Scene #3419: Neuroi Attack!!

Owner	Pose
Evangeline	It is a bright, sunny day on the north coast of Galia (analagous to France in a typical earth). That is until the sirens on the island of Mont-Saint Michals start going off. Air raid sirens. The Strike Witches are immediately deployed. Several talented young witches depart the base, leaving only a few behind to defend it. "Take care of the base while we are gone, Evangeline!" the newest member of the witches says as they depart. The little Neuroi known as Evangeline floats at the hanger doors as the others depart. Then, another set of sirens goes off. Another Neuroi has been deployed, and only Evangeline is left to defend. She could likely handle it, but just in case she sends out a call over the Multiversal broadband. "...this is Evangeline of the Strike Witches to any available allies...we are under attack...requesting assistance in repelling enemy Neuroi...Please respond..." Without waiting for a reply, Evangeline heads out at top speed over the ocean toward the second enemy Neuroi. It is always strange, going off to fight another Neuroi, but it helps that these Neuroi are also enemies of hers. And without knowing if there will be assistance, a division of the 1st fleet has been deployed as a second line if Evangeline needs help. Several large, powerful looking military ships follow after the Neuroi, but they could not hope to match her speed, and everyone involved is hoping they won't have to engage the enemy.
Xiao Li Yu	Neuroi...Xiao had no idea what that was. And considering that she had a spot of free time...why not go and check out what was going on? And that's exactly what the scientist set out to do. Making no real pertinent preparations, she set out to the world pinpointed in the call for assistance, eventually coming out of a warpgate on the coast of Galia. "My. ...Nice place." The girl murmured, arms folded into her sleeves as she took a leisurely stroll down the coast. Her golden eyes locked onto the distant sight of military ships cruising along the ocean before long and her head tilted a tad. "That must be it." Smiling in anticipation, a pair of black anklets at Xiao's feet lit up and she levitated off the ground. "Let's have a look~" And with that, she flew off, ascending into the air and following the distant miltary sea vessels. "I do wonder what these Neuroi are...perhaps I can gather samples." She smirked to herself at that and pressed onward through the skies. She eventually outsped the ships below, coming up behind Evangeline and to the side. "Hello there. There was a call for assistance, yes?" She looked aside at the other girl, smiling pleasantly. "What exactly is going on here?"
Valentha Summers	It's a very good thing that Valentha Summers radio'd ahead, warning the Strike Witch forces that something very shocking was about to enter the battlefield. Space-time ripples, blue sizzles filling the air above the ocean. Then... CRACK-WOOOSH! Power arcs like lightning off a massive shape that's just APPEARED over the ocean. The size of it! A reptilian, golden-hued creature covered in spiky spines, each of its four legs around fifty feet tall... it's like taking two double-decker buses and stacking them atop one another and packing it all into muscular, majestic reptile. The dragon spreads its wings and starts beating, soaring along with Evangeline! "A situation report would be VERY helpful!" Although the appearance of another girl, somewhat more familiar... is noted, and taken with an indignant snort. One that results in some smoke wafting from her nostrils.
Evangeline	Evangeline turns her head and rolls on her side as she flies so she can look at Xiao. "...we are on an intercept course for an enemy Neuroi... " She leaves it at that for now, waiting for the other ally. The men on the ships below are nearly thrown into a panic as that huge dragon just appears like that over the ocean. The ships start to take evasive action, assuming it is a Neuroi, but Evangeline quickly radios to them that it is an ally. Once Valentha has joined them, Evangeline continues her briefing. "...the ships below are for backup purposes only...it is my mission to stop the Neuroi before it can make landfall...if we fail the entire country could be in danger..." Evangeline then turns to face the way she is flying again. "...therefor...we cannot fail..." The others might notice that her voice comes not from her face, but from her watch around her forearm and from their own radios. Just as the other two fall into formation, the Neuroi comes into sight. It looks...like a huge zepplin. About 300 meters long, and with tailfins much longer than the typical zepplin. Where the 'zepplin' is usually divided by ribbing, the Neuroi zepplin is striped with dark metallic black and sinister red panels. "...prepare for combat..." Evangeline says, and only a moment later there are flashes of light from the red panels on the zepplin. A moment after that, Evangeline spirals downward as dozens of beams of deadly red energy start lancing through the air, aimed at the three ladies.
