2023-06-20: Underground Terror - Englynion y Beddeau
- Cast: C.C., Kallen Kozuki, Sayoko Shinozaki, Roger Smith, Killy Garrett, Liam 7-020, Kaworu Nagisa
- Where: Paradigm City
- Date: U.C. 0097 06 20
- Summary: The Black Book of Carmarthen, Act 2: Verses of the Graves. Paradigm City's surface collides with its depths.
<Pose Tracker> C.C. has posed.
'Even without the forgotten past of 40 years ago - man would still be a creature that fears the dark.'
'Darkness is what is unknown - and the fear of unknowing is enough to make one deny everything. Their past. Their memories. Everything about their very essence.'
-----------------------
It doesn't matter what company it is. A bakery, a construction firm, even the Military Police. In the end, they all answer to the Paradigm Group - the corporation that serves as both god and state. Its towering, gleaming domes are as monumental as they are mysterious - funicular railways winding up their arcing megastructures, these structures built by man's own hands yet inhospitable to themselves.
The job for today is presented from a 'Patricia Lovejoy', a reporter for Paradigm Press. And yet, upon meeting her, it's an oh so familiar sight. The outfit is different - the hairstyle as well - but it's undeniably Angel, the mysterious woman from the previous encounter.
The contract for today's Negotiators? To track down on Michael Seebach - a reporter who disappeared 3 months ago. The top brass of Paradigm themselves want a manuscript he'd been working on...and yet, none have been able to find him.
-the search for Michael Seebach leads in many directions. He had friends and family - a myriad of contacts, as needed by a reporter. A wife - and someone he was seeing on the side. Two apartments, and a number of sightings...some say they heard his voice, murmuring about memories and the past in a side alley, but they turned only to see the clattering of a manhole cover.
...And yet, as though by serendipity, all paths converge on a fixed point. His last sighting - his last statement - was to venture as deep underground as he could go.
The first layer beneath the streets was once a subway system, but there's nary a rail car in sight. As with many things in Paradigm, it's both old and derelict, yet immaculate, with little in the way of rubble or blockages, as though time is the only force to have weathered it. And yet, the deeper one goes, paradoxically, the 'newer' the materials. Stone gives way to metal, which gives way to gleaming ceramic. Rusty iron rungs are replaced with those that look like they were installed yesterday.
...and once the investigators, likely traveling together for safety in this perilous depths, reach the monolithic and mysterious halls at Paradigm's furthest depths...
-reality gives way to fear.
It's much like being at the very 'edge' of Tsutsujidai. Close to the boundary of the physical and the immaterial. This is a place that resonates with the mind, like a grand instrument taking the wind of thoughts and turning them into echoes and songs from their origin. Fears walk fleetingly through the halls. Memories alight - whether fresh and clear, or dim and forgotten. The stark white structures give way to hallucination.
...It's no wonder people in Paradigm fear to even speak of the underground. This 'truth' that this maze invokes . . . is one that would devour those who'd delve into it.
Roger Smith teleports in.
KTS: Kaiju Navi has deployed in Speed Type Kaiju. KTS: Kaiju Navi has changed loadout.
<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.
A missing persons hunt seemed like it would be a fairly normal, even mundane job at first. It even started out looking that way! Two women, all sorts of contacts... a likely result that he'd simply been murdered by someone looking for revenge. She really should have known better, when That Woman was the one giving them the job. Again. She didn't call 'Patricia' out on it, but she's spent enough time with a certain Green Witch to know a thing or two about enigmatic women with a hundred fake names.
But no. She didn't listen to that part of her mind that was telling her something was crooked here. And now she's in the subways. Not a problem on its own. Gods know she's spent just... so much time in the subways under Nagoya and other parts of Japan, both in the Guren, and her old Glasgow. No...
The problem came when they all went deeper. As the passage of time seems to reverse itself... each layer becoming newer. Cleaner and more advanced. And then... things got Strange. She starts to see images. Of long buried disasters. Of events both recent and past. A mix of sights and sounds... both familiar and not. For a moment she thinks she hears the Jama Queen and her generals. Another moment, a voice she Knows somehow was that of Jophiel. Endlessly the voices distort and revolve, never remaining on the same scene long enough for her to grip at it. Never long enough to even begin picking it apart. Instead, plunging her deeper into hallucination, as her vitals spike and go erratic to anyone who might be watching such a thing. If anyone could see her eyes... no, in this place they wouldn't see her eyes at all.
The darkness is smart. Enough to know which fears would no longer grip her. Enough to know what it CAN seize upon.
<Pose Tracker> Sayoko Shinozaki has posed.
The new co-conspirator for the Black Knights has already proven some worth on this mission, using her unique skills to get into more difficult places without being noticed. Allowing the gathering of clues about the whereabouts of the missing reporter. And they all lead to the city's underground.
As such, the black Savage, from the previous battle with the giant eel, trudges through the abandoned subway system. Though this time, Sayoko has remembered to re-activate her IFF, with a valid Black Knights code. She's a little rusty as far as piloting mobile weapons goes! It's taking some getting used to again.
Descending into the dark is not of concern to Sayoko. In fact it's in the dark where she does her second best work. It's when the lines between reality and unreality begin to blur that Sayoko starts to get confused. Unwanted thoughts creep at the edge of her mind. Worries about failure. Failure to serve in her duties. Failure to protect those she cares about.
The worries are reinforced by memories that begin to surface. Memories of a sick Nunnally. Of items forgotten on shopping lists. Of a roast accidentally burnt to a crisp.
Sayoko shudders briefly, before remarking to her allies, <"This place is... Disagreeable.">
<Pose Tracker> Roger Smith has posed.
It would have been easy to refuse. Angel has deceived him once before - and had brazenly doubled down, with this 'Patricia Lovejoy' persona. But, of course... if she had reason to be interested, so did he. Anything that woman wanted could be nothing but trouble.
And Seebach had done a very good job of making a ghost of himself. In the end, so much of what he'd been able to track down, even with the aid of the military police, had ended up ash... a handful of raving manuscripts, that's all.
Which meant descending down, below even the immense labryinth of tunnels the Megadeus itself called home, into a denser and darker labryinth still. He'd seen the upper layers of these tunnels before - almost a city of their own, with many signs of life - but these lower levels had always held a dread. He'd decided to tap his allies at NERV, borrowing Liam and Kaworu to delve into the deeper mysteries.
Gripping a ladder, working his way down a long vertical descent, the dread punches through.
I'm afraid? I don't know of what, but this place...
Distracted, trembling, the flashlight tumbles out of Roger's hand. An annoyed groan turns nauseated, his ankle slips against the rung - and Roger himself topples down, landing with a grunt on the strange, smooth floor. It's disorienting - there's no memory, or maybe too much, memories that don't match, a dozen answers to the question 'who is Roger Smith'?
He takes a deep breath and peers up... into a gleaming crescent of light. It slowly retreats, leaving only a curious pale face and red hair.
"Dorothy? What on earth are you doing down here?!"
"Looks like your physiological responses are returning to normal."
Typical Dorothy. Dusting himself off, Roger peers up the ladder for his NERV comrades, making space for them to hopefully find their way into this space more agreeably.
<Pose Tracker> Killy Garrett has posed.
Killy wasn't a stranger to tracking down people, and this one had everything you could basically need to track someone down, lovers, contacts, sightings - seemed simple enough. All the clues led to a rather peculiar underground subway system - the architecture seemingly becoming newer and newer the deeper they went, this didn't seem simple after all.
The dark didn't scare her, until things got strange that is. Voices, images, and sights all played around her - random memories that were once forgotten resurfacing. As she hallucinated, long lost comrades, enemies, fairies... All moved around her. With a shake of her head, Killy was atleast able to reply to Sayoko in the middle of it all. "It... Most certainly is."
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
There have been a lot of missing persons lately. The pattern doesn't fit BioNet activity, unless this is part of someone's new and unprecedented scheme. When Roger came to the rest of NERV, asking about a single missing person in Paradigm, he was... not optimistic. Three months is a long time for a trail to cool.
