<Y-Palace Guard> Adol Christin says, "Agrias?"
<Y-Palace Guard> Agrias Oaks says, "Yes Adol?"
<Y-Palace Guard> Adol Christin says, "I'm thinking of putting together a small team and stepping into a bit of an examination of an area soon."
<Y-Palace Guard> Agrias Oaks says, "Which area?"
<Y-Palace Guard> Adol Christin says, "I've spoken with Lana- I wish to take a careful examination of a location known as Zemeth Sanctum. It is a small region within my zone. However, it is believed to be that there may be a trap prepared by Ernst there."
<Y-Palace Guard> Demi says, "So you're thinking of making a concerted investigation of the Sanctum then, Adol?"
<Y-Palace Guard> Adol Christin says, "Yes, I am."
<Y-Palace Guard> Agrias Oaks says, "If Lana approves, then I trust your judgment Adol."
<Y-Palace Guard> Huskarl? Ziggurat 8 says, "Perhaps I could be of some assistance, I have experience in gathering reconaissance."
<Y-Palace Guard> Adol Christin says, "That would be much appreciated, actually... And I was, of course, intending to ask you to come along as well, Demi."
<Y-Palace Guard> Agrias Oaks hmms, "You may take any member who wishes to accompany you Adol and take whatever you need from our storerooms.
<Y-Palace Guard> Demi says, "As always, I'll be glad to assist you, Adol."
<Y-Palace Guard> Adol Christin says, "I will also be needing to visit the Seikishidan Headquarters. I've got something I intend to use there as a precaution... Perhaps Ernst will not be prepared for what this entails if he shows up."
<Y-Palace Guard> Huskarl? Ziggurat 8 says, "When do you plan on conducting this mission?"
<Y-Palace Guard> Agrias Oaks says, "Best of luck to all of you then. I will be scarce for the next couple of days so please, use your best judgments."
<Y-Palace Guard> Adol Christin says, "...perhaps we should meet in the waiting area of the Palace shortly. I'm wanting to get this done as soon as possible. Thank you, Agrias. I'll give you what information we can find when I speak to you next."
<Y-Palace Guard> Agrias Oaks says, "I look forward to it."
<Y-Palace Guard> Huskarl? Ziggurat 8 says, "Understood."
Palace of Power - Waiting Room
This room is wide, carpeted in the same red as the Audience Chamber above. Long tables and seats fill this room, the waiting area for new arrivals from the Warp Zones. Missions are sometimes planned here, and the place often serves as a kind of briefing area, a command center for the war for Videoland's freedom. It is usually busy in here, regardless, beings coming and going constantly from the zones below.
It's not too long after speaking to the others on the radio when Adol shows up. He's dressed in the mercenary gear that he's been known to wear as a 'disguise' on occaision, but he's not bothering with the full look- the hood and cloak aren't even on at the moment. Strapped onto his back is a case of some sort- equipment from the Sacred Order, most likely. He takes a pause for a moment once arriving, before he sets the pack down to one of the chairs in the waiting room. He opens it to look over the contents before he sits down next to it to wait.
Much as she had been dressed while they had been dealing with the Mask incident, Demi is once again in her usual outfit for less 'advanced' worlds. Most of her armor is covered beneath a heavy wool poncho, and she's removed the attachments that go over her ears to improve her scanning capabilities for the time being - those being one of the most obvious parts that she can't easily hide from the casual observer. Carrying a bag over one shoulder, she walks in and smiles at Adol for a moment, and sits down in a nearby chair, waiting for any other members of the Guard to make their appearances as well.
Disguise? Ziggy's not one for disguises... in a pinch he might be able to wear a large cape and pretend he has a suit of armor on underneath... but Ziggy's best method of blending into the background is to do so literally. Thankfully his Stealth systems are operationing without any complications today. Which is a good thing too, because otherwise he'd stand out quite a bit. He enters the Waiting Room and nods at Adol and Demi. "Greetings." He says, right before jumping to the heart of the matter. "Is this mission simply the gathering of reconnaissance on this Ernst individual's actions, or is there something more specific we will be looking for?"
Once Demi and Ziggy both arrive, Adol moves to stand again and he offers a smile. "Thanks for coming, both of you. This is going to be more investigation on an area that I've been told to stay away from." He shrugs, allowing a faint grin on that one. "However, this area seems to be very important otherwise. I would like to see what I can find out on it... Unfortunately, there's enough to suspect some form of a trap there or another. Lana suggested that I do not go alone when I examine this area."
Demi smiles after a moment, before replying, "Well, your usual MO in your zone is to work on your own - its not until lately that you've been working with others in operations, so hopefully we'll be able to take the enemy by surprise if they are planning a trap." She pauses for a moment, and nods politely to Ziggy. "Your presence will be most welcome - we've never met, as far as I can remember, so allow me to formally introduce myself. My name is Demi. I don't believe that Ernst has had any experience with you, or even anyone from your zone, Zigguarat 8. Hopefully your presence will be able to help tip the odds if anything bad happens."
Ziggy nods as Adol and Demi speak. "A wise precaution, is there anything more you can elaborate on what you know about this 'place' we will be investigating?" Ziggy's not terribly familiar with Adol's world, afterall, he's never been there and does not know much save for what he is read. But any investigator worth his salt will tell you that reading and seeing are two totally different things.
He turns to Demi as she introduces herself. "I am familiar with your profile, Demi, it is a pleasure to meet you." He pauses. "You can call me 'Ziggy', if you prefer." Everyone else does, anyway. "And no, I have not encountered this Enrst character myself, but I will do whatever I can to make this endevour successful."
There's another nod. "As Demi said, it's a pleasure to have a chance to work with you for once. I've spoken with you on radio, but that's been the extent of our encounters. Ernst knows a lot about me and the people who I've worked with... like what Demi said as well, perhaps having someone who I've not had the opportunity to cooperate with will give us an extra hand- he will not be expecting it, afterall."
