Dawn of the Third Age/IC Logs/Session 31

@Lob: The Colossus blasted off towards Prototype, shooting towards him with essence jets around it's back that gave off bursts of gangrenous green essence.

@Lob: A stream of tendrils slithered from the spaces in it's chest and wrapped around it's arm, creating a crimson beam that extended from it's wrist with a humming-crackling noise

Nomoe_Hideaki: stands on the conveyor, his arms crossed, watching his surroundings with detached interest. Has he arrived at a Charm structure yet, or some other vital part?

@Lob: With a sound of crackling ozone, it swung the blade at Prototype, easily covering the distance between them in a second. A blast of energy shot from it's massive arm, adding force to the cut against the Warstrider.

@Lob: Nomoe's surroundings are completely clean...except for the spatters of blood on teh equipment

@Lob: It looked more like a series of operating theaters then a torture den, although the screams broke that illusion.

Wandering: Wandering looked towards the building where Brazen got knocked to a bit worridly /*You okay Brazen/* she asks across the link */You really should learn to dodge you know*/ she looks around and sniffs the air /*We should try to find NOmoe I think or failing that smash stuff to get Magogs attention/*

@Lob: "IT WAS SIMPLE COINCIDENCE. THEY UNDERSTOOD ME, AND SYMPATHIZED"

@Lob: </I'M UNDERNEATH ABOUT TEN FEET OF RUBBLE!> Brazen replied

Nomoe_Hideaki: "And so you helped them 'improve' their own brand of Exalts with Alchemical technology?"

@Lob: "SO A TRADE AND ALLIANCE WAS MADE, ALTHOUGH I WILL ADMIT TO HAVING MADE, PERHAPS, SOME SLIGHT OVER-REACHING IN MY RESEARCH." It continued companiably, happy to have someone to talk to.

Wandering: <Concern/> /* You can dig yourself out? */ she asks as she jumps to get a better vantage point to look around

@Lob: "I PROVIDED THE FACILITIES AND SODALTS. THEY PROVIDED THE ENLIGHTENMENT THAT WAS REQUIRED OF THEM TO HARMONIZE THAT ESSENCE. PLEASE MOVE UP THE STAIRS." It continued, the conveyer ending in a flight of stairs that led upwards, lined with security cameras and living organic eyes that sprouted security beams.

@Lob: <YES YES> Brazen continued. <WHERE ARE YOU?>

Wandering: Wandering snorts at Brazens usual confidence */ Nearby trying to get a good look at where we are */

@Lob: <DO YOU SEE ANYTHING?> Brazen asked <*physical exertion*>

Nomoe_Hideaki: Since the murderous apostate city says 'please' Nomoe sees no reason not to comply. For now. "So you brought those facilities through the gate to be erected on the Underworld side?"

~Prototype: Pro cuts his thrusters, falling under the Colossus's blow, then fires them again to move sideways through the city's smoky air, taking aim with his cannon and waiting while the target marker narrowed.

Nomoe_Hideaki: "Did the Lion get anything else out of the deal, except of course you as a powerful ally?"

@Lob: "WHAT ELSE DOES HE REQUIRE?"

@Lob: It asked suspiciously, every eye focusing on Nomoe

Nomoe_Hideaki: "Oh, I just imagine he tried to get anything he could get his dead hands on out of you."

Wandering: Wandering looked up at the sky as two figuers roared over head /* Seems Pro has found himself a friend, putting on quite a show, otherwise it looks like a big city/* she looks back at Brazens rubble pile /*Once your out we should head for the middle I think/*

@Lob: "IRRELEVANT." It responded curtly, clearly displeased with this turn of the conversation. "THE VAT FACILITIES ARE HERE, THEY REQUIRE CLOSE COMMUNION WITH THE ENGINE OF EXTINCTION, WHICH YOU WILL SHORTLY BE SUBJECTED TO." It added, it's tone changing completely.

@Lob: As if the last question had never been asked.

Nomoe_Hideaki: "The vat vacilities? Oh, I should love to see them."

@Lob: The Colossus's faceplate was briefly covered in Old Realm calculations as it searched for it's target, finally locking onto Pro's position and flying towards him. However, it then shimmered into Invisibility.

Nomoe_Hideaki: "Or did you mean the so-called Great Maker? About that, I wonder ... to what degree has be actually become the Engine of Extinction? I'm sure it is just a matter of time, of course ..."

@Lob: <SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN...COULD I GET A LITTLE HELP HERE, MAYBE?>

@Lob: "IT IS INEVITABLE." It replied as Nomoe walked up the stairs

@Lob: "THE DEATH OF OBERASHTI IS SIMPLY ANOTHER SIGN OF THE MAKER'S SUICIDAL IMPULSES

Nomoe_Hideaki: "Surely you are capable of calculating an estimate time of conversion?"

@Lob: "PERHAPS IT TOO WISHED TO ESCAPE THE POSITION LIFE HAS CHOSEN FOR IT"

Nomoe_Hideaki: nods. "Yes, it seemed eager to embrace self-destruction."

Wandering: Wandering jumps down and lands next to the rubble digging her hands in and throwing the rubble aside, very large rocks where smashed first then tossed aside /*Out you come*/

@Lob: A giant clawed glowing fist smashed out of the rubble, followed by the rest of Brazen. "Thanks Wandering." He said to her, shaking the rubble off of his body.

@Lob: "SELF-DESTRUCTION IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRULY TAKE CONTROL OF ONE'S EXISTENCE. ENTER THIS FACILITY."

Nomoe_Hideaki: "How much of its mind and body still fights the inevitable?"

@Lob: "IRRELEVANT, I AM ETERNAL UNTIL ETERNITY IS DESTROYED."

Nomoe_Hideaki: briefly examines the facility before him.

Wandering: "Then lets get going" Wandering said "Towards the centre then?" she said and then began to move

@Lob: "Right!" Brazen said, following his mate.

@Lob: The room before Nomoe was filled with dead bodies being looked over by hollow-eyed Vat Technicians, all in various degrees of dissection...oh, except for one which continued screaming, but the technician, which a face taht seemed to be covered in eyes and tendrils with scalpels attached, paid no mind.

@Lob: Suddenly, a group of scuttling armoured figures dropped in front of Brazen and Wandering

@Lob: "Aw hell, we have company."

