{Thank God, I hate being used as an actual sword.}
You ignore your not-sword for the moment, regrouping with Creme and Lumen as you take stock of the strengths and weaknesses of your little alliance.
Right now, you three are, if not the weakest of people, at least desirable targets right now. Lumen seems able to hold people off by himself, and there's that... stuff he seems to pull from nowhere, both the explosive crystals that may just be Dust, but it's not any Dust you've seen, and that, goop, but as far as you can tell he's got no defensive equipment and Creme... just, seems to be struggling in general. Her weapon's small enough that it requires her to get in behind someone's defences, which she seems to struggle with, and your attacks really do require a certain kind of buildup and cooldown time.
... Ok! Ok. You can work with this, though. Uh...
You just, need to figure out how.
{Jaunt()'s a good attention getter. A Crash()-Breach() combo would throw most people off-balance for Creme.}
A plan begins to form as more abridged information filters in from the combat sims, and you begin to relay it to your allies.
As of now, the three of you are on lone wolf duty. Anyone who's on their own, or separated from their own team is now your main target, with a long-term goal of moving onto pairs. You'll lead, distracting them with heavy attacks, Creme will approach from the side to take advantage of the distraction, then Lumen finishes them off with an attack from the back.
"... I'm ok with that, are you ok with that?" Creme asks Lumen.
"Sure, sure, as long as I get to bash Saff's head in-" He grinds out, before shaking something off. "Sorry, sorry, I just... actually yeah, this is a good time to do this. Cover me for a minute, will you?"
You and Creme both blink at the... frankly uncharacteristic display of anger from Lumen, but start looking for enemies while he focuses on something. "Et tu, Brutus?" DC 15, Roll: 1... Ouch.
Surprisingly enough, Saff and Xanadu have yet to make an appearance, which you find a little odd before you realise they're stuck dealing with Mr Party Favour. Apparently, Lumen's weird grenade thing didn't take him out of the fight, and by the looks of it, uh, whassisface, Oliver, thassisface, decided to take his chances with some good old-fashioned backstabbing. You wonder if, somewhere between that decision being made and Saff building a wall for Xanadu to put him through, he grew to regret that decision. "IGNORE ME!" DC 12, Roll: 18. Major Success!
For some reason, nobody seems too bothered with you for the moment, and you decide you can afford a look at whatever Lumen's doing.
At first, it seems as if he's just standing there, eyes doing something very weird, widening and constricting in an irregular rhythm as he looks around for, something, then you notice his left arm, and the... tendrils of colour flowing under his skin, along the back of his forearm. You note blue, green, and yellow, all flowing down towards his fingernails, flowing under his fingernails, then bursting out from them and back up to his mid-forearm, forming into a square shield with the blue material on the outside, quickly hardening into a shiny solid, green on the inside, with the yellow disappearing between the two layers and being sealed up. You watch the last of the blue flow around the edges, sealing off and giving the makeshift shield a sharp edge.
"... Ok. I'm good." He says, sounding much more relaxed than he did a moment before. "Have any trouble?"
"Nope."
"... Alright, I'm not going to complain." He says after a moment, scanning the battlefield for a target.
{Oh. Yeah. That's something we should be doing, isn't it?}
Right.
Search() Query- "Lone Wolf." Encounter Roll: 15.
Several people are highlighted in your HUD, the closest of which is- oh, God, her.
As if sensing your mental trepidation, she spots you as you realise who it is, and begins to rush you.
Emi Lye is... well, if you had to describe her, you'd say intense.
"ARC!" She screams your name as she comes for you. "I'LL HAVE YOUR GODSBEDAMNED HEAD ON A PIKE!"
{... Yeah, intense works.}
As she digs divots into the earth beneath her feet just rushing to meet you, raising her pistol-sword's blade high enough for it to try and say hello to your face, a greeting you just about miss by way of a well-timed Jaunt() directly behind her, leaving her dazed and confused-
The bullet just hits the back of your head instead.
