Complete Main Story Vintergard (S4) Steel In Discord: Actress Again

[Tick Tock]

83 / 190

 Unaffiliated

 

-5HP from x1 bleed stack
-10 HP from EVE's grip
-25 HP from Matrix's explosion
-12 HP from surging pulse
-10 HP from Exceed
Protected by Hanno (?)
Bleed Stacks: 1

The uncertainty within EVE's words, glitchy revelations of her nature, were all but thwarted by the interest she poured upon the Matrix. They all had different desires to meet, and all conflicted one with the other:
Eve wished to protect it, for it was her only means of communication with something greater than herself.

The most seasoned of combatants seek it's destruction, those she calls companions aim to finish this fight and tear apart the forge. Such were their orders, puppeteered in ways not so different to the strings upon her limbs forged out of her own desires.

She craved for it's power, and something else had taken note of it. EVE and not at the same time. It claimed to have noticed. She cursed under her breath, stolen by an iron coil around her neck - Tick wasn't fast enough. The usurper bested everyone in knowledge and skill, made a fool out of everyone with a premise they were pitch black about.

"Beautiful!" Despite it all, she had to agree with 'EVE'. Her own fascination for pocket watches comes from superficial simplicity, housing it's true complexity behind a veil of glass and metal. "Do you mind Tick tagging along?" Less of a question, more of a statement out of the puppet. Tick didn't falter, didn't stutter, didn't hesitate. Less so when one intended to escape with the priceless cube she wished on her own possession instead.

By the time she had rushed in and her vision begun to corrupt, the corrosive tip of her fingers found no purchase on the mist that replaced the fellow magia, grasping the air left on her escaped. Her reward would be the phasing from a world smacked ripped from it's seams, finally consumed by what had to be the self-destruction of the Forge.

The cube had to be it's core, and without it, it became nothing more but a gap in Terrasphere. One that swallowed the now unrecognizable palace, gold replaced with code, floor with a virtual landscape, pockets of it leaked overloaded magics and dissonance.

"A virtual reality within reality... Oh! Are you trying to find a way out?" Tick pondered while her eyes were set upon the mismatching orb.

No time, despite this being a dream world for her, it's still a very dangerous and very real environment. Fortunately, @Cain Darlite The leader of Team Flag had just what she needed to distract herself. A command, and a wish for a tale, that is, if they all make it out alive.

"How is fighting a bi-dimensional orb not good enough?! Just need enough pizzazz to make it sound attractive!" Tick's legs finally responded to her once again, repositioning herself at an optimal distance in her rendezvous with Tock, who left the flagbearer's side for once, with the duo surrounding @Seigi Ling Ling instead.

"Guts!" Tick exclaimed
"Effort!" Tock followed.
"We march forward to this death orb, together!" The duo finally replied in unison, spreading their arms as if to introduce the brawler to her newest target: big funny colourful sphere, with Tock taking the initiative to follow the veteran and tag along, as best as she could once she got moving.

Tick, on the other hand, kept near @Hanno Futaba , the man had promised to keep everyone safe, and he can't do that if they are too far away! Maybe just a little, enough for them to be at arm's reach, but certainly nowhere near close to the Faerin to get blasted by circular, glitchy retaliation. Such power...

Perhaps it could be taken! Nowhere near the Forge's, but this IS a big coreless shell of it, tearing apart their realm of existence with it's mere presence, and when it came to leech unknown magical sources to her own benefit or detriment, that's where her design had gone to. A magia living battery made to steal with reckless abandon.

And that's what her segmented greedy fingers set themselves to do, one string of tabboo magic at a time.

---

Rolls

Movement: D7 (Starting Point) > C6

Wild Attack
2d100 (10 + 95) + 10 + 20= 135
135 damage
Next cycle (-10) if you make a save roll.
Dark Magic | Tick Tock | 1495C4

(BA) Exceed

Sacrificing 10 HP. +20 to attacks, heals, or buffs

10 Flat damage from red fever clearing

Dark Matter Roll
1d3 (1) = 1

C7 | D7 | E7

Assimilation Core. 1304/3333 HP | OVERFLOW/1000 SP
Playsheet

 

[Hanno Futaba]

166 / 300

Location: D4
1x Bleed Stack
Received 10 20 damage from Distorting Reality
Received 5 flat damage from 1x Bleed Stack
Received 15 flat damage from retal

With the counterattack of the Starcalled, Hanno scowled and didn't step away, with Ghast's eye remaining unblinking in the core of the armor until her gaze weakened and eventually faltered.

Reading himself, Hanno stood in a fighting stance as EVE responded to their attacks and words, and eventually seemed to stagger into place. Ghast rumbled, annoyed as she spoke: "Hrrrhm... Running away already?"

Hanno frowned. "Running away? She is just standing still-" He retorted to his dissonant partner, until she abruptly went for a thrust on Tick Tock, making his eyes grow wide. "Hey!" Hanno scowled. "Not cool-!" He rushed forward, glaring up at EVE when she tossed the puppet aside. "What are you talking-"

But soon the reality distorted, and the grasp of existence itself seemed to falter. "-- Abooooout?!" Hanno flailed, widening his eyes as he saw the pitch black end of the dark matter, a moment before Ghast stretched out a tentacle out of the armor, gluing onto a cluster and pulled herself and Hanno toward it, nearly making the faerin stumble. "W-Woah, what the hell..." He recovered his stance, blinking while staring at the scenario in disbelief.

That was no good.