But he's here now, descending into the underworld on foot while the Neo Helios waits above, outside a deserted subway station.
Liam climbs down after Roger, hand over hand. His hackles rise as familiar fear grips him. He looks down, and for an instant, a shadow plays across the stark white walls. The armored trace suit suddenly feels about as protective as tissue paper. The shadow is shapeless, but for a moment Liam sees the gleam of a cycloptic eye--
"Gh," Liam grunts, and he pauses to try and collect himself. "Psychoreactive phenomena...?" he says, to himself. Roger's stopped. He falls--
And before Liam can clamber down to help him, Dorothy is there. Why is she here?
<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.
Negotiators, plural, hm. It's not entirely incorrect to call Kaworu that, especially since this time he's come in the company of actual Negotiator, Roger Smith. Liam will have that same privilege, the three of them working together, or more accurately, Kaworu and Liam working with Roger. It's for that same or at least a similar reason that a certain white giant is granted permission to lurk at the edge of the dome, connected by an umbilical cable to a special NERV train run specially to Paradigm City. Just in case.
The news that Angel is involved in this case too, if under a new pseudonym, is fascinating. So are the details of the search of Michael Seebach, from the would-be banal information to the arson. However, Kaworu--and Liam, of course--are here for the final leg of the search: to plumb a place where there was once something called a 'subway.'
Kaworu is more fearless than most, in his unassuming, laidback way. He strolls into the feared underground as if taking a constitutional through the local park.
It isn't strange to him that the deeper layers are newer. Lilim start at ground level, after all. But there is something down there. He can feel it as soon as they start descending. It's a familiar feeling, even solely in the context of this time around. It's much like the edges of Tsutsuidai, after all: a soap bubble between 'reality' and 'cognition.' Roger reaches the bottom first, in a fashion--that is, he slips from the final ladder and lands hard. Kaworu leaves the ladder itself to Liam, opting to hop down and land light next to Roger. He turns to ask him if he's all right, hands tucked the pockets of his administrator suit.
But...
There is a cacophonous resonance here. A river of mental energies--a stream of... Memories. Giants loom as they meet each other in battle. Children marked tomato-red beholden to the scenario.
Floating in the azure ether as he faces himself.
All around them, a crowd promenades by in old-fashioned clothes, and there's something about it that feels horribly wrong--like a music box playing over a murder scene. Even all that wouldn't necessarily disturb Kaworu. However, as he raises his eyes to acknowledge the parade, an explosive and completely unexpected pain bursts from one side of his head. Clutching his skull, he staggers hard into the wall, then pulls down his hand.
It's slick with something red.
For a moment, he only stares. The parade of terror passes by, emitting a terrible stench. Then he shuts his eyes and shakes his head sharply. It throbs, it throbs, it throbs--but the throbbing gradually recedes. He takes a deep, deliberate breath, and considers his hand anew.
It's clean.
His skull will ache for a while yet. He's gotten used to that by now, even though this has been the worst since he encountered Infinity, and before that, since he was shot in the head in the first place. For now, he eases off the wall and gives a polite nod to Dorothy, as if she'd been here with them the whole time.
"So these are the 'Memories' you mentioned," he remarks to Roger. He looks from him to Liam and adds, "Are you both all right?"
<Pose Tracker> C.C. has posed.
For some, whose memories have been locked away for good - the past is far too much to bear. For those who call Paradigm home - it's enough to break them. Indeed, for the past 40 years...none who have come down here have survived with their minds in one piece.
-But then, perhaps that's the role outsourced actors have to play. Those who retain the past can flirt with the precipice of cognition...and stay themseles.
It isn't too long, gratefully, before the harsh psychic cutting of this space gives way to a vast, cavernous site. Deep here beneath Paradigm City...is almost a second city in replica, small enough in scale for its 'railways to only reach up to the ankles, yet still of such ambition that the buildings remain towering, where stepping into it becomes maze-like. Countless large tunnels all converge on this place. Except for one...
-There, an incursion of rubble and soil surrounds a skeletal Megadeus, dark and cold. Upon its shoulder, a shadowy figure steps forth.
"Well done, well done! Most impressive that even dogs of Paradigm can get this far. But that's to be expected, is it not? The past is the origin of all things - and all things converge upon it, given enough time! Spend long enough attempting to bury it, and countless damned souls will rummage desperately at the soil!"
Clad in the gray coat of a reporter, the man's face is covered entirely by bandages, save for his eyes - one clear, one covered by glass - and for his mouth - widening in a stained smoker's grin.
"I am Schwarzwald! The man you know as Michael Seebach is dead. No! It is better to say he never lived at all! 40 years ago, all of us forgot who we are - the unimaginable feats we were capable of! This here...this Megadeus...it's nothing special in the slightest! Any of us could harness its power, if only we could re-gain our memories..." His hand outstretches - wrapped in ever more bandages, flowing and fluttering in the stagnant breeze of the model metropolis. "And look! Look what's become of me, for daring to try and re-awaken the past! Wouldn't it only be reasonable...if all of you became the same way?!"
His manic grin makes this sound almost prideful. Like his ruined body is proof of his validity, his reclamation of the past. With a breathy laughter though...it's revealed that it's as much a threat as anything. Flicking open a lighter, the Schwarzwald tosses the flame to the ground...revealing a maze of oil-soaked banages, slowly catching alight...
...right until Dorothy comes into view.
Lights across the slumbering Megadeus flicker and brighten. The earth begins to shift, the ground begins to rumble, as the skeletal titan reaches, and rises, its posture hunched over, limbs lanky and flexible. From his perch, Schwarzwald stumbles, with a loud "Why?! Why has it awakened?!" . . . before tumbling into the flames of his own making, with a wild scream of agony...!
The Megadeus wastes no time. Leaping towards everything moving, primal and angry, chasing down those who have ventured here in mobile weapons, and on their own two feet in turn...!
KTS: Sayoko Shinozaki has deployed in RK-92 Savage.
KTS: Sayoko Shinozaki has changed loadout. KTS: Kaworu Nagisa has deployed in Evangelion Unit-04. KTS: Killy Garrett has deployed in Me-02R Messer 'Killer Harpy Mk II'. KTS: Liam 7-020 has deployed in NRV-00 Neo Helios. KTS: Liam 7-020 has changed loadout. KTS: Kallen Kozuki has deployed in Type-02 Guren Mk. II. KTS: Kaiju_Navi has deployed as a Boss for 6 opponents. KTS: Roger Smith has deployed in The Big O. KTS: EN Barrier activated!
<Pose Tracker> Sayoko Shinozaki has posed.
Thankfully they are leaving behind the portion of this trip that gave everyone, well, a trip. And it is now upon an underground city that they stumble. Walking the empty streets in her Arm Slave, Sayoko muses, <"This place is... Quite the wonder."> Certainly beats the disagreeable section beforehand.
They soon come upon the individual they are looking for. Or at least, it's probably the individual they are looking for. Or is it? He seems to indicate otherwise. But that is definitely the coat of a reporter. It's hard to be sure, what with the bandages covering his face...
The man laments the state of Paradigm City and its people. Something which Sayoko could certainly empathize with. But the black Savage reaches out in the direction of the bandaged man, Sayoko's voice echoing from its speakers, <"Ah... Master See... Master Schwarzwald. That may not be the best place to sta-">
The skeletal robot comes to life, rising up and sending Schwarzwald into the flames.
<"... Oh dear."> The Savage turns to look at the other Black Knights, <"Do you think this will affect the completion of our task?">
Whether or not one could consider this mission they've been given completed will probably be dependant on whether they make it out alive. As such, as the undead Megadeus starts to go after them, Sayoko quickly begins to maneuver. Heading down a side street, she reaches her machine's arm behind its back, before returning it with a kunai in hand. She sends the throwing weapon flying at the skeleton's head. But this one in particular doesn't stab its target, so much as explode on impact.
