2020-09-05: All the Luck They Can Get

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DG: A party led by Zhang Xiumei is now entering Warwing Varukias.
DG: Party formation is now over. An Entry Challenge will now be drawn and displayed to the party.
=============================<* Warwing Varukias *>=============================
==================<* CHALLENGE - Exiting the Landing Craft *>===================
|Type: Entry       |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 2          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 The way into Warwing Varukias is something that only an adrenaline junkie
 could love: a massive shell, ending in a drill bit, with well-cushioned
 seats and safety harnesses in rows inside. About seven individuals can fit
 inside each of the drill capsules, which are fired from cannons mounted on
 Valeria Chateau.

 Once fired, the ride is frightening -- and intense. The g-forces are enough
 to have you plastered into the seats -- until it slams into the armored
 side, then drills through the armor. Then, the capsule lurches to a stop.

 The first step is leaving, into one of the metal hallways of Warwing
 Varukias. To be sure the hatch did not open mid-flight, it was bolted shut;
 leaving it will require some force.
=Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous==============================================
<Pose Tracker> Zhang Xiumei has posed.

Only shortly after Odessa was driven from Valeria Chateau -- long enough for first aid, for emergency treatment, and resupplying -- members of ARMS and what Drifters would volunteer for such a dangerous, terrible task took to the cannons mounted in the Chateau. (Nevermind that the Chateau has cannons.)

The cannons fire immense drills.

With a thunder crACK-BOOM, the cannons fire, and the spinning drills on the front of them began to spin up. The shells fly through the air -- and inside, everyone sits, plasted back into a cushioned seat. Xiumei's jaw struggles to work.

"I-I read the specs on these!" She is in her armor; the mismatched white and green armor of Varius and Avile both. Her eyes, glowing teal, are wide. "They will have quite an impact, when they hit!"

They do. There is shredding and tearing; there is the unique scream of metal on metal; there is being thrown against the restraints and back again. The drill-bullet comes to a stop, skidding. Xiumei undoes her straps, stands up, and shakes out her head of purple hair.

Then, she looks at the hatch. The hatch that is, unfortunately, riveted in place. "We need to bust through that."

DG: Zhang Xiumei has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Exiting the Landing Craft.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

Eleanor Klein had time to check on someone else and get her neck bandaged up! Nevermind that the Chateau has cannons. It's fine.

Eleanor is not armored, though; she is holing on as the drills spin up and the shells fly through the air, and she's pushed back into it. "Aaaah!"

"My," Eleanor says once they're slowed, her hair a little of a mess that she works to smooth after all that. "That was certainly exhilirating."

She starts checking her bag for recovery items, her Crests, picking back up her rifle...

What? It's not like Eleanor's going to be much help busting through something.

<Pose Tracker> Clarissa Arwin has posed.

Clarissa managed to get her bearings pretty quick after the battle with Ratatoskr. By the time she piles into the drill bullet with everyone else, she's right as rain - and her energy level doesn't seem to have abated in the slightest.

Not even with this much G-force. Slammed back into her seat, she holds on for dear life as it feels for all the world like her eyes push back into her skull and her stomach sinks to somewhere around her boots. She clenches her teeth and holds on for dear life, unable to actually respond to Xiumei.

"Please brace on something," Felius Arwin says calmly, completely unruffled by the insane forces that should be hurting him as much as anyone.

The impact is shattering, throwing Clarissa out of her chair a short ways before Felius turns to catch her. "Easy," he says, voice quiet.

A blush scorches across Clarissa's cheeks. With a nod, she moves towards Xiumei, giving herself a little shake to try and steady her body after that ordeal. Reaching into her skirts, she comes out with her long, slender cane, set with a blue gem.

"Let me try something, Xiumei," she offers as she touches the cane's head to the edge of the hatch. With a shimmer, water flows out from it, freezing almost instantly around the seam between hatch and hull. The Cane of Lyra's ice works its way around the hatch, chilling rapidly and trying to draw some of the stiffness out of the metal, to render it brittle and breakable.

DG: Clarissa Arwin has used her Tool Cane of Lyra toward her party's challenge, Exiting the Landing Craft.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    After going and either failing to find Zed or finding Zed and either bringing him in for treatment OR ultimately leaving him to his fate of becoming an idol to a bunch of citizens who find him in a fountain (or something like that), Gwen comes back, one way or another.

    And really, she had no idea what she was getting into when she got into the vehicle. Maybe it's a rocket, or maybe wings come out, OR MAYBE it could just be shot out of a cannon, making Gwen's stablized injuries that much more tender.

    ... It's the last one. Because ARMS is run by people who have forgotten that people die when they are killed.

    That's Gwen's grumpy thought process as she unsquints one blue-grey eye to peer up at Xiumei, then spends about half a minute unclenching her jaw.

    "... So this is... basically a can of beans shot into the air, only the beans havta bust out themselves," she observes. "But I 'spose it's better that it's this than the door swingin' open in mid-flight like a door on a barn."
    
    Gwen is good at punching things open, thankfully.

    "Good thinking," Gwen murmurs to Clarissa, as she applies the pressure of her right fist to one brittle area. "Hereee we goooo."

DG: Gwen Whitlock has used her Tool ARM-ored Fist toward her party's challenge, Exiting the Landing Craft.
<Pose Tracker> Dash Caskett has posed.

 BGM: Spark the Electric Jester - Versus Fark
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzkj6fFYy9Y

Payback time. In spades.

It took but a moment to swap major weaponry out for Dash. Most of his missiles were spent on the fight with Ratatoskr. No time to workshop more. It was time for the Drill Arm to shine. and ARMS has a plan to attack the warship head-on.

"Don't get too close to that thing! It could take you out of the air. Only close enough for spotting!" Dash says as he meets up with one of the squads from ARMS. "At let them scratch up the Flutter? You know how expensive the last repairs were!" can be heard coming from Dash's vicinity.

The blue-clad boy straps in inside this odd-looking cockpit. "Well, this will be new..." he says, a bit of palpable dread in his voice.

At least Dash knows what a cannonball feels like now. "EeeeeEEEEEEHHHHH!"

The sudden lurching stop and cacophonous noise lets the group know they are there. "Is there a problem opening the hatch?" he asks. "I can help! Im sure the drill can get through whatever metal this thing is made of!"

"Also, may wanna cover your ears in this tight space."