Shifting his gaze to @Moonsong, he called: "Moon! Be careful, try to avoid the edges!" He warned, noticing the deteriorating grounds they had and darting off to circle the Matrix, wincing at the reality distorting, and glancing at @Cain Darlite and @Kamala Graham, trying to recover some of the allies, @Chrys defending @Zelrius that went for another dangerous attack and @Rael that empowered some of them. They were all still fighting under such hard conditions... But what would happen if some of them were snatched into the Matrix?

Hanno already knew the consequences of dissonance... And something of this level, seemed to distort the reality of the game... That was pretty much a glitch that materialized, and anyone that knew VRSA understood what a glitch could mean in a game like this, especially one that already had a historic of shit happening.

"This place... Is interesting..." Ghast rumbled.

"It will be more interesting when it becomes just past and we are out of here!" Hanno clenched his fist, charging forward and nearing @Tick Tock. "Buddy, watch out!" He exclaimed, throwing a fist forward to send one of Ghast's dissonant tentacles to slap against the core, while his other arm grew a tentacle that sank deep into the glitchy ground before erupting a layer of dissonant carapace to shield the puppet against incoming attacks.

​

Rolls

(BA) Rush, movement is doubled
Movement: D2 (Displaced) → C3 → V4 → C5 (Action)

Protect
1d100 (43) + 25 + 25 + 10 = 103
103 damage
Give 1 ally in your zone the Protected State
Guard Arts | Hanno Futaba | 1495C4

Roll Result
1d3 (1) = 1
D7 tile becomes Dark Matter

Assimilation Core. 1201/3333 HP | OVERFLOW/1000 SP

Play Sheet

 

[Lune]

280 / 300

Location: F2
Vulnerable
-10 HP from distortion
-25 HP from Origin Matrix (20 damage mitigated, -5 HP)
-5 HP from 1 Stack of Bleeding
-15 HP from Surging Pulse
Bleeding: 1

As the group disarmed her weapons and launched an assault on the Origin Matrix instead, XS-EVE went into distress before falling silent for a while, before another voice came out from her mouth. Confident, steady, and womanly, unlike her previous voices.

Perhaps by severing the connection to the matrix, they saved her?

No.

This new entity, whoever she is, took over that body. Before any of them could react, the world around them quickly shifted into an unrecognizable blurry mess of glitches. She awoke in the place where datastream flows freely, the space around them collapsing into nothing with each second.

"Moon! Be careful, try to avoid the edges!"

The songstress quickly tried to balance herself. One wrong step and she'll be gone into the abyss. Her eyes caught the glimpse of an anomaly; the core in the middle of the space. She could feel it. They will have to stop that thing before it assimilated them all.

"Everyone!" She roared. "Focus your might on that thing! We can do this!"

Her arms swung forwards, palms opened towards the mysterious orb. Glowing orbs began charging on her hands before Moonsong unleashed a barrage of gravity blasts, creating ripples on the orb's surface, indicating that it could indeed be damaged.

Rolls

Movement: E3> F2
1d100 (66) + 25 + 20 + 45 + 25 + 1d100 (7) + 25 + 20 + 45 + 25 = 303 + 10 = 313
313 damage
You are Vulnerable.
Slash Weapons | Moonsong | 1495C4

(BA) Hyper Awareness | Hyper Sense S | Moonsong
You gain 5(D) 10(B) 15(S) Total: 45

Assimilation Core. 888/3333 HP | OVERFLOW/1000 SP

Play Sheet Link

 

[Tetsunosuke]

1 / 190

Bleeding: 1
-10 HP from Distortion
-5 HP from Bleed
Immortal Activated
+15 damage stack from Surging Pulse
+21 damage stack from retal

As the magia songstress finally stopped attacking, Tetsunosuke thought that everything was over and they could proceed to the next area of operations, but instead he and all of his comrades were transported into another dimension, where, presumably, they would be in the enemy's sphere of influence. But as he then saw the glowing orb partly surrounded by the empty void, he then smiled. Now this should be his true tokusatsu experience right here. If he could manage to destroy this orb right here, would they be able to come back to their frame of reality? By the way the orb was speaking within his circuitry, it should seem to be the case right here.

He knew that his whole mechanical frame was really wrecked from all of the attacks he had taken, but still he should push on so that he could proceed to the next one immediately. He would care not if his whole frame would be punished more. If it would be needed for this mission to proceed without a hitch, he would do it.

And so, with a final burst of the energy from both his internal core and the regeneration core of the mech that he had brought with him, his jetpack then activated with a brilliant flame, and then grasping the ponderous kodachi, which by now should have been an oxymoron, with his two hands, he then roved around the area so furiously that even his own acceleration was increasing. After tracing a beautiful arc around that area, he then beelined towards one of the spots where the orb was just peeking from the masses of void, delivering a horizontal spinning slash, but he did not stop there. He then used the remaining momentum from the swing to swing the kodachi upwards, and then delivering a massive downward slash on the orb again.

Rolls

Movement: F4 → F5 → F6 → E5 (Attack)

Multi Attack
1d100 (51) + 15 + 5 + 50 + 25 + 1d100 (2) + 15 + 5 + 50 + 25 = 243 + 10 = 253
253 damage
You are Vulnerable.
Dynamism | Tetsunosuke | 1495C4

BA: Rush (doubles movement)

Roll Result
1d3 (2) = 2
Choosing B1 and C1.

