Endgame: In This Last of Meeting Places

[animusmods]

Characters: Aria, Zo, open
Setting: floor 001 for now
Format: action brackets
Summary: Aria and Zo reappear quite suddenly.
Warnings: standard animus event warnings

Aria and Zo tumble out of the elevator more than they step out of it. They look worse for wear; Zo's covered in minor scrapes and bruises, and Aria'a left arm hangs at her side uselessly, bloody and mangled. As soon as they're on solid ground, Zo turns and forces the elevator doors shut without touching them, leaving the broken car lodged in place behind it, and Aria slides to the floor, gasping for breath. They're both on high alert even for all their exhaustion.

SPEAK TO ARIA
SPEAK TO ZO
ESCAPE
-FLOOR EIGHT

Comments

[animusnpcs]

We had no idea-- [Aria responds, barely taking a moment to rest as they continued. Zo shook his head rapidly in response at her side.]

It has to be-- Riki or Ruana. But I don't know how.

[evokingfool]

[Minato manage to catch up to them with Riku, utilising his speed buffs to their limits. Lachesis follows right behind him, to renew him with Masukukaja and to cast wind spells behind him.]

I can cast a temporary speed buff. But we still need to do trip them up or just get out of here.

[keybearer]

What if we freeze the floor behind us? That could throw them off for at least a few seconds.

[Though they'd probably adapt soon after, possibly becoming an even bigger pain than before...

Hmm, so what other options are there?]

If that doesn't work, maybe we should stick to buffs. Can any of you guys make barriers?

[greyerrant]

[ A massive space marine shakes his head, still covered in remnants of a close run in with retrieval units some floors down ]

No. Someone might need to stay back and buy time, if nothing else is working.

[ A green armored figure flickers in and out behind him. hello thar persona. ]

[notsogrimreaper]

I can hang back if we need.

[Thanatos has to have some ability that will work against them.]

[stitchedupbodyguard]

Me too, if we have to.

[She had no ablilities, minus some enhancements, but she could still probably take down a hundred or so units before they got to her.]

[sageprincess]

Perhaps there is some way to get them to split up-- get lost in the maze instead of following after Zo.

[Though by the lowered tone of her voice, she doesn't much like that plan, even if the logical part of her mind reasons that it could help. Regardless, she's not leaving Aria's side any time soon, and she continues urging her forward with a gentle touch or two.]

If their adaptations are film, it must be Riki's doing, right? [There's something like a growl of frustration as she runs. Damn that man.] If only we could disable the glamour...!

[notagiraffe]

If... sorry if the glamour goes out then we lose powers too... but... would we be able to stop them without it... if they lose their adaptions...

[It feels awful even to talk about fighting, violence is always wrong and he hates that he has to think like this and plan like this. But they have to keep Zo and Aria safe.]

[keybearer]

That depends. As long as we've got at least some people with the replacement fluid, I'd say we're better off without the glamour. If those things are adapting with film, then won't they be powerless once we cut all the smoke and mirrors?

[For now, he refrains from casting more magic, internally assessing what to do. Echo location means that a silence spell would probably get the job done, but Riku doesn't have that kinda power. At best, he could cast Stopga or Graviga.]

[notsogrimreaper]

Then if the glamour gets cut, I'll have to keep moving. I don't have the replacement fluid.

[Part of him is cursing that decision now, but he knew it would be safer not to risk it.]

[imperialsun]

[Don't worry, Riku, someone else does. When he sees...or well hears them start screaming around by adapting, the form behind him fades and Jack Frost appears instead.]

PERSONA!

[The little imp raises its hand, casting Tango of Dispelling, attempting to inflict the mute status on them.]

The problem now is finding a place where we can do that.

[slightlyoblivious]

[Yukiko's been very obviously tense for the past few minutes, while the discussion is going on. She's almost piped up about the fact that staying behind is practically a suicide mission a few times, but the talk of dropping the glamour has temporarily silenced that thought.

