Session 406: Looking Into The Erusian Problem
Location: PAX
Ulieah has brought a giant EarthGov ship for Taiga and the others to begin working on and Kellin has gotten them a ride with Iceheart in her ship for missions, so the team is once again in business. Yuki observes everything, perhaps there to judge if the Tiger Engine is up to standards for the Aquarius one day, while Ren is also watching for some reason. While many on the team are worried due to the ship's age, it later being discovered to be the ship Aquarius that John and company used in The Alien Wars 4, making it the Prime Universe counter part to Erica's ship. While Ymir helps out with Kito and Neekito to do the Spirit work, along with Chad, Angela, and even Cheryl, the others join Lorelei to deal with another problem - the shapeshifters, what few remain that are enemies, being in control of the Erusian Ascendency and the Tsivrixsh Empire. Going to Iceheart's Ship, they load up and prepare to deal with the problem head on by first talking to the Shapeshifters that gave up the fight for information on those still fighting.
Iceheart takes them to a planet near the Sol system that a slightly corrupted feel in the city but outside the city the planet is a beautiful planet when they arrive. As they step out the Wyrd Shapeshifter steps out to greet Truth, holding the baby they had before and shows the baby off to Truth, showing the child is alright still while leading the others further into the city. While Rachael wonders where "that depressing goth girl" Wyrd is that Truth used to always hang out with, pointing at Faux Wyrd, making the others snerk at the fact Truth had a kid with her "sister".
Soon Faux Wyrd leads them to their leader who appears to be a dangerous creature with wings before turning into Faux X and Thena greets her, stating she is married to a Dark One; Faux X pauses and studies Thena before noting she is a Dream Child and part of the Reverie Race. Faux X tells them that the Reverie are a race that are thought not to exist; they exist in dreams and imagination. Noting that many do not encounter them and when they do they invade a person's dreams and sometimes connect souls and will grant them their wishes. And mysteriously noting that sometimes you can even reach their lands in the flesh. However the most dangerous warning is for a child of a Reverie is if you were ever forgotten for even a second, you could fade away like a dream and would return to their lands.
After Valen makes an ass out of himself to Moira by going "who" about Thena, Faux X begins to answer their questions about the Shapeshifters. Noting only the fanatical of their group would not return - the Hunters, the rest have come back to this new Homeworld for the Shapeshifters. Informing the team that the Hunters want the galaxy and feel they have the power to make it happen due to their shapeshifting powers, Faux X informs them their numbers are low - only 30 but they have allies. The team learns the Hunters' allies are the Hands of the Serpent, making them even more troublesome than they realized. Lorelei makes notes, wondering if that means there are 10 Shapeshifters in each group - 10 in the Ascendency, 10 in the Tsivrixsh and 10 with the Serpents and Xeres wonders how they are avoiding their telepaths as the team begins to leave.
Location: PAX
After returning to the PAX, Lorelei begins to have Yasha mark off key points on the galactic map that they should focus on liberating and where the Hunters might want to put a man inside. During this Truth managed to nab the real Wyrd, who is living on the PAX these days, while Lorelei turns her attention to the team. Giving them another special magik that allows them to turn their pain against their attacker, Lorelei notes it is an opt in move that they can touch her or not, much like the other special magik move from before. Many in the group decide to take the move that are present, if they have the mark. During this Fate appears, in her late 20's form, and Thena tackles her and tries to drag her off for hugs, making her struggle and whatnot. While Valen wonders if they are boning, much to Fate's protests, until she gets away from Thena. Afterward Lorelei asks for information on the future and she tells Lorelei she doesn't know anything, that it is only bleed over stuff, and her "other self" knows more, indicating the "smaller" Fate.
Fate notes that time is fluid and major actions can change events. Citing that the smaller Fate has two timelines in her head already - one where Cheryl never came back and now one where Cheryl returned. The team knows there is a major way in 14 years going on and wonders what they are like in those 14 years, trying to picture it. And how much Fate is holding back that she knows.
Fumoffu Session 2: The Arcade Crisis
Location: PAX
Taiga has gotten the team a large room space on the PAX to be their club room, letting Kitty and Gor handling the spending to buy furniture and whatever the team needs to fill it with things they might need to make it a true club. However when the club meets they find Arcade machines all over the place and the seating is things like bean bags and other strange things to sit, making it more of a hang out and leading to Taiga to have a freak out at all the classic arcade machines making racket as she tries to call the club to order. During this Shion and Bix are painting the room, running a company called Fluffy Paint'em Tails, and seeing the chaos Kitty makes Gor take the arcade machines back and promises Taiga that they will get proper stuff for the next club meeting. Though since some of the club members seem to like it, it is agreed to keep some of the arcade machines in a back room for the group.
This time the Fumoffu group is made up of new members and old, made up of a revolving team comes and goes and Taiga and the group goes over the various problems on the dockets. They decide to handle a group that is messing with the religious shrines on the PAX and move to look into it, making it seem like it might be the Smiling Suns, and a second group looks into drugs being made from materials in the Great Forest. The two teams investigate both problems and the group that goes to Geyze, made up of people like Jaime, Valen, Reikana, Taiga, and Ako, meet with Gnome and she promises to help deal with the drug runners after confronting some of them. Meanwhile the shrine team made of Nicolette, Sabrina, and others with them look into the problem and find a man angry with the Gods trying to mess with them and shifting the blame onto the Smiling Suns due to them being a problem later. After dealing with the problem, the team takes a break back at the loud club, much to Taiga's woe.
Location: PAX
The team is at Shion's place for their meeting since Valen works with Rachael ordering things to keep seeing his outfit and getting a kick out of it. While Valen seems annoyed by it and Durt overly amused, Gor wonders about ketchup and making people wonder about him in the process until Lorelei calls the meeting to begin. Along the way they see that Taiga is still working on the ship with Ymir, Neekito, Kito, Chad, Cheryl, Angela, and Ren, and that everything is still pretty much the same as it was in Session 406. Right now it appears they are trying to reinforce the hull for the tests. When they reach Iceheart's ship, Lorelei informs them that they are responding to a distress call and notes this is good experience for them for this type of thing as well as help them get back into the game. She tells Kellin in secret that she has back up on standby, however, in case the children need help. Arriving in a system only a few jumps from the Sol System, they find a ship that appears to be malfunctioning due to several systems breaking down and drifting toward a planet who's gravity is much stronger than Earth and drawing it; what is worse, the planet has powerful storms that look ready to do quite the damage.
Location: Geyze
At the Academy, Lumi plays with a datapad while informing the group that Lorelei requests their aid. Telling them that Lorelei needs them to back up the children in case there is any trouble helping the ship, she wants them to go and observe and step in if there is any trouble. Bix goes to Chelsea and Cypher and requests the use of the Mew Mew while those going along move to get prepared, including suits for space walking.
Location: Iceheart's Ship
The kids debate how to approach the problem while Iceheart tells them what they can and cannot do with her ship. After a while they decide on a space walk and begin to perform it; Thena decides to teleport over to the ship to begin evacuating the crew so Lorelei gives her a paper to sign so she is not blamed - who knows if she is joking anymore. Valen, Rachael, Juliet, and Durt begin to cross across the distance of the ships to help deal with the problem while Thena does her teleport thing, sending in clones. Meanwhile Chelsea arrives with the Academy people to monitor the situation. During this a pirate ship arrives to begin to try to get the ship and forces the Mew Mew Ship to defend the group while they do their work. Together both groups finish their missions - Chelsea driving off the pirates and the kids rescuing the ship's crew.
Location: PAX
Back on the PAX, Lorelei asks Chelsea to lend a hand on working on the ship. Agreeing to give her expertise to the Tiger Engine and other stuff, Chelsea joins the crew and will help the Space Team when it is needed. Meanwhile Lorelei also asks Erica to give her help as the Captain when it comes time to do a test run of the Tiger Engine so they can give it a proper shake down and she warily agrees to do so. With everything in place, all that is needed is to finish getting the old EarthGov ship ready to test drive the Tiger Engine.
