Scene #3750: ICoT: Pyth Orchard

Owner	Pose
The Kid	For once, the air stinks of something over than ash and soot. That's not to say it doesn't stink of ash and soot. Just that there is other things mixed in here. Blooms, fruits... it's clear simply from the grass underfoot that this place is not like the last visited islands of the sky. Those were all stone, brick and mortar. Farmlands perhaps? Napping on the grass is the Kid, fingers interlaced and resting on his chest. His big wooden hammer sits next to him, alongside a sheathed machete. Zulf sits upon a mossy rock nearby, quietly puffing on a pipe and releasing fragrant smoke unto the air. As soon as the group emerges from the warpgate, a brown eye cracks open and regards them blearily. "Hi." He gets up. "No Core today, the old man checked. We're just here to... pay respects, I suppose." He's always been kind of dour, but today? Especially so. Without another glance, he starts leading, the ground rising up underfoot. Without any prompting, he starts to speak. Well, more like he starts to glumly ramble. "Place was 'riginally set aside by the first settlers to honour Pyth, the Wakeful Bull." Up a short slope, they approach a stone platform. And in the centre is a massive brass bull, eyes like rubies glaring balefully at them. Grand horns curl from its head, and a ring hangs from its nose. Glowing blue lines run along its side, and its tiny legs have wheels underfoot. Pistons stick out from its back, and some kind of intake is built into its behind. "This is him. God of Order and Commotion. We like things peaceful, so we always trod carefully 'round Pyth when he was sleepy. 'Don't wake the Bull' is what folks said to rowdy kids." A tired sigh, and then he carries on, leaving Zulf to pick up the chatter. "The Ura also worship the Pantheon. I understand that in other worlds, believing in the gods requires faith that they even exist? We-Ura and Caelondia both-knew the Pantheon exist. Saw their hand in every challenge set before us." He takes a long draw on his pipe, face twisted by a complicated mix of emotions. Regret, loss, anger. "The Calamity doesn't seem to have their mark though... or maybe they're hiding it. Or they're... undone." "They're not undone!" Kid barks over his shoulder, face fixed into an expression of rage. But after a moment, it relaxes back to that expression of tired apathy. "Don't let the old man get to you Zulf."
Staren	Staren steps out of the gate, armored up. Maybe it's overkill, but Staren hasn't survived the Multiverse this long by taking unnecessary chances. His visor is open, though. He doesn't seem concerned with the smell -- Someone must be burning wood for heat nearby. Besides, the floating island is way more interesting! Staren looks over the edge with interest before following the rest to meet The Kid. "Hi." He follows, looks at the bull. "...Well. That was an easy mission. Or do we need to do a ritual or something?"
Alexis	When she heard the Kid and his mentor were going exploring of sorts again, it didn't take Alexis long to load up and head over for another visit to the Bastion's world. After what happened the last time she was along, it probably was best for Kid to not be alone, even if this wasn't intended to be anything more than a scenic tour. Or a tour of rememberance, it would seem. Eh, same idea in the end. Nice that this doesn't smell like it's coming apart at the seams, too. All the same, instead of her big sack of stuff slung over her shoulder she just has what appears to be some kind of sword sheathed behind a shield strapped to her back. just in case... And if one looks close enough they might notice the purple orb in the hilt's crossbar peering over the top of the shield very much like an eye would. Watching her back, you could say. Literally. The Ageislash is the only Pokemon that seems to be out right now as she follows along, listening to the conversation. Which gets her to raise a brow a bit. "Do all your gods represent polar opposites?"
Hoshi Amakasu	When Hoshi makes her appearance in this world, the smells of the area instantly catch her nose and make her cough. The smell of destruction and burning doesn't really mix in well with the sweeter smells of fruit and flower; it only really makes it smell of decay. A decaying world... The thought makes a shiver run up the kendo girl's spine. Given that she was told this place wasn't supposed to be dangerous, she's decided to come wearing her old Japanese school uniform. It makes her horribly out of place, but at least none of her good clothes would get dirty. "Pay respects, huh?... Er, I hope it's okay that I'm coming. I'm kind of an atheist." And so they go along, and the kendo girl listens carefully as the Kid and his companion describe this Bull and his meaning to this place. To facilitate 'not waking the bull', the teen starts actually almost tiptoing around as she circled the statue. "This is really pretty... well made. I guess you guys really did have faith." Not that it seems to have really helped them. The kid's angry reaction to the old man's theory brings a pained look to her face. Looking at what was around them, was it really that hard to imagine that they were gone, or dead? "This place is devastated. If they were here, why wouldn't they fix it...? Was it... self-harm?" COuld the society have terminated itself? It didn't look like they had nukes...
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa is shocked to smell something else in the air other than ash and soot. she's happy aout that, it's not like it's gone but she's keely aware there's something else on the air. She seems to be in a good mood as she arrives. "Respect I can understand that, Kid." She's never caught his name somehow and he's not been one to offer it up either. So she's never pressed she pauses for a moment thinking. "I think I can get it. Who knows maybe it's left them unable to do anything much to the world given it's state?" Kotone also looks oever at Hishi for a moment. "The fall of the world may have injured them. It could be said a god could be tied to their world. They coul share it's pain as well?"
Lunara	Lunara doesn't really know at all what she's walking into as she steps through the warpgate to The Bastion. However it's beeen a slow day for her and she hopes that the benefits of this exploring and learning of a new world will outweigh any potential risks. When she catches the smell on the air she wrinkles her nose and looks up at the sky, wondering but deciding not to ask, at least for now, what happened here. She walks slowly up toward the statue before coming to a stop with the others, taking a moment to glance at Alexis and Ageislash curiously, this being her first time seeing a Pokemon, or a living sword and shield for that matter. She then turns to Kotone and nods in agreement with her statement. "Sometimes, if the fall is severe enough, a god can be ireparably changed, and not for the better..."
