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

Post by Phoenix512 » Sat Jan 06, 2007 11:35 pm

After Zan figuring out the message from the first key, the Guardian disappeared with a nice display of specter twirling before the vanishing act occurred. With nothing else to do in the room, the group left the Rue room and proceeded to place the final piece in the rock. Once the final piece was put into place, the entire room changed in order to reveal a giant hole with a wind that slows down the descent of anyone going down the hole. Nall went first to prove his point as most of the group could not slow down their descent easily. Nighthand could slow down with his wings and Zan in his raven form along with Phoenix with his gravity powers.

The blademaster had to adjust his gravity to normal as the wind could have made him float in the air. He joined the others in jumping down to the hole and slowly descended down the giant hole. This feeling was familiar to him many times as he reduced his gravity to safely land from the rooftops of the root towns but this time, he was at his normal gravity. After softly landing to the ground and moving away from the wind, he returned to his half-gravity state.

Once everyone managed to make their way down from the hole, they proceed towards the only available path to them which were covered with torches. Phoenix felt that they were close to the Hub as the tunnel had the typical follow me to the end boss room feel. He checked his equipment to see if he had his best weapons and armor on which he did not as he replaced his Silver Bracer with the Fishing Gloves and the Singing Blade with the Matoi. Once the group reached the end of the tunnel, Phoenix could not believe what awaited them.

The room was like a jungle village filled with music which he has not heard for a long time since he was infected with the Twilight. It definitely fit the mood of the room as he noticed the various bars hanging in the air. Before he could think anymore, Phoenix noticed a figure going through the bars with an impressive agility like no other. The mysterious figure was no other than the second of Marionette’s minions named Primal. This minion was the guardian of the Hub and probably a test for them to see if they were worthy.

Another moment later, everyone in the group received a flashmail from Marionette saying to defeat Primal and the Hub is ours. Even Nall had no idea about Primal which was weird as he usually knows everything about the enemy. Phoenix was going to find out one of these days of why Nall knows everything about what they encountered and never tell us ahead of time. That question was going have to wait as he needed to figure out how to attack Primal.

Definitely spells are out as Primal could easily dodge them. Even summons could be avoided with little effort due to the size of this room. So that means physical combat is about the only option. In terms of raw physical ability, only a few of us could be useful. Rayo can’t do much while Dien and Canti are too low-leveled to keep up with Primal. Nighthand could match Primal’s speed with his state-shift but his strength would be reduced. Zan’s human form couldn’t match the agility but his animal forms possibility could. Hijinx and Senna should be nimble enough to fight Primal. With me, I’m like Primal himself. I could easily withstand him in an one-to-one fight…

Phoenix received a flashmail from Rayo saying that he, Zan, Senna, and Hijinx could corner Primal. Rayo’s idea was a good idea and it was time to further it.

Flashmail
To: Zan, Senna, Hijinx
From: Phoenix

Let me engage Primal one-on-one while you guys look for an opening to attack. If Primal has some tricks on him, I’ll try to hold him with my gravity powers and blast him with a massive spell strike. Relay the backup plan to the others.

End Flashmail


Phoenix jumped onto one of the bars and began to head towards Primal himself. He had his sword in hand as he could easily navigate through the various constructed bars and with Rayo’s Ap Do boost, he was faster and agile than normal. He had experienced this type of boost recently and nearly tired him out. Phoenix hoped that this battle will end quickly before exhaustion becomes a factor for him. Then again, these battles rarely end that quickly. As he was one bar away from Primal, the music stopped for a second and started again. Phoenix felt weird for a second but quickly continued on. He jumped towards Primal himself with sword pointed his way and ready to chase after him if needed.
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

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 » Sun Jan 07, 2007 4:31 am

The music was pulsing and pounding, the frenzied beat shaking the enormous room. Rather than fade off into a chorus of noise, or echo is dissonance with itself, the music built upon it's own tempo. Each pound of the drums, emanating from somewhere deep within the walls, built upon each and every beat that had gone before. The beat quickened the blood, made the heart beat faster, filling everyone with an unconscious excitement. A sort of bloodthirsty glee, the most primal of vicious predator instincts, welled up inside even the most stoic of the people in the room. Primal was in this sense aptly named; he reveled in this bloodlust, in the glee and energy that filled each step.

Finally, one of the group broke off from their little pack. The man seemed to think he could go toe to toe with Primal, did he? Well then, what a game they would have. The Primal became the prey, and the Phoenix became the Hunter.

Phoenix, for the moment, seemed to be chasing Primal through the bars with an equal display of agility, skill, and grace. The man's gravity-lessening effect seemed to be helping him along some, as well as the music's odd balancing effect. Together, they granted the blademaster the skill he needed to pursue the figure that could only be the boss of this dungeon.

For a while, Primal led the chase. He swung around bars, vertically and horizontally, changing direction on a whim. Phoenix, limited as he was with essentially one arm, put up a good show following. Primal seemed to have an odd advantage; his feet, while graced with no hooks or fingers, latched on to the bars as though second hands. This was, in essence, no different than standing on a bar normally, as Phoenix did, until Primal pulled a trick that the blademaster couldn't hope to imitate. He slowed marginally, allowing Phoenix to catch up.... and then spread his arms and fell.

As Phoenix halted, Primal temporarily lost from sight, the rest of the party could see clearly what was about to happen. Primal had fallen, but his feet had stuck to the bar; he fell in a three hundred and sixty degree rotation around the bar. Coming up behind the blademaster, the boss gave a playful little shove and leaped backwards. A mid-air flip later and Marionette's minion was once more some distance away through the bars, a grin plastered on it's masked face. White teeth, filed to points, gleamed in the torchlight.

Phoenix began his pursuit once again, using every advantage he had at his disposal; the gravity, the music, and the Ap Do Rayo had cast upon him. Once more the chase was one. Primal pulled his trick again, but Phoenix, learning from his first mistake, stopped short. This didn't deter Primal in the least, however; it was time for the reversal of roles.

Hunter becoming hunted, prey becoming predator.

Primal's spin around the bar was culminated in a flying leap, directly for Phoenix. The blademaster's sword was raised to parry the blow, but the blow never came. Abruptly, Primal was above the blademaster, hanging from a leg on a bar some distance higher. Such speed!

Primal fell again, landing a palm on a bar and changing direction as abruptly as he had before. Several twists and turns later, and it seemed there was nowhere left for Phoenix to run. The blademaster, each time he attempted to move, found his path blocked by Primal; and yet, each time Phoenix tried to give chase, Primal was behind him. It was staggering to behold; Primal's twisting dance as they had entered the room was merely for show; a bare hint of the true mobility Primal had within the room.

Then; there was an opening! Phoenix spotted it instantly, veteran of so many battles against the hackers as he was. He was wary, but the chance was too great to leave behind. He leapt from his bar to the next, where Primal's back was turned...

...and the music faded out.

For the barest of seconds, Phoenix thought he had his attack. Primal knew better; Primal knew the music as well as it knew itself. Primal, having spent it's entire existence in this very room, had the pattern of the music ingrained on it's very being. At least, as much of itself as it knew. It knew nothing outside of this room; there may have been more, but it didn't know.

Phoenix's leap fell short. Rather than landing with a foot on the bar, to deliver the smack with his blade that would surely deal damage to the boss character, the blademaster was forced to use his one free hand to keep from falling the several stories to the ground. Had Primal planned even that? There were no bars below this place, merely an empty fall.

Phoenix held on with his weaponless hand, and Primal 'fell' to face him. The blademaster swung; perhaps the attack would still connect?

Primal, with an agility perhaps none of them could match, weaved around the blade as though it stood still in the air. And then it's blade tasted blood.

Phoenix's mind would take several seconds to register what had happened. Before even the completion of his attack, Primal had dodged, moved, and attacked. Primal's wide blade, smooth on one side and notched deep back on the other, slid perfectly between ribs of the blademaster's body. The blow was infused, not with strength, but with finesse; an element lacking in most fights the freedom fighters had encountered. Precision where strength was unnecessary. Vital organs punctured, vital hit points lost. The music returned, and Phoenix tried to draw himself to the bar, to recover, to continue, but it was for nothing. Primal had moved again, a second stab, and the blademaster fell.

Phoenix was a ghost before he struck the ground, a fact which perhaps made the impact slightly more bearable. Yet still, to the group gathered below, it was a shock. How could they fight this, when a mere two physical attacks could defeat one of their upper level players? How could they even hope to catch this creature, who seemed to move about the bars at least as well as any of them ever had on solid ground?

There had to be a way. There was always a way. They simply had to be cautious, intelligent, and confident. Overconfidence would be their downfall just as easily as it had been Phoe's. While the blademaster could be resurrected, to fight once more, it meant nothing if his lesson was not learned.

This was Primal's home, Primal's game, and Primal's life; they would have to be greater than that to overcome this minion of Marionette's.

------ooc:

Since I've been asked several times, I'm going to restate what the music is doing. Basically, it makes it easier to navigate around the room. If you're jumping from bar to bar, you find your jumps more accurate. If you're swinging, your grip is stronger, and again you're more accurate when you catch yourself. Running along a bar with the music on makes your balance better, much less chance of falling off. This is not to say stumbling is impossible, it's just harder.

Unfortunately, when the music cuts off, this confidence almost ensures a mistake. And Primal knows the tune; he can time his attacks to it perfectly to strike when you're least able to defend.

As Dien asked, no, it's not a proportional effect. When the music is on, so is the effect. When the music is off, the effect is off as well. Two states, not a gradient of possibility.

Expect posts like this every couple of posts for the duration of the boss fight, as well as on Thursdays (Unless I posted most recently when Thursday comes.) This way the boss battle can proceed without waiting on me as often. That doesn't mean, however, that I'll wait on you.

Oh and, Phoenix? Please work on your grammar and attention to detail. Scepter, not Specter, for instance, just in your first paragraph. It's become increasingly hard to read and interpret your posts as time goes on; more and more awkward sentence structures, references that are vague enough to leave questions, and so forth. You made it seem like you were wielding two swords at once in your post, for example. I'd just suggest more care in posting.

Hijinx
Exalted Player
Posts: 591
Joined: Thu Apr 03, 2003 11:28 pm
Location: New look, check it out!

Post by Hijinx » Sun Jan 07, 2007 6:49 am

"ACK!"