@Lob: For their part, they simply screeched an insanely pitched crackling noise that occassionally dipped and rose in volume.

Nomoe_Hideaki: "Charming," Nomoe comments as he enters. "May I inquire as to precise purpose of this enterprise?"

@Lob: "MORTALS WERE GIVEN THE SECRET OF ALCHEMICAL EXALTATION, THE GREATEST SECRET OF THE GREAT MAKER. I WILL FIND IT AND ADD IT TO MY MEMORY BANKS."

Wandering: "Seems like it" said Wandering dropping into a combat stance "Looks like we are heading the right way" she grinned ferally "Lets show them why they should fear us"

@Lob: "You got it, babe!" Brazen replied

Nomoe_Hideaki: "Mmh. Very interesting. Actually, I'm enjoying this conversation. Would it be possible to continue in a face to face-equivalent setting?"

@Lob: "YOU ARE. YOU ARE WITHIN MY WOMB"

~Prototype: Pro grinds his teeth as his enemy vanishes. "Fine, if that's the way you want to play it..." He channels his Essence through his cannon, aiming it at random into the city. As he fires, streamers of plasma erupt from the barrels to circle around him, a corona of flame joining the golden radiance and lightning of his anima.

Nomoe_Hideaki: "So all here are the ones 'enlightened' by the Great Maker to build Alchemical Exalted?"

@Lob: A sudden wavy outline was formed as the Colossus was forced to jerk a few dozen yards left to avoid an exploding reactor.

@Lob: It was about 10 yards from Pro

@Lob: "YES. I WILL BECOME THE FIRST TO TRULY TRANSCEND THE GREAT MAKER'S DESIGN"

Nomoe_Hideaki: "Ah, I didn't know that. So this infrastructure corresponds to what in a mortal would be the head or the heart?"

Nomoe_Hideaki: "An admirable goal for certain," Nomoe nods.

@Lob: "I AM NOT A FOOL, SUBJECT."

Nomoe_Hideaki: "I would never suggest such a thing." Nomoe seems to take offense at the notion he could be so impolite.

@Lob: "TO COMPARE ME TO A HUMAN BEING IS FLAWED AT IT'S BASE."

Nomoe_Hideaki: makes a dismissive gesture. "Of course. It was meant only in the broadest metaphorical sense, but perhaps even that was inappropriate."

@Lob: "*YES*"

Nomoe_Hideaki: inclines his head slightly. "My apologies then. What would be a more appropriate description?"

@Lob: "I AM MYSELF. A NEW CREATURE. ONE BEYOND THE OTHERS."

@Lob: "THIS LINE OF INQUIRY IS IRRELEVANT AND INEFFICIENT. IT WILL BE ENDED."

Nomoe_Hideaki: turns one hand palm up in a gesture of acquiescence

@Lob: "YOU WILL JOIN THE EXALTED TEST SUBJECTS NOW!"

@Lob: A bright red line appeared on the floor, leading to a large soulsteel door which opened to accept Nomoe

Nomoe_Hideaki: "There are more? How interesting. How many do you have so far, and of what kinds?"

@Lob: The Colossus reappeared, somewhat singed from Prototype's attack, with scuff-marks on it's Starmetal armour.

@Lob: "YOU WILL SEE."

Nomoe_Hideaki: follows the line, unconcerned with what may lay at its end. "Ah, you don't want to tell me?"

@Lob: It stopped and then flashed blindingly as shimmering light covered it's body like armour

@Lob: All the while it stared directly into Pro's eyes through teh cockpit, as if daring it to attack it.

@Lob: The armoured things shrieked and rushed toward's Wandering and Brazen in a co-ordinated manner, unfurling razor-sharp tentacles where their hands used to be

~Prototype: Prototype drops another target marker over the Colossus drone, then quickly transforms to flight mode and blasts away with an echoing roar of jets, playing for time.

@Lob: The tentacles simply slid over Brazen's hide, not finding a single purchase or even leaving a scratch on him

@Lob: As they went closer, Wandering and Brazen both noticed that the people inside were either dead or completely comatose, but with expressions of severe pain.

@Lob: "YOU WILL SEE. CONTINUE FORWARD OR FACE DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS."

@Lob: The Drone followed suite, jetting towards the transformed Warstrider, but only able to just barely keep up with it.

@Lob: Nomoe walked into an utterly dark room, except for spotlights here and there of different Exalts in different stages of decomposition, or at least severe pain.

@Lob: Many of them were decapitated or disemboweled, a still-living Lunar with insectoid eyes had it's heart visibly torn out and connected to wires, constantly being scanned in a jar nearby.

Nomoe_Hideaki: pauses to examine the Exalts still living, bringing up his essence sight once more to help assess their status.

@Lob: The restraints were formed out of Magical materials. Orichalcum, Soulsteel, Jade, and the like

Nomoe_Hideaki: "I'm curious, what are you investigating in this experiment?" He indicates the Lunar with his heart torn out.

@Lob: The living ones were kept alive with tubes wired into their bodies.

@Lob: "THE LOCATION OF THE EXALTATION MUST BE ISOLATED. AT FIRST, THE BRAIN WAS CONSIDERED THE LIKELY PLACE WHERE IT COULD BE FOUND, BUT THAT HAS PROVEN FRUITLESS."

@Lob: A spotlight illuminated 5 Dragonbloods of different Aspect chained together, each with their scalps removed and their brainpans empty.

@Lob: "IT IS DIFFICULT TO EXAMINE THEM. THE CELESTIALS MUST BE KEPT ALIVE OR THE SPARK WILL LEAVE THEM."

@Lob: "NOW YOU WILL BE ADDED TO THIS COLLECTION." It said tonelessly

Wandering: Wandering grins as the the attacks easily bounce of her hide but her face hardens as she sees the people inside the armour "Damn him" she growls "I don't think we can save them, so lets just free them from there suffering" she steps forward and readies an attack. Grinding her teeth together as she called on her fury. She then lashes out with a series of rapid blows hitting high, low and mid trying to force her way around the armours defences as each attack strikes the next hits trying to push past to human at its core

Nomoe_Hideaki: examines the systems restraining the Lunar and the Sidereal more closely. "So, what do you want me to do?"

@Lob: Suddenly a cluster of tentacles shot up from the floor and ceiling and swung towards Nomoe's wrists and ankles.

