2023-10-06: Paranoid Android
- Log: Paranoid Android
- Cast: Hannah Curie, Unidentified Construct, Riesenlied, Venetia Vuong, Xiumei Klein, Eleanor Klein, Noeline, Azoth, Ida Everstead-Rey, Holly, Josephine Lovelace
- Where: Damzen City - Sandblasted Outskirts
- Date: October 06, 2023
- Summary: Hannah invites her friends to Damzen to check out a new, fresh-out-of-the-ground discovery of a mining robot! ...Only to discover it is anything but. It is, in fact, much more dangerous, and it has its sights set on one person in particular...
==================<* Damzen City - Sandblasted Outskirts *>=================== Damzen City is a frontier town, and any approach to it makes this clear. The city proper is walled off, by high walls that offer protection from roving monsters. However, mining interests in the last few years have made the outskirts of Damzen grow well beyond the walls. The outskirts are a rougher part of town. Many of the buildings are small, bordering on ramshackle; others are merely tents and lean-to's. People pass through quickly, many working only temporarily in the mines or oilfields around the city. The businesses here consist of shops, boarding houses, and dining establishments of questionable repute and unquestionable low quality. BGM: Wild Arms 2 - Western Village
DC: Xiumei Klein switches forms to Biometal Model AV Remix! DC: Josephine Lovelace switches forms to The Peregrine! DC: Riesenlied switches forms to Heritor of Wayside! DC: You switch forms to Troubled Mage! DC: Hannah Curie switches forms to Troubled Mage! DC: Venetia Vuong switches forms to Hadal Sorceress Venetia! DC: Ida Everstead-Rey switches forms to Gentlewoman Adventurer Ida!
<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.
Damzen has seen a lot of expansion lately, driven in large part by mining and oil fields. Of course, with as storied as history as Filgaia has, oil and precious minerals aren't the only things to be found in the ground. Relics from the past also surface, as any Digger that's excavated a ruin can attest to. But rumor has it something more substantive than just a text in a forgotten language or a particularly rare crystal has surfaced.
It's a fresh discovery--so fresh, in fact, that the miners who dug it up aren't quite sure, exactly, what it is they've found just yet. They first messages and attempts to find experts have only just gone out, in fact, and nobody's had a chance to respond to correspondence to ask for more information, let alone make the trip out to assess it.
It just so happens that Hannah got a bit of an inside scoop.
... Okay, so one of her siblings at the orphanage just told her about it. But given the timing it's still a bit of a lucky break! Getting a chance to check out fresh discovery, to possibly be able to render an opinion on it before anyone else can... It's the kind of thing she always dreamed about getting to do as a child, and this discovery happened in her own backyard!
... Used to be her backyard? That's... still an awkward subject to think about, isn't it? She essentially ran away from home for five years and is only now returning to, essentially, let her family know that she was alive and try to reconnect. Even if she had been hedging around certain topics of her weird magical problems. Better not to let her return home be more complicated for anybody else...
Anyway.
A mining robot! Or at least, something suspected to be a mining robot.
Hannah had gotten word, and she had, in turn, put out the word to her friends that were in the area. (It is nice to know, now, that she has friends she can call on, at least.) She had those interested meet her in town, where it was easier to give directions, and now...
The crest sorceress is dressed for running about in the desert, in her usual denim jacket and jeans, and her satchel slung behind her. She's got short, curly pink hair, and, of course, a red-tailed hawk riding on her shoulder. She's leading the motley group of her friends through the outskirts of town to the mine. (She's not particularly picky about other people following along, either, so anybody who sees the crowd and is curious could just... follow along, if so inclined.)
"Hey, Zephyr, why don't you go on ahead n' see if David's there. I wanna surprise him."
Zephyr chirps, and takes off ahead of the group.
Hannah continues to make small talk as they go along. "So David lives at--" A light pause. "... my, orphanage, and he's really good at understandin' technology stuff. I was even teachin' him before..." Well, before. "But I think he's been helpin' out with figuring out this robot thing and I want to support him--"
She cuts herself off midsentence and midstep, freezing in place for a moment. Her eyes go wide, and she utters a horrified "Oh no..."
She takes off running. Over her shoulder she shouts, "Come on! We gotta hurry!"
She rounds a large hill, and Zephyr is already squawking at the handful of miners--and one younger boy, with dark skin, about 15 years of age--trying to drive them away from the center of the clearing, where...
<Pose Tracker> Unidentified Construct has posed.
Something stirs. It starts with multiple lights. Some are piercingly bright hues of greenish yellow (not yellowish green - critical difference). The coloration doesn't vary with the others, but the integrity of these lights are all over the place. Some barely flicker, either from passage of time or some previous damages. The quantity gives greater clarity to its origin, which is in fact stirring.
Those familiar with Metal Demon war machines of antiquity could call the era and culture of origin by the greenish hue of its make that could be mistaken for ancient bronze, highly resistant to the erosion and oxidation as it leans and lurches up. Its head is a multitude of these yellowish-green lights along a spherical shape. It is of a heavy, armored, forward-lurching shape that appears to be missing parts of its limbs or associated attachments--
"Rehydrating." This is spoken in common tongue with reasonable clarity, which is unusual for Metal Demon War-era constructs but not vanishingly rare. Some concepts in 'human' spoken tongue are much more concise than the Hyadean language equivalent, and some engineers were willing to cannibalize these words into common use.
The surrounding air suddenly becomes far drier as it pulls ambient moisture into itself. Congealed yellowish-green substances start to extrude from where once were apparent missing limbs or digits, gelatin-like shapes filling space as electrical charges filter through a few times - each one adding luminosity to the substance. Other metallic components seem to travel along the gelatin parts until they reach a terminus, followed by the ear-splitting hiss of cryogenics that solidify parts of the gelatin around key points.
Most noticeably, at the end of its right arm is a gleaming axe head reinforced with First Metal Demon War-era greenish alloy. Its spherical head rolls about its neck with an unclear point of actual physical attachment between it and the rest of the body, spinning these lights.
"Perimeter." This is one of the words that's 'tied' with the Hyadean language equivalent in complexity of speaking, so their saying that is a little unusual now in that context.
Though it has formed a weapon - no Metal Demon War-era construct graces conscious existence without having one at the ready - it makes no outwardly aggressive gesture despite being surrounded by no small number of individuals that would parse under the 'human' umbrella. Their head continues to spin, with no rhyme or reason for its angles or speed - those knowledgeable would equate it to scanning.
What is it looking for in specific if it's not just a generic concept like 'an enemy?' They're not swinging an axe into everyone in front of them from the jump, at least, but this is still a construct from a time of relentless strife.
OST: Tactics Ogre Let Us Cling Together - Song of Tundra - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sD9iVLC3b-Q
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied is here in Damzen, visiting Hannah's orphanage. The exciting news of the discovery really isn't what she's here for, but she can't help but share in some of the excitement when something unusual is dug up, but also...
A measure of caution, perhaps, because she remembers so well what happened at Lolithia's Tomb. At Wayside, in the Hadal Temple. What happens so, so often when something slumbering within is awakened...
A mining robot...
She's not particularly hurried, given she has to be wheeled there anyway, so she's satisfied to just move with Hannah as she explains. "Some of my children have also taken to machinery. Janey in particular..." she chuckles. "I think children have a viewpoint with them that adults may miss--"
When they round the hill, though (it's an effort on the wheelchair), she stares deeper towards the stirring machine, its lights coming on and... it speaks, even. This model... this era... this predates even her, but not by a lot. This would've been around the time Father and the others first arose into the world...
There's a faint hitch from Riesenlied as she witnesses the axe, and gestures quietly to the others to give it some space. "... it may not necessarily be a weapon. An axe could be used for processing wood, but... we should exercise due caution."
A hesitant pause, and she looks to Hannah, then to the construct.
"It has been a while, but I would like to see if I cannot contact it... it has exhibited a capability for speech."
And with that, the Hyadean focuses on the Dragon's Tear, its shimmering rainbow light radiating softly in the area as she reaches out to the machine through empathy -- in the way she has done so often, to reach the Dragon Fossils and other machines hidden underneath the earth.
"<Hello. My name is Riesenlied, a Hyadean. Do you understand me? We come in peace.>"
<Pose Tracker> Venetia Vuong has posed.
A mining robot? Sounds fake.
Not really. Venetia Vuong is aware that there was mining in Filgaia's past, and given everything regarding the era of Zeboim and its technological heights, Venetia is not particularly shocked to find out that some kind of automaton or ARM or Gear that assists in the recovery of mineral resources has been found.
Either way, she was quite good to come along.
Venetia is as she usually is, although she's in her 'working robes' with the dungarees underneath them. She watches Zephyr fly off.
Venetia nods for a moment at Hannah's story -- then Hannah suddenly freezes. "What," she asks her, until she breaks off into a sudden acceleration. "Damnation! What is happening!" Venetia begins to jog forwards, huffing and puffing. She pauses partway through and draws out a Crest Graph, and...
Then falls behind.
Once most of the group is about twenty yards past Venetia there is that thwum-thwum feeling of her advanced Crest Graphs and then -
LEAP!
Venetia takes a long bounding hop, then a second, then nearly stumbles and rolls over in front of the enemy. She does not actually do so; she does, however, hit a three point stance before dusting herself off and rising to her feet.
<Pose Tracker> Xiumei Klein has posed.
Xiumei follows after Hannah -- and has fallen in next to her wife. She has already changed over into her Biometal's armor: white and light green plating, all arranged over her usual clothing, and with her dark purple hair left to fall free. Her eyes scan across the hills.
They're a bright green, right now; with the Armor, she has holographic lenses over them.
When Xiumei sees the construct stir, she draws in a gasp. A construct, yes, and one with a multitude of lights across it -- and clear signs of having parts taken off it over time. The way that gelatin-like substance is filling where it is missing material...
"...This is very unusual," she says. She is something of an expert on the subject; her family exports ARMs like these.
She falls quiet, when Riesenlied tries to speak to the construct. "Hopefully this works," she says, calmly stepping behind Venetia after that most impressive leave.
She doesn't, immediately, go for a weapon.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
Eleanor Klein has also been visiting with Hannah's orphanage. By now, she's enchanted many a toy with nothing more complex than a brief warm glow--but that enough to make them feel magical to children who have so little to treasure. Even minor spells can be tiring work, and she was eating a great deal to replenish her energy when the news came.
She is in enchanted clothing, because she brought a change of clothes with her to Damzen, a long skirt and a jacket over a cream blouse. Her ARM is at her hip, at the ready--not one made of Dragon Fossils but plated in gold. She is not far from the others, though she is not always as fast as they can be. She is here with Xiumei...
"I'll trust your expertise," Eleanor says to Xiumei and Riesenlied, but...
"But I have a bad feeling..."
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline is absolutely no stranger to running away from places, both in an official and unofficial capacity, so she certainly doesn't have anything to say about Hannah's worries about what counts as 'home'. Her own has changed many times, from the Photosphere to Arctica to Wayside to... well, maybe it's cheating to call an airship home, but that's what it is to her.
Having come to Damzen to see the orphanage, Noeline is in bright spirits. While the children of the Fereshte are always eager to hear her stories and she's gotten rather good at embellishing them, some of them are getting old enough that they're enjoying teasing her if they start to twig the ways in which she's exaggerating, and it's nice to have an audience that hasn't yet learned her tricks.
Returning to Damzen and getting to compare the place with her decades-old memory has also made it feel like they're back on 'holiday', and so she is feeling particularly unhurried as she helps wheel Riesenlied towards the mine. Where her partner is acting out of an abundance of caution, she's simply curious about what they might have found and eager to sneak a peek.
"Congratulations, by the by. Hopefully we are not interrupting an extended honeymoon. A mine is not generally known as a date spot," Noeline notes to the pair next to them, grinning lazily until it's not entirely clear how much she's teasing. She might not know them all that well, but she still keeps up on news around her - even if it's more out of eager habit than out of the anxious necessity to keep up her position as a spy.
What she gets instead is-- far from what she expected. "Oh," she notes eloquently at first, and then clamps her mouth shut when it decides to speak - not because of what it says, but because of the way the living metal curves along its body and reconfigures itself. It might speak common human tongue, but more than anything that sight is what resonates with her and makes it quite clear this robot is of Hyadean construction.
'Perimeter'. "I think we should pause where we are," Noeline notes, crisp and as fast as she can manage while trying to be very, very clear about what she's saying. "I suspect it has designated a specific area as under its protection. Hopefully, so long as we do not step forwards, it will not attackkk--" her voice does a rare hitch as Venetia rolls onto the scene.
She hovers close as Riesenlied attempts to communicate, the ring on her finger gently pulsing with a quiet light as she lends her strength.
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.
Being friendly with the Drifter community generally and exercising some friend-of-a-friend connections is one of the points of looking human. Although, perhaps Azoth does not need that with what's turned out such an open minded crowd. Still, it keeps things less complicated. Mostly.
But a mysterious new relic with a muddy history is something he can't afford to miss, especially one of robotic nature. Even if it were not a matter of primary objectives, there is always the interests of his secondary ones. It is the latter -- thankfully -- that will have to be satisfied today once the data becomes clearer.
"Always good to have more people learning about this kind of thing, I think!" he chirps of Hannah's desire to speak with David about this. "I might be biased, though."
...Maybe not so thankfully. Hannah takes off with her hawk, and Azoth glances toward Ida and Xiumei briefly before hurrying after, coming to an abrupt halt at the sight that awaits. A construct younger than he, from a time after... but a time no less known for its strife.
If beep sequences could be described as hesitant, that's what one might call the sound that Azoth emits. A wireless ping is in it, trying to identify himself and query a machine he was never designed to meet or interact with. As Rieselied speaks, Azoth quiets -- silent both in voice and signal -- keeping back and letting her take the lead.
He casts a hopeful glance from Dragon Tear to Hyadean, but Azoth's also learned Eleanor's feelings aren't to be taken lightly.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida was all too eager to answer Hannah's summons. She's an ARMs Meister, this is an exciting new discovery, and with luck, they can spend a nice afternoon talking shop while investigating it. A good start to a promising weekend.
And then, everything goes south. Ida meets Azoth's gaze with a worried look, and then takes off.
Hannah closes in on the dig site. Ida sprints after her, trailed by a tailwind alight with green motes. Her flannel shirt hangs open, whipping in the wind behind her; her hair has started to come loose from its bun. Her jeans and boots and tank top are already dusty from the wind. She skids to a halt, breathing deeply as she sizes up the scene. "David?" Ida says to the young man, and she takes a half-step forward only to jerk back as the machine reactivates. She holds perfectly still, watching as it reactivates. That's...
"Hyadean?" Ida's brow furrows. "Stay back." A moment later, Venetia... makes a dramatic entrance, and Ida briefly glances to see if she's all right. (She is!)
<Pose Tracker> Holly has posed.
Holly's along for the ride because that's what she does when friends ask for help. She has been hiding under a glorified set of robes that are mostly just wrapped layers of light weight scarfs for anyone else. She's also horribly sunburnt and may have been caught muttering a literal dark storm not too long ago when it started to get bad.
In hindsight she should have been using magic, or any other number of things, but she was being a bit vain and trying to get a tan. This has not gone acording to plan and now she's being miserable (Though only to herself) floating near the group.
"I don't think that's right" She mutters, finally dragging herself around out of the misery long enough to watch its head spin. "Heard about some haunts doing that I think once or twice." She adjusts the clothing and readies herself, just in case. Conjuring up water and.. admittedly taking a drink from the stuff on the sly.
There's a new language to learn..
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Being a frontier town, Damzen City is a great place for people like Josie. There are places in Aquvy where a soul can get into a great deal of trouble quite easily, and that's just the way that Miss Josephine Lovelace likes it.