Rory White	Rory White's decided to ditch looking like a human when it's really, really disadvantageous. Like right now. Right now, she's decided to alter Flexbot mode. Instead of appearing human-like... she's a rover? Kind of looks lke a planetary exploration rover, except... her flattish body's raised up on four articulated adjustable legs that end in wheels. Two helicopter rotors are tucked against her back, all compactly folded up. Manipulator arms sprout from the sides, ending in shapeshifting attachments. What look like small laser cannons protrude from the front... if this thing even... HAS a front. Rather obvious sensors sprout from all sides... so whether this thing has a front is VERY debatable. She wheels over the odd footing far more quickly than the ungainly walking she's shown off before. "Good evening, guardsman!" She's not sure what else to call the Kid beyond his previous occupation. It's the most formal thing she can manage. Soon though, the rover-bot's regarding the idol of Pyth very carefully. If... extendable optics scanning it over slowly can be regarded that way. This machine isn't very expressive. But thankfully Rory White's voice comes from the thing, along with... a holoprojection! A transparent image of her animate body's projected a few feet over the ground, wearing flowing white... lab robes? Yeah, something like that. "It's hard to say... for some worlds, gods exist and are very loud about it. In others, they exist only if enough people believe they do... in some, some people THINK they exist but there's no evidence to support it... and in still others there probably aren't any gods at all. My world is of the third category." That she can exclaim with confidence, but she hasn't nearly enough evidence to come to any conclusion about Caelondia. "And I haven't met any gods yet. But..." She flinches at the Kid's outburst. OR rather, the holo-image does. "... if ever the favor of gods and miracles were needed, now is definitely that time."
Starbound Flotilla	The Starbounders are here, but it's unlikely that they'll all be doing things at once. Paying respects to old gods? Well, you know who you bring. You bring Moonfin, obviouysly. And Moonfin is the one who leads the others, stepping lightly and respectfully. "Order and Commotion. Remarkable poetry. I, too, give reverence to greater beings that require no faith. But their doing or undoing, their role or lacking role in the Calamity, is irrelevant; what is important is that they deserve to have respects paid to them. As such, I will do so." With that in mind, Moonfin seems to watch The Kid. Mostly to monitor the escalating rage; Moonfin's empathy can feel the tension in the air palpably. But he's also seeking some leads from him, an opportunity to understand how respect should be paid to the mechanical idol. I mean, you know, he brought along a ton of really great religious, uh, revering materials. You know, incense, some nice candles, pretty much everything you'd need to give some worship and respects.
Staren	When Rory demonstrates that she's paired a completely nonhuman form with a holoprojection for expressive communication, Staren projects an AR illusion only she can see of him smiling and giving a thumbs-up.
The Kid	Most people's appearance doesn't phase the two too much. But Rory and Staren get some stares. "Shrine's further along," Kid calls back to Staren. Easy mistake to make, the path hasn't reformed yet. But the young man keeps moving, pulling it up from the ruins below. Zulf meanwhile, takes it upon himself to answer questions. "Most do. Olak and Yudrig are the standouts. There have been many arguments as to how Chance can oppose Whim, or Impulse oppose Bravery." A polite, strained smile to Hoshi. "Had might be a better term I think. In more ways than one." A look to Kotone and Lunara, before the diplomat rubs his chin. "It is possible, I suppose." He also offers a soft smile to Moonfin. "We appreciate your kindness sir." Finally, Kid chips in again, partially elaborating on what Zulf meant by 'had.' "All of the Pantheon got respect too, 'course. Acobi, Garmuth, Hense, Jevel, Lemaign, Mother, Olak, Roathus, Yudrig... but Pyth was the most revered. 'ventually though, sometime after the war? Folks stopped paying the Pantheon much heed. Orchard here started gettin' turned to farmland. Pantheon icons started croppin' up everywhere. On cups, blankets... even as toys." Further up the rapidly assembling hill, and the party now stands on some of the aforementioned farmland. The reformed ground is soft and loamy, fences constructed around it. Some sprouts can be seen among the black and brown. But of more concern is the petrified corpse of the young girl that was dredged up. She was clutching some kind of soft toy in her final moments, a plush in the shape of Pyth. Based on her position, she seemed to be shielding it, but also clinging to it for comfort, in the face of the Calamity. Kid just walks up, draws his War Machete, and smacks the hilt against her head, making her crumble into dust. At the very least, it's gotten easier for him. He picks up the plush, frowning at it with obvious distaste... but ultimately tucks it into his belt. "The gods stood for somethin' once. Somethin' real. But folks stopped believin'. And now they're gone. Probably abandoned us. Wouldn't blame 'em." He continues, leaving Zulf to rub the back of his neck awkwardly. "Feel free to take any goods with you," he says, gesturing at the orchard. Trying to lighten the mood. Up the final stretch of hill, and they finally reach the shrine proper. Again, most of the ground has been dug up into farmland. Another one of those statues dominates the middle area. At the far back is the shrine itself, a large squarish building. However, the only aspect of it that seems to say 'Pyth' is the small idol residing in a cubbyhole at the front. It depicts a stylized bull's head, with curving horns and glowering eyes. Kid walks up to it, cups his left fist into his right hand and lowers his head. Zulf does the same.
Staren	Okay, that forming the land thing is pretty neat. Staren wonders how it works... then winces as The Kid encounters a petrified corpse and makes it crumble to dust. What /happened/ here? It seems to be too late to save the people anyway, though... "...So, if that idol wasn't what we're paying respects to, what /are/ we looking for?" He asks, but the answer seems to present itself in the form of a shrine. Staren doesn't approach, when he sees what the Kid and Zulf are doing. He can't really pay honest respects to a god he didn't even /hear/ of until a minute ago, after all...
Alexis	"(Bravery is with purpose; Impulse is without.)" There isn't much surprise that the somewhat philosophical discussion had drawn out her Dewott to answer instead of Alexis herself. 'Warrior-Philosopher' could easily be used to describe the water-mon's samurai-esque manner after all. "(Though the seperation is not as clean cut as two sides of a coin would lead one to believe.)" "Yeah, what he said." Despite having seen it before Alexis still starts for a moment when the 'statue' appears, only for Kid to crumble it to collect the doll. Then reminds herself that it was in many ways the most humane thing he could do. They already covered there being no known way to turn these people back, after all. They were stoned to death. But we won't make that pun out loud because that would be horribly tasteless. Well, when in Rome do as the Romans do as they say. Both Alexis and her pokemon mimic the gestures for the sake of respect while being 'guests' to this temple and the world around it. To not do so could be rude. Or worse. You learn these sort of things when your boyfriend is a mystical kitsune.