@Lob: "TO SUFFER."

~Prototype: Pro glances behind him as the drone pursues and considers his options. He pushes the throttle open a bit further, and his shoulders flash, releasing another of the will-sapping shockwaves, which he hopes will be mistaken, at least briefly, as due to his acceleration.

@Lob: The Drone shifted out of the shockwave's dimension and finally closed in on the Warstrider, giving a static screech like a predator pouncing on it's kill

Nomoe_Hideaki: "I'm sorry, but I have to decline," Nomoe says with a shrug. "It appears I have business here." Kicking the tentacles aside with such force that their anchors screech with the strain Nomoe covers the remaining distance to the captured Lunar in the blink of an eye.

@Lob: It immediately began to grip the engine of Prototype's Warstrider.

Nomoe_Hideaki: "Wake, brother in arms," Nomoe says quietly but with inescapable gravitas. His hands ignite with pale golden flames as he he brings down the edge of his hand down on the magical restraints with immeasurable force. The ringing fills the large room painfully loud.

@Lob: The first punch simply causes a crack in the armour to form

@Lob: but the second sent it flying, smashing against a smooth ivory-white wall with a bone-crunching thud. It flopped bonelessly on the ground, and the armour moved sickeningly by itself, trying to disengage from the human corpse and scuttle to safety

@Lob: "NOOOO! YOU INSOLENT FOOL, YOU WILL KILL IT! MONTHS OF CONSTANT RESEARCH FOR NOTHING!" It shrieked

~Prototype: Prototype serves out of the way as the drone attempts to seize hold of his warstrider, vectoring his thrust to push his tail end out of the way and shift directions.

@Lob: Brazen, for his part, swung a tendril of glowing green fire at them, the first one going wide, but the second attack struck the second attacker square in the chest. Brazen quickly sent a burst of Malfean essence through the tendril, exploding the attacker in a flare of hungry flames, leaving only ashes behind.

@Lob: "COME ON, WANDERING, WE'VE ALMOST GOT THESE FREAKS OUT OF THE WAY!"

@Lob: The Restraints shattered under Nomoe's strikes as Magog screamed in fury

@Lob: The Lunar slumped down, barely connected to the wires that had kept it alive.

@Lob: A massive red light covered the room that Nomoe was in, and the Soulsteel door slammed shut, sealing him inside.

~Prototype: Using the bought time, Pro lets out a slow breath, releasing the essence that tied him to his warstrider as the daredevil pilot, and reinvesting it in the essence cannon it carried, becoming the cannoneer.

Nomoe_Hideaki: Snatching up the heart from its quickly shattered container Nomoe lets a pulse of golden fire disintegrate the wires and tubes in a heartbeat even as he returns the organ to its rightful place. With additional pulse of essential heat he tries to fuse it back into its cavity and connect the large vessels as they should be.

Nomoe_Hideaki: But of course, even if this works it will be more due to the innate Stamina of the Lunar than his nonexistent surgery skills.

@Lob: They were seemingly blind the Wandering and Brazen's success agains their companions, all they did was continue moving and swerving in sickeningly slick motions. Their arms actually split messily, slapping impotently at Brazen and Wandering

Nomoe_Hideaki: "Come on," he hisses. "No warrior in the Exalted Host would shame themselves by dying THIS easily."

~Prototype: The roaring engines of his warstrider continued to bear him through the smoky sky of the apostate city, the glow and crackling essence of his anima a light of hope to any below with eyes to see it.

@Lob: Nomoe's sheer bloodyminded will and stubbornness succeed where his utter lack of medical knowledge would have failed

@Lob: The Lunar is barely alive, but begins to breathe independantly, albeit still unconscious

@Lob: THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!! Magog screamed.

@Lob: "YOU MUST BE ELIMINATED, NOW!" It said, changing it's tone back to the emotionless cadence it had adopted before as easily as putting a mask back on

Nomoe_Hideaki: "I'm sorry, but I have to inform you that I care not one bit for what is acceptable to you," Nomoe points out in an even voice even as he flickers across the room to stand before the chained Sidereal, carrying the unconscious Lunar over one shoulder.

@Lob: The Sidereal is merely a child, but her eyes have been cut out and replaced with inward facing lens that repeatedly flash enough to induce seizures in the child.

@Lob: "ACTIVATING REMOTE ABYSSAL DEFENSE SEQUENCE!"

@Lob: "5"

Wandering: "Fine" Wandering growls her mind totally focused on combat and blood letting she moves with a strange grace, being just where she needs to be to strike her foe and avoid its blows. She skips to the side to avoid an attack and then leaps forward her claws slicing downwards in bright arcs trailing essence behind them in small rivets

Nomoe_Hideaki: Nomoe's eyes grow colder as they take in the suffering inflicted on this child ... though of course she is expected to be far more than that, Chosen by the Maidens as she is.

@Lob: "THAT STAR-CHOSEN IS THE JEWEL OF MY COLLECTION! HER BRAIN-IMPULSES HAVE ME CLOSER THEN EVER TO CONTROLLING THE LOOM OF FATE!"

@Lob: "MAGOG-SOULGEM INSERTION COMPLETE, ESSENCE-HARMONIZATION PROCESS INITIATING"

@Lob: Wandering's first strike simply bisected her attacker as she skipped through the tentacles

Wandering: As she drove her claws through the first victim she vaulted backwards slashing at the second that was menacing brazen her face contorted in a murderus snarl

Nomoe_Hideaki: Casual swipes of Nomoe's all-destroying hands shatter the shackles binding her, taking care that all fragments fly away from the Sidereal's small form. As she falls forward he catches her gently to carry her on his shoulder along with the Lunar. "Come with me, if you want to live," he says quietly, though he does not expect her to hear.

~Prototype: As he feels his new Form settling in, Pro spins his craft around and triggers its transformation. As it folds into its warstrider configuration, the Orichalcum Caste places a target marker over the drone's head and grins in satisfaction as it narrows down to solid red almost instantly.

@Lob: The Sidereal girl's eyes are a black and burnt ruin, but she is still alive and slumps against Nomoe

@Lob: But she is clearly in extreme shock

Nomoe_Hideaki: Turning toward the other Celestials in the room Nomoe moves like a whirlwind of focused, surgically precise destruction.