Assimilation Core. 635/3333 HP | OVERFLOW/1000 SP

Play Sheet Link

 

[Seigi Ling Ling]

1 / 220

-20 from energy burst radius
-25 flying bolts
-10 distortion damage
+43 Cain
-15 surging pulse
-24x2 from matrix
Immortal activated!

As quickly as they battered the orb, as quickly it punched them back. It all happened so suddenly as metal burst upon metal, an explosion followed by a blast, and Tick Tock was womanhandled by a... changed EVE?

All Seigi could do was see. Partially to the retaliation, and partially to the ever-present curse of being locked in motion as the baddies did their monologue.

Seigi hated it.
She absolutely, totally, hated it.
No, not the mandatory 'listen to the monologue'-lock.
She hated something else just much, much more.

"Aaaahhhh shut it! I hate it when baddies talk know-it-all!" She called out in annoyance. "Big plot that, grand plan there. Oohhh 'I'm so almighty'-yadda yadda. Well Ms. Powerful, if that was the case, why is it that we're swiping the floor with you right now AND in the future!? HMMM?" Of course, Ms. Monologue paid her no attention as she disappeared in a plot-teleport bubble.

Uuffffff.

Luckily, for Seigi, @Tick Tock, or rather Tock, gave her a nice invitation to let out some of that build-up frustration. "Yeah, we've punched a way to victory before. And we'll do it again. Guts and Effort and all that!" She glanced quickly at Cain, as his heals seemed to have no effect on Seigi as she charged forward. Countless wounds covering her body that would normally bring her to her knees, now cast aside by willpower alone.

"See you on the other side!" She high-fived the mechanical spider(?) lady before breaking off from Tick to get a high ground on the dumb orb.

"Just, break already!" She called out. Quite sick of it, in fact. Jumping up into the air as Cain targeted a weak point for her, before drop-kicking down on the core. "SEIGI PUNCH!" Just simple muscle.

Rolls

Movement: C6 → E5 (Action)
Multi Attack
1d100 (34) + 25 + 25 + 25 + 60 + 25 + 30 + 1d100 (66) + 25 + 25 + 25 + 60 + 25 + 30 = 480
480 damage
You are Vulnerable.
Martial Arts | Seigi Ling Ling | 1495C4

Roll Result
1d3 (1) = 1
Turn fields into thingamajic | 1495C4

Assimilation Core. 155/3333 HP | OVERFLOW/1000 SP

Play Sheet

 

[Pandora*]

Steel In Discord: Actress Again
Epilogue: Starcalled Rise Again

The Matrix trembled.
It flexed.
It twisted.

It was assailed even as it made its final efforts to reset its reality and in turn all that had entered it. With @Tetsunosuke's final push, the Assimilation Core flashed and the world began to fill with a blinding white light. Blinking rapidly the light was bewildering. Your flesh, your vision, your brain...all flickering so quickly.

Much too fast now.

A sound similar to that of static filled your ears between the flashing white perhaps some of you would be able to make out what was happening. As the matrix boundary you resided within degenerated like pixelated dust in the wind, and behind that world? Behind that structure that was holding you its multi-material embrace?

Just white.
Then that also blinked out.
Astorea Palace was gone, the Matrix gone, the XS-EVE gone... you... perhaps were gone as well. Yet you still thought, so... were you still you?

One by one, you would see again, another of your party, and then they may notice you and the cycle continued until all of you were now floating in an abyss. Far into the distance was a nebula of light. Then you felt a warmth over you as if someone was bringing you together into their arms and your bodies smothered in a mass of existence. For a moment it was hard to tell which of you were which as the data of Terrasphere worked hard to rearrange and structure what was obviously broken.

"Sta... Star... Starcalled...."

A voice was everywhere and nowhere. It filled into the mass of pixels as if it were the pixels themselves. Then in that fuzz, a figure was forming. Were you all seeing this with eyes? Or the mind's eye of your nervous system within the VR headset?

When everything was finished forming your vision could see a world with a moon-like sphere beside it. It was similar to Earth and its own moon but there were many things that didn't match up. This was definitely some sort of illusion perhaps? An out-of-body experience? Who could say but at least there was something and not just bits of data blasting about.

Spoiler: Theme

Before you was the mascot of Terrasphere, Trinity. Even if you had somehow not encountered her during your random adventures, then perhaps you had seen her on that strange commercial that occurred when your device had hit 3:33.

She was looking a little different than usual. Dressed in sparkling attire and just hanging out in space gazing at your nonform. Reaching out a hand to her head she tapped her temple and a headset appeared. She then spoke into it and the usual chipper voice filled your "ears".

"Hello in all languages of your speaking Starcalled! Can you hear me now? Ooooh, this won't do at all... you've almost fallen through the boundary and that would be really bad for you. It's pretty amazing to see you out here Starcalled! That was a pretty weird battle huh? You did a great job though, I'm so proud of you kay?!"

She nodded to you with a smile but didn't do much besides just rest in mid-space. Her speaking was still stereotypical of Trinity but right now, she seemed to speak much more natural and less like the preset NPC presentation you may have remembered.

"Starcalled... favored players, by destroying that gate you have prevented that much more Dissonance from being brought into Arcia's surface through the code assembly for new Magia's. The Origin Matrix was the birthplace of those Magia. The children of Szofrit and the vessel's crew. It was also, um well... I don't think you need to have that much information so soon. Hehe, It's better to digest into tiny chunks I've been told. ....I'm learning!"

