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Dien
Exalted Player
Posts: 226
Joined: Fri May 12, 2006 1:59 am
Class: Blademaster
Location: The "Who's Online List," Stalking People...

Post by Dien » Mon Feb 12, 2007 9:29 am

One resurrect. That was all it took. Just prior to the attack, Phoenix had given it to Dien. Now he was left alone with Canti and Senna – all of the biggest players had been taken out. His own SP count was reflected as little more than nothing – hardly enough to do any damage to the behemoth. If Rayo’s suspicions about the thing taking on the attributes of its attackers was correct, then it would now be practically untouchable. Sure, the Rai element could strive and strain, but Nighthand was the group’s muscle. With him as their opponent, it would take the combined effort of everyone to take him down – everyone who was currently on the ground either dying, dead, or extremely inhibited.

Fortunate as he’d been to be revived, the blademaster had neither the SP nor the ability to cast magic enough to revive them all to full, but he did have his inventory. Ah yes, the bag of infinite holding at his side. A quick check revealed a mighty stash of items capable of accomplishing the task, and he laughed, somewhat giddy at the goodies he’d discovered. When he’d had the time to purchase them, aside from the top of the tower, was beyond him. Shrugging it off as some mishap of the virus, he pulled out two: one for Rayo and then one for Phoenix. Zan was downed, but then again he wasn’t quite out for the count. His enhanced immune system would work the stuff out in time. The blademaster hadn’t been so lucky, though, and neither had the wavemaster with whom he worked.

Doubt flashed through Dien’s mind for naught but a moment, but then the moment was gone. He knew what he had to do. With a flick of the wrist, the items were unleashed, their contents breathing life into the ethereal beings that used to be his comrades. Within a moment they were back to normal, albeit without SP, but Rayo had that one covered – especially if his magic-reflective skills had picked up the Rig Gaem he’d have that solved in no time. That was another thing…

Yep, he did have them left over. Two items he’d picked up in bulk at the top of the tower hadn’t been used, and so they sat in his inventory. Warrior’s Blood and Hunter’s Blood, respectively enhancing physical strength and accuracy, each one cast the equivalent of a spell on the recipient. For Rayo’s magickery, they would be Aps Corv and Torv, which he could then pass along to the rest of the group—in theory anyway. There was no certainty of it, but if they were going to attack physically again the Aps would be extremely useful. They’d need all the help they could get against Primal, especially now that he had absorbed Nighthand. The thought brought him back to his original train, and he thought on it for a moment, a strategy for the fight planning itself out quickly – the bare essentials, at any rate.
From: Dien
To: The Party (Nall included)
Re: Another plan
Message:
Here’s what I see, everyone. If Rayo’s right about this guy’s stats right now, he should have a soft spot for the Rai element, what with Nighthand being inside him and all. My idea is to hit him with everything Rai that we can think of. Skills, spells, scrolls – even just equipping Rai-heavy equipment might give you that slight edge. Also, any Ap spells you can throw at Rayo would be good (particularly Ap Raio or Ap Corma).

Rayo, if you could pass along the spells I hit you with to everyone, I’m sure it’d help a lot. I’m also going to hit you with an Ap Do after this message, so if you could pass that along as well I’d appreciate it. If you have any SP left, any damage you could do would also be good.

Phoenix, I need you to grab Zan from beside Primal – use your gravity powers to make him light enough for you to carry and take him away before returning to the fight. This is to prevent him from becoming minced meat next time around.

Nall, anything you can do would be extremely useful as well. I’m sure with all your experience you’ve got something with Lanceor’s etchings on it.

Let’s do it, people, we’re closer than it seems!
At that, the blademaster changed swords – Zanzamas for the Ap Do. Math said that the cast on Rayo had left him with about 47 more SP. Natural regeneration rates said that he’d be able to cast five straight Rai Roms before running out; a number that could be raised to six or possibly even seven with-

“Rig Gaem.” The spell took effect, and he quickly switched armor, sorting through to try and find whatever combination gave him the highest Rai stat boost (a total gain of +7 Rai). Then he waited. If anyone was going to cast the boosts he’d requested, he didn’t want to miss out – and besides that, he wanted his own Aps returned. Waiting could only stand for so long, and the blademaster began his assault.
__________
OOC:
Revived: Rayo, Phoenix
Spells to Rayo: Rip Maen, Ap Corv, Ap Torv, Ap Do
Equipment: Zanzamas, Heavenly Bead Tiara, Grand Armor, Silver Bracer, Mountain Guard
Rai Roms to Primal (after any additional aps): 7 (with a slight delay between the sixth and the seventh)
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Image|||Level 35 Blademaster (+200 EXP)
Wishlist: EXP, Ends of Earth, Armor with Status Effects

Rayo
Exalted Player
Posts: 485
Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2003 7:21 pm

Post by Rayo » Mon Feb 12, 2007 7:29 pm

The party pulled together rather well to smack around the beast. Hijinx and his blob, Phoenix, and Zan all managed to deal enough sizeable damage for his visibility to increase. As a ghost, his senses were so much more attuned to the normal patterns that living inside of Primal. His release occurred early enough to watch Nighthand try to break the cycle, but the attempt only delayed it. Moments later Primal had a new delicacy, heavy blade pasta. Given the lack of bodily control enabled inside of the boss, the body might even actually resemble the food.

Once revived, the mage set to work restoring himself to a reasonable fighting condition. Consuming one Mage’s Soul gave him a decent bit of SP to work with, but it wouldn’t be enough for everything he would be needing to do. The spell caster enchanted his own body with the Rig Gaem magic, an investment that started to pay off immediately. The wavemaster also retrieved the Great Elite, no longer wishing to blast away with summons.

The blue mage considered Dien’s idea as he was pumped with spell after spell, most of which were useless. After this field was done with forever, then it would be time to share a little lesson about his newfound magical powers. Ap Do and Ap Torv were already in his system from earlier during Primal’s first form, although the Ap Corv was new.

It was also the only spell recast out of the bunch. If Rayo’s guesses were correct, Primal could benefit from the spells of it’s victim. All that Audrey II look alike would need to do was consume a player with Ap Do and Ap Torv to feed all the easier and escape between snacks. Judging by it’s attack patterns so far, physically boosting it’s brute force wouldn’t make a sizeable difference. Targeting Dien and then Senna with Ap Corv, he let the two most likely to function as the front line gain the benefit from the spell. Since Primal hadn’t taken advantage of his magic buff earlier, Ap Corma was probably also a safe choice so his own body became affected by his magical equivalent the spell Rayo had used on the other. His next target was chosen as he used the benefit from Ap Do to back away quickly with ease before Primal redirected an attack his way.


“Dek Raio! GiRai Rom!”

If the party truly was trying to use lightning to bring down the plant monster, then deducting it’s stats would be far more effective. The follow up move was his strongest Rai technique in spell form; Lanceor Ch would deal more damage but that would drop his SP to practically nothing within a minute of recovering it.

The lightning mage drew out his flute, and played a simple melody for his back up plan. Dien and Senna might be able to help each other the way Nighthand tried earlier, but if they were both disabled, then there wouldn’t be anyone available besides Nall or Canti to cut them loose. The former was completely unreliable, having ignored any roles in plans thus far, and the latter might not necessarily be mighty enough to hack away the vines with thorns with single blows.

Bell, his personal thunder grunty, came in from behind him, somehow joining them in the room. The room was rather tight to try and engage in full mounted combat, but it provided an option. The moment Primal tried to consume someone, the pair would charge. The side blades would slice through the impediments and the rider would grab the would be victim. Nighthand’s plan only failed because both heavy blades remained, Rayo wouldn’t leave a target behind for Primal to consume. If Primal went after the mage himself, either his grunty could drag him away or he could nuke the area if his grunty was the target. Both the lightning mage and thunder grunty had strong defenses for lightning magic, qualities Primal shouldn’t. Acting as a retrieval unit wasn’t quite the same thing as a medic, but his decision probably placed him on defense.


ooc: blue: Ap Corv
Rayo
Lv.47 Archer 745HP/311SP
Bell, the Silver Grunty of Thunder
Skills/Spells-Shocking Arrow of Voltage(30), Arrow of the Burning Stars(10), MeRai Rom(40), Rai Kruz(10), La Repth(20), Rip Maen(40), MeRai Kruz(20), GiVak Kruz(20), MeRai Don(20), Rig Saem(15)
Weapon/Armor/Book-Golden Royal Bow/Thunder Torque, Thunder Cloak, Able Ring, Ivory Greaves/Thunder Magic
Wishlist: YL Fukuoka, Stormlore, Winter Stone, Silver Grunty

Phoenix512
Exalted Player
Posts: 304
Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2003 10:42 pm

Post by Phoenix512 » Tue Feb 13, 2007 3:10 am

Phoenix attacked Primal with his Rue Slash attack while Hijinx and Zan also joined in the attack. The combined effects were partly successful as Primal’s HP drop a bit and Rayo was thrown back up but they experienced a powerful counterattack for their efforts. They were all injected with a different poison which Phoenix died instantly not before experiencing immense pain. This pain was something that he had experienced before when using his gravity powers to the maximum limits but being unable to breathe was something new.