One thing comes to mind, when they discuss places where they can drop the glamour.]

...wait. There are the floors that Riki put those chips on a few weeks ago. I think people shorted them out, but maybe we can get them working to our own advantage this time? It's a risk, but so is staying behind.

[animusnpcs]

[ This section of the maze is a series of sharp, blind turns. It almost feels like they're going back on themselves, except for their method of travel making that impossible. ]

[warriorscribe]

*There's talk about lowering the glamour. They won't all lose powers - only those without their real ones, but he trusts Zo and Aria to know that. And he trusts them to know when something is manipulating the glamour in such a way they can overcome. Isn't that what Aria's glasses are for? Either way, just in case...*

Someone guard the front! *he calls into the group. If they're going to be making blind turns like this, Aria and Zo shouldn't be at the lead.*

[greyerrant]

"I'm on it." Loken is in the front, two blades leading, a massive fortress of a man at 8 feet in his armor, determination positively oozing from the stance of the huge Astartes. Here now, in this final mission, he won't fail these last few comrades.

[attheclocktower]

[Something isn't right. The turns don't feel right, like they're running in circles. And the units getting powers like that...]

What if it is glamour? What if they're getting power from the glamour? Is there some way to shut it off, at least around them?

[She remember show Jason had been able to kill the glamour within a particular radius of him. Maybe Zo could do something of the same here?]

[animusnpcs]

[Zo sounds uncertain.] I can turn the glamour off, but I don't know if it would help.

[sageprincess]

Why not?

[They're hard pressed to think of solutions, racing like this, but Zo has to know more about the glamour and how it works than they do.]

[animusnpcs]

Retrieval units aren't normally created to do this. We can't be sure what's causing it.

[warriorscribe]

Wouldn't lowering the glamour for a moment show us what it is?

*But whether or not that would help...who knows. He's just hoping he doesn't see one of them coming around the corner at him, that they stay ahead of them the rest of the way.*

[sageprincess]

Or-- the maze. [Obviously something is wrong with it, but if they can't outright break through it--] Is there any chance it is like Dax's?

[From what seems like so long ago, when they first met Aria? When they got their first hint that not everything was as it seemed?]

[animusnpcs]

It might be. Whatever it is--

[Whatever Aria is going to say, it's cut off by the loud advance of the retrieval units behind them, the blinded units still shrieking their navigation. One appears around the corner behind the team and lets out a wail before locking its sightless eyes on the rear escorts and advancing as quickly as it can with its alterations.

Aria looks urgent.] Let's go--we can try to turn it off when we have more space! [She obviously doesn't want to risk giving them the time to grab Zo.]

[warriorscribe]

*Enoch takes a swing at the advancing unit with his Arch. If he hits it it may be slowed down and if he doesn't it will at least serve as a barrier. It creates an audible buzz as it swings; even blinded it would be able to hear the weapon, if it knows what it is.

Mostly, he's just trying to keep it away from the group; not staying put after the swing but hurrying to keep up, glancing over his shoulder before the next turn to see if he's crippled it.

Hopefully, its reaction to being struck with holy energy is not what he fears it might be, glamour or not...*

[imperialsun]

[Damn, they are much closer now, and his poor ears take a beating. Naoya doesn't even bother to comment on the situation, just spam the same spell again, hoping that the reason it didn't connect was that they were just too far away.]

Jack Frost! Again!

[The persona casts Tango of Dispelling to mute them, but then. Then in a flash of inspiration, since he already has the Persona out and casting, Naoya follows with another status spell.]

Hapirma!

[What happens if he tries to distract them with pure happiness and bliss? Maybe they'll get high Only one way to find out...then haul ass out of there with the others.]

[swordofzero]

[Suzaku's hand was still on the right wall as they ran to keep their distance from the units behind them.

They had been able to hear the faint noise of another group for a while but as they rounded yet another corner it got louder and they saw them, and the units advancing on them. Suzaku ran forward planning to attack from the rear. It would distract them if nothing else and give those fighting a slight break.]