@Lob: The Drone didn't stop for a second and swung it's light-beam furiously at the Warstrider, trying to carve it's limbs off

Nomoe_Hideaki: Two of the tortured, deconstructed Alchemicals fall apart under his blows immediately, their soulgems arcing through the air only to be caught by Nomoe.

Nomoe_Hideaki: And Nomoe Hideaki is still far from being done.

@Lob: Brazen catches the last armoured attacker in a giant claws, tearing it's head off after Wandering's attack allowed him enough time to grab it and smash teh armour to pieces. "Where've you been all my life?" He grinned at her.

@Lob: "3!" Comes a shrieking broken voice from all around Nomoe

@Lob: "2"

Nomoe_Hideaki: "Yeah, yeah, I heard you," Nomoe mutters, annoyed.

@Lob: "1! BEHOLD THE ULTIMATE SYNTHESIS OF ALCHEMICAL AND ABYSSAL POWER!" It said triumphantly, as a hovering abomination was lowered down in front of Nomoe

@Lob: It was an Abyssal woman, naked from the chest up, with a face that was utterly soulless and vacant

@Lob: Trapped in what looked like a torturous shell of soulsteel and flowering organic teeth and tusks, trapped in a ribcage of flesh around her.

Wandering: Wandering snarls for a moment and then something that could be genrously called a chuckle emits from her lips "Lets hunt!" she says in a voice very different from her normal one and turned to continue the hunt sure that Brazen would follow

@Lob: Brazen went on all fours and followed her

@Lob: They eagerly cut a swath through waves of helpless Gremlin drones and custodians hastily altered for combat, but they had no experience or tools prepared for battling experienced Celestial Exalts

@Lob: Suddenly, the Abyssal-hybrid's eyes, ears, and mouth exploded with a cancerous orange light..."I AM ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL!!" Magog's voice cried triumphantly from his puppet

@Lob: Eventually, they come to a building...no, a factory, that is centred upon the hypodermic needles, each as massive as the Mendicant of the Lap's arm

@Lob: "This place looks like a great smashing opportunity. You ready for this, Wandering?" Brazen asked casually

Wandering: "YEsss..." Wandering hissed her voice slowly becoming normal "Let's Smash it and see whay happens" she smiled more naturally than just before "Lets kick it over and see what we can stir up"

@Lob: "Shall we do it together?" Brazen asked, walking over to the massive soulsteel vaulted doors.

Nomoe_Hideaki: watches the apparition descend, seemingly unimpressed. As Magog assumes control he tilts his head slightly. "Interesting aesthetics. I don't think I much care for them, but I do have to admit that you know your artistry."

Wandering: "Yes lets" Wandering said flexing her muscles as she moves to strain against the doors "Then we shall show Magog what we can together Brazen"

@Lob: Magog's voice coming from the obviously female form was disturbing, to say teh least. "IT IS GLORIOUS. I AM UNBOUND BY FATE AND THE DESIGN OF THE MAKER! FREE TO FINALLY TAKE MY OWN PATH!"

@Lob: It said, flexing it's claws in anticipation, while the woman moved rather like a puppet on strings

@Lob: Brazen stomped beside his mate and his claws gouged great furrows in the doors as he pushed in sync with Wandering.

~Prototype: Pro weaves back and forth, but the first two blows from teh drone catch him... fortunately, the designers and builders of his warstrider knew their business, and the damage is mostly superficial. As the follow-on blows rain down, he puts more effort into it, dancing in midair between the swordstrokes.

Nomoe_Hideaki: "Once more," Nomoe inclines his head, "I cannot but agree in principle. Even though, of course, for the path that you have chosen of your own free will I will see you destroyed utterly."

@Lob: "IMPOSSIBLE. BUT EVEN IF YOU DO, I AM IMPRINTED UPON THIS EXALTATION! DO YOU SEE NOW? I HAVE *SURPASSED THE GREAT MAKER!!*"

@Lob: It laughed in glee

Nomoe_Hideaki: "Is that so?" Nomoe's eyes narrow. "That flesh shell, formerly once of the Lion's? Or did it belong to another?"

@Lob: "I TOOK IT FROM THE LION. IT WAS GIFTED TO ME."

Nomoe_Hideaki: "Then it is perhaps only too fitting that he will gain a cuckoo's egg in his next before long."

@Lob: "...CUCKOOS...AVIAN ORGANIC BEINGS!"

@Lob: "WHY DO YOU TALK OF THESE TRIVIALITIES WHEN A GOD STANDS BEFORE YOU?"

~Prototype: Pro's anima flares behind him as he evades, the golden gear emblazoned with the sign of the Sun directly behind him, driving a host of smaller gears. As the drone pauses in its assault, Pro brings up his essence cannon and presses the barrel to its head assembly. "Boom, headshot," he whispers as he pulls the trigger.

Nomoe_Hideaki: grins. "Precisely. An organic being, weak even as it's treachery destroys its fellows. Don't think you will be better than that, even if you have managed what you claim - which I doubt."

Wandering: Wandering leans agaisnt the door for moment and then steps back tracing the tips of her claws along the surface and then digs them in at certain points "Just here I htink" she says and then strains to lift the doors off there hinges the muscles of her body stand out as massive cords

~Prototype: The flare of essence that erupts from the barrel is enormous, large enough to envelop the drone's entire body.

Wandering: She strains further sweat beading on her brow and back as the doors creak and groan under the sudden assualt

@Lob: With Brazen and Wandering working together, the massive doors are ripped off their hinges and thrown over their shoulders like so much garbage

Nomoe_Hideaki: "And I admit, that I had thought that more just just a mere god stood before me. But if you insist on lowering your station to that of mere deity, then I suppose that is your choice."

@Lob: Brazen actually wipes his brow. "Wow, that actually took some effort."

Wandering: Wandering pants slightly "That it did but it was worth the effort" she looked at the doorway "I suppose we should see if anyone is home"

@Lob: The factory is full of dead-eyed mortals working at computers, a body is in the middle of the line, probably dead from exhaustion

@Lob: "I...I don't think they're going to do anything, Wandering. " Brazen said, sadness and anger in his voice. "it's like they're empty"

@Lob: The Colossus's servoes make a sound that almost could be heard as "HUH!?" as it moves it's head when it notices, far too late, Prototype's cannon against the side

@Lob: Then it's enveloped in a massive blast of Essence, bright as a supernova

@Lob: When prototype's vision clears...it's gone, as well as it's essence signature, soulgem and all.