Standing and dusting herself off as gracefully as one could manage after falling over, Hijinx frowned at nothing in particular for one time too many on this particular day. Alarms were going off in her head about something, but the source was taking forever to uncover. To add to her troubles, the vanishing rock man had gotten dirt on her pants, leaving an ugly smudge that would take some time to get out. Maybe an opportunity would present itself soon for her to change them out for a cleaner pair, but chances like that were few and far between these days. For the time being, the fist fighter contented herself with the knowledge that she would eventually get to squeeze an apology out of their obsidian friend soon enough and followed along.

The party wasted no time in wrecking the place, carefully knocking a hole in the floor and leveling a small chunk of everything in the process. Others made haste, pouncing into the darkness with all of the spirit of a herd of lemmings, leaving her with dien. He seemed preoccupied with the hole, apparently finding something about it entertaining. That or his mind had snapped like a twig under the weight of the group's grumpiness. One way or another, it was time to get moving, and from the looks of it, there was plenty of room to change before they hit rock bottom. All she had to do was slip behind him and...

"Bombs away!"

Putting a little oomph into it, she punted him hard in the backside, lifting him up and tossing him over the edge. Unwilling to copy him, she elected instead to swan dive, and thusly shot past her tumbling ally. With an elegant twist, she pushed backwards and rolled, cleanly removing the article of clothing, slowing so Dien would fall past and would still be in grabbing range, and somehow stuff her legs into a new pant of fresh trousers in a single unique movement. Gravity was unwilling to cooperate today, however, and let itself back into the picture just in time cause her to land uncomfortably on one blademaster's back. Apparently having fallen with no real control, he had connected with earth facedown, one arm evidently broken, but whether it was caused by the impact or not, she couldn't be sure. Still, remembering manners was important, so the fist fighter picked him up and smiled as drums began to play somewhere in the next area. A quick thanks and she was off.

Her arrival was marked with the application of a speed charm (courtesy of Rayo), some music, a brief flash mail, and for a finale, Phoenix-kabobs. Someone else was going to have to wake up the grump, that she was sure of. Chances were that he had offended the nice guy with the sword in the first place, probably with his poor attitude or body odor. In the meantime, she was shaking with excitement. Those boring hackers never gave them any fun challenges, let alone the kind where a highly motivated Hijinx could excel. It was a simple matter of plucking her pet off and giving him something to do, an activity Dien easily provided.

"Urbosh, go hide Dien's coat or something, I'm gonna go play."

The words sounded sweet, and the blob barely had a chance to hop off before she was inside the bars, flipping up with incredible speed. It didn't appear to matter whether her feet or hands connected with a bar at all, or even how many made contact. The display ended with her laughing happily and grinning like a child while hanging upside down midway between Senna and Primal. The music echoed in her blood with every beat, and she sincerely hoped it wouldn't stop as she let music move her.

OOC: Permission granted by Dien!
Hijinx the Lucky Former Rabbit
Level 35.000 Fist Fighter
Equip: Fist Guards, Wyrm Hide, guard cap, Snow panther, silver bracers
Item: 5 ressurect, 2 antidote, 10 healing potions, 6 Emperor's Soul, 3 Raging Earth, 5 Ice Floe, 4 Gale Breath, Knights Bane, 10 Speed Charms
Money: 1103gp
"The problem with life is there's no back-ground music."

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 » Sun Jan 07, 2007 6:52 am

It hadn’t taken too long for the blademaster to fall into that state once again. Somewhere between consciousness and sleep, Dien found himself leaning comfortably against the rock wall while the rest of the team’s musings passed on about him. Whether it was hours or mere moments he would never know, but then and there he could make it last an eternity. The temperature of this room had driven him to pull out the relic he still bore from his days as a newb: a trench coat. Much like a majority of the higher-level players, his choice of garb had been some mock-up of Neo from The Matrix. At least he was a hacker and could hide behind the parallels that existed.

It’s been a while since you wore that jacket,” came the voice once again, and he lifted his head. The room around him suddenly lost a few degrees from his perception, and opened eyes revealed a new bluer hue that had overtaken everything, “or don’t you remember?

“This jacket…” he thought back, his mind tracing through the various avenues of memory that presented themselves, “last time I wore it was in that fight against Blue Fox.” Blue Fox…Futune…Suraisu…
Danielle! He was about to stand fully and draw his sword as seemed appropriate, but a hand came to rest on his shoulder. Looking down at it, her grip only grew more tender and strangely warmer, despite how deathly pale her skin was. A single ring rested on the ring finger, gold that held captive a crown of six rubies, each one worth enough in real life to buy a small country.

I can help you get her back,” she said, “well, I
could help you, if you decided to cooperate.” Her hand slipped off his shoulder and Dien turned to face her, seeing nothing but pure white. In fact, the entire environment had gone white.

“What do you mean?!” he pleaded, “how do I get her back?!” For a moment there was silence, and he was about to demand she tell him, but before he could her voice pierced the emptiness.


Plures Vultus Mortis has her, and has made its demands known, has it not?” Wait, that was the PVM? No, that was Zan’s virus – not his. It was what was giving Zan all sorts of hell, was it seriously also affecting him? “Your course of action is clear:” she continued, now from behind him, “defeat the PVM.”

“Wait, how do you know its demands?” the blademaster asked, his hand tensely gripping the sword at his side. If she could read its mind, was she…no, that was ridiculous. She wasn’t the spying mailer daemon that had everyone on edge. Her words were too clear. And no, she wouldn’t be offering to help him if she were another Face of Death. Something that clever wouldn’t work towards its own defeat. Was she…?

Our characters are linked,” came her reply, “and I’ve been watching you. More importantly, you’re nowhere close to being able to fight the virus. If you accept my help, I will be helping something that’s already started to awaken in your data.

“And if I don’t?” he asked, “I don’t even know who you are. How can I trust you?” She giggled, unexpected in the face of the situation’s gravity.

Funny, you asked me the exact same thing when we first met,” finally spoken, “it’s too bad you don’t remember me. Anyway, go, your party is heading out, and you probably don’t want to be left behind.

__________

He awoke, and as he did the Guardian vanished, leaving his clay tablet behind. Did we solve the puzzle? Dien asked himself, pushing forward and walking toward the group that was now slowly making their way out of the room. He guessed they had, but more important in his mind were questions of Plures Vultus Mortis, and a wonder of who this girl was. Mystery built upon mystery, and he could feel his emotions beginning to settle. Objectivity was screwing him over, and leaving him to think once again. Everything had been thrown into the air to keep himself from losing it in battle, and now it was all beginning to come back down.

Rage, anger, hatred, sadness, sorrow, loneliness, suffering, peace, joy, happiness: everything came back all at once resulting in subtle and quiet laughter from the blademaster. Trapped in an online game running fool’s errands, naught but his sword and the few friends he’d only just made supporting him, hunted by both the administration and the Hacker Elites, there was almost nothing to be grateful for but the fact that he was still alive. And now, as though to make things worse Danielle, who was probably the closest thing to him in this game, had been kidnapped by a rogue virus. He hadn’t signed up for this, had he? No, this came from a quest for levels gone screwy. He’d followed Suraisu through the tower and fought against his greatest fear, and somewhere along the way it had left him in the presence of Nighthand, Zan, Reinier, Phoenix, Nall, and the whole rest of the gang. It was Suraisu’s fault, ultimately. He’d been the one to propagate his association with the rest of them, and because of him all three of Dien, Zhao, and Canti had been tagged by the admins.

“Damn that Suraisu,” he mused silently, stopping his walk just short of hitting the central column, “if it weren’t for him I’d-” And with that, the wall slid downward in front of him…very quickly. It was shocking, and he watched as the debris disappeared into the seemingly bottomless depths of the hole that had formed. A stiff breeze blew out of the hole, but that much was vaguely familiar (reminding him of his first trip around a field of the World: the Shattered Souls event). Had that been the beginning of this? Confused, his mind coursed through the events of its past, retracing every encounter in The World from then until now. Not only could he say none of his current friends had been met back then, but he could even say that he’d only known those who he now followed for all of two days: two days! Sure, bonds tended to form faster online than in real life, but two days? It didn’t add up.

A sudden, unexpected kick to his back sent him headlong, falling through the air with the grace of a bag of bricks. He could hear other people at the bottom, but his mind wasn’t quite working straight. Something told Dien not to brace for the impending impact, and as he watched the ground grow closer and closer he didn’t flinch. Like the wind in Shattered Souls, he’d expected this wind to bring him to a halt just conveniently before the ground, giving him enough traction to step off it, but not enough to be hurt by the fall. However, once he was no more than six feet from where everyone else had stopped, the breeze failed him. Reflexes pulled his arms in front of his face so as not to break his own neck on impact, but falling head-first gave him no real means for protection.

A loud crack resounded, followed by a scream that was quickly extinguished by another body landing atop his own. Dien’s eyes widened as adrenaline begged panic from him. Unfortunately, he was in too much pain to panic. His vision was beginning to blur, and he felt his body lifted to a standing position, despite the multiple fractures in ribs and arm. Something along the lines of a ‘thank you’ was issued before the blademaster collapsed again, blood seeping out the corner of his mouth. He could see the hole, although from this angle it looked more like a blur of light against the black. Most of the other players were already moving on, and Dien could only sigh quietly.

“Repth.” The spell took effect, snapping his bones back into their places, albeit painfully, as he watched the big bright blur become a big bright dot with smaller dots forming widening rings about its outside. Head pounding, he sat up, looking around his new whereabouts. A tunnel extended some distance with a light at its far end. Torches were scattered along its surface, and the blademaster pushed himself up. This was sure as hell not the best condition to be in before a fight, and he groaned quietly while following suit with the rest of the group.

The light revealed a door, and passing through it revealed something more interesting. It was tall, taller than any room he’d ever been in. Stories above, a ceiling hid in the shadows while long walls held randomly-assorted torches. The floor had fire pits throughout, as well, and the destination was quickly made clear by their dancing light: a strong stone door decorated very tribally. Their obstacle? A massive jungle gym stretched from wall to wall to wall to wall, made from seemingly every material the hacker who made the dungeon could think of for its tribal theme. Dien sighed again, his own frustration and general lack of zeal for this project compounding more and more. Getting through the maze wouldn’t be that hard, especially with one goal in mind, but it was more effort than he thought it was worth. Descending into the depths of Hell for a communications hub that might not even work? Yeah last time he’d gone to Hell it had been for entrance into a clan and a few levels, and even then the effort it had required had been excessive.