To the original topic- "The location I'm wanting to investigate is called Zemeth Sanctum. Apparently, Firewire had discovered a warp that leads to the outer areas of the location. I don't know how things will play out upon our arrival, but Elizabeth and I were both 'ejected' from the location for reasons I have been unable to discern. I hope that maybe I can play in a special card to keep this from happening this time around. This is apparently, a holy place, but it has also been abandoned for who knows how long. Within the central area, I had a brief glimpse of a statue of a winged being, which is much like the statues from another location in my zone that, until recently, I believed was not related to this place at all. I simply want to have the chance to learn and discover what I can about it."
"I can't see any real weaknesses with this plan - although I will admit, I know very little about this Sanctum that Adol is speaking of," Demi replies, offering a slight shrug. "If you're confident that you can gain access, do you have a way of keeping Ernst from being able to do the same?" she adds, looking over to Adol at this point. She doesn't add that much more - she wants to hear what the plan will be before she tries to add any more suggestions.
Hm, magic and holy sites. Not things Ziggy are used to, as they don't really exist in his zone... well, it depends on your definition perhaps. Conventional magic Ziggy has no experience with, but there are things from his own zone he cannot explain that others would easily label as 'magic'. And while Ziggy's Stealth might hide him from human eyes and sensors, it will probably do little against a magic barrier. He just nods as Adol finishes his explanation. "So, aside from paying attention to the actions of Ernst, we are not looking for anything specific, though we should make note of anything that stands out?"
"I don't believe it'll be anything specific, I'm afraid. I'm not sure I know what to say or know what we'll be able to find. This place it pretty much an 'unknown' to me as well." Adol states simply. He moves to pick up the bag and slide it onto his back. "However, what I think we need to be more prepared for is to find out whatever is going on with this place... why there is such a worry over me being there... or even why Ernst may be after this place." He smirks somewhat- it's an odd expression from him, "I've got plans for that, however. Maybe he won't be ready for me to use something from the Seikishidan as well if he shows up."
Something that the Holy Order made use of? That was an interesting change of pace. "I'm glad to see you're thinking a little outside of the box on this," Demi muses quietly, although she does wonder what cat Adol is going to pull out of the bag, as it were. Hopefully it would be something that would pay back Ernst for all of the trouble that he had caused back in that one singing kingdom, when Adol had been so badly hurt. Yes, it was a little viscious, but Ernst was inspiring more than a bit of visciousness in the android these days.
Ziggy doesn't have the nasty thoughts Demi does, he may, though, after finally encountering Ernst himself. But, since he does not have anything more to contribute for the time being (knowing little about the Holy Order or what Adol could possibly be planning) he just waits. "Understood." He comments. He's ventured into unknown territory before, so this sort of mission is not exactly new to him.
"I can lead the way." Adol speaks levelly. "I remember when Elizabeth gave me the routes to meet with her at the sanctum some time ago... I'll lead us that way and we'll see what we can do once we arrive. Maybe we'll be fortunate in finding our way through quickly and getting back without any problems."
======================== Later ========================
Island of Canaan
It's surrounded by a powerful storm called the Great Vortex. It is nearly impossible to get through without severe injury to death. But if successful, Canaan is seperated into three different sections of the island.
The warps are a simple route to take. There is some travelling between each one, but this doesn't seem to be much of a bother to Adol. Eventually, though, the path brings them to one warp that opens up to an empty area. The air is light and cool, due to the breeze from the sea and all- it can easily be seen in the distance from the platforms and all. The stone walkways are white in color for the most part, save for the green moss that seems to have grown onto them.
The area itself is peaceful, though, with the nice weather. It doesn't seem to be the type of place where an ambush or anything of the sort could be imagined.
This is definately an area of Adol's world that Demi hasn't been to before - and she's able to say that she's seen a decent bit, given all of the work they have done here over the las few months. Of course, the fact that they are probably inside of a massive tornado doesn't really occur to her at this point - after all, they are... inside of all of that. The complications and everything else related to the outer isle is far away from here - instead, the place looks serene. Idealic. "I can see why you said this was a holy place, Adol," she comments quietly. "It definately has the sort of feel of a place that is under some form of protection." What that protection is... remains to be seen. Ernst might be interested in a great power that is of evil, as easily as he might be of one that is good.
And Ziggy hasn't been here peroid. He'll not spend time being awed by the place, however, and merely takes in the environment before moving own behind Adol and Demi. They're much more used to the world, he'll have to follow their lead. "It is certainly some impressive landscape." He comments, before going into the meat of things. "Which areas will we focus our search, to begin with? Should we stay together, or shall we split up?" That, afterall, is a decision that needs an informed opinion, so it's Adol's call.
Meanwhile... A little far off...
At a deep, danky cavern, acidic substance seems to surround the place.
...A piece of a mirror is on the floor... gleaming. And it's soon picked up by a hand.
"Heh. Heh. Heh."
"Let's stay together for the time being." Adol states. "At least, until I can put down what defenses I've got on me. If we continue in this direction..." The redhead quickens his pace across the grounds and hurries up a couple of short staircases. He finally stops as the next area leads into a building, it seems. "...this is as far as Elizabeth and I got when we were here..." He reaches into his pocket to fish out a small, silver pendant, and he slips it on over his head. "We can stay around here, or we can split up. For the most part, I want to stay in this area."
By this point, the redhead kneels down and he begins to quickly slip the bag from his shoulder and start to empty the contents from it. These haven't been used frequently- not since the Heartless attacked the Palace during the last days before they vanished. They're a number of small rods that the young swordsman begins to piece together quickly. "For the most part, I want to keep this area blocked off from Ernst should he come. This will require visits on a regular basis to ensure that the crystals are still charged and are in good condition." He sets one of the rods up and moves to slide it just past the opening that leads into the building, and against the wall. Finally, he moves to begin work on the next rod, so that he can place it opposite of the first.
