Higura, Nanaret, Saffron and the refugees emerge into a cavernous room with metallic walls, dimly lit with essence lamps. There are nine hulking shapes standing in the gloom -- warstriders, some of them missing panels or significant parts of their limbs, rendering them all but useless.

But these are not the jade construction one would expect of a massive fortress/factory ruled by Dragon-Blooded. They are all of rare magical material: 3 orichalcum warstriders, 4 moonsilver warstriders and 2 starmetal ones. Only one of them look like it might be functional though. It's been both cleaned and repaired in a rather quick fix, jury-rigged fashion, probably no more than minutes before. The functioning warstrider is of orichalcum construction, one of the common warstrider types.

Outside the (currently closed) bay doors the group can hear the roar and rumble of a large amount of people engaged in combat somewhere outside. There are screams and shouts of defiance and essence weapon blasts, with the stern voices of the peace officers calling out in amplified voice, "Citizens, lay your weapons down. Cooperate or pay the price!"

The doctor gazes ahead, and lifts his chin slightly. As he hears the sounds of battle and the voices outside, he inwardly lets out a low hiss - the situation is hardly one for civilians and prisoners, and handling it would prove rather difficult and hazardous. And then, for a moment, his eyes rest on the hangar itself, and on the constructs lying therein...

The thought of using them crosses his mind, but seeing the state in which the warstriders have been left simply extinguishes the hopes of putting this particular plan to execution. Unless... As he scans, his eyes rest on the one functioning suit, an orichalcum construct that had been repaired only moments prior it would seem, at least to his untrained eye.

Maybe...

"Miss Saffron." He asks suddenly, in a hushed voice. "How confident would you be about piloting one of these suits? It would seem the one operational construct is your fit..." He looks over at the rest of the fugitives, and his brow furrows.

"I... am aware of how much you despise fighting, but this might be one of our best options in keeping ourselves alive..."

Nanaret closes the trap doors, as well, when she sees that everyone has gotten through. She almost thinks of trying to bar the doors shut, but realizes that if there are others besides their own group still trying to escape from below, they'll need to get through here.

If they can get past harpies. The Lunar shakes her head, her dark face grim, almost irritable. Though she does not speak her feelings, something inside her is saddened and sickened at the deaths that will occur below. She fought because she had to, and because it was the one thing she was good at -- but she never truly approved of the use of artificially bred lifeforms for entertainment. It is a cruel thing, playing with nature that way, and the part of her that is touched by Luna finds it especially abhorrent.

"We should not stay here long. Time still counts down. If you wish, Doctor and Healer, I will go to check situation outside. Try and figure out big metal statues in the meantime, yes?" Nanaret's long stride takes her swiftly to the bay doors, stopping close enough to touch them before she whirls back around. Her eyes, no longer yellowed but dark once more, stare down the uninjured refugees. "Any of you can fight?"

The harried looking refugees look a little bit startled to be singled out. A few of them nod at Nanaret, though not all of them are armed.

Unfortunately, the weapons lying around in the warstrider storage are much too large for a normal man to carry. They are all mundane weapons sized for the 'striders -- a wide array of them, from gigantic swords to huge, crushing hammers to devices that launch projectiles as big as javelins.

"The Peace Officers are swarming this whole floor," offers one of the refugees. "We'll get slaughtered out there..."

"But there's no where else to go. Who knows how much time we have left??" points out another, terrified but nonetheless antsy to get moving.

Others start to crowd near the door, including the wounded who can move or be carried. There are a few too exhausted even for that, though, including the one that was slashed by the harpy. He clutches his bloody wound, his face pallid as he sags against one of the walls. "Leave me..." he gasps. "Kill me if you have to... I'll thank you... in the next life..."

Nanaret purses her lips. "Those, there." She points at the warstrider-sized projectile launchers -- and their ammunition. "They may be just right size for wielding. Those who can fight, take them. I will scout situation outside, but yes... we should hurry."

Nodding once to her companions, she turns to the bay door and lifts it up with her bare hands, digging her claws underneath it to pry it upward manually. (It seems she does not want to be bothered with technology, if she can help it.) As soon as there is a human sized space for her to roll under, she peers through it to ensure there is nothing immediately outside.

If she sees nothing, she will crawl outside, and proceed forward stealthily to assess the situation and potential routes for escape.

Outside Nanaret sees... nothing, at least initially. The bay door opens into an abandoned alleyway that appears to be unguarded, one of many such narrow streets lined with the boxy, nondescript low-income housing of Lower Residential.

Most of the noise is coming from the nearest adjoining main street. Once she gets a clear view of the street, it's not difficult to understand the source of the sound. A throng of residents been stirred up into a riot as the truth of their predicament dawns upon them. The announced purge was never meant to save them -- only the officers and officials that would soon be leaving towards the safety of the upper levels.

The mass of angry, desperate people clogs the entire street. Nanaret can see, distantly, the shadow of the nearest district staircase leading upward. Two scales of Peace Officers and their dragon-armored leaders block the way, attempting to 'make peace' with the citizens shouting vitriol and swinging fists or makeshift weapons. 'Peace', of course, means a massive display of force. Blasts from Essence cannons and force weapons systematically mow down row after row of rioters, while blades finish off the rest, until their bodies begin to pile up near the stairs like some sort of macabre battlement.

Two more individuals are also in sight of the very same spectacle, but closer to it than Nanaret. Grinning Turtle and Third Beneficiary of Orderly Knowledge are ensconced in their own separate vantage points, having gotten this far by their own wits and strength once their collars mysteriously deactivated. Unless they've ducked behind complete cover, Nanaret will be able to see them, but they cannot see her, as she creeps silently and carefully closer...

As the three look on, something unusual begins to occur. A soothing choir hymn begins to rise all throughout the residential floor. It starts as a chorus of low baritones thrumming in unison, joined by progressively higher ranges as the paean rises in complexity, singing mellifluous praise to the Immaculates and -- in particular -- to Danaa'd, to whom this Coil has been dedicated.

For a moment, all fighting ceases.

---

OOC: Ok, Turtle and Third can post here. You're currently on the outskirts of the riot. If you like you two can assume you've at least worked together up till now, even if you don't know each other's names -- it's probably a good idea! [Private to Grinning Turtle; Third Beneficiary of Orderly Knowledge: also assume you're around 10m 2wp down, since you've already been fighting beforehand just to get to where you are now. This means you could have already activated some scenelongs too, if you wish.]

At this point the purge count is starting to approach the T-15 minutes mark. Oh, also, the people still in the hangar will be able to hear the voices, as well.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:57, Thu 27 Nov 2008.

Grinning Turtle squats with his back against a metallic wall, craning his flexible neck around the corner to observe the slaughter with a disapproving gaze.  Currently in his war form, the turtle-human creature is nearly as wide as it is tall, both dimensions a bit under six feet.  A distant observer could consider the reptilian form comical from a distance, with its undersized legs and long arms dangling down to its knees, rounded shell-covered body and thick flexible neck.  However, as proportions and details alike resolve, the observer would quickly find much less about the reptilian humanoid amusing.  Long, jagged silvered claws top each of its stubby fingers and toes, and the creature's massive beak is lined with the same silvery material, giving its jaws a more than passing resemblance to a guillotine.  Aside from the silvered highlights, Turtle is a mixture of brown tones, ranging from the deep brown of its shell to an almost yellow brown on its underbelly.

From her approach, Nanaret can easily make out the details of the reptile-man - the wall he has chosen to crouch behind was selected to obscure its bulk from the Peace Officers and Dragon-Bloods holding the stairway, not to conceal it from the stealthy Exalt's position.  He doesn't appear to be hiding from Third Beneficiary, either, while occasional glances he directs to the other Exalt the reptile-creature is obviously aware of his presence.

The human-turtle hybrid turns its neck, obviously about to address Third Beneficiary when the strange chanting begins.  Craning his head upward, Turtle considers the chanting for a few moments before speaking, mouth opening slightly to give its features an approximate expression of amusement, "Well... now what, hmm?  An opportunity, perhaps, new friend?  Or just a distraction, from the task at hand, hmm?"  The creature's voice comes out in a low, bass rumble, spoken with a gentle rolling cadence.

[Private to Third Beneficiary of Orderly Knowledge: Unless you object, I'd prefer we go with the GM's suggestion and say Third and Turtle have been working together since their collars died.  Despite his appearance, Turtle appears to be thoughtful and cheerful, though the latter appears to be slightly suppressed since he also obviously dislikes violence.]

[Private to Gatekeeper: Turtle's already shifted into his Beastman form.  He activated Halting the Scarlet Flow and Claws of the Silver Moon as his Gift Charms, then Armor-Forming Technique on its own a bit later.]

Third, in turn, looks relatively human, perhaps. It's... beautiful, certainly. In a deeply androgynous way, the Solar dressed in a tightly belted robe that offers no further guesses to it's gender. It holds a slashing sword, still sheathed, in one hand, and the stance of the Solar suggests that it's holding some sort of weight on it's shoulders. It stands behind the same wall. It looks on the carnage with... indifference. It seems to take it as simply there. It's hair is about shoulder-length, ice-blue, and it's skin is so pale as to be almost albino. The creature's stance with the weapon has it prepared to leave the scabbard at any moment.

Nanuet's gaze probably isn't quite as clear of Third as Turtle's, but it's still obviously there. It seems to be waiting patiently, but it also seems to be subtly shifting on it's feet, never stopping it's movements as it watches the crush of people as they try to escape. It can appreciate that.[Private to Saina Nanaret: As to anyone else, it's gender is unknown, but you can feel free to declare what you think it is, if it strikes your fancy.]

It's eyes move upwards, regarding the music blankly. "This is a moment of opportunity. We must escape. Waiting will lead to our deaths." There's a moment where it's eyes flash with an unusual intensity. "We cannot fail." It steps back, looking up to the Lunar, to make sure that he will be ready to join the run, legs tensed to sprint.[Private to Grinning Turtle: That sounds reasonable to me, Third is probably pretty clearly insane in the brain. And it's an it, at least until somebody collapses the quantum waveform of it's gender- Of course, feel free to assign your own gender, for more fun.][Private to GM: The character probably has Flow like Blood up, that's the only scenelong, and to be perfectly frank, it's very wise for him to have it up. Do the motes come from Peripheral, or Personal? It's anima may be flared at least partially, if so. Probably not past the glittering caste-mark, though.]

Nanaret, too, is displeased and utterly disgusted at the loss of life and the selfishness of their Dragon-blooded keepers. The hymns of the Immaculate may be beautiful, but they represent something more sinister to her: the use of organized religion to subdue an entire people.

They would slaughter their flock, then sing to them as they die. Somewhere far above, in that sky she has only seen in dreams, Luna surely weeps and rages for what they have done.

Perhaps Luna has seen fit to bring her hope, though. Her sharp eye picks out the lumbering shape of the turtle-man, and she sees in him what can only be an ally -- another taken from the Coils' downtrodden citizens, tattooed and forced to work for the pleasure and convenience of their masters. She slips nimbly behind the wall, coming up from behind to address the man and his rather androgynous companion.

"I am friend," Nanaret pronounces softly to announce herself as she seems to all but materialize in the dark hiding space. As soon as she has their attention she touches her forehead, allowing for a moment the crescent of her Caste show clearly. "Such waste... they care not for the people beneath them. One day, it will be their undoing."

"If you will go now, I will not hinder you. But my group be close behind."

(OOC - sorry! I realized like, way belatedly that I posted after Third did.)
This message was last edited by the player at 19:49, Fri 28 Nov 2008.

The turtle-man turns its long head around at the abrupt appearance of the other Lunar, fist-sized eyes blinking twice in slow surprise before he responds, "Oh ho.  Two new friends, in one day.  Lucky me."  Turtle bows his head deeply in respect, coincidentally allowing Nanaret to make out the subtle glimmer of the Full Moon mark where a human would have their forehead, "Grinning Turtle, I am.  A pleasure."

Turtle swivels his head around again to address Third, "Haste we should make, I agree.  But I think waiting, for the newer friend's friends, might be the wiser course.  Strength in numbers, and we face many foes.  They are close, newer friend?  We will wait, then, high-strung one?"  The last two sentences are in the same deep bass rumble and rolling rhythm, only perceptible as questions by context.

Third has the sword halfway out of it's sheath before it's eyes flick over the new Exalted, and sheathes it again. "Bring your friends quickly, Third and you must move quickly. There is no guarantee of how long this will last, and Third and you do not have very much time to escape from this area." The androgynous human has a twilight caste mark on it's forehead. "How many people are you bringing along with you." it states. It's voice is a monotone, barely changing in pitch and tone as it looks off into space. "Let Third think."

It studies it's memories, trying to remember if it had any information on this floor's schematics, eyes closing as it concentrates. It doesn't speak, waiting to see if it's swift mind pulls up any information.[Private to GM: Going to try to use it's Lore to see if it remembers anything about shortcuts, or a way for everyone to get to the next floor with minimum difficulties.]
This message was last edited by the player at 03:01, Sat 29 Nov 2008.

While Nanaret scouts ahead, Higura watches over the remaining fugitives, making certain that they remain relatively organized and none of them fall prone to fear and panic. As he walks around, granting reassuring nods to the assembled runaways, he still keeps an ear open to possible threats, and to the sounds and happenings outside of the Hangar.

It tugs at him - the hymns, and the sounds of combat. There is a strong current of disapproval in his thoughts and feelings, and although he does not like or approve of the methods of his captors, he still has the feeling that there is more to these emotions that meets the eye. Another piece of the puzzle, perhaps? He wonders, silently, as he struggles to make sense of these deep-rooted reactions.

It had begun with a simple letter he had found stashed in his personal belongings - a simple note with only a few words scribbled on it. When you find this, the cycle can begin. Know that one path to freedom resides in yourself. It is locked, but this is your expertise - you need no key, only knowledge of the lock. The actual message would not have held much ground for the doctor... If it had not been scribbled with his own handwriting.

Vigorously, Higura shakes his head. Now is not the time for him to ponder the possibility of having previously placed a cypher on his own brain, after all. "Be prepared to move out soon... We do not know yet how long this area will be safe." The words are swift, but not threatening, as he speaks to the assembled fugitives. "Now more than ever, we will need to be vigilant, and watch out for one another."

With that, the doctor quickly moves on to the Hangar entrance, keeping an eye on the group behind him as he does so, and puts his back to the wall, right next to the door. Peering outside carefully, he lets out a short, silent breath as he scans the area outside for signs of Nanaret.

Nanaret nods brusquely to Third, understanding the need for haste. "I am Nanaret. Down the next alleyway there is a storage room with very large armor-machines and weapons, two, three times as tall as a man. Perhaps is useful to you, perhaps not."

