2023-12-28: Timecrime! The Valiant Versus Varuna
- Log: Timecrime! The Valiant Versus Varuna
- Cast: Varuna, Eleanor Klein, Xiumei Klein, Gwen Whitlock, Shige Kiwako, Jacqueline Barber, Josephine Lovelace, Ratatoskr (cameo), Timu Guado (cameo)
- Where: Thunder Plains
- Date: December 28, 2023
- Summary: In a backdated scene, a group of Drifters recruit their allies to ensure the destruction of a most terrible Fiend encountered in Tamasqus, lest it escape to Spira. Occurs before the Ten Wise Men's initial attack on Kattelox.
<Pose Tracker> Varuna has posed.
AN INDETERMINATE BUT BELIEVABLY SHORT TIME BEFORE THE TEN WISE MEN ATTACKED KATTELOX
The halls of the Shattered Cells of Tamasqus are quieter today. It is not because there are less Fiends. These chokingly thick pyrefly clusters have nowhere to go, and are free to recombine themselves in perpetuity into awesome, terrible Fiends of antiquity at will. Whatever 'will' dictates their formation, in any case.
It is because of a singular, specific Fiend that now prowls through the halls and chambers, whom carries enough presence that those few Fiends with a semblance of sense of self has either gone to hide, or because they've already been disincorporated into their looser pyrefly components.
Several of the glossy, dark walls with thrumming energy have been subject to crushing force as a great shadow prowls what little consistent illumination there is here (beyond... well, pyreflies, in their prismatic shininess).
A great demonic beast welcomes itself through an opening, bipedal in stature thought he shape of its two-fingered oversized claw-hands suggest it could go quadrupedal with few difficulties if its already strong upper torso were proportionate to match. Two leathery wings stay folded at its back, as yellow-tinged talons scar the floor it scrapes.
Not long ago, a small group had to escape its grasp, but there was an understanding that it was a Fiend that could not - should not - leave this place, and there wasn't a way to seal the great hole leading into the ancient prison. The small team assembled, what information exists from previous journeys within has come up with a safe(...-ish) place of ambush to wait as it turned the corner.
Pyreflies choke the air around it, but an outward sweep of its right wing sees lesser ones shoo. It might be fanciful imagination, but the way it raises an enormous foreclaw to its lips matches a gesture as if to say, 'shh.' A sense, that it might know what awaits them.
Varuna - The Lurker in Darkness
OST: Final Fantasy X HD Remaster - Enemy Attack - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOJixyIhAx8
They lurk, their silhouette coming into view just as they round the bend to the place the team awaits - a large, circular chamber where one of the collapsing wall-cage mechanisms was fully disabled, about the most wide-open arena available. Smooth stone, dark and glossy, pulses with lines of energy throughout every so often. There's nowhere for natural cover, so having the space to maneuver is all one has to work with.
A space their presence starts to fill - you have a split-second to make an opening volley count.
DC: Varuna switches forms to Varuna - The Lurker in Darkness!
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
Eleanor Klein is sure that this monster will be a problem, left to its own devices. With Tamasqus open again to the world, it is only a matter of time before its Fiends escape.
...And she's fascinated by the ruins themselves besides, even if obviously she'll donate the information she finds to the Spirans themselves, to whom the knowledge rightly belongs.
But since she helped uncover this particular Fiend... She's going to be one of the ones to take care of it.
Which means...
"All right," Eleanor says. "Here's the Fiend." She regards it, seeing the other Fiends flee. And the team awaits in the large circular chamber, Eleanor at the center. Pulsing energy...
"Xiu," she says. "I'll back you up."
Reaching out her hand, she invokes a Crest on her person, the energies of Fray and Muse melding as she casts. "Layer upon layer, strike the record! Vehemence!"
Xiumei is surrounded by a flash of golden light that empowers her weapons considerably--and with it, the warmth of Eleanor's faith in her.
"Everyone!" she calls. "Let's go!"
GS: Eleanor Klein spends 1 Combo on Reload! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Xiumei Klein with Vehemence! GS: Eleanor Klein has gained 3 Combo! GS: Eleanor Klein's stances have changed to Sage! GS: Eleanor Klein has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Eleanor Klein heals Xiumei Klein! She gains 42 temporary hit points! GS: Pray grants a random effect! Amplify and Regen applied to Xiumei Klein!
<Pose Tracker> Xiumei Klein has posed.
Xiumei Klein hadn't quite made it to Tamasqus before. But, that doesn't stop her from coming. For one thing, she has a lot of fond memories of Spira. And, for another, she came here with someone else.
Specifically, with her wife.
"I see it," she answers Nora.
As she gets a good look at the titanic Fiend ahead of her, Xiumei can see why they need to stop it. The massive, bipedal, and winged monstrosity has already done no small amount of damage here. To escape would only endanger Spira's peace, so hard and recently won.
Eleanor's golden light flashes up, rising across her. Xiu takes a breath, feeling that power.
Then she holds a hand out -- and her handcannon appears, in flashing cubes of data light. Her fingers curl about it, as she takes aim at Varuna. Then she fires, a trio of energy shots hurtling out for the Fiend. Shots fired, Xiumei runs into the room.
GS: Xiumei Klein has attacked Varuna with AV Buster - Triple Shot! GS: Xiumei Klein has gained 1 Combo! GS: Xiumei Klein's stances have changed to Avenger! GS: Xiumei Klein gains 32 THP from Regen! GS: Xiumei Klein has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
"So, we're all in agreement on the plan, right? Just, strike fast, hit hard?" Gwen lowers her voice appropriately to avoid notice, glancing towards Eleanor since she seems to have a plan.
Gwen, notably, is not going to call upon any powers tonight. That was her promise to herself before coming here, as she needed to figure out what she felt, and what was a responsible means of dealing with something that could easily come when her emotions run too high.
... Thing is, this Fiend is very, very big and she is very small in comparison, so she briefly reconsiders that personal pledge.
.... .... Nah, she'll be fine.
Gwen draws out something valuable. It's the last bag she has that's not just seasoning, so she'll make it count. "No one take a good sniff near its face while this stuff's in the air, 'kay?" Palming it in her right hand, Gwen winds up her arm, judging her aim for the perfect underhand throw. "--Unless that's your thing, I hain't--" She hurls it into the air, arcing it towards the Varuna's face. "--gonna judge!"
GS: Gwen Whitlock has activated Force Action: Lock On! GS: Gwen Whitlock has attacked Varuna with Auntie Frea's Fire Chili Spice Special! GS: Gwen Whitlock has completed her action. GS: Varuna solidly guards Xiumei Klein's AV Buster - Triple Shot for 55 hit points! GS: Hyper and Mighty applied to Xiumei Klein! GS: Varuna solidly guards Gwen Whitlock's Auntie Frea's Fire Chili Spice Special for 0 hit points! GS: Infect! Debuff durations extended!! GS: Varuna's Mute Ward may block the effect! GS: Hex applied to Varuna! GS: Mute blocked! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus activated!
<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.
Shige Kiwako had that.. feeling that something was wrong. Something she couldn't put a finger on, something that's gotten stronger with both time and purpose. She might not have been part of the group that made it there in the first place, but that doesn't mean she won't step in to help now. Nevermind curiosity had gotten the better of her.
Sure the fiend is terrifying. Sure she mitigates this by taking a pull of today's on tap. (Bourbon). But she doesn't drain it! She's getting better kinda! The lantern is lifted. casting long shadows towards the beast.
She thumbs up Eleanor's encouragement and calls out, "Glad I stumbled across you guys!" sounding.. well. Earnest. Turns out she'd probably have just turned tail and ran if she'd stumbled across this alone. She's not telling though.
There's a brief moment of.. maybe she should have reached out to other groups clarity that gets shoved aside.
The figure that appears at the end of the shadow is silent. A sense of dread emanating from it, bitter cold and clinging as it reaches shadowy claws up and tries to cling to the fiend. Shifting whenever one takes their eyes off, a trick of the light almost.