Even though the blademaster ended up dying, he was the lucky one as Hijinx became powerless while Zan was numb to pain along whatever else that he has. Primal was trying to use Zan as the latest human shield but Nighthand stop him from doing that. In this process of saving Zan, Nighthand became the human shield instead. This all happened while Phoenix was a ghost along with Rayo.

It seems that I was right about Primal’s strategy. I knew that he would have some attacks that we didn’t know about but I didn’t know it would be that random and deadly. We need a better plan than attacking Primal and continue using us to kill off our own party.

A moment later, Phoenix was resurrected by Dien. Soon after that, he got a flashmail from him saying that he should carry Zan away from the battlefield and telling him how do it also. The blademaster did not think it was necessary to spell it out for him on how to move the weakened werewolf but whatever. He did not even need to lighten Zan as he could easily carry him along with the fact that lightening him would hurt Phoenix a bit. Phoenix was still feeling the aftereffects of the poison that Primal gave to him and did not want to exert his powers unnecessarily.

Phoenix went over to the weakened Zan and carried him over his right shoulder. He did not realize how heavy Zan was which probably included his weapons. I wish I could remove his weapons but I guess I need to make him a bit lighter or I’m going to move very slowly. The blademaster altered the gravity of the heavy blade and began to run away from Primal. As Phoenix got some distance away from Primal, he remembered something that Dien said in his flashmail which could lead to a quicker victory but would anyone would be the suicide bomber though?

Once seeing that he and Zan were quite far away from Primal, Phoenix returned Zan back to his normal gravity and placed him on a nearby tree. He was feeling the pain of using his powers on Zan but he was willing to bet that was nothing compared to the pain that he was feeling right now. Suzaku, I need you to keep watch on Zan and make sure that he doesn’t leave here until I say so. After Phoenix gave the command to the bird, she flew to his location and perched on a branch of a tree.

“Zan, don’t leave from here until I give you the word otherwise or my bird will cook you. I’m going to help the others now.” After telling Zan that, Phoenix left him and began to head back towards the battlefield. As he raced through the underbrush, he began to type up a flashmail.

Flashmail
To: The Party
From: Phoenix

Going off Rayo’s and Dien’s idea that Primal can absorb the status effects of anyone who is eaten, I think that we could inflict a negative status on him. If anyone who has Duk Lei or any type of Lei spell, cast it on the person who is about to eaten by Primal. Since Nighthand has the highest amount of hit points and only Primal still has a little bit over 5000, we would probably have to fight him like this a few more times unless we could get him to stop eating us.

I think that if we do hit and run attacks on Primal that we could prevent being eaten and could defeat him. I hoped that we don’t need to cast negative statuses on us to defeat him.

End Flashmail


Phoenix had managed to gain enough SP to do one level 2 attack which he decided to switch to his Matoi sword as it’s his most powerful sword and lack a thunder weapon skill because of his class. He managed to reach the battlefield and ready his chance to attack Primal as various thunder spells were going off.
Phoenix
Level 48 Blademaster
Equipped Skills: Vak Revolver, Gan Revolver, Dek Vorv, La Repth, Juk Kruz, Rue Kruz, BiVak Rom, GiGan Zot
Other Skills: Rue Kruz, Rip Synk, Rip Saem, Crack Beat, Rue Slash, Ani Slash, Gan Crack, Gan Revolver

Wish List: Phoenix's Fire, Gold Necklace
EX-Spheres: LV 3 - Overdrive, LV 3 - Curative, LV 3 - Elemental Breath

Zan
Exalted Player
Posts: 206
Joined: Sat Jan 22, 2005 10:28 pm
Contact:

Post by Zan » Tue Feb 13, 2007 6:55 pm

Within moments of his initial assault on Primal, Zan found himself quickly joined by the likes of Jinx, its pet, and Phoe on the tail end. Together they produced a rather impressive show against the boss, one attack flying forward when others retracted and so on and so forth. In its own way it became a sort of dance, a bob and weave of graceful movements that eventually had Primal releasing the captive Rayo. The Heavy Blade felt a shadow of a smile creep up on his face then, satisfaction at a victory over a goal he had set himself upon. Rayo had saved his ass plenty of times before this and, being one to repay debts (though whether or not the Wavemaster saw his deeds as debts didn't necessarily matter), the lycanthrope felt even. Zan was far from enjoying the company of everyone in the Freedom Fighters, but Rayo had made the short list of people that he didn't want to stab. The bonus in it all was that, though Zan had helped force Primal to throw up the fellow Freedom Fighter, there didn't seem to be any immediate consequence. The boss of the field seemed rather preoccupied with its own continuous defeat. That should have tipped the Lycan off. The monsters temporary distraction wasn't contemplation, but concentration. The thorn that soon sunk into Zan's flesh spelled it all out very, very clearly.

Though it was a touch difficult to put into words, Zan felt the chaos of noise and shuffled combat slide away and replace itself with a passionate peace. All the lycanthrope was able to hear was a distant ringing inside of his ear, something that seemed too far off to give much notice. Somewhere in the back of his head, Zan realized he was screaming. Was their really so much pain? The vague awareness of his writhing body on the forest floor told him yes, but it was such a hollow sensation. The Heavy Blade had never before experienced a pain that disembodied him, that made him feel this disconnected, but he was sure as hell glad that it had happened. It was only then that he realized the distant ringing was the wretched tear of his voice through the air as he bucked and spasmed on the ground. Even as the thorn pushed itself from his skin, something Zan registered as a bee stinger plucked from his skin, the peace continued. In his head, he was smiling, grinning like a child, the serenity of the perfect agony a soothing thing. Ironic. As the lycanthrope's vision began to fade around the edges, leaving him tunnel-visioned on the odd sky-ceiling above, he knew that there was no real smile upon his face. The joy of the attack was a way of his mind coping with it all, with the bombardment of his secondary virus and this new poisonous introduction to his metabolism. Smiling or not, his mind wasn't able to keep up the detachment for long, his pain suddenly slamming into him before he blacked out and found a new solitude.

---------------------------------------------------------

Though it was darkness that snatched him from his pain, it was a blinding light that he opened his eyes too. Zan, reflexively, wondered if he had died for real, if this was the cliché light that everyone was always telling their loved ones to avoid. Something in his brain told him to stopped being a dumbass and, reluctantly, he did. Choosing observation over wonderment, Zan closed his eyes, the light still mingling behind his lids. As an odd, steady beep began to tickle his eardrums, voices mingling along, the lycanthrope gained some perception of his location. He was lying flat on his back. Blinking his Siberian Husky blues open once again, he looked away from the bright overhead light, eyes coming to settle on the sterilized tile floor he was sprawled on. It was a step up from spazzing out in the forest, he supposed. His vision a touch blurry as he rose to his feet, wobbling a touch, Zan narrowed his eyes at the blobs of color around him, willing his eyes to fight away the fog. When they did just that, the scene before him solidified and painted a rather unsettling picture. The Heavy Blade suddenly wanted to be back with his friends and away from this, away from everything before him.

Three men clad in surgical outfits, one whom Zan recognized as the man who had wheeled Lowen away, stood around an operating table. Lowen was laid across it, a mask over her face and various diodes stuck to her body, monitoring her heart rate and whatever the hell else those damn things did. Her eyes were half-closed, half-open, the gas keeping her in a sort of mental limbo. Pulled up, blocking her view from her neck down, was a blue sheet of a material Zan couldn't identify. It didn't matter, really. What mattered was Marilyn's open flesh, her organs as displayed as the good doctors could get them without killing her in the process. They mumbled amongst themselves, none of it seemed to strike the Heavy Blade's hearing with any real accuracy. At first he thought they were speaking some sort of foreign language, but he knew that wasn't true. For one reason or another his mind was jumbling them up, refusing to hear whatever nonsense they were spouting. Choosing to give her a look over himself, seeing what their days of starvation had cost her, Zan couldn't keep the frown off his face. She looked as sickly and thin as he had when the
PVM had first taken him over. Though she was far from skeletal, there was a notable tightened pull of her flesh here and there. Zan didn't care; he just wanted to know if she was okay.

Still frowning, he approached her side and ran his fingers along her cheek, stroking his thumb along the line of her cheekbone. Though the doctors couldn't see him, his link to Lowen sent small static jolts along his fingertips, a ghost of touch. Zan leaned back, eyeing her, almost praying for some sort of recognition. He wanted her to know that he was there, that he wanted to help. Sighing, pressing a kiss to her forehead, he prepared to attempt to will himself back into his body. The moment his lips touched her, however, a small waking groan sounded, her eyes fluttering. He wasn't worried that she'd feel the pain, knowing full well that the surgeons would be expecting her periodic returns to consciousness. Taking a step back, Zan felt that shadow smile find his face, one that grew as her eyes followed his motions. Taking a shot in the dark, the lycanthrope mouthed his love without sound, hoping in her stirring that she'd see it. Though her mouth didn't move, he felt her voice in his head like an angelic octave.