Especially since her wallet is more than a little bit threadbare these days, so to speak. Fortunately, there's always work to be had for someone with an ARM and really good aim with said ARM (or ARMs, as Josie's own personal armament array can attest), and it so happens that the mines have had a slight, well, Trilobite issue coming in from the desert. Which is to say: Josie's out hunting when lights shine in the near distance. It's enough to bring her in at pace, her stride only quickening as she spots that there are, inexplicably, children here.
Lifting her rifle, she begins to squint one eye closed, clearly prepared to take that first shot, when -- even more inexplicably than the presence of the children -- she spots Riesenlied. There are only a few things that can knock the metaphorical legs out from under Josie.
Riesenlied might be one of them.
She turns her rifle back towards the sand and rock of the desert, her body language in this moment for once nakedly one of someone who doesn't know whether to stand their ground or flee. She doesn't look at Riesenlied a second time.
<Pose Tracker> Unidentified Construct has posed.
From the jump, Riesenlied takes point in communications with the reawakened construct. Its head continues to spin, in ways where one cannot really determine what the 'default' or 'at rest' is, but the more intact lights appear to try and center on her, so there is a bias towards using optical lights that are more functional.
"Secured?" They ask. This is still in 'human' common and passes the whole 'this word is more concise than the native tongue's' bar. "Conflict." Still checks, but there is baseline communication established.
A sharp movement of its head on Venetia's rather awesome entrance from the Advent of the Greatest. "Pulsesiphon method detected. Secured? Conflict." This is terminology that the longer-lived Hyadeans might already be clued into as to what this is and what it's meant to do. Whether it's reassuring to know or not, they appear to be heeding Riesenlied's first words.
Lights sweep to the Biometal armor and the posture changes to account for them with slightly greater weight, but no sign of immediate hostility. Azoth's pings return a series of beeps that do not suggest a viable handshake but confirms the general 'era' of which this construct originates. At one point the lights sweep briefly around Eleanor. "Pulsesiphon instruments present. Secured? Conflict."
The use of 'human' common appears to have been a conscious design choice after all. Curious, but perhaps better explored in less tense times.
The gaze falls upon Ida for another passing moment, and Noeline in turn, before it fixates briefly on the light on Noeline's ring and then later towards Ida's right side. Noeline's and Ida's advice in particular might be sound, as they aren't taking any strides forward to aggressively strike down anyone. You can't really be subtle with a hardened gel axe, and the Metal Demon Wars era of warriors and their machines were not subtle in purpose.
"Engravegraft. Secured? Conflict." They speak again as the lights sweep somewhat aggressively in Holly's direction as she conjures up water, and then another sweep in that very brief period of time where Josie has a weapon raised. Another sweep.
"Anomalous. Insecure."
Lights project from the head-sphere out into projected hexagonal shapes that coalesce into what is identifiably a low-grade forcefield meant for wide area deployment, filling out towards virtually everyone. It detects a threat, unquestionably - but it doesn't seem to determine the gathered as that.
Does it?
"Anomalous. Breathless. Motionless. Spontaneous." It sweeps up to the sky, raising the other arm and discharging a net-like construct that sweeps up into the sky towards Zephyr, appearing to miss and coming down to...
Hannah?!
"Designation Svalinn-class Witchbuster intercepting anomalous sorcerous phenomena." They announce, as the net pulses both with electricity but also remotely released cryogenics to try and dampen the residual heat of the immediate area surrounding Hannah in a suppression field built upon old theories that siphoning heat would stop most sorcerous technique deployment - chilling, breathtaking, and somehow a far, far greater thing of interest compared to the 'Pulsesiphons' and 'Engravecrafts' standing besides Hyadeans and who should be their sworn enemies.
"Securing anomalous, partial success. Vacate perimeter." This one has their priorities, it appears.
OST: Child of Light - Metal Gleamed in the Twilight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olZMC6SKESo
DC: Unidentified Construct switches forms to Svalinn-class Witchbuster!
GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Hannah Curie with Thaumic Suppression Field! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has gained 1 Combo! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Josephine Lovelace with Vitality Augmentation Field! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Holly with Vitality Augmentation Field! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Ida Everstead-Rey with Vitality Augmentation Field! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Azoth with Vitality Augmentation Field! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Riesenlied with Vitality Augmentation Field! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Noeline with Vitality Augmentation Field! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Eleanor Klein with Vitality Augmentation Field! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Xiumei Klein with Vitality Augmentation Field! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Venetia Vuong with Vitality Augmentation Field! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has gained 1 Combo! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has completed their action. GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster heals Xiumei Klein! She gains 92 temporary hit points! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster heals Eleanor Klein! She gains 85 temporary hit points! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster heals Azoth! He gains 96 temporary hit points! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster heals Venetia Vuong! She gains 88 temporary hit points! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster heals Josephine Lovelace! She gains 83 temporary hit points! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster heals Ida Everstead-Rey! She gains 90 temporary hit points! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster heals Riesenlied! She gains 86 temporary hit points! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster heals Noeline! She gains 83 temporary hit points! GS: Hannah Curie takes a solid hit from Svalinn-class Witchbuster's Thaumic Suppression Field for 0 hit points! GS: Hannah Curie's Mute Ward may block the effect! GS: Mute applied to Hannah Curie! GS: Charge!! You gain 30 FP! (That's 15 more than usual!) GS: FP up! Charge bonus activated!
<Pose Tracker> Xiumei Klein has posed.
"A-Ah, thank you!" Xiumei says to Noeline. She smiles for a moment, then shakes her head. "No, we didn't go here for our honeymoon. Not... quite the aesthetic that I had in mind."
She looks back at Eleanor, then her expression darkens for a moment. When Eleanor has a bad feeling, there is often a reason.
She glances sideways at Azoth, then -- and her eyebrows lift, before she smiles at him and lifts a hand. The last time she saw him -- well, she's sad to think of that. But she is relieved to see him, now, and up and about at that.
She looks back at the automaton. She tenses, as it scans her -- and there's a threat, here, but not them. The scan goes on, until it comes across Hannah. Xiumei's eyes widen a little.
"Hannah!" she calls out. "Look out! Riesenlied, is there any way to shut it down?"
She makes her handcannon appear. The AV Buster is aimed, and she fires three rapid bursts of green-white energy for the Witchbuster.
GS: Xiumei Klein has attacked Svalinn-class Witchbuster with AV Buster - Triple Shot! GS: Xiumei Klein has gained 1 Combo! GS: Xiumei Klein's stances have changed to Avenger! GS: Xiumei Klein has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.
Hannah is supremely grateful for Rieselied's and Noeline's visit to her orphanage, and happy--even excited--to have them along for this discovery, even if it wasn't what she invited them here for. It's a chance to show off a little more of Damzen, of the place she still, deep down, calls home. "That's really cool, Miss Riesenlied," she says, of Janey. "Yeah, havin' an imaginination helps with figurin' some of this stuff out, I think." The children at the Damzen orphanage have also been an extremely enthusiastic audience for Noeline's stories, and even Hannah's appreciated hearing them.
She smiles at Xiumei, glad to have her along. "Glad you could make it, Xiumei! That armor still looks really cool." To Eleanor she shares a quiet smile. They've had a lot to talk about, in their time here, so right now all she has to say is a warm, "Thanks for coming to check this out with me."
"Learnin' about old technology is part of why I always wanted to become a drifter," says Hannah to Azoth.
Ida had been one of the first people Hannah had thought to contact, given her proficiency with ARMs (and the fact that they've spent been on quite a few Digs together). She gave her a cheerful greeting when she first arrived, and has been making small talk about various robot possibilitie with her.
Holly gets a sympathetic look from Hannah. "When we get back, Holly, I think we got some lotion that might help with that... Desert sun can be a lot brighter'n most people expect. But thanks for coming along, though."
Venetia wants to know what's going on, and Hannah throws back a "No time!" as she keeps charging down the path.
Hannah gives Riesenlied a brief, hurried nod as she says she'll try to make contact. "Okay." To Noeline she says, "There's still people down there, and they can't understand Zephyr like I do. I gotta get them outta here," she says, moving closer.
She misses Venetia's leap--she's too busy trying to get the attention of the miners and the boy. But she would have been impressed! Likewise, she misses the sight of Josie coming in from a completely different direction.
"David! You'n everyone gotta clear out! It's not safe!" urges Hannah as she approaches.
"Hannah?! What's with your bird, he's actin' all--" responds the young boy.
"Not now!" says Hannah urgently. "Just trust me, that's--"
The robot has been scanning everyone as they arrive, and finally, seems to settle on a target--Zephyr dodges out of the way, but Hannah herself only has enough time to shove David roughly away before turning and trying to face the net--but those lost few moments are enough to leave her caught--electricity and cryogenics both overhwlem her and she's brought to her knees, grunting as she feels her magic, her strength draining from her.
Something is ripping in the air around her, but it also keeps collapsing as a fresh wave of electricity shoots through the netting.
"D-David... run..." she gasps out...
GS: CRITICAL! Svalinn-class Witchbuster solidly guards Xiumei Klein's AV Buster - Triple Shot for 77 hit points! GS: Mighty applied to Xiumei Klein!
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
It's heartening to see so many other familiar faces here, in case things do go wrong. Riesenlied quietly nods to Noeline as she steps up and focuses on her ring to help power her efforst of contact, and indeed, she's already been thinking of how the machine probably has a set zone that it considers to be an area under its protection...
Azoth's wireless ping is sensed by Riesenlied, and she accomodates to move around it -- in this form, she is Light, and the way the machine communicates with its optic lights in turn is something she can handle.
"Hyadean," she reaffirms to Ida too. But she's not entirely familiar with this kind of construct... by the time she was around, there wasn't really anything like this in the Photosphere. But it makes her nervous--
Then she entirely slips when she spots Josie amongst the Drifters. "J-Josie?" she blurts out, mind doing the equivalent of a comedic pratfall at how surprised she is.
It doesn't take long for Riesenlied to cotton onto the machine's seeming methods of speaking. 'Secured? Conflict.' she takes to mean: 'I'm identifying for threats: No, threats are still present.' And the way it uses certain words:
'Pulsesiphon' -- magical methods that draw upon the Ley. Crest Sorcery. "Careful, everyone!" she calls out, "I believe this machine detects sorcerous methods, such as Crest Sorcery and -- well, my Ley Channeling as well. I will continue to try, Xiumei. And..."
Engravecraft. Medium Arcana? Or...
Her eyes widen, however, when the construct throws a net around Hannah and tries to suppress her. "H-Hannah! David! Hold on-- ah, I do not have an effective way to convey intent with this machine... Azoth, have you had more success on your end?" She sounds a bit at a loss, but she has to keep trying. She'll have to rely on others to evacuate people -- the best and most immediate thing she can contribute is...
She redoubles her efforts on the Dragon's Tear. "<Abort! Belay that order, please! The anomaly is not hostile!>" she tries the vague language of cancellation. Then, she hesitates, and goes for the utter long shot:
"<I evoke my authority as a daughter of Siegfried, and a devoted servant of Mother!>"
... there's no reason it should work, but by infering its relative age and its purpose (dealing with the magics that Hyadeans struggle with), perhaps...
GS: Riesenlied has attacked Svalinn-class Witchbuster with Respect Mom's Authority! GS: Riesenlied has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Venetia Vuong has posed.
Venetia's gaze rests upon the machine as Riesenlied palavers with it. No objection from Venetia on that front; it looks bad enough. Venetia looks towards Noeline and Riesenlied even as she dusts off her own shoulder. Azoth also receives a firm nod.
Ida, and past Ida, Holly, get a more thoughtful look. The question of David comes up. Venetia folds her arms.
The creature speaks! To her. Venetia points at her nose. She glances towards Riesenlied. Then once again towards Eleanor and Xiumei. Her lips purse to the side as words come out. Secured and conflict. Unusual terms in this space.
"A what, exactly," Venetia says flatly when the entity Designates itself because she doesn't like that third (or fourth, depending on how you dice it) word at all. But it's a reflexive sort of thing because a net is descending on Hannah. "Oh no you don't!" Venetia says, although her defiance doesn't take the form, for once, of a horrifying magical blast.
No: She remembers a mistake she made and only just didn't pay for, just the other day.
A Crest Graph is drawn and a ripple of ruby-liquid light forms helices that sink down onto Hannah -- through the net, perhaps. Venetia looks towards the thing as Riesenlied addresses it - "Tell it to stand down!" she exhorts Riesenlied, which may not be the most helpful way to react...
GS: Venetia Vuong has attacked Hannah Curie with Persephone Sign ~Death Defiance~! GS: Venetia Vuong has gained 1 Combo! GS: Venetia Vuong has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
"You're always welcome," Eleanor answers Hannah.
"Oh, not at all," Eleanor answers Noeline seemingly guilelessly. "Though we do hope to get away again soon, I was mostly here to support my friend..." She smiles. Then she laughs a little at Xiumei. "Not quite, no."
But for the construct, Eleanor still has a bad feeling. She doesn't notice Josie, at first. She does follow Noeline's advice about pausing. "Pulsesiphon... Referring to instruments that can draw on the Ley, perhaps?" she wonders. But suddenly--"Zephyr, look out--!"
"Hannah!?"
Eleanor notes in some alarm the other people in danger. She rushes them, past the field, towards where Hannah is, and lifts her hand as she does. "Cleansing waters, come down in a deluge!"
With a shining Light that is not quite Crest Sorcery, her Crest is invoked and doubled Muse brings waves and waves of water down upon the construct, one after another, to try to slow it from getting to Hannah. "Venetia--!"
Venetia seems to have some defense covered, at least.
GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Svalinn-class Witchbuster with Rain! GS: Eleanor Klein has completed her action. GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster solidly guards Eleanor Klein's Rain for 49 hit points! GS: FP up! Arcane Font activated!
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"I think children are simply more predisposed towards tinkering around in general. Mechanics is all about curiosity as to how things work, after all. ... though I suppose that same line of logic should apply to biology, and yet it doesn't exactly have the same allure," Noeline muses, more to fill the time in as Riesenlied attempts to communicate. She even snorts for good measure at Xiumei's comment. "You never know. Drifters are an unusual lot."
Her voice edges towards something more serious as Ida warns people to keep back and Holly pauses in concern. "... it is old, terribly so. How long have you been here, guarding this little spot?" she wonders, almost under her breath. "Were you forgotten, left during an exfiltration? I'd almost be a little envious but for the fact you used your time by simply staying still."
The idle musings abruptly give way as the robot begins to-- scan them? Noeline is fully aware that she should know the terminology, that the terms ring a faint bell from old training regimens and Photosphere databases, but it's been over a century since she ever had to think about some of the designations being used. In more than one way, it was a whole other lifetime ago.
What drives it home are the words 'Engravecraft', and the way the beam suddenly hones in on the light from her ring, and several little pieces of the puzzle building in her head go click-click-click into place just as it introduces itself as a Witchbuster. "The two of us need to leave now," she cuts urgently into Riesenlied's attempts to communicate. Riesenlied channels the Ley as a matter of course and has a Medium grafted into her body. Noeline is for all attempts and purposes a living Medium, the pieces of it long since shattered and mixed fully into her living metal.
Something tells her they only have so long before the robot works out its Conflicts and designates them as a threat, and it's not like either of them can simply turn off their selves.
It's too late, and Noeline swears under her breath as Hannah is brought down under a net of electricity. Riesenlied's warning to the others comes just in time; rather than tread the same ground she darts forwards, flickering through the air as the power of Duras Drum starts to lightly obscure her form. Generally speaking, Noeline does not use sorcery directly - she prefers to channel it through herself - and she's kind of making things up as she goes as she tears at the net. It's not strong, but it is flashy and obvious...
... because she's trying to bait it onto her and off of Hannah. "Ida! You may have some luck as well!"
GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster solidly guards Riesenlied's Respect Mom's Authority for 0 hit points! GS: Noeline has attacked Svalinn-class Witchbuster with Material Adept - D-Dorkness?! GS: Noeline has gained 1 Combo! GS: Noeline has completed her action. GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster suffers a terrible blow from Noeline's Material Adept - D-Dorkness? for 84 hit points! GS: FP up! Arcane Font activated!
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
That's not something made by humans. Or natives of Filgaia, for that matter.
Josie's a dab hand at taking machinery apart in general, and she's gotten more than a little experienced than most in disassembling the machinery of the lost civilizations of Filgaia. And while it's true that Zeboim technology can be strange--
Yeah. She went into the Photosphere, among other things. That's definitely Hyadean tech, and it's scanning the lot of them. Which means that this is about to get messy.
...Probably. If there isn't a particular flavor of intervention.
She pointedly doesn't look at Riesenlied or Noeline.
"--It ain't what you're thinking!" she shouts instead. "We've got bigger fish to fry than--"
Getting out in front of whatever might be about to go down between the three of them (Noeline included) is a matter that rather quickly falls by the wayside as the machine stops at merely scanning and turns towards outright hostility, as far as Hannah goes. "Dammit!" Josie barks, and her first reaction still is not to take a shot at it. "Lightning, is it? Let's see how you like it! O, thou...!"
Her arm snaps forward. "--Lightning!" Josie only bothers with the incantation sometimes, and now, it seems, is pressing enough for her to do it properly. She throws the bolt of lightning forward for the Witchbuster as it it were a javeling -- albeit a crackling and sparking javelin.
GS: Josephine Lovelace has attacked Svalinn-class Witchbuster with Bolt Lance! GS: Josephine Lovelace has gained 1 Combo! GS: Josephine Lovelace has completed her action. GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster solidly guards Josephine Lovelace's Bolt Lance for 48 hit points! GS: Mighty applied to Josephine Lovelace! GS: FP up! Arcane Font activated!
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
The robot hasn't done anything hostile yet, but it doesn't necessarily need to be hostile to hurt someone. Ida keeps it in sight as she sizes up the newcomers--everyone here can handle themselves, and get David and the others to safety if need be. "It's thinking to itself," she says, as the machine speaks. "Scanning. But what's it scanning for...?"
Sorcery, Riesenlied explains. "That's it," Ida says, as it clicks into place. She's heard those terms used by modern Hyadeans, even. A little antiquated, but...
Then it gets personal.
Ida's left side is indistinguishable from her right, scars and other typical asymmetries aside. Her brow furrows as the machine stares her down, and her right hand clenches in a fist. "Somehow," she says, "I don't think this is a gatherer drone." She glances back to Hannah, and the moment she does, the net launches. Ida has a split-second to react, and she does by rushing at David, trying to put herself between him and the drone. "Get out of here!" she shouts, to him and the miners. "We'll help her! Go, go!"
Noeline... has an idea. Maybe a bad one, but Ida has to try. "All right!" Ida thrusts her right hand forward, twisting so it's out of view of David and the miners. Flesh warps; bone and muscle expand. Human tissue is shunted aside for its Hyadean counterpart as Ida's hand becomes Fafnir's. She spreads much longer fingers, and speaks.
"Shut down and begin diagnostic, by command of Fafnir, Commander, Ash Legion. In Mother's name." There are so many things that can go wrong here. Ida's voiceprint is wildly different, as is her face, her pupils, every biometric marker aside from those localized in her hand. But she has to try.
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has attacked Svalinn-class Witchbuster with By the Authority of Legion Commander! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has gained 1 Combo! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has completed her action. GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster solidly guards Ida Everstead-Rey's By the Authority of Legion Commander for 0 hit points! GS: FP up! Guard bonus activated!
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.
Azoth smiles back at Xiumei and waves, with absolutely no indication that the last time they saw each other ever happened. But he knows, surely! He spoke to her of it and did not deny it. There's a lot he can't explain -- but he can show what he's capable of, and hope the data sticks.
And if things were not about to swing toward disaster, Azoth might be more inclined to pick Hannah's brain about what her interest in old technology is. No such luck.
As predicted, a handshake cannot be established so simply. Without compatible connection, Azoth is left with the struggle of informal language. This Hyadean mining robot may be feeling a similar frustration. (Does it feel? You cannot ask Azoth to assume it does not.) Query: secured? Answer: no. Azoth observes the construct's mannerisms as it assesses the group, trying to read into its patterns of operaton.
Query: secured? Answer: no. An anomaly is finally identified. They're scanned. Azoth runs his own, less visibly lighted, but his eyes shining with a soft gradiant. It's guarding them? Why? From what? ... From Hannah? Wait, why --
Azoth looks to Riesenlied with guilty urgency, shaking his head. "No, I can't establish identification. We're designed very differently, but I'll keep trying to get through to it!" That's the most he can promise, attention back on the Witchbuster.
Bright ARM energy forms, his data made manifest. Only one blade, cleaving through the forcfield. But the rest remains in pixelated form, like blocky motes orbiting his body. Periodically, they fire out, pelting into the Witchbuster as he tests it for potential openings.
GS: Azoth has attacked Svalinn-class Witchbuster with Calculating...! GS: Azoth enters a Counter stance! GS: Azoth has gained 2 Combo! GS: Azoth has completed his action. GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster solidly guards Azoth's Calculating... for 38 hit points! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster's Jam Ward may block the effect! GS: Jam blocked! GS: FP up! Guard bonus activated!
<Pose Tracker> Holly has posed.
Holly gives the machine a wry look when it focuses those lights on her suddenly. There's a muttered, "I've broken prettier toys." which then leads to a vaguely guilty look, but she doesn't ellaborate there.
A look sidelong to Hannah and the mention of something to do about fixing the sunburn is met with a grateful nod, but a simple, "I made the mistake, it's a good lesson to learn." Which means she's being prideful and probably a bit dumb. Somehow she didn't think having a 200 year indoor tan wouldn't be fixable by just hanging out in the nice hot desert sun without worry. You can be as smart as you want and still make really stupid decisions though.
Though when it jerks it's aim upwards, she's trying to conjure up.. conjure up what? There's a scowl and she misses her chance to stop it before it lands. Darting over to place herself between the marauding machine and a friend. That water's gone black with ink. Streaking before her and ready to catch anything she can.
The fact that there's a kid nearby kind of skews things though and she adjusts, trying to watch the machine. Trying to do what she can to protect both. Even if there's a bias in mind at who's more important.
For now though? Do what you've got to do right? It's using sensors, trying to scan and grab them all. Blot them all! The ink is conjured up, more and more and.. it's pretty straight forward really. It's sprayed out in a shotgun blast of ink at the machine. It's also Holly which means there's velocity and raw magic mixed in because subtlety's a long lost art at the moment.
GS: Holly has attacked Svalinn-class Witchbuster with Ink Spill! GS: Holly has gained 2 Combo! GS: Holly has completed her action. GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster takes a solid hit from Holly's Ink Spill for 45 hit points! GS: Blind applied to Svalinn-class Witchbuster! GS: Shield applied to Holly! GS: FP up! Guard bonus activated!
<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.
Hannah hasn't gotten to see Xiumei's armor in action yet. It would be really cool to see that arm canon fire if she wasn't so... distracted.
Riese is doing her best to pull rank with the robot. David had stumbled and fallen when Hannah pushed him to safety, and he's staring, wide-eyed, at Hannah as she is suppressed. Riese calling his name does draw his attention for a moment. "Miss Risenlied, what--"
Zephyr seemed to evade the net--finely honed avian instincts, perhaps, or just an awareness of the skly around him. He swoops down to chirp to Eleanor to let her know he's okay, before turning back to nip at David's shirt and tug in it with a squawk.
David does start to get up, but is stopped, again, but the sight of all of the powers and magic flying around. Especially that flashy, improvised magic. "Miss Noeline...?" He starts to run to run, only to see Josephine, whom he recognizes from being hired to help clear out a couple of the mines. "Miss, you should--"
Oh. Lightning. Magic. That's... probably fine, then.
The push from Ida finally gets through to David, and he turns to run, along with the rest of the miners who have decided, collectively, that this is way above their pay grade. But the flash of ARM data draws David's attention, interested as he is in technology, and he stares at the display Azoth makes. "What in the world..."
Just who are all these people Hannah's brought here?!
A final squawk from Zephyr gets him to retreat. Or at least to get out of view.
Holly swoops in to stand between Hannah and the Witchbuster. Hannah is shivering under the cryogenic freeze and the disruptive effect of the nets, but Holly's protection does strengthen her resolve.
There is a ruby-liquid light that comes for Hannah, courtesy of Venetia, through the net--it struggles to pierce through the field, but it does sink in, and Hannah starts to straighten up a bit, drawing strength from it.
And Hannah isn't the only thing getting stronger. She's struggling, straining to stand up from under the net. But in the air around her is that odd rippling in her aura that sometimes manifests when she's stressed--or in a fire fight. But the air itself is starting to shimmer now, little distortions appearing in crackling lines all round her body as she slowly, inexorably, rises to her feet.
"N-no...." She grunts as she finally gets to one knee. "Y-you..." She's standing, but hunched over now. The net is still pouring out its cryogenic payload, but the mist is starting to blow distinctly away from her, as if being pushed out.
There is a final surge as she stands, finally. Not just in her legs but in the aura around her as the air crackles. She tears through the net with something more than her strength, and as it falls aside of her and she can look up to her mechanical foe...
Her eyes are shining a bright green.
"Don't!" she snarls.
GS: Venetia Vuong heals Hannah Curie! She gains 86 temporary hit points! GS: Restore! Mute removed! GS: FP up! Venetia Vuong's Reload! activated! GS: Hannah Curie has attacked Hannah Curie with Manifestation! GS: Hannah Curie has gained 4 Combo! GS: Hannah Curie's stances have changed to Avenger! GS: Hannah Curie gains 10 FP from her Daredevil! GS: Hannah Curie has completed her action. GS: Hannah Curie accepts Hannah Curie's Manifestation for 0 hit points! GS: Surge applied to Hannah Curie! <Pose Tracker> Svalinn-class Witchbuster has posed.
"Securing. Vacate." The Witchbuster is unmoved by Hannah's distress, and seeming tunnel-visioned focus upon her 'anomalous' nature, but their innumerable number of eyes do sweep the sky anew in the direction of wherever Zephyr may be going. "Elasticity unknown. Range unknown."
Xiumei is quickest to the draw to Hannah's defense, and green-white energy is two-thirds intercepted by the hardgel axe blade, the last one striking into its shoulder. It doesn't bounce off with a 'plink,' so that's a good sign. "Insecure."
An immediate counterattack appears averted as Eleanor brings waves of water down upon it, battering against its form. Some of the ambient moisture is absorbed into the gelatinous mass that's still working on reversing the whole 'being congealed and dried' problem it had going for centuries. It's a wonder of Hyadean chemical engineering that the stuff can even be used now - and it gives further cover to allow Venetia to apply her 'Pulsesiphon' specialty into helping Hannah.
"Hostile Engravegraft detect--" It fizzles some as the Bolt Lance from Josie courses through the gelatin, electrically charged particles within the hardgel conducting it through the substance and damaging some of its integrity and working with Eleanor's absorbed Rain to help with this, perhaps stopped only because it hasn't had much time to fully form connections into sensitive areas where it would've been even more effective. It rears back and meets...
"Shaman? Inconclusive." The vocal delivery is flat for when Noeline's conjured darkness carves clean through those defenses, as Duras Drum's blessing (or passive acknowledgement, whatever) takes them by complete surprise. "Anomalous. Securing following present priority."
A hardgel limb reaches out to take in the calculating shots from Azoth's attempt to probe for an opening, limiting the damages and possible partial shutdowns to shuntable, ejectable smaller mechanisms within the gelatinous coating.
Holly flings ink at it, and many of those eye-lights get coated in the stuff as it rears back from the shotgun-like force, Holly's much smaller size making it harder to track in the sea of actions and actors. "Further hostile Engravegraft detected--"
There is something to be said for trying to pull authority, as Riese and Ida both make spirited attempts and invocations to get them to stand down.
"Abort command denied. Anomaly is classified threat in all contexts. Specific identification requested." Riesenlied likely does not have the credentials by her specific name, beyond earning it a moment where it inquires.
The authority of Fafnir, Commander, Ash Legion is invoked, as those eyes sweep upon Faf-- nir? "Biometric data inconclusive. Voiceprint match... 38 percent. Measuring against urgency." Um? "Situation critical and uncertainty within emergency parameters. Acknowledging limited likelihood of authenticity." This is good!! They're listening. "Authorized to disclose superceding directive from Quarter Knight Alhazred - secure anomalous for identification and processing. Mission statement of Svalinn-class Witchbuster to remain through operative lifespan. Legion Commander Fafnir is requested to vacate and entrust operation of anomalous neutralization and capture to unit."
They absolutely cannot 'entrust' this, even with the spectre of that awful creature now merely haunting one's nightmares.
<Pose Tracker> Svalinn-class Witchbuster has posed.
Any further attempts to speak with the Witchbuster to get them to stand down suddenly is met with a series of indecipherable beeps - Azoth can share that's robot for cusswords, these are definitely robot cusswords - as Hannah breaks free and power overtakes her.
(There's a Water Seraph out in a well somewhere by the orphanage who is suddenly stopping what he's doing, crawling out, and looking up like he knows there's something wrong now. But he's all the way, way, way, way away from here.)
"Danger." That is saying it very succinctly!!! Though its field has been more or less pierced through (people can go 'nyah nyah' and jump back behind it to mitigate harm, if they feel like gaming it), a free arm sweeps out and produces another protective field with a faint 'pushing' effect for the likes of Riesenlied and Ida. "Safety of the Legion Commander and codename Daughter of Siegfried is within mission parameters. Vacate. Vacate."
Those eyes not inked start to build in intensity as attempts are made to re-route power to where they can see, scanning over the lot of them. From there...
Smaller spheres are ejected from the gelatinous mass towards Holly and Josie that explode into obnoxious vapors that is a cocktail of chemical irritants, as if trying to get in the way of one of the two primary components of invoking a Symbological spell.
The non-axe arm extrudes a semi-solid blade that lances out for Eleanor and Venetia, as if probing and seeking where they may be keeping their 'Pulsesiphon' tools.
The blade becomes liquid and recedes into a cannon, firing out concussive blasts in Azoth's direction before sweeping out and trying to bludgeon Noeline, leaning in the direction of 'if Shaman, probably human and soft after all, clobber.'
The axe arm sweeps outward for Xiumei's position, flaking from instability of un-congealed chunks of hardened gel that sloshes around in there, and finally...
"Deploying Thaumicanalytic Siphon." The presently-a-cannon-arm thrusts into the mass of Hannah's growing power - as if trying to reach out and then engulf her in a fourteen-fingered net-hand of semisolid gel as electrical shocks try to dampen or siphon power across a scientific method or means that its engineers struggled to comprehend to bridge to whatever this is like its mission depends on it.
GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Ida Everstead-Rey with Kinetic Augmentation Field! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Riesenlied with Kinetic Augmentation Field! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has gained 1 Combo! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Josephine Lovelace with Volatile Chemical Bombs! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Holly with Volatile Chemical Bombs! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has gained 1 Combo! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has activated a Boss Action! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Eleanor Klein with Semisolid Hardgel Blade! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Venetia Vuong with Semisolid Hardgel Blade! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has gained 2 Combo! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Azoth with Concussion Blast! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Noeline with Clobber! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Xiumei Klein with Flaking Hardgel Axe! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has gained 1 Combo! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster spends 2 Combo on Headshot! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Hannah Curie with Thaumicanalytic Siphon! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has gained 2 Combo! GS: CRITICAL! Riesenlied accepts Svalinn-class Witchbuster's Kinetic Augmentation Field for 0 hit points! GS: Quick applied to Riesenlied! GS: FP up! Gleam activated! GS: Gamble: Very High! Eleanor Klein suffers a terrible blow from Svalinn-class Witchbuster's Semisolid Hardgel Blade for 168 hit points! GS: Mute applied to Eleanor Klein! GS: FP up! Countermeasures activated! GS: CRITICAL! Noeline solidly guards Svalinn-class Witchbuster's Clobber for 66 hit points! GS: FP up! Power Burst activated! GS: Josephine Lovelace partially evades Svalinn-class Witchbuster's Volatile Chemical Bombs for 62 hit points! GS: Misery inflicts a random effect! Shieldbreak applied to Josephine Lovelace! GS: FP up! Countermeasures and Evade bonus activated! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Svalinn-class Witchbuster with Sensor Sweep! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster enters a Counter stance! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has gained 2 Combo! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has completed their action. GS: Gamble: Lowest! Venetia Vuong takes a solid hit from Svalinn-class Witchbuster's Semisolid Hardgel Blade for 88 hit points! GS: Venetia Vuong's Mute Ward may block the effect! GS: Mute blocked! GS: Xiumei Klein takes a solid hit from Svalinn-class Witchbuster's Flaking Hardgel Axe for 152 hit points! GS: Mute applied to Xiumei Klein! GS: FP up! Guard bonus activated! GS: Holly takes a solid hit from Svalinn-class Witchbuster's Volatile Chemical Bombs for 74 hit points! GS: Misery inflicts a random effect! Weaken applied to Holly! GS: COUNTER! Azoth counterattacks Svalinn-class Witchbuster with Exploit Detected! GS: Azoth solidly guards Svalinn-class Witchbuster's Concussion Blast for 127 hit points! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey accepts Svalinn-class Witchbuster's Kinetic Augmentation Field for 0 hit points! GS: Quick applied to Ida Everstead-Rey!
<Pose Tracker> Xiumei Klein has posed.
Xiumei smiles back at Azoth. Did she learn what he is capable of?
The lesson she learned, though, may not be the one he hoped for. But some things, even if she knows them intellectually, aren't things she is quite prepared to accept.
Strange, then, that they're facing the Witchbuster going so doggedly after Hannah. Xiumei hopes it will be enough, when Riesenlied commands it. It isn't. Her energy blasts are intcepted by a swing of its axeblade, save one that scores a hit.
Doable, then, Xiumei thinks.
She looks sideways at Eleanor, then. "Why Hannah?" she asks, with a flash of concern as she sees those green eyes. There is something more to her; something Xiumei doesn't understand. "Is there something we can do to redirect its attention?" She looks to Davey, too -- worried, for a moment, that he isn't moving. She glances in his direction.
Moving, thanks to Ida. Good.
She needs to move, too, she thinks, as the axe arm sweeps down. Xiumei ducks to the side, realizes it isn't enough, and then makes four swirling barriers of light appear. They swing up, one catching the axe blade and just keeping it from crushing her.
Then, they explode off her in a shockwave of energy that rolls across the Witchbuster.
GS: Xiumei Klein has attacked Svalinn-class Witchbuster with Cross Barrier - Shock Burst! GS: Xiumei Klein has gained 1 Combo! GS: Xiumei Klein has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Venetia Vuong has posed.
"A noble claim," Venetia answers Holly, "but we barely know what this damn thing is! It could be just as much a person as he is, for all I know. Let Riesenlied try to talk it down --" Of course others are attacking it, but the attacks do not seem overwhelming. And it did, in fact, put its focus on Hannah, who is also, most decidedly, at a disadvantage.
So Venetia's criticism remains in passing. Her eyes stay on the 'Witchbuster'. She slides her Crest Graph back into its pouch before the speaking thing sweeps a hand outwards, strangely fluid yet rigid. Controlling the state of matter?
As if hearing her thought, a spiking lance streaks outwards. Venetia flinches, and so she is spared the assault, but the blade pierced downwards -- and as she shifts, the leather of her Crest Pouch, durable and well loved as it is, *falls apart*. A good half-dozen Crest Graphs, one of the smaller ones visibly dented in, fall down onto the ground in a clatter and scatter. Thankfully, this is not a volcano, but Venetia looks down at them --
'No!' Thinks Venetia, as a sort of hot focus falls on her. 'Falling to my feet and sweeping them up -- that's foolishness. The sort of thing a novice would do. I have a Crest in my hand! That's all that I need to silence this thing until they can disable its power connections or talk it into sense!'
Then Xiumei asks a question.
"I have an idea," Venetia says, marching *towards* the thing even as it orients some sort of gimcrack or whootsits towards Hannah. Her head lowers down and there is, indeed, an intense beat of pulse-siphoning going on as she says, "Neither a lender nor a borrower be."
?
"The scales of the cosmos cannot be changed... by those without courage!"
??
Venetia tilts her head back. "COME FORTH, SHAPE OF THE SOUL!" Venetia thunders further. The Crest Graph is held upwards; "SIMULACRUM--"
And that shape rises out of her, diaphanous but *all too solid*. There really is not much of a warning before a single thrusting straight followed by a two-second barrage of jabs that may feel much longer to its recipient surges outwards towards the main body of the amorphous weapon.
GS: Venetia Vuong has attacked Svalinn-class Witchbuster with Simulacrum Sign ~Velvet Underground~! GS: Venetia Vuong has gained 2 Combo! GS: Venetia Vuong's stances have changed to Hero! GS: Venetia Vuong has completed her action. GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster accepts Svalinn-class Witchbuster's Sensor Sweep for 0 hit points! GS: Shield applied to Svalinn-class Witchbuster! GS: Riposte applied to Svalinn-class Witchbuster! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster solidly guards Azoth's Exploit Detected for 81 hit points! GS: Hyper applied to Azoth! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster solidly guards Xiumei Klein's Cross Barrier - Shock Burst for 49 hit points! GS: Cover, Hyper, and Riposte applied to Xiumei Klein! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster takes a solid hit from Venetia Vuong's Simulacrum Sign ~Velvet Underground~ for 155 hit points! GS: FP up! Arcane Font activated!
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
Holly's protectiveness is noted by Eleanor. She remembers what she said about Milly, after all.
But it would seem that the peaceful approach, even by demands, is not working. "Hannah!" Eleanor calls in dismay, as she watches her friend labor under the dampening field. But she sees the air shimmer, strange distortions appearing...
"Hannah...?"
The strange 'something' in her magic. And there, her eyes shine green. This, this must be it--
But before Eleanor can say much more, the blade lashes out at her; it doesn't hit her Crest pouch, secure in her jacket, but it does hit her hard, slicing through the other side of her jacket and gets a hiss of pain from the Sage. Then, a siphon...
"...We have to take it out," Eleanor says. "I'll back you up, everyone!"
Eleanor does not pull her Crest--it would be dangerous to expose it, given that the thing seems to understand them well--but she can still draw upon it, placing a hand over the Crest Pouch and extending the other to the heavens. "Starry heaven, stop by my will and turn back the hands of time! Reversion!"
There is a lurching feeling as Eleanor completes the spell, and a gigantic spectral clock appears, beginning to rotate in counterclockwise direction. The effects that were inflicted are simply unmade, and a shimmering green light appears over each combatant affected, anchoring them to something greater.
"I... There's something--" Eleanor hesitates to explain to Xiumei in front of everyone, instead saying, "For now, we save her! Questions come later!"
But from what are they saving her?
"Hang on, Hannah!"
GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Xiumei Klein with Reversion! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Holly with Reversion! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Josephine Lovelace with Reversion! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Eleanor Klein with Reversion! GS: Eleanor Klein has gained 2 Combo! GS: Eleanor Klein has completed her action. GS: Eleanor Klein accepts Eleanor Klein's Reversion for 0 hit points! GS: Restore! Mute removed! GS: Lock state applied to Eleanor Klein! GS: FP up! Gleam activated!
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied trusts Venetia to protect the people with her quick action, even if she fears her Crest Sorcery might initiate another hostile action from the machine -- but it's better than doing nothing. "Trying my best," she calls out to the Sorceress. "But-- be ready."
"Yes, I think so. Please exercise extra caution," Riesenlied urges Eleanor, knowing that at least a majority of her means involves Crest Sorcery. Perhaps overloading it with so many sources at once could be a way to confuse it, but at the same time...
It may provoke it to greater means of violence.
Noeline comes to the same conclusion, but it's far too late. "We can prevent more damage staying here, than leaving," Riesenlied advises Noeline, who's already working a flashy manoeuvre to try to attract its attention... will it backfire?
Ida evokes Fafnir's authority, and she appreciates the tandem effort -- Azoth isn't having any more luck on his end, given the vastly different designs. "It is okay. We can but keep trying..."
The more venues they can try, the more chances they have, like throwing several dozens of darts at a dartboard: hopefully, one of them will hit.
Riesenlied's attempt to negotiate with the machine comes across an awfully obvious roadblock that has her mentally hitting herself for not realising it earlier: The machine is, of course, keyed to recognising specific identities, and...
And she hasn't been born for a few centuries yet.
Ida's attempt gets her a bit further in, and yet... Ida's voice is not entirely Fafnir's voice. But they are clued in to the directives of the machine -- and her blood runs cold again when she hears a certain person's name.
"... even after all this time, we cannot help but leave problems behind," Riesenlied dourly murmurs. But there's an overwhelming burst of power, as Hannah rips through the net with something other than her strength, crackling lines and distortions happening all around her body, her eyes glowing green.
"H-Hannah..." she whispers. She shakes her head, then calls out, "I apologise, everyone, but I do not think we possess the proper means to have it stand down."
If only Father were here. He could defuse this whole situation. There's no time for that regret, though.
A sigh of resignation, then a flash of light -- and the crystal sword is in her hand once more. "... I am sorry. You are only designed to do what you were made to do... but I will correct the mistakes Alhazred have left upon this world."
She reflects on how much like Avril she feels at the moment. Then, she closes her eyes, then focuses, signifying herself as an anomalous signature as she channels the ambient Ley and focuses it upon the tip of her crystal sword--
"Life is but a fleeting moment...
Once more, seek thy repose!"
She slashes at thin air--
"Stasis Sword!"
--and a Ghost Sword of ephemeral, translucent ice rips out of the ground at the machine's feet.
GS: Riesenlied has attacked Svalinn-class Witchbuster with Ley Artes - Stasis Sword! GS: Riesenlied has completed her action. GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster suffers a terrible blow from Riesenlied's Ley Artes - Stasis Sword for 133 hit points! GS: FP up! Arcane Font activated! GS: Riesenlied drains Svalinn-class Witchbuster! Riesenlied gains 74 temporary hit points! GS: CRITICAL! Xiumei Klein accepts Eleanor Klein's Reversion for 0 hit points! GS: Restore! Mute removed! GS: Lock state applied to Xiumei Klein!
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.
This machine is only trying to do what they were designed for, following the instructions of their programming. There is an objective at hand, and it must be fulfilled. Observation determines that this means 'protecting' those present from Hannah. Whether this is because of an error or a different issue altogether has to come later -- a threat in all contexts is a serious accusation to be making.
...Azoth sees the way Hannah reacts, notes how the atmosphere shifts, and he doubts there is any error involved. But Azoth has his own objectives. The ones behind the overrides. The ones the overrides see no reason to interfere with today. These objectives have nothing against sorcery.
It does not dull the ache in his core when Witchbuster still seeks to defend Ida, with Fafnir, and Riese.
A concussive blast smashes into his chassis, shattering an energy shield erected not a fraction of a moment too soon. A second follows, blasting into Azoth's shoulder and then the next, jostling him back as his feet dig into the earth to hold his ground. For each shot fired, he mirrors an echo of its data, pulsing in a pale shadow of counterfire.
He's not finished. A gleam of energy surges through his arm. Arcs of blue-fuchsia crawl over the limb, joint rattling as Azoth uses his other arm to force it steady. Circuitry burns on his palm, his fingers gripped in like a claw. An ethereal cord of his signature light shoots out and tries to bite into the Witchbuster, drilling in with rings of spinning code to try and forcibly establish its own port.
To all of Witchbuster's explanation, Azoth tries to issue but one counter command:
"Desist."
Data floods in, erratic and distorted -- some might call it corruptive. While even Azoth does not calculate he can get this command obeyed in full, the attempt may still dampen some of Witchbuster's functions.
GS: Azoth has activated Force Action: Lock On! GS: Azoth spends 2 Combo on Headshot! GS: Azoth has attacked Svalinn-class Witchbuster with Crosstalk! GS: Azoth has completed his action. GS: CRITICAL! Svalinn-class Witchbuster takes a solid hit from Azoth's Crosstalk for 161 hit points! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster's Jam Ward may block the effect! GS: Jam applied to Svalinn-class Witchbuster! GS: Hyper applied to Azoth! GS: Strain! Azoth takes 86 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline's head snaps up towards Josie's shout; she clearly recognizes the voice, but to be honest she's still not certain what there is to say and she's a trifle busy trying to do something mildly (but not completely) reckless. In the moment it is something she sets aside for later. Privately, she rather appreciates the burst of lightning, even if it's likely to make their job in getting the thing to calm down a little harder.
She nods to herself as Riesenlied and Ida continue to press the attack on a more logistical level. Noeline has no illusions about what her place was back in the Photosphere; she was never strictly part of any chain of command, someone quite literally designed to work from the shadows. She's grown past that, of course, and she's secure and content in that growth. But 'everything is different now' won't work as a particularly convincing argument after this robot has been stuck in a mine for many centuries, and not when that sheer difference in time is what is disrupting their attempts.
The boy, bless his soul, is a little too distracted by the sudden light shows to just immediately get out of the way. Noeline can't really blame him; she has enough experience as a parent to know how easy it is for a child to freeze in fear, but at least he manages to scramble just in time before the robot really starts resolving its conflicts and uncertainties. Somewhere behind her there's a yell from Hannah, but she can't really afford to look back - not if she properly wants to sell herself as the sorcerous threat that needs to be resolved first.
"Shaman, definitive," she quips back to the robot's musing. Maybe if she can't get it to treat her as a prime threat, she can at least try to overload its logic. "A Hyadean Shaman of Duras Drum, carrying their Medium. Favored by Siegfried." She knows it's somewhat of an empty taunt; whatever is going on with Hannah has been shuffled right to the top of the priority list. The Hyadeans of old didn't exactly build their machines for flexibility of thought, she thinks to herself a little sourly.
She gets a lot more sour when it reveals its maker, and she slowly draws in a breath as it refuses to comply with their orders. One Metal Demon in _particular_ was not known for any kind of flexibility whatsoever. Or decency. "Of course it would be him," she mutters, and suddenly feels a whole lot better about the possibility of having to scrap the robot in front of them.
The fist swung towards her shifts with living metal, but she does the same; in the blink of an eye there's a giant slab of metal in her hands that masquerades as a sword, the sheet of metal almost the same size as she is and planted firmly in the way of the attack. There's a grunt of effort, but she's braced for the attack, taking it straight on without giving ground.
"... we are not him," she notes solemnly to Riesenlied. She's not angry or upset, it's just a point that needs restating - for both their sakes. "Nor are we responsible for his deeds. Our decision to correct them is one we make ourselves." A moment of shared understanding flashes through her eyes nonetheless, as they both pause to mark the relic from even before their past.
Then she plants a foot against the blade of her sword, kicking it up into the air and spinning with the motion. "You've got more problems than just Hannah," she adds as she drives forwards with the momentum. The move is not terribly flashy: it's just a spinning slash. But it has Hyadean strength behind it, the sheer weight of the blade, and an edge of living metal. And if she gives it a bit of an extra push for Alhazred's memory, that's fine too.