"I will return shortly. Be careful -- monks maybe worse than Peace Officers." She slips away and returns back the way she came, retracing her steps and avoiding open spaces. As soon as she reaches the hangar door she ducks under it to rejoin her other companions. "Doctor, Healer and all. We must move out quickly. I have met two others who can help us, in the next street. You, refugees, stay behind us and out of sight, do not fight unless absolute threatened. It will be dangerous."

Nanaret waits only long enough to ensure everyone is ready to move before pushing the bay door up the rest of the way, giving the others space to exit upright. She assumes Saffron has been preoccupied healing the injured ones, so does not question her silence.

"We go."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:12, Sat 29 Nov 2008.

With Nanaret scouting ahead and Higura keeping the refugees (and his own thoughts) orderly, Saffron has taken the time to give emergency medical care to whoever needs it: staunching bleeding and preventing infection for those who are wounded, providing a draught of stimulant -- just enough -- to keep people alert and moving. She does not seem at all amenable to serving as a warstrider pilot, or simply too concentrated on her task to do anything more.

The hymns, however, appear to have a disturbingly calming effect upon the ordinary mortals, particularly those weakened by ill health or injuries. At least two thirds of them simply smile blissfully and stay put, or mill about the room aimlessly, or actually fall on their knees murmuring tremulous, exulting prayers to the Immaculate Dragons. Only the strongest and most determined among them remain unaffected, clutching the barbed javelin/short spears that Nanaret had pointed out. Some of them shake desperately at their fellows, yelling "snap out of it!" and "this is no time to sit still!" and a few more stir, straggling to their feet to follow Nanaret, but the rest do not move.

The same effect seems to have overtaken the majority of the rioters outside, and even some of the armored Peace Officers. The choir, the Exalts realize, is issuing a powerful compulsion on the entire populace, broadcast from unseen speakers throughout the entirety of Floor B29, encouraging them to put down their weapons and quietly accept their fate. Marching from the central sector of the residential floor, coming up behind where Third and Turtle now crouch, a procession of Immaculate acolytes and their pristine, white silk-clad Master swiftly approach the heart of the uprising.

Another figure standing rigidly among the Peace Officers, closer to the district stairs than any of the others, has a clear view of the procession. He is a head taller than most of the Peace Force, a man who appears not only armored but actually fused with his armor, a grotesque amalgam of magitech alloy and flesh. Alus Tycho (also recently and inexplicably freed from the collars' forced servitude) can see at least a dozen young Wood and Water acolytes in hempen robes accompanied by two senior monks in undyed linen and jade armaments, striding in strict formation as the Earth Dragon master leads them in song and praise:

"Be not afraid, for the Immaculate Word is Law! Obey the will of the Immaculate descendants, the Dragon-Blooded who guard your safety and protect you from wickedness! Citizens of the Coils, put down your weapons and your fears, for your peaceful cooperation is for your good and the good of all!"

The Jade Officers of the Peace Force seem unaffected, even expecting of the spectacle, and begin to order their men to fall back toward the upper levels!

---

OOC: Sorry, rather large post, but a lot happening at once. Also, Tycho can start posting here. :) Coming right after this, Third's post giving the floor layout and all possible options of escape he might know of. (12 successes is a lot! o.o)
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:27, Sat 29 Nov 2008.

Through this, Third remains quietly focused upon his meditative recollection of Five Coils lore, drawing in his mind's eye a map and potential plan for escape.

[Private to Third Beneficiary of Orderly Knowledge: Third recalls a nearly photographic memory of the entire Water District layout. As mentioned in the Five Coils info, each floor is circular in shape and a few miles in diameter. Third and Turtle currently face the far end of the northern main street. The closest stairs at the very end are the north district stairs, which if climbed would reach all the way to Floor B26, the top Water floor. Third is certain that if any floor were to contain the control panels that initiated the 'purge', they would undoubtedly be on that floor.

The other district staircase is due south, and would be a miles long run -- not to mention cut through the central sector from which the Immaculates are now approaching. It is possible to bypass them via side streets, but Third is certain that with a little more than 15 minutes remaining it would be a stretch for all but the swiftest and most tireless Exalts to make in time.

The next option is the east and west district elevators. These would still take about 5-10 minutes to reach, and are undoubtedly well-guarded as well, though perhaps not as numerously as the group amassed at the northern stairs for riot deterrence. The central elevator, from which the Immaculate force has likely originated, would require strict authorization -- or lacking that, codebreaking or some lucky misdirection of the governing AI, both of which would also take time and immense skill.

Lastly, there are two more obscure, but less distant options Third might consider.

1) If the group could reach the NW or NE sections of wall unscathed, it is possible that skilled climbers can ascend the main interior piping up to B26. However, this piping also happens to be how thousands of gallons of liquid will be pumped into the Coil of Water once the purge commences, drowning the entire remaining populace in the area. Climbing too slowly -- or worse yet falling down that shaft would mean being washed to the bottom level and submerged in a watery tomb!

2) The Water Residential City Hall, due south-southeast, connects the three residential Water districts, B29-B27. It's possible this building is less guarded, now that the majority of officials are evacuated upward. That path would not lead all the way to B26, and they've no idea of the situation in B27, but there would be fewer bodies in the way. They would still have to either evade or get rid of the Immaculates, though.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:03, Sat 29 Nov 2008.

Tycho stands apart from the rest of the Peace Force, both physically and in appearance. He is a hulking mass of gunmetal-gray magitech prosthetics, with the barest scraps of a mortal’s torso and head stuck onto them. What little flesh he has to call his own is either bound in a skin-tight suit styled loosely after a Jade Officer of the Peace Force or else deathly pale. Both his hands are full, the human hand gripping tightly to the bulk of a curved riot-shield and the thick fingers of his mechanical hand wrapped around a brutal looking club.

He watches the proceedings with sadness and disapproval, turned nearly as much towards the rioters themselves as the Dragon-Blooded who were gradually subjugating them again. His unblinking gaze can see this crowd for what it was – a scared, beaten, disorganized mob. These were not the hard and willing men he had known in another life. These were women and children and elders and simple workers, terrified at the prospect of what was to come. Willing to risk their lives in a desperate effort to keep them.

Poor fools he thinks to himself. They outnumber the Peace Force at least ten to one and the dragon’s almost one-hundred to one. If they struggled as a group, they might even have overcome them.

When the orders begin to come for the Peace Force to pull back, Tycho continues to stand aside, ignored as a weapon still in it’s sheath. The heavy respirator that engulfs the bottom half of his face rattles with breath as he waits and tries to figure out what to do. The simplest answer is to simply fall back with them, retreat to the upper floors, where escape in the confusion might be easier. Looking out at the mass of humanity that begins to bend their backs once again to the will of the Terrestrials though, he wonders if he truly can. Leaving now would be condemning them all to certain death. Some unknown force had turned off the collar and given him a second chance at life. Genocide seems like a rather poor way to start.

He reports to the Jade Officer assigned to hold his leash for the mission, kneeling before the Terrestrial with his head nearly to the ground. It was the way the collar compels him to speak to a superior. “I will proceed into the district and clear out any last pockets of resistance. My experience as a rebel leads me to believe saboteurs and organized bands of rioters will continue to cause substantial difficulties if not dealt with.”

He does not have to wait for conformation. He has, after all, always been a loyal dog and one whose insight into the mob mentality shattered many protests in the past. If he should be trapped down here and lost in the purge, the mild reprimand his superiors may receive would be nothing compared to the chastising they would get should the purge fail on account of some riotous band's ill-timed terrorist attack. Now, alone, he begins to march against the flow of the retreating Peace Force. His heavy footfalls sound out like the steady beat of a hammer. He wades into the crowd of bowing, praying mortals and into the district, on the hunt for armed and organized bands of rioters not already put down by the song ringing through the streets.

Perhaps they were still taking volunteers.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:56, Sat 29 Nov 2008.

"Doctor Higura!" Nanaret hisses in alarm, seeing the refugees still in the hangar faltering, or simply refusing to move. "What will we do?! Can you not talk to them?" She has vague, disjointed memories of Higura's calm, measured words, releasing her mind from the grasp of the wrathful persona that seizes in combat, filling her with irresistible bloodlust...

Then she turns her dark, impatient gaze to the mortals that have managed to resist the hymn. "Tell the others to shut their ears! Or do it for them until they snap out of it!" Her lip curls in irritation, which she just barely keeps in check as she addresses the silent healer. "Healer Saffron, you keep watching them -- I will rejoin the ones waiting outside. Perhaps can convince them we must stop the source of the singing. Time will soon run out if we dally here too long!"

The monkey Lunar dashes out the hangar door again, skidding to a stop almost immediately and flattening herself against a wall when she sees the procession of Immaculates passing through. She dares not rejoin Third or Turtle just yet, not wishing to give away their position.

But Ranavalona stirs again, tempting her toward violence and vengeance... They are here! They sing for a peace that itself invites slaughter! Nanaret grits her teeth, her eyes unfocusing, half-dazed for a moment as she feels that cruel, ancient, consuming anger rise in her, and attempts to maintain her sanity. Slay them, puppet, for they are fiends that garb themselves in gentleness! hisses the Bitch Queen in her mind. Rise up and SLAY them ALL!
This message was last edited by the player at 17:31, Tue 30 Dec 2008.

Turtle raises an over-sized silver claw to dig at his leathery scalp, considering the situation as quickly possible.  After a few moments of contemplation, he addresses Third, lowering the volume of his bass rumble as much as possible, "Hmm.  I regret interrupting your meditation, new friend Third, but I believe, very soon we shall be stuck, between the approaching monks, and the Peace Force.  Cut them apart, perhaps, by hitting the monks now?  It might be better, to fight one group at a time, rather than wait for them to join."

The hymn continues to spread outward, its effect clear on the weary fugitives. Their very desire to escape, to change their fate, is quelled by this homage to the Dragons and their benevolence. Here, a smile on their lips, they would accept death with open arms. The flood would come, drowning away their existence, and they would gladly offer it, to depart for a more peaceful world...

There is no real conclusion to it, of course. We can't create that.

This voice... Was is one he had heard in a dream? Or was it a forgotten, repressed memory?

It is no peace. It is not real, so it doesn't follow when the body dies. And when it does, the spirit is left with nothing but despair. And we all know what happens when spirits linger with that sort of emotion in them. A troublesome situation, that. It disturbs the peace, and we cannot have that.

And that is why we need you, Doctor.

A strong surge grips at his stomach, but nothing of it shows outwardly. Higura merely grips harder at his sword, the hymns filling his thoughts, his mind, his being. Eyes closed, he remains immobile for a moment, Nanaret's agitated words the only thing piercing this shell of calm and concentration. Can you not talk to them? The gladiatrix' voice utters. And as the peaceful melody raises in an angelic crescendo, the Doctor's eyes slowly open, and they seem to flare with a renewed understanding and intensity.

Slowly, he walks among the assembled refugees, a steady shard of calm into an ocean of madness. "Citizens of the Coils." He begins, in a calm, compassionate voice, mimicking the words the hymns call, and counterbalancing their sweet and heavenly tone with strength of will and purpose. "Do not put down your weapons - and most of all, do not abandon your fears."

"Humans feel fear when in situations where their life and being are threatened. It is a normal reaction. Those who enslaved you would have you forget this. To forget what has been, and still is taken from you. They would wash their hands of their deeds by robbing you of the very memory of your ill-treatment. No more, citizen of the Coils."

"For years, I have been by your side. I have helped you come to terms with nightmares and phobias. With despair and the pain of living with your freedom taken from you. I know many of you by name, and all of you through kinship and shared experiences. They would have me soothe you. Tell you what the hymn does, and have you abandon yourselves for the greater good. But listen to my words, Citizens of the Coils - there is no greater good here. After a lifetime of robbed choices, you would even be robbed of your choice to live or die as you want. And I will have none of it."

As his words of courage and relief wash over a populace broken through imprisonment and intimidation, the echoes behind them remind of something that was lost a long time ago. Dignity. Pride. Inner peace. From around the Doctor, a deep green tide blossoms like a hazy flower, reaching out from around him to light up the faces surrounding him in its benevolent glow. It silently speaks of the fierceness of the human will, of the one thing that will never truly die, no matter what horrors twist and hurt a single being.

"I will be your anchor, so fear not of losing your way." Higura's words continue, powerful in their intent and sincerity. His eyes glow with emerald light, and a deep green symbol flares on his forehead, like a lantern in the darkness of uncertainty. He grips his weapon tightly, a symbol of defiance until the very end, no matter when it comes.

"We chose not how we lived. We were given no such choice. But hear my voice, Citizen of the Coil. We shall not have them decide how we die."

[Private to Gatekeeper: Activating Anima to help resist or block the mental influence of the Hymns.]
This message was last edited by the player at 09:45, Sun 30 Nov 2008.

Turtle and Third see Tycho bow to his Dragon-blooded handler, then start toward their direction. The other Peace Officers are actually moving away, up the north district stairs, though the handler still sends two armored officers to flank the mighty half-man, half-machine.

At the same time, advancing from the south, is the Immaculate monk choir numbering over half a scale, most of them young acolytes and likely only just initiated into their respective Dragon Styles. Still, in a group they may prove strong, and their voices combined are certainly a force of compulsion to be reckoned with. For now, at least, Turtle and Third remain hidden to them, and the Immaculates do not suspect Tycho of any thoughts of freedom or defection... yet.

Nanaret is also in a hidden position, back flat against the wall of the alleyway leading to the warstrider hangar. She can see the Immaculates pass right by her. She knows where Turtle and Third is but she currently cannot see Tycho, only hear the heavy pace of his footsteps. Ranavalona seizes control over her in this crucial moment, though, and the Lunar feels an intense desire to strike immediately at the leader of the choir!

Inside the hangar, Higura invokes the Lesser Sign of Jupiter. Coupled with his encouraging speech, uttered with courage and certainty, he breaks the hold of the Immaculate hymns on the refugees still accompanying Higura and Saffron. They straighten, invigorated by his words and the green aura ebbing and flowing around them, and one by one begin to help one another up, prepared to run as soon it is safe to do so.

Outside, though, the majority of rioters continue to pray, cower or stare blankly into the distance. The few unaffected ones that Tycho can see right now are not organized in the slightest. They prod uselessly at their comrades or glance to and fro in alarm, caught between the approaching cyborg and the choir coming from behind.

---

OOC: Third, just waiting on what you'll decide to do. It's very likely we'll enter combat time soon (at least Nanaret will) but you and Turtle can still try to run toward an exit, if you prefer.

Tycho, you're generally still assumed to be on the Peace Force's side right now, unless you say/act otherwise. :D

Nodding encouragingly at the men and women around him, Higura smiles at them. Giving a sharp nod to Saffron, he then turns towards the hangar door, and peers once more at the people assembled around him.

"I will hold to my promise. Stay close to me, and I will help you fight the desire to give in." He gives them one more encouraging look, then nods. "Follow me... We cannot stay here any longer. We have to move forward, and not look back."