Aura: 135/150.
... Agh that stings- you turn, raising your sword and queueing a Crash() for her troubles. The Function rushes forward, just catching her before she can move to dodge it, leaving her stumbling as her atoms cry out in agony and the Transistor logs every molecular flaw in the entirety of her being, as best as her Aura will allow. Creme takes the opportunity to wail on Emi with her hammer, aiming for limbs, throat, stomach, and finishing by flipping it over and giving her a bullet to the temple for good luck. By this point, she's stumbling hard, and you set up a Breach() Function, not releasing it just yet, simply... keeping it ticking over for the moment.
You can't do it for long, but you can hold it for long enough to let Lumen do his thing. That is, bash her over the head with his goop shield and slash her across the back several times, also aiming for naturally debilitating points on an auraless person- in his case, tendons, main arteries, and along the joints.
... Your teammates are kind of brutal, you realise.
{Jaune? Can't hold this much longer.}
"Move!" You shout, just barely managing to keep it up long enough for Lumen to move. By the time your sword's aimed toward the ground, Emi's recovered and moving to stab you again.
She doesn't seem to realise she's about to be hit with a stream of high-energy particles.
... Eh. Works for you.
You watch as her blade comes dangerously close to your eye for comfort, just as the tip of the Transistor hits the ground, leaving her to take the brunt of your Function. You watch her try to step forward through the blast, only to lose her footing and be blown back as she should have. As soon as the stream stops, an ungodly buzzer sounds, twice, and she's flitted off to the stands.
{That's 23. We're safe now.}
Phew. You were kinda worried for a moment there.
"Hey, that's 7 down! Guys, we're safe!" Creme shouts almost cheerily over the din of battle.
{Doesn't that mean people will stop being so defensive? You know, now that they're not in danger of instantly failing.}
... Shit, he has a point.
As if to prove your sword right, the ground below you begins to shake rhythmically, and a quick look around finds the source to be Xanadu, shield up, aimed straight for your entire group. Before anyone can turn and run, all around you, cubes of sand begin to form and fall immediately, trapping you up to the calves in sand. Much the same happens with Lumen and Creme, leaving you all mildly trapped in sand.
Um.
You should deal with that.
[] Turn()
[] No Turn()
And for actual actions?
[] Write-in
Adhoc vote count started by Prok on Jul 13, 2017 at 3:10 PM, finished with 244 posts and 7 votes.
[X] The screwdriver
-[X] Turn()
--[X] Jaunt() in front of Xanadu, Spiral() straight into him, Jaunt() behind him, Crash() to confuse him for less dodge chance and Breach() to make him slam into Spiral at max momentum for great damage. Total cost: 11+4
-[X] Jaunt() the fuck out of there before someone notices what just happened.
Now is when we use turn and we should save our allies and take out Saff as quickly as we can then turn all our attention on Xanadu.
Edit:
Alright here it is a work in progress
[X] The screwdriver
-[X] Turn()
--[X] Jaunt() in front of Xanadu, Spiral() straight into him, Jaunt() behind him, Crash() to confuse him for less dodge chance and Breach() to make him slam into Spiral at max momentum for great damage. Total cost: 11+4
-[X] Jaunt() the fuck out of there before someone notices what just happened.
Edit2 alright going with this plan since mine is over the limit. Forgot about that to apparently.
Hrmmm should I put in that turn() be used after crash and breach have been used to blast away the sands surrounding us and our allies calves? Since they are basically slightly below our ankles and I'm not sure that Jaunt() will be able to work well with that.
Edit: Blehhhh brain fart for some reason I thought that sand would prevent us from moving and forgot that my plan uses Jaunt() after Crash()+Breach() and we located Saff.
No because, if I remember right in this quest Functions can be used while ()Turn is active so all that will do is remove the guaranteed hit bonus of ()Turn.
No way we have time during turn() for all that. There was a post with exact numbers, but right now I only remember turn having 12 time and spiral taking 6. I'm on phone now so no plan from me yet.