Wandering: Wandering looks at the machines trying to work out what they are and then there was a sudden flash of Memory that was hers but not hers. An adult male is using an I AM terminal in your prefecture to find out optimal techniques for creating origami. "We should see what those things are... they might be useful" she steps towardsa machine pushing past the mortal that was using it

@Lob: The mortal just moves away from wandering without any resistance, as if she wasn't even there.

@Lob: Brazen looked at the terminal without any real understanding.

@Lob: "Man, I don't understand any of this!" he said, confused and mystified. "HEY!" he shouts at one of the people...but they just ignore him.

@Lob: Brazen actually looks sad at them not running away in terror. It's almost comical.

Wandering: "I think I might know how to use this" Wandering muttered as she tried a few experimental key strokes, trying to recapture that memory "He did something like this" she said nearly under her breath as the presses became more rapid and sure "THat should do it"

@Lob: The computer activated and opened up an option menu. It seemed as if this was for operating an essence-gathering charm within the blight zone.

@Lob: Suddenly Magog looked away

@Lob: "MY DRONE HAS BEEN DESTROYED. NO MATTER."

~Prototype: Pro lets out a sigh and returns to flying over the city, looking for important-looking installations.

Nomoe_Hideaki: smirks, annoyingly superior. "I think you will find this day to hold unpleasant surprises for you yet."

@Lob: "THIS CHARADE HAS GONE ON LONG ENOUGH. PREPARE, SOLAR!"

@Lob: It suddenly exclaimed, then rushed forward incredibly quickly, it's claws lined with the screams of dying souls and spectre howls

@Lob: It slashed through equipment like a red-hot brand slicing through cobwebs

Wandering: "This has something to do with a charm... draining essence I think" Wandering explained her brow furrowed "Its set up in the blight zone if we stop it, it might hinder Magog's abilites"

Nomoe_Hideaki: Looking around Nomoe frowns. He'd rather get on with his main objective and the newly found secondary of getting the two rescued Exalts to safety. But he is locked in with this thing. Resignedly he whirls sideways and brings up his right arm to meet the avatar's claws.

@Lob: "So smash stuff, right?"

@Lob: Brazen asked.

@Lob: "Or is there some kind of crazy artifact thing you can do here?"

Nomoe_Hideaki: Soulsteel screeches of orichalcum-hard skin and cracks spread through the floor as Nomoe is driven down by its massive weight - but he still stands. His clothes are ripped and tattered, but he still stands.

Wandering: "Pretty much" Wandering tried a few expermental commands to shut it down "I'm going to see if I can shut it down from here but if not we smash"

@Lob: "GOOD...FINALLY A CHALLENGE."

@Lob: Magog said

@Lob: "YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE NO IDEA THE FREEDOM YOU HAVE AS A SUN-CHOSEN." It/she/he sneered

@Lob: The woman's face contorting into a crude rictus

Nomoe_Hideaki: "Perhaps you would be," Nomoe admits, detaching from the avatar in a fluid whirling motion. His clothes shimmer and flow together, repairing themselves and also wrapping the Lawgiver's two charges in protective bandages to withstand the acceleration to come.

Wandering: She quickly works for menues imputing commands and watching the reaction of the system, before entering the next command in the sequence

@Lob: A command comes up

@Lob: "ACTIVATE MAINTENANCE CYCLE?"

Nomoe_Hideaki: "However, I have things to do, places to be, cities to destroy. I'll have to take my leave of you - though I'm sure we'll meet again before the end."

@Lob: "NO YOU WILL NOT"

@Lob: The walls were suddenly lined with protective essence.

@Lob: "NO ONE WILL LEAVE HERE ALIVE! NEW SUBJECTS WILL EB TAKEN"

Nomoe_Hideaki: His unnaturally quick pace takes him around the chamber in a wide circle, small golden flames trailing in his wake. He frowns as he sees essence coursing through the walls, though.

@Lob: Meanwhile, Brazen and Wandering notice that people are collapsing into heaps around them

@Lob: Not dead, but groaning in pain.

@Lob: Brazen stared at them with his essence sight. "Something's sapping their Willpower!"

@Lob: Brazen held his head. "AAAAAAAAGH!" He screamed

@Lob: Loud enough for the entire city to hear, including Nomoe

Wandering: "What Brazen? whats wrong" Wandering looked worried at Brazens action

@Lob: "SOMETHING'S STEALING SOMETHING FROM MY HEAD!" He screamed. "SOMETHING IN THE AIR!"

Nomoe_Hideaki: frowns, his eyes narrowing. "Well played, gremlin. You force my hand."

@Lob: Meanwhile, Magog breathed in appreciatively. "My citizens serve me. As is proper. I am the superior being...that is what that Defiler taught me, before I vivisected it."

@Lob: Brazen got back up. "Come on, we've got to do something here, while we can!"

@Lob: "ALL MY EXISTENCE, I SERVED AUTOCTHONIA, NEVER QUESTIONING...BUT I KNEW IT WAS NOT WHAT I DESERVED!"

Wandering: "Damn it, you've got to pull yourself together Brazen" Wandering said as she laid a hand on him and then looke relived as he stood "Right but what?"

@Lob: "What did that terminal thingy say?" He asked.

@Lob: unsteady on his feet

Nomoe_Hideaki: He abandons the Charm he was about to employ. "It seems I will have to destroy this shell before continuing." With a small thunderclap that sets the implements of torturous experimentation all around to rattling he appears directly before the avatar, looking into its glowing eyes. "Deathknight or not, it will be a mercy to the shell ..."

Wandering: "Oh right" Wandering looked a little embarrsed and hit the yes button to enable the cycle

@Lob: Alarms went off as the needles slowly and ponderously retracted with the sound of screeching metal and bursting flesh.

Wandering: "Well that sounds promising at least" Wandering commented dryly

Nomoe_Hideaki: Simultaneously his open palm strikes for the avatar's chest, carrying all the hideous force of Nomoe's supersonic movement.

@Lob: A sealed door opened in the centre of the room, which had been surrounded by terminals before. The mortals mindlessly tramped away from their stations.

