I'll join in. I've been unable to spend much time on fancy planning lately, but this looks decent, and no votes since Thursday is a little depressing.
It'll probably pick up once we kill everything worth killing and get to vote on Louise shenanigans again. Yet another proof that wanton destruction and genocide are healthy for questing experience.
[X] Plan: You get an Atronach! You get an Atronach! You get an Atronach! Everybody gets an Atronach!
Since there hadn't been any more votes, I was actually starting on the next chapter a couple hours ago. The next update will probably be longer than usual and I keep getting interrupted because it's a busy time of the year, so I might not get a chance to post it until the day after Christmas at the latest.
The lack of votes might also be because of the same reason as the delay or the frequency of write-in sections rather than preset options.
With a punching motion, you impale the snake-woman through the face with an Ice Spike and turn toward your apprentice. "Alright Louise, just like at Quelana's tower, but deadlier." You say with a smirk as the civilian scrambles back into the room.
"Right!" She agrees cheerfully before setting about coating the entryway with elemental traps of varying colors. While the pinkette does that, you aide Victoria in sealing the door, lining the area on both sides of the threshold with magical blades of ice and cooling her molten stone. Once the threshold is mostly blocked, you reanimate the dead in the hall beyond, animating the dozens of alien corpses with minor daedra to act as a first line of defense.
"Are... did you just make ZOMBIES?!" Victoria asks incredulously as her lower mouth retches and spews more liquid rock to seal the small hole.
Casting Shield on the barricade to further prevent intrusion, you shake your head. "Of course! In a battle of sheer numbers, the best bodies to throw at the enemy are their own."
"I... guess that makes since." She replies hesitantly, giving the door a furtive glance. You resist the urge to deride her for acting like a superstitious nord and call for the rest of the group to gather away from the civilians, leaving the auxiliaries to attempt to calm the mostly hysterical masses.
The children keep a wary distance from the rest of you as you all assemble around an empty stasis pod. Oddly enough, the white eyed girl seems to be the least apprehensive about being near the power armored soldiers. Despite the almost constant fidgeting she'd been doing every time you've looked in her direction, it would seem that she is more shy than actually afraid. Giving her an encouraging smile, you motion for her to come closer.
The language barrier is inconvenient, but with the magicka available to you because of Louise's mistake, it is a simple matter of using the same enchantment you'd made fore Louise and Granger's circlets to grant the entire group equal fluency in spoken language. Temporarily of course, permanent enchantments do require striping the magicka generating portion of a soul to sustain their effects for any lengthy period. A constant drain on your apprentice and a simple effort of will produces a pale green orb that you promptly toss into the air.
"Salutations little one." You say, a slight bow in the direction of the girl as she nervously approaches you, the boys looking for any sign of ill intent. "I understand you are likely confused at the current situation."
Nodding, she mumbles, "Yes... This is all very strange."
"No kidding, where the hell are we even?" The boy with the dog asks, interrupting his compatriot rather rudely.
"kiba-kun... you should be more polite." The girl chides gently, staring at her hands as she presses her fingers together in some sort of nervous habit. The kid can kill a full grown chaurus with her bare hands, but can't handle a little social interaction?
The boy, apparently named Kiba-kun, crosses his arm with an irritated huff. "Don't act like we all weren't thinkin' it."
"You should ignore him for the moment. Why you ask? Because this is likely a vital moment to learn of our predicament and plan for hostilities." The taller boy says in monotone.
Off to the side, you notice the krogan flinching every time Victoria's spider twitches in his direction as she talks to Louise. "Perhaps we should start with introductions to make this easier. My name is Cynric Tyne, where I come from I am a wizard of some renown." You gesture toward the pink haired girl, who stops conversation as she notice the attention on her. "My apprentice, Louise."
"Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière." She clarifies with a raised finger in your direction. Blushing at your raised eyebrow, she coughs into her fist and continues, "I am the Third daughter of the Noble house of Vallière and a mage in training."
"Hyuuga Hinata." The pale eyed girl says with a bow. "I-I am also an... an heiress as well. As are my teammates... Inuzuka Kiba." The little dog yips at her. "A-and his companion, Akamaru... The third member of our team is-"
The boy in the collared coat steps forward. "Aburame Shino. My insects tell me you are responsible for our arrival here. How do they know this? Your chakra has the same flavor as the technique that brought us to this place." His monotone voice, high collar, and eye coverings make it impossible to guess at his feelings on the matter.
Noting the fact that the bugs you've seen crawling on him serve a purpose other than making people uncomfortable, you shrug and say, "We are fighting a technologically superior foe that seeks to kill or enslave all of humanity. We need all the help we can get."
"So you just kidnap us to fight for you?" The ill-mannered child practically shouts over his taller teammate's nod of acceptance. Perhaps he is one who reacts to the unexpected by lashing out, a rather useful trait for exploitation if manipulated properly. "Listen pal, I don't know who you think you are, but I've got a tournament to win and if y-"
"Quit your whining, hatchling." The krogan growls from his seat opposite the boy. Kiba appears ready to respond to the insult, but the whimpering puppy sitting in his hair seems to make him rethink that course of action. Snorting, the krogan stands and leans onto the makeshift table. "Insufferable little pyjacks like you always die the quickest. The name's Trobror, don't have a clan anymore. Mercenary, body guard, bounty hunter... you need it hurt or dead, you hire me."