Rory White	Rory answers the AR thumbs-up with a smile in Staren's direction! A holo-smile anyways. But she's obviously not used to this arrangement. It's a bit awkward. Either way, she's focused on keeping up with The Kid and Zulf. "There..." She begins, moments after The Kid disposes of an unfortunate pile of remains... "... There is another explanation. Rucks does claim that the Bastion is the way forward. He has... SOME plan. ...perhaps the gods couldn't stop the Calamity. Maybe protecting an entire giant city from something this extreme was too much. So... what if they could not stop the calamity... but they could protect SOMETHING. ... or someone. Perhaps the survivors - you, Rucks, and Zulf - are the ones they saved? Under that logic... under that logic, they gambled on the slim chance that something would emerge from the ruins."
Hoshi Amakasu	Quite the number that's arrived here. Hoshi of course gives courteous bows to everyone else that shows up, even throwing in a wave for Staren and Kotone as they come up. She tries to keep a thin smile on her face, but eventually she just lets it fade as they keep moving along. She, of course, is still tiptoeing everywhere. It's probably really silly, but she's been to at least one actually Holy shrine. Just because this place was ruined didn't mean it didn't deserve respect. Hoshi frowns quietly when Kotone explains her theory, and it grows into a scowl when the lady dryad and Rory come in. "But why? How? What sort of power...? It just doesn't make any sense." Rory's later theory quells the scowl somewhat, but looking out over this ruined landscape... "In the end, even gods could only pull off the last-chance plan." She can feel her own odds dropping quickly. her eyes get caught on the poor little girl's ashen corpse, and her hands grip the skirt she's wearing tightly. No matter who you were, that was something horrifying to witness. She actually yelps a bit when the Kid shatters her. This leads her to start gritting her teeth as she quickly turns away. "There was a war. But this happened afterwards. After... Jeez, they couldn't just abandon people because maybe they got a little less devout. Rgh!" /Really really/ hoping that isn't the case.
Lunara	Lunara eyes Staren and Rory for a moment. Their appearance being more machine than natural gives her pause, but she swallows hard, trying to surpress her fears, mentally telling herself they were on the same side. She turns away and continues to follow along as they make their way toward the shrine. When they stop at the corpse, Lunara looks upon it for a bit only to blink in surprise as Kid just smacks it down to dust, leaving only the poor girl's plush toy behind. She frowns and shakes her head a bit, but still follows till they eventually reach the actual shrine. At Staren's question, she does turn to him briefly and nod in agreement, wondering what exactly their ultimate objective was, if not just to explore. Otherwise, she decides not to add anything more to the religious speculation.
Starbound Flotilla	Moonfin makes a contemptuous noise. "Marketing the gods." He says. "Commercializing them. Such disrespect for things that are vastly greater. You have my sympathy." Then he's a little less pretentious. "But perhaps 'abandon' is too harsh a word. When an artist ceases to work upon his canvas, perhaps he has not abandoned it. Perhaps he has simply finished what he set out to do." When the small child's ashen form is destroyed, Moonfin's Matter Manipulator automatically picks up the dust. With a short, rapid field-synthesis from his matter manipulator's Pixel Printer, he crafts a small, simple urn, and leaves it where the child was. This is the third group for whom he handles grave matters. And then, wordlessly, he follows. He assumes the same gesture that Zulf and The Kid do, but if they're not too opposed, he'll set out a bit of incense, to add a mildly eastern flair to the worship. It's all very respectful. Sometimes, the Hylotl can be really good about this sort of thing!
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa takes a moment to look over Rory's currnt form with her flexbot. She seems amused but also it's a big wigged out. Then again Rory wasn't human to begin with likw Kotone was, she lets her friend get a small grin bute frowns at some things she says about the god and such. She does not say anything else at this point on the subject. "So your gods got merchandised..." She trails off thinking of a few stories she's known along those line. She'll get her matter maniplator out to grab what might be of use here. Well she can at the very least. "Prehaps they did not step in due to what happened I'm not sure what else. Still that's curious, Rory. I don't know Hoshi, we'll have to see. Got to focous on going forward we can't focus on the past."
The Kid	Dewott's appearance surprises Zulf, but he offers a polite smile and a nod. "A common interpretation, yes." A look to Rory, and a slow shakes of the head. "I have heard Rucks talk of the Pantheon. I don't think he would be involved with any plan with them in it." At mention of them being 'saved,' a horrified, furious expression forms on the diplomat's face before he musters himself. "I'd... rather not think of such things. I'm sorry." An approving nod to Moonfin for the urn, followed by a long stare as Zulf considers the meaning of his words. "The Pantheon can be... harsh. But I would like to think that they would not abandon us so easily." As they pray, others joining them in a gesture of goodwill. A noise. Ten noises. A stern, womanly 'hmph.' A fatherly breath. A woman's laugh that might be either pained or joyous. A sigh that sounds young at first, but rapidly becomes a deathly rattle. A motherly hum. A childish giggle. A sleepy snort. A muffled, wet moan. Hooves galloping. Everyone may start to feel like they are being watched. The sky, painted in the soft ambers of sunset, rapidly shift to a boiling red. The air seems to crackle, filled with some kind of power that makes hair stand on end. The ground underfoot rumbles and shifts, finally beginning that inevitable collapse, that surrender to proper gravity. The Kid's face has lit up in a way none have yet seen. "They're still here..." Zulf seems about the same, but also more confused, worried. The bull statue comes to life, steam issuing from its nostrils, wheels chewing up the grass underfoot. In a burst of speed that belies its size, it charges Kid and Rucks, both of whom are quite distracted!
Staren	Staren waits for the religious people to do their thing. He has some side chatter with Rory over the radio. It's quite engaging until she breaks it off. And then he realizes that the noises he's hearing /aren't/ his companions. What? He looks around... and... the sky turns red. He feels an electric field, and closes his visor. The bull's approaching. Has the god posessed the idol to talk to them? Wait, no, it's charging! "Look out!" He shouts, raising his arm and immediately firing his armor's forearm-mounted beam cannons at the bull. He considers a few followup tactics -- blasting it with missiles, trying to engage it in melee -- but settles for playing it safe and keeping back for now. He'll form more strategies when he sees what his allies do.