Location: PAX
The Earth Cruiser is being more updated and upgraded with the Tiger Engine inside with Taiga, Ymir, Ren, Chelsea, Chad, Chelsea, Angela, and Cheryl's help over the past many days. While Taiga tests the engine and Si and Gor argue about a paint job and what should be on it, with Airym saying that paint would slow them down, Yuki observes the ship as she talks around and notes the Aquarius is a better ship over all. Ymir, along with Kito and Neekito, check the systems for magical and spirit systems, while Chelsea seems to be baffled at everyone's conversations and Cypher's gloating that Cypher will help fix any of the instable parts of the Tiger Engine. While Yuki goes down to Shion's Fluffy Tails to meet up with others on Lorelei's team to chat with them Rachael notes that Durt must have a crush on her brother due to Durt taking pictures of Valen in a cuter waiter outfit.
After Taiga, along with everyone helping her, has left to do normal hyperspace jumps on the EarthGov Ship, the rest of the team is called to her office where Lorelei gives everyone gold medal stars for their good job on the last mission with Thena using multiple Thenas to try to get extra gold stars. Lorelei notes that Erica and Yuki will be leading the next mission which is a Lunar Station over Luna, Earth's Moon, which leads some winces from the group who know that Luna has some the Smiling Suns problem lately. She notes that managed to convince Lemon's team to let them handle the problem, which is that the station is crashing into Luna over the next 12 hours and she feels that the team could use the experience with space missions of this sort. She notes in return that Geyze will be getting it's own station. Rachael and others try to negotate some ownership of the station instead of getting more gold stars while Thena wants more gold star, much to the annoyance of the rest of the team.
They go and get the Aquarius ready just as the Earth Cruiser returns, called the Tiger Cruiser, managing to get back in with the Mew Mew's help. As they leap into hyperspace, Mireille shows off her ability to change the bridge into various things and shapes before letting it go back into the normal configuration. Along the way they discuss the various ways to deal with the Station before it hits the colony; it has mainly been evacuated since it's nearing the point of no return where it will be doing damage to the surface of Luna. As they exit hyperspace, they would see it is getting into the atmosphere a bit and likely causing some problems below as they hail the Station to talk to the remaining personnel that are trying to repair the station in the vain hope of stopping it from crashing.
After talking to a man who warns them away and learning who they are that they are there to help, the man directs them to the Luna Station to dock. Cookie, using her mind scans, locates the man in the aux. control room as they dock and Erica learns what she can from the man. Juliet - who has been replacing Zegretta on a lot of missions lately due to her being depressed with Kaelan gone - notes dryly her joy at all these missions with space and Erica and her stay on the ship to monitor things from the Aquarius. Once they are on the station, Yuki remains near the hatch so that she can radio messages to the team and act as a receiver since the station seems to be having some problems with communications. Durt, Xeres, Rachael, Thena, and Sabrina meet a man waiting for them inside the station on the other side of the hatch and he catches up with everything going wrong.
Based on what they learn they decide the station has a saboteur and trying to hide it by attacking systems to divert the working crews all over the place from noticing the systems that have failed are systems that can track the saboteur. Moving through the station with the man they meet up with 10 other workers and Sabrina notes she doesn't feel anything from them unless they have a lot of dark energy in their heart. Learning there are 16 over all on the station with the 10 in this room, 5 working in other systems, and 1 in the aux. command center, that makes up the entire station. During this the team is met with the expert that Luna has sent up to help with the problem who turns out to be Christina Adler which Thena notes draws some dark thoughts from one of the workers.
After Chris and Thena talk to the worker they learn that they are a red herring but they are sympthatic to Sunny's ideals. During this Rachael goes off with Xeres to find some of the other people on the station working on it and Durt learns who else is new to the station and has only been working recently. After crossing off Bob the aux. command center guy, Durt, Chris and Thena learn from their likely target is a new person named Fredick who is sympathic to Smiling Suns and they send Rachael and Moira, along with a Thena duplicate, to find him.
Using Erica to scan the station and Yuki radioing what she finds, they narrow down Fredrick's location which is the computer room; Durt sends Thena in to teleport into the room when the door shocks Thena which then shocks all the Thenas. Chris using her knife burns through it, triggering a stun effect and canceling it, and the team rushes in. On the other side they find Fredrick unresponsive after he was taken out by Cookie mind attack and drooling, like he was mind fried. Chris finds the whole process inhuman but toward the end the man begins to slowly recover somewhat. The computer system is set up - after the crew left, having found it hopeless to save the station - a virus would restore the systems that were shutting down by the same virus that was taking it down and the man would have taken over the station in the name of the Smiling Suns. Though the team wonders what the Suns would have done with a station that would have easily been destroyed or taken back.
Returning to the PAX after turning the man, who at this point has mostly recovered, to the Luna police, the team finds Taiga and the team waiting for Erica and everyone. Taiga notes she wants Erica to captain the Tiger Cruiser into the Unknown Regions in the test of the Tiger Engines and if it's successful she will install a newer version onto the Aquarius. Erica mumbles, after hearing how trippy the Unknown Regions can be, that they are going to die most likely and Yuki replies dryly Erica always wanted to go to new worlds and places.
Session 409: Testing The Tiger Engine
Location: PAX
The team that has been working on the ship and engine is gathered around from Cheryl to Ymir, with Zegretta on the mission for once since it might lead to Kaelan, as the crew gathers and they worry about the engine blowing them all up. When Tsukiyomi arrives as they christen the ship with a bottle, Taiga struggling to smash something against the hull given to her by Thena, the team enters the EarthGov ship. Erica would find the ship has been set up to look like the Aquarius' bridge, even though the EarthGov vessel is much older and much less technologically advanced; once on board Taiga informs her the history of the ship, telling her John used it once long in The Alien Wars 4: Season 7 and it's name was the Aquarius during that period. She warns the ship can't handle too much combat and that they should avoid it if at all possible as they power the ship up and exit the PAX. While they are leaving the team learns about the Galactic Map and how much territory each of the powers own, and about the Unknown Regions and how it's not been mapped outside a small area of space of it. Meaning that the Unknown Regions could be massive in size.
Activating the Tiger Engine, space bends on itself and it seems everything folds in on itself and the team, making everyone feel sick and weird at the same time. They see multiple ships of themselves in front and behind, making them wonder if it's possible versions of themselves as it goes on and on and on, and soon the ships begin to explode ahead. Taiga promises to work out this weird kink in 2.0 of the engine as Erica turns the stop key, making the EarthGov ship exit Tiger Space, the ship smoking and cracks appearing in the hull. After some plotting out by Pepper and Taiga, they realize they are in the areas of Unknown Space that have been plotted out a little by the Erusians, since they are picking up their outposts, having reached it after traveling for a few minutes. Essentially traveling what would take a little over a week in hyperspace in seconds. Tsukiyomi notes, after feeling out, that Kaelan is still extremely far away.
Erica and Yuki note that the jump was so unpleasant that it might not be worth it so Taiga promises that by using the Aquarius' systems she can make it more pleasant. While they talk they get a comm signal from the planet below that is a high pitch noise that makes those with sensitive hearing wince and recoil a little. They try to scan the planet and most of it is blocked, making the group wary of what could be down there. Cookie and Pepper work and manage to decode the message which seems to be a warning to stay way from the planet and sector, warning to avoid "the enemy". Erica decides they need to go down to the surface to learn more about what this so called enemy is so they can figure out what to do, so the Aquarius flies down to the surface.
As they get closer the planet seems to be dark and stormy, though there is still animal life left below. Cheryl and Angela begin to get a bad feeling, feeling a deja vu about it all, and Erica's hopes of there being a living species begins to vanish, especially as the signal seems to be coming from a temple. Erica prepares to explore and expand their knowledge of the Unknown Space while Sabrina looks ill to the planet's affects when Valen asks her if she feels anything. Suiting up the team sets out and Angela and Cheryl fill Erica in on the race called the Dark Ones, though Cheryl seems to dismiss them, thinking this is just a warning for when they reigned. They reach the temple with an insect like alien, covered in goo, and the team examines it, as most of the temple and ground has goo and corruptive areas covering it.