With that, he leads the way out of the hangar, to meet up with Nanaret outside, and examine the situation himself.

Higura and the refugees that exit the hangar with him see Nanaret pressed against the alley wall, head bowed and holding herself as her breathing quickens...

Strike them now!!
"I will not!" the Lunar mouths the words in a bare whisper. "I am Saina Nanaret and you will not overtake me without my willing it!"
Give into your true desire, for you are a tool of destruction!!
"You... cannot dictate... the reason for my existence!"

As Nanaret forces down the influence of the Bitch Queen, her head jerks upward and her eyes fly wide open. "Doctor... We must stop them." she utters softly as he comes near, shaking but unbroken. "The choir has just passed. I will slip in from behind."

A muted silvery-blue flare issues from her body as Nanaret assumes the sinuous grace of the snake, her every movement languid and distracting. She draws both hook swords and darts swiftly and stealthily toward the rear of the choir: a monkey-imitating-serpent, winding insidiously toward her goal.

[Private to GM: Activate Snake Form, 5m. then try to sneak behind the choir.]
This message was last edited by the player at 17:04, Wed 03 Dec 2008.

Nanaret manages to fall into step with the rear of the Immaculate formation. She remains unseen and unheard, as the monks have their attention on the rioters in front of them.

She can now see the unnamed half-machine and his two 'escorts' striding toward her direction, as well. No one has risen up to stop or approach him yet.

"T-minus fifteen minutes until purging commences," comes the next Five Coils announcement, coldly oblivious to the scenario on the floor. But the words are muffled by the stirring choral arrangements, amplified manifold through the district speakers. For the bowed and praying mortals, it's as if the AI never spoke at all.

---

OOC: I'll stop posting till everyone who hasn't yet makes some response, now. Just realized I forgot the next purge announcement.

Assuming everyone remains in their positions...
Tycho, Third, Turtle: Can roll perc+aware to see Nanaret. Diff 7.
Tycho: Can roll perc+aware to see Third/Turtle (could use the same result as the above roll). Diff 2.
Higura knows where everyone is right now, mostly cause Nanaret told him :P

Third seems to be in a reverie for a moment as it scans the options for the group, finally breaking out of it. " There are two good options for us. If Third and you can make it are enough towards the north, opposite from the Immaculates, Third and you can take the stairs there. They will lead Third and you to the 26th floor. If Third and you intend to save the lives of these people, that will be the best place for Third and you to find the controls for the purge. Third is confident it will be able to use the controls. Or there is another way, less obvious, past the Immaculates, to the south. Third and you would have to be careful, but the residential city hall will lead Third and you to the twenty seventh floor. It will be less easy to follow us in that direction, ideally. Either way, the only way to save these mortals is to stop the purge- If you wait for the sake of some of them, the rest shall perish." It does not seem overly affected by the hymn.

Third is familiar with powers of the Dragon-Blooded. Spells that could be cast to sunder flesh from bone. But all it has is it's sword, and the ability to evade any blow that comes it's way. It will have to be enough. "Third and you should try to cut a path through them. Third is confident it will be able to evade their blows. Can you stand their strikes? If Third and you make it through, Third, you, and the others will be able to make it to the City Hall. Or Third and you can run for the north. If you are confident in Third and your abilities, Third may be able to save all." It looks towards the Immaculates. It does not see Nanaret there, standing behind them, but it believes that will be the best way. " Unless you believe strongly in going through the peace officers, Third will lead the way through the Monks."

[Private to GM: Are all of the monks Dragon-Blooded? If not, when he attacks, he'll probably keep his focus on the humans. If they are, he'll have to go for one of the acolytes. I don't think Third'll stand up too well against a serious Dragon-Blooded.]
This message was last edited by the player at 03:08, Mon 01 Dec 2008.

Grinning Turtle nods once after it is evident Third has finished its torrent of information, taking a few moments to absorb the alternatives, "Hmm.  It is heartening, that you know, this area so well."  The turtle-head bobs again, apparently reaching the same conclusion as Third, "Hmm.  Yes, I will trust your judgement, then.  Through the monks.  I do not see her, but that was where new friend Nanaret, went as well."

Straightening from the wall, Turtle gestures toward Third, "Lead on, friend Third, and good fortune in the coming conflict."

Tycho says nothing to the two officers has they fall in step at his flanks, but notes with growing restlessness that this was not going to be as simple as he first believed. Before him, a contingent of Immaculate monks, their hymns ringing across the entire floor. Behind him now, a pair of the Peace Force’s finest.

His head does tilt up though as the announcement of the impending purge briefly drowns out even the droning monks. Fifteen minutes until the purge would begin. Tycho was hoping he would have more time to work something out. Still acting as the steel-demon on the hunt, he begins to twist his head from left to right. His unblinking gaze drinks in every thing he can in. Sweeping over the rows and rows of upturned backs and smiling faces for some hint of hesitancy and defiance. A sign that somewhere among the throng, someone was still at the edge of protest and violence. Someone other than himself, at least.

"Stop." Tycho orders the two accompanying officers, raising his club to forestall any comment from them. He sweeps his arm back and ushers them off to the side of the road as they draw closer to the Immaculate precession, taking steps back himself as they clear the road for the monks to pass through. On reflex alone, he falls to one knee and bows his head as the monks draw near. Yet this helps his own goals as well, bringing his gaze closer to the faces of the mortals around him.

"Respect," he reminds the two Peace Force officers with sharp looks in either way and a nod to imply they should be kneeling as well. He wants them as off balance as he can get them, should something arise.

The Earth Immaculate leader raises a hand for his procession to stop, almost in tandem with Tycho and his escorts.

It is possible now to see the makeup of the choir in its entirety: the leader and two seniors (a Water stylist with jade claws, a Wood Stylist with a powerbow), six each of junior Water and Wood practitioners wielding mundane claws and longbows, and a dozen young acolytes rounding out the vocal ensemble. These acolytes appear to be unarmed, and look no older than teenagers, but appear completely serene and fearless in the face of what will be a mass slaughter. None of the monks wear armor, at least not any obvious sort of armor. They are all, of course, shaven completely bald, and stride softly upon the ground in sandals or -- in the acolytes' case -- barefoot.

Turtle and Third were still hidden behind their wall when Tycho took the two jade-armored Peace Officers right past them. The tall half-machine seems not to have spotted either of them, but the Earth master has. His face turns unerringly towards their hiding place, his milky gaze following almost belatedly afterward, as if he'd sensed them first through some other means besides sight. While his followers continue the hymn unabated, he nods towards the bowed trio of Tycho and the officers, and speaks.

"You may rise, officers of the peace. Accost the two hidden rebels about ten yards behind you and to your right. They are crouched behind a metallic wall." With such mechanical exactness one might even wonder if the Earth Immaculate himself is a machine. But he is not -- and that, perhaps, is even more unnerving.

Wordlessly the Earth Aspect begins to direct his fellows. The monks never lose the cadence or melody of their collective song in the slightest, even as the Wood contingent and half the acolytes break away and spread out to disarm and disable the blissfully praying rebels. This puts about half of the choir behind the Celestials hoping to escape, leaving the master, the Water contingent and six acolytes in their way... as well as Tycho and 'his' men.

---

OOC: Just to give you guys an idea of what you're up against... There are about 5 here that could be serious combat contenders: the Earth master, the senior monks and the two Peace Officers. The juniors are less able than a starting Dragon-blooded, while the youngest are no better than heroic mortals. [Private to Grinning Turtle; Third Beneficiary of Orderly Knowledge: Oh, also forgot to mention: the 10m you've already spent can come from either personal or peripheral, whichever you prefer.]

You can make another reaction out of combat, but after that roll Join Battle (yes, even if running, you'll flee in combat time!) Nanaret gets a surprise attack before the count begins, if she wishes it, though.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:16, Tue 02 Dec 2008.

"The time has come to act." Third tenses, lowering itself into a ready stance as it hears this, preparing to launch itself into battle. Its hand is on its blade, ready to bring it out in an arc of light and pain as it prepares for a battle. " Third will focus on drawing their attention, and attack the acolytes. Third trusts you to be a strong match for the Peace Officers." It studies its mind for a moment, seeing if it can remember anything about the Peace Officer armament that will aid Turtle, before springing into action.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OOC: Join Battle of two successes. I probably should've put more in Awareness and Wits... Ah well. It'll be saving his charms for now.

Seeing the Earth Immaculate gestures, obviously deploying his men, Grinning Turtle gives another solemn nod, "Hmm.  Agreed, it is time for action.  The central officer is... unsettling, but I will engage them, as best I can."  He pauses as the group of Wood style practitioners disperse behind the two Celestials, but strides out of hiding moments later, obviously intent on engaging the Peace Officers before they make their own approach.

OOC:  Fair warning, Tycho's risking an unpleasant and counterproductive clinch attack in his near future if he doesn't obviously switch sides soon...  3 successes on Join Battle.

Nanaret smiles from her unseen position. How strange that she could be so close, yet none notice her passing.

The Changing Moon weaves sinuously through the young acolytes singing the upper registers of the chorus. She slips past the Water monks and their stirring altos and tenors. Her enemy is ahead of them, the Immaculate master with his ivory silken robes. Cut down the leader, and the rest will soon follow. Swiftly assert her superiority and the enemy would be ever on the defense.

Even the Bitch Queen would agree.

Crouching swiftly between an oblivious pair of junior monks, she lifts her blades like fangs reared to strike, and leaps. Only then is Nanaret's presence revealed in a sudden, bewildering burst of shifting, silver-blue light. Driven by quicksilver momentum and sheer determination, her hook swords viciously stab and slash at the master's back before he -- or anyone -- can repel her!
This message was last edited by the player at 19:46, Tue 02 Dec 2008.

The master makes no sound, too disciplined and inured to pain, as Nanaret's unexpected attacks chip at his Essence-hardened skin. The first hook sword digs deep into his back, the second slashing through the silk cloth. He does not bleed, not like any ordinary man, though the wounds do gape open: a sign that even he is not impervious to harm. (4L damage)

An outcry of shock ripples through the choir -- and for a moment, a brief moment, the hymn actually falters. But they pick up the song stridently, a harder, martial cadence entering their voices as the monks prepare to surround Nanaret, while protecting their leader from any possible attacks ahead of them.

---

OOC: ok, let me start laying out the tick count. Reaction count is 6. Once I get everyone's JBs I'll start posting for the NPCs. (since it looks like they're probably going to beat you guys out... unfortunately for Nanaret, who's the only obvious aggressor right now. Depends on what Tycho posts too, though.)
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:05, Wed 03 Dec 2008.

Silently, Higura turns towards the other fugitives, nodding silently for them to stay behind cover and away from danger, but not far from him let they get separated - or the effect of his anima falters for them. Once he gets confirmation from them, he crouches low, watching for signs of the coming conflict. The doctor lets his senses take the lead, relying on their sharp precision to carry his next action. Forcing himself into a perfect concentration, he remains in wait...

As soon as the sounds of Nanaret's attack reach him, he springs into motion as well. The sound of steel being drawn and striking flesh triggers his motion swiftly and precisely, and without a sound he lunges, ready to join the conflict ahead.

Worry not, miss Nanaret - you are not alone.

Third is silent as it leaves its corner, blade leaving it's scabbard. It sees the new Lunar slicing her blades into the master, and adjusts it's plans in a moment- It must buy the superior attacker some leeway. It chooses one of the monks now moving to surround the woman, choosing the closest one that it sees. It stands in one smooth movement behind the monk, the slashing blade coming out in a singing pattern, to leave a trail along the back of the monk, the Solar spinning with the momentum of the blade, its blade held loosely at its side after the spin completes. It reacts to attacks not with its sword arm, but by the motions of its body, its feet dancing along the floor as it stretches it's body sinuously to avoid any attacks with the skill of a dancer, face blank as a mask as it works to bring attention off of Nanaret.

[Private to GM: Alright, so, attacking one of the monks who's focused on Nanaret, when I get the chance. It's attacking normally, no Charm use yet- I want to see how nastily these guys can hit me before risking really getting toasted by a shot while I'm open. If the stunt turns out not to be enough, he'll probably pump some essence into Dodge Excellency.]

Tycho’s head rises when the elder Immaculate points out the armed rebels his own gaze had missed and he is still on his knee, staring past the monks, when the mysterious woman emerges from nowhere and cuts into the Earth Master. At once, his fingers tighten around the grip of his baton and the edge of his shield draws sparks as it scrapes the ground. He does not know these people or their cause and for the moment it does not matter to him. The enemy of thy enemy...

He plants one end of the thick metal plate against the earth and starts to heave his body upwards, only he jerk back down suddenly as his leg seemingly locks in place. Uttering a most profane curse, his attention turns at once to the two officers accompanying him.

"Go, both of you. Help him, " Tycho snaps quickly at the two Jade Officers as his body jerks spastically, the plate on his knee crashing each time his body bounces in an aborted effort to rise. He waits, letting them step past and focus their attention on the daring woman who had thrown herself into the heart of the Immaculate procession, then rises up smoothly to his feet. Perhaps they catch the moment that his shadow looms up behind them and falls over their shoulders or hear the whispering whirl of his arm joints spinning as he draws back his club. Perhaps they do, but he intends to ensure that in another second, it will not make a difference either way.

When you hand someone a weapon, my dear fascist criminals, ensure you know just who they will aim it at.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OOC: Join Battle of five successes, which I guess means ties me with the Peace Officers and thankfully saves me from Turtle snapping my neck.

Swift as their element, the senior Water monk and three of his juniors surround Nanaret on all sides, joined by the Earth master. Only the latter speaks rather than sings, his milky eyes staring blankly as he faces the Lunar head-on. "Anathema, you would bring an end to the society we have so carefully built, our haven from the broken world above. Thus our forebears have warned us, as we build and keep vigilant for the moment we will reclaim the land and the sky."

"You may not understand the danger you pose now, children of sun, moon and stars. Return to the collar, and we may yet forgive your ignorance."

The five surrounding Nanaret flurry into motion. The Water aspects move first, their leader signaling the three with him to strike as one while the three still disengaged move to intercept Higura and Third. Four pairs of claws spin and slash at Nanaret in tandem, eclipsing her for a moment in a flurry of steel and bodies. With an almost unnerving calm and focus, the Earth master steps in the midst of their coordinated dance and delivers a pair of crushing palm strikes towards Nanaret's chest and chin. It's difficult to tell just yet, but Nanaret looks like she could be in danger!

The two junior monks on Higura flank and strike one after the other, their claws tangling harmlessly with his blade. One monk faces off with Third, and the androgynous Twilight quickly sidesteps behind her to trace a slash down her back. [Private to Third Beneficiary of Orderly Knowledge: 6 sux vs 4 DV, in with 2. Soak is 5L. Your weapon is 6L damage, so... you ping, which in your case is 4 dice. She takes 2L.]