Xiao Li Yu	Valentha's snort is met with a smile and a wave. "Hi~" And then it was back to Evangeline, taking in her explanation of the situation. Fascinating to note that the voice speaking to them did not seem to be coming from her face. What was the reasoning behind that? ...Well, now wasn't the time to ask. "I see. So in basic terms, a giant monster is threatening the country. How quaint." Chuckling to herself, Xiao looked on ahead, watching for said giant monster. She wasn't disappointed when they finally came within visual distance of it. "Oh my. So this is a...Neuroi? Hmn." Curiously, she studied the shape of the creature as they flew through the air. And then suddenly, it began firing dozens of red beams at the three of them. Without missing a beat, Xiao spiraled aside, taking evasive maneuvers. "So these creatures employ energy in this fashion...Hmn." She dipped downwards and side to side, weaving through the initial burst of red lasers as she mused to herself. "It looks quite sturdy...Is it biological? Or mechanical? What manner of attack is most effective against it?" Looks like the researcher wouldn't make any random moves first. She was going to find out how it worked before that.
Valentha Summers	"THAT is... a Neuroi?!" Even the dragon's a bit startled by this thing's appearance. But... not so much that she isn't capable of responding. Sensing danger, Valentha begins muttering a spell chant under her breath, then extends a hand. POWER flows out into a neat barrier large enough to shield herself and possibly others, absorbing the beams and refracting them in all directions. However... she's soon grunting under the strain. The mystic shield fails after only a few barrages. But it bought Valentha enough time to get a gooood gauge of its overall strength, hopefully. "Going to be a tough one. I can draw its fire and buy you two time to cripple the thing! Unless you have a better idea!" She joins Evangeline in the dive, but stays a distance away. Then... once again her body flickers with power. In a few moments... BLIP! She's up OVER TOP of the Neuroi, flying JUST OVER IT... and breathing out a plume of insanely scorching fire. No simple blaze, this heat is just as horrific to face as a brigade of lasers. It would flash-vaporize a chunk of ocean if launched at the water, or glass a chunk of ground.
Evangeline	As she spirals downward then banks away, Evangeline radios the information Xiao requested. "...Neuroi have shown no particular resistance to elite-level weaponry or abilities...our local military is unable to cause them any significant damage, though..." She dodges a few more beams, then flies right toward the enemy Neuroi. But, Valentha's teleportation allows her to get there first. And that fire seems to be quite effective! A large portion of the upper section of the enemy Neuroi is burned away. Soon there is a large, gaping crater in the Neuroi. But, it doesn't stop its movement toward land. It is movely at a relatively slow airspeed, about 80 mph, so it is not hard to keep up with. But, it soon becomes obvious that it does not need speed. Even after the hit from Valentha it doesn't slow, and it fires primarily on her with the next volley of laser fire. Beams that hit would cause an explosion, but they don't really sear like lasers. Instead, they simply disintegrate what they hit, at least to some extent. And, that gaping crater starts to shimmer before a silver glow flows upward from the edges of it. It quickly reforms the lost portion of the Neuroi. "...Neuroi are...crystaline beings encased in regenerating metallic shells..." Evangeline explains for Xiao even as she moves in. She comes to a stop in front of the Neuroi, throws her arms forward, and the same sinister red energy starts to glow at the tips of her arms. Then, a beam thicker than Evangeline is tall fires from her and punches into the front of the enemy Neuroi. But, even her beam only makes it about a third of the way in before she runs out of energy for it. A moment later, she is bombarded by beams herself as the Neuroi starts to regenerate that damage rapidly as well. Evangeline is saved only by the translucent blue spherical shield that appears around her. Even so, she is sent spiraling away by the attack. And within moments the Neuroi appears undamaged again. When she recovers, she radios again, "...we must damage it enough to find its core...then destroy it..." Since Xiao did not attack, the enemy Neuroi ignores her for now. It seems to respond to the most immediate threat, so Valentha's idea may be a good one.
