2022-08-26: What Lies Beyond
- Log: What Lies Beyond
- Cast: Elisa Kafim, Yuliana Dispersal, Sheryl Nome, Alto Saotome, Ranka Lee, Vitaly Sokolov, Alma Stirner, Liam 7-020, Lucine Azul
- Where: Frontier colony ship
- Date: 2022-08-26
- Summary: The Mihoshi students and their allies in GUTS set up tomorrow's beach party -- but something horrifying interrupts the preparations. The pilots find themselves facing up against a strange and terrible type of kaiju they've never seen before... while below, Sheryl and her friends contend with a woman who seems particularly affected by its magic.
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Dispersal has posed.
Frontier's Island-3 is a all made of arched glass, covering a settlement much like the ones of Earth -- complete, in this place, with a beach. The waves are handled through artificial generation, and the whole thing is powered by remarkable engineering... but to any reasonable eye, it is, in fact, the perfect place for a beach party.
And GUTS, of course, is on the case, busily making preparations for tomorrow's party. A group of Mihoshi students are busily setting up a stage -- the base construction is done, but the sound and lighting systems need to be just right. Other students are setting up tents for refreshments and first aid -- someone is testing the balance of an elevated chair for the lifeguard to keep an eye on swimmers.
One of the visiting students, Shari Loom, noticed they were missing some key supplies; she's nipped off to Island-1 to fetch them. Left behind is one Yuliana Dispersal, the family friend who gave Shari a lift to Frontier. Yuliana, who is 30 years old and therefore ancient, has nothing to do with GUTS -- outside of helping Shari, of course. Nonetheless, she's wandered out to see what the youth are up to.
She has, at least, discarded her usual look for one which suits the beachside better. A cheerful green sundress hangs from broad shoulder straps, patterned chartreuse and emerald down to her dark knees; her neck and front are obscured by a broad black scarf, tied in a loose, jaunty bow. A cheerful sunhat obscures her short teal hair, though it can't quite defeat the bangs falling over her left eye.
"My, my," she remarks, strolling up to the stage in progress. "You have been busy! You've already put up all the scaffolding! And really, all this equipment looks remarkably professional... you're going all out, aren't you?" She sounds perfectly encouraging as she praises them, curiosity leading to engagement with their efforts. It is, of course, impossible to know for sure -- there is a dead zone of emotional suppression surrounding Yuliana which confounds any empathic communication. To Awakened senses, she might as well not exist... and anyone coming within six feet of her will find they can't access those psychic senses, either. But... certainly she's smiling, certainly she looks friendly enough. If she felt otherwise, who could tell?
She's hardly the only bystander coming in to take a look. It's not difficult, to come see the commotion on the beach. The city lining the shore is host to many citizens of Frontier -- and their streets are built with size in mind, to allow Macronised Zentradi to walk amongst the storefronts and experience the city. The land, here, is remarkably polite to sizes larger than human. A couple of those giants have paused to point at the preparations, murmuring amongst themselves about how hard the students are working.
(Some of them may, in fact, have even helped with construction!)
All in all, the energy of the beachfront is full of anticipation and creation, as everyone works to get the site ready for the beach party of their lives.
(OOC: Have fun setting up tomorrow's beach party! This round is social; if you plan to fight in the upcoming battle, just make sure your mech is nearby enough to be accessed in a crisis. Don't worry -- you'll have the narrative time required to transition from setting up ice cream stands to being in the cockpit.)
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
Given that this is the stage that Sheryl is going to be performing on, and given what a perfectionist she is who normally insists on working with professionals rather than students, naturally she's involved in the construction of the stage. Milly Ashford had sweet-talked her into agreeing to do a couple mini-performances to help out with the GUTS Deculture Festival events, appealing not just to her desire to experience more of school life while she still has the chance but also to her as a friend.
As such, Sheryl's trying to temper her expectations as she directs the construction... but it is hard for her not to just go off on her fellow students when they goof off or seem not to take things seriously. Fortunately, that's only happened a couple times so far. The goofing-off was largely ogling at Sheryl in her red-black-and-white bikini top, cut-off jean shorts, low-heeled strappy sandals, sun hat, heart-shaped sunglasses, and her iconic drop earring. (She is of course well-protected by Pure Shield sunscreen.) The students have otherwise been hard-working--maybe because the Galactic Fairy is there to inspire them? This is the Mihoshi Academy event, and with Sheryl due to perform on that stage, there's a lot of pride to take in their work.
Of course, then a certain woman approaches and remarks on everyone's efforts so far. It sounds like praise, but when Sheryl looks over at her, she recognizes her as that woman from the charity ball. That woman who's been bullying Ranka. Sheryl's eyes narrow behind her shades before she puts on a sunny smile.
"Of course! This is a stage I'm going to be performing on, so we all have to put in our best. If Mihoshi's going to kick off the DecuFest, then we're going to kick it off with a bang!" she declares, setting a hand on her hip.
She doesn't question Yuliana's presence itself; there's plenty of unrelated folks watching--there's several over there on the street ogling and murmuring about it--and she knows Shari left to get some key supplies, and that Yuliana was her ride here. But for Ranka's sake, she's not exactly thrilled to see her nosing about.
Good thing she's not especially Awakened. All of that goes completely over her head.
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
Alto has been less hardworking. Partly because there's about a dozen other things he'd rather be doing right now. Partly because Sheryl's presence is not quite as much motivation for him as it is for others. And he's been developing his ability to ednure her bullying without caving in.
Of course that doesn't mean Alto isn't helping AT ALL. In fact right now he's helping several students on ropes lift one of the larger pieces of equipment into place on the stage frame. Once that's done though, he raises an arm to wipe the sweat from his forehead. The slightly higher sun exposure and average temperature on this colony ship makes for a good beach resort experience... Not so much a good construction experience.
Alto goes over to a tap, looking to cool himself off. It's probably quite the sight for some. His pilot's physique combined with the beauty that has graced numerous stages in the past.
It's at this point though that Alto hears Sheryl talking to someone nearby and he turns to focus in on that. Is she sounding especially catty in the discussion? ... No, probably just his imagination. Anyway, he doesn't recognise who she's talking to so it's probably nothing.
Another student calls out to Alto for some more help. He sighs in mild annoyance, not particularly looking forward to yet more hard labor. A distraction would probably go down quite well right now.
<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.
Ranka's actually been helping out with stage construction, and logistics behind it. It may be Sheryl's stage, but she has a small scale school festival performance of her own coming up in a few weeks, and the experience behind it is useful to her. She's currently wearing a revealing but tasteful light green crochet dress as a coverup over a pink bikini with floral patterns, a pair of sunglasses, and sandals.
She has been hard working, but every so often, she's been glancing over towards Alto, and Sheryl alternatively, and can be caught sighhhinnnggg on occasion... so maybe she can be counted as someone goofing off, a little.
However, as she sees Yuliana approach, her hair just leaps, and she takes cover behind the stage, holding up a clipboard over her face.
However, as her 'encouragement' winds down, and Sheryl confronts her. Ranka looks between the two, back and forth. Red eyes huge. She's worried, ever since she told Sheryl about, well, all this. She can see it turning into... something ugly... and that causes her to panic a bit.
And so Ranka picks herself up, and jogs on up in her beach sandals, getting a bit of sand between her heels and soles from the pace, hugging her clipboard to her chest. "Ah! Sheryl. We're ready for your inspection in the back. Of... the equipment!" Does Yuliana catch her looking at her out of the corner of her eye?
Nah obviously her imagination.
Obviously she must not mean the equipment Alto is helping to lift. That'd be silly. It must be some other equipment.
<Pose Tracker> Vitaly Sokolov has posed.
Not everyone here is present as part of the party. With the things that have been occuring within G-Hound, and especially with the recent leaks, Vitaly Sokolov is here on inspection. However, the hard woman isn't without a soul.
As a military car flows by along the streets above the beach region, Vitaly Sokolov orders the officer to halt the car. She takes a moment to get out of the vehicle, and look out onto the beach from at the edge. Watching the various going-ons.
"Is big festival?" The woman inquires with the driver. Who explains the big GUTS situation going on.
She remains at the edge of it all, taking out a small set of binoculars to take a look at the younger generation hard at work. Something that for just a moment, draws a small smile to her face. Until she sees something.
It's not a Zentradi that takes away that smile this time. But the presence of Yuliana. She has no issues with the woman. In fact, she appreciate's the woman's reputation of getting things done. But still, she wonders what someone like her is doing here.
She then lowers the binoculars and puts them into the hands of the driver, rounding back towards the vehicle with the intentions of returning to the hangar to continue her inspections.
<Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
Alma Stirner had some money to follow, and had to follow it to the Macross fleets.
Unfortunately that particular slice of her nice, cultivated, hand-prepared leads has turned up nothing, but that's not the worst thing in the world; it just means that she has time to -- from a distance -- appreciate the hard work people seem to be going to on this particular colony today.
(How did that lead her here, you ask? Well! GUTS does seem to be renting a lot of surplus equipment for this... there's a lot of money moving around.)
She spots Yuliana out of the corner of her eye, too -- but it's fairer to say she notices the way the world shifts around her as she moves. ... maybe she should tell her how the search is going, actually...?
She reaches into the deep pockets of her yellow cardigan, finding her lip gloss and giving it a quick, careful reapplication before approaching. Swallowing down the dread that always kinda envelops her when she approaches Yuliana, she calls, "Hey there! Interesting seeing you here -- are you following up on the same thing I am, or is this something else?" Her smile is pretty sunny.
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
YESTERDAY...
Liam sits in his seat, a bag of newly-purchased books at his side, as the train speeds along. He never truly relaxes, but today he did things that did not involve his primary objective, and he feels... almost satisfied. Calmer.
That all changes the moment walks past, and slips something into his bag.
Liam reacts like it was a bomb. He shoves the bag away from him; books spill onto the train floor, and the other passenger keeps moving. Among the fallen books is something that wasn't there--a little black card, with his name and Subject number on it. Liam's body stays as tense as drawn wire as he braces, and stoops down to pick it up...
NOW...
A GAT-01D disembarked from a transport a while ago, and its pilot--Liam--cited 'festival security' and presented some official documentation. That GAT-01D now stands over yonder, further down the beach. Liam at least took off his normal suit before disembarking, and approaches the festival like someone who didn't just park a Mobile Suit near a perfectly normal school event.
Then he sees Ranka. He pauses for a moment, noting the concern in her eyes--and the way she seems nervous about something. Liam walks towards her, the sand trickling between his toes. It's not an unwelcome feeling.
"Ranka," he says, as soon as he's in conversational range. He's put together a number of possible scenarios, but none of them make sense. Unless... "...Ranka," Liam repeats, his eyes lighting up with sudden fear. "I need to speak with Sheryl Nome and her security team, immediately."
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
"Sorry, lady, but I got no idea what you're talking about."
If there's an unusual thing to see, it's Lucine arguing with something, especially someone who is relatively unnotable in every respect. However, there Lucine is, dressed in the 'complimentary' t-shirt with the festival logo on it, as well as a baseball cap and shorts. "You just gave me this note! This is serious, I need to know if..."
