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Post by giantfiredog on Apr 30, 2023 22:07:04 GMT
Yes! It looks like they're doing it! ...But then the dragon begins amassing power for what is presumably a large attack. No time to rest! "Everyone, gather!" Liam yells, hoping everyone gets in earshot. "We need every ounce of spiritual negation we can get to stop this thing!" He looks to Phil. "Do you know negation?""Not like Lexi or Orlando, but I can do it," Phil responds. He grunts. "Alright, Phil, I want you to throw Orlando,""What?!""Just trust me! I want Lexi to charge in, and both of you release your negation pulses. Whatever attack it's doing, those orbs are the key. If we disrupt those the attack will be significantly weaker!" Liam says. Lexi chuckles, still recovering from her last attack. "Heh, relying on me so soon after I went all out? Been a while since I got such a good workout," She responds, sheathing Stardancer and readying herself to dash forward. "Now go!" Liam yells, and Lexi immediately goes. Phil picks up a hesitant Orlando, armour and all, and with a spinning wind-up Orlando is flying through the air right at the dragon. 'Damn it, Liam! If this is how I die I'm gonna haunt you for the rest of your days...' He thinks. While they close the distance, Liam looks to Kali. "Kali! Ballista time. When the orbs are weakened, I need you to fire at them and break them apart," He instructs, to which Kali nods and transforms her staff, loading one of the huge stakes into it. He looks to Tana. "Can you hit an orb with your pistol at this range?"Tana smiles. "With a bit of luck,"Liam smiles back. "Well luck is on your side," He turns to face the dragon and narrows his eyes. The time... Is now. ... Lexi and Orlando soar through the air right at the dragon, and in unison they channel their energy. At the same time, Kali, Tana, and Liam (conjuring a large crossbow) take aim. Liam whispers a quiet prayer. Please let this work. Right as they near the dragon, the duo release a potent pulse of negation energy that washes over the dragon and the orbs. This pulse is completely harmless to the dragon, but the spiritual energy in the entire area is disrupted. "NOW!"The three fire at the orbs. At the same time Phil runs forward, stomping heavily with surprising speed for his build as he gets in position to catch Orlando. |
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Post by cmd1095 on May 11, 2023 19:40:33 GMT
The orbs of water rippled violently as the pulse washed over them, then two fell apart, water crashing back to the ground as the monster screeched in protest. But it's control was strong enough to maintain one of the orbs and it planned to use it.
With a roar the orb burst into dozens of streams of pressurized water charged with mystic energy, firing down towards Liam, Kali, Phil, and Tana. Lexi and Orlando were out of the firing arc since the orbs they were near were negated, but it was clear if they hadn't managed that this attack was going to have been unavoidable due to the sheer number of slicing beams of water. As it stood the people still on the ground were still in danger... until suddenly the streams of water all veered off course, striking to the sides of everyone.
A mass of mystic energy behind them revealed the cause, as a battered and bloody Ariana was leaning against one of the large crystal pillars with one hand outstretched towards the attack. The pillar glowed with light that was flowing into her body as she siphoned power from the location just like the Drake had been doing, using it to sustain her despite her injuries and to give her the power to help one more time.
"Do... it..." Ariana managed to say, coughing up blood, then collapsing again. Too exhausted to do anything more than try to stabilize herself
The Drake meanwhile also seemed winded, it had put a lot into that attack, only to not have brought down a single target. It's posture sagged a bit as it tried to recover, it wasn't passing out like the young siren... but it was tired and vulnerable now.
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Post by giantfiredog on Jun 20, 2023 0:40:29 GMT
The plan worked! It— Wait, no there's still an orb left. Damn!
Liam prepares to shield the people in his vicinity, but before he could do so the attack completely redirects. Blinking, he looks behind to see Ariana doing his job for him, again. 'Okay, now she's just showing off,' He thinks, a little bit of his competitive nature piping up. He shakes his head and turns his focus back to the new fatigued dragon. "You heard her, people, give it no quarter!"