Rory White	Rory's never, EVER, in her wildest dreams expected that what sounds almost like a divine sign would actually HAPPEN from a simple undertaking like this. She's so SURPRISED by this occurence that she forgets to actually waste attention EMOTING such with her holo-avatar. Instead her holoprojector just shuts down. Yeah. Her surprise is WAY more obvious over the Flexbot's speakers. "Did anyone else hear that?!" Not that she can spend too much time on it though. The giant statue COMING TO LIFE... has her engaging ROTOR FLIGHT. The Flexbot's folded-up propellers unfold, snap-lock into place, extend on tendrils to give the arms room... and VRRRRRWHOPWHOPWHOP up to speed. UP she goes, off the unstable ground. Manipulator arms fold up and get out of the way as small weapon barrels extend instead. The main rover-body OPENS UP, revealing an array of lenses and barrels, including the MATTER MANIPULATOR emitter. Which promptly lays down a line of ROCK aimed to trip the bull up and give the Kid and Rucks a chance to react! "MOVE!" She calls down to them!
Alexis	The sounds make more than hair stand on end, they put the nerves immeadiately on end too. Reflextively Tsunami goes to pull the shells from his thighs, getting that distinct feeling that something is about to go wrong. (Spirits remain restless in the aftermath. Something is amiss he--) An observation interrupted by the statue coming to life... Or at least to animated movement. "Dammit all!" Already twitchy from the spooky sounds, that's about all Alexis gets out in a short breath. She reachs back, but when she does her 'weapon' is already gone. The ghostly weapon is a step ahead of her, Aegislash reappearing right in front of Kids and Rucks, sole eye glaring at the bull as it's circular shield radiates it's own spiritual energy to intercept the bull-idol's charge with it's attack negating King's Shield move. That should give people enough time to stop the mad bull and get the survivors out of here. Because everything else is starting to fall apart as well. "The respite was nice, but it's time to MOVE PEOPLE."
Staren	Seeing what Rory's doing gives Staren an idea. He shouts to The Kid, "Can't you just drop the ground from under it and let it fall?!"
Starbound Flotilla	"There is yet still art to accomplish." Moonfin says, somberly. "Commotion wrought unto the world. Such a strange gift for the few left to pay tribute." He says, both quickly and elegantly, as the bull approaches. He has no time to bring out his Durasteel armor just yet, but plenty of time to leap ahead with ninja-like agility. Moonfin has skill in the taming of mounts; trying to maneuver around a rampaging mecha-bull is difficult, jarring, exhausting, straining to his muscles and likely to leave him sore tomorrow, but the fishman attempts to latch on and mount the back, yanking a horn to one side to try to force it to falter its charge. He also draws a short, lightly curved Durasteel blade, and tries to plunge it into the beast's side. It's unlikely to harm a great deal, but it'll hopefully give him a good grip.
Hoshi Amakasu	Eventually, Hoshi can't really stand to look anymore, and she turns and moves to the edge of the platform to look out over the ruined world while everyone else talked about their theories and beliefs. It was too much, and she was getting one of her confusion headaches again. "Not really helped by the air," she grumbles quietly to herself. Not that she's angry at them or the world. She's just not sure how to deal with such loss of life. She wasn't looking when all of the noises started to happen, but it gets her attention pretty goddamn quickly. The teen whips around and immediately undoes her hair. The hairtie in her hand grows to become her katana. "That... Was friendly, right? Not friendly?... Are we going to get smited?" Probably. And, lo and behond, the instrument of the god's wrath was bore by it's shrine. Thankfully everyone else is quicker to the punch than she is, but if it's time to play... Hoshi dashes for Zulf while everyone else stalls the beast, picking the man up and dumping him over her shoulder with only a few grunts for the effort. "Stay away from it, we'll make sure it can't hurt you!"
Lunara	The sounds and voices around them get's to Lunara's nerves also, and she begins looking around for their source while her tail twitches. Of course she doesn't get much time to look before the bull statue begins to charge. "Huh? Look out!" She cries along with the others as she promptly backs up to get some distance from the charging bull statue, a spear appearing in her hands with a flash of green mist. "It would seem that either the gods are angry, or someone wants us to believe that they are. Maybe we're just not welcome here at the shrine..." She turns toward Kid and Zulf. "Any ideas? Does that thing have a weakness?"
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa Was not expecting something like this se was not expecting something like this. She hears something she looks about. She's being respectful really but some part of her feels wrong, not in an evil way but then she sees The kid miling he seems to be lighting up, but there's something else going on here. "Look out!" Kotone Calls out as she springs into action. "Yes I did we can talk about it later, we need to not get the bull by the horns here! This is totally not the Calgary Stampeed!"
The Kid	A lot happens in a few seconds. Staren's blasts scorch and melt patches of the bull's exterior, revealing internal pistons that churn and gears that whirl to make it move. Moonfin saddles up, finding that the statue's exterior is rapidly heating up from the steam that drives it. But he might not be there long enough, as Rory's raised earth tactic sends it flying! Flying straight into the Aegislash. Hopefully that King's Shield can halt all that momentum! Either way, the bull ends up on its side, wiggling weakly as it tries in vain to get back on its wheels. Kid's still a little giddy, but he manages to give Staren a dismissive look. "This is a divine challenge. We're not taking the easy way out." He plants the blade of that machete into one of the holes made by Staren's blasts, and then drives it deep with his hammer, like he was striking a nail. Something important must have broke, because the bull immediately stops struggling. As Hoshi picks up Zulf, he starts to protest. "Miss! Though I may be a non-combatant, I do not need to be carried!" Although part of that might be the embarrassment of being carried by someone younger. "Right," Kid says, voice filled with more life than ever. "No way it stops here. Be ready." He nabs that idol from the shrine and starts leading the party back the way they came, the path starting to crumble underfoot. He's right. As they reach the farmland with that urn Moonfin so kindly left? It is crushed by a Windbag packing a large mining pick, surrounded by a multitude of Squirts. There's something... off about them. Their eyes shine brighter, their movements even jerkier and more erratic. Collectively, they begin to approach. Even as more of those automated turrets rise up from below, surrounding the path. Blue blasts erupt from their barrels at the party!