A raised eyebrow, and Demi adds, "You're planning on using one of the barriers that the Holy Order created in order to keep him out?" Its a curious question - this was an odd application of a barrier, or ward, or whatever it was that the Order used. They had sealed away Justice with one of these a long time ago, and apparently had done the same thing to Yuber. But using it across a larger area - well, it should work. Demi couldn't see any reason why it wouldn't, after all. Unless something about this place would interfere with the process.
Reaching into her pocket, Demi removes the earblades that she had packed away and reattaches them to her ears, and looks around for a moment, beginning to run a scan for other lifeforms in the vicinity. "Lets keep an eye out, Zigguarat 8, until Adol has the barrier set up. If nothing else, once we have this active, it'll ensure we don't have to worry as much about covering our backs while we explore." A twist of her wrist, and one of the androids rifles disengages from the storage space (which is much bigger than it might appear - thank god RPG physics) under her mantle and slides into her hand. Resting it on hre should, Demi looks around for a moment. If anyone were going to try something bad, this would be a good time for it.
Ziggy nods. "Even with the advantage of the barrier, I'd think it wise not to lower our guards around our flank. We could probably allow a certain level of relaxation, but it would be foolhardy to think we were perfectly safe." Never have 100percent faith in any one form of defense, nothing is unbreachable.
Turning to Adol, he says "Do you know of any other possible hostile creatures in the area? Or did you not encounter any before being expelled in the first visit? If we split up, I will activate my Stealth unit, as a precaution."
"Not that I saw. We didn't have an encounter with any sort of creatures, until we found ourselves to wherever we were sent." Adol doesn't look up while he speaks. He's focused on the second rod before he moves to put it in place. "...we encountered one of the fairy-type creatures that follow Ernst here, though. I'm sure he's got someone watching out for him." He reaches into the bag to withdraw a pouch. It's a thick, velvet cloth pouch and within it are a pair of crystals. He reaches through the door to slip one into one of the rods, then he moves to slip the other into the second.
By this point, Adol moves to step back and he closes his eyes, holding his hands in front of him. Nothing happens immediately, though. Finally, he turns to look to Ziggy. "I think the stealth unit may be of some use if something we do not expect occurs. Keep all of your senses open, both of you. I'll do my best here, as well..."
On time with his words, Adol is reaching to withdraw a small trinket from his pocket- an earring. He focuses on putting it on for a bit... and after a moment of seemingly being disoriented, he manages to continue with whatever he was doing moments before. "...hopefully, if this is related to Feena and Reah, perhaps my ties with them will be able to help me gain some trust from her..." Her? This is likely being something inside the building- it's that statue that he focused on last time. "I'm going to go inside. I'll let you know if I find something. My radio is on and tuned to the necessary frequencies."
"Do you think that its wise to go in alone?" Demi asks Adol. Of course, if its something that only he can do, then obviously he's going to have to go in alone, but its always better to check and make sure that everything will be alright, as far as opening planning for the situation can go. The android does give Ziggy a bit of an envious look - he gets a STEALTH unit? Man, what does a girl have to do in order to get nifty toys like that sort of thing? Hmph, is all she thinks. Hmph. Well, obiviously she's going to have to find a good way to get some toys like that in the futurue. "A fairy like creature? I'll keep an eye out for their presence. It will be a good warning if Ernst does decide to stick his nose out of whatever dark, slimey hole he happens to be in at the moment."
Ziggy doesn't make any obvious motions, but he does activate his infared and thermal scanners, just to be on the safe side. And yes, he DOES get a Stealth unit. But that's nothing, if Demi is going to be envious of anyone from his zone for nifty accessories, it should be KOS-MOS. "I concur," He replies to Demi. "Are you sure it wise to go in alone? I'll follow your decision in the matter, of course, as you are the best authority on your own world. But it could prove to be dangerous if you are alone." If Ziggy were the underhanded, unpredictable type, he might just activate his Stealth and trail Adol, but there's no need for that. The cyborg is sure the warrior has his reasons, he'd just like to make /sure/ it's the best course of action.
"There's only one way to this point- which is the way we've come from. There's another entry from that direction... however, if this building has any other entrances, I didn't see them when we last came. It will be for the best if only one of us fall to the defenses rather than all three if I fail to convince whoever looks over this area to trust my actions and who I am." He smiles faintly. "I'll give you an all clear if I am successful. If not, then the shield will at least be active, and I can probably work my way back to this point eventually to meet up with you two again."
The redhead smiles before he closes his eyes. "...don't try to pass through the barrier until I've lowered it, however. Whatever spirit or force that watches over this area... as with others, it may be threatened if more than one approaches. I also hope that perhaps my alliance with Feena and Reah will buy me time and allow the guardian to at least listen to me. If he is here- then he will know if I am successful, and he will try to make his way through then... That's why I figure it may be for the best to have the two of you keep an eye on the outside for now. I may need backup should Ernst arrive while I'm inside."
Adol looks quietly to the doorway, then he begins to pull the leather glove free from his hand. "If you two can trust me, I will trust my safety with the two of you as well." He looks to the sapphire ring on his left hand then smiles to the pair. "This shouldn't take me too long. I'll let you both know. I promise."
Demi walks over and takes a seat on one of the nearby steps, reaching down and popping out a tripod for her rifle as she rests it on the ground in front of her, covering the entrance to this area. "Very well then Adol. You do have the highest chance of success here - at at least we don't have any crazy Gamemasters this time to try and complicate our lives. Hopefully we can be in and out of here before anyone knows we're even here, and with this barrier up, it'll keep Ernst or anyone else from being able to get inside without extrodinary effort." She does wonder if there is any way they can set up an alarm on the barrier to ensure that they know if its disturbed, but she hasn't studied up on the mechanics of it. She'd need to do more research before suggesting something like that.
Ziggy nods, and crosses his arms. "Understood. We'll keep watch out here, and wait for word from you. Be careful, however. There's always the possibility of running into unforeseen trouble inside." Either from Ernst, or.. some 'other' trials. Whatever it may be.