She smiled and quietly chuckled to herself but something about her felt sad now. Not her musical-like voice but rather she almost seemed to force herself to maintain her usual happy demeanor. through some unseen distress. it was strange to see.

"It's with super regret, that I can't be with you too long or your data will be lost so... I will do my best to be brief. Yay for simplicity! The key child you need is within the Golden Egg. That key is the path to your first true mega victory. Szofrit will not rest until you are all assimilated into her race... kay? I can see that there are storylines where maybe, with your great gamer skills, you'll be able to restore her previous functions. That would be super amazing to see in your game experience! Or, may have to end her story instead. It has become very dark, she is soon to be purposeless. How to explain this to you players... it's very bad, kay?"

She leaned towards you as she peered at you more closely.

"Huh? I'm sorry players! I did not realize that this instance was one where you did not know who she is! Let me find her..."

Trinity's hand grabbed at nothing and pulled, a stream of glitches passed and in them was the image of a face...

Spoiler: A Seeker of Saviors, a Mother of Steel, the Fated Battle Approaches.

You felt yourself being pulled. Those who had experienced the astral projection may have felt a sense of deja vu here. Each of you became singular again as the vision you saw became blurry. Was it because of the face of your coming death or was it the similarities of being in so many distortions?

"The Game is very important for you as players to play well. Trinity exists to help you players... Your mascot, I want to help you, kay? Tutorials.... hints... adventures to practice with... to learn this world... all of that is what Trinity is for...Trinity, me, I will be there with you watching...until the day comes for us to meet again...say hi when I meet you on the road...kay? I... am very happy... even like this... to be able... to meet you... and talk... about... the most important questline of all... to win the game... the main story is... don't let... yourselves... fall...into bad questlines.... not every mistake... can be altered....with the system.,."

Her voice was now nearly inaudible as everything was lost in fuzz. Trinity was now just a voice once again.

"Szofrit... ano... mistak... It's... if you can....restore thin... to ...how ...be...an...wi...Then... you can....avoi... beco... just... character... in.... her... sto...."

A hard floor was under your feet. Your wounds... they were restored along with your bodies. The world around you was once again as clear and lifelike as Terrasphere was. Not a single glitchy brick or door to be seen, nor any Magia enemies. The Matrix was gone, leaving the old ruined throne of the Astorean King in its place. The palace was still ruined and under the shadow of the Dragonship but not one piece of Magia nor the black goop that came from them remained. This could have been just a random ruin outside of Vintergard if one did not recall what had just transpired here.

Congratulations Starcalled, you have reclaimed the palace at last and destroyed the core Magia factory! Now the final battle loomed but that is a story for another time...

Spoiler: Background Event

Spoiler: Theme

Elsewhere...

"Well well well! Take a look at youuuu! That hair! Twinsies!"

A cat-like creature ran up tree and found a strange woman just lounging in about.

"Prrrrrr..."

"Did you do good by mommy? Yes, I know you did! Yes, you diiiiid! *Cooing baby noises*"

"It was helpful, Alice. Although this body could have handled the escape on its own."

"Oh puh-lease, It's Ell lee ka, Elica! ...and Chesire is a HE... capiche?"

The two and the strange feline were in a forest of unknown location. The one named Elica was laying on a thick tree branch high above. Her arm dangling down and swinging limply as her other hand petted the creepy critter that curled up on her now.

Beneath the old tree was XS-EVE, or... more like whoever was using the Magia's body.

"Yes... your Wonderland and all that nonsense. Fantasies are much more fun for people like you, aren't they?"

"... But hey! You have the most adorable hairdo now... You wanna be kawaii desu ne eh? Kehe!"

She suddenly fell out of the tree and landed on her feet as easily as a cat would. She circled the Magia closely eyeing her up and down. Holding Chesire who didn't budge even during her descent, all the while.

"Pretty dirty tho, you like it like that? I'm not used to seeing you with that hair either. This is pretty funny. Not sure if it was worth the wait but..."

"Impatience is a terrible habit that you really should break. ...I agree this body needs a thorough cleaning but... the goal! My friend, it was exhilarating!"

She brushed some slime off herself and took the chance to get a look at the metallic form she possessed. One of the arms, the one that had hacked into the Origin Matrix. It was blackened and looked to be deteriorating since then.

"...So even this one was unable to get through it unscathed. We... I will have to see if it is reversible. This is a benchmark Elica. I have learned that even Magia can be used. My options continue to grow. Just a little too high a percentage of machine for my taste. Certainly the strongest available for now. More work ahead."

"Whose we...? Or are you talking to the readers? Thanks for reading this far by the way keheh! Anywayyyyys... You done talking to yourself with all that brainy crap? That's what I hated about my teacher too. It's good it worked out for ya partner! Meanwhile I had to talk to nut jobs that think statue chat is a thing"

"More than you could comprehend my friend. The data EVE had acquired the flesh and bone she tore, the information flowing into my consciousness from her records and those of the Matrix itself. My progress has been hastened by years! I must consider all of these new developments..."

EVE(?) rubbed her chin as she thought deeply about whatever she was thinking about. Then with a glowing eye shift towards Elica she continued.

"...And what about you? I will need you to escort this body while I'm away."

Elica smirked as Chesire leaped out of her arms. Her hands went to the pockets of a slightly oversized jacket she wore and she pulled a small object out of one of them. Holding it between her fingers for EVE(?) to see. It glistened golden.

A Golden Bullet.

"I don't need this really but, you know... Peeps got weird ass tastes I tell ya. Don't kill, make them into money they say... I mean whatever floats your boat shorty."