A flashmail brought him out of his disenchantment, and he plucked the paper that taunted in front of him.
From: Marionette
To: Party
Subject: finalE
Message:
whaT yoU seE beforE yoU iS primaL. defeaT hiM anD thE huB iS yourS.
What you see before you…? The question didn’t remain too much longer. A quick glance revealed the room’s sole inhabitant, who was apparently their boss. Oh, lovely. To make matters worse Nall, who had seemed to possess encyclopedic knowledge of all of the enemies they faced, was drawing a blank. Not good… Most of the group shifted into fighting mode almost immediately, but Dien merely watched. He was like some kind of monkey on the bars, agilely and gracefully moving about them as though he’d known them his whole life. It was clear that they’d be outclassed against him, and as he watched, Phoenix began to give chase. Well, instead of being totally useless, the blademaster decided to try and think. Everyone else seemed to think the chase-it-and-try-to-hit-it method was best, but Dien could only disagree. Something this agile – you needed strategy against it. Clearly, this was no mindless beast AI as the enemies of previous encounters had been, and the hacker-player recognized the challenge.

It wasn’t a challenge of skill or agility, it was a challenge of coordination and intellect. No AI had yet been made that could match the human brain for intellect and sheer dumb luck; at least none that he knew of. It was time to put down the sword and put on the thinking cap. His hand fell off the blade, and he sat himself on a particularly low bar, watching the thing’s movements. At times, its grace seemed to falter, but with Phoenix in hot pursuit Dien couldn’t pick out the pattern to it – if there even was a pattern to it. Drums didn’t help. He could feel every resonating beat in his aching skull and began to grow weary of just sitting around. Nall had the encyclopedic knowledge and instincts, right? Well, time to see just what information he could find out.

“...Nall, you sure there’s nothing you can tell us about this guy?” He'd proven very reliable and accurate with his information in the past, and yet this lack of intel was disturbing even to Dien.

Yeah. Every time he I think I’m pinning something down, it changes. For instance... right now he has access to all Wood spells. But... Now he can’t access any, but has half of the Water ones. Now he has no spells, but some odd skills. It just keeps changing. I won’t know what he can do until he does it.

“I see,” he replied, his mind running in a thousand different directions at once, “what about these monkey bars? It might be prudent to eliminate the child’s playground if we are, in fact, supposed to discipline him...”

There’s... nothing odd about them that I can see. If there’s anything special to do with them, it’s what that thing up there,” he pointed at the twisting and dancing figure of Primal, “does with them.

“And I take it there’s nothing peculiar about these drums either?” he asked, “sorry if I seem all questions, I'm just brainstorming outside of the box until I’ve eliminated every lateral option I can.”

There is.... but.... I don’t know. It’s affecting all of you, but not me, so it’s harder to analyze. It’s affecting Primal to a greater extent... I don’t know what it does though. The music isn’t something you can control though; it’s built into the room, can’t shut it off without hacking the field apart.

“Which I can’t do from in here...” he said, “thanks for helping me think.” He smiled weakly before turning. That had touched a sensitive nerve in Dien. He'd managed to forget, to that point at least, his inability to access the raw data of the field itself. God, he missed it...

The drums stopped. It was only for a second, but something drew his attention skyward. Primal had stopped on one of the bars, and Phoenix went in for the attack. Something went wrong, though – very wrong. Either a miscalculation on Phoenix’s part or a lack of sound judgment, but something left the blademaster hanging by his one free arm. Two swift strokes, and he was done for, falling towards the earth and ghosting before he hit. Dien was shocked – one of the more experienced members had just been effortlessly killed by this thing. It wasn’t that Phoenix was killed, it was the humiliating manner of his death. A resurrect was pulled out, though its owner’s hands were shaking as it was used. How the hell…

Once more, the music continued, and Primal went on swinging through the bars. An unknown part of Dien wanted to hop into the monkey bars and go swinging after the ape, but he restrained himself. Wait, was that it? He pulled himself up onto one of the nearest bars, and found he had surprisingly little difficulty even standing up straight on it, despite how abhorrently thin it was. A leap landed him stably on another bar, although its incline had him sliding before he could push off to another. His hand gripped it, and he swung loosely around it to release at just the right moment, leaving him safely headed for another bar…then the music stopped again. Foot met bone, but then slid off it just as quickly and sent the blademaster-turned-acrobat to the not-too-distant ground. He landed, rolling off the force but still calling another repth to heal the damage. So that’s it, he thought, pushing up, so simple, and yet so hard to figure out.

Headache passing, he began to push through emotions—no, he grabbed them by the balls and forced them to cooperate. Satisfaction from planning, awe at the images playing out in his imagination, anger at the man for humiliating his comrade and yet respectful fear at the same time: all of them played at his will, and he smirked, closing his eyes and writing a flashmail of what he’d thought up.
From: Dien
To: Party
Re: Another plan…
Message:
This time, I think it’ll actually work. Primal’s biggest advantage over us seems to be his agility in the bars and his knowledge of the music’s timing. This music has an effect on all of us: it becomes easier for us to maneuver the jungle gym when it’s going. Our opponent also gets this boost, and tends to use his knowledge of the tune to his advantage (as seen by Phoenix’ demise). Thus, his plays rely on agility and poise. My plan is to take those two factors away from him and force an opening for us.

Phoenix, I’m going to give you another Ap Do, I want you to join Rayo’s original pursuit party and chase after Primal as best as you can (Nighthand, if you could also join in the pursuit, you should be able to keep up without your speed-powers, so long as we give you an Ap Do as well). There is one condition, though: the music seems to almost give a berserker-type of effect and boost your confidence while you’re maneuvering the bars. Do not get cocky. Assume that Primal won’t stop moving unless he’s trying to draw you in for an attack. Don’t fall for it: stop when he stops and move when he moves. He’s pretty smart, but I’m just about positive we’re smarter: time to prove it.

Rayo, with your SP I think it would be prudent for you to focus on first aid. I know you’ve got some powerful spells in your arsenal, but those will come into play later if all goes well.

Canti: remember our fight with Suraisu? We managed to force an opening by casting low-level spells on him to keep him stationary so we could attack without fear of him evading or countering. Equip the highest Rom spell you’ve got and prepare to spam the hell out of this guy with it. On my mark, start casting (timing is important). Everyone else, once he’s caught in the spell move in for the kill. Don’t waste your time on petty shots and cheap tricks: just go for what works the most effectively. Hopefully we’ll be able to hit him this time.

Oh, and just to be clear, the attack happens when I shout, “MARK!” Good luck.
The flashmail took a longer time to send than usual, probably because of its extensive length. He chuckled lightly, equipping the tiara on himself. He couldn’t tell if the rest of the party would play to his idea, but figured it’d be the quickest means to an end. Rig Gaem was cast on himself, and after shifting to the equipment with the highest magic and Gan stats, he waited. Watching Primal move through the bars was like watching a figure skater. Precision, strength, and agility were all required, and he had them in vast supply. A lull in the music, and he paused for a moment, resting until it started again. That’s when I’ll hit him, Dien thought silently, watching as the character continued to dance overhead, when the music stops.

Aps were cast and the cast was set. All that was left was the cue from their young director. Dear God, let this work.
__________
OOC:

Well, I’ll end it there. I gave Jinx permission to kick me down the hole, actually asked him to do it to me to snap Dien out of his stupor. Hopefully Nighthand’ll post and give a conclusion soon (if you don’t agree with the plan, please post quickly). For reference’s sake, if there aren’t any objections Dien will give his mark at the next halt of the music that also stops Primal. Could be awhile, but hopefully all will go well and according to plan.

That said, goodnight.

Nighthand Edit: The important thing isn't if I approve of the plan; it's if everyone you involve in it is participating. That, in fact, factors heaving in whether or not it (or any plan) succeeds. Since you've involved several characters, I'll likely wait until most if not all of them have posted, Primal finds an opportunity, or a Thursday comes. Whichever is first, of course.

Dien Edit: Well, I'd been talking to everyone with the request to post quickly if they disagree. Sorry if that wasn't clear...
Last edited by Dien on Tue Jan 09, 2007 7:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
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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 » Sun Jan 07, 2007 5:37 pm

All in all, the plan was still in motion. Phoenix had went and eliminated himself, but that was because the blademaster fought Primal one on one. The mage had been planning on setting up a four on one scenario just to try and gain openings for everyone else. Dien quickly fixed Phoenix’s situation though, by reviving him and resetting the Ap Do. Nighthand received the boost as well, so that everyone who was asked to or already had gone on the offense were taking advantage of the speed boost.

The lower leveled blademaster went as far to suggest a detailed plan, one that Rayo had no problem working with. Spells would be harder to get off successfully without a trick or knocking the guy that was moving like a monkey off the bars. His face wouldn’t change at all if a tail poked out at this point, Primal moved like a beast in the jungle. Healing would be acceptable, but not as his only activity. The boss hadn’t injured anyone besides Phoenix who had already been taken care of, so the wizard planned to offer other support in the meantime as well.

Speed enhancements were well taken care of, but what of specific evasion related moves? Ap Torv or whatever could raise physical evasion would greatly benefit those going toe to toe with the swinger. Defensive plusses would also aid them, but anything that raised pure damage would be useless unless the attacker could land a hit.


<The Party

Healer on standby. I want to offer up some more help for our forces trailing Primal, so if any physical accuracy boosts, defense boosts, or physical evasion boosts could be tossed this way, much appreciation would be directed your way.

Rayo>

Answering his request, the long arm didn’t take too long before activating a Hunter’s Blood on him. Sure, it didn’t make any sense to anyone who hadn’t examined him recently to use a one time only item based on physical traits on a magic user, but there seemed to be some trust in his judgment. Without any delay his spell list instantly recognized Ap Torv, which was a relief since the effect itself was a wasted effort when it only affected the spell caster.

The blue mage, (he liked the sound of that), targeted the entire offensive party, active or those they hoped would join the chase, with the newly acquired Ap. Hijinx, Senna, Zan, Phoenix, and Nighthand all received an enchantment in their direction; the cost of all of that was only about on par with his strongest summon, maybe the wavemaster needed to invest in more support abilities when he got the chance.

The wizard also felt Rig Gaem pulse through his digital form, but that extra healing spell wouldn't be used until someone actually needed SP recovery. Phoenix could be targeted, but that just might encourage another solo battle. This spell was actually useful for himself, keeping his SP regenerating faster than normal, much faster. Kudos for Dien for actually gaining access to the elusive spell.