GS: Shige Kiwako has attacked Varuna with Mute Horror! GS: Shige Kiwako has completed her action. GS: Varuna solidly guards Shige Kiwako's Mute Horror for 0 hit points! GS: Varuna's Mute Ward may block the effect! GS: Interrupt and Mute applied to Varuna! GS: FP up! Arcane Font and Reaction bonus activated!
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline was there, when they ran into that Fiend. A powerful one - too powerful to handle at the time, in their state, and too powerful to leave to its own devices. There was a lot they needed to address first... but now, it's time to strike while they still know exactly where it is.
Naturally, she, too, intends make up for her past mistakes.
Jacqueline follows Eleanor's lead and there, in that circular chamber, the Fiend starts to emerge. It looks as dangerous as the last time they met... but this time, they're ready for it. Eleanor gives the signal
"Right!" Jacqueline calls back. She gestures quickly with her left hand. A sorcerous fog starts to build around Varuna, to obscure its vision of its attackers and limit its ability to retaliate. From there, they can move forward as necessary. "Don't underestimate it - any Fiend that has survived this long must have any number of tricks up its sleeves!"
GS: Jacqueline Barber has attacked Varuna with Obscuring Fog ! GS: Jacqueline Barber has gained 1 Combo! GS: Jacqueline Barber has completed her action. GS: Varuna partially guards Jacqueline Barber's Obscuring Fog for 0 hit points! GS: Blind and Weaken applied to Varuna! GS: Quick applied to Jacqueline Barber! GS: FP up! Arcane Font and Reaction bonus activated!
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
There they'd been, knee-deep in some hideous old ruin and about to either find some ancient hidden secret of some sort or get hideously maimed by a trap. What had actually happened had been an unexpected attack by a Fiend most foul!
Josie isn't about to let that sort of thing slide. So after a prompt retreat and huddle-up, of a sort, they'd come back down here to deal with it.
In numbers, at that.
"Go loud," Josie murmurs to Gwen, lifting her gaze to Xiumei and Eleanor alike. Funny: time was, she was their enemy, even. She grins, fiercly, though there's no sense of mirth in her eyes. Briefly, just briefly, she looks Jacqueline's way--
But there's no time for any od that. She can feel the floor shake. It's coming.
"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" Josie roars as it comes rumbling towards their position; she fires that same black shotgun she'd used as a member of Odessa at it, then fires again. Someone else is here, she notes fleetingly, though discipline (yes! she has some!) keeps her from looking away.
GS: Josephine Lovelace has attacked Varuna with Red Lotus! GS: Josephine Lovelace has gained 1 Combo! GS: Josephine Lovelace has completed her action. GS: Gamble: Moderate! Varuna solidly guards Josephine Lovelace's Red Lotus for 67 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Varuna has posed.
They only have a chance to surprise it once. Eleanor may have quietly intuited through her foresight (and/or narrow escape from doom, maybe a bit of both) that the closest thing to a tactical advantage is to strike first, and /truly/ strike first. This is the only place and time they can.
The Sage of Light sets up her timing window by entrusting Xiumei with a choice Crest Graph, and it is Xiumei who fires the opening volley exactly when it starts coming into line of sight.
Lemon-shaped globules of energy strike against a folded wing in triplicate, a rumbling, guttural sound as it is surprised and intercepted before its natural reflex. Gwen gambles on what its full range of sensory stimuli the Fiend still has, as the final bag of a valuable gift(?) explodes in an utterly dangerous combination of spices and chemicals, and their face contorts.
A reaction.
Shige will know as a servant of the Guardian of Death that they do not abide pyreflies being anywhere near Filgaia. This is not Filgaia, but pyreflies have a place to be where they can be safely kept, and this is one step towards protecting Filgaia by pact as a shadow clings onto that guarding wing with a snarl.
Jay finds that opening to throw a sorcerous fog to build off the present understanding of its senses (in that it Hates The Chili, so more conventional, lawfully just combat tactics can be applied in this direction) as fog fills the space before it. No amount of fog can cloud its demonic visage, but some manner of success can be ascertained by precedent.
Josie lets loose with her shotgun, and again, and that fog all clears in the wake of her potent ARM, showing pyreflies leaking from surface wounds of a huge forelimb crossed in front of it in defense.
Any sense of pause for theatrics is not performed. It sweeps that outward with a guttural roaring that clears stray pyreflies away. Sorcerous power builds as the dust particles around its body start to rapidly accelerate as energy pulses faster and faster in the familiar Spiran spell of Haste, and the importance in which Eleanor took the lead in this tactical maneuver and timing is made bare -
It's fast.
It outraces its own shadow across the chamber, gliding above all of them in a disorienting fashion towards one end, and then the other, coming to a crouch with one forelimb on the ground as it thrusts the other to another show of sorcerous might.
The air chills. Freezes.
It strips warmth from bone, transcending protection and comfort, one of the greatest expressions of the Black aspect of Ice known by Spiran spellcasting disciplines.
It moves again after this cast, touching to the ceiling and somehow clinging despite the feet lacking the capacity to curl and clench, staring down at them, as if challenging them to catch it.
GS: Varuna has attacked Varuna with Haste! GS: Varuna has gained 1 Combo! GS: Interrupt expired! GS: Varuna accepts Varuna's Haste for 0 hit points! GS: Hyper and Quick applied to Varuna! GS: Varuna has activated a Boss Action! GS: Varuna has activated Force Action: Lock On! GS: Varuna has attacked Josephine Lovelace with Blizzaga! GS: Varuna has attacked Jacqueline Barber with Blizzaga! GS: Varuna has attacked Shige Kiwako with Blizzaga! GS: Varuna has attacked Gwen Whitlock with Blizzaga! GS: Varuna has attacked Xiumei Klein with Blizzaga! GS: Varuna has attacked Eleanor Klein with Blizzaga! GS: Varuna has gained 1 Combo! GS: Varuna has completed their action. GS: Eleanor Klein solidly guards Varuna's Blizzaga for 61 hit points! GS: Disease applied to Eleanor Klein! GS: Quick applied to Varuna! GS: Xiumei Klein takes a glancing hit from Varuna's Blizzaga for 54 hit points! GS: Disease applied to Xiumei Klein! GS: Jacqueline Barber takes a glancing hit from Varuna's Blizzaga for 45 hit points! GS: Disease applied to Jacqueline Barber! GS: Quick applied to Varuna! GS: FP up! Arcane Font, Reaction bonus, and Gleam activated! GS: CRITICAL! Gwen Whitlock takes a solid hit from Varuna's Blizzaga for 159 hit points! GS: Disease applied to Gwen Whitlock! GS: Josephine Lovelace solidly guards Varuna's Blizzaga for 61 hit points! GS: Disease applied to Josephine Lovelace! GS: Quick applied to Varuna! GS: Shige Kiwako takes a solid hit from Varuna's Blizzaga for 140 hit points! GS: Disease applied to Shige Kiwako! GS: FP up! Arcane Font activated!
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
Even when it's for battle, Eleanor is happy to be near her wife. She isn't a lover of fighting like some of their members, but she isn't afraid of it, either. So Eleanor watches her wife go!!
Her own next move is defensive, shifting away from the others to spread out in case of area of effect attacks. "That's the plan," she confirms with Gwen. "And I wasn't planning to sniff near a Fiend in any case..."
She's glad Shige is with them, too! And Jay, as she makes use of her abilities to warn and assist them immediately.
...Josie, of course, goes loud. Eleanor can appreciate that about her. Because they need it.
"Come, creature," Eleanor says when it faces them properly. "We will defeat you!"
But the air chills, and as Eleanor feels it sinking in, a blue stone in an amulet about her neck glows, blunting the impact of the powerful spell at the cost of a crack in the stone. That will only work the once--but it worked.
Nevertheless, the chill lingers; her breath mists.
She pulls her firearm and passes her hand along the barrel; it begins to glow, spectral churning waters all around it. "Don't let up!" Eleanor advises, and fires her shot, which explodes into a bubble of aquatic force on impact!
