Ex Machina; Infiltration

[animusmods]

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.

Comments

[notachickenhawk]

The seal helped, and Tobias turned away from the whips a bit. His skin, tough as it was, was having trouble standing up to the constant assault.

<Thanks. It's more than I can do.>

He wanted to demorph, but other people needed help. And if something hit him in his normal form he'd probably die or at least be paralyzed.

[slightlyoblivious]

Yukiko hasn't been able to do much in this phase of the fight. She's mostly tapped out on her magic, but she's got one spell left in her.

She looks at the spikes, then looks around the room. That makes the choice pretty clear.

"One more time," she begins, closing her eyes for just a second.

Please, work.

With that thought, Yukiko's eyes pop back open. "Come forth, Konohana-Sakuya!," she cries, the phoenix-figure coming up behind her. "Nobody's dying on my watch."

It's the barricade all over again, but instead of attacking, Yukiko uses the last of her magic to cast one more Mediarahan - full healing, on the entire group.

Once the spell hits, she runs towards the retrieval unit. She doesn't entirely escape the whips, though, one of them tripping her up and making her cry out in pain with a strong shock.

It's okay. Nobody's going to die, not on my watch, she thinks, getting back up and stumbling the last few feet.

[midgarhorizon]

Oh, that's handy! With the screens less of a threat, Reno grabs one of the pieces of Enoch's armor, heading full tilt to the last panel. If he can just pry that last one off...

It's not quite so easy, as one of the whips tag him in the behind and zaps him. He cries out briefly, because that hurt, but he only falters a moment before gaining speed again. Lucky his main weapon is electrical... but that's going to leave a nasty mark in the morning.

Just as he reaches the panel, a spike slams out in front of him almost impaling him. Another zap that's going to leave a mark, and he's there, jamming the armor piece in between the panel and the wall and heaving as hard as he can.

[puppy_lancer]

"Reno!"

Lancer stops trying to deflect or lure away the whips and hurries to check on his brother.

"You okay?"

[animusnpcs]

The screens, still clustered around the final panel, intercept and bounce the piece of armor Reno has away with so much force it's possible Reno might be thrown back with the momentum.

[ninjainviolet]

And Sheena's going to take advantage of that cluster by releasing another Pyre Seal against the screens. Once again, they quickly multiply and surround the screen, exploding the second the circle is complete.

[animusnpcs]

The remaining screens go static and flicker out of existence, leaving the panel unguarded except by the wall, which is pistoning its spikes and tentacles about wildly now.

[keybearer]

It's now or never. With the spikes on the fritz and the panel unguarded, Riku coats his Keyblade in a layer of ice and rushes towards the panel. On the way, tentacle strikes him in the side, slowing him for a moment, but with one hard swing, he tries striking the plate. Will the ice or the brute force succeed?

[animusnpcs]

The panel freezes over in an instant, and then the force of Riku's swing shatters it. Shards of frozen metal fly everywhere, but the plugs and wires beneath are exposed.

[attheclocktower]

Xion's Limit Break ended and for a few minutes she stumbled, her momentum carrying her more than her legs felt like they were.

And then Yukiko's Mediarahan takes effect, and the pain in her side decreases significantly, enough for her to get her feet back under her. An electrical whip grazes her shoulder, but she's already moving again, hissing faintly at the numbness and pain in her shoulder.

The screens are gone. And even as she gets closer to try to cover the area around the panel itself, Riku freezes and destroys the panel.

Now. Now.

A hard, furious, victorious knot builds up beneath her chest as she picks up the wires. "We don't give up!" she yells wildly, knowing Riki must be able to hear them "We will never give up fighting for a future we can believe in!"

And with that, she pulls backwards with all her strength.

[animusnpcs]

The screen on the terminal above the panel goes blank an instant before the entire room goes dark. It's completely silent for a few long moments before the retrieval unit speaks up--"I'm done!"--and the lights turn back on.

The job has been completed.

[notachickenhawk]

Tobias lifts his trunk and trumpets victoriously before lumbering over near the wall and demorphing. He doesn't want to get stepped on.

<I vote we all take a nap after this.>

[imperialsun]

"Only if we take turns."

He was all for napping but after that he wouldn't want to sleep anywhere in the tower without at least two or three people watching. Idly, he wipes some of the blood that had gathered on the side of his mouth.

[megazero_to_superhero]

David had been too busy playing keep-away with the wire-whips and spiked sections of the room to focus too much on what's happening with the panel. Trying to stay one step ahead of all the obstacles as he does his best to distract Riki's defense systems takes up most of his attention. So much so, that once the lights suddenly turn off and everything goes silent, that—

SLAM

—he flew headlong into a wall in surprise.

As the lights come back on, David's off to the side of the main group, rubbing his head with a free hand and muttering for a moment—before he registers what the retrieval unit said, and what that means.

"—Dat got it?" David looks up and around at the rest of the room.

Yes. Yes it certainly did.

David pumps his arms into the air, still holding the Orcish sword in a hand as he shouts jubilantly. "Heck yeah!"

[midgarhorizon]

Reno did get thrown back after that last mad dash of his, far enough that he hit the floor hard and just laid there for a minute, stunned. Through the haze, at some point, he could hear Lancer ask if he was all right, at which he tried to wave a hand in a really delayed response.

...And then Xion yelling. Xion? Yeah, that was Xion yelling, sounding brave and strong and everything. Wait, did he just hear someone saying they were done?

The confusion clears and he sits up, and immediately groans. The pain in his arms... that ain't good. "Let's get the hell out of here, if we can."

[puppy_lancer]

Lancer laughs and claps Reno on the back when he realizes that his brother is still alive.

"We did it, Bro! Or should I say your kid did it? Doesn't look like there's gonna be much more coming after us here."

[warriorscribe]

"Agreed..." Enoch says quietly in response to Tobias. His armor had been restored by Yukiko's spell, but he'd been still unable to do anything to the panel, so he'd returned to the terminal with the retrieval unit, standing next to Lucifel and clapping him on the shoulder tiredly, finally managing a relieved smile. Neither of them had been able to manage any more than relatively small contributions - defeating the last of the shadows for him and saving Lancer's life for Lucifel - but it still felt like a victory they'd all earned just the same.

"Well done, everyone, especially our magicians."

There's just one last thing. With a parting pat to Lucifel's shoulder, he heads over to pick up the unconscious Naoya, gathering him carefully in his arms. If he was safe, that would be great. If he wasn't, well...it would be unfortunate, but there were prison cells to keep him in until they could find a way to nullify Riki's control.

[no_longer_a_king]

"Very well done, indeed," Arturia says, relaxing from where she stands beside the retrieval unit. However, she keeps an eye out just in case Riki has one last thing up his sleeve. She would not put it past him.

[evokingfool]

After his spell was reflected back at him, Minato merely jumped back and fought until it's over. Thank goodness for Parvati's immunity to ice...

He gives a small, grateful smile and dismissed the Persona. Most of the pain and injuries was healed by Yukiko's spells, leaving only just...simple exhaustion. Commanding his Personas and taking their damage did wear down on his mind.

Just like another operation.

"We all did it...thank you." For everything they did and now this mission is over. "...Napping one day away sounds pretty good at the moment."

He would go out for a week, but Minato knows the time limit is ever ticking.

[slightlyoblivious]

The minute she hears the words 'I'm done', Yukiko breathes a sigh of relief. She's wobbly on her feet, but still standing, and that's the most important thing. Naoya's still unconscious, but they can figure that part out back upstairs.

"Thank you, everyone," she says, the exhaustion clear in her voice. "Let's get out of here. That nap sounds fantastic."