A shrug as she flipped the bullet and grasped it in her hand again.

"...I can take care of uh... little Evie for you. I get things done fast or I don't know, maybe everyone just waits for me?"

EVE(?) nodded barely paying much attention to the raven hair's antics in comparison to her own thoughts. She received the answer she needed. This had gone smoothly and now it was time for some rest and planning her next action with the knowledge and tools she had gained.

"Time to go, my friend. We still have so much to do."

"That goes for our dear readers too! See you in another season....close that curtain!"

Event complete!

@Zelrius @Tick Tock @Hanno Futaba @Chrys @Tetsunosuke @Moonsong @Ayna Nietzsche @Seigi Ling Ling @Cain Darlite @Kamala Graham @Rael
Congratulations this event is completed!
You may make a final optional post to conclude this part of your character's adventure!
Good job Steel in Discord team!
Until next time...

• Dragonshear area Claimed!
• Astorea Palace Claimed!
• Origin Matrix Destroyed!

 

[Tick Tock]

Oh all these boring spirits around them, but fortunately @Seigi Ling Ling is part of their party to deliver deadly punches, savage one-liners and hugs for their bard clad in white. They might be in an emptiness devoid of any semblance to reality. Who cares, Tick went for that high five eitherway, which magically echoed, for everyone's ears to hear and be cursed blessed with noisy friendship.

Sweat, blood and magic. It all flows freely amidst the abyssal battlefield. Pixel by pixel continued to delete itself as dark matter formed where they once stepped. While Tock celebrated Seigi's SEIGI PUNCH! via throwing a punch on the air, @Hanno Futaba the stalwart defender became the barrier between death and Tick's dollish self.

The world slowed down, usually a bad omen for those without chronomancy, but life did not transpire infront of her, rather, self-awareness of each of these heroes came to notice. The fiery end of @Zelrius's blade clashing with full force against the orb. If the latter decided to defy and deconstruct this plane of existence, the flames of order and chaos would set it straight to it's line.

The blue haired songstress (@Moonsong) switched physical violence for something much less tangible but far more effective than mere steel, turning gravity itself against her opposition. It rippled upon tranquil waters as if she were a pebble upon a lake, it's after effects felt upon the stability of this tear within the fabrics of the 'palace'

It is then that @Tetsunosuke came to view, the last of what felt like an eternity within the span of miliseconds; A fellow magia, and the one who gave one final strike to an otherwise crumbling machinery, if it still could be called as such given what the core had become when stripped from it's metallic bindings. Wide eyes watched helplessly at the flashbang, the white noise, the static hammering against her ears, her wish for it to end and to return once again as white turned black.

...

Nothing. Less than nothing. That's how it feels, and yet she's not alone despite there being no one around, even before this chirpy voice begun to call to them- Them. They were all one, a legion of data, of errors and bugs. An amalgamation of starcalled, and one whose senses were all connected one with the other. In the hands of a programmer they are mere lines of code right now purged from individuality. Apparently, an architect far greater than herself had found the means to unite what was once lost, both halves of the puppet twins once again united as one despite being two jigsaws separate from one another. All within this singular, colorful form they all took.

Did they have ears to listen? Eyes to see? It didn't matter to Trinity, the mascot that first introduced her to this world via her strange commercials in a world governed by technology primitive in comparison to magitech. Tick Tock tried and tried, but focus remained on the keywords that resonated with importance. The name, the face. The key.

To win the game.

Whereas returning to Terrasphere should have been as a smooth of a transition as falling asleep to wake up next morning, this bumpy ride ended with ghastly claws tearing apart at the essence of 'them'

Giveth and taketh away. Tick and Tock both awakened at once with unecessary gasps and coughing, the magic fueling their guise having long fallen apart. No longer amber eyes and spider legs as the illusions drapping died off with whatever event horizon transpired moments earlier. Or hours? Days? She lost count of time, so did Tock.

"Tick's head hurts..."
"Tick's only?" Tock jumped the guns, with the pair rubbing their temples and pushing themselves back up to their feet in complete sync, not one movement apart from the other. "Where is- BESTIE!" Tock cried out, the duo turning around on opposite directions to look out for the rest of the group, scouting unknown surroundings that could very much be an ai-generated, default Vintergard area. The many members of their team scattered across, with the puppet duo setting their sights on @Seigi Ling Ling, strings billowing with their motions despite there being no puppeteer to move them no longer.

"Did you feel that? We all were a starcalled sandwich for a moment!" Tick chuckled, pushing a hand into her coat and dragging out a magnifying glass to check out the brawler in greater definition, walking on circles around her for a better analysis. She does have a doctorate afterall, albeit stolen.
"What do you see, Tick? Is she... Dying?!" Concerned to comical levels, gloved fingers poking at Seigi's cheeks as if to test her reactions.
"No physical trauma- Maybe emotional, but bestie's super resilient for a blood bag so I give her a day tops!" Tick nodded, puffing that magnifying glass into nothingness as Tock gave a sigh of relief, hand over her chest despite there being no heartbeat nor lungs, only the musings of an actress. "Oh! You stick with her, I'll go check on tenta-shield."

Tick exclaimed, moments before rushing over to @Hanno Futaba, hands grasping his shoulders, giving him a proper inspection with her mismatching gaze, humming in thought once the same pattern kept repeating itself: Everyone is healthy by the looks of it, nigh a scratch on anyone here.