Interacting with the objects they see images of the Dark One ships invading the planet and corrupting it as they take over the planet with their corruptive substances. While listening they hear the shrink in the memory/recording that makes everyone nearly fall over and Angela seems convinced the Dark Ones might be back, though Cheryl again thinks it is an ancient recording but even she has doubts if some of the Dark Ones escaped the final battle. Valen finds an egg, hatched, indicating maybe a Dark One was once born onto the planet to take it over and they take the samples. They take recorings of the images on the walls of the temple inside and head out.
Location: PAX
Returning to the PAX, the kids get time off while Taiga gets her crew to work on the Aquarius, moving to begin work on an updated Tiger Engine on it to update to the Aquarius' superior systems. While Chelsea adds her logo to the engine in places no one will see as she helps Taiga, Cheryl, Ymir, Chad, and Angela, Angela drinks rocket fuel and muses on the idea of Dark Ones. Yuki talks with Erica about being excited at the idea of something new being out there to discover with Erica and Erica noting it is natural. The team, led by Erica, plans to set up stuff to warn everyone here about the Dark Ones possibly being back, which means talking to Athena and the people on Geyze, just in case. Which is a good thing for Erica.
Session 410: Mysteries On The Island
Location: The Academy
The summer is out in full force and the Academy has mostly emptied except for the summer classes and the students attending those; the group so far is mostly lazing about doing their own things in the summer heat. While Bix makes an enclosure for a goat-like creature as a pet, Nicolette works on card tricks, Jaime grows her fruit tree project, and others laze in the grass, the others in the manor begin to have a small meeting about the Island and go over the information gathered over the months so far. Celes reveals that the Island's descendants definitely have Familiar blood in them however it has long been diluated over the years; she also goes over the machinary on the island and states that it is made of Ancient technology and recent type technology and Erevis poses that the Ancients might be the Mirror Universe's version of Progenitors. And finally she believes the Islands were closer to the Mainland at one point before they drifted off. And they discuss the Runes a little and how the Wind Rune makes Sylph feel a little strange, so they wonder what the connections are between the Spirits and the Runes.
After a vote on what to do, the group decides to no longer leave the Simon-like device up that has a drain around the islands after a vote, so they prepare to go back to the main island. Meeting with Sasha and going outside, Cypher powers up the Mew Mew Ship for them to fly to the Island. While Sasha scolds Aimée and Mélodie as they try to use their weapons on people and gives them a time out to their confusion; while flying there, Celes studies the runes she brought along, leading to a debate about them. Landing at the edge of the island so that the ship isn't drained, the two spirits sit down, exhausted, and the group begins to step out toward the cave, seeing that a storm has passed through here recently. While they walk they discuss various things, telling Nicolette about the history of the spirits and other events, while she listens to a Rune.
The runes do not seem to be affected by the drain of the island though they do take a while to attach to the back of the hand of the user. Reaching the machines, Simon gets to work on the machine that drains the island while the others study the damaged portal machine that looks a lot like the portal machine that goes to the Spirit Realm. Simon notes the machine looks a lot like something he would design to counter something the spirits, making Jaime wonder if they are dealing with time travel shenigans. After some debating they agree once again to turn the machine off and the portal tries to turn on when an error comes on the reader. A reading of how to repair the device is listed and in a drawer is Bix's head - though the head is much more advance than Bix's current model. They decide to keep it from Bix for the time being and head back after Jaime summons Gnome down below, seeing the drain is successfully off. Sasha calls down an Alliance unit to protect the site as well. Once back, Selena takes Nicolette out on a tour to see more places in the world, like the Amazons.
Location: Geyze
While summer classes are in full swing with Rachael and Valen, Sia and Lia, and others taking them, the Academy is suffering through the summer heat on the grounds. Simon is working on the portal with what is needed to repair it along with sketches while the others suffer, especially with Bix shooting fireballs into the sky. After Selena sets up ice spirits and a fan to cool the manor so they can focus, Erevis and Xanatos discuss female nudity and other things since Erevis is barely wearing anything right now. Soon Celes begins to wrangle the team into focus, discussing Ancient technology and they talk about where to find places with it, including Kalam or places that use or hold Ancient technology - essentially looking into older places for such places that might have held onto such pieces. Like the Dark Ones, Alita notes.
Lumi arrives and informs the team about a major monster attack up north in the villages around Dina and that while the Guild is handling what it can so far, the monsters might be more than they can handle. Celes notes with Liana not around to help with the strength/fire power, the team gathers their weapon and armors. Even Sylph volunteers to come along, despite Ellie being in class teaching, to lend her wind powers and teleport them up north. As Sasha arrives to be the eyes and ears of the Alliance council and voice of the Academy, the team teleports via Sylph's powers, arriving at Dina City. From there the team plans to head out to the smaller villages north after talking to the Guild in Dina City. Stepping inside they meet the Dina Guild Master, where they learn about the monsters and the coins being offered, as well as the mission being given out for the monster attack. They also learn about the ranking for missions and other Guild tidbits. Getting a map from the Guild, they go to the stablemaster who Sasha uses her authority to bypass the paying for the horses right away and the team rides out, leading to some comedic scenes for those from Earth who have never ridden before, such as Erevis.
They soon begin to near the village and see many dead monsters laying about the area. They find adventurers from the Guild protecting the village against the monster hordes as they arrive and ride into the village. Joining them the team begins to battle the monsters and fight them back, sending the monsters retreating for the time being while Lana examines the bodies. The villagers for the time being seem to be inside a reinforced building to protect them while the monster attack is going on. While Simon and Alita heal the injured Guild members, the others question the others and learn about the monster attack and make their plans what to do next before the next wave. One part of the team decides to scout to where the monsters came from for more information while the others stay behind to protect the village with the Guild members.
The scouting team follows the monster tracks to a cave that has been recently made out of the ground that leads them to the monster forces inside it. Inside the cave tunnel, the team finds a monster meeting going on and Xanatos, Selena, Sasha, Gwen, SpoC, and kneel and watch the sight of the Monster Queens gather to talk about the situation. They discuss the Monster Lord being unhappy with the senseless attacking of the humans and among them is a house sized slime that after the meeting breaks up, slides along, it's body burning through the rock and creating the tunnels they are inside. The village team begins to have problems when Alita begins to get seduced by a monster call and the team has to chase her down through the village. Lana, Simon, and Erevis chase after her quickly, trying to stop her, while Jaime and Gnome continue to create walls of earth around the village, making them super high. Alita is grabbed by a flying siren monster and Jaime has to use her earth powers to try to stop the monster with the earth gates she made and trap them. The creature with Alita is hit by a boulder thrown by Gnome and Alita is dropped, falling quickly toward the ground, and Lana tackle grabs Alita at the last moment safely on top of Jaime.
The two teams meet up afterward, with Xanatos having recorded the meeting and the Giant Slime that is making the tunnels underneath Geyze, and move to the giant foretress walls that Jaime has made around the small village. Everyone comments on Jaime being Miss Overkill when it comes to think, making the village the envy of all. After getting inside they discuss the monster that went after Alita, controlling her, as well as the Monster Lord and what it can mean.
Session 412: Whispers on the Wind
Location: Geyze
After the incident with the Giant Slime, the team gathers at the Alliance Building and Lumi goes over reports on everything that has happened since then and their plan of action going forth. While going over theories on the Monster Lord, since there has been no records of such a thing before, Sasha notes it might not even be a monster. Lumi has the team travel to the Daemon Realm to learn more about the connection between Daemons and Monsters, all the while Sylph is playing with the Wind Rune, oblivious to the conversation. The hope being that they might learn something more not only about the Monster Lord, but something to help stop Alita being controlled by the Harpy Monsters. With Sylph still refusing to teleport the group without good reason, or at least without Ellie present, the team finds alternate means to the Daemon Realm through the carriages.
Date: 7.26.5999
Location: Daemon Realm
Arriving at the Capital, the team enters the Daemon Tower for information and so rise up to meet Shinobu and Rain together with a few guards present as well as some nobles; after dismissing the nobles, the two meet with the team to discuss their reason for coming to see them. Discussing the monster attacks and their affects on Alita and what they can mean, Shinobu discusses the histories of Daemons and monsters. Telling the team that Daemons are evolved monsters in many ways and were more numerous back in the Ancient's times, while Daemons' numbers are few but are intelligent and can exist in societies compared to the Monsters numberous numbers but are wild animal like. Liking them to like cousins, they simply attempt to grow stronger without a notion of building something. She also points at the more monsters of a certain type can control and affect a Daemon, but the reverse is the same as well - Daemons can affect Monsters.