GS: Eleanor Klein spends 1 Combo on Poison! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Varuna with Torrent Shot! GS: Eleanor Klein has gained 1 Combo! GS: Eleanor Klein has completed her action. GS: Varuna takes a glancing hit from Eleanor Klein's Torrent Shot for 42 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Varuna gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Jam and Poison applied to Varuna!
<Pose Tracker> Xiumei Klein has posed.
"We are," Xiumei agrees with Gwen, then nods once to Josie -- a moment before rushing in herself. Her eyes are on Jay's and Shige's spells -- by now, she is used to working with spells and not getting caught up in them too.
Their combined spells, thrown items, and gunfire did not stop it. Xiumei grimaces, as Varuna soars so fast that she nearly loses track of it. Ice shoots up around her; the air becomes freezing, and her teeth chatter involuntarily.
She hisses softly, before she stows her AV Buster. Instead, her beam saber is drawn from thin air, cubes of light cascading together -- and then a blade of energy erupts from it.
Eleanor fires her shot -- and then Xiumei leaps in, dashing right for it, and then she slashes for Varuna. She becomes a blur of white-green herself, blade slashing through, before she lands on the ground behind it.
GS: Xiumei Klein has attacked Varuna with AV Saber - Dash Cutter! GS: Xiumei Klein has gained 1 Combo! GS: Xiumei Klein gains 8 THP from Regen! GS: Xiumei Klein has completed her action. GS: Varuna takes a glancing hit from Xiumei Klein's AV Saber - Dash Cutter for 57 hit points! GS: Riposte applied to Xiumei Klein!
<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.
The creature counters their opening with a bitter cold opening of its own. Bitter cold and clinging, a different kind than either the real cold she grew up in or the supernatural chill that clings to her.
Even with her teeth chattering, she tries to put on a brave face that's not at all felt by the feline herself. She thinks at least. "I-it's not that cold. Had colder nights before!" though she does also immediately act to try and pull that magic away from the group.
The lantern's light flares and the shadows spread out, bringing with them a sense of calm and protection. Faint memories of fallen warriors long since past taking up points around the group, looking outward with something looking vaguely like you'd expect a leader at the center weaving a spell. Trying to strip away any lingering malaise.
Not that it helps the memory for the feline. She does the next best thing she can think of. Taking another pull of bourbon. It brings warmth right? That's definitely why.
Still, she makes her way to the group, ready to aid as best she can, keeping the spooky light on the creature as it darts around. Even if the light's lagging behind those rapid movements.
"I've got you all" She calls out, trying to sound more confident at the very least.
The clinging shadow, for what it's worth pays no heed to Xiumei, singleminded in its attempt to aid the shaman who's currently guiding the memories and the spell brought forth by them.
GS: Shige Kiwako has attacked Eleanor Klein with Hallowed Ground! GS: Shige Kiwako has attacked Josephine Lovelace with Hallowed Ground! GS: Shige Kiwako has attacked Jacqueline Barber with Hallowed Ground! GS: Shige Kiwako has attacked Shige Kiwako with Hallowed Ground! GS: Shige Kiwako has attacked Gwen Whitlock with Hallowed Ground! GS: Shige Kiwako has attacked Xiumei Klein with Hallowed Ground! GS: Shige Kiwako has gained 1 Combo! GS: Shige Kiwako has completed her action. GS: Gwen Whitlock accepts Shige Kiwako's Hallowed Ground for 0 hit points! GS: Restore! Disease removed! GS: Lock state applied to Gwen Whitlock! GS: Jacqueline Barber accepts Shige Kiwako's Hallowed Ground for 0 hit points! GS: Restore! Disease removed! GS: Lock state applied to Jacqueline Barber! GS: FP up! Gleam activated! GS: CRITICAL! Xiumei Klein accepts Shige Kiwako's Hallowed Ground for 0 hit points! GS: Restore! Disease removed! GS: Lock state applied to Xiumei Klein! GS: Eleanor Klein accepts Shige Kiwako's Hallowed Ground for 0 hit points! GS: Restore! Disease removed! GS: Lock state applied to Eleanor Klein! GS: Shige Kiwako accepts Shige Kiwako's Hallowed Ground for 0 hit points! GS: Restore! Disease removed! GS: Lock state applied to Shige Kiwako! GS: FP up! Gleam activated! GS: Josephine Lovelace accepts Shige Kiwako's Hallowed Ground for 0 hit points! GS: Restore! Disease removed! GS: Lock state applied to Josephine Lovelace!
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Josie looks, just briefly, her way. Jacqueline catches the look - but Varuna is too demanding to allow more than a look to past while it's still present.
...Especially as sorcerous power builds, and Varuna's speed increases considerably. The temperature of the air lowers considerably. Jacqueline can feel the chill, even through everything. She shudders - but steels herself. Shige's spell helps, restoring some of the strength lost to the chill.
"Thank you..." Jacqueline calls out - and now that she can think more clearly, turns her mind toward analysis. If it's augmenting its speed... then the most important thing right now is to ensure that it can't outpace them completely. In a swift motion, Jacqueline draws from her deck and sets a Crest Graph into her left gauntlet. She makes a quick gesture, and then pushes toward Varuna - and at her command, a mysterious, dark wind blows toward it. A wind that acts on a layer beyond the physical and tears away reinforcement.
GS: Jacqueline Barber has attacked Varuna with Mysterious Wind! GS: Jacqueline Barber has gained 1 Combo! GS: Jacqueline Barber has completed her action. GS: Varuna takes a glancing hit from Jacqueline Barber's Mysterious Wind for 0 hit points! GS: Infect! Debuff durations extended!! GS: Dispel! Infect! Hyper and Quick removed! GS: Hex applied to Varuna! GS: FP up! Arcane Font activated!
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
Enemies file alongside allies-- it's something Gwen herself seems to always been a part of. She nods, and her lips widen into a confident grin at Josie and Xiumei. "Right."
Gwen's gamble strikes gold; at least, maybe, it's giving others the chance to inflict some damage as Varuna reacts. The chemicals that grant chilis their reputation aren't effective on everything; Gwen had to guess that Varuna had at least some of those pesky things called 'receptors' that Auntie Frea tried to explain to her once. If it hadn't worked, Gwen might have to reconsider her guess of Varuna being a mammal. Maybe a bird? How do Fiends hit into that whole classification?
However, there's something far more universal when it comes to something that affects mammals and birds alike: being friggin' cold. Gwen is taken off-guard, clenching her arms against her body as she is forced to painfully shiver in place. The yellow scarf around her neck ignites on cue, harmlessly projecting a small amount of warmth against her skin. Its warmth is only a temporary fix; Shige's magic provides a more definite fix, allowing Gwen to move again. "Thanks, Shige!"
Drawing three knives from her vest with her bare right hand, Gwen injects them with electricity, and flings them one after the other at Varuna. How does the electricity stay inside the knives once they leave Gwen's hands?
...
It's as mysterious as Jay's wind magic.
GS: Gwen Whitlock has attacked Varuna with Comet Clip! GS: Gwen Whitlock has completed her action. GS: Varuna takes a solid hit from Gwen Whitlock's Comet Clip for 97 hit points! GS: Jam and Weaken applied to Varuna!
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Josie has all of a split-second to exult in the devastation her ARM causes.
But the Fiend is fast, just as fast as it is strong: there is a reason it was sealed away all those ages ago. "Shit--!" Josie barks, wheeling backwards as it outpaces its own shadow. But there is nowhere to hide, and only a spare little space in which to run. So, she does neither.
She had remarked while exploring the twists and turns of Tamasqus of her parentage. Throwing her right arm out before her, she conjures a sparking pulse as a shield, the better to deflect the storm of ice. It still bites: the air gains a wintry chill (see how her breath fogs when she exhales). But she is spared what might have been.