I love you too, Conner. Zan felt his heart skip a beat then, his mind finally forgetting Primal and all that had come before this moment. Which was when, of course, he woke.

---------------------------------------------------------

Zan's own stirring to consciousness was a begrudging thing, eyes sliding up like they were pushing against molasses. The inferno of pain that he had expected, something that had even surpassed the affliction Dien's seemingly one-time-only form, didn't greet him. Rather, it was an all-encompassing numbness, his body almost completely void of sensation. The lycanthrope didn't try to move, not then, fearing Primal's wrath should it find him not out of commission. How had this happened? Why wasn't he being eaten? What had happened during his little mind trip? What had---wait a minute. Was someone moving him? Was it Primal? Feeling lighter as he was hefted over someone's shoulder, a someone he came to realize was Phoenix, Zan tried to vocalize his contempt. He didn't need to be carried, damn it. Primal wouldn't have gone after him like this. Why the hell was he being moved? What tard formulated this plan? Zan wouldn't have minded being moved by a friend, or even a likable comrade, but him and Phoe had never gotten along. Or spoken, really. What should have been gratitude was only irritation, something that mounted with the words that came next.

"Zan, don’t leave from here until I give you the word otherwise or my bird will cook you. I’m going to help the others now."

Yea, okay, or not. Zan glanced from the walking Blademaster to his perched bird. Phoenix and a phoenix, clever shit. Only when the lycanthrope focused on one task, one movement at a time, did he find himself able to come to his feet. Each command he gave his body took several moments to be executed, like his brain was having a hard time getting the signals received. Not 'like', that was probably exactly the case. Glancing at the pet, Zan felt a laugh fall from his lips. If Phoenix was really going to be a fuckstick and sick his bird on Zan, on someone who could hardly move let alone defend himself, then so be it. The Heavy Blade would make damn sure to dent in Phoenix’s face later, should that be the case. If the Blademaster wasn't professional and focused on the real tasks ahead, Zan had plenty of ways to make him focus. Shaking his annoyance off, the Lycan flipped the bird to Suzaku, a bird for a bird. What should have been defiant was only partially so, his body too languid and uncooperative to move too far beyond the tree. But he did just the same, for the sheer sake of moving when someone commanded him not to, weakly and awkwardly making his way to a handful of trees closer before collapsing against one. Zan was, for all intents and purposes, his own alpha. No lesser cub was going to threaten him, not while he was conscious enough to do anything about it. The only other person he'd step down to was Nighthand and, as far as his lazy and partially malfunctioning senses told him, he wasn't here. The fellow Heavy Blade was in the belly of the beast, no doubt. An idea forming, he launched in his own Flashmail in the haze of the others.

Flashmail!
To: The Party
From: Zan
Subject: Idea

Since Primal seems to be taking damage equal to the hit points of the people it expels, I'm thinking we should find a way to maneuver Nall into his mouth. Nall, you're the strongest of us and, presumably, have the most HP to kick at this thing. If at all possible, try to angle yourself as its next victim when it throws up Nights.

-Zan
Flashmail! End


Zan could only hope the poison would clear from his system in time for him to help free his leader. His leader? Huh, looks like he did have some loyalties. The voice in the back of his head that whispered that his newest leader was actually Marionette, the person he found himself inadvertently working for, was ignored.

Psh, semantics.
Lv. 50 Heavy Blade
Wishlist
Special: Levels, GR Sendai, PL Sakai, Darklore.
W: Tonosama Sword, Mineuchi, Jundachi.
A: Samurai Helm, Able Hands, Rare Greaves.
I: Holy Sap, Treebane, Cooked Bile, Nightbane.
EX: Elemental Summon (Lv. 2), Overdrive (Lv.1), Elemental Attacks (Lv. 2), Enhance Dark, Elemental Breath (Lv. 2).

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Senna
Awakened Player
Posts: 150
Joined: Sat Jul 01, 2006 10:28 pm

Post by Senna » Thu Feb 15, 2007 3:00 pm

So, was hiding in the plants the best of all possible options? No, but it was the one Senna was taking at the moment. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to help. It was that she was scared. Scared of pain, scared of dying, scared of the unknown, and she felt more than certain that if these hyper-powered people were being toyed with, she didn’t imagine for one moment she would fare any better. So she crept closer, enough to see what was going on. She gritted her teeth as the creature picked through the members of the group like a shopper at a sale rack. She fought with herself internally. And in the end, it was just Dien’s Flashmail that shamed her into moving – slowly – into the open and positioning herself gingerly in a place to block one of Primal’s avenues of escape.

She wasn’t sure this was the best way things could be done – the other forms had shown a trick which, once discovered, had led automatically to a form change and victory of a sort. They might have discovered the trick of this one too – since it didn’t seem to attack on its own initiative, poison might well just knock it out – but that didn’t help if no one could cast it. Zan’s idea seemed rather well pointed, if Nall were to agree to it – heck, he’d already been eaten once – but that was none of her concern one way or the other. He would choose one way or the other, and it would be theirs to react once he did. That was all. It looked like they would have to whittle down the HP of their teammates whatever the reason and hope that once it reached zero, this part of the fight would be over. Spells, from the look of things, might be the best bet for that.

This form of Primal seemed to be determined to prove it had a wider variety of damaging abilities at its disposal than its previous incarnations, and prove it did. She wasn’t sure WHAT some of its attacks had done, but they seemed to provoke a variety of responses. Her hands ached where they gripped her weapon as she equipped her one Rai spell, Rai Rom, and followed the example of several others in the group. Trying to keep an eye on Primal was almost impossible then, with all the light and flashing from the varied spells, and the air literally crackled, imbuing her hair and clothing with the fuzzy feel of static and making the whole thing feel a little more surreal than it already had. Still, she tried to take a break between the first and second and second and third spells to try to re-focus on the enemy. Best to try to make every spell count in this barrage.
Senna, level 33 Long Arm (710 HP/180 SP)
Most common kit: Ichigou, Racoon Earcaps, Air Bracer, Snow Panther, Winter Coat, Graceful Book
Spells/Skills: (Critical Hit/Death) Repulse Cage, Ap Corv, Ap Vorv, Rai Rom, Rue Zot, La Repth
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Nighthand
Master of Games
Posts: 1265
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2003 9:23 pm
Class: Bladesmage
Location: ...Tracking...please wait...

Post by Nighthand » Fri Feb 16, 2007 2:02 am

The assault on Primal went off without much of a pause. Rayo's Dek Raio proved to be ineffective; whether the spell simply failed or the monster was immune, they couldn't tell. Either way, GiRai Rom, three Rai Roms, and the skill Phoenix launched in with afterwards, each landed. And, however improbably, proved to be just enough damage to cause Primal to eject it's current contents.

Once Nighthand was expelled, he was left in his ghost form. Phoenix had disappeared into the underbrush, no one was to be found nearby for Primal to consume. At least, so it seemed for a moment. Having given up on his study of the boss, and wanting to actually do something to make this place shorter, Nall decided he would take the 'quest' and be the bait.

Moments before the imminent doom of Nall, the blademaster revived Nighthand.

”Thank me later.”

And, before Nighthand could respond, two things were happening. He found himself abruptly on the forehead of a grunty, ridden by their wavemaster of thunder. Rather than try to get everyone out of the way, the wavemaster trusted that Nall could handle himself, and removed Nighthand from the threat zone.

Nall was quickly enveloped into the creature, the poison working just as well on him as it did on any of the rest of them. Soon enough he was stored away in whatever area Primal had reserved for it's food, and the party realized something.

Without Nall, they had no way to tell the HP levels of this monster.

Zan's hope, and now the hope of the rest of them, was that this would deal plenty of damage to the monster when the blademaster was released.

Flashmail!
To: The Party
From: Nall
RE: Inside the Beast
I can't see anything from in here. My senses are, for the most part, dead. All I can tell is that I'm not on the field with you guys. In fact, I don't actually know where I am. Nowhere normal, at least. Other than this small visual feed, I'm entirely limited in senses and movement. I can't see any of you with my senses, nor can I see Primal. The best I can say is go for it... Hopefully this wasn't a bad idea.


Because really. If the monster DID take on the stats of whatever it swallowed, putting their strongest member in might have been a really bad idea.

----------ooc:
Posts probably won't be long or interesting until this form is beaten, so... yeah, let's just get it done, eh?

Rayo
Exalted Player
Posts: 485
Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2003 7:21 pm

Post by Rayo » Sat Feb 17, 2007 4:05 am

Despite the pair of Ap Corv enchantments in place, both Dien and Senna relied on their magical talents. Perhaps Ap Corma on them as well would have been a better investment than his original choice. Oh well, they could utilize their strength boosts if they find it necessary to cut loose of the local shrubbery menace. The barrage seemed like it might have been a bit lacking to take out Nighthand, but somehow it was enough. Given a glaring thunder deficiency, the multitude of magic bursts was suitable for taking down even a heavy blade of his level. The satisfaction of taking down a higher level player lasted for all of two seconds. This wasn’t like with Kamui, two of the four attackers had levels not completely different from the further leveled Nighthand. Utmost important to the details was the fact that his class had magic defense holes and his elemental preference was weak against his best specialty. All the last barrage showed was that they were smart enough to exploit basic weaknesses already known to them. Would they know the next prisoner as well?