GS: Noeline has attacked Svalinn-class Witchbuster with Material Adept - Sky Splitter! GS: Noeline has gained 2 Combo! GS: Noeline has completed her action. GS: Josephine Lovelace accepts Eleanor Klein's Reversion for 0 hit points! GS: Restore! Shieldbreak removed! GS: Lock state applied to Josephine Lovelace! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster solidly guards Noeline's Material Adept - Sky Splitter for 62 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Oh hell, Josie thinks, in the moments following as it announces that 'hostile action' was detected. Maybe that hadn't been the best course of action. She's always been the impulsive sort.
She should have shot it up to start with.
Her gaze sweeps the once in Eleanor's direction -- perhaps since their spells had just combined to render a particular sort of effect -- and smiles lopsidedly. "Best I've got, I'm afraid! 'Lessen you wanted more of that?" If Eleanor wants to look to repeat that particular trick, in other words, she might have to turn to another source--
Particularly when the construct lobs a bomb in her general direction. Skipping backwards and twisting away from the cloud of fumes that erupts from within it, Josie nearly sees herself free of the toxic vapors. Nearly, but not entirely, and unfortunately as they say, 'nearly is only good in horseshoes'. She might have escaped getting a lungful of the stuff, but she's still inhaled enough to evoke a coughing fit which is a problem when you're in the middle of a pitched battle. Doubled over, Josie can feel her eyes prickling with tears, even -- how humiliating!
Which makes it all the more a relief when Eleanor's magic washes over her and makes what had been simply never have happened in the first place. Taking a proper breath of clean (well, dusty) air, Josie of course winks and offers Eleanor something approaching the fascimile of a thumbs-up with her right hand. She tried, and that's the important thing... probably.
"Right! I've had enough of this!" Josie quips, rounding on their foe of the moment. "Whether you're Alhazred's or whatever-- it doesn't matter! You ain't taking that girl off!"
And without further ado, Josie draws a bead on what appears to her sharp eye to potentially be a weak point and targets that place on the construct in particlar, snapping off a shot.
...Come to think of it, she considers in the moments after, wasn't Alhazred dead? Or something like that. ...Being a construct must be rough.
GS: Josephine Lovelace spends 1 Combo on Interrupt! GS: Josephine Lovelace has attacked Svalinn-class Witchbuster with Suffering Bastard! GS: Josephine Lovelace has gained 3 Combo! GS: Josephine Lovelace has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida glances over her shoulder to make sure the bystanders are well clear. Good, she thinks. This is going to get messy.
The construct doesn't hit back. Ida stays on her toes, ready to leap for cover at a moment's notice, but the gambit... works, almost. If nothing else, it seems to recognize Fafnir's genetic code and handprint. "The anomaly is not a threat," Ida insists. "She--"
And then the machine drops the name of its maker, and Ida's face twists like she's bitten into something utterly rancid. Her skin starts to crawl. "It's a gatherer, all right," she says to Riesenlied, "a gatherer of samples." They know what that means.
And in the back of Ida's mind, beyond her mental 'reach' once again...
no. not him. not leaving this with him.
A soft pulse of disconnected determination and wounded pride. Ida grits her teeth, glances at Hannah--
--and immediately wonders if she told this thing the truth. Those eyes...!
Ida shakes her right hand, and it's hers again. Rather than leap back, she charges forward, the wind picking up sharply around her to try and dissipate some of the fumes. After the second stride, she leaps into the air, whipping her leg out in a spinning roundhouse aimed right at the thing's head. Hit or miss, she lands in front of it, twists, and follows up with a destabilizing straight punch right for center-mass.
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has attacked Svalinn-class Witchbuster with Fire Dragon Form! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has gained 2 Combo! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey's stances have changed to Avenger! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has completed her action. GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster suffers a terrible blow from Josephine Lovelace's Suffering Bastard for 146 hit points! GS: Misery inflicts a random effect! Entangle and Interrupt applied to Svalinn-class Witchbuster! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has lost 2 Combo from Interrupt! GS: Holly accepts Eleanor Klein's Reversion for 0 hit points! GS: Restore! Weaken removed! GS: Lock state applied to Holly!
<Pose Tracker> Holly has posed.
Is conjuring up magic at this point, spinning the ink around herself, two streaks spinning in each direction. "See, this is why you use REAL things to guard your horrible secrets! I knew when to back off!" That's a joke, or at least she intends it to be one, but she's a bit angry at this point between friends getting netted, things going wrong and that sunburn.
Over her shoulder, she checks on Hannah as she gets to her feet. Splitting her focus briefly, Making sure nothing too bad happens hopefully. The fact that the machine's trying to talk and.. then disregard orders is met with a wry, "Well. I ignored some stupid orders too, but I could tell you why I thought they were stupid." That's definitely just rambling though.
The launched sphere, that's a new one and she lashes out at it with a spike of ink. Which reveals that you shouldn't try to literally spike chemical weapons. Fire though. That's an excuse to look into fire in the future.
Either way, that thought's pushed aside by coughing. An arm going over her mouth and nose and she darts away from the stuff. eyes watering both from the smell and the now extra maddening chemical burn added to the sun burn. "Piece by piece" She's muttering to no one in particular.
"Hannah you okay down there?" Realizing that the gas is usually heavier, not lighter and trying to surround it with water to shove it away. That might work? She pulls streaks of black from the water as it's kicked to the side, almost literally.
Riese's apology is met with a simple, "Break it. Always works." She's a grumpy fairy though, she might feel bad later.
She does give Eleanor a thumbs up in thanks before she starts plucking at strings of magic as she sees it. The ink swirling as she just dumps all that pent up aggravation on the machine. Eyes on Hannah as she does so, particularly with the glowing eyes. "We need to check that later" That's a distracted idle thought.
GS: Holly has attacked Svalinn-class Witchbuster with Deluge! GS: Holly has gained 2 Combo! GS: Holly has completed her action. GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster suffers a terrible blow from Ida Everstead-Rey's Fire Dragon Form for 117 hit points! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster solidly guards Holly's Deluge for 0 hit points! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster's Weaken Ward may block the effect! GS: Break, Disease, and Shieldbreak applied to Svalinn-class Witchbuster! GS: Weaken blocked! GS: FP up! Arcane Font activated! GS: Gamble: Moderate! Hannah Curie solidly guards Svalinn-class Witchbuster's Thaumicanalytic Siphon for 158 hit points! GS: Hannah Curie's Mute Ward may block the effect! GS: Hannah Curie's Weaken Ward may block the effect! GS: Mute and Weaken blocked! GS: Charge!! You gain 50 FP! (That's 35 more than usual!) GS: FP up! Charge bonus activated! GS: Hannah Curie enters CONDITION GREEN!!
<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.
Once Hannah is free, it takes her a moment to collect herself. She is both aware and not aware that something is wrong--she knows that weirdness is happening, but she also knows she was so afraid for David's life, and those of the miners, that when that little tricke of it started to flow...
A dam had burst.
"I don't know," she answers as to Xiumei's question of 'Why her.' "But I ain't... gonna let it harm anybody else."
She is actually, in this context, kind of glad to see the Simulacrum rise up.
She'll have to remember to buy Venetia a new crest graph pouch.
"Eleanor!" she calls out in turn, seeing that sword drive home at her friend. She wants to ask so many questions about that magic, but now's not the time.
She catches Riese's eye after she bursts free, as her name is whspered. (She didn't hear that, it's just a coincidence of timing.) To the bot she had a furious stare, but for Riese, it's a bbit of a crestfallen look. She doesn't want anybody seeing her like this...
Hannah doesn't know Azoth that well, aside from a couple of chance meetings, but if there was any question about what was happening with her magic, when they fought those over-sized chesss pieces...
There is a cornucopia of data to be had, this day.
There is a confidence to Noeline as she asserts that she is just as much an anomaly as Hannah--and she will have some questions, later, about the specifics--but to see one whose ocnfidence inspires her trying to share the burden is heartening.
There is a blink of surprise as she finally notices Josie. Who asserts the robot will not take her. "J-Josie?" They barely know each other, but she's so emphatically defending her...
Ida wonders if she told the Witchbuster the truth about the anomaly not being a threat.
That's a concern Hannah's had every day for the last five years.
Holly asks if she's alright. "I don't know," she answers honestly. She knows she's... off, but isn't really aware just how much. Zephyr took off with the others to keep encouraging them to safety, so she can't look at herself right now.
It's so hard to think right now.
But the battle is raging and everything is flying, and when the tendrils of the thaumokinetic siphon reach out for her, she gains clarity and focus again. "Siphon...?"
She doesn't even move, or try to evade the attack. Instead, she pulls out a crest graph--it's blazing a bright, bright red, and holds it under her mouth as those tendrils latch on, try to drain her energy away.
"Siphon this."
She inhales deeply, hissing through clenched teeth as the tendrils start to draw her strenght, but she keeps going, filling her lungs up with precious air...
Air, or fuel, depending on what consumes it.
Moments later she spews a torrent of flame--bright, burning, hot, wild, and only barely meeting the definition of a 'ball', with licks of it flying off in every which way as it comes out. It only just manages to hold its cohesion long enough to attempt to consume the tendrils and slam intot he boss.
GS: Hannah Curie spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling! GS: Hannah Curie has attacked Svalinn-class Witchbuster with Fireball! GS: Hannah Curie has gained 1 Combo! GS: Hannah Curie gains 10 FP from her Daredevil! GS: Hannah Curie has completed her action. GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster suffers a terrible blow from Hannah Curie's Fireball for 228 hit points! GS: FP up! Arcane Font activated!
<Pose Tracker> Svalinn-class Witchbuster has posed.
It is a combat zone now. Aged as this machine is, and however narrow its ultimate focus towards specifically identifying and/or subduing sorcerous 'humans,' it holds its own in melee combat. Xiumei does manage to catch the Witchbuster overcompensating into the axe strike just enough they can parry the axe away by the shockwaves if not find deep purchase, which helps set up Venetia's summoning of a simulacrum.
"Unusually potent Pulsesiphon detected. Scale estimated - eighty-seventh percentile of rec--" Simulacrums punching someone in the everything are not up to being mathed right now, as the rate of jabs and strikes are too great in number for them to continue speaking uninterrupted, having to overcompensate defenses to (fail to) soften the blows.
"Unusual cooperation detected." When they can get any words in while a simulacrum strikes them down, as if in observation of both Eleanor's and even Venetia's (less recent) support towards Hannah. "Previous anomalous subjects tactical movements did not incorporate Shamans, Engravegrafts, nor Pulsesiphons in support capacity. Strikes and movements always solitary, uniform."
Were there other Hannahs in history, or is this being confused for something else? Is there another kind of sorcery 'known' to be in circulation they aren't accounting for - or perhaps, didn't have a name for? Something 'breathless,' 'motionless,' 'spontaneous' in nature.
Their stride, such as it is, breaks when Riesenlied does not vacate.
"...Pulsesiphon? Impossible. Error? Vacat--" The Stasis Sword pierces through from the ground, and Riese can feel herself taking in whatever residual energies are channeled through them (it's tingly and the next person she touches might get a harmless static shock), as their un-inked eyes flicker erratically.
Azoth's counter-fire seems to graze off a swirl of a gelatinous pseudopod trying in vain to force-correct their defense with much of their field of vision compromised, but then a weird signal comes through that graces partially recognizable communication space to its programming. "Acknowledged." They stop, momentarily. "Verifying acknowledgement. Disregard. Rebooting--"
That's the opening Noeline has to define herself. Shaman, definitive, and then contradictory traits. (Azoth will detect more robot cussing. He should repeat it to his superiors behind their back for fun, or see what Juno thinks of it later.) "Diagnostic scan requested. Denied. Denied. Denied. Anomaly takes all precedent--" Robotic anguish at having to comprehend the impossibility of it, incapable of taking a moment to shut down and consider. It's as Noeline might fear and mourn about inflexibility of those who came before.
It makes a much better show of stopping Noeline's assault with hardened gel formed into the shape of a shield as cryogenics hurriedly harden around the point of impact before it can cleave past it too deep into the plating.
Josie lines up a shot underneath around 'waist' level, and there is horrible grinding and 'bleeding' of coolant and congealed gel bits yet to return to semisolid form (it's kind of gross and, in fact, is censored in the international release despite it not being human blood). It locks their posture there in the moment.
Just in time for Ida to find her own identification - someone not willing to allow anyone to become a victim of Alhazred's machinations, post-mortem or otherwise.
"Legion Commander confirmed clear--" Ida is here, and hits true, roundhouse kick making that spherical head spin in place and once again bring up the sheer physical oddity about how it simply does not seem to be connected to the body at all, and then striking her fist into the plating deep enough that it starts to cave.
They find their footing just in time when Holly works her Engravegraf-- her Symbology. It matters very little that they manage to avert a direct hit with a swing of a hardgel pseudopod-limb, because the ink... sinks into that morass, inky blackening sorcerous substance darkening the glow of this ancient bit of Hyadean chemistry which is probably not good for it. So that's good for the rest of them, though the effects of its debilitating nature only seem invisible from the surface. (Holly has grounds to smirk, if she's of the inclination.)
Even through its problems and the need to split a free gelatinous arm into numerous psuedopods of variable defensive effectiveness, the primary target is still in their clutches.
<Pose Tracker> Svalinn-class Witchbuster has posed.
"Pulsesiphon deception detected. Disregarding--" The Witchbuster can disregard the raised Crest Graph all it wants, but it will not disregard what comes next from the anomalous sorceress as an immense fireball (if it's even a ball - or even a three-dimensional shape for that matter) envelopes it in full, and the gelationous masses start to evaporate into...
They're not even vapor, any more. much of it is just gone. Azoth and Xiumei's scanning instruments would reveal that ghastly truth, that's disintegration that's not even leaving the atomic components of whatever elements and ingredients make up the gelatinous masses that are taken by the burst of flame above and beyond flame. Is Hannah really 'not a threat' when she commands power like that?
"Emergency. Emergency. Final reserves of--" Static. "--ploying." The bulk of the machine teeters and totters as what's left of its gelatinous supply is deployed in such ways that various components fall out of it, and Holly's handy inkwork hinders it further. It's not glowing so brightly thanks to so much cursed, corrupting ink within it.
"DePlOOYYiiiNNGgg ThaumTHAUMThaumTHauMilEctriC DisrupteeEEERRrrr---" Some spherical mechanism tries to wriggle along the thin, ink-stained gelatinous pseudopod as it tries to hock an electrical explosive tuned to sound and frequencies especially unpleasant for the sorcerously inclined* (* this is a myth that persisted for many centuries among the Metal Demon hordes) that pales to the fact it's an electrical explosive, trying to subude the anomalous sorceresses that are Noeline and Riesenlied alike.
Meanwhile, the hard solid metal axe blade component of what should be part of a hardgel axe is now flailing out like a wiggly, twitchy finger, but enough of the gelatinous mass is enough to swing wide for Ida and Xiumei up close, and clips outward enough that it might smack into Venetia and Eleanor along the way.
"SeQUEeeSTerrRInnnG EnGrAAAvVVEegraFFtSSs--" The uninked, unsmashed light-eyes produce more of a hexagon-shaped field somewhere in the direction of Holly and Josie out of sheer depseration. Azoth's caught in this by mistake, but the theory is sound for it being disruptive to sensitive electronics and an attempt to free up resources on its part by trying to write off their threat value that way.
An entire arm is sacrificed as the last of its gel just collapses in a pile of semisolid goop, but cannon barrels protrude and form out towards Hannah in physically unstable fashion, and the mounting energy within... fifty-fifty odds it blows itself up.
"LiVVVviiiNNGgg SubJeeEEcccT prEferrEEEEdd-- unNeceSSarrrryyYyyy-- nnNoonNNN fIRRRriii--" As if aware of this, they're encroaching on Hannah's position, trying to thrust it into them before its built-up energy detonates.
GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has activated a Boss Action! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has activated Force Action: Full Clip! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has activated Force Action: Lock On! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster spends 1 Combo on Interrupt! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Noeline with Thaumicelectric Disrupter! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Riesenlied with Thaumicelectric Disrupter! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has gained 3 Combo! GS: Interrupt expired! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Xiumei Klein with Gyrokinetic Strike! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Ida Everstead-Rey with Gyrokinetic Strike! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Venetia Vuong with Gyrokinetic Strike! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Eleanor Klein with Gyrokinetic Strike! GS: Gamble: Moderate! Riesenlied solidly guards Svalinn-class Witchbuster's Thaumicelectric Disrupter for 68 hit points! GS: Interrupt blocked! GS: FP up! Guard bonus and Gleam activated! GS: Riesenlied has lost 2 Combo from Interrupt! GS: Xiumei Klein takes a glancing hit from Svalinn-class Witchbuster's Gyrokinetic Strike for 83 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Xiumei Klein gains 1 additional Combo! GS: FP up! Evade bonus activated! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Holly with Thaumic Destabilization Field! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Azoth with Thaumic Destabilization Field! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Josephine Lovelace with Thaumic Destabilization Field! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has attacked Hannah Curie with Unstable Energy Cannon! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has gained 2 Combo! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has completed their action. GS: Gamble: Lowest! Noeline takes a solid hit from Svalinn-class Witchbuster's Thaumicelectric Disrupter for 123 hit points! GS: Interrupt applied to Noeline! GS: FP up! Guard bonus activated! GS: Noeline has lost 2 Combo from Interrupt! GS: Venetia Vuong takes a solid hit from Svalinn-class Witchbuster's Gyrokinetic Strike for 169 hit points! GS: Venetia Vuong enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Azoth takes a solid hit from Svalinn-class Witchbuster's Thaumic Destabilization Field for 68 hit points! GS: Restore! Dispel! Hyper removed! GS: FP up! Charge bonus activated! GS: Azoth enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Eleanor Klein suffers a terrible blow from Svalinn-class Witchbuster's Gyrokinetic Strike for 186 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Eleanor Klein gains 1 additional Combo! GS: FP up! Gleam activated! GS: Eleanor Klein enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Josephine Lovelace takes a glancing hit from Svalinn-class Witchbuster's Thaumic Destabilization Field for 27 hit points! GS: Restore! Dispel! Lock state removed! GS: FP up! Countermeasures activated!
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
It gathers samples. Ida gives her a look, and Riesenlied gives her one in turn. "Yes. ... much like how I was captured, only years ago." This has been going on for so much longer. Just how many people have lost their lives to his machinations?
And yet, Riesenlied's heart sinks for this machine. It is so very much a marker of a certain period of history for their people. But it wasn't given more than a helpful approximation of logic, much like how so many Metal Beasts were not sentient. It cannot reason beyond its bounds, then and now...
The residual energy coursing through her is electrifying. Her eye flickers for a moment. Then, the thaumilectric disrupter erupts with a sound that's at best unpleasant, but more dangerous in the sense that it's an electric burst being aimed at her -- she has to throw up an emergency barrier and nearly flails as she hits the hard stop on her wheelchair to stop herself from careening down the hill they're on.
There's a quiet nod to Holly. Just break it? "... perhaps ..."
She listens well to Noeline's reassurance. That they are not him. Not responsible for his misdeeds. The decision to correct them is one chosen by themselves. ... that's right. She gets lost in the reeds so often, taking on the whole sum of sins of her people herself. It's an important distinction.
Their rings shine, for a moment, on their accord.
Riese catches Hannah's look, and she notices that shame, that sense of crestfallen-ness -- and though she can't sit down to have a talk with her, she encourages in the way she knows she needs right now:
"You will always be Hannah to me! No matter how anyone else looks at you! Now, let us protect Damzen together!"
But even then, there's a small part of her that wishes for Azoth to succeed, too. But they don't really have the luxury of time -- not this close to a town.
Then...
... so be it.
Riesenlied lets her breath leave her, until she's empty; at that moment, when she inhales, she inhales the errant Ley that's been thrown around -- from Venetia's vivid, violet viscerations, to Eleanor's elegant embellishments of effort, and of course, Hannah's own unknown, mysterious evocation -- not to mention Noeline's own, her shadow dancing against her light.
"Gather before me, oh spirits of the Ley!
Become once more as our beacon in the dark.
To you, errant and strayed...
From all those you call 'anomalous'...
This is our answer!"
A large glyph erupts underneath her, dancing with the very power of Life as the Original Artificial Medium of Life comes into full power, the folds of her capelet flapping underneath the very thrum of force she's evoking.
(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-dulmqX2_0 )
"Life... shall continue!"
Above her head, in concentric digital rings that resemble halos, the artificial Demi-Odoryuk manifests, a live horn crackling with the sheer and awesome power of Life itself. Its body is blue-white, trickles of ancient code flowing through its body, ending in butterfly-like wings at its hooves.
She rears her hand behind her, then splays her fingers out in command--
"Material!
-Paradise Lost!-"
--the horn rises to the air, and a countless array of homing Life Lasers fire, taking criss-crossing right angles in erratic and indiscriminate manner, but ultimately seeking to sink into a breached spot upon the Svalinn-class Witchbuster.
GS: Riesenlied has activated Force Action: Lock On! GS: Formation! Riesenlied has attacked Svalinn-class Witchbuster with Material - Paradise Lost! GS: Riesenlied has gained 1 Combo! GS: Riesenlied has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Svalinn-class Witchbuster suffers a terrible blow from Riesenlied's Material - Paradise Lost for 218 hit points! GS: FP up! Arcane Font activated! GS: Riesenlied drains Svalinn-class Witchbuster! Riesenlied gains 100 temporary hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
Eleanor will indeed exercise as much caution as she can--she looks to Riesenlied and nods. But then she looks to Hannah. Hannah, whose eyes glow green, and who doesn't know if she's all right. She gives the construct something to 'siphon', all right, and that terrible fire--
Eleanor feels it, perhaps for the first time. It's worse than strange; there is something terrible about her dear friend's magic in the moment. "Hannah!" she calls.
But Josie is as Josie as ever, at least. Eleanor can't quite smile back at her in the moment. "I see. No, I'll try something new."
A thumbs-up. It's... fine.
"It's not your fault, Riesenlied."
But Eleanor can't say that she doesn't have any idea why this construct finds Hannah a threat, now...
Eleanor is hit hard by that gelatinous mass, slammed from her feet and some yards away, rolling when she hits the ground. "Ah--"
"Cooperation... So it's not used to that, is it?" She pushes herself up, but her arm hurts. She has another to use in the meantime. "Venetia, I think it's... insulting you," she manages, but the stress, the worry, they make it so it's hard to joke. So instead...
"Very well. I know what i must do."
"Layer laid down upon layer, the mountain rises over the eons! Bring to me that ideal Self! Accretion!"
The whole group is blessed with blossoming golden radiance, the power of their best days suddenly brought up into being, their weapons and spells honed to their greatest possible degree, even as Demi-Ordoryuk appears in might and power.
"We must destroy it! I won't lose her again!"
GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Riesenlied with Accretion! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Hannah Curie with Accretion! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Holly with Accretion! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Ida Everstead-Rey with Accretion! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Josephine Lovelace with Accretion! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Noeline with Accretion! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Azoth with Accretion! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Venetia Vuong with Accretion! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Xiumei Klein with Accretion! GS: Eleanor Klein has gained 2 Combo! GS: Eleanor Klein has completed her action. GS: Azoth accepts Eleanor Klein's Accretion for 0 hit points! GS: Blitz, Hyper, and Surge applied to Azoth! GS: FP up! Gleam activated! GS: CRITICAL! Xiumei Klein accepts Eleanor Klein's Accretion for 0 hit points! GS: Blitz, Hyper, and Surge applied to Xiumei Klein!
<Pose Tracker> Xiumei Klein has posed.
Xiumei knows the familiar feeling of Eleanor's magic, by now. The flood of light and energy, across her and through her, which gives her power and reinforces her. She looks to her wife, then she nods. "Right. We'll focus on saving her, then...!"
She looks in Hannah's direction -- then Xiumei nods. "We're with you," she says. "So... let's finish this!"
Even if she can see the signs of Hannah's power. She obliterated portions of it. Xiumei sucks a breath in, before she holds her hand out. Her Buster vanishes; in its place, her Saber appears, blade of green light ignited.
Then, Xiumei launches forward, her AV Saber swung backward. Light explodes off it, as she leaps in. The axe blade swings out -- and Xiumei just leaps off it, bouncing into the air, and hits the ground with a hard stumble.
Then, she swings the sword up with an upward motion, and the AV Saber slahses across the damaged Witchbuster's main body.
GS: Xiumei Klein has activated Force Action: Lock On! GS: Xiumei Klein has activated Force Action: Full Clip! GS: Eleanor Klein used Force Action: Mystic on Xiumei Klein! FP up! GS: Eleanor Klein used Force Action: Mystic on Xiumei Klein! FP up! GS: Xiumei Klein spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling! GS: Formation! Blitz! Xiumei Klein has attacked Svalinn-class Witchbuster with AV Saber - Charge Slash! GS: Xiumei Klein has gained 3 Combo! GS: Xiumei Klein has completed her action. GS: Josephine Lovelace accepts Eleanor Klein's Accretion for 0 hit points! GS: Blitz, Hyper, and Surge applied to Josephine Lovelace! GS: CRITICAL! Holly solidly guards Svalinn-class Witchbuster's Thaumic Destabilization Field for 38 hit points! GS: Restore! Dispel! Lock state removed! GS: Holly accepts Eleanor Klein's Accretion for 0 hit points! GS: Blitz, Hyper, and Surge applied to Holly! GS: CRITICAL! Riesenlied accepts Eleanor Klein's Accretion for 0 hit points! GS: Blitz, Hyper, and Surge applied to Riesenlied! GS: FP up! Gleam activated! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster suffers a terrible blow from Xiumei Klein's AV Saber - Charge Slash for 285 hit points! GS: Venetia Vuong accepts Eleanor Klein's Accretion for 0 hit points! GS: Blitz, Hyper, and Surge applied to Venetia Vuong! GS: FP up! Gleam activated! GS: Noeline accepts Eleanor Klein's Accretion for 0 hit points! GS: Blitz, Hyper, and Surge applied to Noeline! GS: FP up! Gleam activated! GS: Noeline enters CONDITION GREEN!!
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.
Azoth throws an apologetic look to Riese. "I'm sorry, all I've been able to get so far is --" This language has been deemed inappropriate for both organic and robotic sensibilities. Please stand by. "-- um. Roughly translated. There's some nuance lost if you're not familiar with certain internal error hierarchy."
It's not all of what he learned today, at least.
(This is, perhaps, not high on anyone's list of concerns.)
Hannah has been the first priority, because the Witchbuster has made it so. But the data from her is immense. Dire. Everything, destroyed down to its last component. Complete dissolution.
It's beautiful.
For a moment, he dares hope he's gotten through to the Witchbuster. Azoth hasn't the authority for that, and lacks the time and data he would need to spoof it. He can feel his grip slipping, eyes bright and circuits flaring until the 'cord' snaps, shattered apart as Azoth recoils back with a pained, disorted beep with the backlash of data.
Then the world scrambles. His eyes go pixelated in their light, glitched and jittery. Even Azoth himself seems to be struggling to remain, his form threatening to blip out and in as the Void Drive goes erratic with the desire to escape and the inability to do it while the destabilization field strips his data protections and resets his calculations.
Threats or no threats, if Hannah is a threat for merely being Hannah... retrieving her is not an operation Azoth can stand back and watch, even if it is being carried out by another machine. Not with the proximity to Damzen, and not while his objectives are to the people of ERROR -- of this wor$l@d...?
We must destroy it! I won't lose her again!
A wish for power is made. Golden radiance fills Azoth's circuits, bleeding its color into the lights of his eyes and his circuits. His body pulls upright, and he kicks an invisible sword off of the ground only to manifest one from data itself to pretend to catch. Azoth fans it out like a deck of cards before they all dance and orient at his sides.
With a thrust of his arm, they fly, sailing one after another to pierce into the Witchbuster and explode with ARM energy and Sage's light.
GS: Azoth has activated Force Action: Snipe! GS: Azoth has activated Force Action: Lock On! GS: Formation! Blitz! Azoth has attacked Svalinn-class Witchbuster with Blade Server! GS: Azoth has gained 1 Combo! GS: Azoth has completed his action. GS: Ida Everstead-Rey solidly guards Svalinn-class Witchbuster's Gyrokinetic Strike for 142 hit points! GS: FP up! Power Burst activated! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey enters CONDITION GREEN!!
<Pose Tracker> Venetia Vuong has posed.
It's not done. And it had an assesment of her character! Or her power levels, at any rate. Venetia does not have time to be offended, because for all that it's protesting that it is reaching its last reserves of energy, *it's still going*. And it has some kind of a 'siphon'.
Why does it want to go after Hannah so much!? Venetia wonders, but it's a difficult question, and one does not insist on answers to such curiosities when, you know, this THING is on the rampage.
Is it a thing? What horrors has it seen? What wonders? As she thinks about this, Venetia is clobbered to the ground; off guard, perhaps, from her big plan to leap out of the way of a countercharge, and lost in her own thoughts, as is the right (and peril) of a magician.
Riesenlied assures Hannah - she will always be as - anomaly? All those strange magicks. Venetia's eyes cut towards Hannah. A story not fully told but perhaps *hinted* enough to sink in part through her bullish head. But it's Eleanor's words that reach her, more, perhaps, than the golden bloom of her magic.
'I won't lose her again.'
Venetia answers Eleanor, but not to that part. "Eighty-seven percent...? I'd say so. That's not even enough for honors."
"I'll show you," Venetia says in a lower voice as she twirls that Crest Graph in her hand. "What it means to succeed with *high* honors. COME FORTH--"
The Shape returns and it is already surging towards the unknown enemy. Venetia, for all her bluster and bravado, has doubts. The Simulacrum does not. A pure manifestation, it surges forwards as Venetia staggers towards the thing, and at the five-meter mark it winds up one fist-- buoyed forwards, it seems, when Venetia turns slightly to get closer.
The first blow comes with a sound like an industrial trip-hammer, almost indescribable. The resulting barrage afterwards has that same industrial character to it, the looming violet-stone form raising upwards while working over along the ancient enemy's body, concluding with one last
THAM!
aimed towards the dirt.
("Still," Venetia says to Eleanor, quietly, and solely to lighten the mood, perhaps: "87% is certainly a pass.")
GS: Venetia Vuong has activated Force Action: Full Clip! GS: MYSTIC ARTE! Blitz! Venetia Vuong has attacked Svalinn-class Witchbuster with Ally of Justice Sign ~AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH~! GS: Venetia Vuong has gained 1 Combo! GS: Venetia Vuong has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Svalinn-class Witchbuster suffers a terrible blow from Azoth's Blade Server for 345 hit points! GS: Strain! Azoth takes 68 damage! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster suffers a terrible blow from Venetia Vuong's Ally of Justice Sign ~AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH~ for 270 hit points! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster's Weaken Ward may block the effect! GS: Break, Shieldbreak, and Weaken blocked! GS: FP up! Arcane Font activated!
<Pose Tracker> Holly has posed.
The prior deluge wasn't the end all, be all. She's already trailing fingers through the air, leaving ink behind in their wake. The symbol is one she's used before, the magic lingering, holding the ink in place. It's not as ornate, it's not as pretty, but she's working a spell to break the new toy because she's in a foul mood, it's threatening people and now it's pointing an ARM at a friend. She thinks. Lingering here isn't going to help though. You can't rescue anyone if you do something stupid and then you're both down right?