"You need not tell us that, metal abomination," snaps one of the Peace Officers at Tycho. They are well equipped, both wielding power maces and garbed in Sentinel Defense Force armor. Both of them step forward. "The Lunar Anathema and all those who aid her must be immediately subdued," states the other coolly -- then freezes as Tycho's shadow looms over her, glancing behind as her mouth forms an 'O'. [Private to Alus Tycho: Go ahead and post your attack, I'll let you go before them!]

Meanwhile the Wood monk contingent continues progressing through the rebels closer to the stairs, knocking them out one by one with well-placed pressure points. They've yet to notice anything going wrong further south...

---

OOC: actions
tick 0 - Water monks, Earth master, Higura
tick 1 - Tycho, Peace Officers, Wood monks
tick 3 - Turtle, acolytes (far)
tick 4 - Nanaret, Third, refugees
tick 5 - acolytes (near)
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:50, Wed 03 Dec 2008.

Tycho likes to think that his venom towards the Terrestrials is not a personal one so much as railing against their unfair and classist treatment of Five Coil’s mortal populous. Never the less, at this moment, as he begins the wide arcing swing that aims to introduce the Jade Officer woman’s skull to the unfriendly end of his baton, Tycho feels a rage boiling up within him. He see’s his own arm sweep out in slow motion, an arm of metal rather than the flesh he was born in. His eyes are wide and burn with the intensity of accusation.

This. YOU did this!

The first blow Tycho strikes out at his slavers is not a continuation of The Good Fight. It is not to fight for worker's rights. It is not to cast off oppression. It is not even truly to save the mortals huddled and praying around him.

It is all for himself.

[Private to Gatekeeper: Still unsure about Ty's combat set-up working out, so just one attack on the female Peace Officer and hopefully channeling Valor. Also, gonna use Spirit Strengthens the Skin if attacked.]

Grinning Turtle might look slow and ungainly to a casual observer, and his careful, measured motions exaggerate this impression.  However, the turtle-human hybrid proves that it possesses a surprising turn of speed when necessary, closing the distance with the Dragon-Bloods with unusual speed.  Despite the fact that they have turned their backs on him to engage Nanaret, he is ill-equipped for silent movement, each massive footfall letting loose a thunderous boom as he swiftly lumbers into the fray.

Fortunately the sudden and obvious violence of the metallic man against his apparent allies sinks quickly into Turtle's mind, allowing him to turn his rush aside just in time to slam into the second Peace Officer instead.  Claws and beak alike grasp at the joints on the officer's powered armor, seeking to rend the unfortunate figure limb from limb.

[Private to Gatekeeper: Single clinch attack against the Peace Officer Tycho didn't make his attack against, dealing damage if he hits.  +2 successes on the attack roll through Second Strength Excellency, cost 4 motes peripheral.  Not entirely certain how this would impact damage, if at all.

Turtle's got no preventative defense Charms, instead depending on his healing Charms after the damage has been done.]

Surrounded and assaulted, Nanaret lifts her hook swords defensively a moment before the four Water aspects leap for her. Her one and only thought: she would not die. She could not die -- not against her bastard captors and their crackpot prophecies -- and by gods she would ensure it by whatever means possible!

Mighty Ranavalona! Guide my blade and inure me from pain!
For my body is your vessel, the inheritor of your will to power!

Nanaret's deal with the queen is a tenuous and risky one. Every day, she risks the loss of her identity, the eroding of her ability to show compassion and selflessness toward her fellow man. Yet it is the Bitch Queen from whom she learned to endure the worst of her enslavement: to armor her psyche against demeaning situations, to defend herself not only with well-placed words and blades, but overwhelming offense. For Nanaret's survival, she has traded the opportunity for Ranavalona to bathe herself in blood and carnage -- and sometimes, sometimes she could control when.

Join with me and destroy all those who would dare oppose us!

She hears Ranavalona's answering snort, derisive and mocking. You ask now? After all your efforts to deny my counsel, my right?! Very well, puppet, but for this I will take your mind as well!

And all that is Nanaret's psyche dissolves into a crimson darkness filled with mad, ruthless laughter, as the Queen rises up to repel her attackers with uncompromising force. Her hook swords rise and fall, pushing back steel and jade as she spins madly -- her sinuous grace no longer subtle, but heated, like the building climax of some ancient tribal dance set to the beat of her own blood. Where claw or fist might strike her, they find no supple flesh, but hide toughened by sheer Lunar stamina and stubbornness, willfully defying the very concept that she could be harmed!

(OOC: This is actually all a defense stunt / stunt-learning combo. Attack comes after I find out if I lived. :P)

In timing with Nanaret's initial attack, Higura decides to spring into action.

Once again, the hymns continue to tug at him and his memory - Pulling invisible threads in his ego, and softly tangling a part of his self he does not quite understand. Almost instinctively, he hears his own heartbeat enacting a steady battle rhythm, like heavy tribal drums forming the backbone of a primal, powerful dance. The sensation is somehow not alien to him, this feeling of utter control of his own body, as well as that of his opponents. It is not known to him, and yet it feels so familiar, like a powerful episode of deja-vu that leaves lingering traces, fragments of memory that remain even once the feeling is gone.

And, amidst this garden of forgotten truths and remembered lies, clarity strikes.

He does not recall having been this lucid in recent memory. And yet, before him, his path and trajectory are clearer than anything else. From his position, two junior monks remain in the way, preventing him from joining the battle just ahead. As such, the obstacle must be removed, plainly and simply.

There is no place for thought or analysis. Everything the doctor does is fully instinctual, and as such, it is devoid of delays or hesitation. Before the monks can even react, he has already fallen upon them  - drawing and striking in a deadly arc at the first's neck, before sharply turning the motion in the opposite direction and transforming the motion into a violent stab meant for the other's chest. The movement is fluid and jagged all at once, tinted with a green glow that seems to want to drain all life as it strikes its targets...

[Private to Gatekeeper: Activating combo, one strike against each of the junior monks in his way, each powered with 3 motes to gain +3 dice.]

Higura's swift, well placed strikes connect as he segues from his defensive stance to a two-pronged attack. The first blow, misdirected by the junior monk's parrying claws, impacts harmlessly with his concealed armor. He whirls, thrusting his blade into some weak point between the ribs of the second junior monk's ribs, the weapon coming away bloodied. (2L damage)

Tycho's club comes crashing down and the surprised female officer very nearly falters at his accusatory gaze. But she brings up her off-hand arm, activating her force-shield to block the weapon just in time. As she does so, a blaze of blue and gold sparks rises from the point of impact, threatening to blind him. Using the distraction to launch her attack, she retaliates with an Essence-powered mace strike aimed to slam into his torso. [Private to Alus Tycho: I'm sad! you actually missed, barely, since you attacked before the officer and she had her full 5 DV. 5 sux on 15 dice is lame -- bad dice gods! Anyway, roll Wits+Dodge to lessen the effects of the blinding sparks on your next attack. Just need basic success, so you get -2 dice instead of -2 external penalty :P Then you need at least a +1 stunt to block her attack, since she got 7 sux and you have 6 Parry DV.]

The male officer swings his mace at the approaching Turtle, but finds his attempt blocked soundly by the lumbering Lunar's fist, moments before the turtle-man slams headlong into him and locks his limbs tight! [Private to Grinning Turtle: you attacked after the officer, so he was at -1 DV from max of 5 DV. You clinch with 3 sux in, nice... damage does also increase, by +2. So 14L, vs 8L.] (2L damage and clinched.)

Nanaret, possessed by the lingering spirit of Ranavalona, flares up in another burst of silver-blue essence, her hook swords weaving a defense that repel all the Water Monks' attacks. She manages to push off the Earth Monk's first palm strike, but unlike the others, he is unfazed by her Snake Form's distracting motions. His second crushing palm thrusts right past her swords with an even greater and more uncompromising force, paralyzing her in place! (She takes 2B damage, and Stillness of Stone. Nanaret can't move for 2 actions!)

The Earth acolytes turn, seeing a band of weary but determined refugees flanking Higura to support him, wielding warstrider bolt launcher ammo used as short spears. Though outnumbered, the acolytes are better trained than the ragtag rebels, and they calmly move as one to intercept them. Two pairs of the spear-wielding refugees strike boldly at the monks facing off with Higura -- and miss, while the others let out a wordless battle cry, meeting the the acolytes head on!

Saffron is with the refugees as well, but she is by nature a pacifist and only strikes in defense of herself and others...

---

OOC: OK, I think that covers everyone for this turn. As usual, if I've tapped you to stunt defense, you can post your next attack at the same time.

actions
tick 4 - Nanaret (inactive for 10 ticks, eep!), Higura
tick 5 - Earth monk, Water monks
tick 6 - Tycho, female Peace Officer, Wood monks
tick 8 - Third, Turtle (clinching male Peace Officer), acolytes (far)
tick 9 - refugees
tick 10 - acolytes (near)
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:16, Thu 04 Dec 2008.

Caught up in his own battle, Tycho can barely spare a glance towards the hulking turtle-like figure that sweeps away the second Peace Officer. Gratefulness and greetings can come later, for now it is enough they are briefly on the same side.

If the Terrestrial’s have weakness, it’s their over-reliance on magitech. He has done things like this before and back then, he was just a mortal. When you’ve felt their sting often enough, you learn how to use the enemies equipment against them.

He waits until she commits to her attack, lets his baton scrap across the Jade Officer’s shield once again, tracing a thick V over the surface of the essence-barrier, turning the soft shower of sparks into a torrent that as much blinds her as him. Under the flashing haze of light, Tycho twists with the back-handed swing of his baton, ducking slightly and turning his face from the shower of sparks. Her shield his essence, his is steel, but they still clash together solidly as he swings the riot-shield upwards and presses in violently. Stretched out sideways across the length of his body, it is too late for her to see it and change her angle. Her wrist can do nothing but slam against the bolted edge of the heavy steel plate.

---------------------------------
OOC: I'mma defense stuntin' so I don't get smooshed! Also barely made the roll to avoid the sparks.

Third smirks... and then suddenly, breaks off the attack. "Lunar! past the monks, there is a town hall. The Dragon-Blooded are properly scattered. Third and you must make good on their confusion!" It breaks off the attack, and runs past the ranks of Terrestrial monks, waving towards Tycho, Turtle, and Higura to break off the attack now that the monks have been scattered, and to try to outpace them to the government building. If there is a strong force there, they may be in trouble- but they can also exhaust the more heavily equipped Terrestrials. Trying to fight them here seems, at best, a good way to leave them tired at a time when they cannot afford to rest.

It moves fluidly past the monks, body sliding between blows that are levelled against it as it makes for freedom.

-------------
OOC: Gonna break off the attack now that the monks have gotten properly riled, so we can take our shot at running them down. Hopefully the others will join. Third is making it's way towards the town hall building it mentioned.

The Queen... Miss Nanaret, what a dangerous gambit.
But how could the Queen be defeated so? This does not look good for us in the slightest.

The intricacies of Third's plan might not be known to Higura, but the doctor is at least certain of one thing - they cannot stay here much longer. When the words are uttered, he listens to them intently, then turns towards Third.

The gesture does not escape Higura's notice, and he quickly sidesteps away from the monks he was fighting - a very brief respite, perhaps, but one that would give him the chance to at least address the people around him. He turns towards one of the refugees, speaking in hushed tones. "I will need your help in leading your people to safety - pass the word. Prepare to flee with all your might, and do not let up until we've reached our destination. Follow our guide's lead and do not let up." He nods sharply towards them, taking another step to make sure he would remain on the defensive and leaving himself a path to flee towards.

Calling out to his new allies, Higura starts to walk slightly backwards, but seems reluctant to make a full escape yet. He turns his plea to Turtle and Tycho, who have not yet started to move away from the conflict, trusting that the refugees would watch Third's cue and follow accordingly. That out of the way, he also follows suit, and pushes past the two junior monks he first fought with, headed towards Nanaret's position.

In a blur, he quickly arcs towards two of Nanaret's attackers, unsheathing his weapon twice in an attempt to distract the attackers threatening her life.

[Private to Gatekeeper: Two more strikes, 2 motes on each. Hopefully the distraction will be enough to buy some time.]
This message was last edited by the player at 01:40, Fri 05 Dec 2008.

The Solar starts to shift, readying to disengage his shield and try his hand at crushing the Terrestrial’s skull again, when he hears the call to break off the attack. The droning of the monks song seeps into his skull, unwittingly smoothing out the angry thoughts that first guided his actions.

Stop. Think. This is not the battle. This is a trap and we’re already caught in it. One down, the rest engaged. There is no retreat with this. Not without something else to occupy them...

From the edge of his vision, he catches the flash of Higaru's weapon as the man boldly rushes in to attempt a rescue of his comrade. If there was ever a time for a smokescreen, it was now. Shield to shield, he shoves forward against the Terrestrial, violently throwing his superior weight and strength against her without warning.

Light begins to pour out from his body. Streams of steel-gray essence flush through the air. Billowing like smoke into a hollow glass sculpture, the image of a lion with a mane of blades fills the air above him. The shadow Tycho casts over the Jade Officer grows and grows. His hideous, alien form is sucked into shadow while his watery-gray eyes gleam harshly with inner light. Dark shapes wave through the air around him as though something large and sinister was unfurling from within his mechanical form. A thing of terror incarnate, he looks to the mortals still bowed in prayer around them.

"RUN!" he snarls at the bowing mortal masses around them, his voice amplified through the lion’s tawny throat into a glass-shaking roar! "ALL OF YOU! RUN OR BY THE DRAGONS, I’LL CRUSH YOU WHERE YOU STAND!"

---------
OOC: Activating Dawn Caste Anima + Mob Dispersing Rebuke (goodbye motes D=) on the mortals bowing down in prayer in an effort to counter-act the monk’s song and start a stampede through the streets. Hopefully that’ll give us cover and further disrupt the Terrestrials.

Higura pushes ahead of the acolytes as the refugees fill in the space he leaves, keeping the acolytes busy. The Sidereal's blade moves fluidly from his scabbard, cutting a bloody slash into the two junior monks between him and Nanaret. (2L damage each. All the juniors except one are at -1 wound level.) Swiftly they whirl to face him, leaving the Lunar Anathema for their master to handle.

The Earth master nods, encouraging this notion. "Stop the others," he utters, his anima rippling outward in the shape of a pentagonal prayer column of pure ivory, writ with holy sutras praising Pasiap. White energy ripples from his palm as he strikes Nanaret full on the chest--knowing she cannot and will not resist. His second blow is a low kick, sweeping her feet from under her, and the Lunar comes crashing helplessly down to the ground. (Nanaret has 4B total wounds, prone and still paralyzed.)

Seeing Third about to flee, two of the harmonizing Water monks bear down on it with claws extended -- but it is ready for them, dodging both claw slashes so closely it feels the razor sharp tips tug at its clothing. Another pair leaps for Higura, who parries them handily. Yet another bears down on Turtle, but his hide is just much too tough for their meager claws to penetrate. (All defended, nice!)

