The Temple of Wind

[umslay]

Who: Ales, NPCs, any Heroes here to fight
What: Confronting the Archfiend of Wind
Where: Outside Trano Golsaucia, Trano Golsaucia, Temple of Wind
When: May 15th
Notes: Toplevels will be unlocked as progress is made. Replies will be made at least once a day. See the OOC plotting thread EDIT: OOC dungeon information

Mingle at the Camp
Approaching the Temple
The Flying Fortress
Ales Mansay, the Archfiend of Wind
???

Comments

[umslay]

[Each attack makes it mark on the touch armor of the Snow Beast, though the machine does not take it as a sign to give up. Detecting the rest of the Heroes, it fires a long series of Laser Bullets at the group standing back.

As for those who are replicating Shadow of the Colossus, it lifts the leg that it sees Reno clone climbing, stands still, and shakes him violently. It follows up with a Stomp, shaking the ground near that foot. Johnny, Mary, and Reno would be affected.]

[not_most_days]

[Mary was watching the lumbering monstrosity carefully as she approached, and so when it raises its foot she's ready to react, rolling as the ground quakes. It's not a perfect recovery or evasion, especially thanks to the snow. but at least she manages to keep herself from being knocked prone.

Once she's back on her feet she makes for a different leg than the one Reno is climbing, using her own Ceiling Walking and Parkour to swiftly make her way up. Hopefully any snow clinging to her is working as further camouflage.]

[charming_jerk]

[ It may look easy in the movies, but the heroes in Star Wars had the scriptwriter on their side. It was going to take a few tries to get rope around the snow beast's legs, especially with it stomping at them. He goes flying off into the snow and takes some damage, but he's not down yet. He pops back out of the snow bank gritting his pointed teeth, and Leaps at the machine. Instead of attacking, though, he goes back to Rope's End to keep entangling it.]

[jadethenecromancer]

[Jade blinks away with Vanish, leaving the spot where the laser bullets hit and reappearing a long distance away from harm. Now that he can see what they're dealing with, he's less concerned about being protected.

Casting spells at the legs would be risky with the others climbing them and Johnny swinging around, so... Perhaps Jade's better off running distraction and helping Saori take down the cannons until they need healing. He aims a Thundaga spell at the cockpit.]

[umslay]

[The Snow Beast halts shooting at the group with the Thundaga striking it at a short distance. In a panic, it sways from side to side in an attempt to knock off Jade and the others.]

[not_most_days]

[Mary holds on. This swaying is nothing compared to climbing the rigging in the storm. The movement slows her but between her personal training and her job abilities she keeps climbing and soon she reaches the underside.

The make of this thing is wholly alien to her, but she knows a hatch when she sees one. Reaching into her coat she pulled out a device she'd not yet find a use for, but maybe now the technology would be a match. Pointing her sonic screwdriver at it she held down the button, making the tip light up as it whirred. She gently turned it and moved it around the hatch, hoping to get it to open.]

[sullenstallion]

[Well, being in the laser group kind of sucks. With haste already affecting him, he activates Fists of Wind to further increase his movement speed. His only goal with this is to pick up Midna and hopefully move fast enough to get both of them out of the way, heading to the left and keeping their distance from the enemy the same. Good luck, everyone else.]

I'm not really supposed to punch that thing, am I?

[umslay]

[No one was technically meant to punch the Snow Beast. They would normally die before they had the chance to get close enough.

The hatch took some time prying open. Each edges was bolted down tightly to prevent the snow and wind from entering, but she eventually managed to open it up just wide enough for her to get in.

There was barely room inside for a human, even considering that there is no seat. The walls are lined with Ancient computers, some beeping, some humming menacingly. There is a terminal at the front that has a continuous stream of data pouring into tables and graphs.]

[needsteaplz]

Looks like Mary managed to get it open.

[Saori still had Eagle Vision on to keep tabs on the heroes climbing the legs.

She had almost forgot her own pre-battle tactics chat when Jade cast Thundaga. Quickly she and the clone corrected that and cast Raiton Ninjutsu for some thunder attacks.]

[shinra_dog]

Yikes!

[Both Renos exclaimed. As the clone was tossed from the "beast," it used a Smoke Bomb to leap back on, further up than he was before, and continued climbing. In the meantime, the Reno stuck in the Target Group just tried to get away from the lasers.]

Shit, shit, shit...

[Between Smoke Bombs, the two redheads hopped and dodged across the battlefield. The clone reached the hatch after Mary and Saori and looked inside.]