Referring to how the Monsters seem to be acting intelligent under the Monster Lord, Shinobu and Rain note that Monsters that do gain some intelligence are usually the strongest monsters and are called Monster Queens or Kings. And somehow the Monster Lord is keeping them in line since reach Monster type follows the Queen or King. Noting how the organs worked, Shinobu and Rain believe that monsters eat their prey to become stronger and they probably ate a Lilin to gain Lilin parts, since Harpies are closely related to them already. With the Slime Queen out there, the team decides to focus on finding it and Shinobu and Rain promise to lend their help in doing so.
Heading to the Winged City near by, the team peers down at the monsters in the valley with the city too high up to be breached. Feeling the corrupted song of compulsion in the air, Alita becomes agitated and the team begins to hunt for the Harpy causing it. Finding some of the Lilin missing, the team realizes that the Lilin are being subtlely led out of the city to be used. After Alita is called as well the team chases after her through the city until they find a hidden hole in the ground and Jaime and Bix fall after her down the giant hole made to be flown down. The two work together to save themselves while the rest of the team wonder how to follow down the hole. Selena, after summoning Aska, uses her powers to to join with her and flies down the tunnel after grabbing the rest of the team.
As they land and Bix frees Alita from a Harpy, the Harpy retreats down the tunnels carved out by the Giant Slime underneath the Winged City. As Bix tackles and captures the Harpy, the team wonders what to do with it as they all surround it and muse, studying the network of tunnels.
Date: 7.28.5999
Location: The Academy
Arriving back at home in the carriage, covered in Harpy feathers/wings due to it being angry and upset, the team steps out of the carriage and Selena fuming with her hair being a mess. Selena also orders the carriage to be burned due to it smelling now after the harpy abuse as Sasha turns the harpy over as a prisoner to Celes to help with the Alita situation and to learn more about the Monsters. And so it burns as Bix doots happily.
Session 413: The Geyze Underground
Location: Geyze
At Celes' manor, the group is going over what maps and documents they have at hand, including anything Shinobu has sent over for them, to help track down the monsters and the Slime Queen. They go through the slime weaknesses and strengths and realize that slimes a bit more trouble than they thought previously, but decide they need to deal with it, either through magik means, physical means, or technological means. Though they know it might rile the other monsters into war, Celes moves to talk to Chelsea while the others talk to Sylph, who is busy staring at her Wind Rune, about minerals and acidic properties and which Spirits would be able to sense it best, making Sylph have a freak out moment on trying to figure out who could to that best - Gnome or Brooke or Salamander. Bringing Gnome in who partially knocks Sylph out so she'll relax, she resumes answering questions for the group such as how things work with acids and elements.
While ideas are passed around like trapping the Slime Queen in a rock she could not burn through, to finding rocks that would counter the Slime Queen, Celes returns with Chelsea who will build the laser weapon that Xanatos came up with a bit ago. Lumi agrees to fund Chelsea's weapon and they hope by taking out the Slime Queen the Monster Lord will show their face. They debate where all the Queens are located, such as the Plant Queen being located in the Great Forest, the fact there is likely a Harpy Queen for the harpies attacking Alita, and they hope to try to locate more of the Queens to knock out the Monster Lord's forces.
Date: 8.3.5999
Location: Geyze
Gnome and Jaime have gathered a bunch of rocks for the team to counter the Slime Queen, Chelsea's laser weapon is completed, and Lumi will use her Celestial Dog/Kitsune traits to help track the Slime Queen in the tunnels for the team. They use Sylph to have the tunnel team take them to the last known location of the Slime Queen, while the Mew Mew and Xanatos' shuttle scans overhead the area for the anything. While they fly along, with Chelsea's two spirits playfully target them with weapons, they discuss Xanatos' growth over the years and changing when the scans pick up something underground. In the tunnels, Lumi and Bix move the weapon while they search for the Slime Queen. However along the way slimes attack the group forcing them to battle them and repel them. Afterward Xanatos begins to try to contact them but the communication barely is able to pierce the surface, so Gnome and Jaime use their strength to make a hole up to the surface allowing SpoC and Xanatos to communicate.
Giving them directions, they soon come across the Slime Queen, a massive house sized slime blob. The battle takes a lot out of the group, from using Chelsea's weapon, to Simon's ice magik, to calling Salamander and more. Even at one point they are knocked back on the weapon down the tunnel and it looks like it is over, but slowly they widdle the giant blob down to a female looking shape. It states at one point that they have brought a wave of blood and death upon them before it is destroyed, leaving a puddle of acid, but not before sending a war cry as it's deathknell. They discover during the fight that Sylph is unconscious holding the broken Wind Rune in her hand, and Salamander brings them out after they destroy Chelsea's weapon, unable to take the laser and them.
Back at the manor, they see that Sylph is not waking up and the Wind Rune remakes cracked in half. Erevis and Xanatos decide to look into the Runes, since nothing like this has ever happened before while SpoC states she does not believe the Slime Queen would have been willing to broker a deal when Jaime states some concernation at her death.
Session 414: Going to the Erusian Outposts
Location: PAX
As the Aquarius is being upgraded and the parts strewn all over the place, the team is meeting at Lorelei's office to talk about what they are doing next and Rachael now wearing goth like clothing and armor. Lorelei notes the plan is to go to the Erusians and see how compromised they are to the Shapeshifters and help Yasha reclaim her Ascendency. Yasha helps guide them to one of the major Outposts that is key to getting into the Ascendency due to how fortress like the Ascendency is like now and Lorelei's hope is that by taking it, it will help Yasha get a foothold into taking back things with her own people while the team is busy in the Unknown Regions. They decide to take Iceheart's ship to head there due to the nature of her ship and once the team is situated, they take off from the PAX toward Erusian space.
Date: 10-640.8.8
Location: Iceheart's Ship
Exiting Hyperspace the team approaches the Outposts and the Outer Regions (the space that the Tsivrixsh and the Erusiand occupy), and the Unknown Regions. They have Xeres talk to the Outposts to get them landing clearance, since Yasha states her's would be too high and would be suspicious; Iceheart parks her ship and they land. Entering the Outposts, the team enters and begins to move through the corridors until they are taken further into the place, the high tech place of them impressing them, since it is nearly on level with the Progenitor tech on the PAX. Using the excuse of having Thena being the diplomatic guest as a Suisen Princess, the team makes themselves guests on the Outpost.
As the team is soon summoned by the commander, the team decides they need to see if there are of the Shapeshifters since these Outposts are key points and what few Erusian Shapeshifters might want to hold onto them. Summoning Tsukiyomi to join the team, and teasing Valen about it not being hard to become a God with enough effort, the team is soon summoned to meet the commander and they move to do so. Meeting Tana Valaa the team the team makes the plan to try to throw off the the Shapeshifter, if they are one, saying it might show their true nature if otherwise. Valen immediately takes the job and claims to be Thena's lover, much to Rio's anger, and soon hijinks ensue. It turns out that Tana Valaa had been copied and they have to take out the Hunter and soon they are down 1 of the 10 Shapeshifter Hunters that are among the Erusians. As the other command staff arrive, the team explains what happens and Yasha takes over, establishing herself here once it is clear the people here are loyal to her and the team takes off, leaving Yasha to begin a counter force.
Fumoffu Session 3: The Secret History of X
Location: PAX
Meeting in the revamped Club room, the team is relaxing, with some playing in the remaining Arcade machines, some enjoying subs and food brought in by Shion and Bix, some looking through case files on something to do outside Meth Gators and Thena mentioning that a gator versus crocodile war is breaking out now, when X walks into the room and asks the team for help. She goes into her history and wants Kitty and Hess' help looking into her past, that she found some leads with the fall of the Ninth Circle during the events of Act 1: Sessions 300 - 400. She tells them she has information that the group took children - orphans and even runaways off the street and turned them into the Weapons and she is hoping to learn if she has a family out there since outside Chad Winters, she has no idea who any of the others' families are out there.