The shadows flare in the room and Josie looks once, at last, in Shige's direction. Shamanism, she realizes, familiar by now with such workings. Some of the chill flees her body: she feels that much more bolstered against what may come. "Thanks, kiddo!"
It's an interesting gambit from Gwen; Josie fleetingly raises an eyebrow and considers asking for a bit of the blend later -- not necessarily for food, mind (she can always appreciate some... unorthodox approaches in the battlefield).
Speaking of unorthodox approaches, though--
Holstering her ARM across her lower back, Josie loosely flexes the fingers of her left hand. "Eyes over here!" she shouts, electricity dancing over her other arm as she gathers in that hand an entire bolt of lightning and hurls it at Varuna.
GS: 2 Combo gained from Boost! GS: Regen added to Josephine Lovelace! GS: Josephine Lovelace has activated Force Action: Boost! GS: Josephine Lovelace spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling! GS: Josephine Lovelace has attacked Varuna with Bolt Lance! GS: Josephine Lovelace has gained 2 Combo! GS: Josephine Lovelace gains 32 THP from Regen! GS: Josephine Lovelace has completed her action. GS: Varuna takes a glancing hit from Josephine Lovelace's Bolt Lance for 61 hit points! GS: Jam applied to Varuna! GS: Cripple blocked! GS: Mighty applied to Josephine Lovelace! GS: FP up! Arcane Font activated!
<Pose Tracker> Varuna has posed.
A dare is given in silence, as it leaps off that ceiling.
Bubbles graze off the side of Varuna's upper torso as Eleanor's singular brief hint that her shot made contact in some form, bubbling sorceries rising alongside loosened pyreflies.
Its movement seems to put it at risk of pouncing Eleanor outright, were it not for Xiumei intercepting with the AV Saber. It twists and corkscrews to avoid a more injurious interaction, changing course to spare Eleanor in this moment.
Shige calls upon her Shamanic connection to death itself to mark out a hallowed ground strictly for the living, and indeed a few pyreflies do not dare cross these grounds that Shige lays out as she summons back warmth in place of the chill.
Gwen helps keep up the offensive pressure as she flings knives after it touches down from its altered dive trajectory, wings flaring as it rushes over - and past - Gwen without giving ceremony or pause to where all three knives find purchase within its body and stick.
Whether Varuna is truly heeding Josie's words, or is just acknowledging she's making adequate enough noise to draw attention, lightning shoots out for the Fiend from her Symbological assault. It courses through one of the hind legs, courses through the body once, and grounds itself out when it stabs one of the extended elbow blades into the ground.
Jay does something that seems to reach out, grab into it on a metaphysical level, and cause the surrounding area to seem to... slow down, to a pacing fully in-sync with the way time passes around them.
It stops, eyes leveling upon the alchemist as if this action - this aciton, alone! - were the gravest offense inflicted upon it. They rise to their full height, sorcerous power gathering anew...
In the familiar way it did when it first had the opening to act, re-casting the Spiran spell of Haste. This might be a behavior unstoppable, but... perhaps exploitable?
Something courses through it, and extensive efforts to seal and restrain its might hold its place long enough before it darts and moves again across the chamber at a speed that Ratatoskr might not have been able to outrun if he were here.
Its deadly claws from both forelimbs rake out towards Gwen and Shige in wide, sweeping motions so quick that it ignites the air briefly, whirling upright once more towards a wall.
From there, it reveals that it had another elemental birthright in life - or maybe taken in undeath from absorbed pyreflies - vast quantities of water pressurized and ready to violently burst on impact to the near-pinnacle of Spira's grasp of the Black aspect of Water, threatening to drench Eleanor and Xiumei together.
Jay and Josie, in turn, see another sweep of an arm to a muted but audible, ground-rumbling growl as the gift of Lightning shows itself at an equal potency of the previous two elemental expressions, striking forth for the two of them as it once again dashes to another part of the room. The shadow it casts seems entirely disconnected from it in that split-second, as an optic illusion. It's that fast.
GS: Varuna has attacked Varuna with Haste! GS: Varuna has gained 2 Combo! GS: CRITICAL! Varuna accepts Varuna's Haste for 0 hit points! GS: Hyper and Quick applied to Varuna! GS: Varuna has activated a Boss Action! GS: Varuna has attacked Gwen Whitlock with Deadly Claws! GS: Varuna has attacked Shige Kiwako with Deadly Claws! GS: Varuna has attacked Xiumei Klein with Waterga! GS: Varuna has attacked Eleanor Klein with Waterga! GS: Varuna has gained 1 Combo! GS: Gwen Whitlock solidly guards Varuna's Deadly Claws for 76 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Gwen Whitlock gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Shige Kiwako takes a glancing hit from Varuna's Deadly Claws for 54 hit points! GS: FP up! Gleam activated! GS: Varuna has attacked Jacqueline Barber with Thundaga! GS: Varuna has attacked Josephine Lovelace with Thundaga! GS: Varuna has gained 1 Combo! GS: Jacqueline Barber solidly guards Varuna's Thundaga for 73 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Jacqueline Barber gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Quick applied to Varuna! GS: FP up! Arcane Font and Gleam activated! GS: Jacqueline Barber enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Xiumei Klein solidly guards Varuna's Waterga for 139 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Xiumei Klein gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Xiumei Klein's Jam Ward may block the effect! GS: Poison applied to Xiumei Klein! GS: Jam blocked! GS: Quick applied to Varuna! GS: Xiumei Klein enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Josephine Lovelace solidly guards Varuna's Thundaga for 76 hit points! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus activated! GS: Varuna takes 28 damage from Poison! GS: Varuna has completed their action. GS: Eleanor Klein suffers a terrible blow from Varuna's Waterga for 192 hit points! GS: Jam and Poison applied to Eleanor Klein!
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
One may notice that Eleanor's combat approach includes a lot of support for her wife in particular--there's a reason for this, and it's trust. But she has no intention of neglecting the others, either.
But she isn't alone in doing it, with Shige summoning up memories? ghosts? to aid them. "Thank you!" Eleanor says to her, and feels the chill abate.
A lot of electrical attacks... That might serve them well here, but not yet for Eleanor.
Not while it's that close to converging on her, anyway.
"It seems that just removing its spell won't avail us much," Eleanor admits, seeing it recast with some dismay. That spell is powerful, but there's little way to avoid it short of undoing it every single time.
It bursts into action, and Eleanor is knocked backwards hard by the powerful spell of Waterga. "Aah-!" This time, no talisman blocks it for her; she hits the stones, wincing as her back impacts the wall. "I'm fine," she says, perhaps not convincingly. But she pushes herself off the wall and straightens, lifting her free hand. "O golden light, shine upon us and banish the dark!"
Shimmering Light bursts around each of them, a golden bubble that is warm and reassuring and somehow powerful, like the hand of something greater resting on each shoulder.
"Keep it up!"
GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Josephine Lovelace with Blessing of Light! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Gwen Whitlock with Blessing of Light! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Jacqueline Barber with Blessing of Light! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Shige Kiwako with Blessing of Light! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Xiumei Klein with Blessing of Light! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Eleanor Klein with Blessing of Light! GS: Eleanor Klein has gained 2 Combo! GS: Eleanor Klein takes 28 damage from Poison! GS: Eleanor Klein has completed her action. GS: Eleanor Klein accepts Eleanor Klein's Blessing of Light for 0 hit points! GS: Hyper, Quick, and Shield applied to Eleanor Klein! GS: Jacqueline Barber accepts Eleanor Klein's Blessing of Light for 0 hit points! GS: Hyper, Quick, and Shield applied to Jacqueline Barber! GS: FP up! Gleam activated! GS: CRITICAL! Xiumei Klein accepts Eleanor Klein's Blessing of Light for 0 hit points! GS: Hyper, Quick, and Shield applied to Xiumei Klein! GS: Josephine Lovelace accepts Eleanor Klein's Blessing of Light for 0 hit points! GS: Hyper, Quick, and Shield applied to Josephine Lovelace!