Those look delicate.

[The cockpit might not have been big enough for a pilot, but Reno's EMR fit in perfectly to zap the computers with a lightning Electroprod. Real Reno ran toward Johnny, ready to move him out of the way or help him with the rope -- whichever was needed first.]

[umslay]

[The Snow Beast halted in its tracks. The control room which Reno and Mary were shook, electricity zapping between terminals. Saori's attacks aided in short-circuiting the circuitry in the legs.

The Snow Beast doesn't attack.

However, the din of the weapons is gone and thus removes the sonar mask that had hidden the shouts of the people behind them. Sleighs pulled by Chocobos - the ones from the refugee camp - were rushing at the Heroes standing far from the Snow Beast.]

Hey! Hey! [The man standing at the front of the pack waves his arm excitedly.] Oh my god, I can't believe it!

[A woman riding a Chocobo pulls ahead of the pack and skids to a stop, spraying snow on those that ran up to her. Ira and Lydia would recognize her as Mevanwi.]

We were waiting out here to see what would happen. [Judging by her surprised tone, she hadn't been expecting it to be this successful.] I think...is it still online? We can salvage parts from it.

[not_most_days]

[Mary winces as the harsh smell of burning electronics fills her nose. Part of her was wondering if this 'beast' could be hijacked, but stopping it and letting the salvagers take it over is a nice outcome as well. In all honesty she'd just be trying random settings on the sonic screwdriver if Reno hadn't done something.

Taking a moment to show off she stands up...upside down thanks to Ceiling Walking looking 'up' at the sleighs below.]

Hopefully they're here to help...

[jadethenecromancer]

[That was all it took, then? This battle wrapped up quite neatly, all things considered.

Better safe than sorry, though. Now that the hatch is open, Jade has a way in too. He uses Vanish to teleport upward and grabs onto the corners of the hatch, hoisting himself through. With Translation and a maxed Programmer Job, he should be able to check what's left of the computers and make sure the Beast isn't running any back-up systems that might present unpleasant surprises.]

[charming_jerk]

[Johnny is a little disappointed he didn't get a change to trip the thing, but at least the snow beast was done with. He's not very mechanically inclined, but maybe there was a chance they could find out where this thing initially came from.]

Is there a way to like, trace its signals? See who's commanding this thing and find out where they're hiding?

[arcward]

[ It took Jaune longer than he's proud of to snap out of his stupor when the Beat appeared, but seriously? That's what they were facing? A giant robot thing, and he has a sword and a shield. This was going to go great. It was a good thing the more agile members of his group were able to deal with it, because he was pretty sure his sword was doing nothing to the foot it was banging.

Needless to say, he was relieved when the thing stopped moving. He glanced back at Pyrrha - she looked unharmed, good - before facing the newcomers. ]

...They do realize that if we failed the thing probably would have killed them, right?

[Hearing their request, he gives a shout up to the Mary and Reno.]

They want to know if it still works and if they can have it - wait a sec, why do you guys want it?

[The latter half is addressed to the refugees.]

[umslay]

[As the Snow Beast twitches, the ropes around its legs prevent it from shaking too much as Jade works the controls. Much of the code is corrupted due to the direct thunder spell in the terminal, but there remains a constant stream of routines being performed. Emergency warnings, notifications that there are targets in range, preparations to reboot. There's also a terminal that says [ALTERNATE DIRECTIVES], though that is blocked by a password.

Meanwhile on the ground, Mevanwi shrugs at Jaune's question.]

We're scavengers, remember? It's our role to take any machinery from the Archfiend and use it. And this-- [She juts a thumb at the silent Snow Beast.] -- is definitely something we need to inspect.

And you know what? Since you practically saved our jobs, we can help you get through Trano Golsaucia. I brought a bunch of guys that've snuck through hundreds of times. [A pause. She gives the Snow Beast a good, hard look...] So now this is dealt with, what are you doing next?

[shinra_dog]

[Reno largely ignored the scavengers, even if the offer of an escort through Trano was a good one. Some of the others might be too noble to accept the civilian risk, but if they'd done it so much, then they were better prepared for it.]

Hold on!

[He shouted down to Jaune without looking, and pointed over Jade's shoulder to the screens.]

It's still running something -- you got Programmer equipped? What's it doing?

[Jade was in the lab more than Reno was, surely he'd be able to figure it out. But if it was still a threat, Reno certainly didn't want to unleash it again by accident.]