KTS: Sayoko Shinozaki targets Kaiju Navi with Explosive Kunai Throw! KTS: Sayoko Shinozaki has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Kaiju Navi has activated the Alert Spirit Command. KTS: Kaiju Navi charges into the attack! KTS: Sayoko Shinozaki rattles Kaiju Navi, making its next maneuvers more difficult. KTS: Kaiju Navi partially guards Sayoko Shinozaki's Explosive Kunai Throw, taking 5130 damage! <Pose Tracker> Roger Smith has posed.
"I'm okay. Wounded my pride more than anything..." Roger takes a moment to quirk a curious eyebrow at Dorothy, though he too has come to accept her simply finding her way as she pleases sometimes.
"I suppose you've never experienced terror, right Dorothy? Do you care to know what it's like?"
"I don't understand the emotions you people have. But even my father never obtained the knowledge of how I operate, and could never understand how I think."
Holding a moment for Liam and Kaworu to join, the pair descend through the tunnels, their ominous glow and winding corridors drawing them towards that strange false city.
"Doctor Wayneright... He was a chief scientist in the field, wasn't he?"
"He was a craftsman."
"Then he was a very skilled craftsman. Kaworu's said as much too."
"He never understood the core technology. He only constructed me and put me together, in the hopes of getting back his dead daughter."
"It's impossible for a human being to know everything. And we fear the unknown. But when something frightens you, there are those who turn away, and those who face that fear, and conquer it. People aren't all the same - "
Roger stops, startled, gazing on that Paradigm-in-miniature, and the figure astride it. The Megadeus especially draws his attention, staring at it and spotting strangely familiar features.
"Is that... Big O's Archetype?"
The flames leap, and Roger retreats - but Dorothy strides forward, towards the machine, and a deep stream of noise erupts from her, incomprehensible as language - except, indeed, to this Archetype as it begins its rise. She stops, startled, gazing up at the titanic machine.
Is this... like the other Dorothy, before?
She slumps back, and Roger dashes forward, straining to support her.
"It has begun living..."
There's no more time to waste. Roger leans in, lifting his watch and calling for the Megadeus. "Big O, Showtime!"
There's a moment's delay... Both of them sprint clear of the colossal machine, clear distress in Dorothy's normally steady voice as she howls at the strange machine.
"That thing should not be allowed to exist!"
The Megadeus plummets through the ceiling of this vast underground chamber, and Roger wraps his hand around that of the Android, the two of them leaping smoothly into its hand and from there to the cockpit.
"Remember... it's only natural to feel fear. But I'm here with you, Dorothy."
"No... no..."
"That thing's a monster that has nothing to do with you! Big O, it's no friend of yours either! Don't hold anything back!"
And indeed it doesn't, the torso of the great black titan opening up on a tremendous rack of missiles, which barrages the strange skeletal machine without remorse.
KTS: Roger Smith targets Kaiju Navi with Missile Party Barrage! KTS: Roger Smith has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Roger Smith enervates Kaiju Navi, reducing its Morale significantly. KTS: Kaiju Navi partially guards Roger Smith's Missile Party Barrage, taking 7440 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Roger Smith's Negotiator activates, causing Deject!
<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.
For an excruciating moment, it feels as if she's going to be lost in these memories. In the sights and sound of days and years long past. And yet, as sure as she begins to sink deeper, hearing something all the more bizarre... The darkness spits her out, into the cavernous chamber. The realm of... she can only compare it to a movie set. One of those fake model cities where a show might film kaiju scale fights, using people in painstakingly crafted suits.
A thought which is pushed from her mind, as her gaze trails higher. To the bones of a titanic machine, not unlike that of the Negotiator. Were his stripped of its outer shell. And riding it... "A mummy?" Her first thought is that this Schwarzwald looks like one of Dr. Hell's rejected ideas for a commander. The second, that the man they seek has gone entirely mad, and his manuscript, if it ever truly existed, is most certainly now lost.
Only when he draws attention to it himself, does she see the path of bandages, each igniting in turn. She isn't unfamiliar with the damage fire can do to one's body. After all, her signature weapon is quite attuned to disfiguring people, even if they escape it alive. But she isn't worried. Fire she can deal with. She can meet this madman on his own terms...
Or, could. Had his own steel giant not chosen that moment to lumber into action. And while she cannot SUMMON the Guren to her... somehow it rolls through the tunnel on its own to meet her. She had left it further back, due to an ill feeling. Perhaps the justified fear that had she lost herself to madness, she would have brought the entire underground crashing down. Yet now it arrives, opening to allow her to leap inside it. <"I believe one of us should retrieve the man's body, if at all possible. He may yet survive that fate of his own making after all."> Of course, she isn't in any position to do it right now. As the Skeledeus chases one target, much like an overly excited cat, Guren swings around, using its harkens to find a sturdy girder above to latch into. Best stay away from the limbs, and the best way of doing that, is to use her own smaller size and maneuverability. To stay above and outside its range, while raining grenades down upon it.
This is... wildly unusual, as Guren tactics go. But honestly she doesn't want to get too close to the ARMORED Megadeus either. If it grabbed her, they could trap her inside Guren by crushing it and drag her off to the Brittannians. ...That probably wouldn't really happen, but she's still shaken up by the Tunnels of Fear.
KTS: Kallen Kozuki targets Kaiju Navi with Arm Cannon Grenade Shot! KTS: Kallen Kozuki has completed their actions for the round. <Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
Liam's brows knit in concern. He looks over to the pale white walls where he saw that shadow--the ghost of an immense, one-eyed Mobile Suit--and sees nothing. He shakes his head, and climbs down the final steps to join Dorothy and Roger in earnest. He... hangs back, even then. Is he listening to something he shouldn't know?
'But when something frightens you, there are those who turn away, and those who face that fear, and conquer it.'
"I'll try," he whispers, to himself as much as Roger.
The young man follows the two to the... diorama? Model? Small, symbolic replica? Of the city above. The Megadeus, though, immediately catches his eye; he turns to Roger, staring a moment, before: "Archetype? What--"
He doesn't get anything else out. Between Schwarzwald's sudden, bombastic appearance and Dorothy speaking noise, his brain reads the situation as hostile hostile hostile before the Megadeus even moves. Liam's hand darts down to his side, and activates a transceiver. There's no Minovsky interference here. The signal projects, loud and clear, to the Mobile Fighter waiting above.
The Neo Helios leaps into the hole after Big O, the autopilot immediately dropping into a crouch and lowering its hand. Its chest splits open. Liam leaps into the Mobile Fighter's palm, kneeling behind its fingers, and lets it raise him up to the cockpit. The armor seals shut behind him. A few moments later, its eyes flash bright sun-blue.
The Neo Helios slips effortlessly into a combat stance, plasma spooling out from its left palm and forming into a knife. As the enemy Megadeus approaches, it meets it, driving the plasma blade towards its center of mass. "<What the hell,>" Liam says, through gritted teeth, "<is going on here?!>"
KTS: Liam 7-020 targets Kaiju Navi with Starshard Knife! KTS: Liam 7-020 has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Kaiju Navi partially guards Kallen Kozuki's Arm Cannon Grenade Shot, taking 4017 damage! KTS: Kaiju Navi fails to evade Liam 7-020's Starshard Knife, taking 3700 damage! KTS: Liam 7-020 has engaged Kaiju Navi! <Pose Tracker> Killy Garrett has posed.
They stumble into... An underground miniature city? Countless large tunnels lead to this labryinth and in front of them was the man they were looking for - almost.
Wrapped in bandages, the man that used to be Michael Seebach was standing on a motionless undead Megadeus, but it didn't take long for it to awaken, tossing Schwarzwald into the pit of fire below and charging at them, primal and angry.
<"We'll worry about that later, we'll need to make it out alive first, don't let your guard down ."> With a swift dash away from the Megadeus, the Harpy's vulcans shoot out a bunch of rockets targetting it, better keep her distance for now.