"Usually I'd be flattered by something like this, but y'sure you got the right guy? You look real pale. Want me to call somebody over?"
"..." Lucine's expression grows strained as she steps up to the fellow worker, standing a few inches in front of him, peering him over with worried gold eyes. Then, with a growing despair building on her face, Lucine steps back a step. "... I'm sorry... I must have mixed you up with someone," she lies, turning away. "... It's fine."
Before the young man could ask further questions of his own, Lucine parts from him, a gardener on a mission, the teal ponytail swaying behind her as she quickly paces away down towards the construction of the stage.
And then, noticing the relaxing, sweaty Alto at the tap, Lucine makes her way towards him, her sneakers kicking up sand as she walks up at a hurried pace.
This is likely never a good sign, but for better or worse, that's when another student calls for his attention. "... Alt- Mr. Saotome--" Why does he need to be fast here as he is on the battlefield?!
Looking around for another familiar face, her attention is drawn next to the familiar faces of Sheryl and Ranka, and, finally Yuliana.
For some reason, that makes her pace just a little faster, as she opts to instead jog towards the parking lot where the Dianthus is parked, just as Liam himself is walking up.
It's going to be really awkward if all this was just a really sincere love letter from a secret admirer.
<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.
Liam's presence causes her to start briefly, her hair leaping, but then she turns around, and one side of her hair remains up as he whispers something to her. Looking at him, her eyes are wide as saucers with worry...
... but she'd be lying if some part of her wasn't relieved.
Ranka pads up closer to Sheryl, then stands on her tip toes, cups a hand and whispers, "Liam says he needs to speak to you and your security team, urgently." A beat, "He wouldn't ask this lightly."
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
A woman of dark purple hair and vivid green eyes, stands in her black garb over her work. Gleaming dark candles are alive in viridian flames, placed equidistant from one another in a circle, strange geometry linking together lines and curves all done in a dirty, viscous red liquid, infused with green powdered stone. Her graceful arms trace strange shapes in the air before a bloody finger presses down into the circle, makes a few more lines. Her fingertips are stained with it by now. "Yes," Elisa says, murmuring, "The time has come."
The hotel room in which she works is, in a word, ruined; terrible runes are carved into the walls, the bed is soaked in blood, and the mirrors are darkened and tarnished.
"Y kh'oll: wph'ou jow, Ivnerre. Y kh'oll: jow y-th'ou piy-k. Th'oth u'ykh ysh ou-th, piakh'ou-ni:a thou nilj u-yll:."
"Plj th'ia pllou:t ou-fh th'ia gh'oyzaw th'oth llyfiash... Piakh'ou-ni:a."
The gathering smoke of the ritual, the candlelight, all begin to waft up into the air above her, becoming a strange shape. And then from a small, crystal vial, Elisa removes the stopper, and lets a single drop of uncoagulated blood fall into the center of the circle.
A terrible droning begins to echo here, and in the sky...
All the mirrors crack.
https:''www.youtube.comwatch?v=Z13SgTvq5Yc
The sky opens. A great cloud erupts into being, though it should not. It crackles with green power, and for a few minutes, that is all it is. There is time to investigate if someone gets close, time for the sensors to try to investigate what it is, and why.
Fold waves resonate from this cloud, it is clear. And anything that gets close crackles to dust in that green power.
A few minutes later, the sensors of the ship pick up a great spike in power centralized near its dome, and that cloud abrubtly shines like a viridian star before the cloud disappears--and a monstrosity appears.
Its jaws are filled with sharp, swordlike teeth. But they are too many, and they are oriented the wrong way, opening to the sides instead of parallel to its many, many eyes. Its great form is draconic, but only recognizeably so; its six great limbs in addition to its gigantic wings are huge and bulky, each limb topped with a clawed 'hand' with talons easily larger than trucks. Each wing has a clawed point at its apex. Horn ridges surround its head that splits into two jaws, more horns all down its back, down its tail.
The Void Dragon Ivnerre is manifest, and the cloud is gone. With a horrifying, echoing SHRIEK in basso rumbles almost too hard to hear, it roars. And then it respires, a terrible dissolvent starting to work away at the air, poisoning a mass far above where anyone is trying to breathe. But it does not move to start assaulting the ground.
No, it starts to RIP and rend and tear and claw at the very air itself, as if it could break open space and time.
Maybe it can. Maybe it would be best to stop it.
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Dispersal has posed.
Yuliana is, of course, familiar -- how could she not be? Yuliana appreciates a good tune as much as the next woman! She smiles, sunny as that carefully-shining sky, in an easy mirror of Sheryl's expression. "Goodness, the indomitable Sheryl Nome is lending her talents to these cross-school endeavours..? Oh," she claps her hands together, as they bend at the wrist, "I'm sure you'll inspire everyone!"
She might have said more, except -- the space where information should be belongs to Ranka, today. Yuliana smiles, to her, though surely she's not looking. "Well, you'd best see to that," she agrees, cheerfully. "Don't let me keep you! Good luck, and work hard!" She gestures out, to the students -- including a particular young gentleman who is taking a moment to cool off. "But then, you're all working terribly hard already, aren't you?"
What she appears to be doing is just... having a conversation with the Mihoshi students. There's nothing untoward about it; none of the familiar little quirks of an REA operation. There are no snipers positioned nearby, and no communications equipment stashed somewhere inconspicuous. No one is having any unfortunate accidents.
Maybe she's just... here off-duty and curious what all these kids are up to?
She turns, obligingly, from Sheryl and Ranka, to smile to Alma. (Conveniently, this means she misses Liam and Lucine, respectively.) "Oh, no, no," she assures the other woman, waving a hand. "A young woman called Shari wanted to come along to her school trip, but circumstances meant that I was the most convenient option to fly her up here -- I'm a family friend, you see." Well, that's all extremely sensible. Yuliana does have a lot of friends, doesn't she, Alma? "By the way, you look great today," she asides, entirely too casually.
Enter pandemonium.
The people point, as that crackling green cloud appears in the air. First they murmur -- then they shriek, once the crowd realises this isn't an intended weather effect. They begin to flee, some haphazardly -- but thankfully, Frontier has orderly evacuation procedures in place, and the automated recordings begin to direct the citizens away. Frontier knows the dangers of Fold waves, after all.
These directions ought to make sense, to most everyone on the beach -- and at first, Yuliana takes point directing the crowd. "This way, this way -- don't run, don't push -- follow the signs, you're going to be fine!" She leans down to pick up a boy who stumbles, helping him up and pointing him in the right direction. It's precisely what anyone would expect, from a Federation officer caught out on-foot and off-duty.
But something entirely unlike technology pours from that great and terrible cloud. When Yuliana rises, after stooping to pick that boy up, green light catches at the corner of her eye; she turns, to behold Ivnerre, transgressing into reality. Fear creases the corners of her eyes as they squint, and then widen, tension carried through raised brow and open jaw. "What --" She starts, more hesitant, more horrified. "What is... no!"
Her eyes are, of course, green with envy at the best of times -- but in the shadow of that colossus, tearing a hole into nothing at all, they begin to glow with a strange power. The tension in her face falls away, with the light.
Something has fallen over her; something which no one else, proceeding to the shelters, seems bothered by. It is a thing which causes her to step away from the crowd she was trying to help, moments prior, with steps which sway and waver...
... towards the dragon.
"Of course... I must..." She trails, vague, preoccupied. A twitch of her eyes precipitates the way her black flat of a shoe plants in the sand. She shakes her head, sunhat flying away as her hand buries in her bangs, digging into her obscured temple. The thoughtless gesture reveals the scar, hidden there. "No!" She cries, all the distress flooding back into her voice. "What's happening to me?! I-- I can't--!"
But when her gaze turns up to catch the kaiju again -- she takes another step forward, hands lowering back down.
Someone like her must realise the danger, right...?
KTS: Lucine Azul has deployed in Dianthus Mk. 3.
KTS: Liam 7-020 has deployed in GAT-01D Long Dagger Fortestra.
KTS: Elisa Kafim has deployed in Void Dragon Ivnerre.
KTS: Elisa_Kafim has deployed as a Boss for 5 opponents.
KTS: Vitaly Sokolov has deployed in RX-123-P Gundam TR-S [Hazel Flare Proto].
KTS: Alto Saotome has deployed in VF-25F Messiah <GERWALK Mode>.
KTS: Alma Stirner has deployed in RGM-86 GM III.
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
The dragon of the void manifests at Lucine's back as she climbs into the Dianthus, her sneakers trailing beach sand against the one bended knee of the craft.
The deep green cloud draws back to show a terrible visitor of gnashing teeth and many eyes, as the Dianthus's cockpit closes and its systems turn on.
The shriek that shatters the peaceful beach overshadows the noise of a lithe flying craft, the distinctive dark magenta and silver of its exterior starkly standing out against the green cloud of poison the dragon spews out.
It'll be fine. There'll be more joining her. Alto, at the very least. Maybe some others she didn't spot.
Now, for Kris 'Kit' Azul's Daily Lesson, #6856: 'When facing an unknown entity, go so fast that you don't have time to think about it.'
Lucine tries to not focus on how many eyes and teeth are showing in what was previously a nice clear blue sky. ".... _This is what happens when you show your hand too early_!!"
No one can hear her declaration, as it wasn't announced over the radio.
It also means the yell she makes as she charges the unknown beast is also unheard.
KTS: Lucine Azul targets Elisa Kafim with CL0-V3 Glaive Ram!
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
"I am a student here," Sheryl points out to Yuliana brightly. "What's the point of me attending school if I don't get involved?"
Ranka approaches then, saying that she's needed to inspect some other equipment. Sheryl's not sure if that's actually true or if Ranka's trying to pull her away, but she's got no problem with going along with it. "Sure," she says, smiling. "Let me just grab my purse." As she trots over to a nearby table to grab her things, Liam approaches Ranka; by the time Sheryl returns, Ranka has a warning for her.
She frowns. She doesn't know who in the world this Liam guy is, but she does trust Ranka. She gives the broad-shouldered young man a considering look, then nods and turns to one side, where Alto is getting a drink. There's plenty there to admire, but she doesn't allow herself a moment to get distracted by that.
"Alto! Security~! Over here!" she calls, waving a hand high over her head. She absolutely doesn't care that someone else called for him first. "There's something we need to look at, apparently!"
They won't get a chance to go anywhere, though. That's the moment when the sky breaks open with an unusual weather phenomenon. Sheryl does lower her shades to look at it, eyebrows furrowed as she wonders what this is supposed to be all about; a moment later, as fold waves course out from it, she cries out and claps her hands over her ears. The crystal of her drop earring glows, but her hand covers most of its light. "Wh-what's going on here?!"
A strange dragon appears. Sheryl's eyes widen in horror, disbelief--and anger. Her performance isn't until tomorrow, sure, but why do these things keep happening?! It's cosmically unfair!
Even more unfair: that Yuliana starts zombie-walking over towards the dragon. Sheryl doesn't like her, but if it's true that something weird is happening to her and she's being forced to walk that way, then it would be awful to let her just walk to her doom.