Third! Create a Batch File. (Using the Functions on-hand, create a set of commands to be used in that specific order. Assuming Turn() is comprised of 12 sections, Crash() is worth 3 sections, Breach() is worth 4, Jaunt() is worth 1, and Spiral() is worth 6. You can go over this limit, but only if you have a little extra in the first place.)
[X] The screwdriver
-[X] Turn()
--[X] Jaunt() in front of Xanadu, Spiral() straight into him, Jaunt() behind him, Crash() to confuse him for less dodge chance and Breach() to make him slam into Spiral at max momentum for great damage. Total cost: 11+4
-[X] Jaunt() the fuck out of there before someone notices what just happened.
[X] The screwdriver
-[X] Turn()
--[X] Jaunt() in front of Xanadu, Spiral() straight into him, Jaunt() behind him, Crash() to confuse him for less dodge chance and Breach() to make him slam into Spiral at max momentum for great damage. Total cost: 11+4
-[X] Jaunt() the fuck out of there before someone notices what just happened.
[X] The screwdriver
-[X] Turn()
--[X] Jaunt() in front of Xanadu, Spiral() straight into him, Jaunt() behind him, Crash() to confuse him for less dodge chance and Breach() to make him slam into Spiral at max momentum for great damage. Total cost: 11+4
-[X] Jaunt() the fuck out of there before someone notices what just happened.
Now is when we use turn and we should save our allies and take out Saff as quickly as we can then turn all our attention on Xanadu.
Edit:
Alright here it is a work in progress
[x] Turn()
[x] Use Crash() with Breach() to blow away the sands then locate Saff and use Jaunt() to close in and then Spiral() to knock him out of arena then Jaunt() back to our allies and use Crash() on Xanadu followed by a Breach() if you still have time.
-[x] Try to be prepared for the backlash once turn() ends.
Hrmmm should I put in that turn() be used after crash and breach have been used to blast away the sands surrounding us and our allies calves? Since they are basically slightly below our ankles and I'm not sure that Jaunt() will be able to work well with that.
Edit: Blehhhh brain fart for some reason I thought that sand would prevent us from moving and forgot that my plan uses Jaunt() after Crash()+Breach() and we located Saff.
Oh, yeah, dangit, I forgot to add Saff's roll to the post- he failed that roll as hard as the Brutus wannabe did, and the sand is... barely up to your ankles. Like, you could easily step out of it in Turn() and have room for an edited plan, or the entirety of @DreamerGhost's plan. The only reason it's still a threat to any of you is because now Lumen and Creme can't just jump out of the way of Xanadu. They'd need to take precious time to free their ankles before doing anything.
Turn() is a Function that essentially devotes so much processing power to your perception of time that it looks like it's stopped dead, allowing you to take your time and strategise, and then, once it's over, allows you to perform whatever plan you concocted in the space of half a second.
For just a moment, you move almost Ruby fast, but without becoming a barely controlled path of destruction in the process.
What it means here is that you carry out the winning plan so fast that almost nobody can react to it in time to do anything about it. Essentially, aim rolls and dodge rolls become null and void for the other guy.
The drawback is that you go three rounds without it, and most Functions- that is, all bar Jaunt()- stop working. Instead you have to use your mind-controlled 300-pound bar of silicon and circuitry like an actual sword for a couple rounds.
The drawback is that you go three rounds without it, and most Functions- that is, all bar Jaunt()- stop working. Instead you have to use your mind-controlled 300-pound bar of silicon and circuitry like an actual sword for a couple rounds.
I realised at some point during the writing of this update that the whole, "can't use Functions after Turn()" thing?
For a Hunter, building his own weapon? That's a suicidally stupid limitation, and I'm not exactly playing by the game's rules anyway. Hunters and Grimm are vastly more mobile than the Process ever could be, and leaving you with that kind of limitation would be crippling, even for someone who's meant to be slow and hard-hitting.
So... a different limitation, perhaps. To even the playing field.
