Location: Level-IV
-40 HP from Starting on Level-IV
-20 HP from Encounter O
With the approach of more people trying to help to hack the overwatch module, the magia felt a relief, perhaps they would manage to make it in time. "Ronja has used quite a few already—"
Without wasting time, she told @Ueno Mizuki and Sven which combinations she has been using so far
However, even with several people swarming the module with attempts to unlock the right combination, it seemed that their pursuit for the right combination had no end. Ronja's lips pursed, and the side of her neck opened, letting out a thin tube that acted akin to a wire, 'plugging' into the console while she tried to exchange the data within the mana that has been magically manipulated into the strange tachnology that place had.
Taking a few hints, Ronja tried to dive deeper into the combinations, at least managing to get rid of some of the variants, narrowing down their hacking attempt.
"The combination should have at least these elements!" She pointed out, with her eyes glowing upon the mana overload.
Rolls
(BA) Extra Combination Ronja Bubblyfoot | Level 4 | 1943C4
Roll Result
1d7 (5) = 5 Ronja Bubblyfoot | Level-IV Encounter O | BA + S Rank | 1943C4
Status
Playsheet
Location: Level-I → Level-II
With the navigation of the facility being as difficult as it was, MAI was starting to resort to some pretty extreme measures. And though it felt like she has already spend entire months in these halls, she preserved, bringing forth some of her magitech 'toys' that flew around and aimed at the floor, charging up with the intent to shoot a beam of energy powerful enough to melt right through and allowed passage to a lower level. If not to reach the subject alpha, then to meet up with a certain witch. Once the hole was large enough, the magia leaped in-
"!!!!"
In all of the confusion, and passing through what appeared to be remnants of some kind of ooze(?), the girl had finally found herself on a lower level, falling and in a direct collision course with @Kyanna Wynne. Or, to be more precise, with the girl's face and/or bosom. MAI's ability to control gravity might have been quite good, but there really wasn't much time for reactions with how quickly the two emerged, heading straight for each other at full speed...
Tick tapped her foot on the ground, pulling out her pocket watch to check the room temperature as Sven took his sweet time working on the console, Tock relegating herself to fan duty to keep the group cool, which only served to push more warm air on them given the oppressive atmosphere.
Go take your depression pills and a nap NERD. You taking too long, let Tick-
And Tock!
The duo gave a shoulder bump each to Sven to get him off the terminal as each took their respective side on the console, with Tick on the left and Tock on the right, their complete synchronization allowed them to not typo whatsoever, with each hand micro-managing each part of the keyboard to maximize speed and accuracy as they begun to pinpoint the different passwords they had to try in the first place.
This would be so much easier if Tick Tock had Seigers here. She would just punch the console and make it work like movies do!
Tock mused outloud, huffing and puffing as Tick broke into a laughter, shooking her head in disbelief, flashing a toothy grin back at her.
Maybe if you lure the WEIRDO Boss chit-chatted with and put her in danger, Seigers will show up to the rescue. Remember though! Heroes always arrive late to the scene.
How is Tock supposed to find her?! Pink haired girls LOVE to disappear when no one's looking!
Their own attempts were ran short as the duo backed off, glancing at their own bodies as they felt how the wooden frame begun to wear and tear after being exposed to the extreme temperatures going on inside this floor.
Gonna need to find some diet soda to fix this. Maybe those big brained MIT people got something around here to use.
Roll Result
1d3 (2) = 2
Tick Tock | Level-IV Enocunter O | 1943C4
Bonus Action: Extra d1 on Encounter O (1d3)
[/action]
▪ Objective: 1250/1250
▪ Encounter O: 15/20
▪ Build Sheet
More and more people were pouring into this level, everyone clearly coming here with the intention of reaching the lowest floor from which all trouble originated. However, that also meant that the sweltering heat was building faster and faster, each body a little furnace adding to the already uncomfortable temperatures. Even through her insulative layers, Mizuki couldn't completely ignore it, and she'd rather not think about what that meant for everyone who couldn't adapt their physiology as she could.
Fortunately, there were people sealing up the broken pipes so at least the situation wouldn't get any worse on this floor, leaving Mizuki with a task she was ill-suited for: troubleshooting a computer. Back on Earth, she might have had a chance, but her comprehension of magitech was next to non-existent, so even as @Ronja Bubblyfoot explained which codes she'd already tried Mizuki could only memorise them and try out alternatives without any deeper patterns.
The arrival of one of MIT's own members should have brought some relief, but it looked like he didn't know the code either and didn't have a way of quickly bypassing the security system, which meant he was just one more person trying out every possibility in the hopes of hitting the magical combination. Growling to herself Mizuki watched as both Sven and @Tick Tock tried their hand at the puzzle, with Ronja making the most progress of the bunch.
Silly as this security system is, at least it works out for us this time.
So far as she could tell you got practically unlimited attempts, as long as you switched users between attempts. Which made absolutely no sense for a security system, but Mizuki wasn't going to complain if it meant they could resolve their current predicament. With Tick and Tock making space Mizuki tried another code, keeping in mind all the previous attempts. Unfortunately she had no luck this time either: if she didn't know better she'd think the system recognised her and was offended by her persistence, immediately emitting more sparks after a single code.
I bet Cleo would've had an easier time with this.
She didn't know her partner as a tech whiz, but she must've learned a thing or two about security systems given her job.
Rolls
(BA) Maneuver
Ignore difficult terrain and all movement-based damage this cycle. Metamorph | Ueno Mizuki
Location Start: Level-IV -40 -20 HP from Start on Level-IV -20 HP from Encounter O
Location End: Level-IV
She absolutely hated this floor, the temperature within it on a steady rise as the mysterious burst pipe remained elusive despite all of their best efforts. The humidity was through the roof now, bringing forth suppressed memories from the hellish summers she’d endured back on the island during her youth, and it earned an irritated "Tch!" from the blonde.