<Pose Tracker> Xiumei Klein has posed.
"Thank you!" Xiumei calls to Shige, as her lantern's light washes over her. She catches a few silhouettes nearby; of Guardians and Warrior-Monks, perhaps, raising weapons in solidarity. Or maybe that's what her mind fills in, for her.
She keeps facing Varuna -- her holographically-enhanced eyes following the wind spell, lightning blast, and electrified knives thrown at the Fiend -- and then it summons a powerful burst of water, which slams into Xiumei.
It hurls her back, into one of the walls; she grunts, and then closes her mouth as the pressurized sphere of water threatens to suffocate her. She looks at Eleanor, concern on her face--
But she says she's fine. Even if Xiumei wonders.
Light burst around her, brilliant gold light that shines through her and her armor. It gives her the strength to move -- she kicks off the wall and breaks through the water, and swings back her AV Saber. The blade flashes -- and then she leaps up, and swings it down, leaving a massive green afterimage in her wake. The energy blade chops down for Varuna as she lands.
GS: Xiumei Klein has activated Force Action: Full Clip! GS: Xiumei Klein spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling! GS: Formation! Xiumei Klein has attacked Varuna with AV Saber - Charge Slash! GS: Xiumei Klein has gained 3 Combo! GS: Xiumei Klein's Avenger stance ends! GS: Cancel Bonus! Gained 5 FP! GS: Xiumei Klein takes 31 damage from Poison! GS: Xiumei Klein has completed her action. GS: Gwen Whitlock accepts Eleanor Klein's Blessing of Light for 0 hit points! GS: Hyper, Quick, and Shield applied to Gwen Whitlock!
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Varuna fixes her with a baleful look. Jacqueline tenses, ready to spring as it prepares a spell... and then jumps to the side reactively!
...Only watch as it recasts the spell it opened the fight with.
"...You're right." Jacqueline agrees with a nod toward Eleanor. "I could try to keep it tied up with recasting it, but I'd probably run out of stamina long before it did..."
And there's no telling when it might decide to retaliate a bit more violently.
After all - it's already more than capable of unleashing sorcerous destruction without having a greater reason for doing so. Jacqueline feels the build-up of electricity in the air and reacts instinctively. She holds her hand toward it - and winces as a massive burst of lightning crashes toward her. A thin barrier projects from her gauntlet to intercept the worst of the strike - but her arm still sparks and feels numb.
"It's strong..." She mutters, backpedaling. She rummages through her bags, drawing out a bottle of lavender-colored liquid. She tries to track its movement through the room, but... "It's too fast."
Fortunately, Eleanor calls upon the light - and around Jacqueline, light bursts forth. A golden bubble surrounds her, chasing away the last of the earlier chill. Jacqueline breathes out, feeling much more confident now.
Throwing's out of the question - but she still has her own tricks, now that she's back at the top of her game. With a Mystic touch the contents evaporate, settling over Varuna in a glimmering cloud that saps one's very strength if the effects are allowed to set in.
GS: Jacqueline Barber has activated Force Action: Full Clip! GS: Jacqueline Barber has attacked Varuna with Diminishing Draught! GS: Jacqueline Barber has gained 1 Combo! GS: Jacqueline Barber has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
Fire ignites from the wide sweeps of those claws, fast enough and unexpected enough to Gwen makes a high-pitched yelp and shields herself more out of instinctual fear than choice of tactics. While her own scarf illicited no response from the courier despite it being against her skin, her reaction here shows Gwen she's still got a ways to go.
It's not as if that fire was exactly a kind gesture of camaraderie from Varuna, but still--
Looking up from her brief spell of fright as Eleanor assures everyone she's fine, Gwen glances over her shoulder at Eleanor, looking both worried and slightly guilty as she feels the effects of Light's blessing. Like Xiumei, she has to place it aside; there will be time for that later.
Loosening up her shoulders, Gwen lowers her center of gravity and straightens her right ARM out, palm exposed, supporting it with her left hand and the crouching posture of her body. It's going to be needed for the recoil, as Gwen sets off a series of blast, trying to get at least one to land as the Varuna zips around. "Keep goin'," she encourages Jay, over her shoulder. "It's gotta slow down eventually, and even before that, we've all been real crafty-like with our attacks up 'til now, too. If y'wanna take off the quickening spell, do it when we all try t'give it one big send-off."
GS: Gwen Whitlock has attacked Varuna with Coil Cannon EX! GS: Gwen Whitlock has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.
Shige Kiwako gives a thumbs up with her free hand, mumbling under her breath as she guides the shadows along. Keeping things running, the magic flowing from the medium and borrowed.. probably cursed lantern.
For all her flaws, she is still a feline and usually has good reflexes and the swinging claw from the creature gets a hand jerked in the way, trying to duck under it and guide it away from herself. She's been practicing! The impact even then was jarring and did rattle her a bit as she bounds away, trying to get out of immediate reach.
Some of the others aren't quite doing as hot. She includes herself in that list in some detached part of her mind, but doesn't immediately consider it consciously.
The lantern is swung back around this time, casting those same shades in a new light. The atmosphere growing lighter for Eleanor and Gwen (And herself) the kind of cozy vibe you get in a victory party. There's clearly magic there, guided by the figure at the center of the hallowed ground, still weaving long forgotten spells to help the remaining. Though for once, the magic almost seems oriented from Shige more. Something of her memories maybe instead of some borrowed memories.
GS: Shige Kiwako accepts Eleanor Klein's Blessing of Light for 0 hit points! GS: Hyper, Quick, and Shield applied to Shige Kiwako! GS: FP up! Gleam activated! GS: Shige Kiwako has attacked Gwen Whitlock with Rousing Spirits! GS: Shige Kiwako has attacked Eleanor Klein with Rousing Spirits! GS: Shige Kiwako has attacked Shige Kiwako with Rousing Spirits! GS: Shige Kiwako has gained 2 Combo! GS: Shige Kiwako has completed her action. GS: Shige Kiwako heals Eleanor Klein! She gains 188 temporary hit points! GS: Regen applied to Eleanor Klein!
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
It had slowed down there for a moment, a fact that causes Josie to briefly beetle her brow in contemplation. An interesting behavior, that -- is it something that they could use against it?
In the moment, there's no time. It affords them no time to do more than react, and react Josie does, drawing out that black shotgun once again--
She had hurled a bolt of lightning for it. The lightning returns for Josie and finds rather than her the much more agreeable shotgun she thrusts into its arc.
The weapon is none other than a Devil's Arm, after all. As she figures it, it should survive. Her lips move. Her fingers go numb. Her entire hand and arm go numb. She doesn't lose her grip on her ARM, if out of force of habit, more than anything else.
But still, the blunt of the strike was deflected, after a fashion, absorbed by her ARM and redirected by her quick spell.
Golden light sweeps over her. She exhales sharply, emitting a sigh of relief as the numbness fades away as if it had never been.
And Josie... feels stronger.
"Right! Past time we started getting serious, here!" she barks, narrowing her eyes. Running at Varuna, she takes a leap into the air and directs her ARM right at it.
One. Two. Three--
She'll keep pulling the trigger until she runs out of shells. Until her bootheels meet the dungeon floor again.
GS: Josephine Lovelace spends 1 Combo on Interrupt! GS: Josephine Lovelace has attacked Varuna with Suffering Bastard! GS: Josephine Lovelace has gained 3 Combo! GS: Josephine Lovelace gains 28 THP from Regen! GS: Josephine Lovelace has completed her action. GS: Varuna takes a glancing hit from Xiumei Klein's AV Saber - Charge Slash for 102 hit points! GS: CRITICAL! Varuna takes a solid hit from Jacqueline Barber's Diminishing Draught for 272 hit points! GS: Delay and Weaken applied to Varuna! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus activated! GS: CRITICAL! Varuna fully evades Gwen Whitlock's Coil Cannon EX for 34 hit points! GS: Gwen Whitlock enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Varuna takes a glancing hit from Josephine Lovelace's Suffering Bastard for 70 hit points! GS: Misery inflicts a random effect! Cripple and Interrupt applied to Varuna! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus activated! GS: Varuna has lost 2 Combo from Interrupt! GS: Shige Kiwako heals Shige Kiwako! She gains 196 temporary hit points! GS: Regen applied to Shige Kiwako! GS: FP up! Gleam activated!