Hannah's response gets a concerned look and she looks torn between tearing her hands through the spell to conjure something else up and just completing the thing to try and compartmentalize the problems. The idea of trying to cover her is a bit interrupted by the goute of flame, she jerks up and away instinctually what with being you know, tiny and arguably flammable.
She uses her foot to kick a splash of ink up to disrupt the attempted disruption as she works. Can't have it breaking such a pretty spell right? "Thanks" She calls out, probably to Eleanor, she doesn't recognize the magic, but she recognizes the magic's help and she's distracted. When she slaps her palm against the ink, it pulses, fading to red and sinks away. As it sinks away, it forcefully rips that ink away from the ocnstruct and surrounding area. A clear reason to just spread the stuff around really.
She's a touch slow getting back into place to try and protect Hannah, but she's got her own agenda anyway so..
GS: Holly spends 1 Combo on Interrupt! GS: Blitz! Holly has attacked Svalinn-class Witchbuster with Chapter's End! GS: Holly has gained 2 Combo! GS: Holly has completed her action. GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster suffers a terrible blow from Holly's Chapter's End for 241 hit points! GS: Blind removed! GS: Interrupt applied to Svalinn-class Witchbuster! GS: FP up! Arcane Font activated! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has lost 2 Combo from Interrupt!
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
The automaton keeps 'thinking out loud'. What does it define as 'anomalous', according to its past experience? Ether? (Whatever Hannah's doing, it's completely different from what she's seen Lily and Elly do, much less Solaris' soldiers.) Something stranger? Was it a solitary hunter-seeker? If there's anything left of this thing's brain when they're done with it, Ida wants to pick it.
Hannah may have other ideas. Ida throws herself clear as the fireball races in, and flattens against the ground as the blast washes out. She looks up at the Witchbuster, and her eyes grow wide. So much of it is... gone. As it lets loose with stuttering audio, Ida kips upright, and drives herself forward, twisting out of the way of its warping axe-blade. The arm holding it glances off her ribs with enough force to drive some breath from her, but she keeps going.
'I won't lose her again.'
By now, Ida's grown accustomed to Eleanor's sorceries, and the feelings of lightness and surety and warmth she gets from them. The pain vanishes; brilliant light engulfs both of Ida's hands. She thrusts out her right palm, and the center of her hand folds inwards, the flesh parting to reveal a circular, bloodless gap in her flesh the width of a rifle barrel. It gleams with the greenish-bronze of dragon filaments. "One last anomaly for you," Ida says, and she opens fire, literally. Dragonflame roars from her palm, blue-hot and terrible, a great tongue of fire that rakes over the Witchbuster's limbs. She's consciously avoiding anything that looks like a core, while still aiming to incapacitate.
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey accepts Eleanor Klein's Accretion for 0 hit points! GS: Blitz, Hyper, and Surge applied to Ida Everstead-Rey! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey spends 3 Combo on Poison and Gatling, loading 2 into Gatling! GS: Blitz! Ida Everstead-Rey has attacked Svalinn-class Witchbuster with Breath Of The Fire Dragon! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has gained 2 Combo! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline ducks just in time to give Josie a clear line for her shot, automatically working around Ida's assault before Hannah's power nearly knocks her sideways, barely slipping out of the way. Her blade is visibly a part of her, grown from herself, in the way that it twists and shrinks around her arm when it needs to not be there and then reforms in the blink of an eye when it does. "... you can figure things out later," she advises Hannah in a sort of encouragement, once she's sure she's caught her breath. "For now, you have rather more important things to take care of, yes?"
She continues to press her attack on the automaton, though it's not so much that she's attacking as much as she's just ensuring that she remains well within its cameras for as long as possible, indisputed truth about the changing nature of the world. "... my apologies," she finds it within herself to say, and maybe this is as illogical as everything else about her. "We had decades to come to terms and understand ourselves, even as our natures change. Thanks to circumstance, we were forced to give you about five minutes to do the same. That was, perhaps, rather unfair of us... if we had only had more time."
"It cannot insult. It does not even know the meaning. It simply... evaluates. Probably without tact, if I know its creator--" she tries to solemnly reassure Eleanor and Venetia, except Azoth cannot help but capture her attention, and her mouth slowly clamps shut. "... it says something that Alhazred would program that in. Exactly what, I really would rather not think about."
She shakes her head to bring her back to herself; whatever other regrets she has in the moment, they are somewhat less important than the crackling energy assailing her and the way that she can feel it building to a furore. She manages to avoid the primary assault by hunkering down terribly low and pushing off to one side, but the chaotic energy is still arcing and biting at her as she does so, and she's not inclined to do anything but bull her way straight through it. Letting it ground through her is not the best of ideas, and she hisses with pain, but she's at least a little better able to handle it than anyone else might be due to her physiology.
She can feel the swell of the Ley behind her as Riesenlied's incantation builds; she automatically darts backwards to help cover her partner, the gleam of their bond brightening as she opens herself to sharing their power. She does not have anything so concrete as a way to summon Duras Drum to the field, but given the gloom of the mine, maybe she doesn't have to. The Guardian of Shadow is all around them at present.
When Odoryuk's lasers fire - when the light of life makes the shadows at the edges of the rocky walls lengthen even further - she grabs for them, a flare of hazy power circling around her feet as she twists and binds the dark shapes together. Suddenly it is no mere mine that they are standing in, but an arena - a place of power where the air itself seems to move and reform, confounding sensors and reason. Noeline practically vanishes, slipping through the cracks between motes of light, and a shadowy blade tears through the Witchbuster in its wake.
GS: Blitz! Noeline has attacked Svalinn-class Witchbuster with Material Adept - De Le Metalica! GS: Noeline has gained 1 Combo! GS: Interrupt expired! GS: Noeline has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Svalinn-class Witchbuster suffers a terrible blow from Ida Everstead-Rey's Breath Of The Fire Dragon for 293 hit points! GS: Poison applied to Svalinn-class Witchbuster! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster suffers a terrible blow from Noeline's Material Adept - De Le Metalica for 225 hit points! GS: Dispel! Riposte removed!
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
It's true. Josie isn't some sort of champion of the weak like some might She only knows Hannah in the most general of senses. So why bother?
Of the people here, Eleanor -- and Riesenlied, despite everything -- might have the most insight into what makes Josephine Lovelace tick.
But here in the moment -- this moment, as she unloads upon a particular weak spot she's sighted -- Josie's gaze shoots Hannah's way. Her eyes, just now. And she broke that barrier that thing had set about her so neatly. "...Heh, didn't even need a hand, did ya?" She's no stranger to people with strange, inexplicable powers, and perhaps that goes a way in explaining why the construct set upon her, specifically, but...
If Josie furrows her brow nevertheless as she regards Hannah, perhaps she can't be blamed for it.
"Shit!"
Though there's certainly more than that to contend with at the moment. She leaps backwards away from the explosion of light and sound, though only the former is really dodgeable: she's fairly certain that her ears are going to be ringing for hours, at least. Crouching low, she hurriedly reloads her ARM, perhaps aware that the construct is on its last legs and may just blow itself up in the process of attaining the commands programmed into it... assuming it doesn't take them all with it. "C'mon, where's the--"
There is light in the same moment that Josie finds the round she's looking for. There is light as Demi-Odoryuk takes the field.
"Tch," Josie says, rising in one smooth movement at last from her crouched stance. "Let's finish this bastard, eh?"
She slides her finger over the trigger almost delicately. "See how you like these!" One, two: her shots follow her taunt.
She will, in the aftermath, perhaps gently regret having wasted her detonating rounds like this. Making more is a pain.
She's never been good at thinking too far ahead of herself.
GS: Josephine Lovelace spends 1 Combo on Link! GS: Josephine Lovelace enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Blitz! Josephine Lovelace has attacked Josephine Lovelace with Golden Dream! GS: Josephine Lovelace has gained 2 Combo! GS: Josephine Lovelace has launched an attack Link! GS: Josephine Lovelace's stances have changed to Avenger! GS: CRITICAL! Josephine Lovelace accepts Josephine Lovelace's Golden Dream for 0 hit points! GS: Pray grants a random effect! Amplify and Shield applied to Josephine Lovelace! GS: Josephine Lovelace spends 4 Combo on Headshot and Gatling, loading 2 into Gatling! GS: Blitz! Josephine Lovelace has attacked Svalinn-class Witchbuster with Blue Moon! GS: Josephine Lovelace has gained 4 Combo! GS: Josephine Lovelace has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Svalinn-class Witchbuster suffers a terrible blow from Josephine Lovelace's Blue Moon for 292 hit points! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster's Jam Ward may block the effect! GS: Cripple applied to Svalinn-class Witchbuster! GS: Jam blocked! GS: Hannah Curie has activated Force Action: Guard! GS: You have activated the Force Action Guard! GS: ROU|LET|TE: Severe! Hannah Curie suffers a terrible blow from Svalinn-class Witchbuster's Unstable Energy Cannon for 173 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Hannah Curie gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Hannah Curie accepts Eleanor Klein's Accretion for 0 hit points! GS: Blitz, Hyper, and Surge applied to Hannah Curie!
<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.
The engulfs the tendril of the Witchbuster with scorching, searing flame. She does not have the benefit of Xiumei or Azoth's scanning capabilities, but she does have the benefit of being the spellcaster. She can feel that power tearing apart the gel not even into its constituent parts but into nothingness.
She hates it. She hates it so much. That is the one thing that sticks through the confusing maelstrom of emotions whirling around in her right then. She's slipping between so many states right now she can barely keep track.
And what the robot says--anomalous subjects, being captured alive, working in tandem, the deception of her pulsesiphon...
There is a very dangerous and very unstable energy canon headed for her. Hannah raises a hand to meet it--no crest graph, or incantation, just an attempted flexing of her power to try and disintegrate the blow--
And the Witchbuster's last throes cut right through her attempted defense, soaking her in it's last dying gasps of power and energy. (Perhaps, it is only fair, the way she soaked it in fire just a moment prior.) She cries out and stumbles back, hands going up to shield her face as she is brought to her knees again, for the second time this fight.
She's still breathing, but... she is faltering. She has this power but she hates it. She wants to protect her family and friends, but is also a danger to them.
She nods, to Riese's encouraging words. It doesn't immediately lift her crestfallen expression, but.. it is anchoring, deep down.
She mouths back a "Thank you."
"Thank you, Xiumei..." Hannah should spend some more time getting to know her better. If she'll want to be around her after that.
No. Stop that. That won't help. Everyone's fighting for you.
With you.
Azoth, Hannah would be very distressed to hear that opinion of her destructive capability.
Hannah did try to explain to Venetia, once, how her crest graphs didn't work right, how things would keep going out of control. This is probably the most apt demonstration yet of that fact that anyone has seen yet.
She winces, when she sees that both Holly and Ida have to haul themselves out of the way of her flames. There's just so much right now, and try as she might, she can't hold it all back. "Sorry, Holly! Sorry, Ida!"
Noeline encourages her to focus, and she nods to her in acknowledgement. "R-right..."
Josie comments that she didn't need a hand, and that... may or may not be true. In terms of raw, destructive power? Perhaps not.
In terms of a young woman struggling to figure out an anomaly within herself that's just been exposed in so blatant a way?
'I won't lose her again.' "E-Eleanor... I'm not..." Her voice is shakey, at first, but strengthens as Eleanor's magic flows through her. "I'm not going anywhere. Promise." It's a quiet promise, but firm.
And Eleanor offers her that blessing, supports her even through all of... whatever this is.
She finds her focus, rises to her feet, and looks up to the Witchbuster.
"You keep callin' me an anomaly... I have my hunches, but... what is it you're detectin'?" It's a plantive plea, and one wonders if she really might be expecting an answer in that moment. "I don't know what's wrong with my magic, and I wish I could talk to you and show you..."
She's already drawing out two crest graphs--one is sparking with bright yellow lighting, and the other is the fractally frost of her ice magic. Both are shining much brighter than normal.
"... Show you I ain't meaning to harm you or anyone else. An' I just wish I knew what was goin' on with my magic. Please, won't you just... tell me?"
She does give it a moment to respond, but whether or not it does, she gets her crest graphs ready. "I really am sorry. But you might go on hurtin' people I care about that and I can't allow that."
Her magic surges, and she slams a hand onto the ground. A veritable tidal wave of ice surges out, crashing up against the bot like a wave, seeking to entrap it, wrap around it, encase it, and more importantly, to freeze its gel, render it hopefully brittle and inoperable. And all the while that's happening, in her other hand is a buildup of lightning, her hand ablaze with electricity.
None of it feels 'right' or 'safe' or 'natural'. All of it is strange and twisted and in odd, rithing shapes oer cruel, harsh edges. Just like normal, but so much worse.
Hannah snaps her fingers on her electrified hand, and it suddenly flows out of her hand. Through her other hand on the ground, dancing, crackling, surging through the ice and up into the bot, looking for weaknesses, exposed parts, conduits into the gel, anything it can get.
GS: Hannah Curie has activated Force Action: Full Clip! GS: You have activated the Force Action Full Clip! GS: Hannah Curie spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling! GS: MYSTIC ARTE! Blitz! Hannah Curie has attacked Svalinn-class Witchbuster with Elemental Conjunction! GS: Hannah Curie has gained 2 Combo! GS: Hannah Curie gains 10 FP from her Daredevil! GS: Hannah Curie enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Hannah Curie has completed her action. GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster suffers a terrible blow from Hannah Curie's Elemental Conjunction for 326 hit points! GS: FP up! Arcane Font activated! GS: Svalinn-class Witchbuster has Fallen! They are no longer able to fight!
<Pose Tracker> Svalinn-class Witchbuster has posed.
Where the Witchbuster unit is now all but throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks, it is now being overloaded with no small number of wondrous, curious phenomena it can only ever acknowledge or interact with on the 'threat' or 'acquisition' axis. Such is the tragedy of those born to purpose defined by laws of words and orders, bound with only the desire to execute them.
"SeEEEccooNnnnDD imPossSSSiibBLeeeE ShaMmAAAan--" One is an anomaly. Two is... life shall continue, by the nature of Odoryuk, formed into lasers of pure 'Life' that pierce into the inorganic material that houses artificial life, and finding their way through like a sprouting seedling eventually does through hard stone.
"UnIdentIffiiEeeD LiiiIGggHHtt-- TheOReETii--" Whatever theories it may have for what power Eleanor brings to bear to see her allies' power through to put a stop to one of Alhazred's many, many, many leftover parting gifts to himself, was there something recognizable to its memory that it had yet to encounter? They'll never know. They don't need to.
The AV Saber almost feels like it might have missed the mark because the armoring is completely weightless to it - whatever Hannah did, any defensive mechanisms that would prevent Xiumei from slicing through are gone. It's like she's cleaving through air, and the Witchbuster's body starts to slough apart in slow motion from where it passes through effortlessly. It's gradual... but there's something familiar in the way it starts to break apart, perhaps, to those Reploids that inhabit the Biometal.
Azoth, driven by his own purpose that sees him still treated among the gathered as a friend despite the seriousness of the episodes in which he must honor his original directives, finds a blessing from Eleanor to keep throwing more blades of light into the half of the Witchbuster that's not about to fly off in slow motion, piercing more and more of it with immense precision.
Ventia, the 87-percentile sorceress by ancient enemies' estimates, shows them. The Shape returns, and the beatdown... will not fill seven pages. But it does comfortably fill at least four in a glorious array of blows, crushing and decisivie, as a staticky (yet somehow clear) voice dicates. "PuLLSeSipHoooNN ExCeeeddDs AllLL ReCoorRdeeeD bENchMarRRKsSs-- 137ttTTThhhH peRCenTiiiLLLleeEee eRrRorRR--" That's more fitting for the World's Greatest, thirty seven percent ahead of the ancient best. Somehow.