Clarissa took the lead as the technician plunged back into the steam filled room, followed by Lune and Fiora as they doubled their efforts to find the hidden location of the hissing pipe. She stayed behind though, keenly aware of the exhaustion that was beginning to take hold with each passing moment—she’d only be a hindrance for them.
”Come on, don't shut papa out now…”
The familiar voice of Sven brought her gaze back to Ronja and the others as they huddled by a console, a heavy sigh released through her lips before the ranger moved to join them. "You need to code better children, Sven." Granted the device was technically doing its job correctly, though the blonde couldn’t help but wonder why he didn’t have something akin to a root user for emergency bypassing.
The elf listened as Ronja shared the various combinations already tried, before watching as each one took their turns with new combinations—earning error after error messages in bold red letters. "Cross your fingers that it doesn’t lock us out…" Hopefully whatever operating system MIT used wasn’t anything like Windows, they certainly didn’t have fifteen minutes to waste out here.
Three attempts resulted in three additional failures, a frustrated huff escaping the ranger as she took a step back from the console. It was then she finally noticed the constant hissing from the broken pipe had faded out and, while the temperature and humidity still remained high, she was thankful that at least one problem in this forsaken floor had finally been dealt with.
"What?!" She frowned. "Of course I should've come, you are in here. Did you want me to sit back and watch?" Kyanna released the hug, casting a glance around.
"Anyway, seems like there is nothing left to do here. Let's get out of here!" She took the magia's hand and darted off as fast as she could—
As soon as she noticed a crowd swarming a console, that she soon forced her way through as soon as she heard mumblings about combinations.
"Has anyone tried '123456'?" Kyanna asked, barging in to start tapping some numbers. "Where is the 'Forgot username or password?' option..." She sighed, randomly pressing buttons like an amateur in fighting games trying to sparkle out a Special Move.
Rolls
Movement: Level II → Level IV
Roll Result
1d3 (3) = 3 Kyanna Wynne | Level-IV Encounter O | BA | 1943C4
To either side of her, the twins stand. Their presence no longer a surprise factor in their oddities, but welcome nonetheless.
Her countenance remains impenetrable beyond the sheer veil of exhaustion that has descended over her face as she continues to battle the detrimental effects of their present environments, the nerves along her fingertips still ticklish with the presence of magic that has been merged into her being.
"Tick," she welcomes one, "and Tock," turns to the other in greeting. Her eyes flutter closed, flickering visage of disappointment asserting its dominance over otherwise unchanged features. Forgetfulness was akin to a fatal flaw for one such as her, capable of spelling out disaster in how it would render her incapable of performing her duties appropriately. "Should I be hurt that you would imply so? I believe I have proven myself reliable, but should doubt linger in your mind, do let me know. That is something I can work to fix."
If she is actually hurt or disappointed, she doesn't show. Affectionately, her finger brushes an invisible speck of dust off the cheek of Tick, while her other hand pats Tock's head, magic granted through touch alone to bolster the girl's innate magical reserves into restarting their self-healing functions.
Patiently she would wait behind the main cluster of others by the console, hands linked at her front with an observer's curiosity noting everyone's chosen routes - and adjusting accordingly. To remain in one spot meant to keep herself available, at the disposal of others who most needed a revitalizing touch, a service she could provide.
Words would fall from her lips, hushed and unimportant, to weave the structure of spells as needed for the sake of others better employed elsewhere.
"Good job on the combinations, everyone. Take this opportunity to refresh yourselves if possible, and do not overdo it. You will not do any good if you become a liability before we know what is truly wrong. Ask for healing and other things if you need them."
"Haa... haa... haa..." Clarissa heaved pained breaths as the scalding steam burned her throat, her exhaustion and waning willpower battling against her depleting motivation as she lugged the mass of fixer meat to the control room. With the red light and blaring alarm as her guide, she eventually ended up at a dead end where the emergency hatch had shut, cutting her progress short. The thoroughly sauna'ed fixer collapsed against a wall as her rescue rolled off her shoulder and slumped down right next to her on the heated metal wall. At this point, it might have been more merciful for her to baste herself in butter and present herself to Szofrit. She didn't have enough energy to backtrack.
Before the fixer could go through with her desire to lie flat and let the dumb pipes cook her alive, the last combination clicked just as the leaking pipes were dealt with. Immediately afterward, the system hummed loudly and all the red emergency lights turned green as the Overwatch Module unlocked everything on Level-IV that was previously closed or shut down. The sound of gears and electricity echoed down the steamy corridors as things were brought back to their original position.
"Yes, alright, that did it!" Sven balled up his hands in celebratory excitement as he turned to the rest of his hacking peers.
"Good work," he said, pushing his glasses up his nose before turning to @Luthien with furrowed brows. "I was only one of the NPCs working on this. Wasn't exactly my choice either."
With the console now showing that the Spine was accessible again, Sven squeezed between @Tick Tock and pressed a button to activate the intercom.
[ Alright, good work everybody. The Spine's opened up now so head there, I'm going to override the clearance so you can take the elevator down to Level V. ]
Within 10 minutes of the intercom announcement that rang across the 4-levels, Clarissa who was as red as a boiled octopus pushed the door into the command room open and dumped the snoring lump of meat onto the ground.
"I made it... haaah... haaa..." the young woman audibly gasped for air as sweat dripped from her forehead and arms. "I'm heading to the Spine now. You better not start the elevator before I get there, nerd," Clarissa spoke between gasps.
"You look like you're about to die, Fixer. The elevator's going down in 5 minutes with or without you. Better hurry," Sven retorted.