<Pose Tracker> Varuna has posed.
It starts with a Light.
This far away from Filgaia, this Fiend has no dealings with the King of Evil - but the way the golden light shines across the chamber, Eleanor can spy a pause and flinch in its behavior as sanctified light encroaches upon it.
With the Blessing bestowed both by beloved wife and the latest in the bloodline of the Sage of Light, Xiumei leads the charge against this ancient Fiend. Her speed matches them, in a flicker, a massive energy blade slicing along its right wing - not deep enough to sever, maybe shy of a direct hit - but it's not nothing.
Jay fills the space with a glimmering cloud far too saturated for it to maneuver around or avoid despite its speed, as it crosses a range it needs to in order to avoid the blasts from Gwen's ARM blasts. Jay's Diminishing Draught seeps within the demonic Fiend's self, and there's a lessened sense of impact when it slams its limbs into the ground to catch its excess momentum. It's more of a hard tap than a slam.
The shades dance in celebration of what was accomplished, and what can be, seemingly encroaching upon Varuna's shadow.
Josie takes her turn taking her run at it, letting that ARM pop off as many times as she can squeeze it. Blasts of buckshot go off, saturating the space the Fiend has available to them as pyreflies rise from where it grazes along its side.
With one last movement around the periphery of the room, it avoids the growing Light from Eleanor's presence and invoked power, starting to slow its movement to something that might be considered 'measure pacing' but is more like 'brisk jog' as it drops to all fours, pyreflies stirring.
And a soulful snarl fills the air, tinges of an elderly male voice almost able to be made out over the beastly call, sorcerous energies stirring -
- and pushing against both the light and the sanctified grounds, as something befouled by standards of ancient make, a swirling curse with a deathless skull cackling as a mist tries to trespass Shige's boundary and snuff out the Sage's light.
Rising upright, Varuna leaps into the air as what little illumination that presently survives forms a momentary eclipse behind them, thrown arms up as complex sorcerous patterns transcending the Eight Elements in a truly neutral display of force coalesce and hurl themselves into the space that both Light and Hallowed Ground would otherwise push back.
Cornered, but not yet defeated, a Fiend well over a thousand years old brings forth these dangerous magicks in tandem as an Emblem of Fate stands to seal everyone's present.
Both here, and above Tamasqus, if they are not stopped here.
GS: Varuna has become ENRAGED! GS: Varuna has activated a Boss Action! GS: Varuna has activated Force Action: Fury Shot! GS: Varuna spends 1 Combo on Poison! GS: MYSTIC ARTE! Varuna has attacked Josephine Lovelace with Pharaoh's Curse! GS: MYSTIC ARTE! Varuna has attacked Shige Kiwako with Pharaoh's Curse! GS: MYSTIC ARTE! Varuna has attacked Gwen Whitlock with Pharaoh's Curse! GS: MYSTIC ARTE! Varuna has attacked Jacqueline Barber with Pharaoh's Curse! GS: MYSTIC ARTE! Varuna has attacked Xiumei Klein with Pharaoh's Curse! GS: MYSTIC ARTE! Varuna has attacked Eleanor Klein with Pharaoh's Curse! GS: Varuna has gained 2 Combo! GS: Interrupt expired! GS: Delay expired! GS: Varuna has attacked Josephine Lovelace with Emblem of Fate! GS: Varuna has attacked Shige Kiwako with Emblem of Fate! GS: Varuna has attacked Gwen Whitlock with Emblem of Fate! GS: Varuna has attacked Jacqueline Barber with Emblem of Fate! GS: Varuna has attacked Xiumei Klein with Emblem of Fate! GS: Varuna has attacked Eleanor Klein with Emblem of Fate! GS: Varuna has gained 1 Combo! GS: Varuna takes 36 damage from Poison! GS: Enrage purges all positive status! GS: Varuna has completed their action. GS: Interrupt! Attack weakened! GS: CRITICAL! Eleanor Klein solidly guards Varuna's Pharaoh's Curse for 0 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Eleanor Klein gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Eleanor Klein takes a glancing hit from Varuna's Emblem of Fate for 74 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Eleanor Klein gains 1 additional Combo! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus activated! GS: Interrupt! Attack weakened! GS: Xiumei Klein takes a glancing hit from Varuna's Pharaoh's Curse for 0 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Xiumei Klein gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Xiumei Klein partially evades Varuna's Emblem of Fate for 159 hit points! GS: Xiumei Klein enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Jacqueline Barber has activated Force Action: Guard! GS: Interrupt! Attack weakened! GS: Josephine Lovelace suffers a terrible blow from Varuna's Pharaoh's Curse for 0 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Josephine Lovelace gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Interrupt! Attack weakened! GS: Jacqueline Barber solidly guards Varuna's Pharaoh's Curse for 0 hit points! GS: FP up! Arcane Font and Gleam activated! GS: Josephine Lovelace solidly guards Varuna's Emblem of Fate for 95 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Josephine Lovelace gains 1 additional Combo! GS: CRITICAL! Jacqueline Barber takes a solid hit from Varuna's Emblem of Fate for 203 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Jacqueline Barber gains 1 additional Combo! GS: FP up! Arcane Font and Gleam activated! GS: Jacqueline Barber enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: CRITICAL! Shige Kiwako heals Gwen Whitlock! She gains 226 temporary hit points! GS: Regen applied to Gwen Whitlock! GS: Interrupt! Attack weakened! GS: Gwen Whitlock suffers a terrible blow from Varuna's Pharaoh's Curse for 0 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Gwen Whitlock gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Gwen Whitlock suffers a terrible blow from Varuna's Emblem of Fate for 237 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.
Strength to move. A new strategy. "Then let's just hit it as hard as we can! It's not elegant, but it's worked before!" she calls to Jay. And with her blessing, perhaps they can hit their hardest; Eleanor cannot bring out of them that which isn't there.
One big send-off...
"Thank you!" she says to Shige, and gets ready. She worries over Josie some--but if she stops to heal instead of pressing the offense, the creature might...
It drops to all fours, and snarls. The mist transgresses, and Eleanor stumbles. "No!" she says, and forces the boundary of her Light out farther than before. But the elements that come, these dangerous magicks...
She is familiar with sealing magic. She will not allow it here. Her light deflects much of the attack,, and gives her the time to pull her gun again. "...The power of the storm..."
Eleanor takes her weapon in both hands, and an ancient Symbol appears over her head as she channels the power of a medallion into her weapon with a Mystic touch. The medallion about her neck gleams--and so does her weapon, as she lifts the pistol in both hands, and fires.
When it hits, the storm itself hits. Centered on Varuna, a huge blast of lightning and icy wind erupts in all directions, taking in the storm of the Thunder Plains to enhance it--her own trump card, here in Tamasqus.
GS: Eleanor Klein has activated Force Action: Lock On! GS: Eleanor Klein spends 5 Combo on Headshot and Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling! GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Varuna with Aether Shot! GS: Eleanor Klein has gained 1 Combo! GS: Eleanor Klein gains 31 THP from Regen! GS: Eleanor Klein has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Xiumei Klein has posed.
"We can still do this!" Xiumei calls back to Jay, even if she hesitates for a second in the face of the Fiend's power.
The snarl rattles Xiumei, as she looks at it -- at the sorcerous energies that shoot outward, just as Varuna rises upward. She tries leap over the first blast of energy -- and then she gets caught by the second strike.
The magic burns into her, throwing her back. The golden energy glowing in her flickers; it almost winks out.
Eleanor summons her magic, a symbol appearing over her head. And the aura of light in her surges back to life, as Xiumei throws both arms out. "Varius!" she cries. "Avile!