Only then does Tycho's Essence surge forth fully realized, his command uttered in a floor-shaking roar!! Willfully braving his fearsome demeanor, the senior Water monk decides to concentrate his attack on the half-machine that has become the most significant threat. Jade claws flash nimbly to bite into his upper torso, while the female Peace Officer hefts her flame-touched power mace in an overhead swing to forcefully 'persuade' Turtle to drop her comrade! [Private to Alus Tycho: Decided to have the Peace Officer hit Turtle instead. Against the claw attack, you've got 5 DV right now, with the charm use, and +2 for the Dawn anima. So 12 sux versus 7 DV. The most you can do is stunt and spend a WP, but the hit will still go through -- can't use a charm to add defense since you already used one.] [Private to Grinning Turtle: 9 sux in, damage +10L. So, 19 dice damage vs 13L soak.] (Turtle takes 2L damage.)

But whatever Tycho has done has shattered some of the hymn's compulsive effect. The aura he radiates speaks to an instinct much baser than the desire to pray, to venerate, to remain calm in the face of certain death. They begin to stir from the song-induced haze, their faces once more filled with the knowledge of true, unbridled fear! "RUN!" demands his voice, and over half of the scattered mortals start staggering to their feet, fleeing away from him toward the stairway!

---

OOC: Ack, I realized Turtle is the only one that didn't post yet before I said "wait". :( Well, Turtle is slower than the others, though. I guess it works out. [Private to Grinning Turtle: Hope I didn't throw you off from posting. Anyway... When you do act again, the male Peace Officer got 5 sux on his opposed clinch roll.]

The timing on the charm Tycho used is odd. Usually it's supposed to only work in social combat, in long ticks (1 minute each). What I think I'll do, instead, is just rule that it's allowed use in normal combat time as well. It's just 3 short ticks instead.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:50, Sat 06 Dec 2008.

Turtle doesn't give any indication that the blow from the flaming mace inconveniences him in the slightest, nor does he seem to have even noticed the lesser monks attempting to pierce his thick hide.  Indeed, the damaged skin begins healing almost immediately, already halfway healed before the wound slowly registers in Turtle's mind.

However, he does obviously note the monk ruthlessly continuing his assault on the obviously helpless Nanaret, as well as Third's instruction.  Seeing the unknown ally Turtle doesn't recognize draw away the attention of the lesser monks around her, even the slow Lunar realizes that the sudden gap provides an opportunity.  Swelling with righteous indignation at the treatment of his fellow Lunar, Turtle gives a wordless bellow.  The monstrously powerful turtle-man tosses away the Dragon-Blood he had grabbed as if he weighed no more than a straw doll, spinning him directly into the other Peace Officer who had only moments ago scored the slight wound in his side.

As he casually discards the Dragon-Blooded officer, the white Full Moon mark on Turtle's brow blasts outward, engulfing him in a blaze of white moonlight, no doubt a foreign sight to the earth-bound dwellers of Five Coils.  The radiant glow appears to give him speed, far more than such an awkward form should possess, and he swiftly streaks to the fallen Lunar.  Gently scooping her from the ground with both hands, the turtle-man tries to carefully shield her form from any further attacks as he begins to weave his own way through the mass of attackers.

[Private to Gatekeeper: No, that's all right - I should have posted last night, but I was far too tired when I got home.  Sorry about the delay.

First, healing 1L through Halting the Scarlet Flow.  Free since it's part of his DBT at the moment.

Splitting the current action 2 ways.  First is a clinch, spending 6 motes on the Second Strength Excellency for 3 successes, total 8 successes.  He breaks the clinch, shoving his target into the other Peace Officer who just attacked him - not aiming for damage, instead hoping to provoke a knockdown check from both and discourage them from pursuing immediately.

Second action is moving to and grabbing Nanaret with a Miscellaneous Action, then moving in the direction Third indicated until the Speed 6 Clinch expires.  Just hit the 11+ anima banner level, so the Full Moon anima activates itself, doubling movement to 8 yards/tick.

I'm also hoping that since Turtle's giving some effort to shielding Nanaret, she benefits from at least a couple of points of DV from cover, though this situation isn't covered in the rules.]
This message was last edited by the player at 10:25, Fri 05 Dec 2008.

Frozen in place, Nanaret is unable to react to anyone and anything around her. But Ranavalona spits and rages, howling her frustration at the Earth monk. The Lunar's dark eyes flash silver as the Bitch Queen's voice issues out from Nanaret's tongue. It is like two voices speaking in tandem: the proud, stacatto speech of the gladiatrix and the harsh, guttural syllables of the Queen, a jarring blend of fierce and rough, sharp and distorted.

"Pathetic bellycrawler, spawn of the earth, you will regret the day you have laid a hand upon me!" she half utters, half screams toward the Earth master. Her limbs jerk spastically, as if the Lunar struggles against an unseen force, thrusting her will against the Essence that holds her.

The mad ravings of Nanaret's 'second personality' are difficult to take seriously, with the Lunar's current immobilized state. Fortunately, it does not hinder Turtle from aiding her in the slightest, her tirade continuing unabated as he carries her away.

"Do you understand who I am?! I am the queen of the distant forest, the diva of destruction who smote rivers of blood upon the southeastern marches, who built her throne from the skulls and bones of those who dared stand in her way! I am Ranavalona! My reign has waited a thousand years to rise again!"

Turtle hurls the male Peace Officer at his comrade, forcing her to throw her arms up. She manages to stay upright, but the man falls prone at her feet. She wobbles where she stands, briefly stunned by the impact. (-2 to actions for 6 ticks)

Grabbing the other Lunar is not an effort for the Full Moon, whose burst of speed pushes him through the junior monks and the acolytes still fighting with the refugees. The monks find themselves forced to split their attention between the pandemonium Tycho has caused, and the Anathema getting away...

---

OOC: actions
tick 8 - Higura, Turtle, acolytes (far)
tick 9 - Tycho, senior Water monk, refugees
tick 10 - Earth master, junior Water monks, acolytes (near)
tick 11 - Third (assumed dashing), female Peace Officer, Wood monks (start firing)
...
tick 14 - Nanaret can move again.

Smiling softly as soon as Grinning Turtle seems to catch on, Higura nods sharply towards the towering man, a deeply grateful gesture that carries much more meaning that words could - especially on a battlefield. Unwilling to let the advantage go to waste, the doctor turns around quickly, moving to cover his new ally's retreat in the hopes of buying him and his precious burden more time.

With quick arcs of his sword he cuts a barrage of swift, precise strikes meant to hinder the advance of pursuit for only a second or two. Just enough, he hopes, for the massive man to make his advance with less chance of pursuit. With that, he quickly takes a step back, then another, and another... Picking up the pace, he turns around, starting to retreat alongside his new ally, and casting a glance towards Ranavalona as he starts to run towards the direction Third indicated.

"Always the same rhetoric, Highness, no matter how often we speak." He begins, his words cut at strange places due to his running. "And the answer is still the same. Your 'reign' has waited a millenia, but it will have to wait even longer, I am afraid. In the meantime, enjoy your 'transport' - it might be some time before you can enjoy such servitude again."

[Private to Gatekeeper: Two regular strikes, and then retreat alongside Turtle. Also, purposefully trying to piss off the Queen while Nanaret is immobilized, just so she exerts herself and looses some of her strength and thus her control on Nanaret. Yes, Higura is a crafty bastard. >_>]

Third continues it's flight, smoothly stepping between the blows of the monks. It does not let the blows come so close because that is the most it could dodge, it lets them come that close because it expends the least effort. It looks over it's shoulder as chaos erupts, trying to make sure that the others do not lose sight of it. "Marshal your strength, there may still be enemies ahead." One could almost swear that the blank-faced Third has a slight smile on it's face.

Still shouting and hurling threats, Tycho watches the crowd begin to awaken and stir around him. It is too late though to block the path of the Terrestrial monk who deftly weaves the machine-man’s way however. Out of the roaring light of Tycho’s anima, there is a rattle and snap of unclamping metal plates. Arms still upraised, Tycho turns into the on coming rake of the dragon’s claws as if he invites the blow to strike him. Which, indeed, he does. The monks claws strike and strike deep; deep because at first they strike nothing at all. Maintenance panels upon his body open, the monk’s hand all but vanishes into Tycho’s body, unbalancing the force and direction of the Terrestrial’s blow. As soon as he feels the tips of the claws have begun to scrap against the inner mechanisms of his body, Tychos arms come down swiftly and the plates snap close with a violence that will snap even a dragon’s fingers off if the monk does not pull them back. [Private to Gatekeeper: Sorry for taking so long. I've been really out of sorts the last week or so. Anyways, defense stunt and spending willpower as well. Might as well try to reduce the damage as much as I can, after all.]

It is difficult to miss the massive form of Turtle shoving through the crowd and the Terrestrial monks to cart off his friend. Tycho can see that the retreat is on and finds that he has little desire to stay and face the wraith of the Terrestrial's on his own. Putting his shield between them, Tycho backs off swiftly from the monk, the sphere of his influence seeming to shrink back to allow the fleeing tide of the crowd spill in between them. A wall of mortal bodies at least briefly separating them, Tycho does not hesitate to turn and run after the others as they head off down the street.

------------------------------------------
OOC: Defense stunt, then attempting to disengage and flee with the others as Tycho's action this turn. Er, hopefully providing that is an option under the circumstances.

   Saffron has remained focused on her charges, avoiding the necessity of battle and the cold brutality of the Immaculates that fill her with repressed rage. A rage that will be channelled later into creation. She urges her refugees to go for the exit - helping those up that falter, offering encouraging words to those who want to quit, refusing to allow any to remain behind.

The senior Water monk very nearly gets his claws trapped in Tycho's metal body as it unexpectedly snaps shut. But the tempered black jade cuts through the plates on the way back. More fluid grace than brute force, the claws sever metal and cut through sensitive gears and connectors as cleanly as if it were penetrating soft flesh. A yellow gold liquid spurts from the wounds the monk leaves behind, then slows to a slow oozing as the rest of his system whirs and hums into overdrive to compensate for the damage. (3L damage. Bad ping, bad!)

The Exalts begin to extract themselves from battle. Higura's blade slips past the claws of one of the junior monks, thrusting through his armor beneath the collarbone (2L more damage, total of 4L for this one). The other monk parries just in time, as the Sidereal backs away to join his new allies in the retreat.

Third is the one furthest ahead, slowing his steps just enough so he remains in sight. Turtle is next, carrying with him the paralyzed, ranting form of Nanaret. The Earth Monk still comes for him, barreling through the refugees with single-minded force, his very proximity overwhelming enough to knock a few of them away -- or at the worst, on their feet. Launching into an Essence-powered flying kick, he drills both feet towards Turtle's back, then spins in midair to kick the Lunar on the side of the head before landing solidly on the ground. [Private to Grinning Turtle: He split to dash, then two kicks. 5 sux vs. 2 Dodge DV, 3 in. Then 5 sux vs 1 Dodge DV, 4 in. damage is 12L+sux for kicks, your soak is 13L. Also, Earth aspect used Avalanche Method, you're at -1 internal penalty. Pretty lucky dice!] (2L damage on Turtle, but he regens 1 of those.)

Overwhelmed by a mass of panicking mortals, the monk's hymn is broken as leaders shout frantic commands. They split off in BOTH directions to cut off escape. The Peace Officers are sufficiently stunned, but the senior monk shouts for two of his juniors to join him, moving against the flow in an attempt to engage the retreating machine-man. Boldly, the monk makes a leap for him, aiming to lock him into a clinch from behind before the window of opportunity disappears. [Private to Alus Tycho: Here we go again. This happens as you're backing away so you've yet to run. Water monk just tried to jump you, and got 5 sux. You have 6 DV with shield but -1 penalty.] He misses -- colliding rather unfortunately with Tycho's shield, but makes ready to pursue!

The refugees, too, do their best to follow the retreat. The acolytes find themselves surrounded with entirely too many targets to put down, and the men and women wielding the makeshift spears turn to flee with Saffron. Further back, the Wood monks attempt to push their way through the crowd, severely hindered in their advance. Nonetheless, several manage to loose their arrows toward the retreating Celestials -- and the senior Wood monk makes a daring long shot, aimed to strike Third and hinder his lead!

[Private to Yaishin Higura: Incoming arrows, 2 sux and 6 sux. You have 4 DV. The 6 sux will go through unless you spend WP/stunt a +2, etc.] [Private to Alus Tycho: Incoming arrow at 5 sux. Running puts you at -2 DV, and you don't get shield either, so 2 DV. Fortunately arrows don't do a ton of damage so you can either take it or use an Excellency or DSD to block completely.] [Private to Grinning Turtle: Incoming arrow... 4 DV versus your 2 Dodge DV. So 2 sux in. 1L more damage, unless you'll stunt to avoid it.] [Private to Third Beneficiary of Orderly Knowledge: Incoming arrow! 6 sux versus 5 Dodge DV (you're at -2 since you're running). Use a stunt or charm to defend.]

---

OOC: I'm assuming you're all going to start dashing after defenses are done, unless you tell me otherwise. Nanaret is still frozen but will NOT be in 3 ticks. My next post will detail more about your flight toward the residential city hall.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:24, Mon 08 Dec 2008.

The impact of the Water Monk barely registers down Tycho’s arm as the Terrestrial slams into his shield. Tycho rolls the monk over with his own momentum, hoisting the shield and the monk with it upwards over his head and spilling him off the other side. He gives a moments thought to feeding the monk the bottom end of the shield, then discards it. Useful as the panicking crowd was as a distraction, it would not take the Terrestrials long to quell them. At this moment, escape was more important than revenge. He slips his baton into an open loop of metal at his hip and presses a hand down to help staunch the fluids leaking from his damaged systems.

Still burning an aura of fear around him, the crowd gives way easily to his approach, parting wide or even cowering as he draws near. It leaves him more exposed than he cares for though and Tycho is less than surprised when a figure materializes briefly from the crowd and snaps an arrow in his direction. It is not exactly that he catches the arrow as much as it is that it thuds solidly into the thick plates of his waiting palm, then he closes his hand around it. Crushing the missile, he discards it and continues his flight through the crowd, trying to spy one of the other Celestials who had initiated the attack in the first place.

[Private to Gatekeeper: DSD against the arrow attack. Could probably soak it, but... what's the point of having Charms if I never use 'um?]
------------------------------
OOC: Am I actually near anyone else at this point? Saffron, the refugees, and I are all apparently the same general distance in yards away from the center of the battle, but I dunno if that means we're physically close to one another.

Turtle blinks slowly in surprise as he feels a heavy impact on his back, craning his neck around in time to receive a much more serious kick to the side of his head from the Earth master.  Giving him a reproachful gaze as a heavy weight seems to fall on his form, Turtle addresses the monk in a slow, sad tone, "Please... don't do that.  It's actually, quite uncomfortable."