Holly, finding that point in her handiwork to mark the hard stop to it, directs the ink within to suddenly rip itself free and away, and whatever gelatinous mass it has to keep itself upright finds itself less so when the imposter ink just slinks away, and now it's becoming something of a wonder as to how it is even standing upright.
'One last anomaly for you,' miraculously Ida's words reach whatever of capability to process the world around them remains. "AugMenTeeeEDDd forCeSSSs-- friEEndly yeT YEt--" The Metal Demons of a thousand years ago could never comprehend what they'd be seeing today, through the lens of this. It cannot make sense of there being two Shaman Hyadeans. It can't make sense of a seeming Hyadean so intertwined with enemy biology and further accept and utilize sorcerous augmentation. It can make sense of blue-hot Dragonflame being applied and the resultant damages, and even if they couldn't, it is starting to melt and fuse together some other things within. It is true that Ether does seem to be something that doesn't require 'words' or 'gestures' to just happen, but... Hannah's own power isn't like examples of Ether, either, as acknowledged.
Though many find comfort and strength in light, through shadow, Noeline moves where things cannot be seen or comprehended - something she finds far easier than normal given the earlier blindness inflicted upon the machine - and shadow slices apart another set of components to further split the Witchbuster's chassis to pieces once they can slough apart, joining into the earlier cut of Xiumei's rising slice. They can't even tell where it came from or how.
No matter how 'in hand' the situation looks, if this thing is still trying to strike out after having no small amount of itself simply terminated by Hannah's power, sometimes, you just have to sink the cost and apply detonating rounds. Alhazred's functional weapons probably do not have strong, binding opinions on what ammunition is made of unless someone might have employed 'Engravegraft' on them, but Josie will see how she likes it when she blows apart much of the remaining visual lights, and now the Witchbuster can't see how they like or dislike anything unless someone applies a rag to the merely dirty eye-lights.
<Pose Tracker> Svalinn-class Witchbuster has posed.
In all this, the greatest tragedy from someone considered - or perhaps is - a grave danger to the world around them.
Hannah pleads for an answer. She wants clarity. She wants the assurance that this machine knows and can say, and can answer, and just alleviate her of questions as to how or why. Something, anything. Anything at all, in that window of relative quiet between the explosive shots of Josie's weapon and now.
It answers.
"AaanOmaLLoooUuss."
That is all it knows. Hannah is not 'normal' in the eyes of a thousand-year construct built specifically to take on those of sorcerous capabilities. What she has, what she is, can't be defined along the lines of 'Engravegrafts,' 'Pulsesiphons,' or even the still-used term of 'Shamans.' She is anomalous.
And it is what she summons upon as her power surges. Ice surges out and freezes solid on the spot, fusing the surrounding environs in ice. Already having been set aflame, what's left of it is brittle and held together, and then... lightning. It courses through, shattering and exploding everything as flames surge out. All caution and care in the world could not soften its imminent demise.
Azoth in particular may feel it hardest when whatever signals he picks up just cease. Not even the click or hiss of the sound of a signal switching off. Just, cessation, as the ice disintegrates and the construct collapses.
What's left of the hardgel has evaporated - disintegrated, into complete nothing. Some of its core components are simply removed from existence. What's left is like a hollow, mangled, sliced-apart shell of what was once in there, its final word to Hannah simply repeating what she is.
Anomalous.
Way, way, way away, Seraph Lanval's already broken some bottles and found one he's liked. He could feel a surge all the way over there, and it felt bad in a 'I can't let this rock' way, and he's not far off from rushing with all due haste uncharacteristic of his leisurely self to make sure whatever's going on hasn't brought harm to his friends, but he's not important in the moment. (nor will he make it on screen in time)
All that's left is the residual ruin of a husk of what's left - and whatever Hannah will do to calm herself from letting her sorcery run ever wilder.
<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.
Anomalous.
That's all the response she gets.
She tries to tell herself that the robot was 1000 years out of date, that so much has changed or evolved since then, that its programming or its equipment was just old or failing, or...
There are a thousand little excuses she could make for it not to know. To not have an idea.
And yet, for all that it's a non-answer, that it doesn't tell her anything new... in a weird, sickening way, it's also a confirmation.
Nobody knows what this is.
She's stuck with this strange, unknown malady.
There are tears streaming down her face as she watches the last of the robot's demise, and it's only when the danger is well and truly past that she drops to her knees. She's staring at the husk of the Witchbuster. She might be down for the count this time, and it won't even be directly by the robot's doing.
"Hannah!" comes a shout, and Susanna comes charging onto the scene--a feline beastfolk woman, around her 40's, a regular around Damzen and a Drifter in her own right, and Hannah's Big Sister. "What in the world--"
She draws up short as Hannah looks up to her, as those eyes still blaze with leftover power that she's not quite sure what to do with. Her voice is shaking. "S-sis--"
There's only a moment of hesitation, but Susanna steps firmly forward, draws Hannah into a tight hug, and strokes her hair. "Sssh. There, there kitten. Deep breaths. In. And out."
There are more tears, and eventually, slowly, all of the weirdness around Hannah dims and then fades away. And when she finally looks up again, her eyes are puffy and red--but not glowing.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
Always, always Eleanor knows that she can count on Xiumei, her wife. SHe looks to her when she says they'll focus on saving her, and nods, believing in her. And in the others. Xiumei's power is significant. ...But Azoth, too, responds to her wish for power. She knows, somehow, that she has made such a wish. And Venetia...
"...Right?" Eleanor says, managing almost to sound like she's laughing, when Venetia says that. But she will show her.
The thanks from Holly is appreciated. But her powerful magic is more appreciated, as is Ida's sheer power. She gives Noeline a wan look at the matter of what it can and cannot do. But Eleanor does understand, perhaps, why Josie might stay here. But, '87% is certainly a pass.' "That's true," Eleanor admits.
But they do indeed destroy the machine. The poor machine, that was never given a chance to do anything but this. ...And through Hannah's magic, flowing from her, crackling and surging and blazing. She doesn't know what's happening, and neither does Eleanor.
But she knows there's something wrong.
Eleanor sees her friend crying, and sees her down on her knees. She starts to go to her--but Susanna is there. Susanna...
Eleanor smiles, through tears of her own, and goes to hug her wife Xiumei instead. "...I'll explain everything later," she promises. "Or at least, what I know."
After a moment she says, "...We'll have to recover the pieces and ensure that there's no further danger," as she disnegages, looking around. "...Riesenlied, Noeline. it's your place to keep the... body...if anyone does. But ARMS can't leave it if you don't. A construct like this, even destroyed, is too dangerous."
She looks over to Hannah, again, in worry. "...I hope you have another hug in you," she says quietly.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Despite being threatened, attacked, and exposed by the machine, Hannah pleads with it. She just wants to know who she is, and Ida feels for her. But for Hannah's sake--and the sake of everyone it might see as an 'anomaly'--they can't let this machine go free.
The heiress raises her arms to shield herself, and holds her breath as the machine explodes. A few bits of metal fly past her, but nothing breaks the skin. (Odd, that.) Out of sight, the vent in Ida's hand closes and smoothes out until nothing remains. She lets out a breath, turns to look at Hannah, and opens her mouth to speak, but someone else rushes in to comfort the sorceress.
"Yes," Ida says, with a nod to Eleanor. "I can see if there's anything left of its core or cognition or sensors. What heuristics it was using to identify sorcerers." An offer to help Hannah answer her question. "But for now, please. Listen to your sister. Okay? This was an awful surprise, but everyone's all right."
<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.
Golden light fades from Azoth's circuits, back to blue, then dim, then gone everywhere but his eyes. His gaze does not leave the Witchbuster. Audio input grates on every calculation, but not nearly so grating as the silence. Abrupt, unending silence from one not so unlike himself.
This is what they do, things like the Witchbuster. Things like the Azoth. They follow rules they were given and they help kill each other -- all while existing in an era they weren't made for and don't understand. He kneels down by the shell of the other construct to inspect it. It might look, to anyone who didn't know better, like he were in some manner of prayer.
Built for war and destruction with memories returning bit by bit, he cannot help but still admire the efficiency of the Witchbuster's defeat. A threat in all contexts... No kidding. Hannah's magic is unlike any Azoth has knowingly observed. If he had less understanding of informal language and its emotional affects, he too would have called it 'anomalous'.
Briefly, Azoth considers telling Hannah that's how constructs are. Don't take it personally, because things like him would find a teddy bear anomalous on a battle field. But Azoth stands up and looks to Hannah, whose cheeks are already stained in tears.
...There are those here, thankfully, for her to lean on. Sometimes that's what an anomaly needs.
He does not try putting on a smile this time. "How about you get some rest?" He glances to the others, settling on Riese and Noeline. "I can help you move the remains." Pause. "Rather -- I would like to help you move the remains, if you don't mind."
<Pose Tracker> Venetia Vuong has posed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAmORqTmiIo
The enemy machine is destroyed. It screams its words and disintegrates, leaving parts but nothing complete. Though it was a grim part, another piece of the history of Filgaia dies.
Venetia exhales as her simulacrum dissipates. She turns her head a little to look towards Hannah as the wind brushes over her hair. Dust brushes over her dropped Crest Graphs, taking interesting paths over the meta-thallium inlays.
She watches as an older woman - Venetia can spot a mom when she sees one - comes to Hannah. Good, she thinks as she looks to the side, and towards the horizon. Ida speaks of practicalities. Azoth offers her help.
"... I'm relieved it wasn't worse," Venetia concludes, and she goes to collect her treasures.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
There is an irony, perhaps, that the 'impossible Shaman' that drove the construct to such confusion was... created by none other than Alhazred himself.
...
No, that's her absconding to dark thoughts again. She found common ground and acceptance with Odoryuk even before he kidnapped her. She doesn't need to give credit where credit isn't due.
The Wayside Outreach leader is exhautsed by the time combat ceases; she's exerted a lot of power, and the Ley inside of her burns. Quietly, she watches Hannah as the tears fall from her face -- she wants to reassure and tell her, but... she understands well the harm overcrowding can do. Susanna's with her, at the moment.
She forces her brain into work mode, looking to Eleanor with some gratefulness. "The Fereshte can take the remains in -- we still have engineers that would best understand how to ensure that it does not remain a hazard," she explains.
Then, a nod to Ida. "We will study all there is to know about it. The past, as we are all intimately aware, is never irrelevant to the struggles of tomorrow."
Azoth tells her that he'd like to help them move the remains, and she nods. "Yes. Thank you for your aid in... trying to reach it as well, Azoth."
<Pose Tracker> Holly has posed.
The machine is destroyed with a word the fairy has some confusion about. She looks to the two that tried to talk the machine down and deflates, having been about to just spike it one more time for good measure. Irritation will do that. "Why didn't it follow orders? It recognized them." At least as far as she could tell.
That's a later question though. She's not exactly able to give anyone here a hug, but she can land nearby and stumble around for the right words. Far as she's concerned, anomolies aren't really that big a problem. Everyone here and everyone she's spent any real time with has fit that description to some degree right? Who wants to hear that though?
She lands on the ground and quietly walks over and sits down right alongside Hannah, leaning there to at least make her presence known since for once in her recent life, she's completely silent.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline watches, somehow all angles and edges the way she waits within the shifting shadow, as the robot starts to power down for good. She realizes ahead of time what is happening, and that their job here - or at least one of them - is over, and with an odd sort of 'pop' reality realigns itself and she lets her sword wink back out of existence. Whatever happens in the next few moments is up to Hannah more than it them. She's done what she set out to do.
She lets out a breath that is half a sigh, maybe not even aware she's doing it. Another piece of Alhazred's legacy stopped, and several new questions about how many people have been affected by his unpleasant presence in history. As much as she stands by her words to Riesenlied, it still leaves her contemplative. Maybe it's enough to take heart that no-one was seriously injured today, though she's careful not to use the word 'hurt'. The jury is still out there, she thinks privately to herself.
That thought brings her back to the present, and she is there to help support Riesenlied on one shoulder and back to her chair. "We should have some first aid supplies on hand," she notes as she fishes through the pockets on the chair's backrest. "... and it might be best to make sure there's been no damage to the mine, just in case it needs some support. I don't-- think we did anything seriously destructive, at least."
She waits until Hannah is looking up at them, somewhat calmer, and lets out a second breath. "... it may be terribly cold comfort right now, but I feel it would be important to remember that the word 'anomalous' is-- not a statement of 'good' or 'bad'. Honestly, as a descriptive, it is awful," she breaks into a huff. "Everyone here could be considered anomalous by sheer virtue of having the power with which to be a Drifter. Try not to read too much into it. That is the advice of this anomaly, at least."
Eleanor's warning is practical in the extreme, but Noeline's happy to accept that, glancing first at Riesenlied and Ida for their thoughts before nodding thoughtfully towards Azoth. A little bit at the back of her mind wants to assert that, with the Photosphere now firmly underwater, they have scant few records of their past as Hyadeans. She firmly ignores it, and quietly nods. "We can ensure it is deactivated properly for the time being. And... maybe we can find a way to provide it with some space and time with which to work through its confusion."
This is rather optimistic for her, but she needs to wash out the thought of Alhazred.
<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.
Eleanor's got the presence of mind to think about taking care of the... body. That's good. Because Hannah certainly doesn't have the wherewithal for that, and it's doubtful the miners who dug this thing up have that wherewithal, either.
She sniffs wetly and looks up to Eleanor, and just silently nods. She could use a hug or 40 right about then.
Ida is offering to help--and perhaps, with her dual perspectives of both the Hydean and of ARMs in general, there might be some answers had. "Thank you, Ida," she whispers, her throat hoarse and her voice just barely loud enough to be heard.
Would Azoth's words bring Hannah any comfort? It's hard to say. (She would, however, be utterly fascinated to hear a robot's perspective on the world, but now is, perhaps, not the best time for such things.)
Venetia knows a mom when she sees one, and she's not wrong. Susanna picked the title Big Sister for a reason, way back when she was much younger and a bit more of a roaming, adventurous type, with a much younger Hannah clinging to her daring tales of adventure and excitement. But things change, and she does know how to act the part, these days.
"... Sorry about your crest graph pouch, Miss Vuong. Maybe we can fix it..." offers Hannah.
Hannah looks to Risenlied. "S-sorry we couldn't..." She's not quite sure how to finish that sentence, but... maybe the meaning is clear, whether Riese still has her Dragon Tear active to intuit her intention, or just knowing Hannah's general disdain for destruction.
She sniffs a little and looks down to Holly with the tiniest bit of a smile. "Thank you," she whispers.
Noeline has advice, one anomaly to another, and Hannah nods quietly as she takes it in. It might take some while to absorb and sink in, but... she'll think it over.
"You feelin' any better, kitten?" asks Susanna softly.
Hannah nods, reaching up to wipe her cheek with the sleeve of her jacket. "... think so..." she mumbles. But she tenses as another voice speaks up.
"Hannah...?" asks David. "What was that?" He'd taken off out of sight, but... hadn't run completely off, back to town. Hiding to see what was going on with the robot--and what was going on with Hannah.
Hannah looks up to David, and then glances away. "Let's talk later, okay?"
David just nods.
Susanna helps Hannah to her feet, just in time for Zephyr to come back, and it looks like he's brought back a few more people from the orphanage, who all swarm on Hannah with concern, but Hannah just assures them she's okay.
To the rest of the assembled drifters she says, "Um... thanks for... comin' out here, and..." She looks around at the impromptu battlefield. "S-sorry this turned out... And, um, thanks for lookin' out for me. I'm really lucky y'all were here..."
Hannah leans heavily against Susanna, suddenly trained, and together they leave the outskirts and head back to the orphanage.