Now however, there was nothing else to do but wait for someone to become hurt. Both La Repth and Ol Repth were available, depending on the actual damage Primal decided to cause.


ooc: Blue: Ap Torv, Rig Gaem
Last edited by Rayo on Mon Jan 08, 2007 3:37 am, edited 2 times in total.
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

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

Post by Senna » Sun Jan 07, 2007 6:42 pm

Much as it didn’t sound like a good idea to her, the Long Arm subsided in her efforts to work toward Primal immediately upon receiving the Flashmail from Phoenix. So thinking, she did a bit more maneuvering, trying to get herself in position to keep an eye on the proceedings in case, true to his word, he managed to get the enemy in a place where they could target it with a barrage of spells.

She was surprised to find that as long as she didn’t go too high in the bars, she was feeling pretty okay. The simple distances of a story or two, drops she’d seen a hundred thousand times in her life, didn’t really hold much fear for her. So she was perched on a metal bar with both feet, one hand holding a vertical connector to her right, when Phoenix’s dance with Primal came to its end.

It almost seemed too simple, she thought as the enemy’s blade slipped into Phoenix and then out again, leaving his form to gray and drop like the discarded garbage from a meal. She wanted to wince at it, but couldn’t quite get over how easy, almost effortless, Primal made the whole fight look. Phoenix seemed to be a formidable foe, but Primal had never really seemed concerned. Its body language always conveyed the languid assurance of a cat. It also seemed uninterested in fighting unless they pressed the issue. Such confidence. Despite the situation, she was smiling. It was a trifle amusing to realize she was feeling jealous of an NPC.

Or was it?

Whatever. This wasn’t the time for semantics. Whatever it was, it needed to be defeated. Senna was on the move again, still not in a terrible hurry. Phoenix was down now, and while someone had revived him, it would be a moment before he got back into the swing of things, no pun intended. Hijinx was already in the bars, and seemed to be having a good time. (And why not, Senna asked herself. What was the point of not enjoying things?) She couldn’t see Zan from her perch, but trusted well in his ability to get places quickly.

As she began moving parallel to the ground as much as she could, a Flashmail arrived from Dien (whom she realized she hadn’t seen much of since the last room). She had cause to be thankful that Primal wasn’t just attacking them out of hand, for the missive was a good deal longer than was good for the middle of a pitched battle, and could have been a good deal shorter, she though. Still, the information contained within was sound. His point about the music was well taken. She felt a little silly for not putting it together herself, but maybe at her deliberate pace, those moments of unease and a slight loss of balance were easier to push off as coincidence. The only thing was, she assumed they’d have to either stick to slower paces or to routes with a number of vertical bars. At full speed, she wasn’t sure they would be able to stop when Primal stopped otherwise.

She tried to keep herself at angles to both Primal and Hijinx. And it was in the course of that, another Flashmail came.

This one from Rayo was suitably brief, and took seconds to scan. One eyebrow arched at the odd request, but she’d been in the group long enough to realize they were far more aware of their abilities and what was needful to aid the group than she was, so with a shrug, she pulled a Hunter’s Blood from her inventory and targeted the Wavemaster. She could barely see him through the bars, but it was close enough. And much good may it do you, she thought, meaning it. She might like watching Primal work, but the most basic desire was to kill it. Anything that helped to that end was good.

Shortly thereafter, the effect came back at her. A puzzling thing, that. Why would he ask for an item if he could cast its spell? Interesting, she thought. Very interesting indeed. But for the moment puzzling through that to one conclusion was not foremost in her mind. Her goal was to try to get somehow beneath Primal, both because it would offer the best possibility for making a stable attack with her weapon if it came to that and because if she could help keep it in the higher levels of the bars, the others could swoop in and hem it in on that plane.

She also prepared which weapon to grab for if it came to that. While she probably wouldn’t stand well against Primal if it decided to come after her, she meant to try. To that end, she chose to have the Archspear on hand. The weapon Cathal had once spoken of in a mixture of disgust and longing. It was lighter than her other weapons, though it was of a size to the rest. The thing seemed to dance of its own accord in her hands. Despite the cold aura it seemed to exude, she always had an odd feeling when wielding it that she couldn’t miss, that anything she struck at was in trouble. Adding its inherent accuracy to the bonuses granted her by her Graceful Book and Rayo’s spell, she felt she might be able to at least not embarrass herself in that eventuality.
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
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Phoenix512
Exalted Player
Posts: 304
Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2003 10:42 pm

Post by Phoenix512 » Mon Jan 08, 2007 3:51 am

As Phoenix died in mid-air before hitting the ground, he suddenly realized that he was only playing into Primal’s game. Even though he was nearly equal in terms of speed and agility of Primal, he did not factor in the music itself. The music was something that only Primal could time and used to his full advantage. There was no way that Phoenix could master this aspect of the fight. His ghosted self continued to ponder about how the group needs not to play into Primal’s game until he was resurrected.

The resurrection made Phoenix remind of the pain of the two blows that kill him so easily. He has died many times before but never so quickly and humiliating except for the time when Xenobia forced him to use his powers until the pain killed him. He slowly got right back up and did not want to bother in recovering his SP as those attacks will be useless against Primal. Then Phoenix got a Flashmail from Dien.

It seems that the boy has some insight to the current situation but his plan requires us to play into Primal’s game. Getting him stationary is the key but his way could backfire easily as Primal could just use us as shields. I guess I’ll go through the pain of using my powers.

Before Phoenix could write another flashmail, Rayo had sent one but it was not important to him and could not really help him in his request. After dealing with Rayo’s flashmail, he sent a flashmail.

Flashmail
To: Party
From: Phoenix

Dien, your plan sounds good and all but it plays into Primal’s game a bit too much. Also you thought my powers are speed-based but that’s just an effect not the cause. I can literally stop Primal in his tracks but I wasn’t sure if my powers would affect him or not along with the backlash from using them.

I’m going to increase the gravity of Primal himself or more specifically one of his legs. It would be hard to move when one of your legs weighs more than the other. Once his movement has been severely limited, everyone use your most powerful spells on him. I probably can only do this once or maybe twice before the pain becomes too great. If this doesn’t work, go with Dien’s original plan.

End Flashmail


Phoenix began to scan for Primal as he needed to see where his gravity field was. He rarely had to use his power to the full limit as he managed to deal with his enemies pretty quickly or could not use them because of the enemy makeup. Primal, I couldn’t play your game and lost in humiliating fashion. This place is your domain but you should realize that everywhere in the World is a part of my domain. At least you aren’t a snake for once. Well it’s time for you to feel how my domain can make your life miserable.

The blademaster finally managed to find Primal and began to focus on Primal’s right leg. It did not matter what leg was affected as along Primal could not move easily. If affecting Primal’s leg did not have the desired effect, Phoenix could easily shift it to his entire body but that would increase his pain. A diamond began to glow on Phoenix’s right hand which was the Ingraz Rune scarred into his hand. He began to use gravity powers on Primal’s right leg to increase it to five times of normal gravity. Phoenix just thought one thing before the pain suddenly came to him hard.

Primal, your game is over now. My game is just beginning.
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 » Mon Jan 08, 2007 10:04 pm

The completion of the mini-puzzle had brought about, through a small series of events, the gaping maw of blackness at Zan's feet. Most of the Freedom Fighters seemed to simply stare down into it, hesitant to jump in and hesitant to stay behind. While some, like Nall and Nighthand, went in without so much as an outward expression of wonder, others like Dien and Senna seemed to combat some inner fear. What was the big deal? It was a hole. Sure, they could end up jumping down and landing at breakneck speeds, but so what? Sure, it would hurt, but only for a flash of time. Hell, none of them would really be able to register the pain of a fall at terminal velocity. So why was everyone worried? Why were they fidgeting around the eye of darkness below? Some might wonder the same of him, of course. If he held no fears for the jump, no hesitations, why was he simply standing around? Even as Dien was shoved down he didn't react, didn't move. The careful difference in it all was his eyes; a dead blue, like that of Siberian Husky, that looked forward rather than down. The Heavy Blade's worries resided in when the illness would take him, when the PVM would have finished eating up any lasting access to the Raven and its Gatekeeper in turn.

Such questions were quickly answered as the last of them fell in, leaving him up and alone. The noise started as a simple static, like the snow on a television set. When Zan tried to identify its origin, when he glanced about for a location on the phantom sound, the wave of white noise exploded in his skull. It was as if his ears suddenly housed all of the digital feedback in The World, whines of electronics and the high-pitched wurrs churning through the gray now-sludge of his brain. Zan's eyes slammed shut, a hand coming to clutch the side of his face as the lycanthrope's mouth fell open in pain. The Heavy Blade was hardly aware of the blood that trickled from his nostrils, that dribbled from his ears to pit-pat on the floor and the void below. When the agonizing noise settled down to a low but steady strum of pain, Zan dared to open his eyes. Smearing the twin nose bleed across his face with a brush of his arm, the lycanthrope paused. Something was different. Something had changed. He couldn't smell the blood. Hell, he could hardly smell anything. His eye sight, along with his hearing it seemed, had dimmed. He hadn't been in such a limited world of stimuli since...well...before his infection. Taking a moment to think on it, he wondered how any of his companions managed to work on such limited information of the world around them. That moment quickly passed however, as what he assumed to be the second symptom of his sickness took residence in him. With his senses all but stolen from him, he felt the secondary virus attack the strength of his body.

The sudden nausea that settled into not only his stomach, but the very depth of his bones, swept up and metamorphosized into vertigo when it burrowed into his head. That was the only thing that brought him down into the hole in the floor, his body seemingly lying to him and telling him he was falling through some sort of...water? It didn't matter, not really. No, what mattered was his inability to make sense of anything, his inability to think. When he did hit the ground, it was with a solid thump, but nothing body-breaking. Unlike the others, who probably had landed on their feet or something equally semi-graceful, Zan had simply sprawled, head bouncing slightly with the impact. Be it for better or for worse, the impact had "robbed" him of his vertigo and given him some sense of the world once more. Forgetting for a brief moment just how jacked up he was, the lycanthrope attempted to simply stand up and join his group, an effort that amount to little more than a shaky excuse for a warrior on his hands and knees. A call of the Horse Killer into his hands and he managed to use it as a crutch to come to his feet. It took all of what was left of his strength to stab his way across the ground in pursuit of his friends, the tunnel of spaced torches offering his now-human eyes little guidance into the brightness ahead.