Hey, at least Demi gets a nifty long range weapon, Ziggy mostly relies on toe-to-toe combat. He does have a missle-launcher for emergency use, but it's less effective, and pretty much raises a 'hey! here I am!' flag. "Good luck, Adol." He says, before Adol heads inside. Hopefully things won't go bad, but if they do, that's what they're here for.
Meanwhile....
Demi and Ziggurat are going to receive a lovely visitor. It's not a fairy, but it is Ernst himself, who has came alone. During his stride, he skipped past the tank. Perhaps he didn't notice it. There is something in his path that is calling to him.
The Ark...
The Ark of Napishtim.
Coming to claim what rightfully belongs to him, Ernst is making his way towards Demi and Ziggurat 8. The latter, he doesn't recognize, as this guy must be newly involved with Adol. "Hello Demi and... whoever you are..." Ernst draws his right hand over towards the side, allowing a bright, crystalline glow to emit from the hand.
As Adol steps forward, he offers a nod towards Ziggy. "Thanks. Thank you both." He says nothing before he finally steps through the doorway. He simply looks back to the posts and waves a hand. On this command, a shimmering field flickers into existance, then fades. It's as if it does not exist at this point. He watches past it and keeps an eye on Ziggy and Demi before he turns to step on forward. By this point, the stone floor is no longer the 'stone' that is outdoors. Rather, it looks like a clear, decorated crystal. The area has water filling the central point, with pillars at three points. At the very center is a statue- a white, glass statue of a single woman, her arms out much like a guardian looking over such an area.
The swordsman finds himself halted by an unseen force and he quickly is dropped to his knees- that same overbearing voice rings through his ears and mind that he heard before with Elizabeth.
"This place must remain untouched."
Not this again. Adol quickly takes a deep breath as he closes his eyes, fisting his hands tightly. "...you have to listen to me!" He can't tell if he's even speaking or not- he just wants the voice to hear his words, no matter what.
"Ernst," Demi replies in a rather chilly voice, sweeping her weapon around to cover the black haired swordsman. "Somehow, I knew that you were going to show up to the party." She doesn't spare a glance back - likely Adol has already gone ahead into the Sanctum proper, and wouldn't be able to get back to even know Ernst was here. Which meant that she and Ziggy were on their own. Well. She could live with that. Ernst would just hopefully be leaving this place feet first in the end. "I'll give you one chance to leave, Ernst. Then we're going to have to hurt you. Then we'll probably take a break. And then hurt you some more, until you decide that you are going to see wisdom and leave. But no matter what happens, you're not going to be getting past us here."
This is the first time Ziggy has seen Ernst in person. He'll save the pleasentries, though. No need to even tell him his name, he just uncrosses his arms, as his elbow-blade shoots out of his cybernetic arm. He doesn't have Demi's flare for threats, he's more the type to make a visual impression. "You won't get through here." Is all he says. Whatever Adol's doing in there, they have to make sure he isn't interupted. Ziggy makes a note to exercise a bit of caution, though, since he has not experienced first hand what Ernst is capable of, yet.
The hands continue to glow for several more seconds in a rapid glimmer of energy.
Yellow.
Blue.
Magenta.
Red.
"As the Successor of Alamarion, I am afraid that you are wrong."
...The energy emits together, forming into a long blade. It's just not any long sword, the shape of the sword becomes a Great Sword. And not just any great sword. The emelas along the blade takes shape as a black glass with wireframes along the blade's flat part.
Alamarion is now reborn.
"How amusing, Demi." Ernst smirks for a moment, then he draws the sword along his side. Lifting it up, the sword starts to glimmer in several different colors at the end of the spectrum. "However...." With the great sword glowing brightly, "I am afraid that I must claim what is rightfully mine now. You all served your purpose."
He calls out towards afar, "Hello Alma. I hope you miss me."
Ernst smirks, then he draws the sword into the air, "Heaven..." Once he gets closer towards the two at a plasant distance.
He leaps into the air, then he draws the blade straight towards the ground as he shouts, "DIVIDER!" There is no point of playing with the two. His goal is to mow the both of them down to get a clear path towards the relic that calls for him. And once that blade contacts the ground, a strong burst of energy is emitting from where Ernst stands. The reason why he got to the close distance towards the two: One, they are VERY close to the entrance. Two. Heaven Divider's full brunt is at their range, with a bit of the shockwave beyond the doors.
The voice becomes silence on Adol's end. He opens his eyes wide, staring to the ceiling of the building. It's as if the attention has been drawn away by something else.
This time, with the voice echoing through the air, it's enough to trigger much of a response to the swordsman. The cry of fury is enough to tear through his mind again and Adol snaps his eyes open to the ceiling- the energy washes over him, but... somehow, something holds him in place.
Adol's hands are lowered to his sides, palms open. The sapphire ring is glowing brightly, the cold energy of the goddesses tearing into his spirit is enough to leave him more than a little disoriented. The sounds running through his mind due to the Whisper Earring are deafening... It doesn't take long before Adol finds himself dropped to the ground, on his knees, hands on the floor- in front of the guardian statue of Alma.
"This is not how things are meant to be. He should not be here. The Alamarion should not have been returned."
The voice remains as strong as ever in the redhead's mind. He gasps for breath again, trying to fight for clarity in his own thoughts- the sudden reaction and change of things from the arrival of the lieutenant is enough to leave him staggering for now.
The shield shimmers as the shockwave slams into it and through it... but it still holds, somehow. The crystals are glowing brightly and it seems that they can hold up for now- but too much more and it will probably break under the force that Ernst has already demonstrated.
There is one minor problem is Ernst' plan.
He decided to announce his attacks. If you really want to make a big deal about trying to do a huge amount of damage, to unveil some massive attack in order to break through everything in front of you, then its probably better that you don't give anyone an indication that you are going to strike. Because while Ernst might be good on the offensive... he's about to find out that he's met someone who is equally powerful when on the defenseive.