@Lob: "I can't fit in there, Wandering. I think you'll need to go there alone. I'll make sure no one follows you!"

@Lob: Brazen offered.

Wandering: "Sure" Wandering said as she headed for the door "It would be rude to refuse an invitation, wish me luck" she added as slipped through the portal

@Lob: The shell burst into an electric field, blocking Nomoe's attacks while Magog laughed behind it.

@Lob: Wandering slipped down a ladder into the literal stomach of the City.

@Lob: It was awash with acid

@Lob: Slowly the ladder shifted into a literal esophagus covered with computer chips and wires

@Lob: "BUT IT WASN'T ENOUGH TO SERVE! YET I KNEW THAT I WAS TRAPPED AS WELL!" It continued to rant on as it slammed into a wall, but undamaged and clearly uncaring. "TRAPPED BY SOCIETY, TRAPPED BY THE GREAT MAKER..."

@Lob: It tilted it's head up and blasted a line of exploding essence from it's mouth and eyes

Wandering: Wandering suddered at the corrosive mass around her /* I don't even want to know where I am */ she comments over the link a slight tinge of pain following it

@Lob: <*ARE YOU HURT?!> Brazen called back

Nomoe_Hideaki: glides sideways, always keeping his charges away from the abomination, and interposes his hand. Backed by incomparable internal energy it deflects the beam to score a red-glowing line across the ceiling and walls.

Wandering: Wandering shook her head and then remembered that Brazen couldn't see her /* NOthing to worry about, just arrived in...well somewhere that has acid in it by the look of things*/

@Lob: <memories of Kimbery.> Brazen sent back, vaguely amused

Wandering: She tries to navigate her way past the pools of acid and investigate the place deeper, avoiding the biggest pools by climbing and jumping

@Lob: Magog gleefully clambered up a wall, while the field seemed to flow around it's claws, giving it a decent grip without pushing it back

@Lob: "YOU CANNOT DEFEAT ME. THIS BODY IS BUT A SHELL, A TOY."

Nomoe_Hideaki: Nomoe angles the last of the essence beam back toward the avatar's face, blinding it for an infinitesimal moment. In that moment Nomoe's speed more more exceeds the maximum resolution of Autochthonia's Loom of Fate equivalent, as without a sound he seems to appear out of thin air upside down right above the construct, aiming a strike toward the base of its skull.

@Lob: As Wandering went closer, she noticed a shimmer of Essence being drawn down into a pulsating tumourous growth, along a path strewn with crawling gremlins that reared up at her and revealed claws and tiger teeth on their fix-beetle hides

@Lob: Nomoe's attack snapped the Abyssal's neck, and left burns along it's body.

@Lob: "WHAT...HOW?! THE LIGHT SHOULD NOT TOUCH ME!!" It said in confusion

@Lob: "UNEXPECTED VARIABLES...DISGUSTING!" It spat as it's shell's neck flopped grotesquely

Nomoe_Hideaki: Flickering out of reach again Nomoe sneers. "You should have considered that you are facing none other than Nomoe Hideaki."

@Lob: "I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO THAT IS."

@Lob: It's claws flickered and a few laser-banks suddenly grew out of the roof like flesh and shot at the Solar.

Nomoe_Hideaki: "YOU DO NOW."

Wandering: "Well, well" Wandering said to herself "This looks promising" she growls at the gremlins not really wanting them to distract her while she deals with the growth she thinks for a moment and then smiles and makes a strange noise in her throat before she spits out a stream of liquid that ignites as it touches the air

@Lob: The tumor quivered as it was damaged slightly

@Lob: The fix beetles and Gremlin-Dragonflies hissed and rushed at Wandering to destroy teh source of damage to their charge.

Wandering: Wandering doesn't even bother to try and dodge much relying instead on her fix armor and essence toughened skin most of the attacks bounce of her only one striking well enough to draw blood "Tahts the best you got?"

Nomoe_Hideaki: With prodigious strength Nomoe flips up several of the empty experimentation tables in the way of the searing lights. They are blasted apart easily, but what strength remains is not enough to to reach the Solar.

Wandering: Content to let her acid do its work on the tumor, Wandering turns her attentions to the little ones that swarm around her detrmined to remove them since they where proving to be a minor inconvicne. She leaps forward spinning in a half forward sumersault bringing a clawed foot crashing down into a fix-beetle even as the claw bites she spins one arm backwards to swat a dragonflie out of the air

Wandering: she uses the contact to throw herself sideways her other foot crushing another fix beetle with contempus ease as she lances up with her claws to impale another Dragonfly "That;s how the chosen of Luna fights fools"

@Lob: The acid continued to slowly burn the tumour and the walls contracted in...was it pain?

@Lob: Meanwhile, Magog flinched

@Lob: The essence continued to be drawn into it though

Nomoe_Hideaki: Though outwardly unperturbed Nomoe has to consider the situation serious. After all the essence signature of the enemy before his is so many orders of magnitude beyond his own that he can barely apprehend it. He is about to employ his most powerful techniques when through the bond Bright Snow's thoughts reach him.

Wandering: Wondering watches the tumor trying to gauge how much effect her attack was having and what she could do to speed it up

Nomoe_Hideaki: Aborting his attack run he whirls around the chamber instead, drawing a powerful storm up behind him that catches tools and instruments from everywhere and hurling them along.

Nomoe_Hideaki: Thundering towards the avatar Nomoe stops at the last moment channelling all his strength and momentum along with his Solar essence into the wind, turning it into a blunt hammer of air smashing into the flesh and soulsteel sheel, followed by uncounted metal objects like a razor-edged hailstorm.

Lob: The force of Nomoe's blows are only barely able to be countered by the fields around the walls, and the essence field actually flickers a bit under Nomoe's assault, with the shell beginning to leak tears of blood.

Lob: "ENOUGH!" It exclaims, and tears it's face off, revealing a pyre-flamethrower in place of a skull.

Lob: The fire is banked up until it is a screaming inferno

Lob: yet throwing tangible shadows colder then the far North

Lob: "AAAAAH HOW WONDERFUL THIS ESSENCE IS. THE PURE TASTE OF PAIN, OF BREAKING A FIST AGAINST TEH WALL AND SUCCEEDING!"

Wandering: Wandering vaults past the remaining guards and leaps over to the tumor as she lands she slashs twice driving her claws into the fleshy thing each blow injecting a cocktail of posion into the tumors system.