Tana and Kali waste no time, reloading their weapons and this time taking aim at the dragon's head with their weapons.
Meanwhile, Lexi skips off the air once and then flips forward to land on the ground so gracefully as to not even make a sound. Returning to a stand she redraws her sword and surges back toward the beast. Though her body language hides it well, the heavy sweat she's working up betrays this fight certainly hasn't been a walk in the park for her. Instead of aiming for the head like Tana and Kali, she closes the distance toward the dragon's underbelly to get it right in the guts with Stardancer.
Orlando is far less graceful, yelling as he tumbles through the air. As he approaches the ground Phil stomps up under him and catches his comrade. However strong Phil is, a full-grown man in heavy armour isn't something you can just freehand and he ends up stumbling under the wait and they both fall to the floor with an 'oof', but are otherwise unharmed. Phil returns to a stand quickly and prepares to return to the fray, but Orlando still needs a couple more moments to recover.
Liam instead of arming his weapons, closes his eyes and focuses on the presences of each of his friends, focusing inward so he can activate shields on anyone the dragon may attack. With it burning through most of its energy, his shields can probably stand up against a couple of its blows now...
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Post by cmd1095 on Jun 25, 2023 23:06:55 GMT
The drake tried it's best to defend itself, but it was already wounded, and it was exhausted after whiffing on such a big attack. It managed to deflect the shots at it's face, but it couldn't stop Lexi, her blade plunging into it's belly in what was undeniably a lethal blow.
With a roar it tried to shake her off, slam her into walls, do anything to get her and her blade out of its belly so it could try and retreat and heal, but its struggles only worsened the damage, blood splattering on the ground as its writhing weakened. If Lexi managed to hang on through everything and continue slicing up the underbelly, the drake would soon be dead, now it was just in its death throes.
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Post by giantfiredog on Jun 25, 2023 23:14:29 GMT
With her blade sinking into its underside, Lexi empowers her aura and gets an unshakeable grip on the beast as she slashes away even as it tried to tear her off. The rest of the group ends up backing away else they get slammed by an unexpected flailing limb, but they all knew the beast was done for.
As its struggling waned and life faded, Lexi lets loose a breath and leaps off of the beast to land back on the floor, now extremely bloody and worn.
Liam gives her a look. "You okay?"
Lexi nods with a weak smile. "I'm no stranger to tackling big baddies. I'll probably need to rest the rest of the day and get a good bath, but by tomorrow I'll be good as new,"
Liam smiles back, before sucking in a breath and turning around. He quickly sprints over to the fallen Ariana, grabbing the first aid kit he brought just in case of this exact scenario of their healer being down. He was no stranger to first aid and he first checked Ariana's vitals to see if she's stable. "Phil, come infuse her with your aura," He commands, inciting Phil to nod and comply using his abundance of energy to help.
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Post by cmd1095 on Jun 25, 2023 23:17:31 GMT
Ariana was in bad shape, even as Phil began pouring aura into her... her pulse was weak, and her breathing shallow. That last push to save them from the drake's final attack had really taken a toll on her. Phil's aura made her eyes flicker open though.
"Did you... get it...? Is it dead?" she asked weakly
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Post by giantfiredog on Jun 25, 2023 23:24:33 GMT
Liam nods. "Yes, now sshhh, save your energy," He says as he begins caring to any injuries she has.
Orlando walks up to Liam. "So, with Ariana out of commission... How're we going to get out of here?"
"Good question, one we can answer once we know she isn't going to die on us," Liam responds.
"I can actually use my aura to go without breathing for a while, a trick ol' Kem taught me. I can try to go up and get help from someone else who can manipulate water," Phil offers.
Liam hums. "Might be our best option, but first I need you here stabilizing her,"
"I mean, I could—" Lexi starts.
"Don't. You've already done plenty," Liam interrupts, looking at her. "I see you still have that bad habit of trying to do everything yourself,"
Lexi huffs. "Fine, fine, see if I am willing to help next time you need me," She retorts, having a seat to rest.