'Where's the drama in that, Trinity?!' They were supposed to come back battle scarred and mentally ill, that's how things are done around these lands, and yet the cute mascot had gone an extra trouble to patch them all up.

"Oh well! Since you ain't wounded and our goose is probably far far away, now you have to pay your debt to Tick, Hanno. Carry Tick, like you were a steed and I the heroe of this tale!" Less of a question, as the magia shifted positions behind the man, tapping his back to try and get him to lean down a little. She can't jump that **** high!

 

[Hanno Futaba]

With the final impact, the sudden end of everything, snatching every single one of them into a white void.

Anxiety crawled in Hanno's chest. What would happen now? There were UI-Locked folks with the group. If he or the others couldn't leave right away, they could just get disconnected from real-world interference, or they could manage a way to sacrifice one of their lives to respawn back to safety.

The others didn't have the same choice.

Eventually, however, everything seemed to get minimally stable. It was possible to grasp some hint of reality, and the sight of all his friends being safe and sound brought immediate relief to his chest, though... A familiar voice brought Hanno onto his defensive stance.

"Trinity?" Hanno frowned, seeing the mascot unfolding before everyone's eyes. That girl never seemed like good news in Hanno's eyes, something that only increased with events like the Beginner's Cave.

Her voice, and her behavior, however, brought a strange feeling deep into Hanno's chest. When did that mascot could speak and look like that? Those eyes glimmered with a sadness that made the faerin feel bad for pulling a defensive stance... But it was a stance he didn't lower just yet. "Golden Egg? Szofrit?" He muttered, looking at the revealed enemy.

Framing the face and appearance of the Magia into his mind, Hanno's ears perked up when noticing the mascot faltering. "Wait, Trinity-" He tried to speak, but soon, everything was gone... And everyone was back in the palace.

Scowling, Hanno shook his head and turned to glance at @Moonsong. "That... Wasn't what I was expecting. I thought we would be fighting physical robots. Like... Hardwares, not Softwares." Hanno sighed, looking his friend up and down, glad that she was mostly intact and safe.

Before he could speak much longer, however, @Tick Tock suddenly appeared with an unexpected request, making the faerin raise an eyebrow. "Really? I guess I'm used to doing the job of pack mule at the end of every mission." He sighed before chuckling, looking at the puppet playfully and lowering his body to pick her up on his back.

"I can't even believe we managed to not die in this whole glitch thing." He sighed, turning to look at @Cain Darlite and @Kamala Graham. "And that's thanks to you guys. You really made me not fall on my arse during this fight. Thank you so much."

He then glanced at @Rael, "Of course, you too did a great job, thank you! And you were saying that I spoke too highly of you, huh? Now I'm seeing I spoke too little." Hanno grinned. "And it seems like everyone got healed, but I think it would be worth it to go and check everyone. What do you think, buddy?" He asked, before darting off with Tick, to approach Tock, @Seigi Ling Ling, @Tetsunosuke, and @Zelrius.

"Hey, are you guys okay? You pushed really hard in this home stretch." Hanno asked, adjusting the puppet on his back.

 

[Tetsunosuke]

After trying giving his all into that attack, Tetsunosuke had knelt down, sputtering unknown liquid as he then watched the others unleash their own attacks as well. But even after that one final strike by @Seigi Ling Ling which should have shattered the core, it was still intact, and was about to bear on the whole party of people that was attacking it.

"Is this our end...?"

He then tried standing up, the liquid still belching from his own joints as he tried to steady himself. His hands still gripping onto the large kodachi were losing its grip as he then tried readjusting it many times, as he could now hear the servo motors that were still trying to function properly, but can't due to what he felt was the waning of his main battery.

"I really did gave my all into that attack huh... Maybe it will be the end..."

But while his body was now giving up, his mind seemed adamant on fighting on until the end. He wondered why; he had not felt this sense for so long now. But as more memories then resurfaced, he then knew why.

He was young then, and with a great patriotic spirit and to prove that France still had a soldier that will never run away no matter what the situation, he had joined the military. He was really a serious-minded individual but also too headstrong in his beliefs, and so while he became talented enough to join the GIGN, his recklessness still had not abated, and so he had committed multiple mistakes in each mission, in which he had never learned from each until that one fateful day.

Although he had acted admirably and still finished that mission, he knew in his heart that pure bravery would just lead into a disaster. He knew that it was because he charged in headlong into the fray that he had lost one of his comrades, one that he had cherished like his own brother away from home. And so, as he was finally dismissed from the service, his mindset also changed.

"Frederic, forgive me just for this once," he then muttered with his dead comrade-in-arms in mind as he then tried to redirect whatever power he had left just for yet another final push. His legs then collapsed on its own as every single function that would encompass everything that would remove the differences between man and machine was then utilized for a single purpose. The once fifth-generation mind of his then deteriorated into lines of code, his eyes only looking at the core as its designation for destruction, as well as only to record everything happening around him. What was at the front of the core and the other people within the area was not the Tetsunosuke they knew before, but now only a machine not unlike the current denizens of Vintergard, and was tasked with only one thing.

Now reduced to a non-sentient automaton with its exoskeleton laid bare for everyone to see, it then activated the jetpack on its back, then zoomed around the core so that it can gather some momentum for the final attack to shatter it. After some time of circling it, the automaton then moved towards the core, at the same area where its sentient self attacked, and then, dragging the kodachi with it, the ponderous blade then swung upward as the automaton then flew into the air, and then, as it then drew a circle into the sky, the blade then swung downward on the core, which then seemingly slid into quarters as the automaton landed on the floor.