"I believe we can come to an acceptable agreement once the ship is ours." You say, turning to the children with a smile. "The same for you three as well, capable people are always welcome allies and two of you have proven to have unique skills already."
"Ano... We need to return to the village." Hinata says with a nervous shuffle. "We... we were in the middle of an exam... the others will be searching for us."
Victoria chooses that moment speak up. "Sorry kids, but it's apparently gonna take a while to get you home. I asked when I was summoned, I'm Victoria Dallon, by the way. I'm in the same boat as you." The spider-girl's face flashes with sadness when Hinata flinches away from her offered hand, but she quickly laughs it off when the little girl tries to apologize. "Nah, it's cool, I'm used to worse reactions by now."
Chuckling, you reach out and pat the dark haired child on the head, causing her to blush and squeak in surprise. "Worry not, time is of no consequence." You begin, ignoring your apprentice's muffled laughter at the other girl's reaction. "It will take some time to return you to your home, perhaps anywhere from a month to several years, but if done properly, you will return the same day you left. You are obviously in training to be warriors of some sort, just think of it as time to gain useful experience."
"In training?" The brat... Kiba growls. "We're fully trained ninjas, asshole."
You just stare blankly into his eyes unblinkingly, not having a clue if you're supposed to be impressed by his claims, but a metallic impact draws both of your attention to Sergeant Granger... who has dented her helmet with her hand. Beside her you see Espinoza's shoulder shaking with barely suppressed laughter.
"You hear that, sarge?" The man-child asks, voice tinged with humor. "Wizards, aliens, and now we've got ninjas!"
"Do shut up." The armored woman replies tiredly to Espinoza, who slumps his shoulders in disappointment at the lack of enthusiasm in the rest of you. "Can we just get on with it?"
Heading off any more outbursts, you mentally command the fire-vulture to begin swapping civilians for x-com personnel. Specifically the ones with weapons, as you don't want to be exchanging random civilians for unarmed engineers. The bird's disappearance startles most of the others, but you ignore them and explain, "We should divide into teams to accomplish multiple goals as well as split the enemy's forces. Louise and the ninjas will accompany me on another attempt at the control room, Strike One and Trobror will use our assault as a distraction and secure the region of the vessel responsible for keeping it operational to prevent the aliens from scuttling the ship. The bird is bringing reinforcements and I will be summoning additional beings to assist us. Victoria, can you remain here to defend the abductees until they are all evacuated?"
"Er... yeah, I guess." The arachnid says, casting her gaze over to the aforementioned abductees on the other side of the room. None of them seem keen on sharing a room with her.
"I'll stay behind as well." Granger announces, popping her helmet off to allow everyone to see her clearly human face. "We don't want her appearance to cause some friendly fire when the others arrive."
"Very well, I will leave you in charge of the bird when it arrives. If you require it's assistance, a simple verbal command should suffice." You say with a nod, you turn to the ninjas. "If you would hand over your throwing weapons, my apprentice can imbue them with the ability to create elemental explosions." A silent conversation of significant looks passes between them before they do so, giving Louise several throwing knives each.
The tall boy, Shino, steps up to take position beside the white eyed girl. "If we are to help, we must know the combat capabilities of our enemy and our allies."
"I gotcha." Espinoza replies, plopping his weapon down on the table. "Most of the aliens use a weapon like this one to shoot super hot plasma, don't let them hit you with it." His joking tone has no visible effect on the boy. "Right... well, other than that... some of the aliens have psychic powers and those bugs we fought before stick their eggs in people and turn them into zombies."
"As for allies," You interrupt. "X-com is composed of standard humans who primarily rely on their rapidly advancing technology, Louise is quite skilled in all forms of armed combat and is a remarkably powerful mage, Victoria is rather strong due to her size and can... create lava, and I am capable of far too many spells to list them all at the moment."
At your comment of 'standard' human, Espinoza raises his hand and waits for you to acknowledge him. At your approval, he refutes your claim by declaring, "What about the gene-mods? I don't know any normal guy who has bullet-proof bones or can feel where people around them are."
"Heh, the Council should be glad they just have to deal with the constant squabbling our humans cause." Trobror chuckles. "That sort of thing's illegal in Citadel space. What next, your scientists start making AI helpers?"
"We are getting off topic." You say with a sigh. "Yes, a few members have some minor changes. Is there anything you can tell us about yourself that would be useful?"
"Kick ass taijutsu!" Kiba boasts, once more earning a flat look from you and your companions. Awkwardly, he says in a much quieter voice, "Akamaru and me can track scents too."
If you wanted a scent tracker, you would have summoned a hound or a pig. At least they would have been less boisterous. Your irritated musings are cut off by Hinata's stumbling attempt at speech. "Ano... I-I also specialize in taijutsu... hand to hand combat, that is... and... and my byakugan can do more than see through walls. I can see the chakra inside people and use my taijutsu to... stop it."