She still has to take a moment to think about it.
And that moment is long enough for a certain someone else to act first...
<Pose Tracker> Vitaly Sokolov has posed.
The vehicle is just driving away when there's some confused squawks coming from the beach. Taking the binoculars, Vitaly Sokolov turns her gaze to them while driving off. Seeing some hands pointing upwards at some kind of cloud erupts into being. Green and crackling with energy.
The woman may not know what this is. But she understands trouble. "Put pedal to metal. Trouble brews." The Ravnuian woman demands, followed by the vehicle rapidly driving down Island-3 towards the nearby military hangars.
A few minutes later, as the ship picks up that spike in power and the bright star of light forms alongside that monstrosity, a machine is coming over some of the housing of Island-3. A rather large, and perhaps 'awkwardly balanced' Gundam hovers more-so than thrusting towards the beach. Its long arms floating behind it, with enormous containers on its shoulders.
Soon, it rises up a bit further to get a better look at the enormous... thing. A dragon? Some kind of Kaiju, it looks like. The heavy Proto Flare keeps its ascent under control, beneath the cloud that is forming. But that cloud has Vitaly concerned.
There's a moment she thinks of that place...
Colony 30...
Respiring that substance, the woman decides the best thing to do in that moment is to try and halt its ability to breathe out more of it. She isn't sure where the origin is, but she certainly knows where it is exhaling it from! So the Proto follows suit along with Lucine Azul in striking first - opening one of those large 'claws' on its current equipment outfit, and tries to clamp the right one onto its throat, with the left one aimed at its front leg to prevent it from raking any further at the 'air' the way it is.
KTS: Vitaly Sokolov has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
KTS: Vitaly Sokolov targets Elisa Kafim with Hrududu II - Beam Claws!
KTS: Elisa Kafim has activated the Focus Spirit Command.
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
Having missed Lucine's calls for him, Alto is making his way across the beach to help with some more setup. When instead the much louder calling from Sheryl draws his attention... Not quite the distraction he was hoping for. He sighs... He should probably go and see what this is all about.
As Alto walks towards the gathered group, all hell starts to break loose. His attention is quickly drawn towards the fake sky, his eyes going wide at the sight of the ominous cloud. That's definitely not normal!
Things start to get more concerning as it begins to shift, taking the form of something else. Yeah, this is moving into Trouble(tm) territory.
Alto speeds up, quickly running over to the group. His first concern is of course to Ranka and Sheryl, looking at the two of them, "Are you alright?" The evacuation alarms sound and people begin to move off the beach to the nearest shelter. Alto begins to urge the group on, "Come on, we should go." There's not much else he can do here right now.
As they are starting to head for the shelter, Alto's cellphone ring. He pulls the device from the pocket of his shorts. Already knowing who it is, he simply says, "I'm here." ... "I know, there's not enough time to prep it." Unlike the other pilots, he didn't have to fly to the fleet to get here. He just took the intrafleet transport. Which means his VF is all the way over at SMS HQ, on Island-1. He's definitely not getting there in time to do any good.
Alto asks, "What about the defense fleet?" ... "Military exercises? Are you kidding me!?" Talk about bad timing.
Finally Alto says, "I know, I know. Prioritize the client's safety." His eyes glance in Sheryl's direction at this point. Which is when she notices Sheryl looking a little conflicted in the direction of...
Alto blinks at the sight of that woman he'd seen earlier. What's she doing?
<Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
"Thanks! I've been trying some new things... I just kind of felt like it. It's a little weird if I see all my friends and haven't changed much in, like, a decade, right?" Alma replies --
... and then things go out of control. Alma looks to the great shadow, the massive cloud that starts to encroach -- and then to Yuliana.
Her expression turns down; she's deeply worried, at this point. Her first reflex is to move to stop Yuliana, but -- there are multiple problems here and she is capable of doing something about the larger one, and that's something that not everyone is capable of doing. She can trust Yuliana to the others who are moving; she has to make her own movements.
She sprints away, snagging her rental vehicle and going into a high-speed drive. While she doesn't have her own machine...
A GM III leaves the Federation hangar in short order. "... Whoof, is this one of the ones they've been dragging all the way up from the original? The cockpit situation's kinda a mess..." Alma murmurs, as she starts getting everything online. Not one to waste time, she raises the GM III's beam rifle and fires off a quick snapshot. "... What's this thing even good at?" Alma adds, a little nervously, as someone who has never actually piloted a GM III in her life.
(She and it make a poor match, but she couldn't live with herself if she did nothing about this.)
KTS: Alma Stirner targets Elisa Kafim with GM III Beam Rifle Shot!
<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.
As Sheryl calls over her security team...
Ranka starts to look positively nauseous. There's a hand up to her mouth, as she stumbles. Then both hands move to guard her abdomen, as a shriek bubbles out of her lips, "aaAAAAAAAaaaaaAAA!" Before it's cut off by a gasp of horror.
She doesn't understand what's happening an energy inimical to life is picked up by something meant to connect lives together within her.
"Something's wrong..." She rasps, "Something's..."
In a daze, her eyes are drawn upwards, as the Void Dragon appears. And Ranka just stumbles, backwards, away, one pace at a time. As it's SHRIEK forces her to choose between her ears and her stomach to clutch - and in the end she chooses her ears. Taking her hands away from her ears, she says to Alto, "Alto! Y-Yes. Let's- let's-"
And that's when she spots Yuliana moving towards the dragon. Transfixed - then momentarily breaking free to acknowledge something's wrong with her, before... moving towards it again.
Yuliana scares her, to be honest, but as much as she thinks Yuliana hates her - as scared of her as she is.
She doesn't want her to die.
In Sheryl's moment of hesitate, Ranka suddenly runs forward, already breathing rapidly.
Not just because she's terrified, but in anticipation of how much this is going to suck. The moment she gets within six feet of Yuliana, she feels herself start to faint, from the one two punch of that feeling of the Void, along with her sharp, sharp pain in her abdomen.
The adrenaline of the moment though pushes her through it, as she finds her footing, and grabs Yuliana's hand, and she digs her heels in and just YANKS. She's smaller than Yuliana in both height and frame, but the abrupt motion against her involuntary gait still likely spins her a little, before Ranka stumbles behind her new position and... starts to push her back in the direction for which she came, trying to keep her momentum going in that direction.
Both hands just pressed against her back, fingers curling to grip as she digs her heels in and presses against her, she tries to just push, and push, and push - to guide her back towards the direction of Alto and Sheryl as her head and gut just swims with both hollow nothingness and symphonic agony.
The words burble away from her in panic, "Come on, this-this way! We have to g-get away! We have-have to get away!"
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
Ranka turns to Sheryl. Liam waits, hands at his sides, fingers lightly curled. The note rests in his pocket. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Lucine, and this time the usual approval and calm curdles into gut-churning worry. Why is she here, too? "Lucine," Liam says, turning to glance at her. His usual stoicism gives way to wide, dark eyes and a tight jaw. "I--why are you here?"
Does she know? Do they know about her? Is this them, or someone else?
Liam's eyes dart to Sheryl, then Alto. He's security? He thought Sheryl Nome's concerts had--
The sky rips open. The droning noise sends ice down Liam's spine. His head snaps up, and he glances around, trying to locate the source, but it's coming from everywhere and nowhere at once. "Evacuate!" he shouts, even as the emergency alert system kicks in, as it should. The fear starts to drain from his voice, replaced by something far more grim. "Lucine. Assist--"
She's already running towards the Dianthus. Liam turns, and runs off the opposite way, his stomach twisting. Fortunately, he knows the routine well enough to do it with perfect focus while all hell is breaking loose. Climb the emergency rope ladder to the cockpit block. While the winch reels it in, Liam taps in a sequence on the panel to kick the machine out of standby.
Green void-light reflects off Liam's eye-shields. There's no more time. Leaving his normal suit in the storage compartment, he straps himself in.
The bulky, over-armor-clad Mobile Suit comes to life, dashing across the sands. Its head rises to look at the monstrosity, and a moment later the CIWS mounted there lets out a roar of its own. A hail of gatling fire sprays in the dragon's direction.
In the cockpit, Liam tries to make sense of it. Looking at it hurts his eyes. He remembers a phrase people used to put on maps, allegedly--something retconned into history.
Hic sunt dracones.
KTS: Liam 7-020 targets Elisa Kafim with Igelstellung 75mm Multibarrel CIWS Burst!
KTS: Elisa Kafim has activated the Focus Spirit Command.
KTS: Elisa Kafim blocks Lucine Azul's CL0-V3 Glaive Ram, taking 1140 damage!
KTS: Lucine Azul has engaged Elisa Kafim!
KTS: Elisa Kafim fails to rush.
KTS: Vitaly Sokolov anchors Elisa Kafim, forcing her into close range.
KTS: Elisa Kafim partially guards Vitaly Sokolov's Hrududu II - Beam Claws, taking 6240 damage!
KTS: Vitaly Sokolov has engaged Elisa Kafim!
KTS: Elisa Kafim blocks Alma Stirner's GM III Beam Rifle Shot, taking 1950 damage!
KTS: Elisa Kafim blocks Liam 7-020's Igelstellung 75mm Multibarrel CIWS Burst, taking 870 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Dispersal has posed.
There are a great many things in this world which are horrible, called by blood and sacrifice. And oh, the crimes of this world -- how can they express another?!
Heart committed to the feeling, Yuliana sways forward, one searching step after another. She has no eyes for the beach which rapidly becomes so much emptier; no ears for the cries of protest or fear behind her. The air trembles with something like a roar, rolling, warbling, vibrating down her spine.
Welcome home,
welcome home,
welcome home.
This is the place Ranka meets her.
It's laudable, the way she conquers so many sicknesses in this one, singular effort -- and Yuliana stumbles, in a loose spin, as her hand is captured and yanked. Her cloudy expression clears, for a moment, to confusion and anger. "You?! No, wait, I --" Her eyes blink shut; for a moment, she is easily pushed. It's a moment where her voice breaks, and wavers -- where she is afraid, "... what's going on? I..."
One step, another, and Ranka is succeeding, despite herself. Yuliana's quite too discombobulated to protest. "We have to move...? I... I hear..." Her eyes shut, again.
And there, again, when they open -- that terrible green light. She spins, and grasps Ranka by a hand, this time -- tone shifting to something much more sonorous, rich, and disconcerting, reflected in that light. "Then come."
Fingers lacing reflexively through her hand, Yuliana proceeds to spin her outwards -- in something which the performers and associates remaining here would immediately recognise as dance.
All a sudden her stance is much more firm, much more difficult to drag -- she is special operations, and she performs more than enough ground operations to be quite strong. Quickly, with smooth, twirling movements, the issue becomes less of dragging Yuliana off of the beach --
-- and more of rescuing Ranka from the spotlight.
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
Somewhere, Elisa Kafim smiles.