Not wasting time considering the past move any longer, the riding pair approached the newly resurrected warrior and dragged him off of the front lines. He was strong and HP back at full, but his SP would be dead empty and the possibility for disorientation was high after just regaining his senses. The mage kept on driving past the trees until Phoenix and Zan’s previous retreat trail was followed to it’s conclusion. The heavy blade and bird were both situated in the trees, not too hard to find.

Setting down Nighthand and dismissing his steed back into the abyss of unknown and irrelevant locations until called again, the wavemaster turned to both present players and proceeded to cast an Ap Corma for each.


“Hey Zan, ready to move again? That thing swallowed Nall, so we’ve probably got a good chunk of stamina to burn through before Primal has his next snack. I don’t really want to get close enough to get stung like you guys were back when I was inside of it, so it might be advantageous to keep a bit of distance away from it. I don’t really know what Nall is weak against, so I’m just going to rely on my irregular magic. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to test out my new flame for too long. If we try some of everything, we should find a method to exploit.”

Turning back around, Rayo graced the ground with faint touches as his Ap Do influenced body carried him back into the thick of combat, or at least three steps beyond it. His SP counter blipped as several more SP returned, he’d be above 40 before he covered the last bit of track between him and Primal. His fourth Mage’s Soul for personal consumption was chugged down during his run, immediately bumping up that number significantly. With his own mage powers being raised, he should be able to get rid of plenty of what this boss could still offer for a defense with a few powerful shots. A series of lesser level one spells had worked wonders, so why not just use a few somewhat larger blasts?

The wizard skidded to a stop behind the long arm, Primal was still in place, probably thoroughly enjoying it’s latest treat. Hopefully it cared for darker foods.


“RaVak Don! RaVak Don! Lanceor Ch!”

SP conservation was out this late in the game. The set of fire spells he picked up from the Flare Hydra during his own fiery demise were given the opportunity to repeat those results. Each one dropped down multiple balls of fire, with each comet capable of dealing more than acceptable damage. Even if the plant monster moved after that, the last wouldn’t be so easily avoided. The summon was far more costly for a level 3 powered move, but his natural thunder stats acted as a boon to make it even more deadly. More importantly and much more pertinent to the choice was it’s range of contact; with the maneuverability employed thus far by this stage of Primal, there was no way it would escape it if the previous dual volleys scared it off.

Sure, Rayo was flat broke when it came to magical energies yet again, but the sorcerer was coming to expect that now. Burning through his own magical buffs wasn’t bothering him at the moment, not while Primal lay as their last challenge to successfully completing their mission.
Rayo
Lv.47 Archer 745HP/311SP
Bell, the Silver Grunty of Thunder
Skills/Spells-Shocking Arrow of Voltage(30), Arrow of the Burning Stars(10), MeRai Rom(40), Rai Kruz(10), La Repth(20), Rip Maen(40), MeRai Kruz(20), GiVak Kruz(20), MeRai Don(20), Rig Saem(15)
Weapon/Armor/Book-Golden Royal Bow/Thunder Torque, Thunder Cloak, Able Ring, Ivory Greaves/Thunder Magic
Wishlist: YL Fukuoka, Stormlore, Winter Stone, Silver Grunty

Lord Canti
Exalted Player
Posts: 300
Joined: Sat May 13, 2006 3:58 pm
Location: In da' plains of hell, natch.

Post by Lord Canti » Sat Feb 17, 2007 5:47 pm

(Devil high, makeshift plateau. Canti watched from high above like a crow or a bat, waiting for the time of his meal. There was something criminal about it, he thought. He felt wrong for just standing on the sidelines for the time being. But there was something he was waiting for, something predatory that just wanted to be able to CLICK so he could go in and take care of it. He kind of felt sorry for Senna, but knew one thing above all others. Whatever pain she was feeling during this fight, she would not have to endure the same as the tower, that desperate struggle while they were still outside the game. No... Not like that. But still, even as things transpired, Canti learned some of Primal's new tricks. A poisonous paralyzer, an eater of players to use their HP and their stat abilities. The PMs and the two separate HP bars told him that. Primal could only be hurt properly with someone inside of him now. Worthless parasite... And yet...there was something...)

Canti: There's something inside of you, isn't there, Primal?

(Instincts told him that. Evidence from his eyes told him that. He saw more than a functionary, but a beast. A monster with a mind. Something had been wrong this whole time and that was it. That didn't answer what he was. That only answered what he was not. Canti was latched to the side of a tree up high. Trees made it a bit hard to maneuver in thwe air, but he was able to simply grapple and leap all the same. Nothign harmed him up here. He may have even been forgotten. Actually, no. That wasn't the case, at least not in terms of the team. He kept getting flashmails. Phoenix suggested working with the elements in a different fashion, suggesting ice because he made stuff wilt, but... Come now, Phoenix. Did this dark warrior have any ice? That wouldn't do any good even if he thought it would work, which he did not. There was, however, one thing that had caught his attention - just slightly - during all of this. Zan. It was nothing he could normally see. But Canti's eyes saw things differently than others, now in a more controlled fashion. When there was something important to see, he saw it if he was looking. Zan seemed distracted at times, and not in ways that involved the PVM, he suspected. Canti made a note to ask him later, when the time was right. He had to do alot of that. He wanted to speak to Senna about her crossing over, to Nall about Suraisu again, and now this.)

Canti: So much stuff to do, so little time. I'll never get the chance...

(Eh. May as well warn him that he's on to the guy, that he sees trouble in him. Actually, he could see trouble in alot of them by their actions alone. But Zan was suppose to be a veteran, and if a vet's been compromised... Canti sent him a PM.)

FLASHMAIL!

TO: Zan
FROM: Canti
SUBJECT: Checking...

You seem distracted, and not just by that virus. I don't know why I think that, but I get the feeling that that's the case. We should talk, later.


(But now, Canti had found the pattern in their prey's antics. Take upon the stats of a player by devouring them, using that power against the foes. Their strengths and weaknesses are Primal's, on top of everything else. The HP won't go down by much unless there's someone inside, and only as much as that persons HP. Once the HP reaches zero for the player, they're spit out and have to be resurrected. Primal takes on somebody else and disappears. But, there was a flaw in this way of working. It wasn't nearly as challenging as Primal's second form, or the first. This only required time, patience, and Rip Maen. As long as they could res people, this Primal would never beat them, especially since Canti had been way up high to keep from another one of Primal's habits. The poisoning habit. Why, if one man stayed outside the trouble zone for a while, he could get the whole team out of a jam if need-be. He hadn't been needed, but it was still a thought. Now then... Currently, Nall was inside of Primal, which meant they had no idea how much HP the creature had. That was okay, because Canti had been up here for a reason. He was up as high as anyone in this canopy could go, completely motionless. Why was this? So that he could be forgotten. Why be forgotten? So that he could not be defended. Those who do not expect their opponent's actions are dead men, and Canti wanted this creature to be dead. The tentacled wonder was gonna get a surprise...)

Canti: Now.

(It was right after the completion of Rayo's last summon. The dark Twin Blade leapt down and spread his wings, holding onto a bunch of weapons. Knives... His knives... Four extra pair that he kept in case of emergency or finer need. This was one of those times. Shadow Blades, Fuse Blades, Phantom Blades, and Rusty Nails. He threw them down at Primal as he leapt from trunk to trunk in wing-assisted agility. He wanted wounds, lacerations, or to pin down tendrils to make sure the bastard could not escape. Then, in a move that could only be considered a dive bomb attack, Canti once again drew his Bloody Twin and attacked Primal from directly above!)

Canti: Twin Darkness!

(He didn't know Nall's weakness either, but he was pretty sure his strength wasn't Darkness. That was Nighthand and himself, his thinking. Whatever. Regardless of what the other knives did, this was his plan, a surprise technique-attack. The best introduction back into the thrill of things. Someone could go try and blow it up afterward...)
I'll have a doozy of a sig later, I swear. It'll reflect ".hack//CODE" an' everything.

Hey look! A profile! It's got items and stats and things! Cool! If it isn't fully up to date, it will be, so don't worry 'bout it.

User avatar
Senna
Awakened Player
Posts: 150
Joined: Sat Jul 01, 2006 10:28 pm

Post by Senna » Mon Feb 19, 2007 11:00 pm

After a bit of work, there was another bit of turnover as Nall allowed himself to be the creature’s next victim. Senna couldn’t help a little wince as the thing went into its eating-a-party-member dance again. It was not a pretty thing to watch.

She checked her weapon, bringing in the Ichigou in place of her other. Time to get closer. Yes. It wouldn’t eat anyone else while it had someone in its stomach after all – that much seemed to be the case. Once you were in there, you were a meat shield for life, however long that might be.

She wondered what would happen to the one in there if their group lost and shivered.