KTS: Killy Garrett targets Kaiju Navi with Head Vulcans Dash-and-Fire! KTS: Killy Garrett has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Kaiju Navi fails to react to Killy Garrett's Head Vulcans Dash-and-Fire, taking 3810 damage! KTS: Killy Garrett has engaged Kaiju Navi! <Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.
"I see," Kaworu says, and falls silent for a moment as Roger and Dorothy converse. She has some interesting things to say about her 'father' and how he made her, and Roger says interesting things about fear in turn, and he hums quietly in thought. Liam seems to take it to heart in his own way, too.
Soon, though, they find the city in miniature deeper within, and looming over it, a Megadeus. Kaworu gazes up at at it, but his attention soon turns to the bandaged man--his self-introduction, his exposition, his threat. As Michael Seebach, or rather Schwarzwald claims that they would all be so much more powerful if they could only regain their memories, Kaworu's eyebrows rise just a hair. His gaze turns to the lighter without so much as a flicker in his expression...
But the flames consume Schwarzwald, the Black Forest, instead, when the Big Archetype comes to life in Dorothy's presence. They're not the only ones to make a stir; from another corner of the underground mini-city, several others arrive too, and Kaworu regards the Black Knights and their mobile suits.
Something that should not be allowed to exist, though... He smiles an ironic little smile. "This city truly does feel familiar," he remarks to no one.
Big O crashes in, followed by the Neo-Helios. If it takes a bit more time for Evangelion Unit-04 to arrive, that's because certain conceits must be observed and respected to maintain a polite fiction. Regardless, Kaworu boards his entry plug soon, and the great white giant trails his umbilical cable to the greatest extent it can as he faces the skeletal Big.
Reaching a long arm back, he catches an Evangelion-sized assault rifle, sent down the hole after the Eva himself. By Kaworu's will, Unit-04 swings it around and up to aim at the strange Megadeus. A single cleanly shot bullet erupts an instant later.
KTS: Kaworu Nagisa: Will Barrier Activates. KTS: Kaworu Nagisa targets Kaiju Navi with Assault Rifle - Single Fire! KTS: Kaworu Nagisa has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Kaiju Navi fails to react to Kaworu Nagisa's Assault Rifle - Single Fire, taking 3780 damage! <Pose Tracker> C.C. has posed.
--The Archetype speaks. It speaks in a way none would understand but Dorothy, a rate too fast for the time signature. In the language of objects and props chained together by linkages and conveyors. To make simple objects move and twirl about on stage as naturally as can be, you need dizzyingly complex gears and belts to force 'things' to play the role of 'people'. But play them they will. A false actor is an actor, after all - the Megadeus and Dorothy will have their scene, even if the script disagrees.
[]||LIST|BOUNDARY|HEAVEN|ACCESS|DILEMMA|DOMINUS|FORCE|ALTERATION|EXCHANGE|ROTATE|EXCHANGE|DETER|ROTATE|REFLECT|OBSCURE|DENY|ALTERATION|DEFLECT|EXCHANGE||
It means hostility. It means refusal. It means that those who breach this place will not leave alive. It is uncompromising. It is absolute. It can no better deny its purpose as the sun can choose to stay aloft in the sky.
(And your purpose is the same, Michael. Now that I've shown you a part of the 'truth', you couldn't possibly give up. You couldn't possibly just 'die' that way, like the script would say you should.)
Amidst the flames consuming the model city, an unsassuming heap shifts and turns, staggering to its feet. Its grin glows brighter than its silhouetted form. "Of course not, of course not-! The Megadeus may lock away the past, but only fools would assume to play by the rules of a prison! You, who so divinely intervened to grant me the path to my memories..."
"I couldn't be happier to defy fate! Today's 'special report' will be drenching our readers' hands black!!"
Tattered and worn down, blinding smoke consumes Schwarzwald - and yet he reappears, atop the Megadeus's head, the glint in his glass eye unceasing. The Archetype twists and bends, shuddering from Liam's knife, toppling backwards from the hailfire of vulcans to rifles to to grenades missiles in every caliber, spinning and twisting end over end in ways too violent for anyone to grab hold. Yet when the smoke clears, Schwarzwald has somehow kept his footing. Brimming with determination.
"For 40 long years, none dared to challenge the truth. None dared to fight what may as well be gods out of fear! Fear of the inky darkness that boils beneath this city of LIES! But the ink that blinds can also open eyes to what's really going on! You Negotiators, you'll soon see. And you...Dominus..."
The Archetype shoots a glare at the Big O at the mere mention of that word - a glare in line with Schwarzwald's. It attempts a most daring maneuver right at that moment - lunging towards Sayoko, the agile Megadeus tries to scoop up Sayoko's Savage in its massive hands, and hurls the Arm Slave like a slingshot towards the Big O's collar - - then moves in a similar way, its wide grip able to encircle Kallen and Killy alike, trying to smash the two together. Before finally, with Liam and Kaworu both unloading salvos of blade and bullet in the Megadeus's torso, the monstrosity twists its back, dragging the Evangelion and Helios with it, shaking and squirming like a titanic dog that would hurl the two straight up towards the vast domed ceiling.
...at the opposite end of the smoldering arena, a short, robed figure, angelically pale hair cascading down to the floor, lurks in the shade, an almost bored look in his pale pink eyes.
"It's more boring than I hoped. But I guess a 'discarded' guardian is a failure of one. I guess I can only expect Michael to push his limits, rather than the Megadeus being anywhere near capable of the same..."
KTS: Kaiju Navi has activated the Daunt Spirit Command targeting Sayoko Shinozaki KTS: Kaiju Navi targets Kallen Kozuki with Archetype Big - Slap! KTS: Kaiju Navi targets Killy Garrett with Archetype Big - Slap! KTS: Kaiju Navi targets Roger Smith with Archetype Big - Assault! KTS: Kaiju Navi targets Sayoko Shinozaki with Archetype Big - Shove! KTS: Kaiju Navi targets Kaworu Nagisa with Lunging Strike! KTS: Kaiju Navi targets Liam 7-020 with Lunging Strike! KTS: Kaiju Navi has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Roger Smith's EN Barrier activates, negating 1000 base damage. KTS: Roger Smith blocks Kaiju Navi's Archetype Big - Assault, taking 1380 damage! KTS: Kaiju Navi has engaged Roger Smith! KTS: Liam 7-020 has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: [Spirit Defense] Liam 7-020's Catecholamine Regulation System activates, and his spirit endures. KTS: Kaiju Navi enervates Liam 7-020, reducing his Morale significantly. KTS: Liam 7-020 parries Kaiju Navi's Lunging Strike, taking 1410 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Kaiju Navi's Disruptor activates, causing Jam L1! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Kaiju Navi's Enervator activates, causing Deject! KTS: Kaiju Navi has engaged Liam 7-020! KTS: Sayoko Shinozaki has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Kaiju Navi enervates Sayoko Shinozaki, reducing her Morale significantly. KTS: Sayoko Shinozaki fails to parry Kaiju Navi's Archetype Big - Shove, taking 5100 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Kaiju Navi's Disruptor activates, causing Jam L1! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Kaiju Navi's Enervator activates, causing Deject! KTS: Kaiju Navi repulses Sayoko Shinozaki, forcing her to disengage. KTS: Kallen Kozuki rushes into the attack! KTS: Kaiju Navi enervates Kallen Kozuki, reducing her Morale significantly. KTS: Kallen Kozuki partially guards Kaiju Navi's Archetype Big - Slap, taking 4080 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Kaiju Navi's Disruptor activates, causing Jam L1! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Kaiju Navi's Enervator activates, causing Deject! KTS: Kaiju Navi has engaged Kallen Kozuki! KTS: Killy Garrett blocks Kaiju Navi's Archetype Big - Slap, taking 2460 damage! KTS: Kaiju Navi has engaged Killy Garrett!
<Pose Tracker> Sayoko Shinozaki has posed.
<"Oh! He's still alive. That's a relief."> Perhaps not though, as Schwarzwald demonstrates the the depths of his madness, and apparent possibly new found abilities, by appearing on the Megadeus and seemingly guiding it. Or at the very least, giving it moral support.