Xiao Li Yu	"I see..." Xiao mumbled to herself, staying back and weaving about as necessary as she was supplied the information requested. "Intriguing." And her smile returned. "Crystalline entities with regenerating shells. I wonder how that works." But well, she /did/ come here to respond to a call for assistance. Even if she was mostly curious. It wouldn't do to not put in at least a little work. "Okay..." Finally parting her arms from her sleeves, she revealed a pair of advanced looking black gauntlets covering her hands and forearms. "Hmm...Why don't we try this? Thundaga." At that simple chant, electricity surged along Xiao's entire body, coarsing along and gathering into her gauntlets. Veering aside from the beams that struck Evangeline, she thrust her own arms forward, a low hum of energy buildup indicating the preparation of an assault. And then it came. Twin bursts of concentrated lightning beams fired out froom the palms of the girl's armaments. Individually about half as thick as she is tall, but fusing together to become something more substancial. It pierced through the sky, veering downwards and aiming to punch into the creature's side. "I wonder how it will feel if lightning makes contact with it's metallic surface." Xiao mumbled to herself over the roar of electricity surging from her weapons.
Valentha Summers	Underestimating the power of those beams is bad. A few of them sear into Valenthanixa's hide to devastating effect. Were they HEAT BASED LASERS it would do almost nothing, but these seem to be more of the DISRUPTOR variety of beams. The AGONY they inflict has the great dragon howling as a few spear into her belly and one grazes a wing. She goes into a spinning barrel roll dive towards the ocean with chunks of flesh missing... ... Missing, but... VISIBLY REGENERATING, at least. It may be a minute before all that injury's just gone. "In other words we must find the core and annihilate it! That won't be easy at all!" While falling towards the Ocean, the dragon gestures in midair... and sends a spray of a few dozen bolts of raw magical power towards the thing's underside!
Evangeline	Attacked from three sides, the attention of the enemy Neuroi is divided. Significantly less beams fire at each member of the defense force as they attack it. But, everyone is under attack, so it would not pay to stay still for very long. Xiao's lightning doesn't act like it hit something metallic. One would expect it to arc all over the shell of the creature, but instead the energy seems to be contained in the area where the bolt hits, and only there does a large swath of the shell disintegrate, only to start reforming a moment later. When Evangeline recovers, she radios to the others again. "...form up on me...we must make a concentrated assault on each section in order to locate the core...you should be able to see it before it is actually exposed to attack...it will be glowing brightly with a reddish glow..." She then flies quickly toward Xiao, staying close to the water as beams splash down all around her. Once she has reached Xiao, she makes sure Xiao has taken up a wing position before she flies to Valentha. "...we will concentrate on the rear...being behind it will give us some measure of cover from the Neuroi itself...as well as give us more time to concentrate our efforts..." It is a bit strange, the way she talks in such a meek, monotone voice, like a shy little girl, and yet there is obvious determination in her words and her posture. Once she has explained the plan, Evangeline quickly spirals away and around behind the Neuroi. "...I will strike first, then each of you will strike where I hit..." she explains. Then, she starts her attack run. She flies in rapidly, spinning and banking and dodging away from lasers, though several still strike her shield and bounce her about a bit. She fires on the rear of the enemy Neuroi, carving deep into it. Her attack reaches about a third of the way in. It will be up to her allies to penetrate the rest of the way and expose the core, since as she banks away she takes most of the Neuroi's counterattack with her, leaving them fairly open to make their assault.
Xiao Li Yu	"...I see." So the metallic shell didn't exactly function as real metal. That threw logic out of the window. Suppose she'd have to follow Evangeline's suggestion then. "Alright, we'll follow your lead then~" She spoke quickly, veering back and taking wing position by the other girl as they then flew off to join up with Valentha. "From behind? That's fine with me. You are the one most experienced with fighting these creatures between the three of us here." And once they were all in position, Xiao waited as instructed, watching as Evangeline swooped in, letting loose a ray that pierces into the enemy rear. While that was happening, she muttered another spell, renewing the fount of electricity that surged through her body and into her gauntlets. "Try not to screw up now~" She asided to Valentha teasingly before thrusting her arms forward as she flew in, veering left and right, up and down to avoid the arrays of red beams coming for them. Some grazed by her, the heat making her wince, but she avoided any direct hits fortunately. Once in range, she let loose another twin blast of lightning beams at the same point Evangeline has just carved into, aiming to penetrate deeper and push the damage even further.