Hoshi Amakasu	Despite Zulf's protests, Hoshi doesn't let him down until she thinks it's safe. That said, she bows immediately once she's done. "I'm very sorry, sir! Just please stay safe!" And then she spins on her heel and starts running back. By the time that she gets back, it seems everything was about finished, and the bull was down. The teenager lets out a slow breath of relief. "I should've brought my kendo armor. Stupid. At least it's over now, right guys?" It only takes a few seconds to show how wrong she is. Long-suffering sigh. "Of course it isn't." She's quick to spin on her heel again and start running for the crumbling path, waving frantically for Zulf to come with her as she goes. Once she's done waving she immediately digs in her shirt and pulls out her locket, clicking it open as the blue light inside it shines. "I'm not going to be surprised again, damn it!" And she wasn't, thankfully. She stops short when she sees the strange balloon and mist-like creatures. Immediately, she calls out in a strong voice, "Persona!" It sounds like a glass shatters, and blue mist appears around her and starts to form a humanoid figure beside her. The mist finally takes shape into the Sword Bride, Rosamond. The hooded and cloaked figure raised her large blade to challenge the Windbag, then sprung for it immediately while trying to cleave through the top of it's head.
Staren	When the Kid replies that he knows what's going on, Staren replies, "Ah, yes, it's important to show the gods that you'll only win the /slow/ way. Heaven forbid They exploit this trait of yours to keep you distracted from other problems, like how this whole place is shaking like it's gonna come down again." before he can stop himself. Oh well, if The Kid treats all threats like a game he wasn't someone whose opinion matters to Staren much anyway. Actually the bull is stopped pretty quick. "Huh. First of all, who went to all the trouble to build that, and why use it as a weapon if it can be stopped so quickly even /without/ 'cheating'?" Oh. There are more monsters and turrets. "So let me get this straight," Staren asks as he shoots at a couple of the turrets and locks on to the others, "You're saying that after you pay your /respects/ to a god, they turn around and fight you? Why'd you even bother in the first place?" Two tiny missiles the size of markers launch from his armor's forearms, trying to ram into and penetrate the turrets at high speed and then explode. Staren keeps back, letting others handle the monsters, and willing to take turret shots headed his way (an amber sphere of force appears around him, cracking and discoloring as it takes hits) to make sure he can make accurate shots to take them down. (He's making assumptions here: 1. that he can take down the turrets with a shot or two, and 2. that the challenge as a whole won't be too long so that sacrificing a bit of his forcefield is no biggie. Also 3. That the turrets won't immediately focus fire him. If he's wrong on any count, he may regret this later)
Rory White	"While I don't agree with Staren's tone," Heli-Rorybot comes swooping in, laying down laser fire on the critter and creatures! .. LAser fire that is, obviously, invisible except for the impact spot, which BURNS LIKE THE DICKENS. Her lasers are REAL SCIENCE lasers, not blaster pistols! "I'd like to point out that wits are just as important as strength and courage in a fight. Sometimes moreso! Taking things head-on is often silly!"
Starbound Flotilla	Moonfin is being quite respectful for a moment, very grimly respectful but respectful all the same. Though the bull may have been smashed onto its side -- he only very narrowly avoids getting a leg crushed -- Moonfin has escaped damage with a few strained muscles. He takes a quick break to get his armor on when the Kid says this isn't the end of the challenge, and nods grimly after it's finished forming over his body in brilliant light. "If Pyth seeks for us to be worthy of a challenge, then we will be." He says. One of the Windbags smashes his urn, and Moonfin narrows all three eyes viciously. Hylotl are vindictive sons of bitches, to the core. As such, when prompted by that gesture, Moonfin slams a hand through the hole left by the Kid's machette. The Cores keep things up, and Fragments have a little Core power, and this didn't fall apart with the rest of the world... Like any good Starbounder, if there's a valuable bit of loot to grab out of an enemy's broken corpse, he's going to go for it, guessing in some distant sense that this takes some of its properties from Fragment chunks. Of course, if not, he'll simply scavenge whatever valuable power systems he can. It's clear he's finished with corpse respect, at least. But, whatever happens, he's on his feet and focusing on the enemies. Staren says he'll handle the turrets, and Moonfin will hope that he, and whoever else focuses on them, can; he doesn't have a ton of ranged options. With quick, deft motions, he draws an elegant Durasteel katana from his Matter Manipulator, and slices at each shot heading in. Any who get behind him will get easy cover, but each blast he has to cut apart, dispersing and deflecting it violently, will cause massive, jarring strain to his arm, a painful sensation that exhausts and drains his feeling. He's not immobile, though, which gives him a great advantage over all other kinds of cover. Which is to say, he's dashing towards the Windbag, intending to hack off the offending arm and disarm it of its pickaxe in a single sweep, some short time before Hoshi enacts her own attack; hopefully this will open it for the strike!
Lunara	Lunara looks relieved as the bull grows still, but like Hoshi, she appears to have celebrated their victory a bit too soon. Her hearts sink a bit as she sees the monsters, one of which smashing the urn of ashes that was so respectfully left there earlier. "Well, it seems they have no respect for the dead, or they hate pottery..." She comments, only to have her attention quickly grabbed by the turrets that come out of the ground. One of them fires at her and she quickly moves, leaving the shot to graze past her flank, burning away some fur and singeing her skin a bit. "Yeowch!" She cries, only to fight back by tossing a spear down the barrel of the offending turret, as a replacement spear quickly appears in her hands. She lobs it toward the windbag as she keeps on the move evasivly.
Alexis	It might be because of the negating effect King's Shield has. It might because the other attacks threw the bull-idol off kilter first. Whatever the reason, the Aegislash stands its ground as the mechanized idol slams into it's shield instead of the people behind it. The old saying about unstoppable force striking an immobile object comes to mind. This time the immobile object won. As Kid goes to jam the machine idol up good the phantom weapon blips in a shadowy poof to reappear back at Alexis's side. "Good job Balisong. Now let's move!" Is it wrong that she actually sounds excited at this? Or at least at the challenging part. She kicks out her rollerblades and takes off down the crumbling path, while the phantom weapon floats along. Tsunami sprints and hops from stone to crumbling stone, even as elemental water swirls up from the scallop shell held in one forepaw to form a glistening aqua-colored blade. Looks like the warrior's instinct is right on the mark, as their path is quickly descended upon by more monsters and blaster turrets. (I think they may be correct about the divine challenge). The remark is all he makes before vaulting high into the air. Dewott can fly?!... No, just jump good! And uses the leap to drop in middle of some of the Squirts. He plunges his blade into the ground as he lands, which causes multiple smaller gysers to shoot up from the ground around him via Water Pledge. "And I was worried this would be a boring trip!" As she grinds her skates along a stone ledge Alexis grabs the Aegislash by the hilt, pulling the blade half from behind the sword half as it switchs to it's Attack Stance. Two ghostly banners emerge from the hilt to wrap around her arm, while the shield straps itself to the other. Just in time for her to jump away from one of the beams barely in the knick of time, and keep skating to use her speed and the shield to protect herself. "Don't have time to stand around and fight." As she tries to keep twirling away from the beams, Alexis sweeps the ghost-sword in the direction of the fighting monsters. "Now, Flash Cannon!" The Aegislash's blade shines brightly briefly, before doing an impersonation of the Master Sword to send a beam of energy slicing hopefully through part of the minion horde.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa is very much moving at this point, she listening to The Kid. "The Easy way isn't always the right way!" She's however moving at this point Zulf knows how to keepo mobile she'll trust in the young man's abilitioes to eep out of trouble. FOr now they keep running, she's got her SMG out and she'll take shots at the windbags as they start to cause trouble? Or are they part of the test? She does not know what she does know is Rory's morph looks disturbing like a freaking Cyberdisc to day and it's just gnawing at her. "I just accept the crazy thing and it keeps me saner!"
