100)--> 110 Fail Formula AM-22X 2 Agility Effects: Stalwart ----------------------------------< Party >----------------------------------- Leader: Ambrosius 80 --(10)--> 90 Fail Conditions: Fright(1)|Hesitate(2)|Slow(2) Effects: Quicken(1) ==============================< Dream Chasers >===============================
DG: Elvis is too exhausted to continue! DG: Kaguya Alathfar is too exhausted to continue! DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success! DG: The party led by Ambrosius has successfully explored Clash at the Cliffs!
===========================<* Clash at the Cliffs *>============================ =======================<* CHALLENGE - The Sky Screams *>======================== |Type: Discovery |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 3 | ---------------------------< Challenge Information: >--------------------------- You manage to get behind Lombardia, with all of the other combatants on the field. Unlike many of them, you are directly behind her and her great barrier. Safe there, you can see the full power of the Giga-Graviton blast past you -- carving two massive gorges through the cliffs of Macalania. The barrier, however, holds against it. It crackles and falls away. Lombardia looks back at you. "I shall drive it to the sea. You have done well--now flee this place. To the temple, ahead!" Her wings do not beat when she lifts off. Thrusters drive her into the air -- and Sin screeches, as it realizes that she had survived his greatest attack and had the strength to fight on. It begins to do something no living Spiran has seen before. Sin backs away, as if frightened. And then Lombardia becomes a blur. There is a loud, thundering boom and umbrella-shaped burst of cloud as she shatters the sound barrier, and then rams into Sin. She tears along its left flank, flesh bursting into pyreflies as she tears a full half of its body off. Sin screams, listing to the side -- and then dives into the water, just as Lombardia hits the ocean. There is a titanic blast of water. A tidal wave, rushing for you -- and driving you back towards the Lake and the Temple. OOC: These characters start the Macalania Temple battle with 50 FP. =Dungeon Conditions: Overwhelm================================================
<Pose Tracker> Ambrosius has posed.
They run.
They nearly don't make it.
It's like the land is tearing itself apart, and Sin hasn't even launched the attack proper yet. Gravitic force draws in rubble and debris and the cliffside, already weakened from the fierce battle, begins to give way, forming deep chasms that may impede the progress of everyone trying to retreat to the safety of Lombardia's barrier.
But, despite everything, despite that it seems like everything is conspiring against them, they manage to make it to safety - exhausted, but alive.
And there, behind Lombardia's barrier, they are able to witness up close the terrible power of the Giga-Graviton as it clashes with the forcefield and then disperses off on either side, carving two massive gorges through the cliffs.
And then, Lombardia turns to look toward those that have gathered behind her.
"I shall drive it to the sea. You have done well--now flee this place. To the temple, ahead!" She entreats them, before thrusters ignite and she lifts off. Sin screeches in response and then...it backs away.
Is it...frightened? No one, not one of them, has seen this before.
Lombardia moves, then, with a swift and terrifying speed. She becomes a blur, shattering the sound barrier in an instant and ramming into sin, raking through its left flank as she simply tears away a full half of it.
Sin actually screams, listing, and then dives as Lombardia hits the ocean.
This causes a titanic tidal wave, rushing for the party. Ambrosius's eyes open in surprise.
He extends his hands, and with a surge of Ether, he exerts his will over the tidal wave. He cannot stop it completely, but he can at least manipulate it for the sake of his allies.
"...I will buy us some time. Do what you must." He states.
What will they do from here?
<Pose Tracker> Amaterasu has posed.
They flee for the safety of the shield.
Amaterasu recalls a man cut in two by the gravity blast. Already, bluish purple mist begins to swirl about her, as if it could hold Sin's power at bay.
Then, in the last moment of all
they cross the gap
they are safe.
She tilts her head upwards, as if to meet the dragon's gaze.
Before Lombardia is off.
"It's frightened... I see," Amaterasu murmurs, Valkyrja slack at her side.
"So you can be defeated," she reflects, staring still as both crash into the.
As the sea rises to meet them.
As Ambrosius remains behind to lend what aid he can.
Amaterasu herself does not budge.
"Kaguya! Go to the shrine. This is an order! Sentinel! Please see to her!"
Amaterasu shouts thus over a shoulder, before she falls in alongside Ambrosius, thrusting out a hand as she weaves reinforcing shadow in under the tsunami that looms before them. It rises as a spectral echo of the water that Ambrosius works to slow. She may not have an affinity for water but--
"I am not," she says to him, her voice low and punctuated by a strained groan halfway along, "leaving any of you behind. Hold out as long as you can. After that..."
After that...
They will address that moment once it arrives. And no sooner.
<Pose Tracker> Elvis has posed.
...And run Elvis does. Even as particles from the ground begin to rise at the threat of unfathomable power, the Veruni run to safety. The barrier is comforting, if only in a shaky way. What if it didn't hold? Or the dragon perishes using it?
Giga-Graviton comes. Liek a wave of death and change, it surely comes. Colors go negative, pressure in the air triples. It is a harrowing feeling.
But i nthe end, they all live. "It.. .actually held, did it?" he asks, making sure he is alive by pinching his face. "Ow! Yep, still alive."
Lombardia makes for the skies again, chasing what looks to be a trembling Clysmian. Nary has it faced a creature to oppose it so, outside the Final Aeon. Or so stories tell. But that isn't all that happens. A massive surge of water rises to greet those upon the cliffside.
"We wont make it in time! Perhaps if we--" Two of the Veruni have a plan. "...Do you think you can stymie it?" he asks. They seem sure. He will not dissuade them. The elements their ether surrounds lends to their aid, even. "Come, Kaguya. We must leave this place!"
Elvis has some water mastery, but earth is more his domain. He shall leave it to the experts. "Don't you both die on us. There is a future to look forward to, still!"
<Pose Tracker> Kaguya Alathfar has posed.
There--they make it. It's close. Amaterasu calls for Kaguya... but they make it. The smaller Veruni--really, younger, despite the years she'd claim over Ambrosius on a technicality--looks up... And she sees the sheer power rush past them. "...Yeah, Amaterasu," she answers. "I'm here."
She watches the raw power of that attack carve two massive gorges, wonders at Lombardia's shielding--but sees how injured she is. ...Sin is frightened, and she instructs them...
"...Why?" she wonders. "Can she even survive this?"
But the wave begins. Ambrosius's eyes open--and there, his power surges. "You--"
And Amaterasu, next. She reflects on it, and she doesn't budge. Kaguya doesn't immediately move--but neither does she argue. She watches Amaterasu and Ambrosius move. This power...
"...If you die here," Kaguya promises, "I swear I will find a way to bring up your ghost and shout at you about it." She emans it for Ambrosius, too, but...
She thinks, for an instant. She thinks... And maybe--Maybe it's for the best. kaguya looks up--and then nods to Elvis.
"Yeah. I'll go."
She has no water mastery. Maybe, with the power she displayed. But...
"C'mon, Professor. I bet I can outrun an old man."
She pauses. She turns, one more instant. "Mat," Kaguya says, then, stopping. She should leave immediately, shouldn't make them hold it long. "...I love you," she tells her sister, and she doesn't comment on how much it sounds like goodbye. She just looks, a moment longer--
And sprints off, taking at a dead run. The horrific power around her wavers, and dissipates; the sense of pressure is gone. ...And she's just a young girl, running with her teacher towards a temple.
As fast as she can.