There was no way to know how much whittling it would take to get the creature to expel Nall, but she expected it to be a lot. Being out in the open made her.. well, not braver, but if you were going to be a bit of a target anyway, why not give an account of yourself at the same time?

Besides, this weapon had both Death and Critical Hit on it. The chances were miniscule, and likely even worse against a creature of this level, but if it hit and did a chunk of extra damage, so much the better right?

Canti was coming in for his own attack, And Senna maneuvered to come in from a different, nearly opposite angle. With the tentacles and such on it, the creature probably couldn’t be flanked the way a normal one could, but even if that were the case, she was no worse off for such an angle of attack. Everything narrowed to a point – aim for the creature. Slice it open. Will it to strike with one of its natural skills. Get out of here. Preferably find somewhere safe to hide.

And so she did, using the Repulse Cage on her weapon, then reassessing when it finished. If possible, a second skill use would follow the first.
Senna, level 33 Long Arm (710 HP/180 SP)
Most common kit: Ichigou, Racoon Earcaps, Air Bracer, Snow Panther, Winter Coat, Graceful Book
Spells/Skills: (Critical Hit/Death) Repulse Cage, Ap Corv, Ap Vorv, Rai Rom, Rue Zot, La Repth
Click for full equipment and items
14300 (1/23)

User avatar
Dien
Exalted Player
Posts: 226
Joined: Fri May 12, 2006 1:59 am
Class: Blademaster
Location: The "Who's Online List," Stalking People...

Post by Dien » Tue Feb 20, 2007 10:07 am

Ethereal.

That was the one word he could use to describe it. All about him, a room seemed to hover and grow, but it wasn’t really growing. No, that was clearly an illusion. It was like there was a wall of flame or a river running straight upward along the wall, bathing it in a warm orange glow and illuminating the rest of the room. Every so often, a lick of fire would reach inward, encroaching upon the established walls, but in just the same amount of time it was pushed backward. Walls reached upward from a circular base, rising to an almost perfect point at the top. It was as though the room was falling through flame, and yet it wasn’t consumed. Most notable, perhaps, was not the walls or the dark floor, but the object that floated at the room’s center.

Eyes could see it, and yet not register what it was. The moment before one decided what it resembled, it changed again to something equally vague and would again change before you could come to recognize it as such. Staring at it for too long would produce a headache—or worse. Truth be told, though, Dien already knew what it was. He didn’t know its form or what it could do, but he could identify just what it was and what it was doing there. This was what remained of the
Plures Vultus Mortis. Inside himself, the virus was nothing more than an indeterminate void trying to find a form. Every now and again a shape would appear, but not long enough to have much influence.

Then again, just looking at it revealed something else, something was hidden within. Eyes narrowed to try and clarify, but all that resulted was more ambiguity. Blue was its color, but beyond that he couldn’t see anything about it. No, what more was revealed was shown him by his heart. In the same manner he could tell what the
Plures Vultus Mortis was, he could tell that what it contained was what it had stolen from him – it was Danielle. There was a problem, though. Try as he might to move to what it was, the player was stuck to the wall. Jed couldn’t pull himself free, and no amount of code manipulation could break what held him to the wall. Something was holding him back – this realm where he should be god, where he could feel the power that he held, was stopping him from doing what he could have and should have done. Code lay itself before him in a sixth and seventh sense, highlighting the lines of Twilight. The very infection itself was laid bare before him, and he saw it. All the pieces had been put into place – all that was left before annihilation was his move.

“Annihilation of what?” he asked aloud, to which the formless void at the room’s center seemed to respond. All at once, its body became solid, surrounded by a thick shell with sharp spikes making approaching it at all dangerous. It filled the room, threatening to wart off whatever was about to happen, and at the same time begging it not to. Inside him, he could feel something beginning to burn hotter and brighter. In one moment, the floor shattered, sending waves of flame all about what had been made of the lesser virus. Stains like dark ink streaked upwards, as the form of
PVM began to turn to pitch. Towards its core, though, there was no flame. Not one lick of the inferno came anywhere close to the central element of the giant spike-lined globe.

…help…me…

“Danielle?!” the blademaster begged, watching as the spikes began to regenerate the burnt material. She gasped painfully, and it was gone. What little link had been given was dissolved, and he felt something give way. Anger, passion, rage,
love; all of them exploded in his chest, but before anything could be done it was over, and all went dark again.

“I promise, I’ll get you out…”

__________

The sound of yet more sparks drew the blademaster back to consciousness. He didn’t remember falling asleep—only casting a quintet of spells that left him completely sapped for SP. Something odd had happened during that, then?

It’s because they weren’t fire spells, Dien, came her familiar voice again, the woman he never knew.

“Right, and I’m guessing you’re going to tell me why non-fire spells leave me sapped for strength?”

It’s simple: your body and Twilight have begun to reject the Plures Vultus Mortis, and so your affiliation with the Vak element is causing it to want to focus on that. Any strength drawn to cast other spells at this point only hurts you. Wait what? First of all, that didn’t even make sense. He hadn’t affiliated himself with any element, let alone chosen fire to specialize in. Hell, he wasn’t even sure his class had access to Vak skills…

“Jinsaran…” His mind played back the word automatically, throwing it out of the mouth before he could think of it. That sword was fire element for sure. It had been his, and with it he’d dominated. The very appearance of the sword commanded respect in its fiery state, and just reminiscing on it brought a quaint smile to his face. Wait, when had he-

So you do remember something, she replied, and his expression went blank. you’ve already started to come awake, so now go fight. When the time is right, I’ll call you to me.

“Wait, how do I know about Jinsaran?” No answer. “Well?!” Still nothing. “HEY!!!” As with the rest of the things in his visions, her communications had been closed. There was no way to call her back, no *69 to get her back on the line. An aggravated sigh pushed the blademaster to his feet, and he turned to face Primal. The beast had just devoured Nall. Their fearless leader was gone inside, and by flashmail indicated his condition to be no better than any of the previous occupants therein. What was worse? There was no way to tell how much HP they needed to knock down…unless the one in captivity knew off-hand his own stats. Well, it was worth a shot anyway:
From: Dien
To: Nall
Re:Gotta check something…
Message:
Hey Nall, I was wondering if you could give us a little help information-wise. It’s pretty clear that we only need to take out your own HP before Primal spits you out again, so any information you can give us to that end would be extremely helpful. Preferably, I’d like to know how much HP you have, and any elemental weaknesses you might have by your equipment (and anything else you might be willing to share information-wise with us).

Thanks, and I’ll be sure to cover your revival once we get it to spit you out.
There was no telling how long it would take Nall to receive that flashmail and process all the requested information, so instead of waiting on it, Dien decided to go with what he knew. Nall had been the Elite Hacker of Time, meaning there were no inherent elemental affiliations there. If the classic movie, “Back to the Future,” had anything to say about it, then by being able to control and move faster than time, he’d be leaving behind a trail of fire while himself becoming very cold. Right, the two parts cancelled out in this situation, as he couldn’t play the part of Marty’s DeLorean (if he couldn’t feel his own body, how could he get to 88 MPH?). What else could he infer about the blademaster?

Back when he had been able to move in streaks, he’d been able to move across the fire room and take out massive amounts of the horde of dragonettes. Wait, his sword had been made of ice, right? Yes, yes it had. That pointed to an elemental affiliation with Rue element, even if unintentional, so all things vak would be harmful. Well then, Glitter wouldn’t function very well in this environment. As lovely as it was to look at, the sword couldn’t do didley squat against its own element. No, instead he’d rely on the services of his next-most-powerful elemental sword:

“Komura.” The sword by his side changed. No longer did steam billow from its surface in droves, but instead the fine line of smoke that came from the smoldering tip of a twig. It was an interesting weapon to hold: the majority of the body was pitch black, save for around the blade’s edges. There, the material of the sword came to a fine point, glowing bright orange and emitting only that fine line of smoke. Lofting it into the air, his focus shifted to Primal. In the course of events, Dien had somehow landed himself behind their foe as he stood still, and watched as both Canti and Senna unleashed their assaults. He could tell them of his theory, but there was no way to be sure, and if he was wrong…

The distance was covered quickly, and the blade was plunged into the raw plant matter. By its very makeup, the vine squealed under his onslaught, and he forcibly spun his body around full circle to cleave through to an opening. It wouldn’t be there for very long, if what he’d observed of Nighthand’s capture had stayed true, but he’d take what he could get. The sword ignited, and he called the skill. He was banking all he had on this, and if his body was relying on the Vak element to restore itself, their cast would only be improved.