The Kid	As he rummages through the bull, Moonfin would extract some parts from the bull, as well as a few Fragments. Zulf still seems slightly affronted at his manhandling at Hoshi's hands, but he does not and stick with her, staring in surprise as Rosamond appears. The Windbag (actually called Gasfella at this age and size), would normally take the sword swing to the head and that would be that. They're trained to mine, not fight. But this one actually raises its pick to block, before barging Rosamond with its shoulder! Only to have that arm hacked off by Moonfin. So instead the Persona might get a slick coating of blue juices. The Gasfella is clearly pained... but whatever is driving it won't let it fall so easily! Even as it deflates, it attempts to crush Moonfin with its other good hand, curled into a giant fist! A pear from Lunara helps make it deflate faster, which might soften the blow some Kid meanwhile, doesn't respond to Staren's goading. Only fixing the catboy with a filthy look before wading into battle with the Squirts, shield and machete brought to bear. For little things, they attempt to slam into the party with a lot of force. Even blocked hits makes the young man stagger some. Thankfully, he has Alexis' help here, teaming up with the Dewott to paint the grass blue with the Squirt' fluids, taking care to avoid that Flash Cannon slash! Rory's laser barrage puts the rest to rest As for those turrets, their shots pack quite a punch! The smell of burning fur joins the other smells in the air when one hits Lunara, but her spear puts that one to rest. Staren's missile shots blow up its compatriots. With the way clear, Kid pushes on, expecting the others to follow. But, of course, there's always one more obstacle. And this one takes the form of the first bull statue they passed. This one comes to life, it's metal shining gloriously, its eyes burning red embers, steam emanating from every crack and join as it sizes up the party. Clearly the Pantheon gave this one the good stuff. Kid leaps into action right away, waving his machete threateningly to draw it's attention while moving to the side. The bull charges, Kid dodges! As it comes close to the edge, all forward momentum it has is eliminated, resulting in Kid shooting Staren a slightly smug look. It pivots to face Kid again. Leaving its back exposed. It's revving up another charge!
Lunara	After doing whatever she chan to help the others mop up the remaining monsters, Lunara once again continues on with the rest of the party, heading back the way they came. She winces a bit as she rubs the spot where the turret shot her using the butt of her spear. When they reach the bull they passed earlier, she isn't at all surprised when this one comes to life too and readies itself to attack. The dryad doesn't hang back this time though, and remembering how Kid had killed the last bull, and noting those vents in the backside of this one, she has a plan. She starts off by using her magic to create some entangling roots under the bull, hoping to root it in place or at least slow it down. She then quickly bounds over toward it, careful not to get directly behind it in case it was capable of kicking. Standing just to the side of it's rear, she finally thrusts her spear into the vent as hard as she can.
Staren	"Are you alright?" Staren asks the dryad after the second battle. "Do you need a healing potion?" He'll give her one if asked, causing a brief burst of supernaturally-fast healing when drunk. "Didn't we just beat that?!" Staren asks when they see the bull is still here, and then, it abruptly stops at the edge. Staren wonders if that stresses it any, but right now it's leaving itself open for a direct attack! Without thinking, when the bull turns its back, Staren aims his arms forward and fires -- the beamcannons, and four more of the missiles. Maybe it's overkill, but that's the best kind of kill, right? "If you knew it wouldn't work anyway, you could have just /said/ that, you know."
Lunara	Lunara nods to Staren as he questions her about her health and offers the potion. "I've had worse, but thank you." She then takes the potion and drinks it down swiftly before stowing the empty bottle in a small bag.
Staren	Fortunately for allies approaching the beast, these missiles are designed in such a way as to keep their explosive force in a small area of a few feet -- they really are most effective against targets their speed actually manages to penetrate.
Hoshi Amakasu	Teamwork! Yeah! With Moonfin's help, the attack turns to a... mostly-okay exercise. Rosamond takes a slight blow, which of course transfers itself to Hoshi, but it's not anything major. And the creature tries to turn it's attention to the smaller target instead of the big Persona with a sword. As it tries to smash Moonfin, it gets struck by Lunara's spear, and then soon afterwards Rosamond's sword plunges into it's 'stomach', is viciously twisted, then jerked back out. Once the creature is not longer a threat, it comes to return to Hoshi's side. THere before them lies the big boss, the final challenge in this stupid little test. It's just the one beast, thankfully, but it's charging right for the kid!... and misses. And then again! But everyone seems like they're going to beat on this thing's back, so Hoshi decides to do something... different. "Go, Rosamond!" She points at the giant mechanized bull, and the Persona goes forth again, flying with incredible speed. Here comes the wind up...! Come to find out, the Persona's trying to smack this bull across the face with a baseball swing. Maybe it'll convince it not to charge, or maybe it'll make it mistep? Or, it'll just end up doing absolutely nothing. One way to be sure!