Holding up a hand to stop Shino from speaking, you ask, "Could you explain to me what this 'chakra' is?" While you are speaking, Granger walks off to greet the confused guardsman that just arrived with the young fire bird.
"I-I... eto... Chakra is... it's the combination of spiritual and physical energy. Yin and Yang." She says haltingly. Positioning her hands together in a strange manner, her pupil-less eyes seem to become strained and the veins around them grow extremely protuberant. With a gasp, she exclaims, "You don't have any Yang chakra! How are you all even alive?!"
The forceful cry of alarm causes everyone in the room to stop what they're doing to look in her direction, causing the girl to wilt. If Yin or spiritual energy is their term for magicka, then this Yang must be the strange all-encompassing Hist-like energy you'd felt from their world. Though having a name for it is better than nothing, you'll need to do some research on the subject to judge it's usefulness, as a secondary supply of magicka could prove quite useful indeed if you can somehow acquire it for yourself. An insect landing on your nose pulls you from your thoughts.
"Interesting." Shino says without inflection. "I assumed you simply used a technique that didn't require physical energy, but Hinata is correct."
Well, at least you know that one's special skill without asking. Rather than try to justify your status among the living, you decide to distract them with a question of your own. "Before I begin summoning atronachs, do any of you have a request for any specific type of creature that could be helpful?"
"N-Naruto-kun would be happy to help." Hinata suggests, her face flushing slightly, only for Kiba to bark out a laugh. Before he can say whatever it is that he finds humorous, you interrupt.
"To find a specific person, I would need to know them well enough to pick them out from like-minded individuals of their species."
Somehow, the girl manages to make herself even smaller. Trobror obviously doesn't care about cultivating a positive relationship with potential minions, he enthusiastically takes advantage of the girl's silence to growl out, "A thresher maw!"
"Can you describe one for me?" You ask, casting out a tendril of magicka toward the realm of his origin.
With a wide grin, the reptile nods eagerly. "Maws are these great big worms that dig around in the dirt. They spit acid and have claws that can cut a full grown krogan in half with a single swing. I saw one bite a shuttle in half wi-"
"Are you completely insane?" Your apprentice asks, her task of coating the knives with runes forgotten. "You want to summon a giant, acid spitting, death-worm into a ship full of small spaces?"
Grumbling about a lack of adventure in today's youth, the krogan leans back against his make-shift seat and waits for the others to make their suggestions. From Espinoza's request for a dragon that you pretend not to hear, to Louise's joking idea of unleashing her mother on the aliens, you receive no help from the others. It seems the only things they can come up with that aren't specific individuals are ones that would end badly on a space ship... or just badly in general. So it is that you find yourself conjuring up daedra after daedra.
You summon six flame and two storm atronachs into the crowded hallway on the other side of the stone blockade. Inside the room, you conjure an additional three flame and a frost atronach to fight and help Victoria maintain the barricade respectively. Another ten flame atronachs are summoned to aid Espinoza and Trobror.
While you do that, Hinata follows Trobror's information to try and help them find a path to the ship's engineering section. Her limited range proves ineffective at the task however, causing her to become even more withdrawn as you are forced to cast Clairvoyance to send them on their way. With a earpiece confiscated from one of the newly arrived guards, you let the translation spell fade and lead the group out into the corridor before Victoria reseals the door.
--------------------------------------------
Walking down the hall, Hinata fiddled with the metallic headband the odd man had told his apprentice to give her. It was supposed to let her understand their language, but the thing kept somehow managing to tug on her hair. Why would he pick her to be the translator for team eight? She couldn't even introduce herself without stuttering... surely Shino would be better suited for such a position.
The names of these people were strange as well. None of them had addressed the old man by name, so she wasn't even sure which of his names was his surname... not to mention that the girl with the same hair as Sakura has at least five names to choose from. Does the fact he addressed her as Hinata mean they use the same naming patterns as back home? Did he simply infer from her use of Kiba's name that that's how people from their world speak to each other? It was all so very nerve-wracking thinking of how many ways she was going to mess this up.
Glancing at Cynric Tyne... or Tyne Cynric... she flinched as yet another of the so called fire atronachs appeared. The armored man had been summoning those things every so often as they traveled and now there must be almost a hundred of them in front of their group. Where was the characteristic smoke caused by summoning techniques? Where did they come from? Why did they look like scantily clad women?
"-inata, if the old perv tries anything, I'll take care of him." Kiba said reassuringly as he threw an arm around her shoulder.
Startled, she narrowly avoided hitting him with a Jūken strike to the ribs and ducked her head in embarrassment. "Ah... Kiba-kun? Why... why w-would you think he would do something to me?" She whispered nervously, though the pink haired girl's twitch showed that she'd failed to be discreet enough. Could they understand her even when she wasn't speaking to them?
Blushing at the downward flicker of the Inuzuka's eyes, she puller her arms closer to her chest as she pressed her fingers together with anxiety. With a gulp, Kiba diverted his attention to the duo in front of them and replied, "N-no reason."
Activating her Byakugan after a few more minutes of walking as she'd been practicing since Kurenai-sensei took charge of their team, she scanned the large room on the edge of her range for any signs of traps or enemies. When nothing but charred monster corpses was visible to her dōjutsu, she sighed with relief and nodded to herself. This was something she could do at least.