"NOW!"
Four crescents of light green energy appear around her; slivers of a dome, the barrier that protects, at times. Today, it is quite the opposite. Those crescents flash, brilliantly -- and then explode into four beams of energy.
The crescents rotate through her -- and then each slashes through darkness and stone, scouring across the room while ducking over the heads of those present. When each slashes for Varuna, they wink out -- one after the other, before th final one blazes away into motes of white light.
GS: Xiumei Klein has activated Force Action: Full Clip! GS: Xiumei Klein spends 5 Combo on Headshot and Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling! GS: MYSTIC ARTE! Formation! Xiumei Klein has attacked Varuna with Cross Flash Remix! GS: Xiumei Klein has gained 1 Combo! GS: Xiumei Klein takes 39 damage from Poison! GS: Poison expired! GS: Xiumei Klein has completed her action. GS: Varuna suffers a terrible blow from Eleanor Klein's Aether Shot for 286 hit points! GS: Blind and Jam applied to Varuna! GS: CRITICAL! Varuna suffers a terrible blow from Xiumei Klein's Cross Flash Remix for 435 hit points! GS: Hyper applied to Xiumei Klein! GS: Interrupt! Attack weakened! GS: CRITICAL! Shige Kiwako fully evades Varuna's Pharaoh's Curse for 0 hit points! GS: FP up! Arcane Font, Reaction bonus, and Gleam activated! GS: CRITICAL! Shige Kiwako takes a glancing hit from Varuna's Emblem of Fate for 116 hit points! GS: FP up! Arcane Font, Reaction bonus, and Gleam activated!
<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.
Shige Kiwako gathers up all of those shadows. The fact that they're out of time means that it doesn't matter anymore. Each of the lights cast by the figures, then wisps wink out. Clockwise and counter clockwise. "It's time to leave." She states flatly. Going through the motions. She's casting far too many shadows as she walks forward. Each slightly out of sync. Slightly wrong.
A cigar is pulled from her pocket and lit in the lantern, held there as she murmurs something that sounds suspiciously like it belongs to an exorcism.
The lights going out coincided with the creature's attacks, leaving just that bobbing light and her cigar around the feline, but she doesn't seem bothered by it. Even going as far as getting out of the way of the first part of a one-two punch, met with a puff of smoke instead.
The second she's not quite grounded enough for and it catches her, but her mind's elsewhere. The chant is finished and she blows the smoke out in a thin cloud that lingers. Some kind of banishment attempt met with the shadows following after it, clawing and dragging en masse at the creature.
"Is everyone okay?" she asks, the light of the cigar bobbing while she fiddles with the lantern, trying to light the area back up. Ears flat at the buckshot. The lightning. The dazzling lights. It hadn't been that dark long had it? She'd been off in her own little world.
GS: Shige Kiwako has attacked Varuna with Eclipse! GS: Shige Kiwako gains 31 THP from Regen! GS: Shige Kiwako has completed her action. GS: Varuna suffers a terrible blow from Shige Kiwako's Eclipse for 292 hit points! GS: Delay applied to Varuna! GS: Weaken blocked! GS: FP up! Arcane Font activated!
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Varuna snarls, and brings its most powerful spells to bear. A terrible curse seeps out and Jacqueline winces. She can feel it try to take hold... Eleanor's light and Shige's spirits ward it off, for now, but if this continues for much longer...
...And what's more, Varuna unleases a powerful spell of raw force, slamming into Jacqueline and forcing her to the ground. With a grunt, she forces herself back to her feet.
...It's become abundantly clear. They have to finish this now.
"Right." Jacqueline nods back to Eleanor and Xiumei. She rolls her shoulders, a little sore from the impact and the chill.
Sometimes, the only thing to do is hit it really, really hard. It's not her favorite tactic... but she can certainly make it work.
Jacqueline adjusts her stance, prioritizing raw spellcasting ability above all else, before quickly drawing two Crest Graphs. One gets set into the left, and the other right. And then, she gestures with her left hand. In front of her, a large chunk of earth flies up... and then, a gesture with her right conjures a whirlwind. It captures the earth and spins it faster, and faster, and faster, until finally the chunk of earth is launched at high speeds with the power of tornado as a rapidly-spinning force of destruction.
GS: Jacqueline Barber spends 1 Combo on Link! GS: Jacqueline Barber has attacked Jacqueline Barber with Spellweaver Stance! GS: Jacqueline Barber has gained 1 Combo! GS: Jacqueline Barber has launched an attack Link! GS: Jacqueline Barber's stances have changed from Link to Hero and Link! GS: Jacqueline Barber accepts Jacqueline Barber's Spellweaver Stance for 0 hit points! GS: Hyper and Surge applied to Jacqueline Barber! GS: FP up! Gleam activated! GS: Jacqueline Barber has activated Force Action: Full Clip! GS: Jacqueline Barber spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling! GS: Formation! Jacqueline Barber has attacked Varuna with Dualcasting Sequence! GS: Jacqueline Barber has gained 1 Combo! GS: Jacqueline Barber has completed her action. GS: Varuna suffers a terrible blow from Jacqueline Barber's Dualcasting Sequence for 347 hit points! GS: FP up! Arcane Font activated!
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Josie has just enough time to glance back over her shoulder as if to check on the status of the others fighting alongside her.
It takes exactly that much time for everything to go haywire.
Fiends don't... have memories, precisely, as she's been given to understand it. Rather, it's more that they might retain some vague echo of some of the people they used to be. Or maybe she's mistaken. Or maybe she hasn't recalled properly. Still, the idea that this isn't quite a person who almost sounds as if they are nearly talking is a hard one to keep in mind.
It would be far easier to think that this was a spirit, that this was a person once, who is now making their curses known.
However it comes about -- echo, spirit, pyrefly mass -- this is without question a curse.
The shotgun falls from Josie's now nerveless fingers and she drops to one knee. Her arms won't work. It feels as if her legs won't work. It's as if she can't take a breath.
"O, thou," she gasps, eyes briefly wide, "LIGHTNING!"
She doesn't need to move to cast a spell, particularly if the focal point is herself. An electrical storm coruscates about her in a wild dance, deflecting the magic that erupts in the aftermath of the curse. And Josie surges to her feet.
"It's open!" she yells, running right at the Fiend. "Now or never...!"
She draws from her hip a single Aveh soldier's sidearm, hardly the most accurate or powerful, and fires about the Fiend seemingly at random.
GS: MYSTIC ARTE! Josephine Lovelace has attacked Varuna with Walk Me Down! GS: Sneak! You have gained 1 Combo! Only you see this message. GS: Josephine Lovelace has gained 1 Combo! GS: Josephine Lovelace gains 27 THP from Regen! GS: Mighty and Regen expired! GS: Josephine Lovelace has completed her action. GS: Sneak! The true nature of Josephine Lovelace's attack becomes clear! GS: ROU|LET|TE: Ruinous! Gamble: Highest! Varuna suffers a terrible blow from Josephine Lovelace's Tequila Sunrise for 340 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
It's not at random. Bullets rebound off of walls and the ceiling. They bounce off of weapons and other things besides. They never so much as land a scratch on any of her allies: the focal point for the dancing odd-angled storm Josie brings down is Varuna and Varuna alone.
The strength of a weapon is not as important as how you use it.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
Gwen had encouraged Jay to maybe seal Varuna's speed again once they're ready to do one final send-off, but that may come sooner than expected as the time grows ripe for one final shove.
They'll just need to survive the same from Varuna before they can get that one chance to ensure this particular danger stays put.
On a whim, Gwen leans into it with her left shoulder recklessly, charging her right ARM until it shines like a banner behind her. ".... Okay, big guy..."
Is it just her imagination, that those snarls sound almost human? Would it have made any of this feel less triumphant if this was a corrupt sorcerer with a human face and body trapped in these depths, as opposed to a winged monster?
Monsters come in all shapes and sizes, after all, but is her empathy just a mark of her own bias, she wonders?