Alexis	"Your guards do -not- like to make it easy," Alexis remarks as she grinds to a stop upon seeing the first bull statue rising up in front of them. She actually stares at this for a moment... and then gets shoved out of the way of it's charge in the nick of time by Tsunami. "Oof!" The save isn't without it's roughness as she ends up skidding on the ground. Tsunami dives under the charge afterwards, avoiding getting trampled directly but still bounces off the bull-statue's as it catchs him in the side of the move, and tumbles to a stop not far from where Alexis did. "(... The bull appearance is accurate to how hard it hits.)" "Yeah... No offense Tsunami, but I don't think so many bodies on the field is helping us." "(None taken)" The Dewott red-flashes back into his pokeball as Alexis gets up, shaking her ponytail out of her face and back behind her were it belongs. "Ready, Balisong?" The ghostly weapon only emits a faint rumble of some sort of agreement. Alexis grips it tightly as she's onto her feet, noting that everyone else is already launching into attacks. "Let's see if we can't shake a few things loose..." She holds the shield out in front of herself as she lets go of the sword, which floats into the air on its own and winds back to swing. "Metal Sound!" The Aegislash's sword slams itself against the shield, making a thunderous metallic ring not unlike that of a gong being struck. More importantly, the soundwaves it produces blasts at the bull-statue not so much in damage itself, but in that the resonation is strong enough to rattle parts and plating loose, which will hopefully make it a bit easier for other people to pummel away on it.
Rory White	"ANOTHER Bull?!" Rory's glad she's in the air. But only in this new Flexbot configuration does the GENIUS of her design show through. The integrated MATTER MANIPULATOR hums to life, and... Rory swaps out some of the weapon-modules. She'd come expecting trouble, so had packed her limited storage slots with weapons. Large, sleek, micro-missile launchers in fact. FOUR of them. With machine precision, the manipulator running off of programmed directives, they lock into place onto her Flexbot's hardpoints... and fire off SLEWS of missiles at the new Bull! They whipa round in swirling patterns, aiming to ensnare the mecha-bull's rear end from all directions and converge!
Starbound Flotilla	Moonfin, for all his trouble, gets slammed violently! This one he can't block, or at least can't block very well. There's a terrible crunch as the fist slams into the fishman, blocked hastily with crossed arms, and he goes tumbling, crying out in pain! He settles on his feet, but he seems to still be battle-capable. "Now we find the understanding necessary to see the actions of Pyth for what they are. A means to bring a reward that is necessary with its appropriate challenge." Moonfin seems to be trying to come up with a way to seem on top of this, instead of seeming like he's just as ambushed as everone else is. Speaking of rewards? Squirt juice. He has no idea what the chemical properties are for that, but he's going to have his Matter Manipulator take that too, on his way out. Maybe someone on the Bastion can brew something nice with it? He's stumbling a bit after all that, but he keeps a mostly graceful step... And now, time to face down the bull. This time, Moonfin's far too wounded, despite his armor, to manage to do much of that fancy ninja footwork that he did the last time to mount the bull. He's going to wait, and wait... Staren's missiles and Rory's missiles are something he waits for here. The explosives always give a bit of stunning and a bit of dusty blastwave to cover an approach. He's going to rush in, intending to be seen approaching just before those go off, and then, when they do... He dives! Sliding under the dust and debris they'll inevitably kick up. His intention: Impale the bull with an UPWARDS strike, and deny it the opportunity to get those wheels against the ground! It's likely he can't do it for long, but hopefully he won't need to; either gravity may impale it, it'll open the creature up to a finishing strike, or... Well, he'll get injured again and knocked away for his severe foolishness in getting in so close, but we'll be more hopeful than that.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa sees tht they are able to clear out the small fry well enough and her friends are able to deal with the rest of things here. She looks to see what's waiting for this. "Well we got our answer at the very least, they are still here." Kotone now watches the large thing, she gets an idea that, yes she does not want to face this thing head on. She's followed afdter the kid moving quickly and she sees the statue coming to life. "...This is the main event isn't it?" She follows the Kid into action while the kid draws agro, she opens up laying down a barrage of fire from her SMG at it, and is starting to wonder if she'd been better or bring a laser rifle or something with Reaper rounds. SHe starts to move about with inhuman agility and firing shots where she can trying to get it in the back side.
The Kid	First, entanglement! Lunara binds the bull's wheels with roots, choking the wheels before ramming a spear into it! It shudders... but suddenly explosions! Staren and Rory barrage the bull with missiles... which may not have been the best idea. Considering the thing is winding up to charge, such explosions only give it a little extra kick, breaking those roots as it speeds towards the Kid! That divine power has shielded it from total destruction, but a few gaps have opened up, some joins creaking. The Metal Sound from Alexis and Balisong follow up that damage effectively! Screws and bolts rattle free, stripping parts and even loosening a wheel! And yet, it continues to charge. Suddenly, Rosamond from the front! Its blade tears a gash along the bull's face and side with a shuddering squeal of metal on metal. It slows a bit, but keeps charging. Kotone's rapid gunfire mostly just clangs against the brass, but some slip through the gaps to tear up its internals. Some white steam is replaced by black smoke from the damage. And finally, Moonfin's upward stab lifts it off the ground, the final nail in the coffin as the lights in its eyes go out, form no longer shining. But it's still flying towards the Kid. A shield is brought upwards, catching its airborne form as he ducks under it. There's a dull snap of a bone breaking from supporting all that weight with one arm, even for a single moment. But it's enough to push it up, keeping it from splattering Kid. It lands on the ground behind him, a pile of scrap. Finally, the sky stops burning red, the oppressive feeling fading from the air. The Pantheon has turned its attention elsewhere. "We did it..." Kid groans, fumbling for a vial of Healing Water.
Alexis	"Wherever your gods may be right now, they certainly don't take their challenges lightly." Alexis wiggles her fingers a few times to work the recoil from hanging onto a vibrating sword-ghost out of the joints, but doesn't dare sheath Balisong yet. Just in case. "We should probably get out of here before the rest of the place collapses, huh?"
Staren	It all happens so fast, before Staren can think about missiles being counterproductive or whether The Kid will be okay -- Now it's over, the sky is back to normal, and the Kid's got his own healing covered. Staren approaches to investigate the remains of the statue, curious as to whether it was animated by only divine power or if there was a mechanical component. "But /what/ did we do, exactly? So the gods just randomly challenge you and you have to fight stuff? Is there a /point/ to it all? Or do you just enjoy fighting? I mean, it's fine if you do, but I'm still new to this whole thing, so if there's more I honestly just haven't heard it yet."