"G-goddamit!" Clarissa snapped as she turned around and made her way into the subsiding steam.
Afterward, Sven announced over the intercom again to alert the personnel working this emergency.
[ The elevator is heading down in T-4 minutes, it's a one-way trip so don't expect to come back up until whatever problem is fixed down there... ]
By the time Clarissa got to the Spine, the door into the elevator had already started closing. Had she not summoned her second wind to dash into the metal box, she would have been left behind. Sven wasn't kidding, the takeoff time was on the dot.
Inside the elevator, she saw some familiar faces, most of which were gripped by nervousness of what they would find down in Level-V. Having heard of the battle against Szofrit, she was nervous too. Even if her face kept composure, her legs were trembling. She tried to hide at the back. It took roughly 5 minutes to reach Level-V, it was far down and the air grew heavier as time passed, invisible magical energy could be felt exerting a great deal of force on one's body, alerting it to the impending danger.
When the elevator's slow to a stop was punctuated by a creak, the door hissed open. The fixer gulped hard as the ones at the front of the elevator stepped out into ground zero. They were all greeted by an awful tremor and eerie magical flows that seeped out from the source of the alarm. Energy circulated the donut-shaped hallway like gales, shards of magic swirling about, hot enough to cut. Everything was pointing the group to the room behind the Spine's entrance.
As the group looked around them, the walls, the floor, the ceiling, everything in their surrounded appeared to have been made of oppressively cold steel, imparting the sense of unease that permeated the confined space prisoning some of Astorea's most dangerous researches.
The layout of Level-V, like the levels above was a donut-shaped hallway encircling the cylindrical Spine at the center. Unlike the floors above, however, there were sparse rooms, spaced far apart along its circumference. Each room was accessed via imposing hangar-like roll-down doors, their sheer size and weight alluding to the secrets they concealed. Most of these doors were closed, however, suggesting that their destination was on the other side.
As the group headed around the circular bend, the air crackled with barely contained power, and the ground beneath their feet trembled intermittently. It was as if Level-V had become a living, breathing entity with pulsing walls and quaking ground so intense that it felt as if they were now standing in the heart of a maelstrom.
Clarissa stayed at the back and did everything she could to stop the sickening magical surges from turning her stomach inside out as she trudged toward the room whose doors had been blown out from their hinges and remained embedded on the back of the Spine. Intense light radiated from the room and it was clear that it was the source of the magical leakage wreaking havoc on the entire MITRA compound.
Whoever made it to the entrance would have been able to catch a glimpse of the absolute franticness around the Golden Egg, which was radiating intense light and leaking an unimaginable amount of magic into the open. Next to the egg was Ordnung, who was in a labcoat with a mask around his mouth as if it was helping him stay standing.
"We need to open ze containment or ze concentrated energy is going to explode," Ordnung spoke to Accelerator who stood next to him.
"She's going to wake up if we break the egg, the energy escaping the egg is overriding the lullaby. If she wakes, we're not going to be able to put her back to sleep again," Accelerator replied as he looked at the egg while gritting his teeth.
"Zhere's not much of a choice here, you will have to do it." Ordnung punctuated his point by pushing his glasses up before a noise alerted him to the arriving group. Turning toward the group, Ornung immediately cut to the chase, "Ah, you've arrived at ze perfect time. Ze egg is hatching so we need a way to manage ze energy leaking through ze ruptures. Szofrit is also waking up 2 chambers down so we need to deal with her as well, get to it. Zhose who is staying here need to help contain the magical energy while ze rest need to restrain Szofrit until we finish delivering here."
Ordnung then returned his sharp gaze onto Accelerator. "Do it. We cannot waste anozer second."
"This is going to work, right?" Accelerator asked as he rolled up his sleeve. Even if his voice hinted at hesitation, his body language did not.
"Nozing in life is ever 100% foolproof, but if a miracle like you can happen zen I would bet on zis one." The astute scientist spoke as he stared into the dangerously-glowing egg.
While the two who were unlikely to be working together discussed some matter that she did not at all understand, Clarissa headed two doors down to the chamber where the Mother of Machines was housed. Clarissa's legs shook as she stood in front of that ominous opening as if it was the entrance into hell. The energy that flowed forth was intense and murderous, as if it was the cursing of a mother whose baby were snatched from her. Hoarse metalic screams echoed from the steely interior as the sound of metal on metal thrashing could be heard. Had it not been for the frantic sound of people yelling breaking her out of her PTSD from the bloody encounter with Szofrit, she might have run away.
"H-hey! Level-IV Fixer Muscat on duty. How can I help?" the ponytailed fixer asked.
Before her was the haunting sight of Szofrit's body reacting to the energy leaking from the eggs. The monster didn't seem to be conscious, but her body was thrashing against the metallic chamber, fighting her restraints. Though her eyes were opened, she wasn't cognizant of the enemies surrounding her. She was simply reacting to the energy leaking from the egg, it was akin to the cries of a baby, her baby.
"We need to make sure she doesn't break free and put her under again after the egg is dealt with!" One of the researchers said.
Cycle 5
Rules
This is a megathread so all megathread rules apply.
Up to 2 characters per OOC account may participate in the event.
Max 1 reply per character per cycle.
Max word count is 700 words excluding BBcodes.
If you would like to take a personal moment with others, branch off via a private thread in the regular forum.
Any communication can be done either by making a private comms thread or posting in the event's official comms thread.
To interact with any NPC, tag me in the comms thread.
All thread mechanics have been resolved. Everything will be playing out in semi-freeform from this point onward.
Code:
[hp=current]maxhp[/hp]
[status]Location[/status]
Post starts here.
The collective relief felt by those huddled around the console was almost palpable once the screen flashed and granted Sven access to the system. An audible sigh escaped her lips as the hissing from the nearby vents was silenced, grateful that none of them would have to personally discover how it felt to be steamed like seafood.