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Post by cmd1095 on Jun 25, 2023 23:35:44 GMT
"The core... find the... core... of this place" Ariana said, coughing up a bit of blood "bring me... to it... I have... a stupid idea..."
Kali and Tana exchanged looks
"Stupid ideas..." Tana began
"Are our squad's specialty!" Kali agreed, and they both took off... fortunately it wasn't hard to figure out where the core of this location was, it was pulsating with spiritual energy after all, the whole place was spiritually charged, but only one crystal formation was literally glowing with energy.
Once Ariana was brought to the crystal formation, she closed her eyes to focus, and the spiritually keen could sense what she was trying to do. She was connecting to the mass of spiritual energy that this place exuded, the same energy that had made the drake as dangerous as it was. Ariana had been transformed into a human, only able to take her former monster form within specific circumstances... but she was in her monster form right now... so maybe she could manage to evolve like one. If she succeeded it would heal her wounds
If she failed... well looking at her wounds more closely it didn't look like something a human could pull through without a proper hospital bed and surgeons around. They could provide first aid and try to get her home for proper treatment... but they weren't anywhere close to the Bulwark right now, even if they could navigate the water while carrying her and not having access to her powers anymore... the odds of getting her to help in time were slim
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Post by giantfiredog on Jun 25, 2023 23:59:38 GMT
As Ariana speaks of stupid ideas, Tana and Kali respond with what is effectively the motto of their squad. Liam smiles as well. "Welcome to the life of a Brandt squadmate Ariana. Keep it up with those stupid ideas and you'll fit right in," He jokes, before nodding to Phil. Phil gingerly picks Ariana up and walks with a surprising amount of gentleness for such a large man as he brings her to the core of the leyline.
Liam takes a deep breath as he watches Ariana interact with the core, his keen senses being able to watch the auras connect in real-time. She can do this, he has faith.
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Post by cmd1095 on Jun 26, 2023 0:19:32 GMT
Ariana lay there, slowly bleeding out, as her spirit and the ley line connected. Instantly pain shot through her, her human body wasn't equipped to handle this much spiritual energy, and her monster side was weak even when she was fully a monster, it was too much! Her mouth opened in a soundless scream... but it was too late to stop now. She writhed and clawed at her face trying to get a handle on the mass of energy as her body began to twist and contort. It felt just as painful as it looked... her monster form trying to evolve when her human body was physically incapable of it.
The light of the crystal core of the place became blinding, she couldn't handle it! She rolled off of the crystal and crashed hard into the water on the ground, the healing power of hers kicking in as the water gathered around her, if she could just channel it all into healing maybe. She vomited, getting sick from the spiritual energy poisoning. Her wounds closed, but the morphing of her body wasn't stopping. After a minute, sound finally came to her scream, echoing in the cave for a moment, then going quiet.
Ariana collapsed, her body changed, the skin was blue like before, but she no longer had her siren's tail, instead her body was fully humanoid again, she didn't seem to be breathing though.
"Shit! We need to resuscitate her, Lexi! You're the most skilled here, can you do that heart beating thing!" Tana asked, it was a high level technique meant for emergency first aid, using spiritual energy manipulation to artificially pump someone's heart for them until they could be healed.
Kali would move forward and begin doing CPR on Ariana, the glow of the crystals was returning to normal, but nobody seemed to notice, too focused on the body to notice the spirit.
Liam would sense that Ariana's spirit hadn't faded though, her body might've been in bad shape, but the spirit had stabilized... if they could just keep her body going a bit longer...