Turning back to signal Shino that there were no threats, a swirling vortex appeared just outside her blind spot and a startlingly feminine figure stepped out. Twirling on reflex, she barely managed to deflect it's unusual weapon enough that it missed Kiba's face, her teammate having stood gaping at the creature.
An automatic palm strike in retaliation does nothing but push it backward and Hinata gasped in surprise at what she saw. The golden creature doesn't have any internal energies at all! At least her team's new allies had something, but this one is completely empty... just flesh and bone with nothing to support them. The shock almost cost her life, only years of training allowing her to react on instinct to dodge out of reach as a spear of purple light punched a hole in the floor where she had been standing, the energy of the attack like nothing she'd ever seen before... where did it even come from?
Shino leaped over the hole and grappled the creature, his body dissolving into a swarm of kikaichū. Rolling to recover from her sudden dodge, she sprung into the air and threw a handful of kunai at the creature, but it disappeared in another vortex. Landing beside Shino, she saw him nod in understanding, his bugs having learned the same as her Byakugan. A series of explosions and roars echoed from down the hall and she directed her attention toward it, looking through the crowd of summons to see a horde of muscular creature in armor that hadn't been there a few moments ago.
The golden creature suddenly reappeared above the two of them, twisting it's body to grab her hair while she was distracted. It's body flickered and a second one split off to land in a crouch in front of Shino. As the first pulled her into a vortex, the second punched Shino in the groin as he stabed a glowing kunai into it's eye. The last she saw of the fight was a blast of electricity crackling outward to cover her teammate and his attacker.
"- dare you!" She hears as she landed on her rear in a cube shaped barrier no larger than Naruto's bedroom. Byakugan still active, Hinata briefly mistook the screeching pinkette standing over her for Sakura... until she noticed the severed and smoking head in the other girl's hands as she roared her defiance to the cloaked creatures watching from elevated positions around the room.
-------------------------------------------
"Uhh... haven't we been here before?" Martín asks awkwardly, looking around at the almost muscular tubes at the corners of the ceiling as they pulse.
The Krogan beside him grunts and angrily pokes at the glowing display on his arm. "Expert mapping program my ass. Damned lying volus." the lizard alien growls to himself. "Last time I waste a paycheck on 'top of the line' junk."
------------------------------------------
Louise Status:
Magicka: (275328/14000)
Cynric
Status: Healthy
Magicka: (650/650)
Cattleya
Status: Disoriented and exhausted, but healthy
Magicka: (0/2500)
Choose:
[] POV-
[] Louise
[] Cynric
[] Cattleya
If Cynric:
[] Power armor grants increased damage resistance and +40 strength, so continue summoning as you advance until you run out of magicka, then engage in melee.
[] Write in.
[] Break through walls to allow more atronachs into the fight at once, this narrow hallway is restricting their effectiveness.
[] Hold the corridor, the enemy can waste their forces trying to dislodge you.
[] Write in.
[] Write in.
If Louise, what should she do?
[] write in.
If Cattleya:
[] Try to escape the strange boxy prison and find someone in authority.
[] Write in.
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A/N:
Your choice in who goes where seems rather odd to me. Victoria's blood is now magma so she's practically immune to the weapons that almost all of the aliens use... the Krogan is paradoxically both not very tech savvy and also the best choice for trying to make sense of the tech in engineering among the combatants in your team, but why not have them escort Vahlen or another scientist? Hinata's Byakugan hasn't developed to the multi-kilometer range yet, she could only see 50 meters or so as a genin... though she eventually trained it to 20 kilometers, she's barely started her career at this point. Additionally; rather than do a complete translation that would do things like turn Hinata's name into their literal meaning, the magic works on how the speaker intends the words to come out, leaving honorifics in place and preventing you from hearing her name as 'place in the sun'.
The majority of the ship's forces are arranged between Cynric's group and the amphitheater. Louise didn't manage the same luck in avoiding the tele-kidnapping this time as she did last time and Hinata's unusual traits attracted the collective's attention as well. Louise has an hour and a half left until the Brahmin milk wears off.
Fun fact, the krogan took the name he said after [insert character development] occurred. It translates to "cinder" or "ash heap".
In canon, she blew up Albion's entire fleet with a just her normal amount. So 14k magicka could destroy every ship over a massive battlefield. At just under 300k? She's a decent sized nuke... By Halo standards
[x] Plan Art is a Blast
[x] POV Cynric
[x] Cynric drink a Brahmin milk bottle
[x] Cynric summons our missing members
[x] Have Louise dump 20k magicka on a delayed explosion
[x] Teleport our party to Xcom base
[X] Plan: I'm not locked in here with you, you're locked in here with ME
[X] POV-
[X] Louise
[X] Buff yourself and your companion to with Fortify Strength & Fire Shield.
[X] Cast Alteration Invisibility on yourself and your fellow heiress to make yourselves completely intangible and undetectable.
[X] If it's possible to use Alteration Invisibility to make one's mind or mental presence undetectable, do that first.
[X] Just don't, like, render yourself unconscious or mind wipe yourself trying to hide your brain, or whatever.
[X] Look, I don't know how the spell works, okay?!