“Vak Slash! Vak Slash!” A pair of crossing burn-lines etched themselves into Primal’s figure as the flames dissipated behind Komura, and Dien didn’t stop there. Already the vine had started its self-repair, but he figured he had time yet. Slice after slice rang through the being’s flesh, sometimes competing with his comrades’ weapons for space. All they needed now to complete this onslaught would be a handful of spells, and Nall should be ejected. Well, none of them could really say for sure, as no one really knew his HP, but if they continued in this way they’d be in good shape. Besides, it was turning out to be a longer mission than any of them had originally hoped.
Image
Image|||Level 35 Blademaster (+200 EXP)
Wishlist: EXP, Ends of Earth, Armor with Status Effects

Phoenix512
Exalted Player
Posts: 304
Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2003 10:42 pm

Post by Phoenix512 » Wed Feb 21, 2007 2:41 am

After the attack that Phoenix made, he observed Primal eating Nall once gotten to a safe distance. Even though his SP was down to nothing at this point, he decided not to recover it. This decision was based on that if there was a fourth form of Primal, most likely someone was going to die. If Phoenix died after defeating the third form, then any recovered SP was gone as well. So why not wait until the chaos cleared from the transformation or if this was the final form, then he would have wasted a Mage’s Soul for nothing. For once, he wanted to cut Primal with pure metal instead of an ice or stone blade.

Before heading back to the battlefield, Phoenix noticed something odd about his sword. The sunlight was reflecting off the blade of the sword which he drew out the sword and moved it around to see the various angles that the light went to. At first he did not understand why he was doing this until he figured out the connection. He remembered that Nall had two weaknesses. His first weakness was his own power as he cannot maintain a long drawn out before tiring out. It was basically all or nothing with his powers. Kill the enemy before the enemy can easily kill you was Nall’s battle plan. The second weakness was light. If the group had Gingi or Reinier before his powers changed, they could use their light-based powers on Primal.

In this case, Phoenix had to improvise with the sunlight and try to blind Primal with it. He should be sensitive to the light even though he was more plant than human or monster at this point. Then he switched to his Silver Bracer for the Rai Rom equipped on it. He had enough SP to do one or two Rai Rom attacks depending how fast he reached Primal. Suzaku after I attack Primal, do a follow-up with your fiery breath. The bird was following Phoenix about 20 feet in the air after it left Zan’s side.

Phoenix managed to reach Primal after Dien completed his Vak Slash attacks. He got in front of Primal and positioned his sword to reflect the sunlight into Primal’s eyes. He was not sure if the tactic would work or not and if it did, there was no way to tell how long the blindness would last. The blademaster proceeded with two Rai Rom spells before charging in with his sword. Phoenix did a quick slash across the midsection of Primal while running next to him on its right side. He wanted to make sure that he could make a quick escape before Primal could poison him with his vines. Suzaku did a quick dive on Primal and breathe some fire on it before doing a quick ascent back in the sky.

Phoenix hoped that the third form of Primal was going to be dead soon but he was worried about a possible fourth form of Primal. The fourth form he feared will have horrors that the first three forms cannot compared up to.
Phoenix
Level 48 Blademaster
Equipped Skills: Vak Revolver, Gan Revolver, Dek Vorv, La Repth, Juk Kruz, Rue Kruz, BiVak Rom, GiGan Zot
Other Skills: Rue Kruz, Rip Synk, Rip Saem, Crack Beat, Rue Slash, Ani Slash, Gan Crack, Gan Revolver

Wish List: Phoenix's Fire, Gold Necklace
EX-Spheres: LV 3 - Overdrive, LV 3 - Curative, LV 3 - Elemental Breath

Zan
Exalted Player
Posts: 206
Joined: Sat Jan 22, 2005 10:28 pm
Contact:

Post by Zan » Thu Feb 22, 2007 10:34 pm

Zan could feel the poison thinning in his veins, slowly swimming to dilution as the battle around him continued to wage on. It was more than relieving to feel his body actually begin to communicate with his brain once more. No longer lagging or stumbling with his movements, the lycanthrope kicked out the last of the toxin and stood at full mental and physical strength yet again (or as much as he could get to it with the Plures Vultus Mortis still taking residence in his system). Though he would have liked to gleefully believe it was his metabolism that took take of the poison, he knew it was just a flaw in the poison itself. Any real predator would have been able to inject something that took him out for a lot longer than a few minutes. Blinking, realizing he was taking potshots at Primal for not killing him, the Lycan felt that rare smile grace his face. As amusing as the whole thing was, Zan needed (for the umpteenth time) to get his head back in the game. With his senses even working in coordination with his thoughts once more, he was running out of excuses to simply watch people fight to get Nall out and beat this God damn boss. Shaking out the last of it in a rather blatant manner, something similar to a wolf shaking off water, Zan stepped out from behind the trees and prepared his attack.

If Primal had any of Nall's stats, which he most likely did, it would be a fruitless venture to go up to him physically and tree any hand-to-hand tactics. Nall was, for all intents and purposes, godly next to any of them. Even Nighthand would be brought down by the Blademaster should he ever have the will to. So what exactly was it that he had to offer to the table? Why, magic of course. It was vaguely amusing to think that he, a werewolf, relied on magic just as much as he did his physical abilities. It was a good balance to have, sure, but it didn't make it any less ironic. People stereotyped shapeshifters as brutes and savages and Zan rarely ever acted the part. Sure, he had when he had first gotten his Twilight abilities, but that was back in a day when he lacked control. Now? Now, thanks to influences like Rayo and Dien, he was able to wield his control hand and hand with strategies. Though it was true that he had the tendency to either over or underthink certain things, he had still become something a lot more formidable. Glancing around at his teammates, he knew that without them he'd be much less so. It was possible that people like Dien and Senna though themselves a hindrance or useless because of their lacking hacks, but he knew it was quite the opposite. Everyone that had joined had purpose. Everyone.

Equipping Shiva's Rings for his only really powerful spell, Zan watched Primal's motions, waiting for the perfect moment to unleash that spell he so loved. When the creature had finally come to a stop, he let loose the MeRue Rom, its artic energies still in the process of forming the deadly crags of ice when Nighthand asked permission to make it that much more formidable. Not one to turn down an opportunity to do as much damage as possible, Zan relinquished his control of the spell to their leader after a quick exchange of words and watched happily as the spell upgraded. Technically, it didn't go up by very much, but who cares? It still did more, the ice and the temperature still formed and dropped with some real oomph. Now, however, was time for some evasive maneuvers. Nighthand could probably take the brunt of Primal's attack, and would be willing to do so, while Zan couldn't really take any of its counterattacks without Ghosting. Whipping into the forestry with the grace of the animal inside of him, as sick as it may have been, the lycanthrope felt that alien peace begin to return to him. It was a peace belonging to a different animal, a different species than his own. It was all wolf. Knowing that his Beast could travel through the dense greenery more effectively than himself, he let its weak presence (thanks to the secondary virus) garner some control.

Keeping his higher brain functions intact, he felt that strange peace mingle with a similarly strange joy. Though it wasn't exactly a mystery as to why, the Lycan couldn't have felt happier disappearing from the group into the trees, circling Primal from a distance as he gathered a way to amplify his plan. There was something in the smell of the wilderness that simply told him he belonged here. Well, perhaps not here. Underneath all of the earth and the fresh air was an underlying sense of malice. This place, this whole field would never really be a place for him and his Beast to lose themselves. There was a field in the Shadow that could be such a place, but he wasn't entirely sure when he'd be able to take a trip their again. Unless he suddenly found a reason to go, he was stuck traversing these man-made problems and metaphorical, concrete confusions. Stopping after a minute or so of his hiding and running in the habitat, Zan recalled something their leader had done before taking hold of his spell. Of course. If he was going to be barraging Primal with his already amplified magical skill thanks to Rayo's spell, he may as well go the extra smile and infuse himself with an Ap Ruem. The moment he did so he felt an itch began to slither under his skin, an itch that was oddly empowering. The strength of Rue, though not completely complimenting his wolf's love of the wild woods, flowed through him with grace and promise. It was time to strike once more.

The second casting of his MeRue Rom battered forward and around Primal a split second later. Whether or not it did damage or even actually manage to hold him while it stormed around him, Zan didn't care. He waited for Nighthand to catch it and up it once more, but for some reason the leader was being...cautious. A bit too cautious, if anybody asked him. But no one was, so Zan simply shrugged and begin to creep into hiding once more, this time using stealth and not speed to sneak and watch through leaves. Some would have identified his motions with cowardice, but the Heavy Blade was exercising his own little version of caution. It would be a fool's game to try and attack Primal head-on, so he was still playing the only smart card he had left in his hand. It was obviously difficult to try to play 007 in a black trenchcoat against a green scenery, but Zan continued to seek out only the densest collections of bark and green life in his little quest to stay out of sight and out of mind. Though he felt mildly bad for hoping Primal would take out its vengeance on the others, he was one of few with the magical hopes of taking the creature down. Plus, there was nothing wrong with serving as distraction, not if it helped to bring their opposition down.