Here and now, some of the dragon's many eyes turn to look at Lucine--only some. The others turn in other directions, rolling wildly. Lucine's mecha charges. She radiates power, echoes a statement--
It was not audible, but the Dragon turns to look at Lucine's mecha as she speaks of hands. It brings a gigantic hand to bear when she rams it, pushing back to block the blow, though green liquid seethes from its palm where the blades seeped in.
Vitaly's Gundam is next. The Proto lurches forward, and the claws rush forward. The dragon ROARS as its throat is grasped, and the dome rattles with its force. The assault rends reality around it, shaking the air and anything in it that's too close to the point of origin--which is right where the Proto has grasped the dragon.
That other claw scythes through its arm as it moves to make another swipe at the air, and while it doesn't stop the Dragon's movements, it surely has its attention--and it will need a few moments to right itself from the terrible green liquid that falls to the ground...
Whatever is beneath had best not be something someone will miss much.
Significant damage has been dealt to it, but the dragon still moves sinuously, with far more agility than its great bulk should allow. Another roar--but this time, it is not a breath, but a bolt of terrible dark energy that suddenly coalesces between the dragon and Alma's GM III. It crashes towards Alma, homing in as needed.
Then it turns, still engaged with Vitaly's Gundam but rotating its bulk such that its prehensible back legs can grab at Liam's machine all at once.
Then it tries to get back to the point in air it was trying to rend, roaring further in frustration as the air remains only air. For now.
KTS: Elisa Kafim has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Elisa Kafim: Will Barrier Activates.
KTS: [Spirit Defense] Vitaly Sokolov's Spirit Endurance activates, and the spirit is adjusted.
KTS: Elisa Kafim has activated the Daunt Spirit Command targeting Vitaly Sokolov
KTS: Elisa Kafim targets Lucine Azul and Vitaly Sokolov with Draconic Fury - Sky-shaking Roar.
KTS: Lucine Azul rushes into the attack!
KTS: Lucine Azul successfully avoids Elisa Kafim's Draconic Fury - Sky-shaking Roar
KTS: Vitaly Sokolov successfully avoids Elisa Kafim's Draconic Fury - Sky-shaking Roar
KTS: Elisa Kafim has activated the Accel Spirit Command and Has Engaged with Liam 7-020
KTS: Elisa Kafim targets Alma Stirner with Saturnine Bolt!
KTS: Elisa Kafim targets Liam 7-020 with Draconic Fury - Seize!
KTS: Vitaly Sokolov has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
KTS: Elisa Kafim enervates Alma Stirner, reducing her Morale significantly.
KTS: Alma Stirner fails to react to Elisa Kafim's Saturnine Bolt, taking 4920 damage!
KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Elisa Kafim's Beyond the Void activates, causing Deject!
KTS: Elisa Kafim begins a Formation attack!
KTS: Liam 7-020 rushes into the attack!
KTS: Elisa Kafim anchors Liam 7-020, forcing him into close range.
KTS: Liam 7-020 partially guards Elisa Kafim's Draconic Fury - Seize, taking 3150 damage!
KTS: Elisa Kafim has engaged Liam 7-020!
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
Sheryl's concerts have more security, sure. But this is set-up, for prior to a mini concert, that is part of a school event, on one of the more peaceful branches of the Macross Frontier. Sheryl had even insisted to Grace that Brera not come, since a) Alto was going to be there, and b) what was going to happen, really?
She's mad about that too, by the way.
For the time being, though, she looks up at Alto as he rushes over and starts to guide her away to the evacuation and makes calls. She doesn't protest, which should be Alto's first clue that something's wrong. Her ears are still ringing and it HURTS, but Ranka looks to be in even more agonizing pain than her and maybe Yuliana more than both of them, and she doesn't know why. Of course that thing in the sky is awful, but why is it this awful? Why is it affecting her and Ranka and Yuliana this badly?
That's when Ranka races forward to grab Yuliana herself. "Ranka!" Sheryl gasps, eyes widening. Pride surges in her through her smile and the set of her shoulders--pride for her friend who couldn't do anything but quaver in that shelter when they and Alto were waiting for rescue. In turn, Sheryl grabs Alto's hand and tugs him back towards her. "Let's help her too!" she says, meeting his eyes.
She doesn't like Yuliana, but she does like Ranka a lot. That makes the decision easy.
Especially when Yuliana grabs Ranka and pulls her into a strange dance. Sheryl enunciates a "?!"--an easy task when you're Sheryl Nome--and picks up her pace. "What are you doing to Ranka?!" she yells, trying not to stumble as she races across the sand to them. She doesn't look back at Alto; she has faith that he's right behind her.
Grumpy as he is, she trusts he won't abandon either of them. A good thing, considering the battle that now rages between dragon and mobile suits not so far away.
<Pose Tracker> Vitaly Sokolov has posed.
Vibrations tremble through the Proto Hazel, rippling through its structure. The woman adjusts her limbs' position as the monitor to her left indicates a higher stress rating. A significant amount of CPU rapily activating higher levels of the BUNNyS system, causing the insides of the machine to heat up.
One wouldn't know that this causes discomfort if one saw Vitaly's face.
The woman sits upright in her machine, staring at the full 720 panoramic screens around her, as the Dragon starts trying to rend reality itself. Shaking the air further and further, as the Hazel Proto tries to struggle against the creature. To keep it at bay! But as the Dragon cries out, the Hazel is forced to disengage for just a moment.
Pushed back by the shaking of the air itself, the Minovsky Flight System reinforcing its position, almost as if it just stepped onto an invisible platform in the air, as the woman watches the green 'acid' seep down to the ground. It seems that bladed techniques may be risky.
So, adjusting for this, she engages the beam weapons onboard her vessel. Multiple I-Field generators suddenly activating across the Manipulator Hands of the machine, shifting and adjusting, as the center core of the machine winds up a light beam attack. It can't go full power here, in the middle of Island-3. That'd be foolhardy.
Instead, when the light beam attack fires, it does so into the screen of I-Fields held before it, creating a spiraling 'series' of beams that bore towards the Dragon's throat, seeking to silence it and cauterize any wounds made at the same time!
She isn't sure anyone has the kind of sensors needed to get data on this creature, but she still inquires with those engaged with the dragon - Lucine, Liam, Alma. A firm pressing tone; <"Unknown enemy use strange phenomena. Is familiar?">
KTS: Vitaly Sokolov targets Elisa Kafim with Hrududu II - Beam Reflector Trick!
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
Alto is rather confused by what's going on as he watches Yuliana lost in some kind of trance. At which point Ranka runs up and starts trying to turn her back. Yes, yes that's probably a good idea. He too should-
The dragon has taken form, its loud roar thundering through the enclosed ship. Alto has to move his hands to his ears, feeling the loud cry vibrate through his body. He looks up, seeing the others' machines beginning to engage the creature.
This is not a safe place to be.
Sheryl grabs for Alto's hand, urging him to help. He looks at her, nodding as he begins to follow. He looks back at Ranka and Yulia-is she dancing? What the...
Unaware of who this woman is, Alto finds Sheryl's reaction to Yuliana's actions a little over the top. But finally reaching them, he says, "Come on, we need to get her to the shelter!" He tries to make a grab for Yuliana, to (gently) restrain her so they can urge her in the right direction. Thankfully being in proximity to Yuliana doesn't bother him. He's relatively normal in that regard, at least without a certain piece of jewelry hanging around his neck, which he has left behind given his current shirt-less attire.
KTS: Elisa Kafim fails to react to Vitaly Sokolov's Hrududu II - Beam Reflector Trick, taking 5720 damage!
KTS: Vitaly Sokolov has engaged Elisa Kafim!
<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.
"G-Go Go-Go! We have to go!"
She is making headway at first, and Yuliana at least seems to be coherent enough to work with her for a bit, or at least isn't resisting. However, then a hand grasps her hands, and she gasps, "Wait no! No!"
Ranka's off-balance and Yuliana's able to spin her in that dance step. Discombobulated herself, feeling like she's missing a part of herself, and struggling from the pain in her gut, it's all too easy to break her forward momentum and stance and sweep her up in the dance.
She tries to dig in her heels, but every time she does, Yuliana's spinning movement break her stance again.
'What are you doing to Ranka?!
"Sheryl!" Ranka cries, in a panic, in desperation, "She's- she's not in control! I think! It's like she's-!" Ranka can't feel Yuliana empathically, at all, but it's like Sheryl stated, you don't need senses like that to read people. "It's like she breaks-breaks out of it every so often! But then something takes control back!"
Ranka looks at the dragon overhead, then Alto restrains Yuliana, and that's the motion that finally causes her to catch her footing, even as dizzy and miserable as she is now.
"Alto! K-Keep a good grip on her!" Ranka may be held fast to Yuliana's hand, but suddenly she tries to capitalize on that to try and push inward and closer to her, and move to encircle Yuliana's waist, as she tries to help Alto pull her along.
"Snap out of it! Snap-Snap out of it!" She pleads, miserably as they try to guide her along.
KTS: Alma Stirner targets Elisa Kafim with GM III Large Missile Pods Anti-Ship Volley!
KTS: Elisa Kafim's Will Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Elisa Kafim blocks Alma Stirner's GM III Large Missile Pods Anti-Ship Volley, taking 2850 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
"... You can't touch me." In the embrace of the Dianthus, Lucine flies above the many eyes directed at her, poisonous pride a temporary antidote to all-consuming fright.
She imagines the green being a sign of being Elisa, placing a helpful, physical, human face on the monstrosity. The threat that Elisa vaguely implied is now becoming an attack, and Lucine shall show she will not back down.
It helps, when you put minds and faces on things. Otherwise, the fear becomes too much to handle.
"... No matter your attack, I'll outfly it..."
The agility of the beast is beyond what Lucine was expecting, forcing her decision to evade to become a daredevil stunt, dipping down and through the green cloud like a needle through puffs of cotton.
When Liam has climbed into the Mobile Suit, the radio turns on with a loud crackle, because this day is now just that cursed. <"Sorry about that, Liam. I got a note asking me to come here at this time and place, and... hold on, I better make sure the other pilots hear this too."> Summoned by Vitaly's question, the loud radio will now turn on in Alma and Vitaly's vehicles, spreading the joyful curse of sudden loud noises when facing a terrible eldritch beast.
<"This is Lucine Azul, in the Dianthus."> She desperately needs a call sign, Lucine realizes once again. <"I, ah, apologize for going ahead, but I had received a note that told me to meet someone at this time and place.">
This is a terrible explanation.
<"... The person who gave me the note didn't remember that he gave it to me, and...>" There's a nervous cough, from her end. <".... I don't know how I can really explain this well, sorry... Here, I'll do this instead.>" 'This' being coordinates that are punched through, appearing on the screesn of Liam, Vitaly, and Alma. <"Be careful.">
Flipping around, the Dianthus tries again to engage the Dragon with the slivery glaive, crossing one strike over the next as it presses forward.
KTS: Lucine Azul targets Elisa Kafim with CL0-V3 Glaive Crescent Cross!
KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Foresee Spirit Command targeting Liam 7-020
KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Foresee Spirit Command targeting Alma Stirner
KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Foresee Spirit Command targeting Vitaly Sokolov
KTS: Elisa Kafim's Will Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Elisa Kafim blocks Lucine Azul's CL0-V3 Glaive Crescent Cross, taking 1110 damage!