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Post by giantfiredog on Jun 26, 2023 0:30:06 GMT
Everybody else is disoriented from the crystal flashing, and Ariana's subsequent scream caused headaches all around. Lexi however seemed to maintain awareness as she hardened herself against the assault to her senses. She was one of the Legion's best after all. When Tana asked her to do the 'heart beating thing' Lexi stands and walks over. "I'm not an expert at it but I can," She asserts. She looks to Phil who seemed shocked and unsure what to do. "Hey big guy, give me a boost here, eh?" She asks before kneeling down and gently motioning for Kali to step aside. She places one hand on Ariana's forehead and the other above Ariana's heart, then her aura flares as she closes her eyes in concentration. Phil kneels next to Lexi and infuses her with energy to supplement her drained reserves.
Liam keeps a close eye on Ariana's spiritual side, his particularly keen senses detecting that she may be weak of body but not of spirit. "Keep it up, Lexi. Her will is strong and her aura is stable, it's all up to you,"
Lexi chuckles as she sweats. "Hehe... N-no pressure!" She jokes, her slight stutter betraying her nervousness. She hadn't done this technique for an extended period of time before, so she focuses as much as she can to not mess it up. Ariana's life is on the line.
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Post by cmd1095 on Jun 26, 2023 0:40:40 GMT
Ariana's beating heart and assisted breathing would keep her body stable, and slowly, her spirit began to reassert control over the shell. First her fingers twitched, then her eyes fluttered... then Lexi would feel the heart begin to beat on its own It was an agonizing few minutes... but eventually, everyone would be able to back away as Ariana's body began to levitate off the ground, eyes glowing as water began to gather around her, swirling and taking on shapes. A dress of flowing water covered her currently nude newly formed lower body, and wings of water sprouted from her back... She gingerly set one foot on the ground, and the glow in her eyes faded  "Thank you all, I'm not sure my body would've lasted long enough without your aid." Ariana said with a smile "I don't think this is something I should try again though... humans aren't meant to evolve." |
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Post by giantfiredog on Jun 26, 2023 0:49:51 GMT
When Ariana finally regains consciousness and stands, Lexi groans and rolls onto her back. "Eugh, keeping people alive is EXHAUSTING," She complains.
Everyone else meanwhile was in awe at Ariana's new form. Liam ends up being the first one to speak, smiling to her. "I would argue you're something in between human and monster now... But yes, if we make Lexi go through that again she'll never let us hear the end of it,"
Lexi points at Ariana without even sitting up. "You owe me a drink, something fizzy and expensive," She demands.
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Post by cmd1095 on Jun 26, 2023 1:33:25 GMT
"I'll get you two, you did take down the Drake after all. Ariana said with a grin "and if it were not dead, I could never have linked up to the leyline. It would still be linked to the Drake... speaking of which..."
Ariana swirled her finger and the spilled blood of the drake began to levitate off the ground and gather in an orb above her head "We did bring containers for this right? I can only control it cause water is mixed in and that's not going to last forever"
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Post by giantfiredog on Jun 26, 2023 1:42:25 GMT
Liam shakes his head. "That blood's already diluted, we need to be more surgical to get the purest sample," He responds, fiddling in his pack and procuring a few vials. A little bit of familiarity comes to him from when he did this once before in the creation of... Well, that axe that he dislikes thinking of. He shakes those thoughts from his head and begans traversing around and climbing on top of the creature. He focuses his spiritual senses to see where the remnants of the creature's aura are strongest. Technically speaking taking the blood from a creature while it is still alive is the best, but any monster whose blood is worth using for ichor-quenching is too dangerous to do so without casualties. Instead time is of the essence as the creature's aura fades and he eventually finds the spot he can vaguely tell is best. Conjuring a spectral knife and hardening it with his aura he makes an incision and begins delicately filling up the vials. Thankfully there's no shortage of blood, and soon the visceral task is done.
He walks over to them and nods. "We've got what we came for. If anybody wants souveniers best get chopping, otherwise let's go back home," He says.
Lexi reaches out a hand to Phil. "Phil, carry me please?"
Phil chuckles and does so, princess carrying the tired Lexi. Liam shakes his head at the silly sight. Lexi could've gotten up if she wanted, but he figures she's more than earned the chance to be lazy.
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