X leads a group of Hess, Nicolette, Sabrina, Chad, Taiga, Valen, Jaime, Angela, and Adeline to a small city north of Mega City to where they soon find a dipilated building and go inside it, finding a Ninth Circle / Weapon Project that has long ago been abandoned. Once inside they found all the beds and equipment to turn the children into Weapons. It looks like something out of a horror show as they look through the building for clues and soon find computers to download information in the hopes to maybe one day trace down all the remaining Weapons' families down, including Raquel, Virulent, and so on. Learning where X comes from, they head off to a mountain village north of Mega City, cut off from the rest of the world, where X and Hess begin to lead the group up a path to what looks like almost a creepy Japanese village isolated from the rest of the world.
Once there they meet a village that seems a little off but soon they meet X's relatives and they embrace Hess and X. It turns out that X's mother and father are long gone but the remaining relatives are her brothers and sisters, including some nieces and nephews. And X finally learns her given name was Marina. However they are not allowed to stray far are night and it seems the village is definitely hiding something; they learn that X (Marina) was not happy at the Village as child and everyone assumed she ran away and fell down the mountain path and died. And at night as they head back to the shuttle, there is a feeling of wrongness, and some of the villages seem to be fussing over their crops. The team however leaves, with a promise to return back to see X and Hess' relatives, going back to the PAX.
Session 415: Exploring the Unknown Regions (Anniversary 22 Part 1)
Location: PAX
Now that the Aquarius is fully retrofitted and has the Tiger Engine in it as well as new armor on it by Ymir and others, the team is ready to go with Zegretta ready to lead the charge. Taiga notes she invited a variety of people to join them as consultants that have gone into the Unknown Regions once before, including Cheryl, Warren, Hotaru as well as her daughter Michiru, a mysterious bartender, Angela, Cassandra, and Billy (Andrea). Also brought along as a gift by Erevis is the Holy and Dark Runes as well as the Rune Sword for some reason. As the older generation talks among themselves and catches up, the younger crew boards and prepares for what is to come - finding Kaelan. Erica and Yuki prepare the Aquarius for the jump and they experience the strange sensations once again but they move much faster than they did in the Tiger Cruiser and travel into the Unknown Regions easily. While they scan the area with Tsukiyomi to see how far Kaelan is from them and find out how far they have gone, Taiga notes the Wind Rune cracked according to the Erevis when she gave them the two Runes.
Airym brings up the scans and they find this area of space makes no sense according to normal logical and reality and the ship would shatter if it proceeded. Worried about it means for this area of spae with how much reality has been mucked with lately, they decide to test it before they forward themselves. Testing it with a shuttle they find the area of space being affected is just a bubble acting up and can be avoided as the shuttle flies through it and breaks apart them recontructs on the other side. They decide to avoid it and keep gaining data as Mireille continues to learn more about the Unknown Regions for them.
Date: 10-640.8.13
Location: Unknown Regions
The group comes across a massive ship bigger than their own depowered and floating in space dead. A few of the group that had been out there before find it somewhat familiar has they scan it and find Dark One residue in the holes of the ship and Angela discusses how it reminds her of the Living Giant Ships that they encountered out in this region. Erica finds it a shame that the ship is dead and a chance to meet a unique species like the living ship while the others discuss the chances of there being any Dark Ones left after the last battle with them long ago, as well how giant living ships mate. Jumping once more with the Taiga Engine, they proceed further into the Unknown Regions and after encountering a murderous army of clowns like Bimbo in the strange visions, they arrive.
Encountering Templar Ships this far out, the group is surprised at learning the Templars in the Unknown Region and seem to own planets out here. As Erica engages in communication with the Templar Captain of one of the ships, the team debates what to do while the Tiger Engine recharges, meaning they have to rely on typical Hyperspace or Lightspeed. Learning that the Templars do in fact own most of the sectors out here as they talk, they offer to provide assistance in the rescue mission of Kaelan. After some talk they are given an escort ship to help them out and the Templar Ship extends a shield of protection around the Aquarius. While the team makes plans for escape if needbe, Erica decides to play nice for now.
Date: 10-640.8.15
Location: Unknown Regions
The Templar Ship is suddenly knocked out of Hyperspace and the Aquarius with it when the two are under attack by something. Finding themselves over a world, the team scrambles to discover what caused them to be dragged out like they were and began to do scans. Suddenly those with psionic powers begin to go down in pain due to a scream in their heads and Angela cries out that Dark Ones are attacking, much to Cheryl's disbelief. As Adeline bleeds from her ears and Cookie and Xeres both struggle to think themselves, the shdows of the ship begin to grow darker and they begin to drab onto people like Adeline and Sabrina as well as others, trying to suck them in. While Erica drags them back with her intense strength, Angela uses Holy light to repel them the shadows.
When the Dark Ones go for the Dark Rune, Erica dives to protect it and stows the Rune in her clothes as a Dark One forms and towers over her. Battling the creature while Chad keeps Adeline over his shoulder to protect her, the team hammers and keeps it off balance, Hotaru using her scythe to cut at it and the team using Holy and fist attacks. They soon manage to drive it away and the Dark Ones ship begin to attack, sending tendrils to smash through the shields into the sides, the ships hammering on the Templar Ship and the Aquarius as the team gets into battle stations. As they try to send more reinforements of Darkified animals and deal with various animals attacking, the team soon deals with them and drives them back. After the battle is over and the two ships are fairly damage, Warren notes that the Dark Ones are definiely after the Dark Rune. Erica vows to keep it on herself to protect it as the two ships begin to resume their journey.
Session 416: Searching For Kaelan (Anniversary 22 Part 2)
Location: Unknown Regions
The Aquarius has followed the Templar Ship to a massive planet so their ships can get repaired after the incident with the Dark Ones; while on the bridge they go through systems to see how the Aquarius held up from the battle. Mireille notes the Templars are offering to help provide the materials and help with repairs, but that means giving them access to the ship, which everyone agrees would be a bad idea; she also notes the further they go into the Unknown Regions, the more the commuications back home seem to be stalling out. With the lack of man power or currency for this region of space, the team decides to explore the planet for something to help them while some remain with the ship and stall the Templars. The world is orderly and high tech, though with a Templar and clean feel; Lorelei, Racheal, Thena, Chad, Moira, Valen, Durt, and Cheryl walk about the planet while Taiga and Si work together to repair the hull.
They come across wanted posters on a board and find a sketch of Kaelan's face with a hood and evil look, along with a list of wanted crimes including ship theft and working with the "great" enemy which the team concludes must be the Dark Ones. The team assumes it must be Harbringer since he is in control of Kaelan's body, but they can't figure out what his plan is right now. Lorelei proceeds to talk about selling Thena and Tanan to make the team some money to pay for ship repairs - Tanan since he is a monk and would fit in with the Templars due to his nature and Thena since she could make a lot of "clones" to help work for whoever pays for her. Though she claims she was joking, Lorelei is so deadpanned not even Cheryl is sure, they soon find a ship yard that sells low grade materials. Contacting Erica via comms, they make a deal to sell some of their goods, including a good amount of their food stores to buy what they need to buy materials for the hull.
Date: 10-640.8.21
Location: Unknown Regions
The Templar Ship is pulled out of hyperspace over a dead looking world with a storm brewing over the surface and energy crackling across the surface; Erica's chest begins to glow due to the Dark Rune while they debate if this might be their chance to ditch the Templars. As Dark One ships leap in, those with weaker minds against Dark One mind assaults collapse, taking out quite a few of the crew or stunning them, leaving Airym, Erica, Durt, Thena, Kellin, Cookie, Pepper, Angela, Xeres, Cel, Chad, and Adeline to deal with the Dark Ones as they try to board the ship. With Pepper singing to buff them, the team manages to hold the Dark Ones off while helping Airym initiate a jump while leaving the Templar Ship behind as they escape the Dark Ones. The rest of the crew slowly begins to recover from the effects of the Dark Ones, shaking it off slowly as they rise and get to their seats.