KTS: Lucine Azul has engaged Elisa Kafim!
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Dispersal has posed.
What IS Yuliana doing to Ranka?
What is Yuliana doing to --
Her fingers fan through the air, grasp and drag as she spins, curling into nothing at all. Above, reality is breaking about the edges, and below
the key
TURNS.
Sheryl's reply comes at the end of Yuliana's twirl, deep and unswayed: "She heralds the coming. Be honoured."
Alto grabs for her, and she obligingly releases Ranka... to place her hands about his shoulders, instead. "Oh, child," she croons, "there is no shelter. You cannot hide." She blinks -- her eyes widen, fear crossing her face, again. "-- why," she chokes out, a single horrified word, fingers tightening against his shoulders. And there's Ranka, doing her very, very best...
But the light falls over her again, calm over her face again, and she PUSHES Alto -- spinning, again, in a way which threatens to toss Ranka if she gets surprised.
Her hand comes to her neck, and she lets slip the knot of her scarf; it flows out around her, as she twirls, in revolution, like some horrible ribbon dancer. She finds the lines, and draws across them, again, again, again.
The weakened point.
And there, over her sundress, Yuliana's own necklace hangs -- four green fold crystals, shining darkly, inky and shadowed by something they've taken up.
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
Liam has mere moments to wonder what a G-Hound unit is doing here before that same unit has its claws around the monster's throat. The GAT-01D races down the beach in little jet-assisted hops, up to its shins in the water to stay away from the any retreating beachgoers. Unlike the Dianthus, it isn't built for aerial combat, meaning Liam's got to lean hard on the maneuvering jets if he's going to bring the Beam Sabers to bear.
A familiar voice fills the cockpit, and a more personal dread reintroduces itself to Liam's heart. It's so, so easy for him to slip back into the numb, hollow tone and clipped, hyper-efficient diction.
"Unknown," Liam says. "Inconsistent with any personally-observed kaiju." Lucine already said the rest. There's no need for him to waste breath, beyond: "Can confirm. Received note separately."
The thing's spine twists, and clawed hands--hands it should not have--reach down to grasp the Long Dagger. The machine jerks back and twists into a crouch--he can't quite tell how long those limbs are (nothing about it makes sense)--but the gambit at least ensures the dragon grabs the machine by its thickest armor. Crunching and shearing noises reverberate through the cockpit. The Fortestra buckles inwards. Bits of plating fall into the surf.
With its free hand, the GAT-01D whips a Beam Saber free from its charging rack. The weapon's field ignites, and fills with charged particles a moment later. Liam tries to slash clean through the claws holding him in place in three strokes, his form decent even if he is in a very bad situation.
KTS: Liam 7-020 targets Elisa Kafim with ES01 Beam Saber Strike!
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
"No kidding!" Sheryl retorts to Alto--hardly the wittiest thing she could've said, but one might forgive her for being somewhat rattled right now. Despite that, she manages to largely keep herself together, and when Ranka insists that Yuliana isn't herself, Sheryl hesitates, then nods.
She's not a fan of Alto grabbing Yuliana anymore than she is Yuliana grabbing Ranka, but Sheryl's a sensible enough young woman to realize that this is the best of their limited options. That ringing in her ears isn't exactly lending itself to her thinking of anything not obvious, either. As Alto attempts to pull Yuliana away, Sheryl reaches for Ranka to try to pull her clear as Yuliana releases her.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," she snaps at Yuliana. What coming? It's probably got something to do with that rampaging dragon-thing, but she doesn't want to think about that right now, so she doesn't. Presumably Ranka goes back in to try to pull Yuliana along, though--especially as Yuliana then grabs Alto, rattles off more nonsense (but at least in a way that makes it clear that Ranka's right), and starts dancing again--and Sheryl mutters a curse under her breath.
"We're not getting anywhere like this. Stand clear for a second!" she barks at Ranka and Alto. She then starts spinning her purse, which has quite a few things inside it, and then attempts to bean Yuliana right in the face with it. Hopefully it'll put her off-balance enough that Alto can heave her away from this now-awful place.
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
Silencing the dragon appears to be a losing game; even with the horrifying damage those cauterizing beams seem to deal to the scales on the Dragon's throat, it still roars its defiance afteward. On the bright side, this roar doesn't rend the sky like the last one did. But thanks to skill, not luck, no more horrible acid drips from its body from those wounds--Vitaly's strategy is clearly paying off.
Familiar? Perhaps it is familiar. But the bolt is not repeated just yet. Instead, when those missiles come at the dragon, it turns. It obviously should have no missiles of its own with which to intercept, has no CIWS systems in its organic form that anyone can see, so it snaps out its tail to deflect the missile, which explodes messily. It clearly takes a chunk out of that tail, but strangely the explosion warps around the dragon in part, as if certain angles just aren't what they look like.
This happens, too, with the silvery glaive Lucine's Dianthus brings forth. The dragon moves into the engagement, and chomps down the beam somehow, oving into the strikes to block them with sheer bulk.
Liam has more luck; his beam saber carves deep gouges into the talons on the 'hand' grasping him, and while it doesn't sever them completely, it does more than enough to get his mecha free. His form is indeed very good--but the situation is awkward and awful as the creature continues not to react entirely as a thing should.
But it reacts a little like a dragon would, in that it immediately tries to swat Liam's mecha out of existence with a powerful slap of its lmbs.
From there it roars again and, with the Proto Hazel so close to its throat, the Dragon rears and then lunges down to attempt to savage straight through the mecha with its sideways jaws, and if it bites down, it will worry up and down like a sort of horrible predator.
Then, it lifts its wings up high, and some of its eyes open abrubtly. The lids curl backwards and there is an awful, sudden humming. Ripping forth from holes in the dragon's hide, massive, building-destroying swarms of awful insects rush forth, each shaped slightly wrong, like a snowflake made of chitin and limbs and teeth. And they rush in a terrible cloud for Lucine, and then to envelop Alma's machine entirely.
"Darling..." Only Alma hears that, and it will be forgotten in an instant.
The dragon roars again, but is no longer able to focus on tearing open the air.
KTS: [Spirit Defense] Alma Stirner's Spirit Endurance activates, and the spirit endures.
KTS: Elisa Kafim has activated the Daunt Spirit Command targeting Alma Stirner
KTS: Elisa Kafim has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Elisa Kafim has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Elisa Kafim targets Vitaly Sokolov with Draconic Fury - Bite!
KTS: Elisa Kafim targets Lucine Azul with Locust Vents- Plague!
KTS: Elisa Kafim targets Alma Stirner with Locust Vents - Overwhelm!
KTS: Elisa Kafim targets Liam 7-020 with Draconic Fury - Smash!
KTS: Vitaly Sokolov blocks Elisa Kafim's Draconic Fury - Bite, taking 2800 damage!
KTS: Elisa Kafim has engaged Vitaly Sokolov!
KTS: Lucine Azul rushes into the attack!
KTS: Elisa Kafim enervates Lucine Azul, reducing her Morale significantly.
KTS: Elisa Kafim rattles Lucine Azul, making her next maneuvers more difficult.
KTS: Lucine Azul partially guards Elisa Kafim's Locust Vents- Plague, taking 4080 damage!
KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Elisa Kafim's Beyond the Void activates, causing Deject!
KTS: Alma Stirner charges into the attack!
KTS: Alma Stirner successfully avoids Elisa Kafim's Locust Vents - Overwhelm
KTS: Liam 7-020 rushes into the attack!
KTS: Liam 7-020 partially guards Elisa Kafim's Draconic Fury - Smash, taking 1739 damage!
KTS: Elisa Kafim has engaged Liam 7-020!
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
"I'm trying!" Is Alto's response to Ranka.
And yet he's not succeeding very well.
Even if he is stronger than the other two, he's not a commando type. And with his rather lithe body type, he doesn't have a lot of body mass to leverage either. This becomes increasingly clear as Yuliana grabs him in return.
Though the words she speaks to him DEFINITELY indicate that she's not in her right mind at this moment. Obviously this is connected to the dragon's appearance some how. Though precisely how, Alto has no clue. This kind of metaphysical stuff is way outside his knowledge and experience!
Sheryl warns the two of them to briefly get clear. Alto doesn't have much choice in that regard as Yuliana pushes him away at that moment. He loses his grip on her, stumbling back. He regains his balance just in time to see Sheryl's purse barreling towards Yuliana's face. He winces in anticipation, even if it's not him it's aimed at. Again, probably overkill in his mind. What's up with those two?
Regardless, Alto prepares for the result, whether the strike connects or Yuliana's dancing gets her out of the way of it. Alto works on a plan in his head. If he can't overpower her, he will just have to try and leverage her own movements to his benefit. Alto only has basic personal combat training, that which he got from joining SMS. But he does have other experiences to draw on...
While Yuliana is busy reacting to the purse swing, Alto moves in to follow up, trying to step around her movements with a well-trained grace that he usually tries to avoid using. Trying once more to restrain Yuliana, though a little more firmly now that he's more aware of her power.
The necklace she wears doesn't go unnoticed. But he doesn't make any connections.
<Pose Tracker> Vitaly Sokolov has posed.
The way that the Dragon seems to interact with the world makes it seem almost like it is 'out of sync' with reality itself. The way that angles aren't what they seem. Its defiance roar continueing regardless of any and all attempts to silence it.
Within the machine, Vitaly twists her arms into an uncomfortable angle and pushes her body forward. Her legs shift, as metal feeds into the machine. Her unusual connective method with the Proto Hazel permits her to adjust the arms of the Hazel Proto quickly, with the BUNNyS system assisting. Multiple manipulator arms can be seen adjusting side-bolts on the larger arms of the Proto Hazel as they GRAB at the maw as it comes its way.
Each one grabs hold. One at the top, one at the bottom. The biting move causing significant stress. Sparks of red and blue fly from the machine. Multiple manipulators quickly adjusting for the metal stress. While at the same time, two of them opening a hatch on its left shoulder, activating a large looking tube and adjusting it forwards.
<"You are not ready to chew on this old meat. I believe young student quote - syesh' eto!">
As Lucine's coordinates come in, a large flash of blue begins to spew from the back of that tube. Aimed right for that gullet as Vitaly's Proto continues to get damaged by the sheer strain on all of its arms and claws from trying to keep that maw open. The massive rocket, normally intended to take out a capital ship, burning forth towards that open gate!
KTS: Vitaly Sokolov targets Elisa Kafim with Long Tube!
KTS: Elisa Kafim's Will Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Elisa Kafim fails to intercept Vitaly Sokolov's Long Tube, taking 6480 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.
Yuliana seems in and out of it, as she thankfully releases Ranka. That doesn't assuage this horrible feeling but... it certainly makes things a bit easier. At least until she pushes Alto. Ranka tries to latch onto her, but she weighs nothing, and all of her senses are ROILING in this proximity to her - and she's far too easily shrugged off by her with those movements.