The fiat was never really thought about because someone immediately pointed out that the Transistor, key to creating a post-scarcity society and demi-god maker it is, could still act like a damn good bludgeon, even as a sword, eventually, and I realised that Functions, while powerful, are really too limited to be your bread and butter attack against Grimm.
So, on top of adding an entire branch to the tech tree that wasn't there before, the Transistor has regained its ability to float about according to the user's mental commands, and the fiat is unfiated.
The fiat was never really thought about because someone immediately pointed out that the Transistor, key to creating a post-scarcity society and demi-god maker it is, could still act like a damn good bludgeon, even as a sword, eventually, and I realised that Functions, while powerful, are really too limited to be your bread and butter attack against Grimm.
So, on top of adding an entire branch to the tech tree that wasn't there before, the Transistor has regained its ability to float about according to the user's mental commands, and the fiat is unfiated.
I think it makes sense for the Transistor to be perhaps one of the most durable things out there considering it's importance in the setting where it originates and it being the most important thing to Jaune's career as a hunter due to him being far less effective if something happened to it, especially since he can't use his semblance at all without it. I imagine that Jaune would make it as durable as possible considering that even if it is actually a super computer he still needs to take it with him to battle.
@Prok Would it be possible to eventually make a funtion where the Transistor will teleport back to Jaune if he gets seperated from it?
I think it makes sense for the Transistor to be perhaps one of the most durable things out there considering it's importance in the setting where it originates and it being the most important thing to Jaune's career as a hunter due to him being far less effective if something happened to it, especially since he can't use his semblance at all without it. I imagine that Jaune would make it as durable as possible considering that even if it is actually a super computer he still needs to take it with him to battle.
In all honesty, it's not as good as a normal sword, durability wise. Like, yeah, it works as one, but it can be damaged.
Which is why you have Reboot() as a base Function that can be used with any chunk of the Transistor that doesn't quite fit in your palm. I didn't give you the world-recoding equivalent of Crazy Diamond just because I felt like it. More seriously though, it does function as a sword, but not a very good one, and you do have the option to upgrade its casing to something a little more durable in the months leading up to Beacon.
Until then, you're gonna be listening to a lot of complaining.
If the Transistor is ever outside of the base telekinetic function's range, i.e, the only time where you would need to use a function like that, then you are up shit creek without a paddle, son, because that means you can't use the Transistor, which means you're casting Functions without the Transistor, which leads to, if you're lucky, a fairly major aneurysm. And that's all.
(Speaking of everyone go watch SA:O Abridged like right the hell now, it's the first abridged series I've seen that actually surpasses its source material in every conceivable way and it's genuinely worth the three-four hours of your time it runs for.)
(Speaking of everyone go watch SA:O Abridged like right the hell now, it's the first abridged series I've seen that actually surpasses its source material in every conceivable way and it's genuinely worth the three-four hours of your time it runs for.)
Not my plan just copied it from the guy who first wrote it since my original plan was over the limit.
Edit: and I believe it was DreamerGhost who wrote the plan
Well, as is the case in all new governments of any type, there will be some inner turmoil. Et tu, Brutus and all that. Well, if it wasn't you, my next best guess is... @DreamerGhost?
Activate Turn(), you need to use Turn(), you need Turn() RIGHT NOW-
Turn() Active.
The world fades into a dark, faded blue and white, people replaced with silhouettes that provide information whenever you look at them.
Time… has stopped.
{Well, no, you're just perceiving things so fast that it just looks like-}
Time. Has stopped.
{Alright, alright, have your moment. Freakin' drama queen...}
You're already a little more relaxed. You essentially have all the time in the world to converse with your giant supercomputer, come up with a plan, run simulations, and then you'll take it out on Xanadu as best you can.
First. The sand. How do you-
{It's ankle-deep. Whatever plan Saff had, it's already failed for you because even if you couldn't just Jaunt() out of it, you could just stomp your feet a little and then Jaunt() out.}
... Dammit, the thinking rock's got a point. Well, that's as good a start as any, you suppose. You Jaunt() out of the sand, and end up almost face to face with Xanadu.