By the time Zan had emerged into the room of criss-crossing bars and had had enough time to watch various pursuits of this Primal thing, a cold sweat had glued his hair to his head and left the rest of his clothes with unsightly splotches of his sickly perspiration. The lycanthrope didn't need a mirror to tell him how cancerous and pale he must have looked; eyes sunken and cheeks pulled tightly to the bones on his face. The pallor of his skin was all his eyes seemed able to focus on, the rest of the world too far away to follow with any real accuracy. One thing he was able to grasp, leaning on his massive blade as he may have been, was the sheer speed of the boss before them. If he could just transform, if he could just push past this for a little while longer, he made actually be able to help with the combat. Doing his best to yawn the Wolf through him, to give in to the urges of the Beast, Zan was let down in a big way. The bones that had begun to snap and rearrange, the muscles that had begun to rip and build anew, suddenly collapsed with the effort it took, the fur that had swept over his arms quickly receding. This took him from the support of his weapon and to the floor once again, broken and bleeding from his body's inability to patch itself up. Great. So not only had this taken away his senses and his ability to become the Garou, but had stolen his prized metabolism as well. In the end, it seemed, he was left as little more than a regular player, albeit a little crippled.

Where was his Twilight in all of this? Looking up at the applications of gravity and other such displays of the Infection, he could only wonder why his had so easily given in to the coaxing of the PVM. Some part of him knew that the Twilight was stronger, that it had more power behind its will. But that, he supposed, was the problem. What will it had was as random and animal as anything else and, oddly enough, the secondary virus he held seemed to have a sentience of its own. Somehow, some way, it must have tricked the Twilight into integration, into the assimilation that was slowly costing him his life. Even then he knew he couldn't worry about it, that he had to help the Freedom Fighters take out the last thing that stood in their way so that they could leave the field. It was only then that he'd be able to seek refuge and a cure in turn. Where he'd find such a thing? He didn't know. Zan could only hope that the answer would come to him when he wasn't in the middle of a fight. Swapping swords to enable an Ol Repth on himself, he rose to his feet (once again supported by his weapon) and began to ponder another option. If he couldn't help in combat, then maybe he could figure out a way to make it easier for the others to take him out. After a few minutes of surveying the battle area, he couldn't help but notice the connotations of the bars. The stone could symbolize Gan, the wood Juk, the bone Ani, and the metal Rai (conductive and all of that). Sure, there was a question as to where the Rue and Vak connotations were, but he didn't care. There were some experiments that needed running.

Before he started fiddling with elements of any kind, the deteriorating lycanthrope tried to bring down the bars with what physical force he could muster. Be it his weakened state or simply the strength of the bars, he was unable to do so. Switching to the elemental plan he had formulated, Zan took the time to attack the stone and wood bars with both Gan spells and Gan physical skills (with rest inbetween for a restock of his SP). Nothing. Ignoring the spam of various Flashmails from his friends (both too tired and too busy to try and focus enough to read them), Zan could only wonder what the solution could possibly be. He knew their salvation had to rest in the bas, but couldn't figure out how to bring about such a revelation. The Primal would be noticeably reduced to efficiency if his world was stripped from him. If they couldn't mess with the bars right then, then perhaps the music was the next key. He could feel the false confidence of the drums, could feel the effects it was having on his psyche. However, grounded as he was on the floor, he had no opportunity to allow such to take effect. Oddly enough, it hit him in a very human way, the drums either falling deaf to his Beast or...or the Beast had been muted in a far more devious manner. Oh God. Were his abilities truly gone from him? No, not now. He couldn't worry about that. He had to make his ponderings known. Maybe someone smarter than him could crack it.

Flashmail!
To: The Party
From: Zan
Subject: Bars and Drums

Though I'm sure this has already been considered, I just want to point out the fact that, should we take out the bars and alter the music, the Primal will be a lot easier to take down. I tried attacking the stone with Gan spells and skills, and the same for the wood bars in case it was opposites, but came up snake eyes. I can't really think of a way to mess with the music, too tired, but I thought I'd give out the ideas to someone with more focus than myself.

Flashmail! End


Ignoring the urge to cough up the blood he felt trickling into his throat, Zan continued to wrack his brain for a solution. There had to be an answer.
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).

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 » Tue Jan 09, 2007 6:48 pm

Canti: Hey, what gives?

(He wouldn't answer the damn question! Marionette's Guardian - personally classified by Canti as Mr. Stoic - was ignoring him entirely. And the reason why? Because his job here was finished. Damn... Of all the rotten luck. This guy wasn't a human being at all, was he? It was just an impression, but now he was almost certain that the man in black was an NPC-like being, one who was now programmed to leave once the message had been imparted. If he and Zan hadn't figured it out yet, they might've gotten some answers. Dammit! The Guardian produced a scepter, one that got a reaction out of Zan, then disappeared. Canti didn't have to ask why the werewolf reacted in that fashion. The head of the article was silver. With their messenger gone, the group headed back to the central chamber, where Nall opened up the door with the final key. It was nothing special. The thing just opened, like a silent drawbridge, and then fell. It was gone, and the room rumbled to life, its every aspect changing. Now, they were trapped, with the only way out being to proceed. A sick game, this thing was, and Canti didn't like it. At least in the tower, the malicious influences were according to some set rules as per a proper adventure. This wasn't like that. This was war. And so, the soldiers gathered towards the hole that was left behind...)

"Well... It's safe, anyways. It doesn't look like it, but this wind will hold us up enough as we fall that the impact at the bottom won't kill us."

Canti: Oh good, because these wings of mine don't really do anything.

(No, they didn't...and that bothered Canti at times. The real God of Black Flames could fly. He was something of a demon, ancient and powerful in the ways of dark fire. A Balrog was childish in comparison, and this thought of Lord of the Rings reminded the Twin Blade of another Tolkien reference that applied here. He looked up for a moment before proceeding down the hole, saying...)

Canti: "The way is shut..."

(He jumped down, and found that this wind wasn't as helpful as first thought. Deceptive, it was... Feeling a sudden burst of adrenaline break off the initial panic, Canti tucked himself into a ball and somersaulted. His agility would be what saved him the trouble of a painful landing, as rotating in this matter allowed him to control his descent and landing posture. His feet struck the ground hard in defiance of the gravity, as if to say that the laws of physics could go hang. Not an actual fuss against gravity like Phoenix, but more or less using the physique of his character to compensate. He landed hard, but perfectly okay, a dark aura that had formed around him dissipating almost immediately. He looked around.)

Canti: What the...hell?

(Everyone else was more or less caught by an invisible force and barely fell at all! Something was wrong with that. Deeply wrong. Did it malfunction? Did he malfunction? A ravenous anger drew at him, a seething hatred for the conveyance and the hackers in general, which was moreso a reaction than before... It faded quickly, and Canti blinked. Just...what was that? It felt like him, but more like what he was like on his worst day, his "Destroy The World" mode in real life where everyone could go to hell for all he cared. Shrugging this off for now, Canti followed everyone else to a new room, a strangely native-looking place filled with a giant jungle-gym formation between them and a door that felt...very final. That was it. The Hub was on the other side of that door. Now...what was the catch? There was always a catch here. These hackers wouldn't be the scumbags they were without a trick up their sleeves. The heat and darkness appealed to Canti, as well as something else. There was...music.)

((http://gh.ffshrine.org/song/828/15))

(Drums...and lots of it, faster...slower...faster...much faster... It all meshed in and around and at random. It was...pleasant to the dark Twin Blade. He'd been missing music ever since he started this thing, and music helped him think. This would come off well if he could use this to his advantage. Which then raised the question...why was their music? His eyes then caught something. Movement. Someone was in there, and a flash mail from the puppetmaster explained it. It was a boss, name of Primal. Catchy. He looked the part too, freaky and dangerous. Canti had a sudden thought, and a smirk. If Marionette was not with the Elites, but he was throwing these at them, then these were the tests they were to overcome, which meant...)

TO: Marionette
FROM: Canti
SUBJECT: I see.

A three-word system key, three Hubs to take down, and - let me guess - three warriors for us to test ourselves on? You were talking about challenges ahead. Well, if this is what I have to go through for a straight answer, I'll do it. I want to know...everything.


"I... Can't tell anything. All it's stats, all it's data is constantly in flux. There's something keeping me from the exact details. Sorry guys."

(Well, that was great. It meant that their bad guy could be anything. No, wait... For a moment, Canti felt resonance, a feeling of similarity. And then, it was gone. This guy didn't HAVE any weaknesses, did he? That was the thought that crossed his mind as he understood the magnitude of Marionette's test. That's all this was for him. A test. Canti watched as some of their own began to work on a strategy to attack this thing. It would never let them cross intact. Never. Hmmm... As the Twin Blade thought about this, Phoenix went on the offensive to take care of Primal. Canti watched, but he was sort of lost in the music. It did things to them. He could feel it. So, when it stopped, so did a certain train of though, a thought of darkness and fire, of demonic power raging through him. What...? He blinked, and then saw... Phoenix was down! Primal swung and fought around the gym with the music, using its differential beats and pauses to confuse the enemy. He was a tactician... Only way to beat a smart fighter was to either out-think or out-guts him. And since Primal had guts, it looked as though brains would have to prevail. Canti had an idea about this, actually. If person made for the Hub door, Primal - being the boss character - would have to do something about that. That would leave him open to back-attacks - or better yet, spell-attacks - and eventually, he could be killed. He considered mentioning this to Dien, but Dien spoke first, via Flash Mail.)

Canti: Huh? Say...this could work out.

(The fight with Suraisu had been desperate, but coordinated using the full extent of their abilities. Impressive for low-levels, no doubt. In any case, the Blademaster had a plan and Canti liked it. Other mails made it clear that there may be other options, and that playing things Primal's way might be a bad idea. This is where the Twin Blade 'spoke' up.)

TO: The Party
FROM: Canti
SUBJECT: Primal

Dien, I like your idea and I'll go for it. Juk Rom is, however, all I've got still, but it'll do. I think we should try something a bit different, though. Just slightly. Primal is a boss character, pure and simple. He has to prevent us from getting to the Hub, otherwise there's no point in him being here. Let someone fast and agile - I don't care who - go for the Hub and make the tribal dude come our way. Bait for the trap. No matter what might happen to the lure, we get in the hits, especially if we slow him up with spells. Regardless, I got your back on the spell-zapping.


(You could almost hear his sly voice in that mail.)

OOC: What this means is that on Dien's "MARK!", he can just go ahead and say I'm doing what I'm suppose to be doing.

Oh, and as for the inconsistency, don't worry. It's...personal. Heh heh heh...
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.