As the Megadeus quickly makes for her machine, Sayoko draws both of the straight blades on its back. She attempts to use them to ward off the larger machine's hands, but they managed to grab hold of her Savage, <"Oh my... This could be bad."> The Savage is thrown.
Sayoko soars through the air, before impacting the Big-O. Bouncing off the larger machine, parts of the Savage's armor getting crunched in the process, Sayoko falls to the ground again and lands in a heap.
Inside the cockpit, there's some quiet groans, before Sayoko starts moving again. Rising to her feet, if a little unstable, she radios to Roger, <"Please excuse me. My apologies for that. This machine does not maneuver well in mid-air.">
Systems still somewhat fritzed from the damage received, Sayoko decides to go for a closer engagement. It'll mean relying less on system aim. The Savage starts to run towards the Megadeus, both straight blades still in its hands. It then leaps onto the top of a building miniature, before leaping again towards the titan. Spinning the blades in its hands, it goes to try and stab both blades deep into its target. Hopefully into something important.
KTS: Sayoko Shinozaki has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Sayoko Shinozaki targets Kaiju Navi with Dual Ninjato Penetrating Attack! KTS: Sayoko Shinozaki has completed their actions for the round.
<Pose Tracker> Killy Garrett has posed.
It seems that they are not alone in this place, they seemed to be here for the same reason - attacking the Megadeus as well, but Killy kept her distance, avoiding any unnecessary engagements.
Schwarzwald rose up out of the flames like it's nothing - his bandages looked significantly worse however - and with a cloud of blinding smoke, he reappearedon top of the Megadeus once again, keeping his footing as the Archetype flailed around violently.
She saw it grab Sayoko, hurling it at one of the unknown mobile suits in the cavern with them, it then quickly circled around her and Kallen, wrapping it's massive hands around them and clapping them together. Killy was able to block the attack, but the impact was still strong enough to do some damage, pushing her back.<"Sayoko are you okay? We're not the only people here, avoid any unecessary engagements and focus on the Megadeus. Try to keep distance from eachother, give it a harder time to hit us all with one blow. The sooner we defeat it and grab our target the sooner we can get out of here."> With that, Killy charged forward, drawing her beam saber and going right for the Archetype, stabbing it right in the chest.
KTS: Killy Garrett has activated the Foresee Spirit Command targeting Kallen Kozuki KTS: Kaworu Nagisa's Will Barrier activates, negating 1500 base damage. KTS: Kaworu Nagisa fails to react to Kaiju Navi's Lunging Strike, taking 2280 damage! KTS: Kaiju Navi has engaged Kaworu Nagisa! KTS: Killy Garrett has activated the Foresee Spirit Command targeting Sayoko Shinozaki [Characters] Eight York> Oh yeah?
KTS: Killy Garrett targets Kaiju Navi with Beam Saber 100 Slash! KTS: Killy Garrett has completed their actions for the round. [Characters] Leina Ashta> Hmmm [Characters] Leina Ashta> So just looking at your build and the Dianthus. [Characters] Lucine Azul> Precision Attacker would sync in well with Lucine's core training (ie, weaken from afar, swoop in for the kill), but the last two would help with Morale
<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.
The Archetype Big, stripped of its heavy armor, proves shockingly maneuverable. Remarkably capable of reaching the Guren and swatting it out of the air. As it comes in, Kallen has one burning question. <"How did he just... get back up there?"> Even defending with its own large arm and swinging into the attack to impact early can only mitigate the damage slightly when she's hurled down to crunch into Killy's specialized Messer. Still... Kallen pulls the Guren back to its feet. Learning a distinctly important lesson right now. "Just... have to stick to my str... ehh?" It's about that point when she notices. Far in the distance, there's a kid. All the pale, unearthly colors make him stand out a bit. <"...Does anyone else see that kid down here?"> Broadcasted not only to the other Black Knights, but the NERV forces as well. They're all allies in the heat of the moment, against an ancient titan. No reason to leave them out of the questioning.
Being distracted by Weird, Creepy Children is a surefire way to get hurt though. So she takes in a breath, clearing the smoke and shadows out of her head. If it's so huge, the best way to bring it down is the reliable classic. The claws on Guren's silver hand waggle, rubbing against one another as she kicks up a cloud of dust and rubble behind the spinners. "When it's a giant that needs toppling, always take out the legs!" Not surefire advice against say, the Negotiator's machine. But this one lacks the extensive armoring, protecting it from the claw coming in to snip and crunch away at its structural integrity.
KTS: Kaiju Navi has activated the Alert Spirit Command. [Characters] Lucine Azul> honestly, spirit endurance makes the most sense, then
KTS: Kaiju Navi successfully evades Sayoko Shinozaki's Dual Ninjato Penetrating Attack KTS: Kallen Kozuki targets Kaiju Navi with Iron Nail 'Drill' Slash! KTS: Kallen Kozuki has completed their actions for the round. KTS: [Mirage] Kaiju Navi's Mirage L2 activates, and it slips into a mirage. KTS: Kaiju Navi parries Killy Garrett's Beam Saber 100 Slash, taking 0 damage! KTS: Killy Garrett has engaged Kaiju Navi! [Characters] Lucine Azul> prevail will amp skill, but skill's not Lucine's strongpoint
KTS: Kaiju Navi fails to parry Kallen Kozuki's Iron Nail 'Drill' Slash, taking 5250 damage! KTS: Kallen Kozuki has engaged Kaiju Navi! [Characters] Lucine Azul> meanwhile Lucine has clarity [Characters] Lucine Azul> she needs that protection <Pose Tracker> Roger Smith has posed.
Roger rolls back from the Archetype's assault, bringing vast black arms up with their vast shields out - only to startle when another whole machine clangs against the Big O.
"Ehhh? Ah - " Roger sighs and lightly adjusts his tie, earning silent bemusement from Dorothy within, <"Don't worry about it, miss. Please, be careful.">
The other Megadeus glares - Schwarzwald spits that word, "Dominus", and the mechanical beast responds. It's so fast - like and unlike his own Big, moving in inhuman ways. The behemoth endures behind his dark shields and peers over them, eyes flashing in response, waiting for its moment.
<"It's... another Megadeus. The base model, maybe... I can't totally explain it. But it's definitely not friendly. Hit it with whatever you've got!">
Dorothy, meanwhile, seems to settle, going through the mimicked motions of drawing a calming breath. She plants her feet firmly in the cockpit and thrusts out an arm, and a splash of pink lightning arcs over those big black gauntlets, forcing the Archetype back -
Roger blinks, surprised, but the moment is here. Big O's arms slide down, fists clashing together, and it slashes across the other machine with two thin lines of pink plasma, meeting the monster's gaze unflinchingly.
No friend of mine, indeed.
KTS: Roger Smith targets Kaiju Navi with Arc Line Sweeping Beam! KTS: Roger Smith has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Kaiju Navi fails to react to Roger Smith's Arc Line Sweeping Beam, taking 3240 damage! <Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.
Language is a funny little thing. Even if Kaworu has a special touch, so to speak, with electronics, the dialogue between Megadeus and Dorothy exists on--we'll call it a frequency, such that even if Kaworu knows a conversation is being had, it's beyond even him to comprehend.
He gets the gist of it anyway. Even without Roger saying as much, it's clear in the way Dorothy looses pink lightning on the Megadeus, the way the Megadeus immediately moves to crush them--with Schwarzwald on its shoulder all the while, spared from the flames that would have consumed him/them. "<The primeval... Understood,>" he transmits to Roger. "<R. Dorothy Wayneright, thank you for your assistance.>"
Maybe a strange thing to say to a human-sized entity facing a robot that could easily step on her. But it's natural to Kaworu.
And that's thanks to a very familiar presence... Kaworu half-turns in his entry plug to look directly at the cherubic Code, and Unit-04's head turns with him.
"<Yes. I see him,>" he transmits back to Kallen and the others, Black Knights and NERV associates alike. His tone is neutral, but his voice itself is not masked.