"I was only one of the NPCs working on this. Wasn't exactly my choice either." It was her turn to mirror Sven’s expression as her own brows furrowed, before a hand reached over to flick the man on his forehead. "Don’t gimme that crap, neither of you are NPCs… so don’t forget it."
It was already hard enough to try and associate the landers with such a label, they far outclassed any scripted NPC she’d ever interacted with in games before Terrasphere, and there was absolutely no way that she’d ever think of Meri and Sven as such—not when she’d failed them both. The conversation left her with a sour taste in her mouth and a tightness in her chest as the elf was reminded of all the things she’d promised to do… some of which felt impossible, but she’d be damned to give them up without a fight.
Her steps carried her close to the hunter despite her muddled thoughts, glad to see that—despite the exhaustion weighing heavily on them all from the prolonged sauna exposure—he was alright and well. "Never a dull moment, mmm?" There was a lilt in her voice, though the smile she offered him—genuine as it was—lacked its usual brightness. Her hand quietly reached for his as the announcement blared through the intercom, seeking his touch and comfort to quell the buzzing agitation steadily growing in her chest as the doors closed and the elevator began its descent.
The donut-like layout was one she was familiar with by now, though the charged energy that slowly permeated into every corner of this floor was certainly new. "I don’t like this…" The grip of her hand on his tightened as the uneasiness within her grew, the only crack on an otherwise composed exterior Lúthien had been portraying as the group walked down the familiar corridor towards the room where the Golden Egg had come to rest once the events in Vintergard had concluded.
It was impossible to not be affected by the growing pressure as they got closer. Each magical pulse caused her stomach to flip and churn, and for the first time the constant forgetfulness to eat became a blessing instead of a hindrance in her life. Her hand finally slipped from Yugam’s as her steps hastened upon catching the sound of two familiar voices, the contents of their conversation barely a whisper for her due to the distance, but it was enough for the elf to hurry despite the discomfort she forced herself to ignore.
"W-What did you do to Emmy...!" Her eyes triumphed where her voice had failed her, and the fierceness of the glare shot towards Ordnung and Accelerator spoke volumes as the ranger slightly leaned against the entrance frame to ground her senses. She trusted either men as far as her arms could throw them, which was obviously none at all.
If they were phased by their arrival neither man showed it, Ordnung quickly turning towards the group and catching them up with the current status of things. Not only was the golden egg leaking absurd amounts of energy as it apparently struggled to hatch, but the once dormant Szofrit was seemingly reacting to said spillage. She gazed down the corridor as Ordnung pointed her chamber out from the others, before her eyes shifted back to Yugam in silent worry.
She’d do everything to ensure Emm’s safety as the golden egg hatched, but none of that would matter if Robomama woke up first and decided to wipe out the whole compound. { Stay safe… please. } She knew her boyfriend well enough to know he’d go for Szofrit’s chamber like some of the others, just like she was certain the hunter knew from the moment that elevator had touched down that she’d go to the egg’s side.
"This is going to work, right?"
"Nozing in life is ever 100% foolproof, but if a miracle like you can happen zen I would bet on zis one."
The surprising honesty from MIT’s founder almost felt like a fresh breath of air despite the predicament they were all now entangled with, before her brows furrowed in thought as something else caught her attention. Miracle…? Crimson eyes fell on Accelerator as the ranger’s eyes studied him with an intensity she hadn’t used before. Another tremor followed a new surge of energy from the egg, forcing her to put a pin on that train of thought and yeet it to the back of her mind to focus on the pressing priority looming over them all.
A sigh left her before her steps brought Lúthien closer to the golden egg, the elf unphased by the crackling energy that surrounded its space as she forced herself to bear the pounding sensation in her head and the discomfort that came with being exposed to such a raw pool of magic. A hand slowly reached out towards it, her jaw clenched tightly and her teeth gritted as she fought an unseen force to do so, until finally her gloved fingers brushed against its surface.
{ Hey Emm, it’s me again. } Her mind reached for the familiar consciousness out of habit, something she’d done whenever the elf came down to share her energy with the egg even if she never received a response. The shell glowed brighter as both of her hands pressed against its surface, the heat radiating from it strong enough to penetrate through the protective leather of her gloves. { It’s alright… everything’s gonna be fine. }
Little by little she allowed her own energy to trickle into the golden egg, her mind drifting back to the magic lessons she’d undergone with her unnie as she’d strove to gather a better control over her own masteries. Lúthien often felt she still had a long way to go with that, but her concern over Emmy’s—and everyone else’s—safety proved to be a strong force that momentarily overrode the blonde’s insecurities as she attempted to weave the fabric of her magic into the wild and volatile energy that lashed outwards from the egg.
{ You can do this Emm, we can do this… together. }
Explorer's League
En route to S̵̯̙̾͒z̴̨̘̖͍͓̱̥̏͠ơ̶̼̈̑͛̄̉͛f̶̙̟̻̝̔̇͑̍r̵͉̩̫̪̱͉̍͆̏̿i̸̡̼͈̭̯̻̜̎̀̋͠t̶̠͚̳̜̰͂͊̂́
+25 HP - Elevator
The previous annoyance and frustration that Yugam had felt as the group had traversed the depths of the MIT began to fade as quickly as the blister across the man's exposed skin as he healed them. The most immediate threat of death by vaporization gone, and finally they could all breathe again...which sadly left Yugam to go back to the remnants of the Embertorch and to his numerous piles of paperwork to complete.
Somewhere nearby, Yugam could hear Luth snip (in a most caring manner) at one of the Landers, and the man found his feet moving towards the elf on their own. "Never a dull moment, mmm?" she said when they'd found each other, her voice weary but somehow remaining bright as ever. Yugam returned the comment by taking Luth's hand in his, and with an equally weary smile. "What I wouldn't give for a dull moment every now and again."