Valentha Summers	"Pffft. Check your fire then, the last thing we need is more rogue trouble!" Valentha counters, wings beating powerfully to keep her going and in formation with Evangeline. Around and around... Valentha decides that, instead of lightning this time... she again inhales and FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!! That insanely hot flame breath's released this time in a tighter radius for more range and penetrating power, right along with Xiao's blast!
Evangeline	The concentrated attack seems to do the trick! The three of them working together carve deep into the Neuroi's shell. Xiao's lightning shatters deep into the body of the Neuroi zepplin, the dragon fire disintegrates even more, and once they have carved nearly half-way through the entire Neuroi shell there is a sudden and very bright glow of evil-looking red light. The source? The source is a gem-like core with what must be at least 30 facets. The gem is the size of a person, and rotates steadily in place. There is a shrill metallic shriek from the Neuroi, it might even sound like a panicked scream. To try and buy itself time to regenerate, it fires all of its beams at the same time. The sky becomes positively red with explosive energy beams that vector toward the three who are attacking the Neuroi. Like a shotgun blast, it will be nearly impossible to dodge them all. Evangeline, a bit slow after her attack, is hammered many times by those beams. Her shield flares brightly, then there is a flash as it shatters and those beams start to perforate her body. One of them strikes through the middle of her torso, and the same red glow from the enemy is exposed within her. She quickly dives toward the water, unable to risk further hits. "...the core is exposed..." she radios to the other two. "...concentrate fire on it...if we miss this chance...we may not get another..." Then, she is engulfed in an explosion of ocean spray as a more concentrated beam hits her directly.
Xiao Li Yu	Xiao's eyes gleamed at the sight of the neuroi's core. "Oho, so this is it...fascinating." A shame she had to help destroy it rather than attempt to study it. But in this situation, it really couldn't be helped without compromising her own safety. ...Not that it was any safer right now. Just as she had that thought, a beam slammed right into her directly. "Ack!" At the last moment, she thrust out an arm, erecting a hasty energy barrier that parted the beam into multiple rays around her. Of course, this didn't help entirely because those smaller rays still blazed past her sides, one whizzing past her head. That was too close. The beam eventually died down, but the gauntlet she'd defended with was rendered totally inoperable. Well crap. "Understood. Attack the core, only chance, etc, etc..." Smiling despite the near disaster she just escaped from, she changed course in flight and muttered another spell. "Firaga." Flames flared to life around her entire body, gather into the one functioningg gauntlet left. dodging past a few errant lasers, she got in close before taking a deep breath and letting loose a concentrated beam of fire aimed in a straight line down towards the core. She stayed put at this point, channeling all her focus into the beam. Of course, this meant she'd be unable to dodge any other laser fire from the creature, so this was a risky gambit.
Valentha Summers	OOOWWWWWWWWW!! Well, Valentha had expected such retaliation. She shields herself with a burst of magical energy, a spell she'd been casting ahead of time. ARMOR OF ITHAN covers her body in a thin film of light just in time to absorb the majority of the shots, but it's worn down under the barrage in no time and a few beams again sear into her flesh. One strikes a leg, another her tail and a third her belly before she manges to spin off. "And now we know our target!" And with that, Valentha decides it's time to show why you don't mess with an adult dragon. In the wake of Xiao's blasts she swoops in towards the destroyed portions, aiming to get REALLY CLOSE and then TORCH the core with another round of concentrated DRAGON'S BREATH! Even if she takes another dozen beams to the body. She can take it.