Stumbling away, then trying to come back - 'Stand clear for a second' Ranka looks at Sheryl, seeming distinctly dizzy, but then her eyes go wide as she sees that spinning purse and - WHAM.
Ranka gawks at her, surprised (and actually pretty impressed) as her hair just jumps, when her eyes catch the necklace. The four green crystals. It's strange, in this space right now, where she can't feel anything...
...she can feel something very wrong
She doesn't know much of anything about what's going on, everything is so chaotic and strange and terrible, Alto grabs onto Yuliana though. And her fingers grasp for the chain the crystals are holding from behind her.
And instantly it's like she's been hit in the gut. The nausea just intensifying, and intensifying.
How is she wearing this!? What is it!? The feeling steals all words from her. The horrible feeling is just being magnified, she wants to scream. She wants to run.
She does neither.
"Hrk-" She pulls to the side from Alto's grip, as her fingers fumble for the clasp, having a lot of difficulty.
The moment it comes loose...
... Ranka stumbles to the side, looking like she's about to swoon and promptly throws up on the sand, clutching her gut as she falls to her knees. Then just starts to dry heave in abject misery, looking like she's having trouble focusing on anything right now.
<Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
As the dragon rears back, bearing down with its wings all raised, Alma brings up the GM III's shield. At first she thinks she's planning to try to defend herself, but --
-- Alma charges forward instead, heedless of the danger. It actually works out great -- the insects splatter against her raised shield and do virtually nothing to it or to her, but now she's gone from cautiously approaching to very much directly in on the dragon and not really sure how or why she did any of that.
Fortunately, Alma's a great improviser. She brings up the classic 'rabbit ear' GM beam sabers, discarding her shield and simply going for it. "I don't know what you are," she says, "but I won't let you hurt these people!"
Still... she feels a little off. That mid-battle moment of clarity she so often relies on simply... doesn't feel like it's coming, at least not on time. Everything about this deployment feels a little sideways, in... exactly the way her previous encounters with Yuliana have, actually, but she can't quite make that mental connection either. Still, she gives her sabers a few quick swings, taking her thrusters into overdrive to stay 'in' on the flying beast with her decidedly not-actually-quite-flying-capable GM.
KTS: Alma Stirner has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
KTS: Alma Stirner has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
KTS: Alma Stirner targets Elisa Kafim with Whirling Blade Advance!
KTS: Elisa Kafim rushes into the attack!
KTS: Elisa Kafim's Will Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Elisa Kafim partially guards Alma Stirner's Whirling Blade Advance, taking 2088 damage!
KTS: Alma Stirner has engaged Elisa Kafim!
KTS: Liam 7-020 has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
KTS: Liam 7-020 has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
<"Wait... Liam, you got a letter too...? It can't be..."> Suddenly, the exercise Lucine deployed to overcome the sight of the eyes and teeth becomes a terrible possibility. This is... Elisa? It was so much easier when she imagined it without the darker connotations: namely, that Elisa could somehow summon such a threat.
<"Is she... a Kaiju-user too...?>" No context is provided for Vitaly and Alma. <"Its hide's too tough... I can't seem to make a mark in it.">
She'll just try another tactic, now that the others are here. She can fall back and then--
The unfortunately still activated radio loyally conveys the yelp, the shaky breathing, the rattling of the Dianthus as it powers through a suddenly snowfall of far too many teeth and chitin.
Pride goes before a fall. She never learns her lesson, a mark of a true Azul.
<"Ngh!"> The aerodynamic 'antlers' of the Dianthus begin to glow and then emit a sharp wave of power as sound, attempting to throw as much sonic aggression on the Dragon as the Dianthus can stand.
KTS: Lucine Azul targets Elisa Kafim with Lunate Crown v.2 Howl!
KTS: Elisa Kafim's Will Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Lucine Azul rattles Elisa Kafim, making her next maneuvers more difficult.
KTS: Elisa Kafim blocks Lucine Azul's Lunate Crown v.2 Howl, taking 1610 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Dispersal has posed.
Sheryl has her own ideas about extending her reach, spinning her purse about, about, and --
The sound of a faux-leather purse impacting with a human cheek is not entirely unlike a SLAP, ringing out through the air. Her head turns; the rest of her turns, in concert.
She keeps turning, as if the rattling forces of all the many items within Sheryl's handbag have done nothing to rattle her brain. They have, of course. But is she really moving under her own power, right now?
She pauses in her motion to leash her scarf about Sheryl, and asks, pulling in:
"Won't you dance with me?"
Occupied with Sheryl, though -- and held in the sway of something tearing the corners of her mind -- she doesn't quite realise Alto's intentions, as he steps up to her again. She finds her arms pulled behind her before she comprehends her situation, and all a sudden her movement comes to a rude halt.
"Open yet open the fragile lattice seeps through into yet after the flood," the words pour from Yuliana's lips, tumbling over each other, without breath or pause. "Turn the key and wake to existence know see what lies between space."
She is crying.
Ranka steals that treasure from her, and Yuliana cries out, as she stumbles back, as the crystals leave her person. "Ahh--!!" Yuliana slumps back, against Alto, face scrunching up in fear. "W-why... what's going on..? Why is... this happening to me...?" Her voice trembles, uncomprehending, overshadowed. "Oh, God..."
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
This is not Liam's first kaiju rodeo. That honor would, of course, go to Jophiel--a tremendous mass of living flesh, warped by Jama sorceries. The monsters he's fought since then have all been bizarre in their own ways, but this is the first time he's encountered one that does not belong. It's as much a wound in the fabric of reality as it is a moving thing. He can't call it 'living'. Is it alive?
Even if it's not, it bleeds like it is.
The GAT-01D falls from the dragon's grip, immediately jetting back to put some distance between it and immediate reprisal. The sudden movement applies G-forces to Liam's ribs, but the thoracic reinforcement stops discomfort before it even starts. Coordinates flash in front of his screen, transmitted by the Dianthus.
Liam doesn't think twice. The Long Dagger abruptly changes direction to follow them, boosting forwards with another one of those lightning-quick, reckless-looking maneuvers. Synthetic seawater turns to steam behind it. Vitaly's presence and the sheer wrongness of this thing have stuffed his emotions--even the worry over Lucine--into a part of himself he can't access right now. There is only the objective, and the controlled tension of the adrenal trance.
The dragon lashes out, again; the Long Dagger ducks and tries to plow past it like a football player running for the touchdown line. Claws gouge into the Fortestra, shearing off most of the right shoulder plate. The Mobile Suit shudders from the impact; Liam's cockpit restraints dig into him, but he merely grimaces, a little. Simultaneously, thousands of tiny little distortions appear on Liam's sensors, racing for--
There's no time to warn her. There is only cold, hollow anger as he pulls up a panel and presses the 'EJECT' pad beneath.
Explosive bolts ignite, one after another, blowing the wrecked remains of the Fortestra clear of the Mobile Suit beneath. The armor hits the water in pieces.
Freed from its bulky over-armor, the Long Dagger rips its second beam saber free, igniting it and slipping into an aggressive stance. Liam tries to close the distance--as much as he can, given how space is behaving--and drive those sabers into the dragon's stomach. From there, he simply tries to open up as big a wound as he can manage.
Liam 7-020 transforms to GAT-01D Long Dagger
KTS: Liam 7-020 targets Elisa Kafim with ES01 Twin Beam Sabers Thrust!
KTS: Elisa Kafim's Will Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Elisa Kafim blocks Liam 7-020's ES01 Twin Beam Sabers Thrust, taking 1110 damage!
KTS: Liam 7-020 has engaged Elisa Kafim!
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
Is it overkill? Or is it just enough kill?
Actually, it turns out that it's underkill. After all, even though Sheryl's Christian Dior pure does indeed smack Yuliana right in the face, she keeps moving, only pausing to lash her scarf around her and pull her in.
Won't you dance with me?
Sheryl, pulled into close proximity, attempts to shove her away as her purse spins around her forearm. "No!!"
Fortunately, this provides more than enough distraction for Alto to get behind Yuliana and stop her movements with his graceful own. Sheryl stumbles and moves away, somehow without falling face-first into the sand, and flashes him a grateful look as she clutches her head. Her ears hurt so much, and getting closer to Yuliana only make that awful headache worse.
With all this going on, Ranka leaps in to tear that crystal necklace off of Yuliana. Sheryl hadn't paid it any mind--it was a little gaudy for a trip to the beach, she'd thought when she first saw it, and that was that. As Ranka tumbles back on the sand, Sheryl goes to her, now tripping for real and falling on her knees over her. She recoils when Ranka vomits, but--Yuliana promptly got better; Ranka promptly got worse; all in time to that necklace. Trusting in Ranka's instincts, she grabs the necklace up off the sand where Ranka dropped it.
The buzzing in her head, sonorous echoes like two waveforms interacting and reverberating off each other, grows cacophonous. Sheryl yelps, high and thin and nigh animalistic; then she slam-dunks it into her purse and shoves said purse away. She doesn't throw up, thank god, but she's extremely pale and doesn't get up from where she's fallen to her knees. Her drop earring glitters where it sways from her ear.
But hey: now they've got a way of transporting that thing without having to touch it.
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
Fold waves intensify.
It would seem indeed that The Hazel is not sufficiently tenderized to be eaten; while the dragon chomps its terrible jaws upon it, instead of consuming the Proto the open maw of the dragon gets a missile for its troubles. The missile rockets down into it, and explodes. The explosion is audible even outside the creature, and it seems to halt for a moment where it is, writhing suddenly, its claws swiping blindly for the Proto Hazel. Lucine's strike shatters some of its scales as it is briefly disabled, even as Liam's transformation rockets him towards the creature. That pair of beam sabers slam into the dragon's stomach, and missile shrapnel drips out with acid pouring towards Liam.
The dragon ROARS once again, terrible and powerful, and reality starts to warp as it does. But that is not all. No, a green haze settles over the dragon, and black smoke wafts up from its wounds, moving towards the sky.
Somewhere, Elisa Kafim smiles more grimly than before.
Alma takes the brunt of what happens next, as the dragon finally claws back into the air--and a tiny, tiny rift tears forth, the Fold engines of the ship suddenly whirring towards life.
From it reaches something like a finger, scrabbling at the edges for an instant and then there is a flash of something terrible, a flash of Awareness of something that cannot be in this world. That Awareness settles upon the one who has most been touched, and that Awareness brings a weight to it that can shatter more than minds. A force makes the GM III suddenly writhe as it all directions try to crush it in green--
In electronic screens, throughout the ship, radio receivers and more all suddenly issue forth message from the same frequencies. Navigation systems, personal radios, television sets, game systems. The same message repeats, over and over and over:
SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS SHE HUNGERS
Not even the barest part of the finger makes it through the tiny rift before it suddenly closes in a burst of magic, and the Fold engines sputter from where they were briefley co-opted.
"NO!" roars a voice out of nothing, unfamiliar and audible over more than radio.
The dragon hovers in the air, and SHRIEKS its horrible black hole sound again.
KTS: Elisa Kafim has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Elisa Kafim has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Elisa Kafim has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Elisa Kafim has activated the Valor Spirit Command.