Well, not you you, you you is still standing stock still- what you're seeing is just a simulation created by the Transistor for planning purposes. But you can see the sadistic little snarl on his face, wrinkling his nose and generally leaving him looking a little bit psychotic, all the same, so why argue semantics?
Instead, you decide to argue strategy. Xanadu is, for all intents and purposes, an unstoppable force.
What's best for stopping an unstoppable force?
{An immovable object?}
... What's best that you have on hand for stopping an unstoppable force?
{... Smart.}
You like to think so. Queue Spiral().
Spiral()queued.
... You. Could just Jaunt() back to your little sand pile now, ruin your shoes even further, but... nah. You wanna fuck with Xanadu a little.
{Crash()-Breach() to the back? Push him off balance and into the Spiral() ball?}
Ooh, you like that!
Jaunt() behind him, queue a Crash()-Breach() batch file, then-
{Ah! Time's up, boss. You're just gonna have to Jaunt() out from behind him when everything's done.}
Tch. And you were having so much fun, too. End Turn().
Everything begins to move again, but at a rate you would expect if the Coliseum had suddenly filled with syrup. Everything's moving in slow motion- you watch as Lumen struggles to bring his knees out from his sandpile, the sand shifting by the grain, eventually leading to greater avalanches appearing. He's apparently having been given... special attention by Saff. Creme's eyes are widening by fractions of millimetres as she realises who's coming towards her, and Xanadu's feet are pounding the ground at a tenth of the rate they were, the sand rippling out under his heels in waves of beige, and then you begin to move.
You watch a bullet whiz by, the brass-jacketed scorched badly enough by its exit from the barrel that you can see how it spirals, even at the snail's pace it's currently moving at.
You Jaunt() straight up to him, let off the Spiral() just in time for him to recognise there's something in front of him, Jaunt() behind him, let off a Crash() just fast enough to hit him before the Spiral does, logging an entirely new set of subatomic weaknesses, but not making Xanadu stumble- he really is almost impossible to knock over- and finish off with a final Breach(), just in time for him to impact the ball of Spiral() energy, and ok wow that bullet almost took your ear off time to Jaunt() like you've never Jaunt()ed before-
And now you're near enough Creme and Lumen that you can, technically count as being next to them.
You sit back and watch as Xanadu takes off into the sky...
... He's. Not doing that.
He's. Actually just, standing stock still. "I! AM! NOT! DONE!" DC 18, Roll: 20! Enemy Critical Success!
You watch in abject horror as the green ball of energy, enough energy to blow Remnant off axis, scratches impotently against his tower shield. You watch Xanadu almost slide back, before he lets out a roar of sheer defiance and steps forward, pushing back a ball of energy that can knock the fucking planet off axis, and then again, and again, and again and oh god why the fuck are Semblances such BULLSHIT-
The Spiral() finally dissipates, and Xanadu's left to continue on. A fevered glance at the screen above, however, leaves you with a sliver of hope to grasp onto.
He was barely out of the red. Hanging on by a thread, one decent hit would take him out of the fight, one Crash(), one Breach()...
... Two Functions you just removed your ability to use while you recovered from using Turn().
You rendered yourself impotent for an attack that should have blown him away, and it wasn't enough.
{I can't damage him. Even if you threw me as fast as I could go, I would, at best, bounce off him. At worst...}
Fuck. Fuck.
You watch numbly as Lumen raises his hands and sprays an orange liquid out on the sand, quickly thickening and hardening into something like a solid lubricant- someone unlucky enough not watch their step lost their footing on it, but Xanadu just plowed on, driving his feet through the thing that should have had him slipping and sliding around for dear life, still on the warpath to Lumen.
Welp. You're up shit creek. Whatcha gonna do about it?
[] Take the hit- Lumen will, full Aura or not, most likely be heavily injured by this. You... have a chance.