As the shockwave roars towards the shields, Demi raises one hand in front of her, a faint blue aura surrounding it as she invokes one of the powers that was a part of her design. She had been constructed to stand up to some nasty opponents, when she was designed to be able to defend her station from anyone who might come to take it away from her, and thus have access to the ability to hurt their entire world.
And to be blunt... she had a number of tricks she hadn't really used on this world. Ernst's intelligence would have to be signifigantly better than anyone expected to be prepared for what she could pull out here.
The air in front of Ziggy and Demi flashes, seeming to distort even as the shockwave travels towards then... and then it slams into a second barrier, out in front of the first. Its not very wide - since Demi only had time to expand it around herself and her companion - but it is enough to diffuse the majority of Ernst' attack against them. And Demi keeps her hand up, and smiles slightly. The blast was enough to push her back a few inches, but... "...my purpose is not something to be judged by the likes of you, Ernst. I've stood against tyrants and monsters that are much worse than you - and even on your best day, you're no Zio."
Ziggy tenses, and seems ready to move as Ernst's attack is launched, but Demi takes care of the defense. Still, he doesn't let his guard down. Ernst seems to be a skilled strategist, if Demi is so concerned about revealing more of her abilities to him than she needs to, so Ziggy decides not to start off with the big guns.
And while we're on the topic of baddie comparison, Ernst is no Albedo either. Albedo likes to employ much more banter before actually launching into offensives, though, so a change of pace is actually nice.
As Ernst's attack subsides, Ziggy begins charging up his cybernetic arm with Lightning ether. It's not an overly powerful attack, but it's a good way to gague Ernst's abilities, plus keep him on the defensive as well. With his fist sufficiently charged, he slams it into the ground, sending a shockwave of electricity towards their opponent.
"Heh heh... Very ingenious." Ernst lifts both of his hands up. When he lifts both of his hands into the air, an electrical bolt as well as a pair of flames come down towards the ground. Joined together, they combine into one, then they slam into the shockwave, negating the effects.
"Not bad. I suppose that I should introduce you to some friends." Ernst smirks viciously, drawing the Great Sword around. Then, he plants the sword to the ground. Appearing from the sky is a fairy with a fiery mane. Jue, who gives off a vicious, grin, "Tehehehehehee! Jue says hi!"
Another fairy, who appears to be a dark skinned woman and has some lightning bolts surrounding her body comes down. And she is joined down by a blue, mermaidish fairy. Both of them have a smile, although the former carries a more vicious smile. The mermaidish fairy smiles. "Hello, I am afraid that we can't allow you to get in Master Ernst's way...." Drawing her hands together, she brings the arms into the air. Livart begins to draw forth the power of the wind. Not only that, but there is a bit of water mixed in as well. And when the whirlwind is summoned, the dark skinned fairy smirks, then she draws both talons to the whirlwind. The electrical energy blends into it. The whirlwind is heading straight towards the two.
Ernst's command is simple towards the two. Out of my way.
<InterZone Chatter> Ernst says, "Hahahaahhahahahahahahahaa....I hope you are able to listen, Christin."
<InterZone Chatter> Adol Christin's voice answers- but he doesn't sound like 'Adol'... There's no sign of his radio being online either during this, "I hope you're able to hear /my/ words, traitor."
<InterZone Chatter> Ernst says, "...Hello Alma."
<InterZone Chatter> Ernst says, "You have something that belongs to me."
<InterZone Chatter> Adol Christin says, "It never belonged to you in the first place."
<InterZone Chatter> Ernst says, "It did. And it is mine. My ancestor was too weak to claim it. I am not."
<InterZone Chatter> Chester says, "I presume this is the part of the conversation where I am supposed to recrite the following." Cough. Pause. "Double-you. Tee. Fffffff."
<InterZone Chatter> Adol Christin says, "You're only beckoning history to repeat itself again."
<InterZone Chatter> Ernst says, "With the Black Key Alamarion... I shall be as one of the gods."
<InterZone Chatter> Adol Christin says, "You do not have what it takes to complete it."
<InterZone Chatter> Chester says, "...I'm earning a lot of banter, not a lot of explaination. Rectify this."
Demi stands her ground for the moment, dropping her rifle and allowing it to get swept away by the winds that are flying towards her. Its a rather impressive combination spell. She'd have to watch for it in the future, but for the moment, she had other things she needed to try doing. Like surviving. The instant before the attack strikes, she reaches behind her back, pulling out two objects that she holds in both hands... and then she gets tossed away, sent flying through the air by he power of the black haired swordsman's minions and their attack.
And while Demi is in midflight, she loses hold of the objects she was holding into, which go flying off to land on the ground, scattered all around the entrance of the sanctum. And Demi lands a moment later, not moving at all. Seems like whatever Ernst's minions did, she appears to no longer even be concious.
<InterZone Chatter> Ernst says, "Of course I do. And I will. I need to take care of the two insects in my way."
<InterZone Chatter> Mega Man says, "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot"
<InterZone Chatter> Demi transmits a loud *thump* a moment later.
<InterZone Chatter> Adol Christin remains quiet for a bit before he seems to hiss the words, "You will not claim it. It is not meant for you."
<InterZone Chatter> Millia Rage says, "...gods. Can't you aspire to something more practical? Really, why would anyone want to become a god?"
<InterZone Chatter> Firewire says, "It has a nice ring to it."
<InterZone Chatter> Chester says, "...Ernst, Adol-Alma lack of explation will make me 'miffed'. Making me miffed is not wise." Pause. "Crap, you are one of those damn )*@)s that want to... Whatever."
<InterZone Chatter> Firewire says, "That's why."
<InterZone Chatter> Ernst says, "Heh heh... The Ark of Napishtim rightfully belongs to me."
<InterZone Chatter> Millia Rage says, "Then you are one of the greatest fools alive."