The Megadeus closes in then, slamming into Unit-04 with significant force. His A.T. Field nullifies some of that damage, but this is not their world; momentum alone is enough to smash him through several miniature buildings, and while his footing is disrupted, the Megadeus launches Unit-04 towards the ceiling.
The umbilical cable is at its limit--so rather than let it be a tether to smash them back into the ground, Kaworu ejects it, letting it clatter to the ground as a bright red 05:00 lights up in a panel to one side and begins a countdown.
Twisting in midair, the silver Evangelion kicks off the roof and launches himself back towards the Megadeus--this time with several drills emerging from his forearm. Should he connect, he'll land one hell of a punch, potentially scoring deep punctures in the skeletal entity.
"<Schwarzwald, was it?>" Kaworu transmits as he and Unit-04 move, careful to not knock into the much smaller units present. "<I warn you now: that man is not someone you should trust. You are being used.>"
KTS: Kaworu Nagisa targets Kaiju Navi with Rapidborer - Pummeling! KTS: Kaworu Nagisa has completed their actions for the round. <Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
A prototype. That's something well within Liam's experience. It makes the skeletal Megadeus seem less like a sleeping, murderous giant, and more like a normal machine.
Right?
"Understood," Liam says. Already, he's moving to try and capitalize on his foothood. The Neo Helios clings to the larger machine, using the hold it melted into its torso to hang on. That is, until the Archetype bucks, violently, and the Mobile Fighter's hands slip free from the gouges it was using for handholds. It flies upwards, back-first, and Liam nearly falls on his face as the cockpit's gyroscopes try and keep it stable.
The flight armature saves him. It sweeps forward, fastening into place around his limbs and torso. Liam lets out a hiss of breath as the Mobile Fighter strikes the roof, sympathetic pain racing through his chest. From this angle--
"<Confirmed,>" Liam says. Michael--Schwarzwald--is talking to him. Kaworu seems to... know him?
In the relative safety of his cockpit, Liam frowns. Something's brought out the Black Knights, twice, and now...
Focus, he reminds himself. The field surrounding the knife elongates, and the plasma within curls out in a long streamer. As Big O and Unit 04 attack from the front and back, Liam comes in from the side, lashing the plasma whip down at the Archetype's shoulder.
KTS: Liam 7-020 targets Kaiju Navi with ASTRA - Prominence! KTS: Liam 7-020 has completed their actions for the round. BBSYS: Post 1000, 'School of the Space' has been published to Daily Spotlight by Lucine Azul.
KTS: Kaiju Navi parries Kaworu Nagisa's Rapidborer - Pummeling, taking 900 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Kaworu Nagisa's The Light of His Heart activates, causing Jam L1! KTS: Kaworu Nagisa has engaged Kaiju Navi! KTS: Kaiju Navi retreats from the attack! KTS: Kaiju Navi successfully avoids Liam 7-020's ASTRA - Prominence
<Pose Tracker> C.C. has posed.
The Archetype's skull-like face flickers with lighting - its four beady eyes oscillating in a cyclical pattern. Whatever trick Dorothy has pulled in this bizarre connection of communication has an effect - the flying leaps and twirls this thing performs are held back substantially as it staggers backwards, almost like the Megadeus is rethinking its purpose while it endures a myriad of beams, while its flesh is scarred and pierced from blade and knife - much like the man atop it has changed and been soaked in pain. Did he 'unlock' it after all...?
At the center of the mayhem, when the Archetype stops, Schwarzwarld catches his breath...listening to Kaworu's plea. A chuckle puffs from his throat, doubling over...then arching back, bellowing out with laughter. "What an innocent plea! Trust?! Who can trust anyone in a city where everyone has more secrets than they could ever unearth! Use?! Look around you, at the shining city on the hill, where everything and anything exists to be used by a single man at the top of the spire! Of course I shouldn't trust that fairy. Of course he is attempting to use me for his own ambitions! But are what we desire really at odds with one another? I certainly don't need the 'truth' to know that the capital of decadence should rightfully be burned - whatever he does with what I uncover is of little concern to me, so long as it is uncovered!!"
The Archetype straightens its posture. Standing in full height to the towering Big O now, it stretches upwards, stretches backwards, mimicking Schwarzwald's laugh with an icy glare towards Kaworu... - then recoils like it was winding up a spring, rocketing forward and latching right on top of the black Megadeus, striking its chiseled face repeatedly with one of its twenty-ton hands. "I wonder, Dominus - I wonder which of you is the aberration, what part of you is the key that this being wants to seal! Is it you - the man who acts in such an independent way to uphold your illusory 'order', too much a rogue element to be allowed? Is it the Megadeus - a memory whose unearthing fans the flames of war? Or is it. . . the android? Yes, yes! If anything is a 'key' to the myriad locks of this city, it's surely that android! Perhaps if you want to avoid further conflict...you should hand her over, and we can paint all of Paradigm black with the scoop of the century!"
Abruptly, the Megadeus leaps backwards, flipping head over end in the air, grasping Kallen's Guren in its iron clutches, squeezing and gripping with that hand, while it hoists one of the immense nearby cube-like structures, hurling the house-sized blocks at Sayoko, Liam, and Killy.
-The distant figure watching over these proceedings can't help but get just the tiniest of smiles on his normally taciturn expression. "So we unfortunately weren't rid of you, Nagisa. Perhaps we should've used the expulsion opportunity to set up a branch with the Jupiter Energy Fleet, to get you as far away as possible. Whatever you're looking for here...you should likely forget it. ...Or judging by the selection of 'friends' you seem to have made here - maybe you've sympathized with the cause of the Black Knights...you always were a strange one, attached to unimportant things that way."
Oh so casually, the blonde, young-looking interloper slinks back into the shadows of the tunnels...
KTS: Kaiju Navi targets Kaworu Nagisa with Goad! KTS: Kaiju Navi has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Kaiju Navi targets Kallen Kozuki with Archetype Big - Grip! KTS: Kaiju Navi has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Kaiju Navi targets Roger Smith with Archetype Big - Shove! KTS: Kaiju Navi targets Killy Garrett with Archetype Big - Assault! KTS: Kaiju Navi targets Liam 7-020 with Archetype Big - Assault! KTS: Kaiju Navi targets Sayoko Shinozaki with Archetype Big - Assault! KTS: Kaiju Navi has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Liam 7-020 has activated the Focus Spirit Command. KTS: Liam 7-020 has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Kaiju Navi enervates Liam 7-020, reducing his Morale significantly. KTS: Liam 7-020 parries Kaiju Navi's Archetype Big - Assault, taking 1680 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Kaiju Navi's Disruptor activates, causing Jam L1! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Kaiju Navi's Enervator activates, causing Deject! KTS: Kaiju Navi has engaged Liam 7-020! KTS: Killy Garrett has activated the Attune Spirit Command. KTS: Kaiju Navi enervates Killy Garrett, reducing her Morale significantly. KTS: Killy Garrett parries Kaiju Navi's Archetype Big - Assault, taking 990 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Kaiju Navi's Disruptor activates, causing Jam L1! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Kaiju Navi's Enervator activates, causing Deject! KTS: Kaiju Navi has engaged Killy Garrett! KTS: Kallen Kozuki has activated the Wall Spirit Command. KTS: Roger Smith blocks Kaiju Navi's Archetype Big - Shove, taking 2700 damage! KTS: Kaiju Navi repulses Roger Smith, forcing him to disengage. KTS: Kallen Kozuki rushes into the attack! KTS: Kallen Kozuki partially guards Kaiju Navi's Archetype Big - Grip, taking 3910 damage! KTS: Kaiju Navi has engaged Kallen Kozuki! KTS: Kaiju Navi goads Kaworu Nagisa, reducing his Intuition drastically. KTS: Roger Smith has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Roger Smith has activated the Spirit Spirit Command.
<Pose Tracker> Roger Smith has posed.
The Archetype hammers down, its bright orange crown ringing as blows rain onto its head. Schwarzwald bays loudly into this strange crypt - And Dorothy recoils when he points his language at her.