Finally, using was amounted to the last useful bunch of his skill points, the Heavy Blade unleashed the third MeRue Rom onto the boss. Like before, Nighthand didn't try and make it stronger, but it wasn't a huge deal. He might ask him about it later in a minor bout of curiosity, but it wasn't important enough to bother with now. With the last of his magical potential used up, Zan burst through the trees and placed himself before Primal. It was his turn to serve as distraction, his turn to grab the bastard's attention while the others tried out their own plans. Not flinching, drawing his Horse Killer in a steady unsheathing, Zan actually felt himself smile. There was another brand of peace placed on situations like this, when one knew death was unavoidable. Calling what was left of his lycanthropic senses to watch Primal's motions, he launched himself into an assault, his strikes serving more to distract than damage as he waited for the creature to fall. If he could just last for a few more seconds, that would hopefully be all the group needed to bring their oppressor down and the Ex-Elite of Time out of the belly of such a tyrant.

Whether or not such would come to pass, Zan fought on.
Lv. 50 Heavy Blade
Wishlist
Special: Levels, GR Sendai, PL Sakai, Darklore.
W: Tonosama Sword, Mineuchi, Jundachi.
A: Samurai Helm, Able Hands, Rare Greaves.
I: Holy Sap, Treebane, Cooked Bile, Nightbane.
EX: Elemental Summon (Lv. 2), Overdrive (Lv.1), Elemental Attacks (Lv. 2), Enhance Dark, Elemental Breath (Lv. 2).

User avatar
Nighthand
Master of Games
Posts: 1265
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2003 9:23 pm
Class: Bladesmage
Location: ...Tracking...please wait...

Post by Nighthand » Fri Feb 23, 2007 12:45 am

With Nall as the sacrifice, no one seemed to want to take any chances. Chances that his power, even without the use of the trio of Twilight Items in his possession, would be too much for their short-staffed group to take. After all, there WERE only eight of them. Even among those eight, there wasn't much in the way of power, not of the caliber that could take down Nall. Nighthand knew. He had faced the blademaster in battle more than once. Even with him holding back, it was... difficult.

Impressively, almost everyone was immediately on the offensive. Rayo was first off the block with a spell he had just been dying to use; RaVak Don. Fireballs struck the area around the plant-formed beast, one after another, a concussive explosion of fire and rock. The second casting continued the onslaught without pause, and it seemed like the target hadn't even moved to dodge. A slight pause, the dust settling a little, before Lanceor's form struck. The lightning beast put in it's two cents of damage before it dissipated.

Canti's assault proved less successful; the tossing of weapons was both a useless gesture as they did little more than bounce, and served to alert the foe to his surprise attack. Twin Darkness went off without a hitch, but so did Primal's counter. Not even phased by the previous assaults, Primal grabbed the falling Twinblade as hit attack completed. A clawed hand wrapped around his throat, and a muscular arm threw him. Unable to regain control in time, he slammed heavily into a tree, just as Senna's attacks came in. The first repulse cage wasn't nearly as effective as the second; Critical Hit triggered on the second use of the skill, the blade of her spear drawing a jagged line across the boss's chest.

Primal swiftly counterattacked this as well; still in the same motion that had thrown Canti for a ride, a foot lifted and spun in a kick that sent Senna sailing into the same tree. She slumped down onto Canti. Neither of them were dead, but they weren't exactly at full strength.

Dien's approach meant more damage to be dealt, more attacks to take, and more counterattacks to be made. The pair of Vak Slash skills connected without rebuttal, but the following standard attacks met a harsh response. Still acting like some kind of fist fighter, the boss drove a heavy fist into the blademaster's gut, instantly ceasing all of his attacks and lifting him into the air. A leaping kick delivered Dien into yet another tree, though not after bouncing him off the floor.

Phoenix, taking a different approach, tried to shine light into Primal's singular eye, but to no avail; either the light didn't matter to the boss, or it was canceled out by the lens-like covering over the only revealed eye. The pair of Rai Roms were a different story, though they had not near the force of Rayo's prior Lanceor. Suzaku's fire breath coincided with Phoe's own normal attacks. Then Primal did something that not many monsters had done before him; attacked the guardian. Suzaku was caught up in a taloned fist and thrown to the ground, with a simultaneous kick delivered to send Phoenix flying. Then the first of a series of poisoned thorns was delivered; Suzaku, Canti, and Senna targeted by the flying needles.

As the varied poison coursed through their veins, each took on a different side-effect. Suzaku found it's ability to use magic somehow dulled; spells would still be cast, but they would have no effect. Canti was decidedly less lucky; he was struck with the same effect Zan had been previously. His blood on fire, each movement like breaking his bones, Canti could do little but writhe in pain and wish for the relief that death would bring. Senna seemed to have bad luck of her own; this was the second time the boss had inflicted this particular effect on her. Paralysis wrapped around her like a stifling cloak, her body refusing to move, resisting all cure.

Having witnessed all of this, Nighthand was still undeterred. So what if the boss was countering them, finally? It was about time, really. Zan, too, seemed willing to attack now that the numbness was wearing off of his body. Rayo's blessing of Ap Corma for them both gave two little bits of information to Nighthand; first, that spells were a good idea, and second, that Zan had one spell he was more likely to choose over others. Quickly, he switched out his armor for the Face Guard, allowing him to cast Ap Ruem; it, plus the Ap Corma, should lend a nice boost to the power of their spells. Nighthand wasn't in time to catch Zan's first spell for a boost, but that was alright. They had a little time, at least.

”Mind if I borrow one of those?”

"By my guest, just don't flop it down a level or turn it into some rampaging elemental, please."

”I'll try.”

I'm sure you will... When are you going to get those powers under control, anyways?

I don't even know if I can, at this point. It was Xenobia's intervention that did this, I dunno if anyone is good enough to undo her tampering, and I don't feel like taking weeks out of the quest to let Raine tamper with me.

Doesn't mean that's the only possibility... but we can talk later.

Zan, watching his fellow heavyblade for some signal or other, took that moment to cast the second spell. Immediately, Nighthand reached out with his ability and took hold. His only objective was an increase in power; really, not much else mattered at the moment. (12+1+1=14)

The spell went off, tugging itself out of Nighthand's 'hands' with a force he didn't expect. He had come to expect his powers to fail, not to work so easily. While they didn't show the best improvement in the spell he could have worked, it still served to boost the spell up to a non-buffed level three. Sure, the Ap Corma and Ap Ruem would have boosted a level three spell even more, but this was better than nothing.

MeRue Rom and OrRue Rom, one after the other, struck the boss. Towering whirlwinds of ice and freezing temperatures surrounded Primal, but the onslaught wasn't done yet. Nighthand wasn't going to chance another tampered spell, not right away, but Zan had no reason to hold back; he pumped two more MeRue Roms into the fray.

Only when the dust and snow began to settle did they all see the immensity of what they had done. What ground hadn't been scorched away had been withered in the icy blasts for yards around. While half the party was under the effects of one poison or another, Primal seemed none the worse for wear. Nall had nothing to say; he was only mutely watching the scene, perhaps trying to unravel the boss from the inside out. Holding him back, maybe? After all, no one had died just now.

And, for whatever reason, the spellcasters were still alive. How much longer that would last, none could say... Nor could anyone tell how much more damage would have to be pumped into this boss before he gave up Nall and took a new bit of bait.

--------------------------ooc:
Poison same as last time; it lasts the duration of the round unless for whatever reason something kills you.

Rayo
Exalted Player
Posts: 485
Joined: Wed Apr 09, 2003 7:21 pm

Post by Rayo » Sat Feb 24, 2007 4:06 am

Did anything phase the beast? Canti, Senna, and Dien all struck the sturdy plant with a series of blows, but they ended up injured and injected after making their moves. Phoenix and his associate failed to get out uninjured as well; Primal seemed far too capable to deal with close range threats. The shape shifter’s spells looked more impressive, but they sent Primal running for the hills no faster than his own barrage had done right before.

Surely Nall’s stats wouldn’t aid magic defense and magical evasion by too much, nor would his health points be able to be too far above their ability to deplete. Were his extra items also coming into play? Primal barely moved around except to counter or feed, and one of the most powerful tools the blademaster held onto was the cape previously owned by Kuja. When immobile, that device prevented any contact between the wearer and outside forces. Yet, if Primal could tap into that, then the boss should also have been abusing the time maneuvers Nall was so fond of. Additionally, the power must require some type of activation. If it worked by default, then the Flare Hydra could never have succeeded in actually taking in the previously captured leader.

The wavemaster cast aside his doubt until proven wrong. If their opponent wasn’t reacting strongly enough against either the lightning mage or Zan, then that was because Primal couldn’t do anything about it. Instead of doubting it, fighting on was best.

Housekeeping came first regardless, to prevent any of the fallen teammates from kicking the bucket too early. Since all of Primal’s discarded opponents were placed fairly close together, recovering their physical wounds at least didn’t pose a problem. A single La Repth was sent their way, but that was all he could offer.

The lightning mage directed his eyes over to meet Zan’s own. The thunder elemental spells were his specialty, already high from all of his equipment combined, let alone his magical powers being boosted by the spell enhancement. The heavy blade’s signature magic spell was clearly MeRue Rom. It was of the same style as his own highest thunder spell, summons excluded, GiRai Rom. They were only of the second level, but they certainly complimented each other. Water conducted electricity, and if both types functioned the same way…

The wizard wasn’t confident enough that the synergy of the blasts would enable a strength upgrade that could be noted, but if nothing else might extend the radius somewhat. If nothing else, simultaneous spells should make it more difficult for Primal to do anything about it.