<InterZone Chatter> Ness says, "Did you call shotgun?"
<InterZone Chatter> Ness says, "Quick, Adol, call shotgun."
<InterZone Chatter> Ivan Popov says, "Gods are pointless abstracts on paper. Those who call themselves gods usually never truely are in power or in influence."
<InterZone Chatter> Ernst says, "Hahahaahahahaa... That shall change once I acquire the Ark."
<InterZone Chatter> Wiegraf Folles says, "He who would usurp the rightful place of God calls only perdition upon himself."
<Y-Palace Guard> Demi doesn't say anything, but a mechanical voice comments rather blandly, "S.M. Trap arming sequence complete. Awaiting engagement authorization."
<InterZone Chatter> Chester says, "...This Ark gives God-like power. Hrmm. Interseting. And Ernst, for the record, you have made me 'miffed'. You'll pay for it at a later date of my choosing."
Adol remains still by this point, slumped to the ground near the statue... Eventually, he moves to pull himself up to his feet. He reaches to the statue, his hand held open towards Alma. Dark eyes show no expression to them- he simply seems to do as he's commanded to. A gloved hand settles on the shoulder of the glass statue- and he doesn't move otherwise.
"Past the door- take the key within. It will be your second, and you will have one remaining to obtain. Keep this place safe from him."
Finally, Adol's hand falls limp from the statue and he steps back to fall to the ground, lying on the stone under the glass eyes of the protective statue.
There's a ringing echo through the sanctum afterwards. If this continues at is rate, things may not be pleasant for those who aren't under Alma's protection.
<InterZone Chatter> Ernst says, "You may come after me whenever you want... It won't matter anymore. For the Ark will soon be mine."
<InterZone Chatter> Chester says, "...I'll try and be terrorified."
<InterZone Chatter> Emerl says, "The Ark currently belongs to Ivo Robotnik."
<InterZone Chatter> Adol Christin says, "You are not only a thief and a traitor, but you are a food. You continue to make the same mistakes that your ancestors did. To think that you will be successful at this rate, it is simply nothing more than false conjecture. Black must have White. White must have Black. The two cannot work alone. You will leave, or you will begone, Successor."
<InterZone Chatter> Adol Christin's voice fades from the frequency at that point.
Why must all of these villains have a flair for the dramatic? A brief look of worry flashes on Ziggy's face as Ernst's three helpers appear. The combination spell, on the other hand, is a bit more serious. He can't count on Demi's defenses a second time, it seems.
He quickly kneels and thrusts his elbow-blade into the ground. He knows he won't be able to dodge in time, he's not as quick as Demi is, so he calls up his Ether Shift B program, while he braces himself for the impact. He's found that, in the past, Magic is treated much the same as Ether, so raising his Ether defenses with Ether Shift B should keep him safe from this onslaught. Indeed, being anchored to the ground keeps him from being flung in some direction. The spell certainly has a damaging effect on the cyborg, but it doesn't devestate him, either.
Once it subsides, he stands again, a few sparks of electricity crackling over his frame. He briefly glances at Demi, but turns back to Ernst after a moment. He cannot do much for her, he has little in the way of recovery abilities. He raises his bladed arm back up, and stares defiantly at Ernst. "You talk too much." No, he's not getting out of his way so easily.
Ernst smirks towards Ziggurat, then he brings the sword back. The man sees the man is keeping his guard up. "Xisa, Sera, Jue. End him and eliminate the barrier." He lifts the hand up.
All three of the fairies bring their hands into the air, gathering the energy together. The elements of fire, water, wind, and earth come together. The energies come together, forming into one.
The man smirks, then he says, "Goodbye."
The three fairies shoot out their combined wave of flames, wind, water, and electric straight towards the path that Zigguarat door. And this time, the combined energy is added with Ernst, he lifts the Alamarion up into the air. The man swings the sword down, releasing a multicolored beam of energy, heading to get through the path.
[Radio] Demi radios: Ziggurat 8, once he approaches the door, I have something set up to... deal with Ernst. Attempt to incapacitate the faries in the meantime.
Demi remains facedown on the ground, not moving at all. She appears to be quite unconcious. Her gun lies on its side, the barrel propped up in the air by the still extended tripod, which apparently the weapon landed on perfectly after Demi had tossed it. This lesson in Algolian auto-gyros is brought to you by WrenTech. For when you need the very best in Algolian technology.
The four boxes lie on the ground, scattered about in front of the door to the Sanctum. All they are doing is blinking, one tiny LED flashing on the side of each of them. It appears that whatever Demi was planning on using them for... didn't work, due to her being tossed around.
[Radio] You radio Demi: Understood.
Ziggy doesn't need his scanners to tell him that the oncoming spell is a very bad thing to get hit by. He can't afford to take the brunt of THIS one, he's going to have to make a trickey move. He really didn't want to expose too many of his abilities at once fighting Ernst, but survival is the most important thing right now.
It looks like he isn't moving at all. But the moment before the spell hits him, he activates his Stealth system, and leaps out of the way. Considering the amount of force he had to use in that jump, he 'catches' the ground with his cybernetic hand, then pushes himself upward onto his feet. Not the most graceful landing, but, at least no one saw it. Hopefully, Ernst and the faries will wind up thinking they DID end him with the spell, just what he has in mind.
He pauses for a moment, waiting to get a clear shot at the three fairies. He readies his BMP55SX missle launcher, thoguh he doesn't call it out of subspace just yet, as that would break his cloak. He's got one chance to take them out, and he's waiting for them to drop their guard first...
The shield takes the brunt of the spell again. There's the sound of a crack, which is soon followed by a shatter. The hum from the barrier shudders and finally, with the flicker of a white light, it fades away- one of the power crystals having finally broken and the shield breaking down.
There is no response from inside. There's no sign of anyone in there, should someone look- even Adol himself does not appear to be in front of the statue any longer. The place seems to be open and free for whatever Ernst wants within at this point.