KTS: Elisa Kafim targets Liam 7-020 and Lucine Azul with Draconic Fury - Sky-shaking Roar.
KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Focus Spirit Command.
KTS: Lucine Azul successfully evades Elisa Kafim's Draconic Fury - Sky-shaking Roar
KTS: Liam 7-020 has activated the Strike Spirit Command.
KTS: Liam 7-020 rushes into the attack!
KTS: Elisa Kafim enervates Liam 7-020, reducing his Morale significantly.
KTS: Liam 7-020 partially guards Elisa Kafim's Draconic Fury - Sky-shaking Roar, taking 4464 damage!
KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Elisa Kafim's Beyond the Void activates, causing Deject!
KTS: Elisa Kafim targets Vitaly Sokolov with Draconic Fury - Claw Swipe!
KTS: Elisa Kafim targets Alma Stirner with Profane Manifestation!
KTS: Vitaly Sokolov blocks Elisa Kafim's Draconic Fury - Claw Swipe, taking 900 damage!
KTS: Elisa Kafim has engaged Vitaly Sokolov!
KTS: Alma Stirner fails to react to Elisa Kafim's Profane Manifestation, taking 7470 damage!
KTS: Elisa Kafim roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable.
KTS: Elisa Kafim completes the Formation attack!
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
Finally! Alto is able to get a decent hold on Yuliana.
... What now?
He hadn't thought that far ahead. Though perhaps now he can start urging her back towards the shelter again.
But then Ranka grabs hold of Yuliana's necklace, pulling it off. Alto has no idea why, though the obvious reaction Ranka has to holding it suggests that it may be the cause of what's going on. Though Alto is concerned for her extreme discomfort, "Ranka!?"
Before Alto can react further though, he finds himself suddenly supporting Yuliana as she apparently returns to her senses. Did that really do it? Was it the necklace all along? Yuliana's words certainly suggest so and Alto has no reason to doubt her.
As such Alto loosens his grip on her arms, trying to shift her a bit to better support her, "Don't worry, it's over." Probably. "But we need to get out of here." Yes, there's still a mecha vs dragon battle taking place in the fake skies relatively near to them. As evidenced by yet another ear assaulting shriek from the dragon.
As Alto begins to try and help get Yuliana moving towards the nearest shetler, he catches sight of Sheryl pocketing the cursed necklace. He quickly asides to her, "Don't lose that... We probably don't want someone else finding it." Whatever it is...
KTS: Lucine Azul has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.
Ranka improves, once the necklace is in the beach sand. It's not a LARGE improvement, this close to Yuliana, and with those awful fold waves radiating... but it's an improvement. Ranka's focus comes back gradually, she doesn't quite pass out.
The first thing she seems to remember, after the fact is Alto's concern, "Alto- I feel..." 'sick' she doesn't say.
The next thing she comprehends is Sheryl touching the necklace, as she croaks, "Don't-" But Sheryl already has - with a shriek before she jams it into her purse.
The fold waves cascade outwards, in this awful alien symphony, this language that she can't understand, this feeling that makes her want to curl up and cry. However...
The moment Alto gets Yuliana to move, the moment she gets beyond that six feet range. She improves considerably, as color returns to her...
... and she gets back up to her feet, and starts to follow after with a plodding gait across the beach sand.
She sure stays more than six feet away from Alto at all times though.
Don't worry Alto, it's not you, it's definitely her.
<Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
Well, that's why being that close was the wrong move, Alma!
That brief flash of awareness knocks Alma on her ass, and she's not ready to move in any coordinated way as her machine gets crushed from the outside. Even when she was at her worst -- even when she was thrusting herself face-first into every bad thing so no one else had to -- she never felt... this alone.
... but these people are counting on her! Even if she were alone against this thing -- she'd need to bring everything she has to bear to fight it! That's why she did this in the first place -- she could do something about this, so...!
Alma readies her sabers again, and -- though making this half-crushed GM III do anything is a little like swimming in molasses -- she tries desperately to carve that dragon down.
Usually she's able to take mediocre hardware in stride, of course, but there's a little bit of irritation in the way she mumbles, "Nngh -- how is the Federation still using these --"
A field motor in the arm blows out as Alma tries a little too hard.
KTS: Alma Stirner targets Elisa Kafim with GM III Twin Beam Sabers Combo!
KTS: Vitaly Sokolov has activated the Resupply Spirit Command.
<Pose Tracker> Vitaly Sokolov has posed.
Vitaly Sokolov firmly answers Lucine; "You give no contact on open comm. Who do you suspect? Information could be useful to G-Hound intelligence." The woman points out to her, trying to press her for information with an authoritative tone.
The Proto Hazel suddenly engages a beam saber from the Gundam at the center of it all, striking out at the claws as the massive reactor-fed saber catches the claw. The machine being pushed back by the sheer weight of the 'dragon', some of the claws tearing across the Gundam's own large body, skating through the air for a moment as the Minovsky Flight system attempts to keep the unwieldy machine righter!
The machine then moves its arms in a defensive pattern as the dragon roars once more. The green haze moving from its wounds. Moving towards the sky. The woman looks up to the dome, checking if the dome was showing any signs of melting or damage. The cry of the dragon pushing the machine further back just a bit.
The woman's attention then is drawn by the sudden whirring of the Fold Engine. The woman tries to immediately get into comms with Island-3's team.
~"Island-3. Why are your engines activating?"~ She demands to know. Do they even have permission to activate their fold engines and depart right now!? The woman really rather not fold out in the middle of all of this. Then a force engages the GM III, and her demand to get information from the Island-3 administration instead gets her that message.
SHE HUNGERS
Repeated over and over again. Even her BUNNyS system is getting the visual interference. <"This is NERV problem."> Pause.
A sudden 1:1 laser-comm. ~"Unit Liam."~ A firm pressure placed on that 'Unit' as she addresses the young man suddenly. ~"When this is over, wish you to report to NERV, and return information they have on this topic."~ In a tone that rejects any 'buts' or rejection. This isn't a request. It is a demand.
Then suddenly, that 'No!' calls out as the Fold Engine sputters, an the dragon shrieks its viscious sound. <"Now. Silence creature."> As the Hazel moves forwards again, keeping those beam sabers activated. The claws trying to grab hold of the Dragon's body, as the sabers swing to try and sear its wounds and re-cauterize them!
KTS: Vitaly Sokolov targets Elisa Kafim with Hrududu II - Long Blade Emission Assault!
KTS: Elisa Kafim's Will Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Elisa Kafim blocks Alma Stirner's GM III Twin Beam Sabers Combo, taking 4920 damage!
KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Alma Stirner's Guard Shift activates, causing Sparkle!
KTS: Alma Stirner has engaged Elisa Kafim!
KTS: Elisa Kafim's Will Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Vitaly Sokolov rattles Elisa Kafim, making her next maneuvers more difficult.
KTS: Elisa Kafim blocks Vitaly Sokolov's Hrududu II - Long Blade Emission Assault, taking 1725 damage!
KTS: Vitaly Sokolov has engaged Elisa Kafim!
KTS: Vitaly Sokolov begins a Formation attack!
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Dispersal has posed.
Sheryl snatches the necklace from the sand -- and may feel, immediately, just how TERRIBLE a decision it is; the last man who spent too much time around these crystals went quite, quite mad.
How long, then, has Yuliana been hiding it beneath her scarves?
Alto loosens his grip and tries to help support Yuliana onwards -- which brings her own attention to what Sheryl does, despite the horror of it. "... don't..." She says, weakly, and it might be a warning. That it echoes Ranka's is -- certainly a statement, positioned together in frame.
Even so, Alto is able to get Yuliana moving, one stumbling step, another --
The engines roar, loud around them, and Yuliana stops dead. Her back arches, and her muscles stiffen, gaze wrenched up to the sky.
"SHE HUNGERS...!"
Yuliana trembles -- shakes, violently; as if a chassis ill-equipped for the engine she feels herself wrenched asunder from the inside, for one brief, horrible moment.
Oh -- it was certainly supposed to work, if not for the horrible, sheer reality of that grasping fingertip. A reality slammed shut in an instant, all possibilities locked and barred.
The lock slumps -- Yuliana; Yuliana slumps, falling to the sand like so many strewn green crystals.
And, yes, there is horror in her eyes.
"Oh," she sighs, tremulous, and gives no voice to her regret -- that it wasn't enough -- that it brought such anger into the world, with that one, roaring word.
Oh, darling...
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
"I'm all for that," Sheryl murmurs when Alto says they need to get out of here. She rests a concerned hand on Ranka's shoulder, and the two of them wobble to their feet; Sheryl stumbles over to her purse and grabs it gingerly by the handle. When nothing happens, she breathes a sigh of relief and picks it up, holding it just as gingerly away from herself.
"Absolutely not," she murmurs back to Alto. "I'm getting rid of this thing first thing I can. Don't suppose you know anyone who specializes in bizarre jewelry disposal?"
Sharp as her tongue is, it's a front. While she's not nearly as bad off as Ranka, she grits her teeth at the sound of that draconic roar and hurries off with Yuliana and her friends. For a moment, Sheryl feels bad about Yuliana; maybe she'd been harassing Ranka because of that weird necklace--maybe she's a victim in all this. She looks over at her to apologize for hitting her.
Then Yuliana howls, in time to the roar of the fold engines, that 'SHE HUNGERS!' Sheryl stares at her.
She doesn't know what's going on. She sure doesn't understand the cosmic horrors going on up in the artificial sky. So she decides to keep her mouth shut and her legs moving.
The sooner this necklace is someone else's problem, the better.
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
Direct hit. Liam's lips peel back as he cleaves into the beast's stomach. On most creatures, this would be a lethal wound, but he can take nothing about the dragon for granted. Case in point: the startling speed with which it reacts. Without its Fortestra, the Long Dagger is more maneuverable, but it can't take as much punishment. It plows through the surf, rushing beneath the beast to try and put use its bulk as a shield. It only partially works.
The roar reverberates through Liam's cockpit, blowing open a machinery panel to his immediate right. The displays flicker erratically. Lights turn red on the board as motor bundles and electronics start to fail. A vague dizziness settles into Liam's head as his training and inner-ear implants strain against unearthly, disorienting force.
he HUD and radio stabilize just in time to catch that horrible demand. Liam stares at it for a moment, and fresh horror blossoms in his brain. He feels like an ant crawling at the foot of a Mobile Suit, sensing something immense and unfathomably powerful, by comparison--and unable to do anything against it. But the woman in the strange blue Mobile Armor gives him an order, and while there is something far more terrifying on the field, it doesn't mean she isn't scary, too. "Understood," Liam says.
The Long Dagger keeps moving. It rushes forwards, the surf parting around it as Liam stabs a Beam Saber forth towards the dragon's sternum. (Does it even have one?) The second swing goes wide, aiming right for a wrist--where the carpal bridge would be on a creature that made sense. The Mobile Suit surges out from beneath the dragon's other side, and leaps into the air, sweeping its sabers out to cut through hide and wing. At the height of its jump, it drives them down at the dragon one last time.