"... S'for your own good," she sighs under her breath, looking up at Varuna. ".... Sorry." That's all Gwen can really say, as she ponders it over. There will be time to consider her biases; this at least still feels like the right thing to do in all cases.
Seemingly drawing inspiration from Josie's own attack, Gwen throws out two throwing knives with her left hand, following it with a blast from her charged ARM, bouncing it from knife to knife in a seemingly impossible display, before ending its run into Varuna itself.
GS: Gwen Whitlock has activated Force Action: Lock On! GS: Gwen Whitlock has activated Force Action: Snipe! GS: Gwen Whitlock spends 2 Combo on Gatling, loading 2 into Gatling! GS: MYSTIC ARTE! Gwen Whitlock has attacked Varuna with Ringshine! GS: Gwen Whitlock has gained 1 Combo! GS: Gwen Whitlock gains 33 THP from Regen! GS: Gwen Whitlock has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Varuna suffers a terrible blow from Gwen Whitlock's Ringshine for 361 hit points! GS: Varuna has Fallen! They are no longer able to fight!
<Pose Tracker> Varuna has posed.
One way to overcome the immense speed and maneuverability of the Fiend was to put down places they shouldn't cross without risk, and with that established...
Eleanor imbues her pistol with an ancient power, conveyed to the bullet that ensnares it with lightning and chilling wind. It throws out a foreleg with a look that might be smug, or have started as such an expression, but such has been beyond it for hundreds - if not thousands? - of years, as the oppressive Thunder Plains in microcosm keeps them there.
'NOW!'
The crescents slice out from Xiumei with help of Varius and Avile, exploding into four distinct beams of energy that strike through and carve out significant quantities of pyreflies from their form. Pyreflies, that seem to be fleeing in a specific direction...
Shige declares it's time to leave. It has been time to leave for every Fiend trapped here for many years, without the blessing of a Sending to guide them on their way. The darkness that was Varuna's ally turns against it, shadows clawing and grasping the Fiend as it struggles to relocate.
Jay, one of the greatest Crest Sorceresses of her day, conjures earth to make into a deadly drill bit of a boulder, slamming it into the ensnared Fiend with a cacophonous, deafening bellow of pain that has that tinge of a former human's voice in it. That tiny little piece of who it once was.
Whoever it was, it was long, long ago.
Josie cals the lightning around her and forces an opening, bouncing bullets over everything. Is Varuna faster than bullets? They aren't given a chance to test that, as they pierce the bulk of the beast and loosen even more pyreflies, all... worryingly floating in a direction that seem to be 'out.'
Gwen draws upon some of the residual Light as she bounces ARM blasts between blades, at which point she strikes through the core. Pyreflies vacate, as its form turns translucent, peering up and raising both forelimbs like it wants to look away from what light is there...
And it disappears into a massive cloud of pyreflies, all moving in the direction they did not want the full Fiend to go.
However... at least one or two Drifters among the team know in advance - if perhaps on short notice - they aren't alone.
<Pose Tracker> Timu Guado has posed.
OUTSIDE
A party of Guado await, in the endless torrents of the Thunder Plains. There's five of them, four of whom are younger Guado. Many Guado of age perished in Seymour's mad conquest against life itself, and few have retained any semblance of pride or willingness to engage the world around them since. Few among Spira tolerate them, now.
But on short notice...
"Now." This, the voice of Gon Guado, dressed in white robes with red trim as he grips a long gnarled staff. An extended clawed hand reaches out to the flood of pyreflies trying to escape. He cannot hold them all himself, potent as he is in pyrefly weaving.
Pani, his younger daughter, focuses intently with a talent belying her age as she extends hers. She disrupted his masterful weaving at the peak of Mt. Gagazet some time ago, denying pyreflies and whatever essence they carry which allow Varuna to be... Varuna.
One of the Guado here, a former Summoner, remains versed in the act of Sending, and is already performing the ritual among the pyreflies held.
"...They're not holding..." Pani struggles.
"...Timu." Gon gives a side-glance, a glare. "Like you've been taught."
Timu, the older daughter, struggles. She has had less innate success in weaving pyreflies into fiends even before she stumbled onto the stage of Spiran history, even now... she feels a revulsion for it.
"Timu!" Gon snaps. "You must hold them!"
Timu, frustrated, feels it slipping. Knowing what Spira sees this one quality of the Guado for, what so many Fiends represent both then and now - and struggling in the face of how the Eternal Calm should have changed this, and yet...
The group manages, if only just, as the pyreflies start their exodus towards the Farplane. The group falls to their knees in various states of exhaustion, while lightning strikes distressingly close.
Timu looks away, gaze cast downward, as Gon wordlessly exhales. Whatever came out of there, that's not going to be the first, or last... and yet...
<Pose Tracker> Ratatoskr has posed.
ELSEWHERE
Ratatoskr squirreled away with many of the Spheres they found in that side room before they had to flee. He doesn't quite understand Zeboim (and its other names encompassing an identical language) as well as some of the scholars do, but he's become familiar with some of the terminologies used for combat and soldiers, because... of course he does.
He's found an old Odessa safehouse along the periphery of the Thunder Plains for stuff like this, with lockboxes of Al Bhed make that are sealed from the elements. He's used it often! It's leaky, cold, and uncomfortable, but he knows the historical artifacts he's grabbed are not subject to this, and his happiness about it fills him with warmth even now.
One of them was interesting, for the terms he found that were familiar enough. One of them talked about a sorcerer of great power. Dishonored, or some such. Criminal? He picks up something spoken in past tense, a number, and the word for 'years.' Dead? Was he a criminal after he was dead? The audio quality isn't the best, and he has some of the most receptive hearing for sake of taking messages. The grammar checks out.
There's a name attached, though, he's sure of it being a name and not some unknown label: 'Varuna.'
He can't wait to tell everyone about it.
<Pose Tracker> Varuna has posed.
BACK TO OUR HEROINES OF THE DAY
Tamasqus grows quieter, today, as one of its most dangerous denizens has now attained guidance to their proper eternal rest. Stray pyreflies still wail around them, components of Fiends that yet still (un)live and roam the halls. The mechansisms that protect and operate this place have not ceased, so their rest must be brief before they return above ground. (Ratatoskr will yammer on and on about how interesting and cool this Varuna is and wonders if they'd be around for him to fight down there.)
Maybe another day, they can once again challenge Tamasqus for all of its lost secrets.
<Pose Tracker> Xiumei Klein has posed.
Varuna bursts apart into pyreflies -- not something unfamiliar to Xiumei, by now -- and she sighs, relaxing a little. Her eyes turn, towards where the pyreflies had moved towards for a moment. They're not alone.
She looks around Tamasqus -- and once satisfied the pyreflies won't be returning, or worse, reforming, she cracks a smile.
"Well... I'd say that went well!" she says. "Good job, everyone!"
<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.
Shige Kiwako might.. instinctively swat at one of the pyreflies. She has been drinking. She catches herself just shy though. There's actually a quiet moment of contemplation when her mind catches up though. "I need to talk to the.. the uh." she waves her hand. Then scowls. She'd been told this term and she should know. "I need to learn how to help these too." Not really aimed at anyone in particular.
She twists on her heel at the congratulations and fiddles with the cigar, puffing smoke at a lingering fly to see if it even works here before dialing her lantern's light back and lifting it to get a better look at everyone. "I uh, thanks. I may have been doing something stupid alone." Sounding admittedly embarrassed.
"Are you all okay?" That one's more sincere and she's already doing the rounds checking. Even as her shadows quiet down around her and resume just being generally attached to her and creepy.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
Just like that, as they give it their all, it's over.
"Whew," Josie sighs, shoving her sidearm into its holster. "Never a dull moment, eh?"
She has already fished a cigarette out of her jacket pocket, lighting it with a snap of ozone. "So, where're you ladies headed? I'm figurin', I'm earned a light rest after that one..."
Just never mind the state of her wallet!