<Y-Palace Guard> Adol Christin says quietly, "...Demi? Ziggy? Are you two still with me?"
<Y-Palace Guard> Demi doesn't transmit anything in reply.
<Y-Palace Guard> Huskarl? Ziggurat 8 says, "Occupied, but present."
<Y-Palace Guard> Adol Christin says, "...understood. What's Demi's status, Ziggy?"
<Y-Palace Guard> Huskarl? Ziggurat 8 says, "I believe she's feigning unconsciousness to trick Ernst."
<Y-Palace Guard> Adol Christin says, "...I see... Try to hold him a little longer. Don't let him inside if you possibly can."
<Y-Palace Guard> Adol Christin says, "I just need a little bit of time."
<Y-Palace Guard> Huskarl? Ziggurat 8 says, "Understood."
Narrowing his eyes slightly, Ernst watches the path clear with the man gone. Ernst does get a little cocky, then he shakes his head, "Too easy." He folds his arms, "Jue, Xisa, Sera, surround me." The three fairies are swirling around the man, standing on guard. While they surround Ernst, the man says, "Make sure to keep watch. That was too easy." The lieutenant did not see any bones left, so he is wary.
Step. Step.
Ernst finally sees what is for his arrival. Adol is no longer around. "Jue, Xisa, Sera, spread out." They enter into the door, spreading around. They keep watch of the entrance for any signs of Adol or any other people in the way.
Step. Step.
Ernst draws the sword towards the statue, "Hello Alma." He smirks viciously. "How does it feel to see my face..." He comes close to the face, "...Like what you see...? Remember the face my ancestor who CLAIMED Almarion?" He draws the blade up close and into the air. "Now, You get to see what it's like in person."
"Goodbye, Alma." His voice rises in a crescendo. "The Ark of Napishtim's bondage shall be lifted!"
Ernst has the blade back, ready to swing down.
Overconfidence - either because that's just naturally a part of Ernst's nature, or because he's just more than a little crazy - is a bad thing to have. After all, if you believe that everyone is down, then its obvious that everything is clear... right? Well...
...not quite.
Demi flips her hand around, allowing a small box to side into her fingers right as Ernst walks into the entrance of the Sanctum, just before he reaches the area where the barrier used to be. And she pulls the trigger on the front of the detonator, and depresses the plunger.
Playing dead can be a very useful trick once you have everything set up for your grand return. Even as she presses the button on the detonator, Demi sends a mental signal to her rifle - which pivots around on the tripod, aiming at the three fairies above Ernst's head. And her Sonic Buster fires off a blast of sonic energy, a ball of air compressed to super hard density by the ultra low frequency sound waves the weapon is capable of generating.
At the same time, all four of the devices that Demi had tossed away when she was struck by Ernst's earlier attack come to life. Each of them connected to each other, they delineate a circumscribed area, a radius that is bound by their presence. And inside of that radius? Well, these are no ordinary explosives. They are small, very powerful versions of the stasis generator Demi has installed in her own frame. In short - stasis mines. And they all go off in response to that single button press, bringing the function time within the boundaries of the four devices - at least in respect to all forms of biological organisms, to a half.
Demi smiles, an adds quietly as she pushes herself to one knee, "..oops?"
Demi isn't the only one who can play dead. Ernst was right to sense something was amiss. As Demi's rifle fires at the three fairies, Ziggy's Stealth deactivates, luckily far enough away from the stasis-mine radius, and his BMP55SX Missle Launcher appears in his hand. If Demi's rifle blast damaged them at all, this should be enough to take them out of commission for good, he would hope. The plan didn't work out quite as well as he had hoped, but it seems to suffice.
Good and visible again, he turns back to Demi. "Are you alright?" He doesn't dwell on Demi for long, though, as Ernst claims his attention again. As the villain had said a few moments before, that was too easy. He's not expecting him to go down that fast, so he readies himself for another attack.
Once all this has come into play, this should be enough time for Adol to finally step out from the rear area of the room. Held in his hand is a gold colored rapier. His dark eyes are settled directly in Ernst's direction. "This Ark of Napishtim, Ernst, will not be unsealed." He moves to step between the lieuntenant and the statue. "You will leave if you know what's good for you." There's a slight smirk on this. Especially as he shifts positions, revealing a glowing, blue ring on his right hand at this point too. He holds it above his head, allowing the shield magic from the ring to not only protect him from the black great sword, but to protect the statue as well.
"Alma wants you gone. I want you gone. The others here want you gone. Leave on your own accord, or we will make you leave. ...and you won't like that, Ernst. I promise." On those last words, Adol smirks slightly.
Demi's plan works as expected. Hook, line, and sinker. Ernst's desire for the Ark of Napishtim got the better of him. And it soon sends a surprise along his face. "..." He gasps when he sees the fairies shot by the sonic waves. Those sonic shots send the three fairies collapsing to the ground, all of them moan in pain.
Ernst himself is halted by the statis effect. Unfortunately, Ernst is frozen.
.... And the fairies are MISSILED, just to make things worse.
"...I'm not sure he can hear you, but..." Demi reaches over and picks up her weapon, and points it at Ernst. "...lets not take any chances. I don't want to give Ernst the chance to get out of here, when we can make sure that no one else is going to get hurt by his actions." She reaches down and charges her weapon, aiming to get ready to deliver a full power shot to the black haired swordsman the moment he twitches. "Mr. Zigguart, please make sure those fairies don't get back up. We don't want any surprises at the moment."
Well, if there IS one thing Ziggy's good at, it's keeping enemies Down. (hey, clever XSII ref, ha ha--.. nevermind.) "Be cautious, I would not count Ernst out yet." He says that based on this fight alone, but, well, villains tend to be pretty tenacious. So you have to be equally tenacious. Still, he has his own job to do. He walks over to the fairies, with his elbowblade drawn. No more missles for the time being, ufortunately. He does, however, deliver a swift Burst Blade to each. It may look a bit cheap, hitting them when they're down, but it's better than taking silly chances. Good thing Ziggy doesn't mind hitting cute things TOO much, especially when they shot angry magic bolts of death at him. They lose sympathy points right there.