It takes either a skilled pilot or a stupid daredevil to pull these kinds of maneuvers in a normal Mobile Suit, much less one like the Long Dagger. Liam does them as if by rote. He has to survive. Only then will he be allowed to feel.
KTS: Liam 7-020 targets Elisa Kafim with ES01 Twin Beam Sabers Combo!
KTS: Elisa Kafim's Will Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Elisa Kafim blocks Liam 7-020's ES01 Twin Beam Sabers Combo, taking 5610 damage!
KTS: Liam 7-020 has engaged Elisa Kafim!
KTS: Liam 7-020 completes the Formation attack!
<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.
Finally able to get Yuliana on the move, Alto glances over in Ranka's direction. She seems to be looking better, which is a relief to him. Though she is oddly maintaining her distance from Yuliana and him. He gives her a bit of a questioning look.
Alto freezes at the sounds of the fold drive coming online, "What!? That's impossible!" There's no way the Island ship could be attempting to fold. Not while still attached to the fleet! That would tear it apart!
Alto has very little time to think on the consequences of a section of the merged fleet folding out on its own as Yuliana quickly goes into some kind of seizure. He desperately tries to hold on to her to keep her from hurting herself. He doesn't know who exactly hungers or what for, but he's far too occupied to think more on it.
Finally the two fall to the sand again. The sound of the fold drive powering down again brings forth a sigh of relief from Alto. He did not want to see first-hand what that would look like. Especially after he catches the look in Yuliana's eyes.
Once more helping Yuliana up again to continue getting her somewhere safer, Alto responds to Sheryl's question with a light scoff, "No. Not exactly a service I use." But this does get him thinking on what they SHOULD do with it... Letting Yuliana have it back seems like a bad idea. The obvious answer is to give it to the authorities. But that idea makes Alto feel a little unsure, by simple virtue that the necklace seems too dangerous to just hand over to somebody he doesn't trust. That thought thus leads to what he feels is the best solution: "We should give it to Major Lee." Alto's eyes naturally glance in Ranka's direction as he says this, before he continues, "I imagine he'd have some idea of what to do with it." And Alto certainly trusts him to do the right thing.
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
"......" she hungers she hungers she hungers
The baseball cap on Lucine's head has shifted, and indeed, if it weren't for the ponytail in the back doing its due diligence, it'd likely be an annoying fluttering in the air as the Dianthus dipped and rose like a bright hummingbird against the green mass of the Dragon of the Void.
she hungers she hungers she hungers
'You give no contact on open comm. Who do you suspect? Information could be useful to G-Hound intelligence.'
<".... I don't know. It wouldn't be good to give names when I have no evidence between one point and another."> she hunger she hunger she hungers
It's too big a jump to connect a vague threat on a ship weeks ago to an anonymous note given to Lucince and Liam, and... all of this. Especially when it's more likely tied with the Devil of Tsutsujidai.<"It's like the letter I got before the attack... you heard how hard it was to connect one and the other, right? The only reason I even went to my unit beforehand was because....">
Because she was a Newtype, on top of that, a paranoid person. How many times had she done something because she felt in danger, only to have nothing happen? How can you tell between anxiety and genuine insight?
And how can you convey that you sometimes are able to sense things going bad without revealing your own terribly unguarded secret?
<"It's nothing.">
she hunger she hungers she hungers NO!
"Gh!" The shriek of a black hole slings towards the deep magenta and silver craft. Thrusters power on and the Dianthus retreats down, avoiding the terrible impact with the barest of margins.
She was lucky, but-- <"Liam!"> The protective emotional shield the Dianthus provides is threadbare against the biased concern she shows towards Liam's craft. <"Please be safe."> There's another craft too, unfamiliar to Lucine, but in this moment, it's that of an ally's, and it's badly off. <"The person in the GM III...>" Alma. <"Please hold in there... if you need to retreat, I'll do my best to cover for you.">
Zipping up high into the air over the Dragon of Void, the Dianthus, brandishes its glaive like a piece of moonlight-- that is, if there was the right lighting up here above the green fog. Then, in a controlled dive, the Dianthus cuts down, boosters and momentum used in tandem to deliver the sharp point to the topmost part of the beast below.
<"... Just... keep going!!!>"
KTS: Lucine Azul targets Elisa Kafim with CL0-V3 Glaive Dragoon!
KTS: Elisa Kafim's Will Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage.
KTS: Elisa Kafim blocks Lucine Azul's CL0-V3 Glaive Dragoon, taking 6270 damage!
KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Lucine Azul's In Her Blood activates, causing Control Bonus!
KTS: Elisa Kafim has been defeated!
KTS: Lucine Azul has engaged Elisa Kafim!
KTS: Lucine Azul roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable.
<Pose Tracker> Elisa Kafim has posed.
People are counting on Alma, and that prompts her to act. Even with the strange way space warps around the Void Dragon, her beam sabers slash through terrible scales and acidic flesh.
A NERV problem, perhaps. The island's systems are too overwhelmed to answer Vitaly immediately; they focus on making sure the system doesn't, indeed, try to jump and tear itself apart in the process. But the beam sabers of the Hazel slash into the dragon's flesh further still, stopping gouts of acid from dropping down to the ground where people might still be.
The Long Dagger, meanwhile, is still moving. The dragon has something like a sternum, but the attacks themselves do not slow it. Not at first, at least; it moves as fluidly as anything even when it is horrifically damaged, even as sabers carve through hide and rend a hole in its great wing. It is incredible work, really--but it is not enough yet.
Not until Dianthus brings out her glaive, and tears into the beast's form. With another roar of defiance, it takes the glaive to the neck--and BURSTS apart into buzzing, hissing locusts that scatter in all directions... and begin to fall out of the sky, dying as quickly as they are 'born'. The ground will be thick with them where the Dragon was.
The engines are quiet. The radio interface ceases. And down, down somewhere below, a woman in black hurls a bed through a hotel window with a horrific shattering and a shriek of rage.
What remains can be cleaned, and restored. ...But those who watched will not soon forget what they have seen.
<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.
Ranka gives Sheryl a grateful look and a wan smile at the concerned hand on her shoulder. As the two stumble away, Ranka flinches at the dragon's roar. Ranka has no idea what's going on either, just like Sheryl.
As Alto gives her that questioning look, Ranka tries her best to convey the fact that it's not him non-verbally, with a glance Yuliana's way while still looking forward at him, a cant of her head. Though she can't exactly... explain why.
That would be a whole huge conversation on its own.
And then the fold drive comes on, and Ranka looks dumbfounded, "Right now!? How? Why?" Yuliana's state though draws her condition, with that call, with that sudden seizure from Yuliana, that causes the two to collapse.
And the engines abruptly go off.
"This is all... too much." Ranka says softly, feeling overwhelmed, at just the sheer and utter chaos of the day...
The question of the necklace comes up from Sheryl, and Ranka looks like she's drawing a blank, "I don't even know what it is, to even know who we'd give it to..."
Alto suggests Major Lee though, and Ranka gives him a startled look, "That's-" Pause, then eventually gives a hesitant nod, "-alright. Maybe he's run into something like it before? We've just got to warn him to be careful..."
Ranka is definitely fretting, as she doesn't want her big brother to even TOUCH that thing, after seeing what it did to Sheryl too.
However, Alto's right, it's the best call.
"I'll let him know."
Reaching for her shoulder, she grabs her phone, and starts to try to squish a hasty text to her brother...
... because she has absolutely no idea that her phone is being monitored.
<Pose Tracker> Vitaly Sokolov has posed.
As the Dragon falls, and the locusts soon form, Vitaly watches with a worried expression. This goes well beyond her understanding. She is, by all means, a soldier. She can direct people to give her information. But she isn't an egghead. She isn't someone of the mystical arts.
So the Hazel Proto continues to float there for a moment longer. Looking at the clouds that had previously been released. At the acid that had been dropped to the ground. And as such, the machine drops down towards the sands below, and begins to sear away any remaining acid with its beam-saber.
While watching the dead locusts there. Searing them away at the same time. Considering what she's just witnessed in semi-stunned silence. Or perhaps it would be better to call it... pondering silence.
<Pose Tracker> Yuliana Dispersal has posed.
Jewellery disposal...
She's dazed, but Yuliana still listens, as the teenagers discuss just what to do with their ill-gotten gains. Thanks to Alto helping her up, she's still in position to hear him suggest Major Lee -- and her mind swims, and she wonders if she should say something, but the thoughts all are drowning.
It takes a particular type of envious gaze, to look upon green fold treated this way... and even Yuliana is swayed, when they gather enough power.
(From her -- transgressions?)
A locust does its best to fly, before its life is horribly, tragically cut short; it lands, finally, on Yuliana's shoulder. About the size of a human fist, it dominates the curve. She looks to the locust, and frowns with an expression of vague contempt, as she lifts a hand to brush the dying failure away.
"I'm sorry," she starts, as she stumbles off. "Th--thank you, I just... I don't feel well... I, I think I need to sit down, call someone, I don't know..."
(And the next time she's alone, she certainly does send out an informative text.)
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
The Long Dagger lands in the surf, sinking up to its ankles in the sand. It slips back into a fighting stance, sabers raised, as its pilot prepares for another strike--
And Lucine comes down on the beast, spear gleaming. Locusts the size of apples scatter across the beach. Liam manages to shudder at the sight of it--he's used to things exploding or breaking apart when they die, but this makes his skin crawl. He breathes deeply, and allows himself to sag against his restraints for a moment--just so he doesn't have to support himself. Something else can do that for him.
"<Lucine,>" Liam tightbeams, a moment later. "<Status?>" His voice is still hollow and eerily focused, but the fact that he's doing so is a good sign, maybe? "<Radioing emergency crew once the comms die down. Requesting biohazard evaluation team.>" Just in case. "<I... don't feel well.>"
<Pose Tracker> Lucine Azul has posed.
Down, down, down the Dragon goes, and the Dianthus goes with it, stuck as it is to the thing's degenerating neck. Large locusts ping off of the cockpit's display like hollow hailstones, masking the point between ground and sky.
When the glaive's rooted status eases, Lucine can't tell the difference between air and sand, ocean and clouds, light and shadow, up and down.
The last batch of dying locusts clings to the falling dancer of the skies, and its pilot instinctively clings to the automatic controls at the first glimpse of tainted sand and surf.
Twirling down, Lucine gains control of the Dianthus's fall and makes a semi-graceful landing on the sand.
The cockpit opens, dislodging a few more husks, and Lucine finally allows her body to unclench, seeing Sheryl, Ranka, and Alto. Her stomach clenches up again at the sight of the stumbling Yuliana, but it is strange... was she... not a part of all this?
Was it all her paranoia?
Hearing Liam's voice, she picks up the radio. <"Yeah, I'm okay... Liam... you okay?"> She sits back in her seat. <".... Ranka and Sheryl are with Alto. Yuliana seems to be parting off with them...">
He feels sick.
"<Hold on. I'll come over.>" Seeing Vitaly burning the sand, Lucine clarifies, <"In the Dianthus. I'll come to you. Hold tight, okay...?">