towerofanimus | Ex Machina; Infiltration

Entry tags:

Ex Machina; Infiltration

Characters: Riki and the infiltration team
Setting: administrative levels
Format: any
Summary: Riki's efforts must be sabotaged. Stealth is the name of the game and time is of the essence.
Warnings: psychological horror

Though the chipped unit does not follow, he sees to it that the team advances the rest of the way. At the end of the lit corridor is a set of double doors, heavy-duty polished metal with small windows set into each one.

Through the windows, a massive machine is visible, connected to thousands of holographic screens that are hard to make out at the speed at which they're being manipulated. The machine sits in the center of the room and is networked to four elaborate terminals stationed along the walls via a complex tangle of panels, wires, and towers. Each of these terminals controls its own set of floating screens; the sheer amount of holographic monitors in the room is disorienting, and really, it's hard to tell what's connected to what.

In the chair in the middle of the enormous set-up is Riki, maneuvering all of the screens with the same ease with which most people breathe. His back is to the doors that lead into the room, and for the moment, he is utterly engrossed in his work.

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Lancer sits for a moment, stunned and gasping for breath. He was more surprised by the fact that he had been snatched from the jaws of death than the fact that he had almost died. He look around at everyone, mouthing a "thank you," though his voice still goes unheard.

When he hears Tobias' voice in his head again, he keeps one hand on Naoya's shoulder. He hates it, but he has to admit that he might have no option but to retreat besides everyone else.

...Of course, the fact that the light seems to be keeping the creatures away is good to know.

The creatures hiss and recoil as the light in the area increases. The vaguest outlines of the room can be seen now.

what was attacking he still isn't sure, and maybe it was still just a trick of the glamor. But either way, something had tried to attack and it seemed to be afraid of light. When Naoya turned and saw Yukiko preparing a spell, he decided to call forth his own as well.

A blueish energy formed in his hand, his mouth opening but no voice coming out, forcing his persona out with sheer force of will and mental energy. Above him stands Amon-Ra, the Egyptian god of the sun, and as it raises its staff, he casts Azure Cessation, causing a circle of fire around them as an additional protective barrier and to increase the light around them.

... Light, huh. She can do light.

The barrier around her little group flickers and fades into nothingness as Zelda takes a deep breath. She's not sure how much more of this she can do, but... it's not like they have much choice. One after the other, she summons little hovering balls of light like Willow taught her to do so long ago, like she's done in previous infiltration missions when the darkness has encroached too far. And one after another, she sends them out of Gandalf's range, letting them hover around the edges of the room, around corners, wherever a shadow might be cast.

The glittery creatures hiss and then shriek as the shadows they can hide in begin to disappear. The room is mostly dimly lit now, except for the dark pockets the creatures hide in.

So this is what it comes to, eh? Well, even with the others shedding light on the room, a little backup never hurt. Letting his mind fill with images of flickering flames, Riku lifts his Keyblade over his head. A ball of fire swells at the tip, transforming the giant key into a makeshift torch.

Enoch is watching all this, wishing he still had his Arch when he realizes wait, there is still something he can do! He runs towards the dark pockets where the creatures cower...and stops short and quickly dismisses and resummons his armor, causing a soft burst of light around his person.

The creatures screech and dissolve. The room's light returns to normal, and with it everyone's ability to hear things.

The retrieval unit speaks up: "I'm halfway done."

The moment the lights come back on is the moment Yukiko realizes she can't hold the spell for a lot longer. She wobbles on her feet, letting the fireball fizzle out before withdrawing her Persona.

"Thank you," she says to ~~Chip-chan~~ the retrieval unit before turning to the rest of the group. "Is everyone else okay?"

Reno moves to kneel by Naoya's side to check how he did during the black out, glancing over at Xion to make sure she was still all right.

When the unit speaks up, he says, "Yeah, if that was only half way... how long before Riki throws a new wave at us? He's not going to be satisfied. Don't let your guard down."

"I'm fine." Veronica, who had really done next to nothing in that entire confrontation, not that she would have been able to do anything regardless, nodded. She walked over to the main computer and the chipped unit.

"Only halfway? I can't imagine what's next."