[X] Leave some way to communicate with Hinata. Rendering yourselves so undetectable you bump into each other would be silly. Maybe she can still see you with her weird eyes and can just follow you.
[X] Casually stroll out of the aliens' feeble attempt at containing you.
[X] As you're now basically invisible ghosts under the effect of Alteration Invisibility, proceed to haunt your foolish would-be captors.
[X] Translator's note: Haunt means Murder.
[X] Then find your wise and benevolent master!
[X] Bask in his praise of your skill and cunning!
[X] After you become visible again.
I still want that ship!
Though if things go downhill, I'd say we throw the krogan a bone and summon that thresher maw.
Well... If you do summon one, that'll be two horribly invasive species you've introduced to Xcom Earth.
As for the explosion vote, I hope you guys have a good escape plan if that wins.
Edit: it seems nobody wants to vote, so unless we get a tie breaker, I'm giving it a few days for the holidays before flipping a coin for the two existing plans.
Rolling as her attacker released it's grip on her, she pushed off the floor into a rising slash, her sparking blade cutting through golden flesh with ease. With the same unnatural grace she'd had ever since her master came into her life, she flipped in the air and caught the falling head as she landed. Looking around the room as the swirling energies of the alien's teleportation winked out, Louise looked around her new environment.
She was in a translucent cube of blue energy, deep purple veins pulsing across the surface and a green shimmer flashing randomly between the metal corners. Outside the cage were withered grey aliens in crimson and gold robes of such finely flowing fabric as to appear to be a waterfall of blood pouring over their bodies. Hiding their heads are silver helmets of ceremonial make, though that didn't stop her from feeling their covetous gaze roaming her body. It was unsettling how familiar it felt and if there's one thing Louise was well known for, it would be how she reacts to emotional discomfort.
Why were these disgusting beings so interested in her? Wasn't it enough that they'd invaded the sanctity of her mind? What could they possibly have planned for her that they would need her body as well? Horror stories of monsters kidnapping women never ended well for the victim, various crossbreed monstrosities such as harpies being a prime example of the fate to await those in her situation. "No! I won't allow it!" The sparks of lightning from her sword-wand grew more frequent as her distress mounted before a sudden tingle and a storm of violet appeared to her left which she instantly responded to by ramming her blade through the face of another golden alien as it appeared with the other heiress of her group. Weaving her magic to grant the two of them increased strength and protection for the upcoming fight, Louise shouted, "Just you try and take us, you filthy beasts, I dare you!"
One of the robed figures steps forward on his raised dais. "Such defiance." The words seem to shake the world, not spoken, but audible all the same as the voice hammers itself into her brain. "We need not take what is ours."
Her knees trembled with the desire to kneel under the sudden weight on her body. The smoking head dropped from her hand and her sword-arm began to waver. She wanted to submit to the gods before her, but at the same time resented the very thought. A scream tore her attention from the struggle and she let her weapon fall as she looked to the source of the sound, the pale eyed girl panicking as her strange eyes tracked nonexistent movements. Growling, Louise suddenly realized that the creature that had spoken had enveloped the two of them in it's not-magic.
"I'm going to kill all of y-" "You will OBEY!" A trickle of something warm ran down her face, causing her to blink in surprise. How did I end up on the floor? Reflected on the polished floor of their cell, Louise saw blood running from her nose and flecks of red spreading across her eyes. "Wha?"
"Cease this impotent resistance. You shall bring about the ascension of your species regardless, compliance would ease the transition for all." A different, yet similar voice shook the room. The owner of the voice stepped off of their platform to float down in a cloud of violet energy, it's tone softening as it extended one of it's many hands through the wall of energy in an offer of assistance. "Does not a noble protect their subjects?"
Why am I resisting? Mother would be ashamed. Swallowing the lump in her throat that thought caused, Louise struggled to rise. Reaching out to take the deity's hand, she nodded guiltily. "I... Yes, you're right."
A terrible pain lanced through her arm, burning as invisible fire spread through her muscles and caused the limb to fall limp. Setting herself on fire didn't even begin to compare, it was almost as bad as when her first attempt at Lightning Bolt nearly killed her. Standing between Louise and the splattered alien's remains with a palm extended toward each of them was the Hyuga girl, sweaty and shaken from whatever the aliens had done to her. With the pain came clarity and the realization that the whoresons were still in her head, as well as the fact that a child had just saved her from a fate worse than death.
Snarling with hatred, Louise pulled her sword into her hand with magic and cast her altered invisibility spell; removing the two of them from sight, sound, and touch. Leaping through the barrier as if it weren't there, Louise and Hinata both dodged the retaliatory blasts of energy being sent around the room. The fact she could still push off the floor in order to move barely registered in her mind as she watched a closely huddled trio drop as if suffering from a sudden fainting spell due to the Hyuga slapping a hand through their helmets. Jumping to stand atop the energy cage, Louise thrust her arms in random directions, creating explosions and runes all around the room. Shields of purple light struggled to halt the tide of elements assaulting the erily silent enemies.