They decide to try to do a few things to avoid the Dark Ones in the future, such as avoiding corrupted worlds like the one they encountered, or having Cookie use her future insight powers. Tsukiyomi discusses that she believes Kaelan is still more than 4 years away, though she is not sure how to equate that into jumps or hyperspace. Erica and Cheryl discuss the two runes and Cheryl says Erica can store them away if she likes, with the Holy Rune on top of the Dark Rune to supress it, so she does so in the safe. They also opt to find Kaelan first before dealing with the Dark Ones. After finishing they use the Tiger Engine to jump further into the Unknown Regions,
Date: 8.12.5999
Location: Geyze
Sylph has been unconscious for a little over a week with Ellie by her side; Erevis returns from giving the Aquarius the two Runes to help them on their journey to check to see if anything has changed since the Wind Rune has been cracked in half. Simon finds while examining her that Sylph is full of energy so Xanatos attempts to attach the Wind Rune to see if he can figure anything out. Nicolette worries if she gave Sylph ideas about the Rune and notes she had theories about where the Runes came from and what they are and Erevis admits they know little about them. After Xanatos tries to use the Rune it shatters completely and Syph finally wakes up; however Xanatos finds he has a wind rune mark on the back of his hand now. While Ellie and Sylph hug each other happily, with Sylph offering Ellie fruit to try to get her to stop crying, Xanatos is greeted by a tiny wind spirit that has emerged from the rune.
The tiny wind spirit has a mouth and seems to demand respect and seems to have come from the Wind Rune. The Wind Spirit states the Wind Rune was meant to protect them from evil beings long ago, so they were placed in the runes. While Nicolette despairs at her thesis being incorrect at it not being a magitech thing, though she does not realize she is not entirely incorrect, see future sessions, the tiny Wind Spirit removes the Rune mark from Xanatos' hand and places it on Simon's at his request. The wind mark is on his hand though faded, due to it not being his mark. They ask the spirit if they think they should break the other Runes to free the other Prime Spirits and she admits she wouldn't mind having her friends back. The team ponders how to do it, since the Runes for ages never had so much as a mark on them.
The Wind Spirit names every user whoever held the Wind Rune, showing that the runes have some memory of who weld them. Celes eventually decides to have Simon try to break the Ice Rune since Ice is his element. After a bit Simon is able to break the Ice Rune and knock himself out like Sylph did, though he recovers quickly unlike Sylph, which leads the team to not want to risk the Geyze Spirits into breaking the Runes. The Ice Spirit is tiny like the Wind Spirit and Simon does test attacks with the Ice Spirit, able to form new attacks. The team decides to wait until Erica's group is back with the Rune Blade and the Holy and Dark Runes to do more tests for the time being and will study the Prime Spirits in the meantime.
Location: Aquarius
After another weird jump that freaks the group out and Airym delivering a joke that only makes it worse, the team encounters a swarm in space that is eating everything in it's path. While Taiga drags Dias off to put in a gerbil wheel, the team begins to discuss what to do about the swarm headed their way. Mireille has the ship go into Spirit-Ship Mode and attempts to evade the swarm, but a few latch on and begin to bite onto it, hurting Mireille who is linked with the ship. As Mireille gets the Aquarius to a nearby planet, three of the swarm's insects get inside the ship by chewing through the hull, bypassing the shields. As Mireille has the Aquarius land outside a nearby city, having the entry burn the rest off the hull, the test of the team begins to search for the three that go inside while Airym tends to Mireille.
While searching Angela is yanked up by a bug who attacks from the ceiling and is pulled upward to be a snack, but she manages to attack back. As Angela manages to take her's out, Valen and Moira search for their bug and are able to take it out after it does some damage to the area. Sabrina brings the third bug back to Chad since he wanted to examine and learn about them, handing the bug over despite it's inwards being able to burn through the hull. Mireille feels disdain about trying to hold onto such a thing after the damage it has done to the ship and Airym volunteers to "study" the creature. During this Yuki finds a rare alien artifact, a sort of relay booster signal that is compatiable with the Aquarius that could be used to help them get boost the Tiger Engine signal back to the Known Regions or have a Spirit help them to get back, so they don't have to travel all the way back each time they come out here.
A group gathers to head into the city to try to find it and they set out and find the world is not Templar owned, nor Dark One owned, but seem to be some sort of independent Banditish world. Erica, Yuki, Valen, Rachael, Thena, Cel, Sabrina, Durt, Moira, Kellin, Angela, Ulieah, and Cheryl travel through the streets trying to learn more about the world as they explore it. They find a competition going on to win valuable stuff so some of them enter to try to win the relay. As most of them sit in the audience, with Yuki's tail teasing Erica as she watches the events begin, they notice she seems to be in a good mood out here exploring once again. The first event seems to be a race and those joining get ready to run.
Kellin, Thena, Valen, and Cel begin to race against aliens with bizzare speed levels and those in the audience watch as it seems to be a race with blurring speeds with only those with eyes that can keep up with it do so. However, as Cel and Kellin bring out their powers - Kellin hyperspace and Cel her Weapon abilities, they begin to overtake the aliens and move to the front of the pack, leaving poor Kellin behind while Thena uses her clone powers to try to cheat. The next competition is a fighting one so Erica actually moves out to do battle, as well as a few others.
Their battle against a giant rock monster, the champion it seems, proves to be rather rocky at first. However they manage to prevail and when what they want in the end - the relay, as well as a very old mural showing Progenitors and Dark Ones on it. The mural shows the Progenitors on one side and the Dark Ones on the other, and in the middle is the Runes, all of them. However, it also shows the runes swallowing beings, in beams of lights in the middle. And in the middle is a temple. Off to the side is the Dark Rune, and it seems tied to the Dark Ones - with them placing a being in the rune. As they return to the ship, they apply a map that they won and it seems to be a Galactic Map of the area, allowing them to be able to travel easier now. As Cheryl studies the Galactic Map of the Unknown Regions and the mural stuff, she notes it is nearby and so they plot to head that way along the way.
Date: 10-640.8.27
Location: Unknown Regions
Arriving at the planet on the mural, Tsukiyomi notes they are only a few jumps away now. Cheryl notes the bad thing is they are now fully in Dark One territory according to the Galactic Map. As they scan the stormy planet below, they find a temple mixed with Dark and Light energy, much to their surprise. While it isn't even, the Dark Energy stronger and growing, the Light energy is down there. The team prepares to go down there once everything is in place.
Location: Academy/Alliance
With classes beginning in a few weeks and the aftermath of the Underground battle with the Slime Queen, the team watches as the Academy and Alliance are crowded with people flooding to get the best spots in the upcoming classes like any school. While the team monitors the students and helps guide them - Bix, Id, and Lumi using tools to do so while Sasha observes from her position and Selena and Celes talking with them from the side. During this Lana runs out of the manor screaming due to her PAN device being missing and she believes she has been stolen. While the team is confused she has to explain what her PAN Module is and Selena explains it is her device to do magik and Lana says she keeps it on being at all times so someone has to have stolen it and Celes points out she works to the point of exhaution so it could easily be lifted off of her.
During this a new student with red hair is line to be registered for classes when all the chaos breaks out. She turns out to be Asha and Selena has her sign up like normal while the others move to investigate the manor to try to find clues to the PAN. After she finishes signing she is assigned to Unit 6 under Simon to learn from him while taking classes. At the manor the team finds evidence that points them to Kumen and it seems to be a professional heist with a personal teleporter. As they debate what to do, they talk about getting Asarar's help or Ymir's to try to find the PAN unit while Asha approaches the manor looking for Simon. As Asha has Xanatos bring her into the manor, they prepare to get ready for Kumen while Gwen comforts Lana. Asha opts to join the team for the mission to get some hands on training while Bix takes her stuff to the dorms and Lumi indiciates Asha will be filling in for Mykel's position.
The group takes Xanatos' shuttle and they fly up to Kumen and land on the upper levels since the bottom levels are mostly empty these days. From there they go to the Macross HQ to meet with Ymir while Asha talks and gets to know the new team she has joined; arriving at the top floor the group meets Ymir, along with Kito and Neekito, who have been assisting Ymir the past year. Kito these days seems to be wearing a cute Magi outfit, helping Ymir with Magik stuff and Neekito with the Spirit side of things. After hearing why they are here, Ymir discusses various ways they might could recover it for Lana, including looking into the black markets that remain in Kumen City. Retiring to look into the lead, Ymir leaves the group to help bring Asha up to speed until she returns with an address of such a black market sale in 30 minutes.