The Magia attacks, Szofrit, the Embertorch, now the MIT. It wore on them. They hid it well, even from each other, but the fatigue in both their voices was impossible to miss now. And they weren't alone, of that Yugam was certain. It only took a brief scan of those around them for Yugam to spot the weariness in their eyes, a tiredness that went beyond the events of the last few hours.
Even as they all packed into the elevator that had descended to them, those near the walls sagged against them, and those left standing visibly struggled to remain upright. Yugam included, who pressed his back to the elevator as it began to go down. It took for a moment for him to even realize that they were heading in the opposite direction of where they were supposed to be going, but as soon as he had, his eyes narrowed, and he looked first to Luth, to confirm he wasn't going insane, then to those around them.
Murmurs. About the Egg. About Szofrit.
Whilst Luth was left to chastize the two scientists, Yugam let out a low groan, followed by a curse. The hunter pushed himself up off the wall and rolled his aching shoulders, willing them to not give out on him quite yet.
{ Stay safe… please. }
The quiet request pierced the fog of fatigue in Yugam's mind and the man stole a look in Luth's direction, giving her a soft nod. The elevator doors opened, and the man gave the elf's hand one last squeeze before letting go and bolting in the direction of Szofrit.
Yugam pulled both revolvers from their holsters and checked the ammo count. Full up, six each. Snapping the barrels shut, the man took aim, right up at the high ceiling and pulled the triggers. As soon as the bullets struck the ceiling, their bloody cargo splattered across the surface, before coalescing, and shooting down towards Szofrit, blood red chains attempting to bind her in place.
Stumbling into the elevator, Lune sat on the corner, minding her own business while trying to regenerate all the burn wounds she sustained. Familiar faces soon gathered, and the elevator went down.
The elevator trip was quite lengthy, which impressed Lune on how secure the containment actually was. Unfortunately, it was not anywhere enough, otherwise they wouldn't be here to clean up MIT's mess. It was pretty quiet since everyone's thought was occupied with how to stop Szofrit and whether it was even possible this time without killing her.
She was willing to kill the mother of machines before, and she would be more than willing to put her down for good this time if none other options were viable.
The door opened, revealing to the group the Level-V."Let's go."Lune got up and proceeded before the team stumbled upon Accelerator and Ordnung who were already on the spot and decided to do an exposition dump on them. Well, it's not like she was here to do anything else anyway.
Following Clarissa to Szofrit's containment chamber, they were soon met with the sight of the thrashing figure. Acting quickly, she quickly analyzed her surroundings. "The longer she's exposed to the energy, the more it becomes impossible to contain her." Lune walked in front of the fixer,"Stand back," she warned.
Yugam already started, his blood chains trying to stop Szofrit from moving. Lune brought both of her hands to the front, making a grasping motion, trying to create a strong gravitational pull downwards concentrated on Szofrit alone to hinder her constant movement with Gravimancy. Even beings as powerful as her should be affected by the rules of nature.
Szofrit
+25 HP from Elevator Music
+25 (Flat) to Nature Magic MA
With @Kyanna Wynne finally hacking the console and @Fiora Di Angelo sealing the pipe which had been threatening to roast everyone there was a short moment of reprieve.
Stepping away from the console Mizuki looked around to see what state everyone was in. Her adapted form had endured the heat quite well, but it was obvious that there would have been casualties if they'd taken much longer. Under different circumstances, she'd have suggested that they take the time to catch their breath and prepare for what still lay ahead, but unfortunately, time was of the essence.
We don't have time to rest, but I suggest that anyone who can heal does it while we go down.
Joining the others in the elevator Mizuki finally allowed her form to revert to its base state, the sleek fur retreating from most of her body while becoming tough and shaggy once more. So far she'd been able to make her way through the compound by abusing her flexible nature, but this last part of the facility had such tight security that she was better off using the same route as everyone else.
Which also meant that she experienced the steady build-up of power like everyone else. An ominous feeling that made her hackles rise, the clear understanding that they were entering a hazardous area where the terrain itself could become lethal.
Given that she had several minutes to prepare herself Mizuki changed her shape once more, this time not to endure heat but to withstand the dangers of volatile magic. Skin and fur hardened and thickened, until most of her body was covered in a layer of tough bark. A tree's outer layer wasn't actually alive, instead serving as a shield against the environment. In Mizuki's case, it would ward off the excess energy saturating the atmosphere.
Once they reached the bottom and the door opened with a hiss she was one of the first to enter the lowest layer of the facility, mismatched eyes glancing at the energy flowing through the circular structure.
She didn't think any of them needed a warning not to touch the shards of concentrated, volatile magic floating about.
Circling around the Spine she looked into the room where the golden egg was held, the catalyst of the current disaster. The light emitted by the egg made her narrow her eyes before she adjusted her vision and approached, one ear swivelled towards Accelerator and Ordnung to listen to their argument while her eyes remained fixed on the egg.
She'd been there when the egg was first discovered, but she hadn't formed as strong a bond with it as some of the others. Placing her bark-clad hand on its surface she tried to focus, but found that none of her talents nor experiences were helpful here: this was neither beast nor plant, nor did it possess blood or flesh.
With a sigh she pulled her hand back and stepped away from the egg, shaking her head.
Controlling the flow of magic is not my forte.(She looked at the others.)Any of you who think you can help here please do so. We'll want the one inside this egg to remain safe whether we manage to contain Szofrit or not.
@Luthien was already working on it, and she assumed that others would step forward as well. No time to wait here and verify: even as she finished her request she was already heading out of the room and towards the chamber where Szofrit was held.