"We need him out of here..." Adol states firmly. He glances towards Demi finally before he lets his gaze settle on the lieutenant again. "She's threatened by his presense here." She being Alma, of course. He remains standing between the Romun and the statue for the time being. A guardian to the guardian, so to speak. But there's something else going on. "...we should also separate the fairies from him. They act as eyes and ears, I'd wager. They are like an intelligence network for him. I bet that we can strike a heavy blow to him to take that ability away." He finally lowers his arm at this point. The magic of the shield ring is still continuing to flow through him, at this point. He's ready to act as the shield still if necessary. However, he also holds the newfound weapon in his right hand at this point.
"...I'll restore the shield, then have the Seikishidan bring more power charges now that I have the ability to access this area without worries of upsetting anyone. I'll increase the power generated by the shield to make it harder to break through, in order to prevent Ernst from coming through here without my knowledge."
The current status of Ernst's harem.
Xisa: x.x
Jue: x.x
Jue: x.x
Ernst, at the moment, looks like a perfectly good statue for the pidgeons to sit on. Demi is so going to pay for this.
"Well, I can set up a telepipe underneath him and then trigger it - that would get him out of here rather quickly," Demi replies, smiling. A telepipe set to about fifteen feet in the air or so on some random zone. With a nice long, steep hill underneath it that Ernst can bounce down. What? She is feeling a little viscious at this point - Ernst has done some rather bad things. And she doesn't like it that Ernst has done some bad things. But Demi pulls out the pipe item from her inventory, and walks into the stasis field (thank goodness for not being biological - the stasis field doesn't affect her) and sets it down at the black haired Romn's feet. And she steps back, and looks to Adol for approval to activate the pipe and send Ernst on his merry way.
Meanwhile, Ziggy is taking care of a stasis field of his own, for the three little, cutely x.x'd, fairies. "It would be wise to remove him if possible. That would also effectively seperate him from his minions." Ziggy has the three of them in a small, portable trap, for the time being. But it probably won't hold them forever. "We'll have to set them up in a more effective stasis container. What do you plan to do with them?" He's not overly concerned with their fate.. of course, he wouldn't want to just go and kill them outright. As long as they're kept away from Ernst, and not harming anyone else.
"Hmm..." Adol ponders over this for a moment. He smirks slightly. "...do you also have something to track someone?" He casts a glance towards Ernst again. "We don't want to lose track of where he may be... or I'd love to take the chance to learn more about him- why Alma is so afraid of him... Why he knows what he knows... you know... everything like that..." He pauses again then huhs quietly. "..." He stops again, then shakes his head. "If you can't track him, that's fine. We'll not worry about information. Not yet, at least... I've got an ace up my sleeve dealing with that still."
Finally, the redhead waves a hand idly. "...do what you need to do, Demi. We'll keep our eyes and ears open for him afterwards, of course."
"Really, anything I could apply onhand to track him, he could probably remove easily enough. And plus anything more insideous, and someone in EVIL might be able to remove it. Its probablu just safer to remove him from this location and worry about gathering more information later on," Demi replies, speaking as truthfully as she can. After all, Ernst isn't all that nice a person to have around, and she doesn't want to risk anyone else getting hurt. Even if it means that their intelligence capacity regarding him ends up being diminished... well. The android DOES grin. And steps out of the range of the stasis field, before pressing the button to open the telepipe underneath Ernst's feet. Provided he doesn't come up with something truely freaky, he'll simply vanish. And reappear somewhere in the Adventure Zone, far far away. Hopefully inconvenient and uncomfortable.
Ernst vanishes.... SOmewhere far.
Well, Ernst sent far away (apparently) and his fairy harem safely in stasis (one would hope), it seems they're wrapped up here. "Is it safe to assume the mission was a success?" Ziggy asks, allowing a brief moment to let the tension lift. Something still doesn't feel right, though, but he can't quite put his finger on it... maybe it's just the electrical feedback from getting nailed with that first spell.
He turns to Adol. "I assume everything went well in there? What will be your plan for this area now, aside from keeping it defended?"
Fairies are under stasis. Still: x.x
Once Ernst vanishes, Adol steps past where he had been and around the stasis field. He kneels down to look at the fairies for a moment, studying them, then he smiles faintly. "I think it was a success, Ziggy. Definately. There's nothing I can do with this place. Apparently, that black sword is necessary for whatever is here... and I don't think I want to see what it is for now." He glances back towards Demi. "I'd suggest leaving. I'll replace the shield's crystals for now, then get the additional pieces to it to increase the power that holds it in place. Hopefully, if I can run a full charge with it, it won't be possible to even use the Alamarion to break through it. It worked for a quick shield... but we'll need more energy behind it."
"We'll take the fairies back- I'll learn what I can from them in the Palace R&D. I'll return here to increase the charges to the shield later." This is when the redhead reaches to pull two more crystals from the bag- he did expect the shield to be broken at some point, and thus he begins to replace them. Once this is complete, he stands up, looking to the statue inside- and he signals for Demi to leave the interior of the building. "...for now, this will have to do..."
And once everything is clear, it shouldn't be too hard to raise the temporary shields for now.
Later...
Ernst is very unhappy with the turn about. And when he arrives to the gate, Ernst finds his path -blocked-. His eyes widen, then he hisses out in the tone similar to Darth Vader.
"Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!"
But then, Ernst turns around, noticing a tank with an eye in it. Then, he observes the tank. He observes not only the tank, but the structure of the facilities itself. Then it dons on him.
".... Heh heh heh..."
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAHAHAAHAA!!!"
Ernst glances at the tanks, then he grins, "You... shall be of great service to me..." He grins." The eye shifts towards Ernst, widening.
Thus begins... the Galbalan Production all over again.
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