Evangeline	The fiery blast from Xiao punches into the gaping wound in the Neuroi, but it is regenerating even as she burns it away. It seems to be concentrating its regeneration efforts into the area of its core, and is just barely able to hold off Xiao's Firaga. But then, Valentha swoops in and adds her own fire to the mix! The Neuroi shrieks its shrill metallic cry as the fire burns closer and closer to its core, then finally engulfs it in a mixture of magical and dragon fire. It steadily turns black from the searing flames, then cracks through the middle. After that, it starts to fracture more and more. Their continued roasting hastens the process, and a moment later the core gem shatters explosively. Shards of it fly out, but they are much less damgerous than the beams, likely much more like a needle prick to these two. Their gambit has paid off, though! And after the core is gone, the shell of the Neuroi starts to flake away in a surprisingly beautiful way. It becomes silvery-pink, and as it steadily flows away it looks very similar to cherry blossom petals on the wind. Soon, Xiao and Valentha are surrounded by the beautiful sight as the setting sun glints gently off the millions of fragments. It is about that time that Evangeline floats up to them, her own body slowly regenerating just like the Neuroi they just defeated. She floats there a few moments until she is fully reformed, then bows forward respectfully at the waist. "...thank you..." she says, then flips forward all the way around until she is standing in the air again. "...I...may not have been able to handle this one without you..."
Xiao Li Yu	Once it was done, Xiao let out a sigh of relief. "Well, that was close." She muttered, flexing the hand of her damaged gauntlet casually as she watched the oddly pretty display of the neuroi breaking down. "Lost of these, but I guess it was a necessary sacrifice for the sake of knowledge~" So she says. She stowed her arms back into her sleeves at that point, returning to her usual relaxed posture. As Evangeline floated up to the two of them, Xiao smiled pleasantly in turn. "You're welcome. I just happened to be curious myself." Her gaze fell back to where the fallen creature once was. "Fascinating things. I wonder how they work." Her gaze returned to Evangeline at that. "Ah, but then..." She floated forward a tad, grinning teasingly at the girl. "I wonder how you work too~" Xiao no.
Valentha Summers	The core finally SHATTERS... and Valentha heaves herself away from the deteriorating thing. She ends up having to slowly circle, watching the sight... while trying hard to NOT cringe every time her body flexes. She's covered in wounds. Deep, disrupted gouges where her scales simply couldn't keep the beams out. The only saving grace? They're all visibly healing, and the damage may be gone in a few hours. "That went quite well! It could have been a disaster, had it gotten any further. ... A pity that it's not leaving much left over to study... or salvage..."
Evangeline	Evangeline tilts her head slightly as Xiao floats toward her. Her featureless face regards the young-looking woman, giving no hint as to what she might be thinking. "...I have been told to limit information on how I work in order to avoid others attempting to take advantage of me..." she finally says, then looks over at the circling Valentha. "...it is a safety measure...Neuroi that are destroyed disintegrate in order to avoid their powers being studied...I have given my allies some information...but my mission is not to help destroy my fellow Neuroi...it is to find a way to make peace between them and the humans..." With the battle over, the ships that had just now been closing in on the Neuroi start back toward port. The men on deck are waving, obviously grateful for the help from the two strangers and their Neuroi ally. A Neuroi they do not have to fight, be it destroyed or friendly, is another hundred or more of them that is not harmed. Evangeline looks back to Xiao, then over at Valentha. "...you two are welcome to return to base with me for a rest before you leave..."
Xiao Li Yu	Xiao puffed up a cheek at the denial of information, but such a response was rather expected. She let it go in short order and shrugged her shoulders. "A shame. Oh well!" She glanced down at the ships below. Offering a cute little wave in response before looking back to Evangeline and Valentha. "Return to base, hm?" She glanced at the dragon between them and smiled in amusement. "I believe I'll pass. Who knows what this savage beast will do to my body if we're left in close proximity without an enemy to fight~" She brought a hand to her mouth, not really hiding a teasing smile. "So in the interests of keeping my flesh on my bones, I'll head back first." Xiao floated backwards, waving as she did. "I'll see you around~"
Valentha Summers	"From my point of view there's only ONE creature around who likes hacking others to bits around here." Valentha answers with a sideways look at Xiao, but she then executes... a sort of midair nod for Evangeline. "For an hour or so, perhaps. My thanks for the offer."