Although one ear did twitch in response to the last exchange between Accelerator and Ordnung. What kind of miracle was that?
Entering Szofrit's cell she didn't waste any more time approaching the Mother of Machines, bark-clad feet carrying her forward until she was as close to the prey as her restraints would allow.
Capturing Szofrit rather than killing her had always been a risk. A calculated risk, so far as she was concerned, but when you took such a risk you also had to accept that the possibility of failure existed. Szofrit hadn't escaped yet, but if the situation deteriorated further they'd have to accept their losses and put an end to the once-leader of the magia.
There's a good chance this will take as long as the egg needs to hatch.(She raised her hands.)I hope you're willing to adjust that deadline if it looks like we're getting things back under control.
Levi clearly wasn't in the mood to argue, so Mizuki left it at that. Her hands quickly shifted and grew in size, fingers extending to form flexible branches. Sneaking between the various restraints that were already in place (and @Yugam's bloody chains) the wildling wrapped her branch-fingers around Szofrit until one couldn't tell where one branch ended and another began.
As an added bonus, @Lune's gravity also helped wrap her bindings more firmly around the Mother of Machines. Even if none of them could claim to hold the powerful magia on their own hopefully their combined efforts would be sufficient, or at least help delay the inevitable while their allies sought to resolve the egg's development.
And if it came down to it Mizuki could quickly turn her hold into a death grip.
Szofrit's intentions were so raw and unreserved that even a non-elf like Mizuki could pick up on them. While she held Szofrit together with the others she tried to address the unconscious magia, her jaws clenched as she poured as much strength into her tree-arms as she could manage.
Your child is safe Szofrit. They're doing what they can to help her, and if you calm down they'll have an easier time with it.
To further fortify her position she placed her hind paws further apart and tried to pierce the floor with her claws to anchor herself, toes turning into roots to dig deep inside the structure. A part of her wondered if it wouldn't have been smarter to contain Szofrit inside a non-metallic structure: even if the MIT's facility wasn't magia-make it might still be more susceptible to its captive's abilities than an alternative carved from solid rock.
The elevator was crowded and sweaty and quite possibly the worst part of this whole mess. Waiting was hell, and Imoogi began to wonder if she would have been better off going up instead of down and leaving the NPCs to solve their own problems.
...but there were secrets down there, and she couldn't miss out on that shit. So she endured, watching the door open and shut and tasting the growing magic in the air. Frustration was soon replaced by anticipation as she waited for the final stop.
Imoogi bolted out of the elevator as soon as she could, only to freeze as she felt the full weight of the magic surging through the floor. It was overwhelming and dizzying and above all exciting.
If she could gather a mere fraction of this energy, who knew what she could accomplish?
Going down to face Szofrit a second time was appealing, but the golden egg was right there, rich with magic and energy that just needed a place to go. Handling it in its pure state was beyond her, but... well, there was someone who was apparently more than happy to walk up and start hugging the damn thing.
Imoogi grinned, fangs bared, as she approached @Luthien, a perfect transistor between the purity of the egg and the messy, familiar energy of lifeforce. "Hey blondie, keep that up! I'm borrowing you!"
There was no explanation or warning. There was especially no asking for permission as Imoogi proceeded to sink her fangs into Luthien's arm.
Imoogi wasn't a vampire, or a hemomancer, or even particularly fond of the taste of blood in general. But taste was her way of understanding the innate energy of a living thing, and a few strands of hair wouldn't cut it this time. It was easier to draw on the excess flowing through Luthien this way, too.
"Ish i` go'a shuck."
The elf's lifeforce still had to go somewhere. Some of it went to healing wounds and bolstering endurance, but there was a point where healing became cancer, and she couldn't just bleed it off into the air or into a bottle. What she could do, however, was put it towards growing something else.
Things like hair and nails and scales were meant to be grown and discarded. Perhaps not at the pace that it was occurring now, both to Imoogi and anyone unfortunate to be in her area of influence, but it was a far better alternative to an overgrowth of flesh and bone.
Ronja was too focused on her own preparations to give full attention to the whole conversation, despite its importance. She picked up a few sentences in the background noise, absorbing what she could while she charged her Skullbuster Rifle, bombs, and her Aid-lings and War-lings.
"Five minutes..."
Her eyes wandered to Levi, narrowing.
Why couldn't he make it five seconds?
That wish only grew more as she watched @Luthien and @Yugam stepping into the elevator, which prompted her to do the same. They had to endure five minutes if they wanted reinforcements, and while Szofrit wasn't awake yet, she wasn't going to leave her friends alone for some accident.
Who knows, maybe she could finish things off while she was at it.
"No careless actions." She said to the duo, but mostly to her elf friend. Taking a deep breath, she waited, and tried to keep her head on her shoulders. She couldn't let that Robot take over her mind again.
The elevator kept heading down, as if it's destination were Tartarus itself. Although not their last stop, it certainly would feel like it given what awaited at the end of the line. Yet for all the ruckus, sirens and last minute dialogue, she couldn't hear a thing. It couldn't be her ears, faulty as one is, given that thought didn't even cross her mind. No thought did in fact. She couldn't worry about this half-assed deafness turned whole.
Her skin crawled, longing for the very moment the blast doors would open to reveal the source of her acrimony, and finally redirect all the hatred she's been brewing thus far to it. The muteness around felt oddly familiar to her dreams, the weight behind her boots, the tingle of exhaustation rushing all across her... But not the hand-clenching anger when the obscured pieces were given light to reveal the prisoner within the depths of MIT's folly.
With sword in hand, her eye peered curiously as Szofrit writhes against her bindings. Based on others, this had become a waiting game. They either blow up from the failed efforts of those above, or the mother of machines simply breaks free and gets them killed. Her staring allowed her share emotion to slip, ten souls worth of anger slithering their way to a conciousness that may not even exist, feelings a tin-can disguised as a mother wouldn't really understand.