Dash might be heard chuckling a little before the drill spins up, just because of the silly thought of a drill opening a drill got to him.

DG: Dash Caskett has used his Tool Drill Arm toward his party's challenge, Exiting the Landing Craft.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    Avril, it should be noted, had not been present at the Chateau during the meeting. Instead, she had appeared seemingly out of nowhere as the initial chaos had been winding down, right as ARMS had been preparing to take the fight to Odessa proper.

    Somehow, to hear her tell it, she had some inkling that she had to be here. And so here she was. Once she heard what the next step would be--
    Well, suffice to say, it wouldn't have been easy to dissuade her.
    Particularly after learning that Dean, also, had joined up with one of the crafts...

    Avril doesn't look the type to be an adrenaline junkie. And it's true, she doesn't seem to be enjoying the trip... or particularly disturbed by it either. She seems to simply take it in stride--

    Even right up to the part where it slams into the warship. That's the part where basic physiological reaction -- and basic physics -- prompt the young lady to recoil at the forces unleashed. Still, she doesn't cry out.

    As if she's done this before, she undoes the restraints on her seat and stands. "So, we have arrived..."

    The first challenge is of course the door.

    "Here, allow me," Avril says, brandishing that hilt of Absolute Zero. She pulls the trigger, a beam of light flashing from the ARM--

    Well, this is the sort of job a laser beam was made for, perhaps.

DG: Avril Vent Fleur has used her Tool Absolute Zero Beam toward her party's challenge, Exiting the Landing Craft.
DG: Eleanor Klein has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Exiting the Landing Craft.
=============================<* Warwing Varukias *>=============================
==================<* CHALLENGE - Exiting the Landing Craft *>===================
|Type: Entry       |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 2          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 The way into Warwing Varukias is something that only an adrenaline junkie
 could love: a massive shell, ending in a drill bit, with well-cushioned
 seats and safety harnesses in rows inside. About seven individuals can fit
 inside each of the drill capsules, which are fired from cannons mounted on
 Valeria Chateau.

 Once fired, the ride is frightening -- and intense. The g-forces are enough
 to have you plastered into the seats -- until it slams into the armored
 side, then drills through the armor. Then, the capsule lurches to a stop.

 The first step is leaving, into one of the metal hallways of Warwing
 Varukias. To be sure the hatch did not open mid-flight, it was bolted shut;
 leaving it will require some force.
=Dungeon Conditions: Overzealous==============================================
========================<* Warwing Varukias - Round 1 *>========================
====================< Results - Exiting the Landing Craft >=====================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zhang Xiumei                        0 --(8)--> 8                   Pass
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clarissa Arwin                      0 --(8)--> 8                   Fail
Cane of Lyra                        1   Brute   Effects: Strengthen and Fanfar
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avril Vent Fleur                    0 --(8)--> 8                   Pass
Absolute Zero Beam                  3   Brute   Effects: Fanfare
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eleanor Klein                       0 --(8)--> 8                   Fail
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dash Caskett                        0 --(8)--> 8                   Pass
Drill Arm                           2   Brute   Effects: Resilient
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gwen Whitlock                       0 --(8)--> 8                   Pass
ARM-ored Fist                       2   Brute   Effects: Strengthen
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Zhang Xiumei                0 --(20)--> 20                 Pass
Conditions: Overzealous(2)
Effects: Resilient(1)|Strengthen(1)
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Zhang Xiumei has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use
party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Zhang Xiumei has posed.

"You okay?" Xiumei asks, glancing back at the elf. She did get bitten by Erzebet, after all. Xiumei might not be an expert on vampires, but she has to think it looked painful. Then, she glances sideways at Clarissa. She bobs her head, once, and sees the ice freeze over the door. "Ah! Very good!"

She glances sideways at Gwen -- smiles for a moment -- then nods. Those bright green eyes, with their slight glow, look at her. Then, she blinks, as Avril steps forward. She blinks again -- those eyes actually shift, tiny little inscriptions and rings in them shifting and moving like servos.

Avile's voice speaks in her mind. <Xiumei... be careful. Something about her is so terribly familiar...>

She swallows. Then, she nods her head once.

An explosion follows. Dash blasts the door open, and it explodes outward, the door flying like shrapnel and hitting something outside with a clang. Xiumei opens her mouth -- considers, for a moment, the line item in the ledgers and the amount of gella each door costs -- and then closes her mouth.

She nods. "Good work, Dash! Let's go, everyone!"

DG: Eleanor Klein has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Warwing Varukias *>=============================
===================<* CHALLENGE - Confusing Odessa Patrols *>===================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 2          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 As you make your way through the network of narrow hallways in the Warwing
 Varukias, you know that Odessa's forces are never far away. Sometimes, you
 encounter them; sometimes, though, you only hear them. As you move, you hear
 some shouting and footsteps down the hallway. You may be able to throw off
 this patrol by making some sort of distraction, to send them in another
 direction.
=Dungeon Conditions: Reckless=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

"I'll be all right," Eleanor answers Xiumei with a lopsided little look. "Not a lot of fun, though..."

"A good bit of ice power is always useful, isn't it?" Eleanor says to Clarissa with a smile. "...Hm, I hope things are quieter back at the Manor..." Eleanor hasn't had a chance to check in yet, but Clarissa's probably been there more recently than she has.

"I don't want to be a bean," Eleanor remarks thoughtfully to Gwen. "Or any other form of legume, for that matter..." A beat, "Are you feeling all right?"

She didn't even try to dissuade Avril from coming. Definitely not. Though she can't help but notice her... lack of reaction... Nevertheless she duly covers her ears before Dash gets to drilling.

Once thy're through, though, Eleanor looks not at the ruined door but up and down the corridor, before gesturing to the left. "This way, I think, judging from where it was pointing..."

She reaches into her bag and pulls a Crest, murmuring a spell that makes the group lighter on their feet and quieter to boot--but she hears shortly after footsteps that aren't theirs.

"Does anyone have something distracting?" Eleanor murmurs quietly. "I hear them..."

DG: Eleanor Klein has used her Tool Acuity Crest toward her party's challenge, Confusing Odessa Patrols.
<Pose Tracker> Clarissa Arwin has posed.

Clarissa nods at Eleanor with a little grin, before she smiles gently at Gwen's compliment. She moves aside to make way for the super courier to apply a little fisticuffery. "Thanks, Gwen. I hope this works."