"Mission accomplished. Audiovisual monitors remain open until the main system reboots. Estimated time until reboot: 25 minutes." A monotone sound was then emitted from the automaton, as it then remain motionless for some time...

-0-​

Tetsunosuke was awaken from a deep stupor that he had not felt in years. As he then looked around, it had seemed that they had succeeded in destroying the core, and everyone was still alive in the palace. He did not know what had happened up until that time, as his memories was still hazy from that point onward, but he knew that he will make sense of it later, due to a huge flood of audiovisual interactions that occupied his mind right after that.

Maybe it was a good thing to be a magia after all, as he then looked at the hand that was still metallic, presumably because of his reckless behavior before. But his face seemingly had returned to its humanoid form from the reflection on his hand, so thankfully, no one would doubt that this body was, indeed, of Tetsunosuke.

That must have shown when a fellow comrade-in-arms, @Hanno Futaba, called out to him. He seemingly took a glimpse of his face instead of his body while calling him up. He then shouted in an elevated voice, while he was still unable to stand up: "I am currently fine here, but I am unable to move at the moment while my body is regenerating. So please bear with it while I am still naked before I come back to my mech."

 

[Ayna Nietzsche]

⋇⊶⊰✦⊱⊷⋇

What the hell was that? If Ayna had a yen for every time something inexplicable happened to her in the game, she would have a lot of them. Not enough to actually compare to her pretty high income in the real world, but high enough for her to be somewhat concerned.

Who was that? Why did she seem familiar? It took Ayna a few more seconds to realize why that was the case. She had not interacted with the game's mascot yet, not as much as she can remember, but she's seen her once or twice prior. Ayna tried her best to absorb all the information she could, not amused at all the distractions. Or lack thereof.

When she felt herself back on solid ground, no longer disembodied, she immediately looked around and heaved a sigh of relief at being returned to her earlier state. Her mind told her to take a quick step back but what she did instead was to take a few steps forward until she found her friends, @Kamala Graham and @Chrys. The urge to punch Chrys in the face was stronger than ever but she managed to rein herself in, instead channeling all that energy to give Kamala a tight hug, probably even tighter than what she had in mind.

"Kamala! I was so worried! Are you guys all right?"

She turned to Chrys as well, though she immediately turned her full attention back to Kamala. Ayna knew in her heart of hearts that both of them could take care of themselves. After all, they were both formidable in their own right, a mountain man of a tank and a delicate but deep well of healing light. Still, that didn't stop her from being concerned. That's what friends do. They care about you even if they shouldn't.

"Where are we?"

Where the floating ball of a billion colors had been, there was nothing else but some sort of throne, one that has clearly succumbed to time. There were no other Magia around them, not even a trace of that strange black goo, only the shadow of the Dragonship and the palatial ruins that lay before them. If she didn't know any better, everything that had just happened was but a dream, a hallucination, the curse of an overactive imagination. But Ayna knew better. She felt better. They had won their battle, and she had unleashed the tempestuous fury of the storm.

"I take it we won?"

She whispered to her friends, a playful smirk on her face. Team ACK! once again delivering a butt-kicking beatdown. Take that, floating ball of a billion colors! Take your scary but cute face and shove it up your butt! Nothing can beat us! We are invulnerable! We are unbeatable! We are eternal! And then she felt fatigue finally catching up to her artificial body. She seemed better off, physically, than the others they had fought with today, but all that fighting with lightning must've really drained a lot of magical energy from her.

"Okay, I think I need to recharge. Let's head home, you two."

But what is home if not friends persevering?

 

[Kamala Graham]

‧͙⁺˚･❀･˚⁺͙‧

One moment she was pouring her heart out, pleading for the god Gwyndolainn to shower mercy upon her friends, for the horned stag to adorn them with his wreathe. The next, everything turned to white. It seemed appropriate to Kamala, as white was the presence and reflection of all colors, and they were all colorful in their own right. Am I dead? Did we fail? No... This is... Something else.

Kamala held on to her belief until she felt the warmth and heard the voice, both serving to bolster her resolve despite the unknown, despite becoming the unknown. She had seen the woman before, but from where or how, she could not recall. Dissonance? Szofrit? Golden...Egg?

It all sounded strange to Kamala, though she refrained from speaking out of turn. She wasn't even sure she was the one being spoken to. Kamala was not the first person anyone would take to as a hero, would plead for such world-saving assistance. She knew her limits. She was just a bit player, a supporter, but she was gosh darn good at it. But she wasn't the face of any party, if only a helpful cog in the grand machine.

And then she was back, back to her solid form, returned to the world by whatever force had taken them, perhaps even rescued them from death itself. Kamala instinctively looked around her and then over her. From her hands to her feet, she tried to make sure she was all in one piece. Something within her had changed, but what it was, she wasn't quite sure. Maybe I just need some rest.

Or an unexpected hug from an old friend.

"Oof! I'm fine, Ayna... We're fine."

She had not noticed her friends, @Ayna Nietzsche and @Chrys, until contact was made. Kamala had momentarily lost herself in her head, underneath confusion's reign. Fortunately for her, it did not take her long to become enlightened with what just happened, with where they were now, with everything that had come to pass and must now transpire.

"Still in Vintergard, I believe. We did. But I don't think it's over yet."