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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 Jan 12, 2007 3:32 am

Hijinx was the first, out of the rest of the group, to enter the jungle maze of crossing bars. She flipped and danced among the rods of various material, an agility that nearly matched that of Primal. How the fist fighter accomplished it was a feat of her own, but a lot had to do with the music; music that gave everyone the boost they needed to contend with Primal, but not enough to land the blow they needed. They needed more than just the dance to beat the dancer.

Dien's flashmail went out, a plan that seemed more whole than anything the rest had come up with. Rather than a quick implementation however, other things happened. Rayo delivered a series of boosting spells to the group, increasing various stats that could help in their battle. Not that a stat boost lasted once the character in question was dead, even so, it was a morale boost if nothing else.

Senna, too, joined the fight, hoping her additional accuracy would allow her to hit where a member of another class wouldn't be able to. She moved along the poles with a bit more caution than the others had before her, a fact which might be her salvation or her undoing.

It wasn't long before the first offensive came in this second round of the game. Phoenix, again, was the one to initiate the offensive. His gravitational powers reached out, their mysterious ways manipulating the boss character to make his leg much heavier. Primal, for the moment anyways, sat high above the group; if it felt the gravity increase, it didn't show it.

Zan, adjusting to the sudden change in his infection, in his powers, in his life, took another option. Rather than assaulting the boss, he began assaulting the terrain. If Primal took notice of that, he showed no more than he did the gravity increase. Perhaps the werewolf was on the wrong track, or perhaps simply a little off. Either way, he wasn't an immediate threat. Zan sent off his own flashmail, and studied the room, looking for anything that could help him.

Canti, self-styled after the god of black flames, added his own little addendum to Dien's idea, but none of it appeared to be implemented. Aside from Phoenix, the group was either waiting for Primal to make his move, or looking for the clue that would make this all that much easier. For the moment, it seemed like neither side wished to make the move. And then-

”I'll be your bait, Canti.” Nighthand said. After all, he had the speed, and the power to withstand Primal for at least a short time. It should be more than enough to allow them to get hits in, and if indeed that was the necessary tactic to defeating the boss, they could always raise Nighthand again.

Really... What's up with all the flashmail use anyways? It's easier just to talk.
Secrecy?
Not if they can read our mails....

Shifting himself enough towards speed so that he could make the journey with a minimum of hassle, but without lowering his defenses completely useless, Nighthand started his dash across the room. Nall stayed where he was, his face worried, trying to make sense of the frantic wash of data that he got from Primal's stats. Without some fixed notion of what this player was capable of, how could they really fight it?

Nighthand soon found himself by the heavy stone door. It was much like it looked from afar; two floors high, give or take, and seemingly made out of solid rock. There was no way to wedge it from the wall, at least that Nighthand could see. The surface of the rock wasn't merely painted, it was also etched; tribal designs, swirls and angles and dots, decorated nearly it's entire surface. Bones, pasted on with some blackened adhesive, formed patterns of their own. None of it made any sense to Nighthand, no meaning behind it, as he examined it. He wasn't worried about Primal attacking him; the dancer would have to come close for that, and the heavyblade would hear him coming.

Only one portion of the door seemed different than the rest; it was an etched-out rectangle, at chest height, a couple yards wide. It was divided into four squares, and each had an impression carved into it; a hole, plainly where some object would go. It looked rather like the puzzle from above, only without the elemental connotations or the obvious paths to get the items.

The first was small; no larger than a finger. The shape seemed somehow familiar... Wait. Nighthand glanced upwards, at the boss that still seemed to sit and watch him. No wonder Primal wasn't attacking him; they couldn't pass the door without the key that Primal himself carried. The Earring!

The second “slot” was geometrically shaped; something more like a shard of glass than anything else. The third was roughly triangular, though with odd sides to it. The fourth was the largest, nearly the size of Nighthand's torso. No idea what it could be. Plainly, it seemed, this boss had more than one form. Why couldn't anything be simple anymore?

”No good from down here! We need Primal's Earring to proceed, it looks like.” Nighthand called out, to inform the rest of the group of his discovery. Then, he decided to join the fight himself. He leaped up, vaulting onto the nearest bar and climbing up them jump by jump. It wasn't until his blade caught on something that he realized; a seven foot piece of metal wasn't the easiest thing to transport through these bars. Even if it was thinner than the blades he usually carried, it wasn't all that mobile.

Still, he made his way through the bars, hampered as he was. At leas the whip would keep him from falling too far, should the music stop and he tumble. Most of his power, in swings, was hampered... Really, he wouldn't be much better than a distraction for their blademaster-like foe up in his domain. How could they defeat an opponent whose battleground was second nature to him?

Phoenix's Gravity was holding, for the moment, and Primal seemed disinclined to move. Nighthand, Hijinx, Senna, and Phoenix converged on the stationary creature Primal did nothing but turn his head, following the movements of the blademaster in particular. Phoenix was the one hampering his movements; he was the one who would have to die to regain free motion.

For Primal truly was hampered. Once closer, the four could see the affected leg hanging oddly. Still, the creature's balance was unaffected; Primal was sitting as calm as could be on one foot, one hand dangling and the other holding his sword.

Finally, the four had closed in on Primal, close enough to be able to lunge and catch the escaping foe should the need be. This seemed to be the trigger.

Primal's blade came up, the saw-like back edge glowing oddly. The metal was red and pulsing, like with alternating heat and cold. Then; suddenly, the blade was swung.

A fireball flew at Phoenix, larger than the man's torso, but the blademaster dodge it easily. Taking this as his opportunity, Phoe lunged for the boss. He never made it. Behind him, the fireball burst apart, five points shooting off perpendicularly to the original fireball's path. These five traveled a certain distance, then stopped, and the fire around them dissipated.

Left in their place were swords, identical to the sword Primal held, save for one difference; they glowed solidly red, made of red-hot iron. These swung about and homed in on their original target. Phoenix never saw them coming before he was impaled, one blade after another striking the blademaster and continuing on, to impact a wall or floor before dissipating entirely. Phoenix's life had left him again, and his gravity power had ceased as well.

Still, Phoe had left a wide opportunity, and Nighthand, Hijinx, and Senna weren't the type to sit around and not take it. Senna was only a step behind when Nighthand started the lunge of his own, his blade directed for a fast piercing strike. Senna's spear mirrored the image, held steadier than the large blade could be. Hijinx opted for a more roundabout method, to use the openings left by the other two for her own strikes.

For an instant, Nighthand thought they had it. Primal still hadn't moved, hadn't reacted from his first swing. Then the blade swung back, and Nighthand found himself the target. He twisted his blade, moving to block the blow, but it was more than enough to knock him off course. Primal narrowly escaped Nighthand's attack, and, sword still glowing, turned on Senna.

The Long Arm didn't have time to react either, as Primal's speed and renewed mobility were unexpected. Primal's blade stabbed into her once, like it had when Phoenix had died the first time, but something was different. The power, the heat and cold of the blade, flooded into her system. Her body froze, skin frosting over, blood turned to ice. Primal appeared to have control over those two elements; at least had these two abilities, in his blade.

Senna fell, while Nighthand rebounded and lunged again. He didn't bother with an attack he went for the earring. Just as the long arm's body impacted the ground, shattering against the stone like just so much ice, the heavyblade's hand closed over the earring.

With a cry of triumph, Nighthand twisted, pulling against the earring but found his hand was empty. Primal vaulted away, and Nighthand tumbled, hitting a bar hard during a lull in the music. Primal headed up, but found himself nearly running into the arms of Hijinx.

“Bear Hug!” Jinx cried, happily latching on to the boss. It was all she needed, or rather all her weapons needed, in order to activate the skill. An aura of darkness briefly surrounded her and sank into the skin of the boss, dealing damage as well as whatever the fist fighter planned. Jinx, happy as ever, reached for the earring...

...and then was no longer on Primal at all. Primal's blade had come up, even during the skill's activation, and while it took some damage, Hijinx did as well. A heavy slash of the no-longer-glowing blade dealt enough damage to the fist fighter to throw her off, and the impact to the nearby pole dealt the final blow; Hijinx, too, was downed.

Almost immediately, spells converged on Primal. Not wanting to hit their fellows, the spellcasters had waited, unfortunately too long. Before the spells could fully form, the again-agile Primal had danced out of their way.

Nighthand let himself back down to the floor; this new information, this new ability, they had to prepare and regroup. It was possible; Primal had been hurt. The question was, could they do it again?

---------OOC:

Primal's two abilities, demonstrated

The fire skill shoots a large fireball. If this hits, it deals five large physical attacks, five large fire attacks, and one medium fire attack, all at once. If it misses, it splits into five smaller fireballs. If one of these hits, it deals a middle physical and a middle fire attack. If they hit nothing, they home in on the original target and fly at high speeds, nearly unavoidable save for by Nall. The five physical attacks that follow are enough to kill pretty much anyone.

The ice skill is simple; He stabs you, you freeze, you fall and die.

They can only be used in that order; Fire, then ice. They can't be used repeatedly, and have a cooldown time to them.

Senna: You can consider that the attack that pushed you into comaville, for the sake of your post.

Canti: That inconsistency you mention; try not to do that unless you run it by me first. Altering how a field's effect acts on you without my go-ahead can mess things up, if it's important. In this case, it wasn't, the wind was just a way to make the fall not kill you when you landed. Which it should have, by the way, unless you're manifesting another power, which you also would need to clear with me. In other cases, doing something like that can be as bad as breaking a puzzle, so you see how important it can be. Just... If I say something acts a certain way, it probably does that for a reason.

As you can see, Nighthand's not that great in the bars either. He would probably be better served staying back and casting, too. Canti's plan of rushing to the door was good; it got certain information out, but it wasn't the trick to beating this guy. Zan was perhaps closer, but also farther away. We'll see.

Also, I might be moving posting days. If I do, there will be an announcement about it. Reason being, thursday is the one day this semester I have a late class. The reason I say I “might” be moving, is because if it turns out I go to my friend's places every day except this one, this is still the best time to post. We'll see.

Rayo
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Posts: 485
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Post by Rayo » Fri Jan 12, 2007 4:24 pm

While it wasn’t exactly the original plan, this variation didn’t fare much better. Hijinx ended up being able to get in one solid attack from the entire assault, but their side was hurt much worse. Phoenix, Senna, and Hijinx had all been slaughtered in different ways, effectively stopping the pursuit team. The wave master’s original battle suggestion definitely wasn’t applicable for this boss fight anymore, even going in four on one didn’t end well. Chances were that if even more people were close by, those players would also have fallen.