Sheena had grown extremely angry at being tricked, and it had shown in the way she had fought. And now that the lights had come back on, she was able to marginally relax and put away the Demon Seal she had been about to set off.

Seeing the girl wobble, she hurries to her. "Are you all right?"

She looked up at the others. "Halfway? That's it?"

[ooc: Got the okay to join now since a power outage kept me off last night.]

Enoch runs back towards the group. He doesn't want to be separated when whatever Riki has in store for them next shows up.

"It seems he can't create anything flawless, at least. With all that glamour is capable of, everything he's attacked us with has had vulnerabilities."

Lancer winces at the sudden rush of sound. He shakes his head a few times to clear it before speaking.

"Awesome. Thanks!"

He looks down at his body to find that there's no blood.

"I'm fine too, here. How long do we have to wait for you to be completely done?"

He gets up and dusts himself off, taking a quick look at Naoya.

"Hey, bro. Is that guy alright? Besides the fact that he's taking a snooze?

"I sincerely hope the next wave does not require another magic counter," Zelda breathes, dispersing her own magic as well. She's a bit wobbly on her feet as well by now, so she'll let the others discuss the rest of the implications of only being halfway through.

About time. Those closest to Asch (Tobias, on his shoulder, and Zelda) will hear a long, quiet exhale of relief before he mutters a curse under his breath - something about Riki riding Akzeriuth all the way down to the core.

"That was... less unpleasant than expected." He frees his hand from Zelda's grip in order to wrap it hesitantly around her shoulders and help steady her.

Xion gives Reno a nervous nod, letting him know she was fine, though still a little shaky. Things seem to be returned to normal, for now, but given what happened last time...

"We should be ready to go as soon as you're done," she says, sounding a lot more confident than she feels, "Maybe... make sure the path is clear."

Because for all they know they may need to run, and the last thing they need is their escape route cut off.

She's felt useless for most of this. She's a soldier, dammit, but she also has no magic abilities at her disposal. What can she do? "If it comes to something that takes physical damage I still have five bullets. They're film only, but the projectile should still do damage.

If it's something immune to physical attacks again, however, I can only serve as a distraction."

"Mamzel Zelda. You have an army of sorts, here. There will be no backwards step until the time comes."

He looks stern, but then, he always does. The Angel of death, the grey angel, the witness to true history, here to see one last thing done, before the end.

And his green brother, standing shoulder to shoulder with him now, hefting a ghostly weapon at his side.

All the machines and lights snap to life at once. For now, there's just the sound of the various computers in the room turning on, and the lights are almost blindingly bright. Only the machine in the center and the terminal the retrieval unit is working at are unaffected.

"I'm hoping we don't get hit with something that needs magic to clear it out, too. I'm not sure how much more I've got in me," Yukiko says, nodding at Zelda.

She covers her eyes with one hand a moment later. "Looks like we've gone from one extreme to the other. Thanks for that, Riki, since I'm sure you're listening."

It's hard to see it under her hand, but she's rolling her eyes.

Xion yelps at the lights, slapping her free hand over her eyes. A little bit of time makes it a bit easier to bear, but only a bit, and it still hurts.

"Should we turn them off again?" she calls over towards the retrieval unit at the computer.

"Hey!" Sheena covers her eyes with a hand and turns away from the source above her. She had wanted to speak to the person who had said something about physical damage, but now she has no idea where they are for the moment.

So, she addresses the room at large.

"Hey, everyone! If you have a weapon that can't do elemental damage, but only physical, let me know! I have the ability to briefly add that sort of thing to any weapon!"

Before the lights go back to bright enough to take out a small city, Reno glances over at Lancer and nods. "Yeah, I think Naoya's all right. Stop bein' a fucking idiot and use your brain next time, I almost went in after ya. I don't want to tell Dee I lost you."

Rubbing a hand over his forehead, he takes a deep breath. "Yeah, someone should. I could go check out the escape route. Cu, can ya summon your spear again?"

Tobias flaps from Asch's shoulder and lets out a shriek. <Ow! No one has a dimmer switch? What gives?>

He flutters off of Asch and takes a lap around the room, checking to see if he spots anything weird.

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