It does. Into the corridors beyond they go, and Clarissa moves along with purpose, Strahl Gewehr held cocked in one hand and ready. Felius proceeds with her, ghostlike and deliberate.

With a glance at Xiumei, then Eleanor, Clarissa flashes a small smile of encouragement - but it fades at the sound of footsteps ahead. A patrol.

The spell Eleanor mutters helps, and Clarissa slows with feather-softness. "I think so," she murmurs as she fishes into her pocket for her notebook. She leafs through it with a frown, trying to find a dog-eared page. "Mother must've--"

    how to distract a patrol:
    * i dunno, quack like a duck or something?

Clarissa lowers her eyelids with consternation.

With no small amount of blushing, she cups a hand near her mouth and tilts her head, throwing her voice to try and sound like it's coming from not where she is right now.

"Quack. Quaaack."

DG: Clarissa Arwin has used her Tool Melissa's Notebook toward her party's challenge, Confusing Odessa Patrols.
<Pose Tracker> Dash Caskett has posed.

The pressure of the Drill Arm is put toward the door, and the bolted shutter flies off! "Ah... well! That was more effective than expected. Thanks!" he says toward Xiumei. He looks back to everyone else. "Ah, we better get moving I am sure they already know we are here."

It doesn't take long before sounds of footfalls on metal alert the group to oncoming forces. "Eh, we can't take them on this soon! We need to get farther in..." he loud-whispers. Dash holds a hand up to the side of his helmet.

"Roll! hey, can you see inside the ship? We need to find out where the patrols are going!"
A moment of silence.

"...Yes, I can't see the enemy, but I can see doors being activated to the northeast, heading your way."

"Maybe we should--"

Quack.

Dash sloooowly turns his head to look at Clarissa. Well... this just got interesting.

DG: Dash Caskett has used his Tool Roll Call toward his party's challenge, Confusing Odessa Patrols.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    If Avril notices the particular looks she's getting, she makes no indication of it, her focus on nothing but getting the capsule open. Her weapon's light fades out soon after, one of its stored charges spent.

    There is trouble close by. Avril freezes even before the sound of someone else's footsteps ring out nearby.

    Does anyone have something distracting?

    "Yes," says Avril, producing the mirror. It reflects the nearby lights well, as the young woman proceeds to demonstrate with a few deft turns of the hand. "Might this suffice?"

    A pause, wherein she regards what Clarissa is doing thoughtfully.

    "In concert with the sound, perhaps?"

DG: Avril Vent Fleur has used her Tool Mirror of De Soto toward her party's challenge, Confusing Odessa Patrols.
<Pose Tracker> Zhang Xiumei has posed.

"I can imagine... I'm glad you're all right, at least," Xiumei says, with a small smile at Eleanor. She bobs her head, and then she looks back ahead. She stops, though, as they move a little down the hallway. She hesitates for a second, and then glances sideways at Clarissa. She blinks her eyes a few times at her.

She seems, for a moment, terrible confused.

"A friend of yours?" Xiumei asks Dash, after he speaks to someone -- someone she can't see. Her expression screws up, but then she nods, and holds her arm out. On one wrist armor, a gem lights up -- and displays a small radar. A few red pings appear at the edges of it.

"There's movement that way," she says. "I can't say for sure what it is."

DG: Zhang Xiumei has used her Tool Recon Scanner toward her party's challenge, Confusing Odessa Patrols.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    It is a mystery to Gwen what or who Dash exactly is. But, right now, what he is is useful.

    And loud. But it's not exactly a quiet procedure, opening a giant metal can from the inside.

    "If you have to be a canned thing, it might as well be a bean," Gwen states resolutely to Eleanor, holding up one gloved index finger. "Mmn?" The finger sags as Gwen chuckles. "Oh, it's... yeah. Saw a face I never expected t'see in that last fight. But I'll be fine. Better we're up here than down there."

    All that's left is to distract the guards.

    "Maybe?" Gwen offers, pulling out a compact mirror. "I mean, if reflecting a bit of light could help us. But we were pretty lou-" Gwen looks over at Clarissa's ducky impressions, then on to Avril and her much more impressive mirror.

    She slowly puts hers away. "I can... provide some light..."

DG: Gwen Whitlock has contributed a Wits Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Confusing Odessa Patrols.
=============================<* Warwing Varukias *>=============================
===================<* CHALLENGE - Confusing Odessa Patrols *>===================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Wits      |Challenge Rating: 2          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 As you make your way through the network of narrow hallways in the Warwing
 Varukias, you know that Odessa's forces are never far away. Sometimes, you
 encounter them; sometimes, though, you only hear them. As you move, you hear
 some shouting and footsteps down the hallway. You may be able to throw off
 this patrol by making some sort of distraction, to send them in another
 direction.
=Dungeon Conditions: Reckless=================================================
========================<* Warwing Varukias - Round 2 *>========================
=====================< Results - Confusing Odessa Patrols >=====================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zhang Xiumei                        8 --(8)--> 16                  Pass
Recon Scanner                       2   Wits    Effects: Enlighten
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clarissa Arwin                      8 --(8)--> 16                  Pass
Melissa's Notebook                  2   Wits    Effects: Enlighten
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avril Vent Fleur                    8 --(8)--> 16                  Fail
Mirror of De Soto                   1   Wits    Effects: Cleanse
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eleanor Klein                       8 --(8)--> 16                  Pass
Acuity Crest                        2   Wits    Effects: Enlighten
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dash Caskett                        8 --(8)--> 16                  Pass
Roll Call                           3   Wits    Effects: Rally
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gwen Whitlock                       8 --(8)--> 16                  Pass
Investigate                         0   Wits    Effects: BASIC
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Zhang Xiumei                20 --(20)--> 40                Pass
Conditions: Overzealous(1)|Reckless(2)
Effects: Cleanse|Enlighten(1)
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Zhang Xiumei has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use
party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

"I suppose that's true..." Eleanor has no real argument about beans to Gwen. Insted, though, she smiles back to Xiumei. "Thank you. Me, too."

Quack. Quack quack. Eleanor tilts her head at Clarissa, but it does seem to make noise elsewhere. Combined with the light Gwen can shine off of her mirror and Avril's mirror, which works just fine.

With this, and the direction of Dash and Xiumei, the group manages to avoid the Odessa troops just fine. For now.

Onward!!