Still, Rayo was not one of the casters who had bothered to involve himself in the last bit of offense before Primal started moving about just like before. The mage had agreed to play the medic, and watching the battle up above didn’t lead him to believe he was going to get a chance to leave that role too soon. Thanks to Dien’s spell, his SP would hold out for even longer than usual, so there was no immediate danger of being drained.


“Rip Maen! Rip Maen! Rip Maen!”

All of the three combatants taken out during the last maneuver phased back into being from their ghost forms. Given the lack of success of in the last round with Primal left the caster without the urge to add on either the Ap Torv or Ap Do spells. It may not be fair for them, but the support magic was going to take a backseat to the white magic. Accuracy boosts were more of a bother to cast since Primal was so good there to begin with. However, without Ap Do, those balancing on the bars would have to rely on the music’s effect that much more. Even if Phoenix was going to try the gravity trick a second time, letting the swordsman rejoin the offense would not be wise. His early death might have hindered the others during their exchanges with the agile foe; a lack of spell encouragement for the blademaster might not motivate him to die for a third time. Targeting just the newly reborn Senna and Hijinx, the magician only utilized one of his stat raising enchantments.

“Ap Do! Ap Do!”

Reconsidering their approach, the lightning mage temporarily gave up on any plan that simply brought them closer to Primal. Bringing that monkey boss crashing down would serve them much better, his talents were amplified by his mobility there and their lack of familiarity with them didn’t offer up any help. The last combined attack ended up revealing something about the door, as well as some tricks Primal could pull out if cornered. Yet, all this did was make Primal that much more unapproachable.

Zan had commented on bars based on Gan and Juk, and a quick look let the wave master pick out those and placed the elements of Rai and Ani for the other pair. Finally, the sword Primal carried at least proved capable of drawing upon the powers of the remaining two missing elements from the equation. If attacking them didn’t matter and physically moving them wasn’t possible, how could one disable the system?

There was still the music option, which brought on one interesting idea to the mage. The music let Primal grace the bars as he did, but that was with that one type of music playing. The drumbeat seemed memorized by Primal, so even blasting the room with loud sounds would only hurt them, not their intended target. Yet… was it possible to change the influence on the room by introducing a foreign object?


<Nighthand

If I recall correctly, I remember hearing you play a flute quite a while ago. If you still have it in your possession, could you try playing it now? It’s possible that different music could disrupt the effect of the drums or add a new effect. Doing so would put Primal in our shoes somewhat too, unsure of how the room is functioning.

Rayo>
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

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

Post by Senna » Sun Jan 14, 2007 4:05 am

It all converged in a way that should have been perfect. Should being the operative word, of course. This dungeon had thus far been full of heaping helpings of should. Unfortunately, these plans were regularly thwarted by enemies who were more cleverly crafted than anticipated.

The best that could be said of the group effort was that they learned a couple new things and caused a little damage. Truth be told, the information was probably the better part of the deal. Nighthand, acting on an idea from Canti (that guy was coming up with all kinds of useful stuff, Senna thought, appreciative of it.) found that Primal’s earring was needed to get through. A key perhaps? She couldn’t see the door, so just trusted what he was saying. It seemed also that Phoenix’s power, whatever it was, had an effect on their opponent. After hopping about like an aerial ballerina on speed for some time, it was now sitting there quietly, waiting for them to hem it in. If it had just been doing this of its own accord, she would have heard more warning bells go off, but as it was, she mostly saw this as an opportunity to strike and strike true.

They converged, Phoenix ahead of the others, with Nighthand close behind. Senna was hampered a bit, getting level with the rest and bringing her weapon into her hands.

The proverbial fan was hit almost immediately upon commencement of the attack. Phoenix was first in and first to fall in a spectacular combination of sword and fire – the fire missed, but the swords did not. There wasn’t time to stop for him though, not while the attack had left them the slightest of openings to go after.

Nighthand’s attack was next, but his strike turned defensive as Primal’s blade swung around seeking blood once more. As he was knocked off course – a dangerous state among the bars in its own right – that same sword came back to aim at her. As it moved, her strike went high, skimming over its shoulder, and a moment later she was brought to a sudden, jarring stop on the blade of the tasseled sword.

With the strength it seemed to possess, that would probably have been enough to finish things, but the sword was not quite finished. There was a strange sensation, then a wave of cold washed over her, so swiftly that it took a moment for her mind to register what was happening. And when she finally realized that it was an actual sensation, not a mental one, that was washing over her skin along with the frost, she tried to scream, but being frozen, her body was thankfully not reacting.

She missed what happened next, sadly, since she was falling, and a moment after that (or longer? Her mind was racing over so many things, and time seemed weird, stretched and compressed at the same time) she hit bottom. The shell that housed her soul shattered like… well, ice. And then it faded, leaving her a ghost. She clutched hard to her weapon, though strictly speaking she supposed she had no fingers and no muscles with which to contract. What had that BEEN? All the talk of AIs and hackers… could someone have rigged something to turn her own equipment against her? The feel of the attack had been like electricity, like fire over her skin. So cold it burned, was a phrase she’d heard before, and that was kind of the feeling before everything went numb. Could something have surged and used her contact with the headset to physically attack her in the real world?

She reached up, intent on wrenching the thing free, but it was only after her hands encountered nothing, only after she realized she could actually feel the heft of the slim Archspear in her hand, that she realized for the first time, the action had caused her in-game self to lift its hands.

The first thought that came to her was I must look absurd.

She dropped her arms just as a spell was aimed her way – friendly fire this time. As her limbs came back to the physical realm, she was also aware she could feel the brush of the sleeve against her arm, and a gentle warmth…

Gyah!” she uttered, startling back. She’d landed – or materialized, or whatever – at the edge of one of the flame pits. This was definitely weird. There was the obvious conclusion, of course, but the part of her that failed to countenance belief in part of this whole tale from the beginning firmly said “no” and suggested that she retreat for the time being. As she made her way back through the bars – sped by Ap Do but still somehow not feeling… at speed – her mind considered and discarded suggestions. Spells loud enough to tax its hearing? The thing probably didn’t HAVE ears and likely just knew the music. Trip it? A lark, but no. Flame thrower…?
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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Phoenix512
Exalted Player
Posts: 304
Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2003 10:42 pm

Post by Phoenix512 » Sun Jan 14, 2007 7:11 am

Once again, Phoenix died from attacking the very agile Primal but this time he did not died alone. Senna and Hijinx also fallen victim to Primal’s attacks which made him realize that they need a new plan. After Rayo resurrected Phoenix again, he still felt the pain from the gravity power use and the stabbings from behind by Primal’s weird attack.

Damn that hurt a lot. I’m tired of dying from this guy. There’s no way in hell that I’m chasing after him for a third time and probably die from some unknown attack that he has. I can barely tolerate my current pain right now and chasing after him along with gravity use wouldn’t be wise on my part. It seems that my powers did have an effect on him and wisely waited until he found his chance to strike at me. I wonder why the others didn’t blast him with a focused spell strike. Primal seems to be the type who prefers for its prey to come after him instead of the hunter looking for the prey…

Phoenix temporary fell down from the pain in his back before slowly getting back up. I guess that the stabbings are already forming a new layer of scar tissue on my already scarred back. I’m surprised that my face doesn’t look like a burned victim by now. If I’m going to use my gravity power on Primal again, I need to look for a chance to use it and hoped that the others can finished it off in one blow.

The blademaster scanned the battlefield and noticed that nobody was really doing anything until Suzaku appeared in her bird form.

Kazuma-sama, I noticed that the long arm girl now possess the Twilight. Primal’s attack on her must have infected with it just now. I guess she is stuck with us now. Anyway, I have an idea just now. We have been trying to stop Primal directly but with no success at all. While using your gravity powers to stop his movement was a great idea, you were still playing into his domain. He knows how to navigate through the bars easily. So let’s try to remove the bars out of the equation. I doubt we could destroy the bars directly as Zan has try but I think I could burn the bars instead. Basically, the bars will be coated with fire so that Primal could not use them against us and hopefully come to the ground. It will limit Primal’s option but he will still be tough to defeat.

Nice thinking there, Suzaku. Once he comes to the ground, I could use my gravity powers again and hoped this time; I get some protection along with a massive spell strike. I’ll let the others know.

Phoenix sent out a flashmail to the others.

Flashmail

To: Everyone
From: Phoenix

I believe that if we can get Primal to the ground and remove the bars, we can defeat him. I suggest burning the bars so that the fire will be on them so that he can’t use them unless he’s immune to fire. The bars themselves don’t have to be destroyed just along they are coated with fire. Once he’s on the ground, I’ll use my powers again to stop his movement and blast him with a massive spell strike.

One more thing, I’m not going to directly attack Primal as I don’t feel like dying for a third time and the pain is limiting what I can do. So if you guys had any ideas of me chasing Primal, forget about them. I’ll be less effective in the plan and less willing to do it.

End Flashmail


Once Phoenix had sent out the flashmail, he ordered Suzaku to start burning the bars. Suzaku, don’t try to near Primal at first. Just try to see if the idea will work or not. Once it does, then proceed with all of the bars.

The guardian bird gave a nod and proceeded to head towards the nearest bar. She began to burn the bar with her fire breath and wondering what effect it had. It had an effect on the wooden bars which burned to ash but the other bars did not have the same effect. The fire did not stay on the bars that Phoenix had hoped but at least there was a way to limit Primal’s movements just a little bit. Suzaku, burn many of the wooden bars as you can before you need to recharge your SP. Come back to me when you need to recharge.

Phoenix sent another flashmail to the party.

Flashmail
To: Everyone
From: Phoenix

The wooden bars can be destroyed by fire but the others didn’t even allow the fire to be coated on them. I’m having Suzaku burning many of the wooden bars before her SP runs out. It’s not much but at least it’s something we can do to limit Primal’s movements.

End Flashmail


Phoenix was still in pain all around his body especially his back as he screamed loudly and went to one knee. I wonder how long before I completely collapse from the pain. I can barely look up right now. I must hold out until my chance to use my powers comes up or the others have a very good plan.
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
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Post by Zan » Mon Jan 15, 2007 10:14 pm

Zan couldn't help but feel vaguely useless, something he was sure quite a few of them were experiencing at that point. Though his situation and his sickness was a unique one, the effects on this battle with everyone else were all uniform. Everyone around him was drying, dropping like flies to be brought back by a very steady, very reliable Wavemaster. What should have been Zan's major contribution, his Garou form, was sadly inaccessible. Not even human was he able to do much, stuck instead on the ground to watch as his friends attempted their various tactics. Even strategies were alien to him after the mentioning of the bars and the music, his brain caught in a swamp of overheated, fevered liquid. The more time passed, the more the PVM debilitated him, sapping away what little strength he possessed. The Heavy Blade couldn't even imagine how much longer this fight would go on, how much longer he'd have to endure the Primal before he couldn't even look on. Unconsciousness would find him soon, a sweet relief from the waking desolation he felt on his feet. There had to be something he could do to prolong it, to keep him on his feet for the rest of this. Swapping his Life Sword into his hand, he let off its most useful skill.