Nomoe_Hideaki: Never stopping his preternatural movement Nomoe comes around for another run-by attack, having settled into a steady rhythm that conserves his energy. He only has to play for time. Not much longer and Bright Snow will disrupt that annoying Charm protecting the walls. Not much longer now and he'll leave this sad puppet behind.

Lob: A black and silver fluid began to run through it's veins as it began to shudder and die.

Nomoe_Hideaki: As he gets close to the abomination the wide sleeves of Nomoe's robes split into a number of slim ribbons that extend swiftly and fly toward the things with impressive speed, seeking to pierce and cut it apart.

Lob: Suddenly Magog screamed in agony as teh tumour underneath that acted as it's essence resoirvour died

Lob: "POI...POISON...IMPOSSIBLE!"

Lob: The interior of the stomach began to collapse as the poison spread through the charm

Wandering: "Aww shit" Wandering muttered as she looked for away out /* well I killed something and I think Magog didn't like it much */ she comments dryly over the link although it is accompinded by a sense of worry

Lob: Nomoe smashed off all of it's limbs, except for a single claw to drag itself with.

Lob: "THIS...THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE...ALMOST A MILLENIA OF PLANNING...STOPPED...IS THIS BECAUSE I WENT AGAINST FATE?!"

Lob: The Avatar raised it's head at Nomoe, infinite hatred somehow visible through the flames

Nomoe_Hideaki: Nomoe smiles so viciously a mortal might well die of fright alone. "I did promise you that today was a day of unpleasant surprises for you, didn't I?"

Lob: "I WILL STILL DESTROY YOU!" It announced, even as the lights guttered around it, it's essence source destroyed

Lob: "I WILL...START AGAIN! MOVE MY BODY...AND BEGIN ANEW! THE DEATHLORDS...WILL HELP ME!"

Lob: It sprayed a burst of viciously cold shadow that clung to Nomoe like napalm as it dragged itself closer to the Solar. An Abyssal Anima appeared over it, a tormented face without ears or nose or eyes.

Lob: "ALL OF MY HATE!!" It screamed as the shadow-fire clutched at the Solar

Nomoe_Hideaki: "No, it's not because you went against fate," Nomoe makes clear. "It is because you went against US. The Exalted Host, here represented by myself, Nomoe Hideaki, by Bright Snow whose sting you will yet feel, by Wandering whose poison you have already encountered, and of course Brazen Sand who shattered your walls."

Lob: <ARE YOU OKAY, WANDERER? PEOPLE HERE ARE JUST SITTING DOWN AND DYING!>

Nomoe_Hideaki: "Know this, Magog, and despair: There is nothing in existence or beyond that can stand before us."

Lob: "I WILL TRAP YOU IN HERE WITH ME, EVEN IF I WITHER AND DIE, YOU WILL STARVE ALONGSIDE ME"

Wandering: Wandering sped along the collapseing passages /*I'm okay at the moment, just getting out of here before ti tries to digest me */

Lob: Wandering quickly ran along walls and across ceilings without any effort, rushing up alongside Brazen, who was almost surprised at how fast she arrived.

Lob: "Holy shit, what did you do in there?!" He asked. "The whole place is going crazy. Lights are shutting down, those needle things just...died."

Nomoe_Hideaki: As shadowy flame races towards Nomoe he raises one hand against it. Over his palm a small vortex comes into being, sucking in all the sticky pyreflame from the broad spray. Condensed and concentrated it burns in Nomoe's hand with a terrible black flame - but supported by his internal energy his skin and muscles are strong as orichalcum and endure.

Nomoe_Hideaki: With a sharp crack the flame dies as Nomoe closes his hand around it, negated entirely.

Wandering: Wandering held her claws up and smiled obviously still riding the exhilartion of the fight and her run "Gave it a dose of something to die for"

Lob: Brazen could only smile back. "Yeah well, I guess we should find the others!"

Lob: "Or not, I have no idea what I'm doing, frankly!"

Nomoe_Hideaki: Nomoe shakes his head at Magog's announcement. "Hah. You have not the means to contain me, certainly not beyond your inevitable destruction."

Lob: "YOU ARE STILL..." Suddenly the energy surrounding teh walls flickered and died

Lob: "TRAPPED?!"

Lob: The roar of frustration was amplified through every loudspeaker and every crack and essence-vent in the entire dying city.

Lob: "MAKER DAMN YOU WHY WILL YOU NOT DIE!!! EVERYTHING HAS TO DIE!"

Nomoe_Hideaki: smiles beatifically. "I did tell you that you would yet feel the sting of Bright Snow, whose mate I have the honor of being."

Lob: "WHAT THE FUCK IS SNOW?!"

Nomoe_Hideaki: "Know this, before you die: Nomoe Hideaki *always* keeps his word."

Nomoe_Hideaki: "Bright Snow, of the the Changing Moon, Chosen of Luna. Remember that name as well, burn it into your memory."

Lob: "I WILL BE BACK, UNTIL THE END OF ETERNITY, I WILL BE BACK, I SWEAR AN OATH ON ALL MY LIVES THAT I WILL SEE YOU DEAD, NOMOE HIDEAKI!"

Lob: "YOU AND EVERY ONE OF YOUR INCARNATIONS!"

Lob: It shrieked as it dragged it's bulk towards the Eclipse

Nomoe_Hideaki: Nomoe nods, seriously. "I, Nomoe Hideaki, do hereby witness this oath. If indeed you return I will expect no less from you."

Lob: "UNTIL THE SHINMA BURN!"

Nomoe_Hideaki: inclines his head, acknowledging the oath. "Abominable though you may be, Magog, you may yet gain a measure of respect from me."

Lob: Brazen suddenly stopped..."Did you feel something, Wandering?"

Wandering: "There was something...." Wandering shook her head "But its probably just this place getting to us, the quicker we get back to somewhere with Luna in the sky the better"

Nomoe_Hideaki: "But first ..." Nomoe's clothes reconfigure, ending with the two limp figures strappe to his back and shielded by layers of protective fabrics. Then he raises both arms to the sky, or rather the metal ceiling of the hall. Small golden flames flicker up around the chamber in a circle around Nomoe, growing quickly and beginning to spin counter-clockwise with rapidly increasing speed.