DG: Clarissa Arwin has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Warwing Varukias *>=============================
========================<* CHALLENGE - Bunker Buster *>=========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 3          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 The hallway that you find yourself in connects to a larger, wider hallway.
 This wider hallway has a large, armored structure in the center of it -- and
 a quartet of Odessa soldiers have taken refuge in it. Their rifles poke
 through gunports, and the moment they see you, there is a loud report of
 rifle fire -- and several sparks explode off the walls, as rounds strike
 into it.

 Moving past the bunker will require breaking through -- even as you're under
 fire from the same Odessa soldiers hiding inside that bunker.
=Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Suffer===========================================
<Pose Tracker> Clarissa Arwin has posed.

Clarissa blushes and throws Eleanor a sidelong look. "My mom had some silly ideas," she whispers, ducking her head with embarrassment.

Nevertheless, she continues along, moving through the corridors as stealthily as she can. Every time she reaches a corner, she pauses to listen, checking for the approach of another patrol. Felius keeps a step or two behind her, content to let his sister lead the way.

Pausing at one corner, Clarissa tilts her head. Satisfied there's no one coming, she steps around the corner.

There's a sudden rattle of gunfire.

"Eek!" Clarissa pulls back sharply as bullets slam into the wall where she was just standing. Around the corner is a much wider hallway with a small bunker set into the middle of it - out of which four gun barrels jut impudently. The Odessan soldiers inside stop firing once Clarissa's out of sight, but their weapons are trained on the corner, warily.

Clarissa winces and looks back at the group. "That bunker's taking up most of the hall. We're gonna have to break through it," she whispers. "I think I have an idea."

Again Clarissa draws that thin blue cane of hers. With a whirl, she swings it past the corner - and a huge block of ice materializes out of nowhere.

The Odessans in the bunker open fire. Bullets pepper the ice block, but Clarissa dives behind it and pushes nevertheless. The ice soaks up the worst of the shots as she grabs ahold of the block, sliding towards the bunker and building momentum.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaa here I come!!" she shouts, hair billowing behind her as she continues on course to try and smash through the bunker like a speeding train.

DG: Clarissa Arwin has used her Tool Cane of Lyra toward her party's challenge, Bunker Buster.
<Pose Tracker> Zhang Xiumei has posed.

Xiumei taps one finger against the gem mounted in her forearm armor. The scanner flickers, then vanishes.

She keeps moving along, and she pauses a little behind Felius and Clarissa. And then she winces when the blast of gunfire rains out, a bullet slicing past larissa. She feels her breath catch, but with less of the terrified panic that she had over a year ago. Maybe experience is making her less jumpy around gunfire now.

She looks at Clarissa, then, and her eyes widen at the explanation. "A... bunker?" she asks. "It seems like they really went all out..."

She takes a deep breath -- pauses for a moment, as the Reploids in her mind share some strategy -- and then she nods. "I'll draw their fire. I don't quite have something big enough to crack that, without getting close. And if not..."

She smiles that small smile of hers. "...well, I'll get close."

She holds her hand out. There is a flash of light, cubes of data forming, and then link together to create the short, brutal handcannon that she favors. Xiumei clutches it with both hands, lifts it, and fires. Three blasts of energy slam into and bounce off the metal of the bunker.

Gunfire tears at her. Xiumei leaps, leaving a line of bullet holes and sparks on the floor. The armored young woman slams into a wall, bicycle kicks off it, and rises above the tracks of gunfire reaching up for her.

She takes aim, firing another trio of energy blasts down into the armored bunker.

DG: Zhang Xiumei has contributed a Brute Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Bunker Buster.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    "Oops!"

    That is Gwen's reaction as Odessa soldiers open fire. She, like Clarissa, pulls back, falling back with the group. Whistling at the bullet holes that pierce the wall where Clarissa was, moments before, Gwen looks at her and Xiumei both, as they run through their plans.

    All Gwen needs to hear is 'don't quite have something big enough to crack that', before disregarding the rest and assembling her own plan.
    
    "Okay, so, you guys are providing cover? Good, good." Gwen looks at Dash. "Got that drill hand, uh, handy? I'm gonna try t'break through, so, maybe, with two arms...? Though I can't do drills with mine." She laughs uneasily, curling and uncurling the fingers of her right hand. "Okay!"

    Maybe it's a little premature for Gwen to just be running out and towards the bunker.

    But Gwen feels confident it will all work out.
    
    The two influences in her brain tell her it will!

DG: Gwen Whitlock has used her Tool ARM-ored Fist toward her party's challenge, Bunker Buster.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

"Apparently so," Eleanor agrees about going all-out. "...Be careful, Xiu." She worries a little at her, what with all the gunfire--but this is what she does, after all. They've gotten more used to that by now. So when Clarissa tries out her idea...

Eleanor takes a different approach to ice. She still has a reliable, crystal-topped rod that fires cold and frost, and when Clarissa dive behind and pushes, Eleanor slips out and starts to ice over the path under Clarissa's ice block to help her gain momentum, as well as generally hurling frost at the soldiers.

"Keep moving!" Eleanor calls, taking cover again before she starts to follow up.

DG: Eleanor Klein has used her Tool Ice Rod toward her party's challenge, Bunker Buster.
<Pose Tracker> Dash Caskett has posed.

Dash holds his breath to see if the lights and quacks misdirect. A moment transpires if Dash even really needs to hold his breath. Another weird question to postulate on later.

It... works! (???)

"Good job, everyone!" Dash says quietly, accompanied by a cheesy thumbs-up. Even in the armor it looks a little uncool.

Though the party barely gets anywhere before gunfire rings out. "Woah! Careful!" he says towards Clarissa.

"Good idea with the ice!" he calls back. A look to the Drill Arm. "Well, time to try again!" The calls out to Gwen. "Right behind you!" he says, revving both, the ARM Tool, and his Jet Skates-- he plans to just charge it at high speed around the ice block, giving them little time to react!

DG: Dash Caskett has used his Tool Drill Arm toward his party's challenge, Bunker Buster.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    For a moment, it looks like the coast is clear.

    Oh, if only.

    Avril turns her head sharply, zeroing in on something out of place before she can even properly identify it for whatever it might be. "Be care--"

    Avril's warning comes a split-second too late. Bullets smash into the wall, stopping them in their tracks.

    "...Then, we must handle the bunker," is Avril's assesment. She glances the once back over her shoulder. "If we linger here, we risk encountering the patrol we evaded or another. ...What are you planning on..."