An arrow flashes past Turtle's head, interrupting his complaint, the senior Wood monk's desperate shot at Third's fleeing form outpacing his students' less inspired attempts.  Turtle cranes his long flexible neck further around to peer over his shoulder, noting that not only are a number of shafts already loosed, the archers appear to be well within range of another volley or two.  The tortoise-man begins weaving erratically as he flees, trying to keep the Water and Earth monks between himself and the archers, forcing them to fire directly past their allies to have any real chance of hitting him.  At the same time, he slows his lightning-quick pace a bit, letting the refugees pass him and hopefully presenting a more promising target to the monks than the softer Exalts within the group.

Turning his attention back forward, Turtle looks down at Nanaret, the deep rumble of his voice respectful as he speaks, "Highness... keep your head down, please.  Arrows, incoming."

---

OOC:  Due to the Full Moon anima effect, Turtle's all-out dash would outpace the human refuges and probably most of the other PCs.  He'll still dash to keep up with the group, but he keeps his speed down enough that he remains near the back of the crowd.

Seeing that most of the people have now cleared the vicinity of the attackers, Higura finally picks up speed, breaking into a full retreating run. Now that most of the retreat has been cleared of the bigger part of pursuit, he can afford to also move out... And hopefully manage to clear out the hostile zone as well.

He holds no delusions that he will manage to break away without getting some hits - after all that was the plan. He keeps his sword gripped tightly in his hand, ready to parry attacks if need be - or take the fall to cover the others' retreat if it came to that. This is the moment he had pushed for for years, a full-blown escape by a number of imprisoned Celestials bent on breaking away form Five Coils' domination. If need be, he would give up his own life to see it succeed. After such a long time in enslavement, this is not such a heavy price to pay for the freedom of many.

Pushing the grim thoughts aside, the doctor keeps on rushing forward, pushing the limits of his weary body even further. He would not give his pursuit an easy prey, that is for certain.

Third is running hard, stance so far forward it looks as though it should not be able to balance the way that it does. It hears the twang of an arrow string behind it, turning, its body twisting as the arrow slides past it, mind moving at incredible speed as it's reflexes react just fast enough to save it from a painful arrow to the back. Third's robes slit open along its side as it avoids the arrow with careful grace, the arrow impacting with an audible crunch in the ground, leaving a small rip in the fabric as a memento of this battle. Third lands on its feet again, using the impact to sink into a crouch and springing forward again, redoubling it's efforts to run fast. It must reach there in time, it feels more surely than it can ever remember feeling anything. It needs freedom. The adrenaline hits its system, so unused to it, like a bolt of pure essence.

[Private to GM: There we go. Stunting, if that doesn't push me over, then I'll burn a mote or two on boosting my Dodge far enough. Tsk, though, we're fallin' behind!]

Nanaret/Ranavalona seems rather satisfied with Turtle's deference, less so with Higura's -- which she knows for a fact, from dealing with him now and then, is fake.

"You see, Oracle," and the wrathful voice of the Queen uses this word with obvious distaste. "This one knows how to show proper respect. He would shield my body with his own. You who read the stars sowed betrayal among my flock, and I will repay you in kind one day... perhaps with this very body..."

Her laughter starts up again, wild and mad over the wooden sound of Nanaret's forced mirth. It seems Ranavalona is too greedy to relinquish control after it was given so willingly! "Ahhh yes, I feel the stillness starting to recede! Now let me down," she demands of Turtle as he starts to pick up speed, "so I might fight as a true Queen ought!"
This message was last edited by the player at 03:59, Tue 09 Dec 2008.

Still caught in the middle of running, and having trouble forming sentences with his breath running short, Higura nonetheless watches towards the fleeing Grinning Turtle, and the defiant Queen he holds. "We have... went through this many a time... Highness. You cannot... choose to repay me... with something you do not own."

The actual stirring and words of the Queen worry him, however, although his body is growing weary from the run, he still musters one last effort to give some words to Grinning Turtle.

"Sir... You might want to... reconsider her request. The Queen, when awakened... Does not distinguish between friend and foe..." He pauses, his breath too short for him to speak for a moment. "Perhaps it would be... advisable... for her to rest a little longer... Even if that is something she would protest."

One arrow nicks Higura on the back of the shoulder (2L damage), but the other projectiles never reach their marks, dodged or crushed or simply disregarded. Third keeps up his breakneck pace, turning out of sight of the archers entirely.

Saffron is assumed to be one of the refugees, since she has kept such a subdued role in the escape, and is thus not seen as a priority. But Higura, Tycho and Turtle remain viable targets. Though hindered by the mass of bodies in their way, the Wood monks let fly another volley of arrows toward the fleeing Celestials, focusing every ounce of their determination on the slim chance they have left to stop them. [Private to Yaishin Higura: 5 and 7 sux, you're at 6 DV (+2 cover bonus).] [Private to Alus Tycho: 5 and 3 sux, you're at 4 DV (+2 cover bonus), or 6 (+4 bonus if you're also using your shield to cover your back).] [Private to Grinning Turtle: You got 5, 9 and 7 sux at 4 DV (+2 cover bonus). Senior wood monk flurried, so his second attack is 6 sux vs 3 DV. ALL ping, of course. This time I'll leave you an option to stunt defense or at least use WP, since otherwise all 4 will hit.]

Down the next adjacent street is the building that Third is looking for -- the Lower Residential Hall. Its solid bulk stretches all the way from floor to ceiling, built of a sturdy black jade-veined marble that gives it an ominous look coupled with the red glare of the alarm lights illuminating the floor. The double doors leading inside the building are firmly shut, which Third can only imagine will be a problem when it finally reaches them. There is, however, a control panel at the side of the door that it may be able to interface with, IF it works quickly. [Private to Third Beneficiary of Orderly Knowledge: Int or Wits+Lore to attempt to bypass whatever key or ID requirements the panel needs. Your specialty counts of course, as do stunts! If you fail here, Turtle and Tycho will be strong enough to break the door open themselves, but that would also allow the monks to catch up!]

Meanwhile the footsteps of the Earth master and four Water monks continue to pursue the group relentlessly. It's quite apparent they hope to corner the group at the base of the building.

---

OOC: At tick 31, Third reaches the building (goal: 300 yards). Also, all but Saffron/Nanaret got +2 stunt which increases running speed accordingly. Regain motes or WP as needed.

At tick 36...
Higura: 291 yards (11/tick)
Refugees/Saffron: 241 yards (9/tick)
Third: finishes with panel
Turtle/Nanaret: 241 yards (if keeping back with refugees), reaches goal (if runs ahead of them). I'll calculate Nanaret if Turtle decides to drop her.
Tycho: 266 yards (10/tick)

Earth master is at 212 yards (9/tick)
Senior water monk is at 240 yards (10/tick)
Junior water monks are at 203 yards (8/tick)
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:39, Tue 09 Dec 2008.

The acidic-yellow fluids leaking from the cracks in Tycho's body the dragon's claws left was already staunching itself despite the aggravation he causes by pushing his body onward. An arrow thumps harmlessly into a hollow under one armored shoulder and a third bounces off the surface of his shield as he sweeps the heavy plate across his back to snap the first arrow away. Those archers are starting to annoy him, though he doesn’t have time to stop and deal with them directly. Not to mention that there was still one of the unknown rebels who had managed to fall behind him who was going to make a much softer place for them to put their arrows once they realized he was there. [Private to Gatekeeper: Using his shield to cover himself!]

Up ahead, Tycho spies an old friend jutting out from the wall of one of the buildings lining the street. A set of dripping crooked L-shaped pipes stick out of the wall and dive into the ground. Droplets of water and puffs of steams oozed out of too-loose L-joints. Steam pipes were supposed to be for channeling hot water and raw steam into factory and residential buildings for civilians to wash clothing or clean specialized parts. Old misfits like Tycho though know other uses for them.

Letting out a distorted growl of effort, Tycho swings his shield with enough power to briefly drag his own body off the ground. The edge of his shield slams into the pipe as he dashes past, ripping into the rusty and already loosened joints. A single crack should spill out a blast of steam thick enough to flood most of the street. If the crowd isn’t enough to dissuade the archers from their chase, hopefully that will be. Hesitating a moment past the pipes, Tycho waits for Higaru to catch up and takes over the rear guard from the clearly flagging mortal.

"Whoever you lot are, I hope you have a better plan than just running and hoping the Terrestrials get bored and go home," Tycho says as he ushers Higaru in behind his shield, doing his best to keep the other man covered. Up close, Tycho’s voice echoes against the plate of his chest, as if his mouth were located somewhere far lower than his face. "Because in another fifteen minutes, we’ll all be swimming for our lives instead of running for them. And I am not looking forward to that. I tend to sink."

-----------------------------------------
OOC: Trying to give us a little more cover from the archers and also waiting to take over rear-guard from the squishy-squishy Sideral. Not that Higaru probably needs Tycho to wait, since he doubtless moves faster even without Ty stopping to beat up the scenery.

   Saffron runs continously urging the refugees on. As her fellow escapees begin to take damage in her radius, she begins calculating the amount of work that will be required of her once they can rest. When the mechanic being starts in on the pipe, she silently thanks him for his creativity.

[Private to Gatekeeper: I hope I am not being too distracting. I figure since I have been background, of my own chosing, during this scene I'll lie low until a break in the action and then I will make a more vocal and helpful character.]

While the first arrow directed at him misses its target - narrowly, but one could not afford to be picky in this sort of situation - the second shot is barely on target, forcing the fleeing doctor to have to react. Twisting his waist while continuing to flee, he quickly catches glimpse of the incoming threat, and immediately assesses its position. Without hesitation, he switches the hand holding his sheathed sword, and in a flash, the blade is freed from its scabbard...

A flash of deep green, almost the consistency of blood, splatters like heavy ink as he aims the slash towards the incoming arrow, just behind the razor-tipped arrowhead. In a swift, clean strike, he severs the shaft at an angle, causing the rest of the now-imbalanced arrow to spin out of control, disrupting its angle of attack. [Private to Gatekeeper: Impeding the flow on the one arrow that would hit him.]

Thankful for the respite Tycho grants him, Higura takes a short breath, then turns back towards the man - without stopping his retreat, of course. "The thought occured, yes." He begins, quickly switching his grip on his weapon before continuing.

"A way up has been spotted, I believe. Our priority is to get the refugees to the upper floors, where they will at least escape the coming deluge..." He pauses, then nods sharply towards the man. "Thank you kindly for your help, by the way. I truly appreciate it."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:56, Wed 10 Dec 2008.

Third sees the control panel. It runs to the panel, and it's eyes close as it breathes in, fingers landing on the panel. It taps out a staccato sequence on the panel, not even thinking as it's body moves by reflex, summoning the knowledge up effortlessly to open the panel. The monks will have a very, very unpleasant surprise when they try to the corner the group of refugees. Third turns to the others as it finishes typing in the sequence, waving them over and moving through the entrance once it opens.

[Private to GM: You rolled 7 successes using 12d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 ((6,10,7,1,3,9,4,5,10,2,4,7)). Not too damn bad. Anyway, think I might get a running total on the Essence regained from Stunts and such, in case we have one more big fight before we finish?]

Turtle blinks down at his charge again, taking a few moments to process both ends of the conversation between his fellow Lunar and the unknown swordsman, as well as comparing the attitude and language of the individual he met earlier, however briefly, with the bizarre ravings of Queen Ranavalona.  Finishing this careful contemplation, when he replies to the Queen's order, his normally slow speech is even more labored with pauses than usual, coming between puffing breaths of his own, "I apologize, Highness, but I fear... my hearing is not quite... what it was in my youth.  Could you possibly, be so kind... as to repeat... your command?"

Though highly distressed by the necessity of lying to the other Lunar, it was true enough that Grinning Turtle's ears were unfortunately stressed at the moment.  Unable to to both direct his retreat without trampling the human refugees and keep his full attention to the incoming arrows of the Wood monks, he is forced to evade the arrows mostly by the whistling sound of their flight.  At the same time, he is unwilling to dodge the bolts fully, since that could well result in them falling into the mass of human refugees, none of whom could take the attack with the same fortitude as a Lunar warrior.  As a compromise, the turtle-creature adjusts his speed and heading to block them with the stout turtle shell that line his back, rather than letting them sink into the more delicate regions around his neck and head.

[Private to Gatekeeper: Channeling Compassion into his DV, which increases the calculating pool by 3 and the final DV by 2.  Also stunting.  Still keeping to the rear of the group, which I'll probably regret 10 ticks down the road or so.

Oh, and since we've spent 20ish ticks running, as I understand it the gift application of Halting the Scarlet Flow have healed up the wounds Turtle's taken so far.]
This message was last edited by the player at 08:39, Wed 10 Dec 2008.

Fortunately, the Wood archers are too hindered by the crowd from aiming their bows past the main street. However, the four Water monks continue on unhindered, until the blast of steam that billows from the pipe Tycho just shattered wafts in their paths, hindering their advance enough for the mortals among them to increase their lead slightly. But the Earth master is completely unaffected by any and all distractions, keeping up a steady, resolute pace as he passes the junior monks coughing in the smoke. "Do not falter!" he shouts.

Tycho finds that the man he pinpointed as a mortal is actually much faster on his feet than he might have expected. Higura is already moving far ahead of the mortals, within a split second's reach of the door Third is now working on. The half-machine meanwhile drops his advance slightly, pulling even with Turtle (carrying a now un-paralyzed Nanaret) and the mortals with Saffron.

Third's fingers move swiftly and confidently, drawing from its memories of an endless array of schematics that it has read and memorized. The panel is no hindrance for it, and it is certain it has entered the sequence correctly. But the door still refuses to open for Third. What it understands is that the security measures on the lock require the touch of a living, conscious Dragon-blooded with the proper permissions to open it. [Private to Third Beneficiary of Orderly Knowledge: More or less, this means you or the others need to clinch and capture a Dragon. It's also possible you can attempt the same roll as last time to attempt to bypass this security as well. But it will take another 5 ticks and the difficulty will be high.]

The bulk of the group taking up the rear notices the senior Water monk ten yards behind them and closing swiftly. "You'll not escape us so easily!"

---

OOC: tick 36 - recalculated for the steam trick and other considerations

Higura: 291 yards (11/tick)
Mortals + all other PCs except Third, who's at the door: 241 yards (9/tick)
Earth master: 212 yards (9/tick)
Senior water monk: 230 yards (10/tick)
Junior water monks: 183 yards (8/tick)

[Private to Third Beneficiary of Orderly Knowledge: Stunts as far as I can read and recall are two +1s and two +2s.]
[Private to Grinning Turtle: Yes, you've healed entirely.]