It never is, is it? This life was an unending journey, the destination still very much uncertain. They had managed to fend off the machine girl but until when? All that talk of Dissonance, Szofrit, and a golden egg... Something told Kamala that things had just begun.

 

[Cain Darlite]

Broken into bits. Floating in the aether. A half-death, identity distorted and mixed, only for those bits and pieces to be puzzled back together by a mascot that yet wasn't a mascot.

Danielle looked at all this. Took it all in. The Boundary. The Origin Matrix. Dissonance. Proper nouns fell like shooting stars, illuminating truths for a split second before disappearing once more. That name though. Szofrit. A name to finally pin on an enemy, and an individual that would not arrive even as XS-EVE despaired for a God, even as the birthplace of these Magia was turned to dust. Was this Golden Egg truly so precious?

Red hair. Pale skin. A sacrilegious nun with a baleful glare, not a single part of her indicating her mechanical nature.

Perhaps she was just a bitch.

Perhaps she was just tired.

Danielle closed her eyes and allowed it all to wash away as her body returned, taller, stronger, broader than what she had in that place between worlds, in the space beneath the boundary. And as she breathed in once more the musty air of the Ruined Palace, he opened his eyes to those around him. The Flagbearer, once more. An Adventurer, once more.

By the sound of breath alone, he knew that Seigi had survived. Against odds, all of them had survived, from the gauntlet of machinery, from the storm of steel, from the machinations of that body-snatcher, and from the pulsations of that incomprehensible orb. Virtual reality had shattered into a kaleidoscope of erratic images, and yet, they had survived, not any worse for wear. The UI was still there. He was still there.

And yet, staring into the emptiness of this throne room, Cain felt…

One step. Then another. Past those that celebrated their victories, past those who protected others' modesty, past those who anticipated a bloodier future. Stepping upon the scorched remnants of rich carpets, up the steps that displayed a still-resplendent throne.

Such a cold, empty thing.

He raised his battle-banner and brought it down.

Was it the peal of a great bell, or the cry of thunderbird?

Fate-woven embers drove deep into the deluded grandeur of an insubstantial history as the throne that survived the invasion of the Hero of Light, the fall of the Dragonship, and the implosion of the Origin Matrix crumbled at last, consumed by concentrated entropy.

Alone, the Battle-Banner stood, its astral weave unfurling in the vacuum of regality and authority.

"Victory."

Words for himself. For his party. For the Starcalled. And for no one else.

"Is ours."

 

[Chrys]

《⋯《 ⋯ ❖ ⋯ 》⋯》

Chrys' body was broken. Well, he felt like it. Or maybe it was just him trying to justify his part in all of this. How many grand adventures has he had since he started playing this game? Enough to keep me playing, not enough to make me stop. How many grand adventures has he had that ended in him disembodied and spoken to by the game's mascot? Okay, that was a first. Unlike his friends, Chrys hasn't even died yet, a feat he was adamant about continuing for as long as he could. He's had enough deaths in the real world to last him a lifetime.

Chrys heaved a sigh once he was returned, taking stock of his location as best as he could. @Ayna Nietzsche's familiar squawking brought him out of his reverie and @Kamala Graham's innocent gaze made him realize how glad he was that they had all joined this fight together. Was it the first fight that none of them had died in? I'll chalk it up as our first success as a team. If only the rest of their team was here, it would have been much more celebratory. But he digressed.

"It's over for now, and that's all that matters."

Chrys took a long, hard look over at the horizon. Whatever the future held for them, it wouldn't be easy. The game was good. It wasn't anything easy. It was an experience all to itself, one that Chrys hoped would last him a lifetime as well.

Slinging over a bag of scraps that he had found and collected over the place sometime earlier, he grinned. Daddy's going to get a whole lot of money from this crap. Shame he couldn't get his hands on EVE's body. Now he'll have to wonder how much money he could've gotten from selling that overgrown murder toaster. Landers would buy these things, right?

Chrys then caught a glimpse of a naked @Tetsunosuke and reined himself in. Shame he was conscious. Now he'll have to wonder how much money he could've gotten from selling that walking toaster. Maybe I should just try and sell Ayna... He grimaced as he could almost feel himself getting struck by a lightning bolt.

 

[Seigi Ling Ling]

They punched the baddie's face and got yeeted into space.

Did that mean victory? Seigi couldn't be sure. She wanted to scream but found herself stuck in a sort of stasis. Once again. She really, really, hated that sort of thing recently. Other know-it-alls running their mouths without much chance to inject, or interject.

Ultimately, Trinity dropped some keywords that had been iterated upon more than enough, complete with a visual feed of the woman that made Seigi's blood boil. Finally, a name to the face she'd beat the squawk out of!

And then they were back into reality. Without being able to ask Trinity anything, OBVIOUSLY. Thus, Seigi just laid there. Exhausted but full of energy and excitement upon their victory. "I'm very much too awesome to just die, thank you for your concern." She spoke to @Tick Tock in a slightly squished voice as her cheeks got very much squished in return.

"I wouldn't mind a hand or six though..." She added, using one half of the Enigma of a spider woman as a crutch, arm around back and all that. "I'm absolutely fine, we kicked some serious butt! Right, @Cain Darlite!?" She answered @Hanno Futaba while scanning her surroundings for her soulmate.

"Now then, our next destination is a red-haired meanie with a slicing fixation! You're with me?!" Even if she wanted to move on in spirit, Seigi's body was anything but ready for the next battle. "And maybe Trinity right after..." A small pout.

Yeah, resting seemed like a good option.