Finger tips scratched across the fuller of her sword as fire begun to pickup through the edges, magic flowing through it as a dim light begun to grow. From a mere shine to a blaze, dormant much like it's owner, silently growing in strength with every EP wasted to smite with.
They were all going to die anyways should the group above fail, but apparently the consensus was to contain rather than to put down the caged animal, a decision that might send them all to the grave where the first time it didn't, fortunate as they were.
Her hopes were placed into the metal stick she held, hoping they could at least all meet in spawn with a magia's head should the golden egg meltdown.
Status Playsheet
Location: Level-V (Szofrit)
Any fortunate or unfortunate meeting has become moot. MAI stood in the elevator in silence, and she heard naught but silence in return. Or perhaps it was the thumping of her own synthetic heart that she barely recognized. Did her magia body even contain any adrenalin? It didn't seem to matter, as she moved on fleeting thoughts alone, guided by the immense magical energy from below. She grew familiar with it, as did many others. She already knew exactly what she would encounter.
As soon as the door was opened, her gravimancy would lift her body as always. With her low-altitude gliding, she sped through the circular hallway, only offering a passing glance at the egg. She couldn't be at two places at the same time, and if she had to choose, the answer for her specifically was beyond obvious. As much as she wished to witness what would hatch, as a member of the team that obtained the egg in the first place. Perhaps it was Calculator's final victory from beyond the eternal.
In the chamber, she passed Levi and offered him a singular glance. Not cold nor warm, she almost let a sigh slip. And in front of her - the multitude of individuals doing their best to restrain the mother of machines, all the while attempting to reason with her. Some, of course, let their bloodlust show once more. Not a single person here really knew what to do, it seemed. Allowing her wingless flight to take her above everyone, near the chamber's ceiling. Could she even get past all of these people, throwing their powerful abilities ahead of them?
Closing her eyes, she let the flow of magic guide her. Slowly, surely, gliding over to Szofrit. If another would accidentally strike her, so be it. If they'd shout at her, so be it. If Szofrit were to break free, she'd be the first to take a hit, and so be it - a punishment for her hubris. But she could recognize that the steel mother was not all there. If she hoped to reach her, she had to try a different approach. Almost curling up to a ball, she extended her hands and tried just that. A machine connecting to a machine. They were both magia, so perhaps it might just work… to connect their consciousnesses directly.
Because she wished for a better, happier, brighter future… for the both of them.
"You can feel it, can't you? Your child, coming into this world. Even Dissonance cannot stop you... from the mother's instincts."
"Please, try to contain yourself. Your body, flailing on raw instinct to protect... might be too much. It might hurt your child."
"You were led to that detour by your instinct before. You had not the heart to destroy your fellows, who were consumed by Dissonance. Do not allow it to harm your child, either."
"Let's welcome her to this world... together... peacefully..."
Uncertainty flickered in Accelerator's cold eyes as he turned from Ordnung toward the new arrival, feeling the egg's warm pulsing a response to the elf's touch while what appeared to be her companion bled off the excess outflow of energy that passed right through the elf's body.
The steely strategist looked down at his upturned hands, thoughts slipping through his fingers like sand, scattering all over the chess board where the pieces had assumed their place. Although his consciousness was a leaking oil tank drifting through the endless sea, his body understood its role and directed his digits toward the warm exterior of the egg. Unlike the elf and Ordnung, his fingers passed through the shell. As his wrist sank into the egg, his dull expression was replaced with pain as the molten energy ruptured at the points of entry, coating him.
Accelerator braced himself with gritted teeth as his arms ventured further in, reaching for the goal that he couldn't see. With the heartbeats so loud, he didn't need to see his destination. Just as he was about to take hold of the core, the green ring in Accelerator's eyes began to pulse erratically as his body processed the immense energy passing through him. Thousands of memory slides that didn't belong to him flashed through his mind with each pulse, drawing out pained grunts from his dry throat.
After what felt like an eternity of suffering, his hands finally took hold of it and began pulling it out of the egg. When his disintegrating arms emerged from the plasma, Accelerator's hands were holding onto it.
A baby.
The sight of the baby with a golden umbilical cord attaching it to the center of the sphere stunned both Ordnung and Accelerator. From the reports he had heard, the keychild that appeared to certain Starcalled appeared human, but it surprised them that a literal baby was inside the egg.
Just as the wide-eyed bespectacled Accelerator took a weary step back from the egg with the baby cradled in his arms, it took its first cry. Before the blue-haired youth even had time to react to it, several glowing spear tips headed directly for his back, aiming to blow a hole through his chest where his heart was along with the baby.
Before anyone had a chance to react, Ordnung silently stepped in the way and took the skewering in Accelerator's place, bringing him to his knees as he clutched onto the two spears that had completely crushed his lungs and drew out a pained groan.
· · ·
At the first cry that only she could hear, the Mother of Machines opened her eyes and sat up in her binding. A few of the researchers who were working near the pod noticed Szofrit's sudden awakening and instinctively threw themselves onto her pod as human shields.
"S-stop everyone! Levi p-please, she's one of the few clues we have for figuring out how to go back home, d-don't you guys have people you have to see again no matter what?" they shouted in unison.
"I-idiots, get away from Szofrit NOW!" Levi roared.
By the time his words have reached them, the bound Szofrit already had her hand up, palm aimed at the aghast defenders, her weary eyes glowing a murderous crimson.
A loud ringing deafened Levi to everything around him. Yet again, the knight commander was about to make the same mistake, and the Starcalled hubris was about to end the lives of every single person in that compound. Levi screamed in desperation as he lunged toward Szofrit. "LUNE, MIZUKI, RONJA, FIORA, KILL HER!!!"