" Third will attempt to bypass the door's lock. If Third's attempt fails, then you must either capture one of the Dragon-Blooded to authorize the lock, or one of the stronger ones must destroy the door." Third's voice comes automatically as it begins typing at a blistering pace, and the androgynous Twilight's caste mark flares into brightness as it begins to send channeled bursts of essence through the computer system, little golden starbursts appearing at its fingertips as it types, overwhelming the biometric system with the Sun's energy. The computer is very well made, but Third is very determined, very skilled, and desperate.

[Private to GM: You rolled 9 successes using 17d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 ((1,7,4,9,4,7,10,4,1,7,9,9,2,5,4,5,8)). Looks like a good shot at succeeding, I hope. Spending five motes of Peripheral Essence to use my First Lore Excellency. Spent one +2 Stunt on a point of Willpower, and the rest on restoring my personal Essence, so I'm a little less empty now. ^_~]

"I said unhand me, oaf!" Ranavalona, still in control of Nanaret's body, starts to struggle to be free of Turtle's powerful grasp. She twists back and forth, mostly ineffectually, getting a glimpse at the Immaculates coming up from behind. "My enemies are close behind me... my blades thirst to taste of them!"

[Private to Grinning Turtle: Nana's not normally so mean, but Ranavalona took over for the whole scene, heh. :) Anyway, she got 3 successes to potentially break the clinch. If I understand rules right you should be able to reflexively roll to control clinch without losing speed.]

The turtle-man blinks down at Nanaret again, apparently considering the words even as it tightens its grip on the obviously deranged Lunar, "Hmm.  Of course, highness, as you so wish.  However, perhaps, you might wish to allow, for me to carry you, just for a few moments more?  We've nearly reached, our destination, I believe..."  Despite the smaller figure's attempts, Turtle appears to have no difficulty in keeping her from breaking away, more worried that he might inadvertently hurt her with his massive silvered claws than that she might possibly escape his powerful grasp.

[Private to Saina Nanaret:  Yeah, I figured that this wasn't normal behavior since she was civil enough before the fighting started, plus apparently rational through most of the Floor 30 archive.  So why's she got to get so difficult on my shift, huh? ;)

I think you're right on the clinch thing, since it isn't an action he's starting, just one he's reflexively reacting to.  I guess it's fortunate all around that Rana's making the first attempt 6-7 ticks from the door, not 25.  6 successes, beating your 3.]

Third masters the security system with speed and ingenuity, overriding it with golden essence that has not flowed through its circuitry in what could very well be ages.

The Old Realm letters scrolling by on the small jade display screen start to flicker from their customary blue-green to a warm gold. A pleasant, rather androgynous voice issues from the panel, penetrating through to Third's mind as if telepathically communicated. "A-101013, Third Beneficiary of Orderly Knowledge. Your access of this terminal has been noted." There is a series of whirring clicks as the mechanisms locking the doors unlatch, then slide open smoothly.

Then the voice switches to audible frequency, announcing, "Orichalcum Alert, Emergency Shutdown. The doors will close in 12 seconds." Possibly a trigger from higher up in the AI hierarchy? In any case, it gives a small window in which Third and its companions may escape -- and if they're lucky, shut the Immaculates out for a time.

Closing yard by yard, the Water Immaculate uses his momentum to throw himself forward, right into the midst of the most injured and weary refugees taking the rear. Claws extended, he strikes at two of the mortals simultaneously, his dragon claws tearing through their backs. They hardly have time to scream, their lives cut short as he discards their bodies with no more consideration than he would have for meat.

He is now in the midst of the mortals and seems determined to slice his way right through them, goading the Celestials into fighting rather than running.

---

OOC: By tick 41, Higura and Third are at the door and able to get through. The others are at 286 yards (9/tick, so 2 seconds to get there, though it will take a few more to fit *all* the refugees through). The senior monk at 280 yards jumped to make his attack. Earth master is at 257 yards (9/tick), junior water monks at 223 yards (8/tick).

If you'll escape rather than stop to defend the mortals at the rear, and have Compassion 3+, you'll have to either fail a Compassion check or spend a WP to resist. [Private to Saffron: Your Limit condition was triggered. I rolled for you, and fortunately you got no Limit points from it, it was a 0 sux roll. :)]

"Don't thank me yet," Tycho says quietly to Higaru's back as the other man bounds ahead with surprising speed. The corners of the Solar's eyes wrinkle with a smile that cannot be seen. "I'm still not sure I wouldn't have been better off helping the Terrestrials clobber you and then just leaving up the stairs."

As he trails behind most of the group, Tycho can see over the mortal's heads as the monk comes bounding towards the heart of the crowd. Tycho's arm snaps forward suddenly and the shield vanishes from his hands. Mortals before him stumble and trip as something cuts a swath through them, a wave of sparks igniting the ground and the squeal of metal scraping across the ears. The Terrestrial's shadow falls over Tycho's shield as he completes his leap and dispatches the two mortals. Propelling onwards as the monk's weight settles onto it, it yanks the Terrestrial's legs violently in the opposite direction to pitch him forward towards the ground!

"Go! GO!" Tycho shouts at the others, physically pushing some of the mortals onward and yanking several his stunt had knocked over back to their feet as he passes, not concerning himself to see if they stay that way. "Damn it, run you morons! A moving target is a live one!"

----------------------------------------
OOC: Bit risky, but Captain Robocop is throwing his mighty shield here to try to off-balance/trip the monk before he can do more damage or slow them down worse. Not having any particular vested interest in THIS group of mortals more than any other at the moment, he's not too concern about bruising/losing a few to get the others moving. Needs of the Many and all that, he's channeling Conviction, if he can.

Third looks up as the door opens, and steps through, looking back. It sees the monk jumping into the fray. It breathes in deeply. "MAKE FOR THE DOOR! IF YOU STAY, YOU WILL BE TRAPPED!" There is no time to feel compassion for a few mortals when inadequate haste will mean the death of orders of magnitude more. At the very least, either Tycho or Turtle will need to make it to the door- it will be much easier to hold the doors open than to pull them open.

Third knows that the man at the door may be trouble. He has struck the Solar as a man prone to individual connections. It speaks through the door to him. " Remember your duty. All here may perish, Third, you, and the others included, if you hesitate now to fight a meaningless battle with an overwhelming opponent." It moves to check for another control panel, to see if it can override the emergency shutdown- doubtful- or speed it up, to lock out as many of the monks as possible. It will try to let through as many of the refugees as possible- Isolated, facing a group of angered Celestial Exalted, even the Earth Master alone will likely not survive long.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:15, Sat 13 Dec 2008.

The former Peace Officer's shield skids across the ground, unbalancing refugees in its path. When it reaches the Water monk, he lands heavily upon it... and manages to keep his balance. Nonetheless, the shield carries him back several yards, and the mortals rushing for the doors start sweeping inside, blocking him from a direct path inside the residential building.

But the Water monk cannot be easily dissuaded. He stomps hard and viciously on the shield to halt its backward progress, takes two running steps and leaps forward again, intent on making up the lost distance in the crucial seconds remaining. His target -- Tycho, now bereft of cover from shield or mortal bodies. The Immaculate's claws latch firmly onto Tycho's chest plates as the man grasps him in a crushing embrace from behind, pinning his arms around him. [Private to Alus Tycho: 9 sux on a clinch, ew. You have 2 DV (-1 from action, -1 from wounds). So 7 sux in. Water monk's clinch damage is +3B = 10 dice, your soak is 13B, so you get pinged.] (1B damage, clinched!)

The remaining mortals, ushered through the door by the demanding shouts of Tycho and the threat of attacks from behind, are more than ready to heed Third's warning. Third, meanwhile, works with one of the interior panels. The AI does not respond to its commands to override, but from the interior panel it easily discovers the command to close the doors immediately from the inside, before the count completes.

At this point over half of the refugees have surged through the doors. The artificial voice, unfeeling and uncaring of the desperation of the escapees, counts down the seconds remaining: "10... 9... 8..."

---

OOC: At this rate the earliest Third can shut the doors is at 5 seconds. Tycho, since he acted and moved at the same time, has *just* reached the doors at tick 46 / 7 seconds until the door closes. Everyone else reaches it at tick 43 / 10 seconds. Turtle and Higura can take ONE action before the door shuts, Tycho gets to roll opposed clinch to get free at the last moment [Private to Alus Tycho: Strength+MA].

The Water monk also has one more action. It's unlikely the other monks will make it at this point, and would be significantly delayed by breaking the doors / bypassing the lockdown.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:41, Sat 13 Dec 2008.

Tycho's words had met with a soft smile - a sad recognition that the peace officer's words might have been true. At this point, his survival would have been better assured had he chosen to stay sided with the Dragons and decided to fight the escapees. But the truth of the matter is that this flight is not truly about survival, but about freedom.

And now that the peace officer has helped him, the doctor sees his window to actually repay the favor. Once the Immaculate latches onto Tycho's chest plates, Higura quickly moves to the side, seeking to flank the attacking Dragon-blooded. His own actions have now made him a stationary target, and so, as the countdown continues to wind down implacably, Higura makes his move.

One flick of his wrist, and his sword is freed form its scabbard once more, the blade trailing what appears to be deep green leaves as the sharps silver edge aims for the clinging monk's arm...

[Private to Gatekeeper: Normal attack +2 on the clinging monk, hopefully helping out Tycho in the process...]

Unwilling to let Nanaret escape into the fray in her current state of mind, Turtle still attempts to aid the metallic man as well as he can.  Rather than immediately follow the herd of refugees, Turtle bites at the monk's head and shoulders with his massive silver plated beak, then slashes out at the man's torso with the razor sharp claws at the end of his short but powerful legs.

---

[Private to Gatekeeper:  Splitting action three ways, first a bite, then two kicks, all aimed at the water monk.

If a Clinch is necessary to keep Nanaret from going back and fighting, replace the second kick and spend 6 motes on the 2nd Strength Excellency to make sure she doesn't kill herself.  After that, through the gate.]

Higura's blade strikes the Water monk's lamellar, more distracting him than causing any damage. The senior Immaculate smirks at the Sidereal boldly, keeping firm hold of the metal-plated man with skill more than strength. He twists his leg around Tycho's in a grapple move aimed to bring him down to his knees, giving time for the even larger form of Turtle to approach from behind.

The results would have been devastating for any mortal, and many Dragon-bloods. Turtle's beak chomps down firmly between his shoulder and neck, biting right through the joints of his armor as if they made of paper. Almost instantly, the monk's anima flares an aqueous blue-green, displacing the force of Turtle's jaws so that the Lunar seems to pierce fluid water, rather than sinew and bone. His kick meets similar resistance, but Turtle still feels his silver claws pierce armor and bite into the soft flesh beneath.

"Cursed mutant...!!" the Immaculate growls, unwilling to relinquish his hold on Tycho to face the even greater threat. Water Essence ebbs and flows from his contorted body as he divides his attentions between immobilizing his opponent and shielding himself from outside harm.

Left with a slim window of opportunity for escape, Turtle manages to keep a firm hold on his fellow Lunar, all but hauling her through the door!

---

OOC: The damage is actually less than I rolled, I'd forgotten Water monk could augment his soak... still, it's more than enough to have startled him from focusing all his efforts on Tycho. [Private to Grinning Turtle: And yeah, you had to keep an action for the clinch, good thinking. I'll give you a +1 stunt just for thinking of it, to get a little bit of motes back.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:33, Sun 14 Dec 2008.

Aid from the others is unexpected, but entirely welcome as Higaru and Turtle lay into the monk from behind. They draw him off, freeing the Solar’s chest plate from the dragon’s grasp, though cannot coax him into releasing his hold on the machine-man’s leg. Tycho can detach his limb and is almost tempted to just to make this quick, but he knows that there are no more sorcerer-engineers waiting at the end of a tussle to attach a new one. He would feel damn silly hopping all the way out of this fascist prison.

Instead, Tycho’s leg goes limp, tumbling down in sections barely held together by straining threads of essence and colored tubing. It slithers off the monks like a spring wound too loose as the metal-man’s body caves in on one side. Mortal palm to metal fist, he wields his arm as a hammer in a sharp downward motion. The round sparking joint between bicep and forearm rams into the monk’s knee cap, supporting the whole weight of his body down upon the cartilage. Before pain might even truly set in, Tycho’s leg snaps back together with a rattle like a shaken saber. He rises up back to his feet, twisting himself and the monk around away from the door, his arm extending upwards above him! Thick mechanical fingers clutch the monks throat under his jaw, squeezing into vein’s and arteries as he shoves not as much outwards as upwards, ripping the monk off his feet to hurl him away.

"If you want these people dead Immaculate," Tycho offers in a sort of benediction as he steps back into the open door. "At least have the balls to stain your hands with their blood. After all, you’ve already put enough of it on mine."[Private to Gatekeeper: Spending Willpower on this one. I think I need all the successes I can get.]

[Private to Alus Tycho: Ahhh, the dice gods are not merciful. But I wielded my limited-time ST REROLL power! Because I hate when I give +3 to a stunt and see it fall flat. D:]

The monk's response as Tycho elbows his kneecap is little more than a sharp intake of breath. But his knee does buckle at the sheer force mustered against it, giving the ex-Officer enough of an advantage to escape. Grasped painfully by the throat, the Immaculate is hurled toward his fellows as the last of the refugees stream through the door.

Tycho joins them, as does Higura, both of them stepping in close behind Turtle as Third punches in the sequence to force the shutdown. The double doors slide shut with a swift, final snickt.

"Arkaan, Nafir, take the next detour and inform the Peace Officers!" they can hear the Earth Master shouting from the outside. "The rest of you, join me at the door!" The Exalts and refugees have several seconds of blissful relief, taking in the dark interior of the unlit reception hall. Then comes unwelcome reality: a great force from the outside slams into the doors, an impact felt in the very foundation of the building, leaving a very visible dent in its wake.

The doors will hold them for a short time -- but it's imperative that the group start up the stairs in the lobby, or at the very least put more obstacles in their pursuers' way.

As for the countdown: Third can read from the displays that there are about 12 minutes remaining at the moment.

   The doors slamming shut and trapping those who she has chosen to protect is an not a easy thing for Saffron to hear. She controls herself by rechannelling the emotions she feels into saving those she can.

   While torn between reasoning with the Immaculate monks and running, she knows the way to save the maximum number of people will be to get them moving again.

   She speaks to the refugees more than the Exalts who she trusts know what needs to be done already. She'll heal those who ask but since her attention has been solely on saving as many mortals as possible, she hasn't taken in all of their injuries.

   "Catch your breathe quickly, then calmly but with haste make your way up the stairs. We know what is behind us and ahead is freedom." She adds grimly, "Of one form or another."

"Don't even bother to have them catch their breath," the mechanical-man says abruptly, turning his face from the door. Tycho begins to push through the crowd towards the more identifiable leaders, and Exalts, of the group. "I still don't know who any of you are. I don't know if you're only out to save yourselves or intend to try to halt the purge. But I intend to, with or without your help."