Magical eyes and a sense of her own magicka allowed the two heiresses to keep track of one another as the room descended into chaos, the sound of explosions outside the large room only serving to increase the panic among the ancient creatures as their numbers rapidly began to dwindle. Defenses fell in favor of offense, lances and maelstroms of energy tearing the entire room to pieces. Metal ran like water, corpses twisted and stretched in impossible ways, and a howling filled the room as the lilac storms tore a multitude of holes through the ship in their quest to devour everything within reach. Breathing heavily as she ignored the ineffectual counterattack, Louise speared a fleeing alien in the back as it attempted to flee through a door in the upper reaches of the room, but several more managed to escape via teleportation or alternate doors.
Soon there was only a single alien remaining, the creature standing regally atop a levitating dais in the center of the room with it's arms outstretched to block all incoming attacks. With no nearby surfaces to place runes, Louise extended one arm to unleash a torrent of Sparks at the alien while throwing knives flashed into existence and exploded on impact with the barrier, but neither attacks had any effect. Apparently following the lightning, a tired voice spoke into her mind, "Why must you be so short-sighted? We only wished to guide you."
"I already have a teacher!" Louise replied as she let the invisibility spell fade, punctuating her words with an explosion that caused the floating platform to wobble.
"You were to be an avatar of protection, a vessel of salvation to carry all through the tribulations of the coming age." The being seems to be unable or unwilling to hear her words.
"Tribulations?" Hinata asked, shooting Louise an uncertain glance, "W-what do you mean?"
"Don't listen to it, these monsters are just trying to manipulate us." The pinkette declared, drowning out whatever the alien might have said with a barrage of explosions against it's shields. When the smoke cleared, the only sign of the four armed creature was a rapidly closing iris in the ceiling. Another series of explosions only served to dent and mangle the opening beyond operation, completely unlikely to have damaged to fleeing alien any more than their previous attacks. Cursing, Louise kicked a nearby corpse, her enhanced strength tearing it in half and sending it flying across the room to paint the massive doors with gore.
The impact seems to activate the doors, which slowly slide open to reveal a lone muton and a dozen snake-women using the bodies of their fallen comrades as shelter as they fire uselessly at a horde of flame atronachs. The two girls watched in silence as the feminine fire elementals tittered and giggled like schoolgirls while slowly burning the aliens alive. It didn't take long until there was only one left, the serpent being held in place by several atronachs as one strangled her with it's molten hands, cooing as if comforting an infant.
A splash and the sound of retching caused Louise to turn away from the disgusting display to see Hinata vomiting on the floor. Kneeling to keep the girl's hair out of the way, the youngest Valliere patted her on the back in the same way she used to do for Cattleya and asked, "Are you alright? You didn't get injured, did you?"
"N-n-no." The pale-eyed girl mumbled in response as she pushed herself back to her feet. Looking at the cheerful demons beginning to circle the two of them, the Hyuga continued nervously, "I-I'm uninjured, thank you for your concern."
"Are you ill?" Louise asked her fellow heiress in a mixture of worry and hope that caused the Hyuga to scrunch her brows in confusion. Mistaking the expression for reluctance to admit her condition, the pinkette smiled. "Don't worry, Master Cynric taught me how to brew a potion that can cure almost any disease."
Blushing, Hinata looked at her feet and shook her head in denial. "No... I'm not sick."
Sighing at the lost opportunity to repay the younger girl for saving her earlier, Louise crossed her arms and asked, "Then what is it?!"
"Ano... It was... I-I wasn't..." The dark haired girl stumbled over her words, causing Louise to huff in frustration. Before she could continue explaining, a familiar voice echoed down the dimly lit corridor and a blur of brown and white crashed into the pair.
"Hinata!" Was the only part of the babbled conversation Louise could understand between the Hyuga heiress and the Inuzuka boy, not that she really cared about the kid's worried ramblings, but spending over a year being bullied by her peers from a multitude of countries had caused her to be uncomfortable with people speaking languages she couldn't understand. Master Cynric and X-com speaking Albionese was bad enough even with her knowing what most of the words were supposed to mean, but these children's strange language was completely different to anything she'd ever heard before and it made her uncomfortable. When the third member of the 'ninja' team sauntered up to them, Louise decided to leave the trio in to greet her approaching teacher.
Walking calmly and most certainly not rushing up to the old wizard, the youngest Valliere smiled up at the dimly glowing eyes of Master Cynric's armor. His gaze drifted over her before turning to peer into the room she and Hinata had come out of. One of the corpses floated through the air toward them and he reached out with a scorched arm to tear the creatures head off before freezing it in ice, helmet and all. "You escaped all on your own?"
Her mood crashing at the reminder, she shook her head. "No... the Hyuga heiress helped. I was stupi-" A raised gauntlet cut her off.
"You did just fine, Louise." Her Master said, his voice warm despite the odd reverberation the suit caused. "There is nothing wrong with needing her assistance, I did summon them to help us after all."
"But I almost let them control me!" She cried in frustration. Why was he being so nice when she'd messed up so bad? She could have ruined everything and here he was, saying it was fine. "I couldn't even tell it was happening! T-they used my mother against me... I thought for a moment that... that she'd accept me again if I just..."
A large hand landed gently on her head, causing tears to build up in her eyes as he mussed her hair. "Shh... You do not need her. I accept you, Louise."