[] {I AM NOT A DAMN SHOVEL-} Use the Transistor as a very quick shovel and free hi- "NEITHER! AM! I!" DC 12, Roll: 18. Major Success!
You hear someone screaming, frustration and anger boiling to the surface, and a moment later, realise it's Creme. Just as Xanadu would have hit Lumen, she manages to free herself from her shin-high sand, and moves between the two, bringing a palm down hard on Xanadu's head.
What happens next... well, it confuses you.
On one hand, Xanadu seems to... crumple in on himself, while a completely unrelated person is blasted into the nearest wall, then flickered out of existence by Professor Moss. Xanadu's feet finally hit the ground again, the barest sliver of Aura keeping in the fight, even though he looks like his brain's just been put through a wringer, going by the stumbling and incoherent babbling. After a moment, he seems to gather enough of his psyche to be considered compos mentis and remember that he hates Creme.
With a slightly knock-drunk roar, he raises his Zweihänder up to hit her, and Creme does something you never really expected.
"SIT DOWN," she starts, raising her hammer and bringing it back down on his head, and again, this time smacking him across the jaw, "SHUT THE HELL UP," She grabs him roughly by the chin, forcing him to look up before she raises her leg high, then drops it in an absolutely brutal axe kick. "AND STOP BUGGING ME!"
Xanadu is driven through the sand up to his waist by the force, and the Transistor logs several odd phenomena of people smacking other combatants about with their weapons, only for nothing to happen, not even the tiniest movement. A moment later, Xanadu flickers out of existence, and Creme can finally say she took someone down.
She takes a deep, deep breath, before letting it out in a little huff. She looks over at you and Lumen, immediately focuses back on Lumen, before starting to help dig him out.
Ok, ok, no fakeout this time. Time to regroup.
Aura: 135/150
Ailment Gained: Turn() Sickness- a safety feature to fend off the cauliflower soup impression, all Functions bar Jaunt() are locked for 3 rounds of combat. Roll 1d20 to determine whether or not that includes this one.
[] {THIS IS SO DEMEANING-} - Use the Transistor as a shovel, help Lumen out. (Regain allies for next turn, resume defensive roles afterwards.)
[] {I SWEAR TO GOD JAUNE-} -Start swinging. Find someone, start wailing on them with your sword, either in your hands or not. (Focused damage, chance to take out at least one person, max. of 2 if you're really lucky.)
[] {DON'T YOU DARE SO HELP ME I WILL PUBLISH YOUR SEARCH HISTORY-} - Come on. You know what this option is. You know you wanna do it. You just... gotta... whistle. Or, hum. Or, stay silent. Anything works, really. (Medium-High damage to several enemies in a radius, risk of blindsiding. Jaunt() mildly weakened for duration; -1 to dodge rolls.)
[] {*ANGRY SWORD NOISES*} - (Write-in)
Adhoc vote count started by Prok on Jul 15, 2017 at 11:42 AM, finished with 265 posts and 13 votes.
[X] {THIS IS SO DEMEANING-} - Use the Transistor as a shovel, help Lumen out. (Regain allies for next turn, resume defensive roles afterwards.)
[X] {THIS IS SO DEMEANING-} - Use the Transistor as a shovel, help Lumen out. (Regain allies for next turn, resume defensive roles afterwards.) -[X] Ask Creme what's up with her semblance since she didin't use it to take out everyone out all at once and she totally could had. Transfering Kinetic energy is OP and we can rend space.
[X] {DON'T YOU DARE SO HELP ME I WILL PUBLISH YOUR SEARCH HISTORY-} - Come on. You know what this option is. You know you wanna do it. You just... gotta... whistle. Or, hum. Or, stay silent. Anything works, really. (Medium-High damage to several enemies in a radius, risk of blindsiding. Jaunt() mildly weakened for duration; -1 to dodge rolls.)
but seriously it some sort of time stop thing is what i got out of it.
] Control your floating sword by whistling.