[not_most_days]

[Even with her screwdriver as a useful tool, Mary lacks the technical skill to really be the most of use here. In fact her climbing up this thing in the first place was predicated on the assumption that there was a crew inside for her to deal with. Instead she hands it off to Jade.]

You might be able to make better use of this right now than I can.

[A trade. A loan. Whatever it is, at the least she hopes it will be as useful for him as the crystal he'd loaned her on Valentione's Day was for her. Nodding to Reno, trusting him to keep it under control she began to flip and jump and run her way back down to the leg.

She gets to the ground and over to Jaune in enough time to catch the end of the scavenger's offer.]

That would be a help, aye. The Archfiend is likely our next goal. We thought perhaps this thing might be able to help us that way, or at the least it would just be a good thing to get it to stop troubling you.

[ She shifts on her feet, kicking some snow away. She still doesn't care for the cold, even when properly dressed.]

[jadethenecromancer]

[Although Jade's Programmer Job isn't equipped, he has access to the stats and tech savvyness through Onion Knight. It seemed like a sensible choice, considering where they're heading. He takes the screwdriver from Mary before turning back to the terminals.]

It's attempting to reboot. Looks like the targeting system is still working.

[He waves away the smoke coming from the malfunctioning computers, frowning.]

There are alternate directives hidden behind a password, but I doubt I can bypass it without Hacker equipped. Unless...

[He weighs the sonic screwdriver in his hand. While he's by no means an expert, he did cooperate with Jack back when they first tried to repair the Lunar Gate. At the time, they worked on using the screwdriver together with Auldrant's fontech. Now, let's see how much he can recall...]

[umslay]

SYSTEM REBOOTING

[The system runs a new attack routine while Jade works with the Sonic Screwdriver, shooting several Laser Bullets at the area in front of it. Thankfully, its aim isn't improved, but it does hit a few heroes and one of the scavengers, who falls to the ground with a cry.]

Augh!

Ponce!

[Mevanwi rushes to her comrade's side. Blood soaks through his coat, forming a circle of dark red around the torn cloth.]

Gauze! First Aid kit! [She yells at the other scavengers in the group. Then, she realizes something and turns to the Heroes.] You have magic, don't you? Can you do something about this?

[Eventually, Jade will bypass the firewall and find several routines he can pick from. Some are minor - like heating up to melt ice, self-cleaning, music - but there are a few of interest:]

> Shut down
> Manual control
> Flight capsule
> Head for Trano Golsaucia

[arcward]

[ Jaune lets our a small cry of pain as a laser hits his shoulder. Figures, the second he lowered his shield, too. He glances down and, yup, that's some blood. Nothing too bad, but getting that taken care of soon would probably be ideal. He shouts up to the cabin of the Beast.]

Uh, guys? It's shooting at us again! [ Just in case they weren't aware; he's not sure what they can see in there.

He steps in front of Mevanwi and the downed scavenger, grimacing at the amount of blood, raises his shield to try to cover them from another blast as best he can. He really wishes he could do more, but unfortunately he's pretty useless here, too.]

I can't do anything but cover you until the fight's over, but maybe someone else can? I'm not sure what everyone has equipped right now.

[not_most_days]

[Mary's eyes go wide as the lasers resume fire. She thought it was under control but clearly not. She dives to the side and avoids being shot, but any relief is short lived as she sees those who do.]

Damnit. No, sorry. I have no healing magic but I can help with the bandaging perhaps. [Maybe help stitch the wound up?]

[She glances at Jaune, happy at least to see his is minor. Keeping low she shuffles over to try to help the scavenger as best she can.]

[charming_jerk]

[Johnny get glanced by a laser, and curses loudly at the machine.]

Shut that thing down before I just bust the hell out of it!

[He hefts up his lance to demonstrate, but when he hears Mevanwi calling for help, he stops. He doesn't have much to help with other than a light healing elixir that he tosses her, in case there are no healers present, despite the fact that he could really be using it on himself right now. But he's a Hero, and that's what he's here for.]

[shinra_dog]

Manual control!

[Reno yelped and pointed at it to Jade. If they totally shut it down, then they might not be able to explore what the rest of the menu held.]

[He just hoped that Manual Control gave them the control and not someone distant via remote.]

[jadethenecromancer]

I know!

[Jade works the terminal as quickly as he can. By the sounds outside, it's apparent his healing magic is needed. Hopefully they're able to hang in there for just a little longer.]