Neekito offers them a lift down to the bottom of Kumen City where it is taking place as Lana panicks at how to get there in time. After warping down to the bottom where there is hardly any light, they head to a market where food is likely brought down from above due to it being unable grow down here. After they bid for a few items, like a Death Sword that has the aura of the Spirit of Death, the PAN is put up for auction. Weapon XIII is present to bid on it and they get into a bidding war with her, but lose. As the team goes to the Auctioneer, they try to learn how the PAN came to be in his possession. He reveals it was given to him after the person said they were done with it and sketches a stereotypical muscled man with blondeish hair and a dot on his chin to identify him. They decide to hire Asarar to try to find the man for them and head to meet with them, leading into Session 420.
Date: 8.16.5999
Location: Academy/Alliance
Asha has been given a room in the Manor and has been caught up with meeting everyone finally and the royal of the Unit 6 with the Royals. During this Lana does maintanence with her PAN incase anything was done to it. Selena offers to give Asha a tour and the two become friends like she has with Nicolette and so things continue onward. While on these tours, Asha meets surival people like Qui and even challenges her to combat, where the two do a double KO in the ring, impressing the Amazons.
Session 420: Soul of the Machine Act 1
Location: Kumen
Note this takes place the same day of Session 418: Panhandler's events on Kumen. It follows up what happens after Lana gets her PAN unit back. Selena, Lana, Simon, Asha, Jaime, Xan, Gnome, Gwen, Id, Ymir, Neekito, Talia, and Erevis return to Ymir's office to talk to her with Selena still finding it hard to believe that so many people used to live down in the bottom level once many years ago. Nicolette notes it did happen, having lived it, turns her attention to Ymir. She begins to explain some background information on Biotects to help them understand them a little, since the information has to do with Bix. After going through the history of Biotects, they head to Asarar's club, since the lead takes them there and once there they are greeted by the sight of Asarar talking to Caesune Guane in front of the bar. While talking Asarar offers Nicolette a job, saying they could use someone of her talents since losing Chelsea, but she declines and Lana eyes the group suspiciously, wondering if they are the ones who took her PAN.
Opening the Bix folder, Asarar informs them what they have discovered so far. It seems the head if a Mark VIII, while Bix himself is a Mark V. While Asarar's people talk and enjoy themselves, they discuss Bix and what his name could be and his creator, which Asarar informs them she is looking into. And the fact that she believes one of his labs might be in the city - apparantly while poor he did have one or two labs around the area. Letting them know she would let them know once she discovered something, she puts Logan and Max on the case to find the lab and information on Bix while the team heads back to Geyze, leading to the end of Session 418: Panhandler.
Location: The Academy
A new semester is is now underway at the Academy, the Royals are at the Manor still going over all the information they have on the monsters trying to figure out some pattern on the Monster Queens and the Monster Lord. While they wonder if there is any pattern to the tunnels that were dug, or if they will continue to use them, Erevis points out that they only have a little bit of it mapped out. While Xanatos bemoans the lack of satalite coverage over Geyze once more, Celes suggests to Xanatos about maybe talking to Kumen - mainly Ymir - about getting some satalites over the planet. Geyze points out that while the Peacekeeper reports has a lot of information for them, the Guild seems to provide a lot as well. While Xanatos debates using his shuttle to see if it can even scan properly before tasking satalites, Asha joins them and Selena and Simon get into a bit of a snip over the Guild being "too violent".
While they go through the reports, they catch Nicolette and Asha up about the Daemons and Monsters links and how certain monsters can affect Daemons and vice versa. And it seems a group of Daemons or Monsters, as well as willpower, can affect the outcome. As they talk they find a report from the Guild that a scout saw the Monster Lord, an woman with a hood around the various Monster Queens, at the foot of a mountain. However the scout fled before listing where the mountain was located and got lost, or at the various least, didn't list where the mountain was located, so they find which Guild the report originated from to track it back to the source. During all this Xanatos contacts them via comms. and states there is some interference with Geyze and Simon will need to whip up something to help cut through it if they are going to use technological scans of a wide range. During this Sylph tells Asha and Nicolette about the Dark Spirits and the Ancient Wars, leading Nicolette to console Sylph about them not being better just because they are older.
Celes returns with Lumi who sets down a stack of paperwork by Shion when she was the Alliance leader about the Guild, leading Shion to mutter about paperwork being necessary. Sasha joins them and they go over it and Nicolette and Selena murmur about Sasha being amazed at Sasha having freetime. After confirming that the Guild they want is at the border of the Spiritalist and Legion Kingdom, they set off to find what mountain in that region is the one they need. After arriving via Xanatos' shuttle, they step out into a tiny village with a small Guild building in it. While Erevis, Xanatos, and Jaime build snowmen and Erevis TKs him into the snow "playfully", the others get the address from this tiny Guildmaster, heading to the scout's house. However inside they find that plant vines have taken over the place, growing from inside the scout's body.
Working together, they attempt to burn/freeze, and destroy the vines and save the scout so they can get the information from him, while at the same time encountering a Monster Plant Girl that was birthed from the vines. Simon and Jaime work with Erevis to calm the Plant Girl and manage to cower her since she is a newborn, while Asha, Lana. Nicolette, and Talia keep the man alive and get the vines out.
Date: 8.19.5999
Location: The Academy
Lumi informs the team that the man is making a full recovery after the plant incident and it seems he ate a monster fruit that allowed the plant girl to grow inside him, having gotten hungry enough to eat it on the frozen mountain while scouting due to lack of food. While Nicolette defends the Guild a little, a few of the others seem to think the Guild is a bit rickless with their hiring methods after hearing that. Lumi tells them she had time to look into into Shion's notes a little more and has learned who runs the Guild some and it turns out to be Liana's grandfather - Brandr Windrunner - as well as a mysterious name who seems to be the true person who is running it as well as the financer of the Guild. Jaime begins to suspect it's Selena due to her time on Yggdrasil with Windrunner, but she denies it outright, though Jaime seems unconvinced, staring at her as if reading her mind. The team decides to wait on the scout to recover more and those with classes to reach - or attend - move off to to do so.
Session 421: Nature Has a Voice
Location: The Academy
The group is standing out from to meet Lumi's expert - Liana's grandfather Windrunner as he tries to get information from the two monsters they have captured so far, mostly focusing on the plant girl. Jaime has already given her a name, identifying with the plant monster girl it seems, and is now calling her Silica for some reason. They discuss the possibily of the plant girl becoming a Queen one day and Windrunner states any monster has the possibility but they have to get stronger and stronger to become one, but warns against it as he works on communicating with Silica, but also admits that Queens are as smart as Daemons just ruthless. Lumi arrives as they work and informs them the scout has recovered enough to be questioned, so Windrunner throws the girls one by one to his location, tossing Liana, Selena, Nicolette, and Asha right at the doorstep of the building with precise throws.
The scout informs them about what he learned while out there, exasperating them with his story a little. Stating he saw the Monster Lord surrounded by Monster Queens having a meeting and couldn't see who it was due to them wearing a hood but believes they were a woman with blue skin. They wonder who it could be from a blue skinned monster to a Tsivrixsh to a Asmo Daemon; Jaime uses a spell book gifted to her by Shinobu and turns into a Asmo Daemon and due to the power of that race it makes her stuck with that and causes some drawbacks, making Erevis and Xanatos eye her, though the scout believes that is the type of woman he saw. The team decides to split into two, with one going to look in the Daemon Realm into the Asmo Daemons and the other going to where the scout encountered the Monster Lord.
Location: The Daemon Capital
Celes, Ellie, Nicolette, Simon, Gwen, Asha, Erevis, Lana, Jaime, and Id move through the capital and see the tensions and feelings in the city are still at an all-time high as always as they head for the Daemon Tower. Reaching Shinobu and Rain, the Daemon Queen giving Asha a smile since she is one of her subjects, they begin to discuss the Asmo Daemons. Explaining they are the ruling class of daemons due to their power and ability to use all the other race's powers, Shinobu states her father was such Daemon as well as her elder sister and younger sister.