At the same time, there are those she can rely on. Kaworu's comment makes her smile, and she offers a characteristically dry 'you're welcome' over the comms. She simply leans forward, flicking one of the many odd switches on the complex panels of Big O's cockpit and giving Roger a resolute nod.
<"I am not interested. You are a very unpleasant man, and I want nothing to do with that machine.">
<"You heard the lady, Schwarzwald! Do me a favor and stay buried this time, won't you?">
An arm goes up, swatting aside one of the Archetype's - it plants its feet on the Big O's chest and springs back to avoid an outstretched arm.
Roger simply grins as that arm splits open at the wrist, unveiling a circle of four glowing barrels. The hand itself begins to spin, twisting rapidly as more of that pinkish plasma accumulates, a bright ring flashing out - before Big O's massive beam gatling unloads, splashing through the false streets towards this skeletal 'god'.
KTS: Roger Smith targets Kaiju Navi with O Thunder Barrage! KTS: Roger Smith has completed their actions for the round.
<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.
Schwarzwald's mad assertions leave Kallen thinking. Debating. Is it fine to be used to further one's plots, so long as it advances your own? If your schemes don't overtly conflict? Is it acceptable for... She shakes her head slowly. It's not that simple a discussion. And to some extent, trust is absolutely necessary. Trust in a leader's plans for example. And the trust to question them as well. That they'll value your suggestions and criticisms. "So, for your narrow 'truth', you're happy to allow the world to burn? To sacrifice any number of people? Then your idea of the Truth has made you blind!" Of course, she agrees that people who trample on the powerless with their authority need to be punished. But... In the end, she can't align with this lunatic.
Unfortunately, that delay enables the Megadeus to capture Guren in its grip. Beginning to squeeze the life out of the tiny machine, just the way she'd been worried about the other one doing. There's only so much to be done about that... The Wave Surger can't be started up safely in this position. Many weapons won't act ideally. So she'll have to rely on the other way of using the claw. To dig through the hand crushing her.
It's not easy, even wriggling a KMF enough to get this much positioning right. She's pretty sure she cracks open a seeping, bloody wound on the side of her head, wrangling it around. But eventually, it's ready. The Claw Arm rakes against the hand gripping its body, to gradually tear through the palm, down toward the wrist. She just... has to force it open. Make enough space to slip free...!
Still, as she struggles, the bizarre child's words do not escape her. Nagisa? Not an uncommon name, but it's not hard to narrow down, thanks to certain connections. The name appearing on certain records. A few brief in-person meetings. What familiarity might this Nagisa have with that creepy, scheming kid? Something to look into in the future. Though, it seems no more clues are immediately forthcoming, as the ghostly figure turns to... leave.
KTS: Kallen Kozuki has activated the Valor Spirit Command. KTS: Kallen Kozuki has activated the Spirit Spirit Command. KTS: Kallen Kozuki targets Kaiju Navi with Iron Nail Core Shredder! KTS: Kallen Kozuki has completed their actions for the round. <Pose Tracker> Killy Garrett has posed.
Killy didn't get much time to look at the kid Kallen was referring to before the Megadeus parries her attack with ease, pushing her back and putting some distance between them.
Lots of things were going on, from Schwarzwald maniacally yelling at the black Megadeus to the kid Kallen mentioned who was just standing there watching everything unfold. But Killy paid no attention to them, she just wanted to defeat this thing and get it over with, which seemed like the goal of the other people here - excellent.
Lots of things were going on, from Schwarzwald maniacally yelling at the black Megadeus to the kid Kallen mentioned who was just standing there watching everything unfold. But Killy paid no attention to them, she just wanted to defeat this thing and get it over with, which seemed like the goal of the other people here - excellent.
Seeing as her melee attack failed, Killy decided to keep her distance - pulling out her sniping rifle and aiming at the Megadeus, hoping the shot can help Guren escape its grasp. She takes aim at the thing's head, narrowly avoiding Schwarzwald and shoots.
KTS: Killy Garrett has activated the Trick Spirit Command. KTS: Killy Garrett targets Kaiju Navi with Me02R Sniping Rifle Aimed Shot! KTS: Killy Garrett has completed their actions for the round. <Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
'Fairy'. Schwarzwald's phrasing hits home, even if he might mean something else. Liam glances at the still-capture of the blonde boy, lingering in the PoI selector of his panoramic display. His internal threat rating ratchets up a few notches.
So does the Archetype, as its posture changes, and it LEAPS at Big O. "<Mr. Smith!>" Liam shouts, as the Neo Helios hits the floor, ripping burned scars into the mockup of Paradigm. The machine skids to a halt, settles into a runner's crouch, and takes off, its jets burning behind it. A cube the size of a small house flies at it, hurled by the giant; Liam veers sharply left, and unspools another plasma filament. The Neo Helios raises its hand and cracks the filament like a whip, slicing the cube in two. The smaller chunk glances off its shoulder, shaking it, and denting up the armor.
The blonde figure speaks. Liam's blood grows hot with anger. They never did find whomever almost killed Kaworu, did they?
The Neo Helios' hand starts to burn. The ablative armor melts with alarming speed, approaching the consistency of hot taffy. Liam drives that fist forward to the back of the Archteype's calf--
And then darts forward, trailing a long, thin line of durable melted armor. Is he trying to trip the Megadeus?
Yep!
KTS: Liam 7-020 targets Kaiju Navi with Bolide Strike! KTS: Liam 7-020 has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Kaiju Navi enervates Sayoko Shinozaki, reducing her Morale significantly. KTS: Sayoko Shinozaki fails to evade Kaiju Navi's Archetype Big - Assault, taking 5820 damage! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Kaiju Navi's Disruptor activates, causing Jam L1! KTS: [Dynamic Hit] Kaiju Navi's Enervator activates, causing Deject! KTS: Kaiju Navi has engaged Sayoko Shinozaki! <Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.
"<Is it?>" Kaworu wonders. But perhaps it was naive to offer those words of caution, given how Schwarzwald reacts to them. His lips thin as he listens to the bandaged man acknowledge that he knew already, and doesn't care. To Kaworu, it's a genuinely puzzling response from a man whose main characteristic so far has been a literally burning desire for the truth, whatever it may be. "<What an odd man. You claim to crave the truth, then immediately declare it doesn't matter. Is it truly the truth you seek, or is your wish to seize power from those who have it and claim it for yourself?>"
The Archetype stands and glares at Unit-04--but that glare is all it shoots, opting instead to leap at the Big O as its companion shouts more nonsense (from Kaworu's perspective). But Dorothy can speak for herself, and Roger supports her, both rejecting the 'offer' to hand her over. Kaworu gives this exchange a slight nod of approval--something that may transmit to the video-screen in the Big O via Unit-04's audiovisual comms.
The fey-like 'child' taunts Kaworu, and Kaworu smiles faintly. "<Perhaps. But it wouldn't have done you any good, V.V.; you don't have the authority to get rid of me.>"
What connection do these two have? ("They" certainly didn't ever find whomever almost killed Kaworu.) Kallen, Liam, and the others will have to wonder for now. When V.V. turns to leave, Kaworu does nothing to stop him, instead turning back towards the battle. The arm-drills retract as Unit-04 dashes for the assault rifle he'd dropped earlier; when he snatches it up, he turns it around to open fire on the Archetype, taking care to avoid the others in melee. Of course, this might give the skeletal Megadeus an opportunity to evade fire too.