    An ice block is swiftly summoned, mere moments after Xiumei lays out her own plan. Avril considers this for a moment.

    "I see. Then, I shall follow your lead. As you say, we need only get close. Permit me to clear for you a path."

    Absolute Zero, in her hand, might be testament to the plan she has in mind.

    She moves, then, shortly after Clarissa does, and follows in her wake--

    Only to suddenly leap for the bunker, buoyed by the power of the Sea Medium in one hand.

    Absolute Zero is held in the other. It erupts into light. She drives it, strike after strike, for the bunker as she completes her descent.

DG: Avril Vent Fleur has used her Tool Absolute Zero Beam toward her party's challenge, Bunker Buster.
=============================<* Warwing Varukias *>=============================
========================<* CHALLENGE - Bunker Buster *>=========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Brute     |Challenge Rating: 3          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 The hallway that you find yourself in connects to a larger, wider hallway.
 This wider hallway has a large, armored structure in the center of it -- and
 a quartet of Odessa soldiers have taken refuge in it. Their rifles poke
 through gunports, and the moment they see you, there is a loud report of
 rifle fire -- and several sparks explode off the walls, as rounds strike
 into it.

 Moving past the bunker will require breaking through -- even as you're under
 fire from the same Odessa soldiers hiding inside that bunker.
=Dungeon Conditions: Weaken, Suffer===========================================
========================<* Warwing Varukias - Round 3 *>========================
==========================< Results - Bunker Buster >===========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zhang Xiumei                        16 --(22)--> 38                Pass
Force                               0   Brute   Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clarissa Arwin                      16 --(22)--> 38                Fail
Cane of Lyra                        1   Brute   Effects: Strengthen and Fanfar
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avril Vent Fleur                    16 --(22)--> 38                Pass
Absolute Zero Beam                  3   Brute   Effects: Fanfare
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eleanor Klein                       16 --(22)--> 38                Pass
Ice Rod                             2   Brute   Effects: Strengthen
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dash Caskett                        16 --(22)--> 38                Pass
Drill Arm                           2   Brute   Effects: Resilient
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gwen Whitlock                       16 --(22)--> 38                Pass
ARM-ored Fist                       2   Brute   Effects: Strengthen
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Zhang Xiumei                40 --(20)--> 60                Pass
Conditions: Reckless(1)|Suffer(1)|Weaken(2)
Effects: Resilient(1)|Strengthen(1)
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Zhang Xiumei has passed this challenge! The party gained 20 exploration! If anyone needs to use
party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
DG: Gwen Whitlock has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Warwing Varukias *>=============================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Odessa Soldiers *>========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 2          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 As you enter this hallway, a shout comes from the other end. There, you see
 a squad of Odessa soldiers, wearing black armored helmets and red coats.
 They lift their well-maintained gunsmoke rifles and open fire. The rifles
 are automatic, pouring out a steady stream of rounds. To make matters worse,
 a few shoot tranquilizer rounds into your midst.
=Dungeon Conditions: Fright===================================================
<Pose Tracker> Clarissa Arwin has posed.

"Here I coooome!" Clarissa shouts from behind her giant ice cube as she slides towards the bunker --

And the ice block slams into it and shatters into shards. The bunker's outer shell dents... but it holds strong. Clarissa tumbles through the ice shards, hits the bunker wall, bounces off with an "oof!" and hits the ground, wincing.

Fortunately, she accomplished one thing. She bought time for everyone else.

Xiumei hurtles towards the bunker, blasting away furiously. Steel shudders and melts, chunks of it torn through. The guards within the bunker try to get a bead on her, but all it does is buy Gwen time to get close. The super courier rushes the bunker and tears through the dented, chilled and blaster-riddled metal, ripping it away.

The guards within stop firing. Two of them recoil, one dropping his gun and dashing away. The two with more nerve try to bring their weapons towards Gwen.

Eleanor stops them in their tracks, leaving their guns caked with frost - and Dash bursts through at just that moment. His drill simply holes the bunker, cutting an artificial doorway of sorts into it.

It's Avril's contribution that drives the last two guards into retreat. Her beams leave ice and wreckage behind, clearing out most of the bunker and leaving a frost-choked gap through which the ARMS contingent can travel.

Clarissa picks herself up with a huff, dusting frost off her skirt. "That went... less bullet-holey than it could've!" she exclaims with an optimistic smile.

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    The first warning sign is the distinct sound of a tranquilizer round, the fatter projectiles making 'phif' sounds as they are fired on the party.

    Gwen, of course, is one they target, though it's not like anyone else is spared. All gathered have shown they are very adept at getting past Odessa's defenses this far in.

    The courier jerks forward as the bullet hits her back, one hand reaching behind to feel the area. There's blood, of course, as it is a bullet, but there's something more--

    ..... oh damn they play dirty

    The area grows hazy in Gwen's field of vision as bullets begin to fly. "... Nngh... Stophhit..."

    Akin to a wild bear halfway under the spell of the tranquilizer dart, she throws her full weight at a guard, one shot shooting past her midsection, drunkenly smacking her right ARM at the poor soldier's face as another tries to haul her off.

    It won't be effective for long. You can't punch or shoot tranquilizers away.

DG: Gwen Whitlock has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Odessa Soldiers.
<Pose Tracker> Clarissa Arwin has posed.

"Gwen, watch out!" Clarissa shouts at the sound of something sailing in.

And of course, it's too late. Widening her eyes, Clarissa darts towards Gwen as if to try and help her - but the super courier is already staggering into the fray, heedless of the tranquilizer. Clarissa's eyes go wide with horror.

Another round whips past her - another tranquilizer. It misses her shoulder by millimetres, ruffling her dress as it passes. Gasping, Clarissa throws herself against the wall and instinctively fires back, sending a blue beam racing down the hall. "Gwen, if you're hurt, pull back!" she shouts after her. "We know you're super tough, but don't push yourself!"

Clarissa's role here may be to encourage, but as bullets fly, a shadow glides through the hallway. Felius swoops in with a long leap, trying to drive his halberd into one of the Odessa soldiers before whirling to strike at another.

DG: Clarissa Arwin has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Odessa Soldiers.
<Pose Tracker> Zhang Xiumei has posed.