"NOOO STOP!" One of the researchers screamed, "SHE'S STILL BOUND BY THE SYSTEM AND THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH HER ENERGY READING!!!"
MAI who was connected to her on some level would have felt this off-feeling as well.
Everyone there who still had access to their UI would have seen it flashing red, alerting them of a deadly incoming attack.
INSTINCT: ULTRA RAGING STEEL
The moment the skill was about to activate, Szofrit turned her head in the direction of the egg and hundreds if not thousands of steel shards instantly manifested and cut through her bindings, metal walls, and the rooms between her and the egg chamber, turning the group of assassins aiming their weapons at the baby in Accelerator's arms and every single person who was unlucky enough to be in the way into human mince.
By the time anyone had noticed the direction of the Raging Steels, Levi had already taken action along with anyone else who had witnessed her reawakening first hand.
Cycle 6
Rules
This is a megathread so all megathread rules apply.
Up to 2 characters per OOC account may participate in the event.
Max 1 reply per character per cycle.
Max word count is 700 words excluding BBcodes.
If you would like to take a personal moment with others, branch off via a private thread in the regular forum.
Any communication can be done either by making a private comms thread or posting in the event's official comms thread.
To interact with any NPC, tag me in the comms thread.
All thread mechanics have been resolved. Everything will be playing out in semi-freeform from this point onward.
Code:
[hp=current]maxhp[/hp]
[status]Location[/status]
Post starts here.
Their hold on her was failing, as the mother of machines awakened.
"LUNE, MIZUKI, RONJA, FIORA, KILL HER!!!" The knight commander roared, signaling that the time was up and it was now to make an action.
Yes, perhaps Szofrit was the key to learning how there might be a chance for people who were trapped here to go back, despite them already being dead in real life, maybe somehow there's a way. But at the cost of potentially trapping hundreds, if not thousands others here? Gambling with the lives of countless landers of this world?
"Sorry," She knew how it was to lose a loved one, she was not going to let others experience how painful it was. "I've given a second chance-" Pulling out her great cleaver from the inventory, she hardened her body and limbs using her metamorph."-and risked enough,"
Her UI flashed red, warning her of a potentially fatal attack incoming. The manifested steel around her quickly caused the steel auxesis to bring her painful discomfort, but Lune channeled the pain as her boost instead.
This time, she exerted every energy she had left, even if it would kill her, to guarantee that Szofrit would be stopped, converting every lifeforce or bodily strength for power as much as possible, even to the extent that some parts of her body were morphed.
The system of this game will surely keep her from death long enough, with Immortal.
Using gravity to propel herself toward Szofrit, she tried to avoid the researchers and swung the cleaver horizontally with the only intent of beheading.
Fiora expected the beast to awaken and attempt to break loose. No doubt it would given the circumstances. The cries to keep their blades for five more minutes was but a bad omen, and following that up would be death. The best ending would mean very few graves to be dug, yet many would fall by the end of this day, innocent or not.
What shocked her wasn't the events running their course as she tempered her blade, preparing for the moment these eyes would spring open and the foul mother would seek out that accursed egg, but the wails of the researchers who became meat shields for a monster that didn't harbor any care for them. Her hand twitched, hesitation begun to crawl through her, weakening her grip on the blade as she peered for any other options.
Alternatives?
A better angle?
Luck..?
And then she just let go of it, her left hand dropping by her side along her doubt. There was a call for action as Levi finally realized how late he truly is thanks to these five minutes. It is through this call that the vivid fire coating her blade, that which she points at what has to be killed, instead shifted through the guard and back at Fiora. It seeps from the gaps on her armor, setting her cloak and hairs ablaze with a gentle flame, making contrast with the raging wildfire of usual.
The white purple-haired juggernaut was the first to step in, and in turn the one to get closer to Szofrit, adding just an extra layer of care to be given when seeking to pierce through the magia. If they were lucky, she would be the one to slay it and that would be it, yet there were no guarantees one alone could do it. And no one wanted to run that risk.
Stone-faced, yet vehement in her resolve, Fiora dashed forth, tightening her right hand's sole grip on the handle as she dragged it from her side, weak fire trailing along it's path. Her mind was made up: They would have to hush everything into ashes. The only way she knew to protect was to spill blood and this time would be no different, even if innocents would be mixed with the gore of their aggressors.
The blade whistled as it went horizontal and carved through the air, it's reach going past the blade and leaving it's mark on the walls further behind the chambers and anything in-between, aiming to split the mother of machines, her protectors, and whatever unfortunate enough to be in the way.
Status Playsheet
Location: Level-V (Szofrit)
It seemed that their attempts at restraining Szofrit had largely failed. After all, they were far from the numbers that were required to do just that the first time around. What was more worrying was that none of her own attempts to quell the mother's rage had seemingly any effect. But just as she put a big of space between herself and the one who was perceived as a villain to be slaughtered - the attack erupted.
Endless vertexes formed, shielding made out of hard light protecting the magia as she was partly flung back, but able to return right where she was with the shifting gravity. Her eyes swiftly followed in the direction of the destruction, lenses that served as her eyes expanding and shrunk in an attempt to clearly catch what was going on. With a bit of build-in zoom, it was no hard to catch... still gleaming, the golden egg. Something was happening in that room as Szofrit was trying to get to it.
"Conclusion - Mother wants to be with child and ensure its safety. Let her."
But they were not about to. MAI didn't even know when she made the choice, if she ever even made it consciously at all, but her body moved in line with the razed machinery as her protective matrix expanded. Lune's blade would meet it head on, as would Fiora's flames. The only question then was - who's would prevail? She only knew that she was not going to yield.