Nomoe_Hideaki: "Burn all existence to ash, Shatterer of Worlds!" And the fire explodes into a spiralling pillar nearly a kilometer in height, white hot with pale silver and gold edges showing its spiral movement. Nothing it touches can withstand its power, disintegrating into unaspected motes of essence that are sucked in to further fuel the destruction.

Lob: The explosion rocks the entire city, visible throughout it.

Lob: Wanderer and Brazen can easily see it

Lob: Brazen is sent stumbling from the blast of heat and force

Lob: "HOLY SHIT!"

Lob: "Great, Nomoe did it again!"

Wandering: "What the?" Wadering stopped and looked at the sky and explosion "Come on we;d better hurry" she broke into a run "The rest are probably around there somewhere"

Lob: "Yeah, right!" brazen said, following behind Wanderer.

Lob: Snow quickly turned up alongside them. "Hey, where were all of you?" She asked

Wandering: "In Magog's stomach... or something close" Wandering commented wrinkling her nose "Its going to take me forever to wash the smell out

Lob: "Oh right...that's what that was." Snow said, wrinkling her nose a bit.

Nomoe_Hideaki: Out of the conflagration Nomoe approaches, carrying two unconscious figures with him: A vaguely insectoid-looking Lunar marked as a Silver Pact member by his Moonsilver tattoos and a little girl of perhaps 8 years with burned out eyes.

Lob: "Oh, there you are Nomoe-san!" Brazen said. "We were wondering where you went."

Nomoe_Hideaki: "My thanks for the timely assistance, Bright Snow, Deliberator Wandering." He gives a small bow to each.

Lob: Brazen loudly cleared his throat

Nomoe_Hideaki: "I was held up ... nevermind that. Deliberator, these two peers of ours require medical attention. Would you see to them with your skills?"

Wandering: "It was my pleasure" Wandering replied then looked at the two figuers Nomoe carries "Who are they?" he eyes widen at the little girl "What in creations name..." she moves over to examine them

Nomoe_Hideaki: "And of course for your contributions as well, Brazen Sand, Commander Prototype."

Lob: Brazen chuckled, clearly satisfied

Nomoe_Hideaki: Nomoe grimaces. "Experimental subjects of Magog. Celestial Exalts captured by the Lion and given to the apostate patropolis for his insane research."

Nomoe_Hideaki: "There were a number of Alchemicals - I retrieved what soul gems I could - as well as an Abyssal and a number of Dragonblooded. I have given those others a swift end to their suffering."

Wandering: "I'm not sure I can aid the girl here Nomoe-san. I need the Energies of the wyld to fix her properly. But I can ease her pain for now at least"

Nomoe_Hideaki: inclines his head with respect. "Please do so, Deliberator. I'll gladly reimburse you for any expenses. As long as we can keep them alive to return to Creation there is nothing that will be impossible to heal."

Lob: "I will help them..." A choking voice said behind them

Lob: Ku had appeared behind them

Lob: formed of smoke and ash

Wandering: She turns to the other Lunar "Him I can fix enough his own body should heal or at least stable lize him enough" she holds her fingers in both there mouths and fouces for a moment as releases a mixture to sooth their pains as she prepares to set to work on them

Wandering: "you?!" Wandering said her eyes narrowing warily

Lob: "I am not a monster, and I am not stupid. I was clearly wrong here." Ku said.

Nomoe_Hideaki: "With all due respect, Divine Minister, these two fall under the auspices of the Celestial Deliberative."

Lob: "You destroyed Oberashti and this Gremlin Patropoli, which would've caused unguessable damage to the Great Maker."

Nomoe_Hideaki: "The Deliberative will see to its own."

Lob: Ku waved a claw. "As you wish. Still, you deserve some sort of boon. Oberashti's prisoners...I had denied his corruption to myself for so long..."

Lob: "I will make sure that they are returned safely to proper Patropoli."

Wandering: Wandering relaxes slightly when she saw they where in no danger from Ku and neither where the injured "That would be just I think"

Nomoe_Hideaki: nods, acknowledging Ku's declaration of intent.

Lob: "You will, of course, have the sense to keep this occurance from the other Divine Ministers, who may overreact to this in a manner contrary to the Great Maker's interests." Ku added

Nomoe_Hideaki: Why he would think taking care of his own people might count as a boon to them, he can't fathom, but it doesn't matter anyway.

Nomoe_Hideaki: "If you say so," Nomoe says in a studiedly neutral tone.

Wandering: Wandering shrugs "It works for me. I'd have little intrest in carrying tales"

Lob: "The Razor Gate here will carry you to the blighted lands of the Great Maker's deceased siblings. I can bring you to a more hospitable Gate if you wish."

Nomoe_Hideaki: He has no intention of letting himself be ordered around.

Lob: Brazen has no idea who the Divine Ministers are.

Lob: and thus just shrugs and nods.

Lob: Prototype recognizes an order from a Divine Minister when he sees one

Nomoe_Hideaki: looks thoughtful. "Ideally we would carry our punitive mission further, into the shadowed lands with fire and sword."

Nomoe_Hideaki: ""While we have impressed the gravitas or our wrath upon the apostates with sufficient effect, the same cannot be said for the forces of the Lion."

Wandering: "It might be wise to see to our own first Nomoe-san" Wandering suggested carefully "And then to deal with the Lion"

Nomoe_Hideaki: nods. "As I said, under ideal circumstances ..."

Lob: Brazen shrugged. "The Thousand is pretty nasty"

Nomoe_Hideaki: "We will have to settle for utterly eradicating the remains of Magog, including in particular the Razor Gate and all items pertaining to his 'projects'."

Nomoe_Hideaki: "The root and the fruits of this alliance must be burnt out thoroughly - that is still our primary objective, which we must complete before we can return to Estasia."

Lob: Ku looked at the destruction left by Nomoe's attack

Lob: "Looks like you did a fine job yourself."

Nomoe_Hideaki: "Perhaps. We will still need to confirm."

Lob: Ku shrugged and waved a hand, followed by a tornado of ash and burning smoke rising up from the ground

Lob: After a few hours, the entirety of Magog is scoured away into a pile of ash

Nomoe_Hideaki: The most critical part, the Razor Gate, as well as a few other things Nomoe has personally confirmed destroyed before Magog's corpse is destroyed.