Xiumei's leap gets her well over any of the bullets. She slams down on the ground -- and then turns, looking back at the others. She cracks a smile at Eleanor -- and the rest -- then she nods once. "Good work, everyone! I think--"

Gwen gets hit in the neck by a tranquilizer round. Her eyes widen -- there are little patterns that shift and turn, too, where the Biometal-made armor enhances her eyesight -- and then she turns. Two shots fire, rounds slamming into her white armor and bounce off, with sprays of sparks.

And then Xiumei bolts forward, giving Eleanor reason again to tell her to be careful. "Get down!" she calls out, before she holds her hand out. The gun vanishes, into a flash of light, that spirals away like cubes of data. In its place, a cross-shaped piece of white metal appears. Xiumei throws it, and the weapon sweeps out in a wide arc.

As it flies, light explodes around it, and a trail of bright green energy is left in its wake, as it slashes across the front of them.

DG: Zhang Xiumei has used her Tool Barrier Cross toward her party's challenge, Odessa Soldiers.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

Eleanor hears the particular noise of the tranquilizer round hitting Gwen. She, behind most of the group, dos not get hit with one immediately. She's absolutely not in the front, not capable of the same clear destruction as some members of the group--but that works out, this time.

"Gwen!" Eleanor calls, "Hang on!"

"...Shine down, harbinger of the future! Wakeful Sign!"

Eleanor first casts a spell against sleep. Then she pulls her flute, and starts to play a haunting melody... The group finds their wounds and hurts lessening as the enemy's attacks are weakened.

She doesn't tell Xiumei to be careful this time but she's sort of ensuring care with her own actions, so maybe it's assumed.

DG: Eleanor Klein has used her Tool Eerie Flute toward her party's challenge, Odessa Soldiers.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    But it is never that simple, is it? Even as the light dies -- and the last of the blade's charges fades -- it becomes clear that they aren't alone.

    "Gwen--"

    Her eyes widen. She takes a step forward as if to go to the woman's side. And then as another dart zings its way past her, it becomes even clearer that Gwen isn't the only one so targetted. A flick of her hand sees Absolute Zero brought to life, and not a moment sooner. She takes a step and pivots hard, slicing a dart in half as it flies right at her.

    'Get down', Xiumei calls out. As others fall back and turn their attentions to a battle at a distance, Avril, almost like a thing possessed, flows ahead towards their attackers, blade in hand.

    She will not be merciful, if she is not laid low before she gets there.

DG: Avril Vent Fleur has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Odessa Soldiers.
<Pose Tracker> Dash Caskett has posed.

Bunker busted.

"Well now! This is going better than expected." Dash however, worries about those who will be alerted now. The noise this is making is surely echoing down the halls. "You can say that again!" he says toward Clarissa.

And then they get shot at more. "Augh, spoke too soon!" Dash says, a shot hitting him as he ducks around the corner again. "Huh." That shot didn't hurt. The boy looks to his side, where something has stuck in. It punctured the armor, but didn't do any damage. A reach and pull, and a small needle comes out. "Uh. Weird looking bullet. You guys might wanna be careful though."

"Uh... you okay?" he asks Gwen. She looks... off. "These some kind of sedative or paralysis needle?"

Suddenly, behind the Odessa units, is a loud 'ook ook' squeaky noise. "Oh no. HOW would he have even gotten up here..." Dash says, suddenly peering around the corner and taking aim, before a potential robot monkey gets shot. Addly enough, it may make them turn their back on the group, so it could help...!

DG: Dash Caskett has used his Tool Helpful Bit of Data toward his party's challenge, Odessa Soldiers.
=============================<* Warwing Varukias *>=============================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Odessa Soldiers *>========================
|Type: Exploration |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 2          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 As you enter this hallway, a shout comes from the other end. There, you see
 a squad of Odessa soldiers, wearing black armored helmets and red coats.
 They lift their well-maintained gunsmoke rifles and open fire. The rifles
 are automatic, pouring out a steady stream of rounds. To make matters worse,
 a few shoot tranquilizer rounds into your midst.
=Dungeon Conditions: Fright===================================================
========================<* Warwing Varukias - Round 4 *>========================
=========================< Results - Odessa Soldiers >==========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zhang Xiumei                        38 --(8)--> 46                 Pass
Barrier Cross                       2   Combat  Effects: Stalwart
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clarissa Arwin                      38 --(8)--> 46                 Pass
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avril Vent Fleur                    38 --(8)--> 46                 Fail
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eleanor Klein                       38 --(8)--> 46                 Pass
Eerie Flute                         1   Combat  Effects: Cleanse
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dash Caskett                        38 --(8)--> 46                 Pass
Helpful Bit of Data                 2   Combat  Effects: Cleanse and Liability
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gwen Whitlock                       38 --(8)--> 46                 Fail
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Zhang Xiumei                60 --(15)--> 75                Pass
Conditions: Fright(2)|Weaken(1)
Effects: Cleanse
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: The party led by Zhang Xiumei has passed this challenge! The party gained 15 exploration! If anyone needs to use
party management commands, do so now. Otherwise, the next round's GM may begin the next round with +dungeon/draw.
DG: Avril Vent Fleur has drawn a new Challenge.
=============================<* Warwing Varukias *>=============================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Odessa's Finest *>========================
|Type: Final       |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 3          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 Your path through Warwing Varukias ends outside of its command center. Here,
 red-coated soldiers of Odessa -- veterans, all -- have established a
 defense. There is no small number of them; there is also no small number of
 Drifters and ARMS fighters to be found, who came from different hallways.
 The lights overhead flicker, from where power has been cut. A few turrets
 hang uselessly, deactivated.

 However, the soldiers here are well-prepared. A pair of machinegun nests, a
 couple of Odessa soldiers with bazookas, and scores with rifles and blades
 stand between you and the doors to the bridge of the Varukias. When your
 team emerges, gunfire starts towards you -- and then more soldiers rush you,
 weapons in hand.

 OOC: This fight is assumed to be one portion of a pitched battle. You may
 get glimpses of other characters from other groups, who were also here.
=Dungeon Conditions: Wound, Fright, Suffer====================================
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    Clarissa's warning is heard a moment too late, and by the time Clarissa shouts her encouragement for Gwen to fall back, the words don't even seem to register with the redhead.

    Avril is the next to be hit, if barely, one dart slicing past her skin before meeting the icy edge of her magic. It is probably for the best, as the soldiers closest to Avril's path of terror flinch back in disbelief, sensing something far more dangerous present in the Ice Queen than her earlier manner may suggest.