The Ol Repth, though none of his hit points were gone, seemed to act like morphine, the world suddenly happy and clear around him. Zan felt stronger, faster, and more able. The clammy state of his skin gave way to a blush of health, something he was sure was affecting the rest of his dreary appearance. Maybe that's all it had taken? Maybe a simple casting of a semi-powerful cure spell had pushed the Plures Vultus Mortis into submission. A close of his eyes and he knew he was full of it. Beneath all of the relief, all of the joy from the absence of his cancerous symptoms was a tidal wave. The Ol Repth had swallowed the viral ocean back, the defiled water retreating foot by foot until the beach of his body was barren. Zan, sadly, knew how physics worked in cases such as this. The water would come back in the form of an infected tsunami, a rolling hill of disease that would take him back to where he was only moments ago. The Ol Repths would have to be a steady injection, like a heroine addict shooting up to avoid withdrawals. He already knew, by simply logic and the ways drugs (even metaphorical ones) worked, that the next time he wouldn't be healed quite as far. The more he healed, the more healing he'd need.

Zan's first temptation in his momentarily healed state was to shift to Garou, to offer up the help he had been so eagerly craving to do in the first place. The only thing that prevented him from doing so was the fear that all of the health he had regained would be burned through and he'd be lost in the premature crash of the retreating, black wave. Though he wasn't going to go into his full abilities, he'd tap into them as much as possible, the Clabro called into use. The Heavy Blade's muscles toned and tightened, growth hinted at beneath the green shirt and black coat. The orange-amber glow of the wolf found itself in his eyes, his canine teeth (both top and bottom) filing to razor-sharpness in but a second. Hidden beneath his hair, he felt his ears come to a point, an attribute he couldn't remember gaining in the past. Zan's initial instinct was to make some elfish joke, but he knew it wasn't the same. It was less graceful, more bestial in appearance. Oh, and completely lacking priority in the fight. Ignoring the intrigue on his appearance, his finger tips capping off with long, still-human claws, Zan looked up at the bounding Primal and decided it was time to let the music hit him. His transformation into the Clabro made this easier, his mind already partly gone into the realm of the Beast.

Not a second later and Zan bounded off into the jungle of bars, grace and maneuverability oddly simplified with the confidence that pumped through him. The Heavy Blade vaguely remembered someone mentioning that the confidence was a weakness in truth, that he shouldn't let the music fool who he was, but he just...couldn't help it. Each beat of the drums tapped into a part of the Beast he hadn't yet tamed, gave it more control than he would have otherwise permitted. And he didn't care. In that second, when his foot landed on the first bar, he forgot the world. The lycanthrope forgot Lowen, forgot the death of her friends, forgot the loss of his mother, the horror of his father, and even his best friend. All he could do was hunt, senses inflated like balloons while he chased his prey, while he followed the Primal with the instincts of a wolf and the intelligence of man. Life Sword in hand, Zan found himself slashing at air where the Primal had been time after time. It didn't even seem to seek retaliation, amused instead at Zan's fruitless efforts towards capture. And then it stopped. The Primal simply halted on the bar before him, practically begging to be caught. The moment that the lycanthrope realized something was wrong was the same moment the music stopped, his perfect arch mistimed and thrown off by a few impractical degrees.

Zan fell, unable to right himself or hold onto a bar for more than a brief passage of time. Bar after bar sapped his momentum, the Heavy Blade's head seeing more than its fair share of impacts before he finally hit the ground. Colors had exploded around his vision, the world shifting and convulsing in an attempt to drive him mad. The Ol Repth that found itself mumbled past his lips didn't push back the sickness this time, but simply healed the numerous injuries induced by his falls, allowing him to think past the pain and roll over on his back. Above him, God knows how many feet up, Primal stood. There was no doubt in Zan's mind that he was being mocked, that this higher and lower position was symbolism brought on by the damn boss program. Zan was inferior, it was superior. It knew the music, it was the music. The Primal seemed to mold the confidence, rather than let it mold him. Whether or not any of that held any truth, Zan couldn't figure, but knew then that the advice given by his companions was good stuff. The lycanthrope couldn't let the music move him, couldn't let it be his guide through the maze of bars. Getting to his feet, the sickness and his injuries either healed or held at bay, he decided it was time for round two.

Going up into the bars was like getting back on the proverbial horse after falling. By that time the music had returned, giving Zan all the opportunity he needed to try and meld the confidence into something useful, into something of thought more in man than Beast. Doing this, difficult as it was, allowed him the chance to stay still, to hunch through the criss-cross insanity of bars and watch as the other Freedom Fighters went about their own personal pursuits. The lycanthrope waited with the patience of a perfect predator, not letting his need to feed on this monster's pain control his senses or the focus he had created. Only then, waiting as he was, did he realize that his boots had been lost in the fall. Staring at his bear feet, toes tipped in claws the same way his fingers were, a plan began to form. It was suicidal, no doubt, but it could serve the others a purpose. He may be able to hurt Primal, if only a little, but even if he didn't? Well, his flurried distraction of the boss (if he could even do that) might serve as all the time they'd need to make a difference in the bars and the room itself. The moment Primal got near him, running from the chases of one of his companions, Zan leapt towards it and used the music only as a guide, not a controlling factor, for his balance. Feigning a strike with his sword, he'd slash with his other clawed hand instead. This feign-strike combination continued, constantly switched up between the claws on his hands and feet and the blade in his palm. Every strike he attempted wasn't berserk, wasn't desperate and mindless. Rather...each of them aimed to cripple, to tear the right tendons in any of his limbs to make them useless. The attacks aimed not for strength, but for pin-point accuracy with the aid of his senses. Would it work? Would he eventually hit the elusive bastard?

Only time and luck would tell.
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).

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

Post by Rayo » Tue Jan 16, 2007 1:01 am

The wood bars were turning to ash upon being set aflame, a very joyous conclusion for them. The room wasn’t intent to screw them over after all; the bars weren’t becoming permanent torches to impede upon the movement of any pursuers chasing after Primal. Phoenix’s little helper was joining the effort to take out Primal now, while Phoenix seemed to be recovering from the previous strike still. As of yet, the only player to take it to Primal was Zan, but the poor heavy blade was already on his second run against the monster. Fortunately the warrior hadn’t been killed yet, and if anything might even be maintaining some success. Unless the mage was mistaken, Primal was being pushed back or at least making it appear to be forced to retreat.

The chances of the shapeshifter taking down Primal was painfully low, but Zan had pulled off some nice moves before. To date, moving a building and weaving between attacks to take down a Hydra counted as nice moves. With his support abilities, the wave master couldn’t provide Zan anything further; the heavy blade was already under the influence of both Ap Do and Ap Torv from before. Both his speed and accuracy were improved, and there weren’t any other options down that avenue.

This left a more physical form of aid, long ranged bombardments to try for three different objectives at the same time. The first reason was simple, to attempt to clear away some bars. Fire proved effective against wood, and that part was obvious. Rather than waste too much time experimenting individually element by element against each style of bar, a summon would easily make contact with a minimum of one bar of each type. If several different elements were used in this fashion, the procedural process would hopefully be slimmed down to something a tad more manageable. Next, any attack that forced Primal to evade it that didn’t endanger the wolf, might give Zan a chance to land one his variety of blows. Finally, the heavy blade’s advance might work in the reverse; the actions taken by the heavy blade might allow for a summon to peg the boss.

Choices… Vulcan had already proven useful against wood, but the other bars it could influence had yet to be determined. However, if the dragon that backed Phoenix kept at it, surely some of the sparks from it’s own fire breath would stray to the alternative obstacles. Lanceor was his best, the lightning wolf seemed perfect to use in combination with the one player who Rayo had witnessed transform into the very same mammal. The thunder beast would be used for the first strike, it had the most damage potential behind it, and the first strike would be the only one with a surprise factor attached at all. Warning his ally would only alert Primal, so the only way to truly keep his plan secret would be to keep it inside of his mind until the moment he began it. The same went for reassigning healing duties, but that should be more apparent. If the main healer started launching his big guns, then at least one player would in theory pay attention to the group status. So long as the caster purposefully avoided skewering Zan with his personal familiars, there was little doubt that the heavy blade wouldn’t be put into danger anyway. Yarthkins probably wouldn’t work against wood because of the observations the current challenger made before, but it was a mostly untried choice. Aside from Nighthand, did any of the others even have access to the darkness attached to The World? Unfortunately, using Wryneck was unavoidable in this case as well. All three of his proposed soldiers gained a twenty point boost from the wands they originated from, so none of them would be too weak. Wryneck would go second, just in case Primal started manipulating an elemental defense based off of the first move.

Using the faint sound of a flute he heard as his cue to initiate his first offense against Primal, his primary staff which was already in place brought him his starting batter. Leaping forth from the above both Zan and Primal, but behind the enemy so that the only eyes laid upon it would be friendly but probably surprised eyes, Lanceor tore down a path vertically down, lunging for Primal’s head from behind. Switching staffs without bothering to wait, Wryneck was sent from the side. Either of the two abusing the bar’s potential would most likely catch this appearance, but the specter would advance the same nonetheless. The second shot was arced to curve in the direction wherever the nimble creature might climb, but it wasn’t being used so foolishly to get close enough to impact the swordsman unless he was already being slain. Curiously enough, it wasn’t until the finale that anything happened to the bars from an angle that Rayo could see. As Yarthkins launched massive spikes from the ground towards Primal, the bone bars shattered upon impact. The spread of the earthly spears didn’t leave for much evasion farther from Zan, but if the boss moved directly towards the wolf, he’d probably be spared from Yarthkins. However, surely Zan would be able to take advantage of the opportunity to deal a critical blow. If things went exceptionally well, the heavy blade might even send Primal into the sea of spikes.

Regardless of the outcome, the wizard’s own energies were completely and fully drained. If it became necessary Rayo would use a Mage’s Soul instantly if it was for Rip Maen, but for anything else it was just going to have to wait.
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

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