Tossing restraint aside, she clutched herself to his armored leg and sobbed. Years of frustration and sadness and anger welling up within her to feed the storm of emotions tearing through her as the rush of combat faded. So caught up in it was she that she hardly noticed the tingling of the others in close proximity, the drain on her magicka as her teacher used it to heal her bleeding and other wounds, or even the slight burns caused being too close to a steam vent on the armor.
Louise Status: Healthy
Magicka: (213258/14000)
Cynric Status: Healthy
Magicka: (650/650)
Cattleya Status: Disoriented and exhausted, but healthy
Magicka: (0/2500)
Choose 1:
[] Threaten bodily harm to all witnesses and try to pretend that that didn't happen, sulking is the proper response if the others try to be comforting.
[] Cry harder. Perhaps babble about childhood trauma and bullies.
[] Attempt to regain control of yourself enough to continue on with the mission. RNG 40 or higher required.
[] POV Switch:
[] Cynric write in: Must compensate for Louise's current state.
[] Cattleya.
[] Write in.
A/N:
"If it's possible to use Alteration Invisibility to make one's mind or mental presence undetectable, do that first." Not really necessary as ethereals still rely on LoS in game and the only hint otherwise is when one notices the massive psionic burst caused by the gallop chamber awakening the Volunteer.
The woman from the Spain mission escaped her cell during the base attack, by the way. She has proven either unwilling or unable to answer the questions asked during Vahlens attempts at interrogation. One hour until Brahmin milk wears off.
[x] Threaten bodily harm to all witnesses and try to pretend that that didn't happen.
-[x] Try to get ahold of yourself and stop crying
--[x] cry harder
That was flippin' sweet. Shame about some of the Ethereals escaping. Oh well, we can stack up a pile of runes sometime and summon the survivors on top of them!
By sometime I mean as soon as we compose ourselves. No need to let those buggers set off any contingency plans. Or let them run off with that big ol' pokemon carcass.
But first!
[x] Threaten bodily harm to all witnesses and try to pretend that that didn't happen.
-[x] Try to get ahold of yourself and stop crying
--[x] cry harder
[x] Threaten bodily harm to all witnesses and try to pretend that that didn't happen.
-[x] Try to get ahold of yourself and stop crying
--[x] cry harder
A short eternity later, with her face a mess and head beginning to pound from the constant emotional onslaught, Louise pushed away from her teacher and attempted to brace herself. Sniffling and wiping at her eyes, the pinkette whirled on the three tingling sensations that were shuffling about nearby. Sword raised in their direction, she narrowed her misty eyes and declared, "If any of you mention this to anyone, I'll choke you to death on your own entrails." Jabbing her blade toward Kiba's stomach for emphasis, she growled, "Not a word, understand?"
Despite her wavering voice and bloodshot eyes, all three of the children nodded eagerly in agreement once Hinata managed to squeak out a translation. Barely keeping herself together long enough for them to answer, Louise stomped off into the destroyed amphitheater. Master Cynric said something to her, but she didn't... couldn't listen to whatever it was. Crying like a baby in public, she wouldn't have been able to live with herself if she had done something so shameful at the academy. Kicking a dead alien, Louise struggled to regain her composure. She had never been very successful in following the emotionless example set by her mother's rule of steel, but at least anger was better than drowning the world in tears, right?
Another three kicks crushed the dead thing's torso and made a mess of her boots, but she didn't care, stomping down on one of the creatures that tried to steal her personhood. What does it matter? Why should I care about Mother's precious rules when she wants me dead? A hiccuping sob escaped from her throat as she splashed her boot through the monster's face. She'd tried so hard, fighting for any scrap of approval, but every year had simply seen the distance grow between Louise and her family.
"It wasn't my fault!" She growled quietly, pointing her hands toward the body and unleashing a torrent of flames. The alien shriveled and blackened as it was turned to ash by her anger, but it didn't help. Master Cynric said he accepted her, but nothing would change for the better, it was just a way to bring up her hopes so that everything could come crumbling down again. That was how it always seemed to work.
Finally coming of age to begin her tutoring, only for her magic to betray her. Going to the most prestigious academy in the world, only to be ridiculed and reviled when the teachers proved unable to help. Her first act of successful magic during the familiar ritual, only to summon a commoner and then have the commoner be immediately killed. Master Cynric reviving her familiar and taking her on as an apprentice, helping her in ways that nobody else had been able to before, healing Cattleya of her sickness... it had seemed like her years of suffering were finally at an end, but then her mother had betrayed her. It didn't make any sense!
I finally begin to flourish and she suddenly declares me a heretic? What sort of mother sets the inquisition on their own daughter?! Why can't she just be proud of me for once?
Panting as her legs gave out, she curled into a ball and her sobbing became more intense than before, the warm floor offering little comfort to the young woman as it dredged up long forgotten memories of her mother's embrace. Her body wracked with convulsions as she wept in the ashen remains of her would-be kidnappers, Louise barely managed to muffle her wailing cries by stuffing a fist in her mouth and biting down. The taste of blood did nothing to distract her from the despair clawing at her heart.