    Felius's art with the halberd makes quick work of the soldiers near Clarissa (and by extension, the group), while Xiumei's cross-shaped weapon cuts a wide arc, driving the Odessa soldiers further back.

    Some Odessans are distracted by a strange... monkey... robot. A Monkbot? Robnkey? Whatever combo of words work, it doesn't matter, as Dash is able to shoot them down.

    Eleanor's spell rings away the drug's effects on any who may be affected, or might be wounded, for that matter.

    "Guardians..." Gwen rubs her head as the effects of the tranquilizer leave her body, but not entirely willingly, if her sick countenance is of any indication. "Gimme a sec... I need't'..." She awkwardly waves them onwards, promising she will be right behind.

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    Her blade slows as she swings those final strikes. Even her magic begins to behave almost sluggishly.

    But at this point, it no longer matters. They have bested the soldiers fielded, and then even if Avril should sink to a knee in sheer chemically-wrought exhaustion, it takes but a working of Eleanor's magic to see her right. She hadn't the dose Gwen had, to start. So, when all is over and done with, once they've had a moment to breathe and see to any lingering wounds...

    It must have been the bulk of Odessa's patrols and stationed soldiers on this part of Varukias. The rest of the push towards the command center goes without incident, or indeed, obstacle.

    Until the bitter end of it, that is. Once there, it becomes clear why, after those first few encounters, there hadn't been much else in the way of a front. They were waiting here for them.

    Them, and everyone else who had come aboard the Warwing to take the fight directly to Odessa. Fleetingly, Avril catches a glimpse of a familiar shock of blue hair. "Dean--!"

    And then the moment's gone, lost as the gunfire begins in earnest. Jaw set, a glint of blue-white dust circling her as it caught in a gust of wind, Avril does not hesitate. She moves for those soldiers bearing swords, Absolute Zero's blade catching the flicking light as she strikes.

DG: Avril Vent Fleur has contributed a Combat Basic Action toward her party's challenge, Odessa's Finest.
<Pose Tracker> Zhang Xiumei has posed.

Xiumei blinks, a little, at the robot that Dash brings into the fray. She stares for a second -- then she shakes her head. "That's a new one..." She looks at Gwen, then, and steps closer. "Ah, yes--yes, we can take a moment," she says. "That looked painful."

She looks at Eleanor, before she smiles. Eleanor's spell seems to be helping with the effect of the tranquilizer rounds, at least. Xiumei rolls her shoulder again.

And then Avril takes off. She doesn't know who Dean is, but her eyes widen -- and then she calls out, and tears off after her. "Wait!" she says. "It's dangerous! Ah--we need to catch up with her!"

She comes to a stop, staring at the battle being fought. She sees the flash of light, Absolute Zero parrying a weapon. Avile speaks in her mind again, but she can't quite pay attention to that: <I wonder who...>

Her breath catches. Then Xiumei jumps -- looking at a back rank of Odessa soldiers. The cross-shaped weapon flashes, and then flies out in another wide arc, leaving a trail of fiery green light in its wake.

DG: Zhang Xiumei has used her Tool Barrier Cross toward her party's challenge, Odessa's Finest.
<Pose Tracker> Clarissa Arwin has posed.

The action has left Clarissa visibly tired. She's breathing heavily as she proceeds with the rest of the group, following after Avril.

Following her into yet another pitched battle - and a serious one. For just a moment, the girl's mind flickers back to that horrible battle in Spira, surrounded by Odessa soldiers out for their blood and not ready to settle for anything less than a massacre.

She pushes the thought aside. This is different. This time, they have the initiative.

This time, they're solving the problem.

Whipping Strahl Gewehr forward, Clarissa opens fire with a couple of shots, buying Felius time to dart into melee range. With a quick glance to the side, she checks to ensure everyone else is alright after all they've been through.

"I'm going to try something," she calls. "Don't worry about me, just keep fighting! I believe in you all!"

Clarissa shifts her grip and takes Strahl Gewehr in both hands. Focusing, she plants her heels apart to brace herself. She draws a deep breath, then lets it out. This is going to hurt.

She fires, and Strahl Gewehr opens up with a wide, screeching beam. The blinding light of the weapon erupts through the fray, dazzling. The blast covers a broad front, sufficient to sweep up numerous Odessa soldiers at once.

Clarissa's body sags visibly, her face going pale. She's pouring more than energy into the blast - it's practically lifeforce, now.

DG: Clarissa Arwin has used her Tool Dandelion Sacrifice toward her party's challenge, Odessa's Finest.
<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

Data, Eleanor has commented before, is adorable. She smiles at him for a moment despite the danger, because c'mon. It's a little harder in the moment to keep her eyes on Avril. There's still something...

But as it turns out the battle is ongoing, Eleanor spots a number. Eleanor catches sight of a Summoner and her Guardians in the chaos, and takes a shot at an enemy opposite them, using the fire to get herself to cover. Shooting is not her main priority in the next moment. Instead...

Eleanor, thinking of the battle to come, draws a breath and pulls a small item--a playing card instilled with the power of luck. She channels magic through it, light whirling around her and sparkling down on each member of their group in turn--

A little help, for a lot of battle.

DG: Eleanor Klein has used her Tool Lucky Card toward her party's challenge, Odessa's Finest.
<Pose Tracker> Dash Caskett has posed.

Data miraculously comes out unscathed, as he always does. "Data! How did you get up here!" Dash vents, huffing loudly. The little monkey just remains speechless, before bounding down the hall. "I don't... what..." Now he seems to be the one without words.

He just looks at the rest of the party and shrugs. "It's a long story," he says toward Xiumei, in particular.

Nearby though, massive gunfire and fighting can be hear.

A far room opens into an arena before the target location. Elite soldiers have entrenched themselves and are fully ready for combat. "How are we gonna get past them...!"

ARMS engages proper, and Dash does as well with Buster fire. Something catches his eyes however. It is Data once again, behind enemy lines. He seems to be standing by some kind of... pipes? He is waving his tiny round hands wildly and pointing at the pipe. "Uh... maybe there is fuel or steam or something in there?!

Das hreaches for his pack and pulls out a Grand Grenade. "Well, hope you can run, Data!" he says, and throws the grenatde toward the monkey.

Data actually jumps and catches it, and all prim and proper, tucks the grenade in a spot behind the grenade before booking it!