Tycho stops close to the others, the glow of his still-lit anima washing over them. As he speaks, he begins to manually look his body over, surveying the damage his magitech parts took during the tussle. He would need to find time and tools to get it fixed, at some point. Just not now. "Whatever your intentions, I owe you enough to give you some advice. Leave the mortals behind. At least until you can secure a route upwards. Security on the lower levels is a lot lighter than higher up. They'll be in less danger and won't slow you down if you leave them here for now."

Nanaret lets out a twisted peal of laughter as the walls tremble from the force shoving at the doors. "I could care less if we leave these poor fools behind," Ranavalona speaks through the possessed Lunar, glaring venomously at the gathered mortals. "Whether they die or not is of no concern to me!"

Then she turns her head pointedly from them and sinks her teeth into Turtle's tough hide. (It doesn't penetrate in the slightest, more a petulant sign of her displeasure.) She lets out an emphatic "hmph!" and disappears into a burst of iridescent silver, her body shrinking and shifting into her much smaller spirit shape.

When the Essence display clears, a rather unpleasant looking little monkey with large luminous yellow eyes, patchy grey fur, long fingers and a bushy lemur tail clings to Turtle's arm. The aye-aye scampers down from it, leaping off with a defiant shriek only to shapeshift once more in midair, expanding with another flare of silvery Essence back into the shape of the scowling blue-haired gladiatrix with monkey tail and ears.

"My host is a moron," Ranavalona spits, landing on her feet. "She summoned me for what--so we could run with our tails between our legs! Ha!" Then her gaze turns slyly on Tycho. "So there are greater enemies above? If they would stand in the way of the Queen of a Thousand Battles, then they must be eliminated!" Even wounded as she is, the Lunar starts to run laboriously toward the stairs, without a care for her companions... or safety.

(OOC: Duh, I just realized the *simple* way to get her free. Though, Nanaret will regain control anyway by the next scene... which hopefully will be soon... ^^;)
This message was last edited by the player at 02:18, Tue 16 Dec 2008.

   "These people have trusted the doctor and I with their safety, I will not betray them," Saffron says in response to the mechanical man. "Still, to stop the purge would alleviate the suffering of many and save my charges. So, tell me quickly what you intend to do and I will help you if it is within my power."

" Arguments are meaningless. The monks will come through that door. None of these refugees would provide an adequate source of obstacles to them, to slow them down meaningfully. It will not substantially slow us to bring them along. They should follow. Freedom is deserved by all held prisoner in this place." Third speaks, voice cutting through the chatter. " Now move. There is barely a third of the countdown left" It starts up the stairs, already going through it's mind, scanning for any memories of what will await them on the next floor, and the fastest way to reach their final destination.

The refugees glance with alarm from Saffron to Tycho, uncertain how to proceed. One thing is for certain -- they do not look willing to remain in the Immaculates' way. The ones still on their feet back away from the doors that are slowly but surely caving in, but several of them have collapsed from sheer exhaustion. "Can't... go on..." some of them mumble, while others merely groan in pain, looking pallid as their bandages well with fresh blood.

"Can you really stop the purge?" says an older, bearded man holding a spear, clad in a ragged tunic and dark trousers. He is the one Higura addressed at the start of their flight, their de facto leader... for the moment, anyway. "I think the... machine is right. Some of us will hold you back, without power like yours."

"I want to trust you. But I will not decide for everyone. Those who can move, accompany the Ana --" he coughs, changing the word at the last moment "-- Chosen. Those who will help the wounded stay here." Though the man steels himself courageously, the look in his eyes is a bleak one. Still, he forces a smile. "I am Drachma." Then, by way of explanation, "They want you, not us."

Amazingly, Drachma is not the only one who stays. A few more do, nodding quietly and resolutely as they start to move the wounded away from the doors. Seized by fear or survival instinct, the remaining refugees surge toward the stairs behind Third and Nanaret.

---

OOC: For those who are moving up, I'll start "Floor B27 - District of Water, Administrative." The rest of you, post whether you'll follow or wait.

"Unless..." Tycho begins to answer Third, but as the mysterious... creature drifts away, he instead turns to those who remain. "Unless those monks desire to die with the other people in this district, they will not have long to attempt to break through that doorway. Their intention is to purge all life from these floors of the Coil and I doubt they would go to all the trouble of pacifying the population if they intended to kill them one by one..."

The machine-man looks around the area a moment, then motions to Turtle, who at least looks like the strongest of those still on this floor. "You. Help me barricade the doorway. And quickly, we don't have time to waste."

Even as he says this, Tycho begins to shove whatever happens to be handy in front of the portal. He goes even so far as to rip out fixtures and sections of wall to pile in front of the door. It ate up precious time - time they perhaps did not have to waste - but it served more purpose than simply keeping this group of mortals safe. If the monks did break through the doorway, then they could just as easily blindside Tycho and anyone else at a crucial moment. Keeping the Immaculates from taking the same path they were would at least ensure they would not be followed.

   Saffron patient and calm as always smiles grimly at those willing to stay behind, "Drachma, it is nice to put a name to a face even in this time of trouble. You and those willing to stay behind are brave and it pains me to question your decision. But perhaps, you could help me take the injured a little further?

   "I do not have the strength to carry them all but I cannot leave you and the injured to a certain death. Perhaps, a little further will find a safer place for the injured until a solution to stop the purge can be found." If possible, Saffron looks smaller and more fragile than normal as she moves to check the injured: tightening bandages, offering kind words, and checking conditions as hastily as she can.

[Private to Gatekeeper: Not sure if this is appropriate here, if it is not let me know and I will conform in the future. Saffron is attempting to use her oration skills to turn Drachma's decision more to her liking. She would never tell someone out and out they were wrong. If he won't go, then she'll stay behind and use some of her defensive charms to protect the refugees. ]

Turtle lumbers over to help Tycho barricade the doors. They are both more than strong enough to heft reception desks, shelves and filing cabinets, and chunks of wall to 'cushion' the door. The pounding from the other side, and the voices of the monks becomes increasingly muffled.

If they wanted to risk it they could even try to topple the pillars holding up the ceiling near the doors. But that would be better risked after the others evacuate -- if they will evacuate.

Saffron seems to be particularly persuasive, though. She exudes benevolence and genuine care, and Drachma raises a hand to halt his fellows for a moment, listening to her speak. "You are kind, healer, and we are most appreciative of your skills. If you wish us to accompany you we will try." He starts to direct the stronger men and women who have remained with him to carry the wounded and continue. They will be weighed down, weary as they are, but the barricade looks like it is holding, for now.

"T-minus ten minutes until purging commences," the voice of Five Coils broadcasts, reminding Exalts and refugees that they must make haste.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:39, Thu 18 Dec 2008.

Though the turtle-man gives a somewhat sad glance at the retreating forms of Third and Nanaret, he is quick to comply with the metallic man's request to help barricade the doors.  As he does so, the lumbering creature also carefully examines the various marble pillars holding up the ceiling, looking for signs of structural weakness that might be exploited to collapse the entranece.  He seems quite satisfied with what he sees, nodding happily as he rejoins the Exalts and refugees remaining, "Hmm.  Yes.  I agree, with the young woman.  I will not, leave them to their deaths.  And for following us, this far, I feel that the monks, would kill them."

Nodding as he glances at the pillars, Turtle continues after a moment, feeling relatively certain he can shift them easily enough, "If metallic friend, young lady, and swordsman, help move the wounded, a bit further, I, hmm, will try to collapse this passage, and catch up to you.  I do not think, hmm, that the monks would have, the time to dig it out."

[Private to Gatekeeper: About what sort of Strength of Feat would collapsing the room be?  I'm fairly certain Turtle can make it regardless, as I think he can get up to an effective Str+Athletics of 19, through both the Full Moon anima which is already active and the Strength Excellency.  However, as Turtle might be familiar enough with the material to do it with the least effort necessary I'd rather not waste motes if it can be avoided.]

   Saffron breathes a little easier when Drachma and the others agree to continue to follow her. She assists with the injured as she cannot ask other to do what she is unwilling to and makes quickly for the stairs.

Having bee silent for a moment, it seems Higura had taken the moment after the doors closed to catch his breath and organize his thoughts. The moment in silence was not spent in idleness, however, as he spent his time listening to the words exchanged, trying to form an idea as to what to do next.

At Turtle's prompting, he nods sharply and proceeds to help, once again trying to encourage the refugees with the prospect of soon not having to run anymore. Of course, that is not a promise he can make lightly - he would not tolerate to disappoint them with false hopes, even for the sake of helping them save their own lives.

And so, as he helps some of the most discouraged refugees to find a bit more hope, he turns towards Tycho, lifting his head to peer into the mechanical man's eyes.

"A moment ago, you claimed you had the intention to halt the purge altogether. May I ask - do you know how to do so? Would you happen to have some knowledge of the functioning and location of the mechanism they will use to purge out all life from this district? And if so... Do you have an idea of how we can stop it?"

He pauses, looking up the stairs for a moment with a thoughtful expression. Inwardly, he cannot help but worry about Nanaret, who was still under the Queen's control the last he saw of her. Quickly, he shakes his head, turning back to the mechanical man. For now, he would have to concentrate on the immediate situation.

"If that is indeed you plan... Then I will help you."

The remaining refugees move upstairs with Saffron, some of them with great difficulty, but trusting in the woman that has already done so much to prolong their lives.

Soon, the only ones left below are Turtle, Tycho, and Higura. Tycho appears much too distracted by the task of blockading the door to give Higura an immediate reply. The doctor realizes it's for the best to simply head upstairs as Saffron has and discuss any further plans on the way.

---

OOC: Edited since I think Tycho is going to be away for some time. Turtle, you can assume in your next post that Tycho will assist you if you want.

[Private to Grinning Turtle: According to the chart it'd be 17 strength. With Tycho helping it's 16. You'll have to take care not to bury yourself, though, or weaken the upper floors, since there's still people inside the building just 2 floors up. Oh--another option I just read, if you're willing to spend the WP: you can spend one WP to roll Willpower and add the successes to your Str+Ath total.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:09, Sat 20 Dec 2008.

"Hmm.  Time presses, but haste, hmm, might be disastrous."  Examining the pillars closely, Turtle gives one of them an experimental tap, then a gentle shove.  Apparently pleased by what he feels, Turtle gives a satisfied nod, muttering to himself in his deep bass rumble, "Hmm.  Yes.  This will, do nicely.  No problem.  Load bearing, yes, but most of the, weight, hmm, on the walls themselves... shouldn't even cave in most of the room, just the area above, the doors..."

Moving back to the remaining Exalts, Turtle nods seriously, apparently having overheard the swordsman's question, "I do not know, what our metallic friend has in mind, but Third, the hasty one who went ahead with her highness, he knows where the controls are, on the 26th floor.  Friend Third, hmm, he is very smart, and knows much of Five Coils.  He opened the door, yes?  So he knows, what he speaks of."  Even as he speaks, Turtle gently ushers them further back, until they are standing at the base of the stairs themselves, the entryway only barely visible, "For now, sir swordsman, please make a bit of room, hmm, and metallic friend, please assist if you would...  Also, I'd recommend, being ready to move very quickly, at the worst.  I know what I'm doing, but, mistakes can be made, even by the best of us."

After indicating Tycho should apply pressure on the massive column however he feels comfortable, Turtle goes back to the pillar he selected earlier, gently wrapping his massive arms around it.  At first there is no indication he is even exerting himself, just standing there hugging the masonry.  However, after a few moments, a speck of dust falls from the ceiling, followed by a trickle, then a stream.  Dozens of tiny streams begin to fall faster and faster as the turtle-creature exerts not only his full weight and as his natural strength against the pillar, but his magic as well, the gentle white glow still surrounding him from the battle earlier growing stronger and stronger as he continues to push.

Suddenly, there is a sharp crack, followed by a second, then a third.  The third crack appears to have been some sort of signal Turtle has been waiting for - suddenly releasing the pillar, he becomes a blur of motion dashing full tilt back to the stairs, gesturing and giving a low hum to indicate Tycho should follow.  After a moment it becomes clear Grinning Turtle only formed a tiny split in the marble, but the fracture was carefully placed by an expert with years of experience working in stone.  The pillar no longer a single unified object, the slight diagonal slant of the flaw causes it to cracked and grew, as the two objects are gently worked at by both the inevitable power of gravity and the weight of the floors above.

Finally, the halves of the pillars fall away from one another, the lower remaining upright while the upper crashes to the ground in front of the massive double doors, adding to the weight already blocking them.  Even more quickly follows, however, as the ceiling immediately around the pillar begins to crumble and cave inward.  Turning to watch from the base of the stairway, Turtle holds his breath as the expanding ring of falling rubble reaches the remaining upright pillars - this was the moment of determination.  Hopefully, the remaining pillars would hold, stopping the ring of devastation from expanding any further.  However, there was also the slightest chance that they would be collapsed along with the ceiling, potentially bringing down a sizable chunk of Five Coils not only on the entryway, but much of the 29th level.

[Private to Gatekeeper:

Yeah, I'm not concerned with Turtle's safety on this stunt - unless he's killed instantly, he can recover from pretty much anything by taking a short breather.  However, since the whole idea is to save lives, not kill a hundred people a few floors up, if you think it necessary Turtle could make a quick Int+Craft check to determine a relatively safe way to collapse the ceiling, stressing Five Coils's structural integrity rather than his own personal safety if he can't ensure both.  If the roll is necessary, he spends 4 motes on the Second Intelligence Excellency for 2 automatic successes.

As suggested, I rolled willpower to get his total Strength + Athletics up to 16 - enough including Tycho's assistance.]

As Higura escapes above, Turtle and Tycho exert themselves on the pillars, destabilizing and toppling them. Escaping to the stairway, they take a split second to witness the collapse of the ceiling, blocking the front entryway more thoroughly than any of the combined furniture and fixtures stacked in front of the door.

The ceiling does not collapse past the second row of pillars, but it's only a small relief. Turtle can still feel the tremors going through the entire building and knows that it is not reliably stable. For now, it will hold, but more force exerted from below, or too much weight on the levels above, might lead to a more catastrophic cave-in later. He is pretty certain, though, that the damage would mostly be limited to within the residential building.

Knowing this, Turtle and Tycho have little reason to remain at the stairs. The seconds are ticking by, so they proceed swiftly to join their companions above.

---

OOC: Thread will close by tomorrow, but you two don't have to post again here, it's probably redundant at this point. Join the others in "Floor B27 - District of Water, Administrative." [Private to Grinning Turtle: I did roll the Int+Craft. Also gave you a +3 stunt, so you lose 4m but can gain some back with the stunt if you like.]

Don't forget you gain an additional +6m on top of stunts gained in this thread just for clearing the floor. :)
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:15, Sun 21 Dec 2008.