Starbound Flotilla	Moonfin pants for a moment, catching his breath, laying on his back in exhaustion at the sudden liftoff for the bull. Then, he gets up. "Staren. Observe." He says, in a plain tone. "This is what is wrought of the challenges of the gods." He takes the sword and plunges it into the side of the scrapped bull, cutting out the Fragments where he found them before. "Ancient artifacts of the Old World. Systems and power used for the new. The point is to find the reward that lies within. Do not ask the wind why it dares to summon a storm, without first turning your sail to the breeze; do not ask the fire why it dares to consume your home, without first finding it within your furnace. Now is a time for recovery, but also a time for harvest." He picks up a fistfull of Fragments and shakes them at Staren as if they prove some kind of point, but one gets the feeling that maybe he's actually just sort of trying to convince himself that he knows what's going on and is in control more than anything else, he may well be just as frustrated from the look of it. At least he hasn't lost that traditional Hylotl smugness, so at least he's not dying.
Rory White	"Or the gods prepare a round two!" Rory quips after Alexis' comment, landing - although with rotors still ready for liftoff - near the group. She turns her Matter Manipulator on the bulls too, ripping out whatever parts she can stuff in her limited supplies. Probably for Analysis! ... as well as salvage. Rucks might like it after she's done quick studies on them. "... The sky... it changed... I can only conclude... the Pantheon IS watching over this effort. Nothing that just happened... did I expect to happen. Nothing at all!"
Hoshi Amakasu	Sadly for Hoshi and Rosamond, their attacks were basically pointless against an armored target like this. The sound of Rosamond's blade shrieking against metal hide sets Hoshi's teeth on edge, and the attack doesn't do anything to change what was happening. So when the Kid actually manages to hold that thing and put it down, she's suitably impressed... and concerned, because she runs over quickly. "Jeez, man, you're crazy strong. Are you okay?" He's got his own means of healing, thankfully. But then all this talk about pantheons and deities testing their followers once again sets Hoshi's teeth to the edge. Eventually she turns around and blurts furiously, "Bullshit! Look at this place! Look at this world! Do you think they need any more tests than /this/!? Fuck these guys!" It takes a moment for her to realize what she said, and she goes dark red with shame. "... S-sorry..." Her sword disappears back into it's hairtie form, and Rosamond fades away as the teenager just starts walking away slowly. Maybe... she was projecting a little bit on that one.
Lunara	Lunara quickly backs away after her attack, particularly as Staren's missles fly toward the bull, not knowing their explosive radius was small. It's all over pretty quickly, and before she can really follow up her attack the bull is down and not looking so 'alive' anymore. Now that that's done, she looks around at the others. "That's it right? We're done?" Everyone seems to have made it through the event without much injury, but she does remember Staren's concern from before, and turns to the armored cat-boy. "Thanks for that potion before by the way. I barely feel any pain now."
The Kid	Kid stares hard at Staren. "Not just fights. Every obstacle before us is presented by the Pantheon. By overcoming hardship, you grow. We came to the holiest place left to pray. Guess they wanted to make sure we're not just talk." He downs the Healing Water and hurls the empty vial over the side. In spite of his aching arm, he's still smiling. Zulf just kind of stares at Moonfin. Can he tell how hard the fishman is bullshitting? If so, he doesn't say anything. "He speaks truthfully. Your rewards are far sweeter when they are earned. The Pantheon makes sure we earn... everything." Hoshi's impassioned outburst draws looks full of ire from the two believers. But when she apologizes, they soften. "I'm pretty tough," Kid says slowly at her retreating back. For once, clearly trying to pick his words. "And the reason is that I've been through a lot. I'm still here because the Pantheon helped make me this way. They ain't kind, but they look out for ya. They want ya to be the best version of ya'self." He and Zulf look among the gathered, the latter adding. "I do not expect you all to understand. But this is what we believe. So please, I ask that you be respectful. Or, at the very least, keep your thoughts to yourself. Harmonious co-operation is needed if we are to find a solution." The sky island rumbles again, more chunks falling away. "Time ta go," Kid says, gesturing towards a Skyway panel. Zulf nods to Lunara. "We are done. Thank you for your assistance. It proved to be unexpectedly needed. Goodbye everyone." The two bid everyone farewell, before rocketing off into the sky, back towards the Bastion.
Alexis	"The journey is no fun if it isn't tough enough to challenge ya." Alexis quips. She gets the sentiment, at least. Considering Trainers are always picking tougher fights with stronger opponents or the occasional not-quite-godly Legendary when they act up for similar reasons. Or she's just the sort that enjoys that sort of action. She is a rough and tumble tomboy after all. "Don't be afraid to shout when you need some extra hands 'bout again!" She calls after the retreating trio, before skating off for the warpgate before the entire place crumbles out from underneath them. We had enough close midair saves last time.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa is thankful the insanity is seemingly over they bring the thing down with a very well set up group assault, or that's how Kotone thinks of it. She lowe hr weapon as they finish up and she breathing hard, mostly out of habit than actual need. "Everyone good? It seems we got off lucky, I think ot's to help those who follow them grow and ... I don't think they are happy about what happned ot the world." "We might be need them to be strong enough to overcome what lays in wait for us Hoshi." She does seem to get Hoshi's anger from her tone however. She's moving to head out with the rest now before the island comes apart.
Rory White	"I'm... I'm surprised they answered!" Rory exclaims, though it's... not her complete true feelings on the matter. <<And that they exist.>> She messages both Kotone and Staren. For now... it's go time. Or rather, leave time. ZOOM.
Lunara	Lunara turns from Staren to Kotone and nods. "Might take a bit for a patch of fur to grow back but otherwise I'm fine, and I agree that things could have easily gone a lot worse. Anyone have any plans for the rest of the day? I don't think I even know most of you."
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa lokks back to Lunara for a moment. "Good, and your right. Once we get off this island I'm thinking of maybe doing some mechancial work or just dinging somthing to do. Either way we should get going we can talk once we're safe in more depth."
Lunara	Lunara nods to Kotone and looks around a bit. "You're right, seeing how this place tends to crumble, I'd rather not stick around. Shall I follow you? Or if you're not up for company I'll just head back to my forest."
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa says "Follow me I'm going to beam out, if you don't mind going by ship if you don't object to it Lumara." Kotone is already signaling her ship and one crewman it's time to beam her up.
Lunara	Lunara looks a little squeamish about the idea of getting beamed up to a ship, but she ultimately sighs and swallows her fears. "I guess this is just something I'll have to get used to. If you don't mind having me, I'll come along."