Choose 1:
[] Cry even harder. Life is dreadful and cruel, Eleanor was always hateful, mother betrayal makes no sense, and you already know that Cynric and Cattleya will be taken away from you somehow just to make everything worse.
[] Attempt to regain control of yourself enough to continue on with the mission. RNG 65 or higher required.
[] POV Switch:
[] Cynric write in: Must compensate for Louise's current state.
[] Cattleya.
[X] Your apprentice seems to be dealing with some pretty strong emotions. Someone should help her out with that.
[X] Summon Cattleya.
[X] While your apprentice deals with your other apprentice's gross crying, request a sit-rep from Hinata.
[X] Upon hearing of the surviving Ethereals, put a cadre of Atronachs under Team 8's control and have them secure the perimeter.
[X] It wouldn't do to be interrupted while you deal with the last of your abductors, after all.
[X] Approach your apprentices, who have hopefully worked out the worst of their feelings.
[X] Apply headpats.
[X] Also apply a casting of Calm.
[X] Magic is far stronger than any simple emotion!
[X] Employ additional castings of Calm if this proves untrue.
[X] Be gentle with the headpats, don't want to concuss them with your power armor.
[X] Teach your apprentices the most important lesson of all: there is no greater catharsis than slaughtering those who have harmed you, desecrating their corpses (for alchemical purposes) and taking their stuff.
[X] There's something to be said about the value living well as a form of revenge, but not having to worry about your foes slinking away to rebuild their strength is pretty important too.
[X] Prep killing field:
[X] Set up Barrier Wards to prevent further damage to your ship.
[X] Order a number of Atronachs into the killing field.
[X] Order them not to step on any runes.
[X] Have Louise load the kill zone with assorted runes.
[X] Keep siphoning that sweet, sweet magicka off Louise to keep yourself topped off.
[X] Teach Cattleya Absorb Magicka if feasible and top herself off of Louise's reserves.
[X] Waste not, want not!
[X] Otherwise have her give you a report of what's going on back at X-Com HQ while you're putting preparations in place.
[X] When ready, buff the party with Ebonflesh, Fireshield, and Alteration Invisibility.
[X] Summon the surviving Ethereals into the killing field.
[X] Kill them.
[X] Instruct your apprentices in the proper way to bask in the sensation of outliving your enemies.
[X] Your apprentice seems to be dealing with some pretty strong emotions. Someone should help her out with that.
[X] Summon Cattleya.
[X] While your apprentice deals with your other apprentice's gross crying, request a sit-rep from Hinata.
[X] Upon hearing of the surviving Ethereals, put a cadre of Atronachs under Team 8's control and have them secure the perimeter.
[X] It wouldn't do to be interrupted while you deal with the last of your abductors, after all.
[X] Approach your apprentices, who have hopefully worked out the worst of their feelings.
[X] Apply headpats.
[X] Also apply a casting of Calm.
[X] Magic is far stronger than any simple emotion!
[X] Employ additional castings of Calm if this proves untrue.
[X] Be gentle with the headpats, don't want to concuss them with your power armor.
[X] Teach your apprentices the most important lesson of all: there is no greater catharsis than slaughtering those who have harmed you, desecrating their corpses (for alchemical purposes) and taking their stuff.
[X] There's something to be said about the value living well as a form of revenge, but not having to worry about your foes slinking away to rebuild their strength is pretty important too.
[X] Prep killing field:
[X] Set up Barrier Wards to prevent further damage to your ship.
[X] Order a number of Atronachs into the killing field.
[X] Order them not to step on any runes.
[X] Have Louise load the kill zone with assorted runes.
[X] Keep siphoning that sweet, sweet magicka off Louise to keep yourself topped off.
[X] Teach Cattleya Absorb Magicka if feasible and top herself off of Louise's reserves.
[X] Waste not, want not!
[X] Otherwise have her give you a report of what's going on back at X-Com HQ while you're putting preparations in place.
[X] When ready, buff the party with Ebonflesh, Fireshield, and Alteration Invisibility.
[X] Summon the surviving Ethereals into the killing field.
[X] Kill them.
[X] Instruct your apprentices in the proper way to bask in the sensation of outliving your enemies.
Damn, how'd you know I would have made the headpat into an RNG? I totally would have given you a small chance of breaking her neck if you hadn't added the part about being careful.
I'm surprised you didn't pick the cry even harder option though, what with the last vote and all.
On a somewhat different note, would it be possible to go to the Fate/Stay Night or /Zero universe at some point? Just thinking it would be interesting to see people's reactions when Louise calls Cynric 'Master'.
[X] Plan: Cynric's Gonna Cynric
-[X] Cry even harder. Life is dreadful and cruel, Eleanor was always hateful, mother betrayal makes no sense, and you already know that Cynric and Cattleya will be taken away from you somehow just to make everything worse.
--[X] POV Switch:
---[X] Cynric write in: Must compensate for Louise's current state.
----[X] Time to abandon Louise and make your way back through the Oblivion Gate. You know, for laughs.
-----[X] Then remove the Sigil Stone and close the gate so she can't follow.
------[X] Spend the rest of your days ridiculing her behind her back.
It's been a little while since Cynric has done something so pointlessly evil. Let's do it.