DG: Dash Caskett has used his Tool Helpful Bit of Data toward his party's challenge, Odessa's Finest.
=============================<* Warwing Varukias *>=============================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Odessa's Finest *>========================
|Type: Final       |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 3          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 Your path through Warwing Varukias ends outside of its command center. Here,
 red-coated soldiers of Odessa -- veterans, all -- have established a
 defense. There is no small number of them; there is also no small number of
 Drifters and ARMS fighters to be found, who came from different hallways.
 The lights overhead flicker, from where power has been cut. A few turrets
 hang uselessly, deactivated.

 However, the soldiers here are well-prepared. A pair of machinegun nests, a
 couple of Odessa soldiers with bazookas, and scores with rifles and blades
 stand between you and the doors to the bridge of the Varukias. When your
 team emerges, gunfire starts towards you -- and then more soldiers rush you,
 weapons in hand.

 OOC: This fight is assumed to be one portion of a pitched battle. You may
 get glimpses of other characters from other groups, who were also here.
=Dungeon Conditions: Wound, Fright, Suffer====================================
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    The conflicts so far have been focused on their specific group, as have the surroundings. Never before did the group feel like they were actively a part of a larger siege, even if, by all accounts, they definitely were, judging by the amount of soldiers running around.

    Gwen looks over the Odessa troops holding a line of defense against the rest of the fighters here, ARMS and Drifters alike. "We're really doing this..." She blinks. "We're... really gonna defeat Odessa!"

    Nevermind this is likely not the only means of defense, or the only airship Odessa has at their disposal. There's other forces, as well, like Ganondorf, and--

    Janus, and his handler, for lack of a better term, Melody.

    Gwen suddenly launches into the fray after Avril, anger burning in her eyes. After everything he did, after everything he suffered, after everything they all went through, Janus is still...

    She screams until her throat is raw.

DG: Gwen Whitlock has used her Tool Full Metal Courier toward her party's challenge, Odessa's Finest.
=============================<* Warwing Varukias *>=============================
=======================<* CHALLENGE - Odessa's Finest *>========================
|Type: Final       |Dungeon Ability: Combat    |Challenge Rating: 3          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 Your path through Warwing Varukias ends outside of its command center. Here,
 red-coated soldiers of Odessa -- veterans, all -- have established a
 defense. There is no small number of them; there is also no small number of
 Drifters and ARMS fighters to be found, who came from different hallways.
 The lights overhead flicker, from where power has been cut. A few turrets
 hang uselessly, deactivated.

 However, the soldiers here are well-prepared. A pair of machinegun nests, a
 couple of Odessa soldiers with bazookas, and scores with rifles and blades
 stand between you and the doors to the bridge of the Varukias. When your
 team emerges, gunfire starts towards you -- and then more soldiers rush you,
 weapons in hand.

 OOC: This fight is assumed to be one portion of a pitched battle. You may
 get glimpses of other characters from other groups, who were also here.
=Dungeon Conditions: Wound, Fright, Suffer====================================
========================<* Warwing Varukias - Round 5 *>========================
=========================< Results - Odessa's Finest >==========================
Player                               Exhaustion                      Pass/Fail
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Zhang Xiumei                        46 --(12)--> 58                Pass
Barrier Cross                       2   Combat  Effects: Stalwart
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clarissa Arwin                      46 --(12)--> 58                Pass
Dandelion Sacrifice                 4   Combat  Effects: Fanfare and Sacrifice
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avril Vent Fleur                    46 --(12)--> 58                Fail
Fight                               0   Combat  Effects: BASIC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eleanor Klein                       46 --(12)--> 58                Pass
Lucky Card                          3   Combat  Effects: Fanfare
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dash Caskett                        46 --(12)--> 58                Pass
Helpful Bit of Data                 2   Combat  Effects: Cleanse and Liability
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gwen Whitlock                       46 --(12)--> 58                Pass
Full Metal Courier                  2   Combat  Effects: Embolden
-----------------------------------< Party >------------------------------------
Leader: Zhang Xiumei                75 --(35)--> 110               Pass
Conditions: Fright(2)|Suffer(1)|Wound(2)
Effects: Cleanse|Embolden(1)
===============================< Dream Chasers >================================
DG: You have overcome the dungeon's trials! This run is a success!
DG: The party led by Zhang Xiumei has successfully explored Warwing Varukias!
=============================<* Warwing Varukias *>=============================
=====================<* CHALLENGE - Onward to the Bridge *>=====================
|Type: Discovery   |Dungeon Ability: Conclusion|Challenge Rating: 1          |
---------------------------< Challenge Information: >---------------------------
 The battle has come to an end. Odessa's veterans lay dead, wounded, or at
 best scattered before you. More than a few will not return home; a few may
 soon succumb to their wounds. Time is precious, though, and the battle is
 not yet over. A large pair of double doors awaits -- which leads to the
 bridge of Warwing Varukias, and where the next battle awaits.

 OOC: You will start the scene "Ambition and Greed Rule..." with 40 FP.
=Dungeon Conditions: Hesitate=================================================
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    Avril doesn't seem to listen. She'd come here in search of someone, hadn't she--

    And now she's locked in battle with three of Odessa's finest. She's holding her own, but even if she betrays her skill with the blade, there's no questioning that the difference in numbers is working against her--

    As are the bullets flying free within the fray.

    But she isn't here alone, and a few things work to turn the tide within this particular section of the battlefield. One of them is certainly Xiumei's sweeping attack towards the back lines; backed up by Clarissa and Felius' rush (Felius taking melee immediately before both women, Clarissa's surging beam of light helping to mop up towards the back) both Clarissa and Xiumei (and Eleanor; even a single shot can help break into the problem Odessa's ranged units are causing) see all but the most-armored ranged attackers well and taken care of.

    Gwen rushes into melee alongside Avril, clocking one of the soldiers before they know what's even going on; they fall soon after.

    Dash and Data have their own solution to some of the dug-in gunners. With all the chaos going on about them, are they about to notice a tiny, cheeky monkey?

    No, they are not.

    A massive explosion rips through the outside of the command center, the distraction that causes enough to see Avril and Gwen victory of their remaining foes.

    Eleanor, of course, thinks of what is yet to come. Once they push on through here, then--

    They'll need all the luck they can get.

    For now, for everyone, there is a break in the fighting and time enough to steel themselves for what is to come.