KTS: Kaworu Nagisa targets Kaiju Navi with Assault Rifles - Bullet Hell! KTS: Kaworu Nagisa has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Kaiju Navi partially guards Roger Smith's O Thunder Barrage, taking 2750 damage! KTS: Kaiju Navi fails to parry Kallen Kozuki's Iron Nail Core Shredder, taking 5420 damage! KTS: Kallen Kozuki has engaged Kaiju Navi! KTS: Kaiju Navi retreats from the attack! KTS: Kaiju Navi fails to evade Killy Garrett's Me02R Sniping Rifle Aimed Shot, taking 5760 damage! KTS: Killy Garrett roots her unit, coming to a standstill and leaving her vulnerable. KTS: Liam 7-020 anchors Kaiju Navi, forcing it into close range. KTS: Kaiju Navi parries Liam 7-020's Bolide Strike, taking 1440 damage! KTS: Liam 7-020 has engaged Kaiju Navi! KTS: Kaiju Navi fails to evade Kaworu Nagisa's Assault Rifles - Bullet Hell, taking 4000 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Sayoko Shinozaki has posed.
Sayoko lands after her leap misses its mark. She skids to a stop, replying to Killy, <"I am fine. Though I suppose I could use more practice..."> Sayoko may never get some though as she turns back around to face the Megadeus, only to find a large cubish structure flying her way. In the helmet of her cockpit, her eyes go wide.
The structure crashes down to the ground, breaking apart from the impact and creating a large pile of debris. Which quickly goes still...
...
...
... The debris doesn't move.
A flash of light from above! The black Savage hangs from a wire, suspended beneath the ceiling of this underground space. With its other hand, it produces a pair of kunai from behind its back and sends them flying down at the titan, aimed for weak spots.
KTS: Sayoko Shinozaki has activated the Strike Spirit Command. KTS: Sayoko Shinozaki targets Kaiju Navi with Kunai Throw! KTS: Sayoko Shinozaki has completed their actions for the round. KTS: Kaiju Navi successfully avoids Sayoko Shinozaki's Kunai Throw
<Pose Tracker> C.C. has posed.
"When the very ground beneath your feet is built off falsehoods - what is setting it all aflame, but peeling away the lies we have all been told? Once we can finally see what Paradigm is 'really' like - the reason why this reality you've witnessed beneath here is covered in a filthy shell that pretends to have a storied history...what we ought to DO with it becomes self-apparent!"
The second wind Schwarzwald's had in staying atop the Archetype is slowly fading though - his ragged form seems to stumble and stagger far more easily. Bandages unwinding, revealing the hint of dark, gnarled pain beneath.
As Schwarzwald falters...so too does the Archetype. While it's fast and nimble for its size, it can't quite keep up with the sheer high speed whirring of the Arm Slave and Knightmare Frames - lumbering and trying to heave its limbs away the inbound kunai only leaves it thoroughly impaled on Kallen's stakes. As it tries to sprint away, Liam's plan to cause the lumbering thing to topple over finally succeeds, and it's finally off its feet - no matter how limber the skeletal Megadeus is, it can only recover so fast from that...and the ensuing hailfire of the O Thunder alongside Kaworu and Killy's more conventional arms cause the machine to writhe and shake violently.
"...K...kh, your vapid ways of looking at the world around you, not realizing what's fake and what's real...it's a disease that slowly takes hold of the populace! It leaves you unwittingly subject to exploitation by the very power you think I am beholden to! Ahahahah...Ahahahah!!! Are you satisfied, working on behalf of Paradigm? Have you 'found' me to their liking? What I am to you is all they need to know...I'll never again let those liars hold onto a single scrap of paper I've so much as scribbled upon!!
Theatrically, Schwarzwald procures a neatly bound book from the folds of his coat - possibly the document that 'Patricia' wanted the Negotiators to secure. With a tearing motion and a flourish, he sweeps his arms, and page after page goes fluttering across the false city. Those who try to catch it are only prone to fall for the same trick twice...for each and every one, without fail, catches on fire, embers fluttering to ash. In a storm of those very same burning pages, the laughing Schwarzwald finally vanishes for good. The man's good at making a swift performance artist getaway, that's for sure.
The sputtering, sparking, cracking Archetype groans and struggles, pushing against a titanic false bridge to get back to its feet. It takes a deep look at the Big O, its beady eyes shimmering once. Glaring directly past the hazy curtain of orange glass - Dorothy could swear it's staring at her directly.
In that language of ancient golems only she can make out, its murmurings ring a different tone. A response - to the way Dorothy talked back to Schwarzwald.
||CHOICE|PIVOT|REFUSAL|PAGE|ALTERNATE|PAGE|FIRST|RELIANCE|REJECT|| - ||STAY|JUDGE|DOMINUS||
That last expression, slower and more pointed at Dorothy. The message could scarce be clearer even in human language. --the duty of 'protecting' whatever it needs to, of 'judging' what it needs to...has come to pass. And the ancient Megadeus hurls its collapsing body out through one of the side tunnels, into the vast depths of this monumental labyrinth...monumental, to a human at least. Surely, scarce more than a den the Megadeus would innately understand as 'home'.
KTS: Kaiju Navi's Speed Type Kaiju has been disabled.
<Pose Tracker> Killy Garrett has posed.
What a lunatic... Although his words got Killy thinking - not for long before she saw Schwarzwald pull out a book, presumed to be the documents they were after, and rip it apart before it gets set on fire before vanishing stylishly right in front of their eyes, amazing. That's both of their targets gone.
The Megadeus was weak after the relentless attacks from everyone, she watched it as it intently stared at the Big O, murmuring one last time in a language she did not understand - before collapsing and escaping through one of the side tunnels.
Killy let out a sigh, they failed to complete the task they came here for but atleast they all made it out alive in... acceptable condition - poor Sayoko wasn't as fortunate as the others.
<"Good job everyone, and thanks for the help."> She said to everyone, before turning around and making her way towards Sayoko, in case she needs any help with her very damaged Arm Slave.
<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.
As abruptly as he had appeared, the reporter and writer takes his exit. And in no less a storm of flame and drama. Yet, his words are troubling. Suggesting them all to be beholden to the higher powers... He may not entirely be wrong. Certainly, it's possible they're in an enemy's pocket. And to that end... She simply must keep her eyes and ears open. Watch, and think for herself. Make her own judgements.
Thankfully, the Guren's damage isn't especially severe. It's a level she can manage with. Escape with, if need be. <"Yes. Thank you for working alongside us. This time, and before. On the lake."> No point in being rude to them. <"I do hope, if we continue running into one another, our encounters will be amicable."> It doesn't seem like they're going to be trying to capture her, so far. So maybe... she can be a little optimistic.
She's not quite escaping yet. Observing, and backing away slowly. But not quite running, until she has enough answers to what remains. In case she can learn anything more about... what has transpired here today, from those more in the know.
<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.
"<That isn't an answer to my question,>" Kaworu points out, but he is rapidly becoming aware that this doesn't matter to Schwarzwald. He smiles all the same. The poor man is ignorant of so much, yet there's no questioning his fervor and passion. The question is instead, what is it for?
Of course, he already asked that and got a thorough evasion. Being one who has to use that same tactic quite a lot, Kaworu does wonder what it is he knows instead.
Perhaps that book Schwarzwald produces might answer that. Neither Kaworu nor Unit-04 make any attention to snatch up any of those torn pages save adrift; they simply watch them flutter by and burn. In the same way, they only watch as Schwarzwald vanishes amid a flurry of those burning pages, and as the Archetype stumbles into a side tunnel and hurls itself away to safety.
Unit-04 lowers the muzzle of his gun, and Kaworu considers the rest of those assembled. "<Likewise,>" he transmits to Kallen. To Roger and Liam, he says, "<I believe that's as much as can be done here at present. Shall we be on our way?>"
<Pose Tracker> Liam 7-020 has posed.
The Neo Helios skids across the ground, braking with the thrusters until it comes to a halt. It turns on a heel, and settles into that fighting stance, once more--
Liam's eyes settle on Schwarzwald. The document. The objective. The--
Burning pages drift through the underground. Liam feels a tightness in his chest. Frustration at being in the dark. But he doesn't ignore the Archetype. It... flees. Comes to an understanding?
Liam listens to the Guren's pilot, the Mobile Fighter's head swivelling to look down at the smaller machine. "<I... hope so, too,>" he says, and there is honesty in it despite his memories of what happened in Tsutsujidai. "<Yes. Nothing here for us.>"