The practitioner of waves raised up his staff, both to signal his would be partner and to prepare for the casting. Not wanting to chance a flash mail delay, Rayo relied on his vocals to assist in the orchestration of the simple plan he had concocted.


“Zan! Tornado unison barrage! Now, GiRai Rom! GiRai Rom!”

Regardless of whether or not the magical swordsman followed suit or not, his own electrified tunnels snaked down out from the sky, bolts of lightning twisting through the air circulating around Primal. If water gushed up around the plant menace as well, all the better. Zan was in his magical prime at the moment, excluding any possible transformations judging by past performances. The wavemaster was capable of rising higher still, but doing so wasn’t necessarily worth it at the moment. Hopefully the able members would contribute with their own tactics as the dust settled, but if not the wavemaster was prepared to repeat his performance as many times as it took to move on.
Rayo
Lv.47 Archer 745HP/311SP
Bell, the Silver Grunty of Thunder
Skills/Spells-Shocking Arrow of Voltage(30), Arrow of the Burning Stars(10), MeRai Rom(40), Rai Kruz(10), La Repth(20), Rip Maen(40), MeRai Kruz(20), GiVak Kruz(20), MeRai Don(20), Rig Saem(15)
Weapon/Armor/Book-Golden Royal Bow/Thunder Torque, Thunder Cloak, Able Ring, Ivory Greaves/Thunder Magic
Wishlist: YL Fukuoka, Stormlore, Winter Stone, Silver Grunty

Zan
Exalted Player
Posts: 206
Joined: Sat Jan 22, 2005 10:28 pm
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Post by Zan » Mon Feb 26, 2007 11:04 pm

The lycanthrope watched in a moment of breathless anticipation as the dust from the group's collective wars finally came to settle. Zan had foolishly expected it all to be enough to drop down someone like Nall's HP in a single round. He was left to realize and remember just how mighty the Blademaster was. The Ex-Elite of Time wouldn't be reduced to a ghost with such little effort. Okay, so the effort itself had been rather impressive, but next to what it would take to expel him from Primal? It was laughable. It was child's play. But damn it, at least they were trying. What made the whole situation that much more unbearable was the simple fact that even when they got their friend back, Primal would probably still live. Furthermore, when this form was eradicated and put to sleep after all of this exhausting opposition? Well, if the slots in the door told any particular story of how much of this boss they had to look forward to, there was still a form remaining. One more. After three depleting shapes, they still had to face one more. Though this current one hadn't been a mind bender like the others had the chance to be, it was still notably more difficult to kill. The Heavy Blade had been a gamer for a good portion of his life and, generally, the bosses never dropped in difficult as you got further in their forms. God damn it.

Doing his best to keep collected and not throw a personal tantrum, Zan watched as (not surprisingly) Rayo was the first one to step up and take initiative with round two. The request he bellowed, aimed at the lycanthrope himself, was noted and agreed with. What more could they do then spam this thing with spells and hope to kill it? Well, they could spam it with spells and hope not to die, but that was just assumed. Thanks to time and friends, the Heavy Blade was sporting a nice, full skill point bar. Awesome. The Ap Ruem he had cast on himself during his last onslaught of MeRue Roms was still active, so he didn't need to worry about depleting himself with its activation. No, all he needed to spazz about was launching three of his notorious spells and landing them all. Wasting a single one simply would not do. Not if he expected to down this particular form once and for all. Hopefully, hopefully those that hadn't been poisoned (mainly their darkness-loving leader) would bring out their biggest and brightest skills against this bastard. Perhaps that would be enough to take him down once and for all. Perhaps.

The first of the level two Rue tornado spells launched with a muttering of the proper incantation and swirled about their target, theoretically making their caster a current target. In essence, Zan needed to get the fuck out of that spot. He had launched himself out before to do some physicals and distract Primal, so he was still in that rather compromising position. Ignoring any chase-giving sounds the boss might have elicited from...did it have lips?...Zan bolted into the underbrush once more, mimicking the last round he spent circling the greenery in an attempt to flee Primal. Ideally, the monster would find him too bothersome to deal with and go after easier, more open targets. Did Zan want his companions to die? No, but he still needed to launch out the extent of his spells before it was more or less okay to die. Like before, the circling of the trees felt so unbelievably natural, this whole field welcoming in way that so few others had been or ever would be. That side of the wolf, of the Beast that the Heavy Blade had found himself contemplating so many times before once again seemed to fill him. It was true that the Beast had some rather crazed lusts and hungers, but there was still the side of it that was simply animal, that was simply animal. It was that part that spread through his nerves then, urging him to run, to fill his nostrils with the scent of the wilds around him.

Ignoring the almost overwhelming drive to give in to the peace of it all, the same willpower used that he had accumulated from his dealings with controlling the Beast, Zan slid to a halt and brushed aside a few bothersome leaves to reveal his target once more, a second MeRue Rom called to match Rayo's spell. Like the last one, the ice and electricity clashed nicely, the water from the tornado itself hopefully conducting the energy his Wavemaster companion had unleashed. Like before, however, it was time to disappear until he got another good vantage point. The continuing annoyance of his pinging mail was finally opened as he ran, Zan rather good at multitasking flashmails and combat missions at this point. It was from Canti. He was distracted? Well no shit. Primal. Lowen. The secondary virus waging a silent war inside of his cells. Yea, that would definitely distract the majority of the normal populace. Did the lycanthrope even have time to respond to something like this? And if he did, if he was going to actually give the kid some trust, what was okay to tell? Talking about Lowen was out of the question, but perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to let another person know about the PVM and what it was currently doing to him. It was minor next to his...well, the girl he cared about more than anything in the world being operated on, but it was still an inch. Zan would give Canti an inch and see what he did with it.

Flashmail!
To: Canti
From: Zan
Subject: RE: Checking...

Yea, you could say I'm distracted. Aside from the obvious insanity waging around us, I'm not feeling too hot. I'm sure you've noticed, what with my coughing up blood and looking like a cancer patient from time to time. To make a long story short, I don't just carry around the Twilight virus in me, but one known as the Plures Vultus Mortis. The many-faced death. It's a part of my lycanthropy that, theoretically, should allow me to attain multiple animal forms. But something’s wrong and the damn thing is eating away at my data piece by piece.

Basically? If I suddenly cease to exist in the game and someday you get out? Send flowers to a kid named Conner Sunderland's grave in New York, New York.

Thanks for your concern. I think.

-Zan

Flashmail! End


With that wrapped up and taken care of, Zan once more emerged from the vegetation and took aim against the plant-like foe. A third and final (for the current round of spell-spamming, anyway) MeRue Rom swirled about the boss, leaving Zan smiling and with a few SP to spare. If he waited a second, he could technically hit Primal with another one, but he was more concerned about the defensive now. Switching to his Life Sword, feeling the tsunami-like approach of the secondary virus's approach, Zan let the Ol Repth wash over him and ease his concerns away. He felt more plagued than before, even with the Ol Repth, but it was to be expected. As he had mentally mulled over several times before, the PVM was immunizing itself against the healing spell and would be able to laugh it off in no time. They really, really needed to get Primal dead. And soon. Really fucking soon. If not? Well, the lycanthrope wouldn't have to worry about him anymore. He'd be dead both here and in the real world. Maybe he'd get lucky and get into the gates of Heaven. Then again, with all of the sins his Beast had induced him to indulge in? Probably not. Ah well, shit happens, right?

Ming-boggling, enigmatic thoughts (totally what was happening, Zan thought sarcastically) aside, the Heavy Blade was now more or less out of SP to be of any magical use. Was it time to go toe-to-toe with Primal again? Probably. It would give Rayo or anybody else some time to recuperate and regroup while Primal looked for someone to take out his anger on. Finding himself before the creature once more, Life Sword swapped out for his Horse Killer, he offered the boss up a smile. You don't take down something like Primal by being this close, not with who was in belly. You just didn't. And yet here Zan was, staring it down with the full knowledge it was eradicate him. Things could be worse. Not a second later and he was aiming at limbs with his swings, the long reach of his weapon allowing him some minor spatial separating from Primal. It would only fractionally prolong the inevitable, but it was still something. If the Horse Killer could make Primal one arm (or, even better, one leg) shorter while he attempted to distract it, then all the better. Truth was, the monotony of the battle and his personal physical and emotional exhaustions were starting to get the best of him to the point that death held no current fear.

In the end, it would make him have to work less. Here here to sloth-like cravings.
Lv. 50 Heavy Blade
Wishlist
Special: Levels, GR Sendai, PL Sakai, Darklore.
W: Tonosama Sword, Mineuchi, Jundachi.
A: Samurai Helm, Able Hands, Rare Greaves.
I: Holy Sap, Treebane, Cooked Bile, Nightbane.
EX: Elemental Summon (Lv. 2), Overdrive (Lv.1), Elemental Attacks (Lv. 2), Enhance Dark, Elemental Breath (Lv. 2).

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