While Rain prepares names of possible Daemons, Nicolette mentions their luck it will be one that was thought dead, making Shinobu twitch and Jaime brings up Shinobu's sister's missing body. Stating she is pretty sure she knows which of the houses has the body and she merely putting plans into action to retrieve it.
As the team leaves, they begin to debate the possibility that Neophyx might be the Monster Lord due to ressurection after the cult did their thing a while back. The team muses on that possibility that the Houses might be using her for their own agenda and it could explain the rebellions breaking out recently.
Location: The Mountain
Selena, Liana, Alita, and Xanatos, trudge their way through the snow until they discover a hidden slime tunnel and begin to investigate it. As they go down the dark tunnel they find what appears to be the Slime Queen in it's final form, indicating another slime is on it's way to be a Slime Queen - a Slime Princess, a behemoth, a dragon like creature, and a woman with a hood talking to them. As the meeting breaks up the Monster Lord heads their way as the group tries to hide from her but with little place to do so, the two sides begin to hide. It becomes obvious the Monster Lord knows who they are and that Xanatos Durran is now "back in the picture". Revealing herself to be one of the gods in Neophyx's body, it turns out to be the Tareh God Autumn, occupying it and slowly healing it so it is no longer dead. It appears Autumn's powers are Earth based and strengthened with Neophyx's body.
The two sides and they begin to talk things down from a fight, though Liana is disgusted at the idea of Autumn using Shinobu's sister's body. It seems the team wants to make peace with the Monster Lord to avoid an outright war and Alita even dangles the idea of maybe getting another body for Autumn, though she seems to just toy with accepting it. In the end, Autumn notes she will need a place for her monsters to be left alone and to do their own thing as she continues, letting the team go. Liana promises the team this will come back to bite them one day.
Session 420: Soul of the Machine Act 2
Location: The Academy
Now that things have calmed down just a little following the encounter with the Monster Lord, who is one of the Tarehian Gods inside the body of Shinobu's sister's body, the team has time to think about some of the problems they have been putting off. Circling back to the problem of Bix, they wonder if they should just come right out and tell him about the head or not with Simon saying he is the one who has been hesitant to inform Bix. Gwen also notes if they should tell Chelsea her mother has been up on Kumen talking to Asarar in secret and wondering if she knows about it. While they talk, the Earth spirits peak out of Nicolette's hat, having taken a real shine to her for certain, and finally Celes decides to just tell Bix as gently as she can manage. The team marches off to talk to Bix while Simon stays behind at the manor.
They eventually find Bix doing his patrols and after some talking, they manage to get across what happened. Finding him doing patrols with Cypher, Cypher supports as Bix is upset they sat on the information for some long and while it takes a bit, he seems to understand with no problem. It takes Simon taking the blame and Bix's ire for him not to get mad at the others. After some talking and learning a bit, the team begins to think they get the picture of how Bix works. There was eight Brigadoons before Bix, but none of them were true AIs that could think or act; each was a building block for Bix. The question is are the other eight still around, or were they used as parts to make Bix? During this Bonnie approaches Nicolette and informs her that she has the potential to be a Magi master, or at least the owner a Familiar owner. Having done the same for Asha a few days before due to her talent, it seems Nicolette and Asha are adept at being able to have Familiars if they want such a thing. After they finish, and Jaime telling Xanatos he needs to update his datapad more often to stay more relevenat with technology so it's not hacked - making Erevis wonder if his eye could could be hacked by Kane or Chad leading to them watching Erevis and Xanatos doing naughty things, freaking Xanatos out as everyone disperses.
Celes is packing to go back to the Hapian Castle to deal with some important stuff while the group is settling back into the manor. Selena plays with Luna, entertaining her as her mother leaves and promising to spoil Luna with Celes gone. Cypher also decides to up to Kumen and keep an eye on Asarar to make sure everything is okay with her "sister".
Location: Kumen
Max and Logan have the fun job of going through the slums like they once used to do six years ago, looking for Bix's creator's lab that is rumored to be down there. After some looking they find a giant fan and after stopping it, manage to get inside the fan chute into what appears to be a lab; however during it they note someone following them. Attacked by a Bixlike robot, the two battle it in the lab, but it breaks apart easily from Max's hits and when Luci leaps in and slashes it, it begins to fall apart even faster. After firing a mini-gun as a last ditch effort - that fails, the gun jams, Max takes out it's legs and they now have access to the mysterious lab. Cypher, having been the one stalking them, leaves after they finish, leaving them to their job.
Session 422: The Temple of the Rune
Location: Unknown Regions
The team has arrived at the planet indicated by the mural and Cheryl has grabbed the Rune Sword on her way down to the planet on a off road vehicle ala the Mako from Mass Effect. When Taiga goes to drive, they all rib on her due to the Mizukazes being unable to drive and when Erica is brought up as a viable candidate, since she is part of the family, Rachael notes her skills will soon leave her. Eventually Hotaru says she will drive them and drives out of the ship's hanger and the freefall down to the surface; eventually she boosts right before they land and they glide down to the ground. As she smugly basks in her driving like a true Dragoon, tendrils begin to reach up and try to take out the Tigerko and destroy the vehicle. Instead of avoiding them, Hotaru opts to just smash and destroy them with the vehicle as she continues heading to the temple.
As they drive along still they see the world's wildlife has even become some sort of Dark Oneish creature, being corrupted by the darkness all over the planet. As they arrive at the Temple, Sabrina announces she will remain in the Tigerko due to feeling sick since arriving at the planet, so Michelle opts to remain with her after Erica notes she doesn't want to leave the Maka alone. After Valen is almost eaten by a corrupted wall due to poking it, Erica documents the history on the walls of Progenitors and Dark Ones on various murals. While Cheryl hands the Rune Sword over to Moira temporarily, the murals show gems that might be the runes and pictures of beings of light and dark standing around what looks to be people around the gems, leading the group to wondering what it means.
As they go on it looks like the runes are powered up with light and it is used against the Dark Ones and another image shows the Dark Ones doing a similiar process in a drawing, putting dark lines with a person into a dark gem. As Hotaru and Thena muse on the runes, wondering if they put people into the Runes or their Spirits, the former notes she suddenly doesn't trust the Runes so much anymore. They eventually find an old shrine in the center of the temple where all the elements, except the Dark, is located, with old rocks, perhaps to make runes out; but it's all corrupted now, except a bit of holy energy from a fountain pouring down from the center. As they debate what it means that the Dark Rune is not present, they discuss Kyouki and how she transformed using it, and that the Dark Rune must be different.
Andrea notes that Kyouki was definitely worthy of the Dark Rune, since only the worthy could wield it, but her problem was she used it too much too fast, having tapped into it to destroy the fleets of the Dark Ones. They also find in the fountain something in the corrupted waters but one would have to grab it out if they wanted it, risking the waters; during this Yuki taps Erica and leads her away from the group. Yuki leads Erica into a back room where there is more drawing but a lot of it is damaged; the elements shown, after the Dark Element, there seems to be signs of someone trying to make a new element or something. Yuki wonders if something like that existed on the Mirror Universe side of the universe and Erica wonders. Meanwhile Angela puts gauntlet hand into the waters and grabs a ritual knife when a hand grabs her and begins to pull her into the waters; she cuts it off with her holy powers while Dias yanks and pulls her backwards away from it.
Yuki and Erica finds pendants, two necklaces, and a strange device that could be attached to a rune near the corruption when a massive Dark One begins to rise up from the waters that looks barely together. The Dark One is Desaeus from the Dark War and as it tries to reform it's body, it lumbers toward the group, while Yuki, Erica, and Pepper begin to collect the items during the fight. Rachael and Cheryl destroy it and it immediately reforms it and Hotaru destroys it, but the Dark One continues to reform from the waters and Cheryl notes she thinks pure hate is making that thing form. As they retreat a voice from Erica's breasts speaks to her even as the temple begins to try to eat them with tendrils and other attacks. They manage to get to the Tigerko just as tendrils begin to reach for the vehicle but Kellin fires hyperspace shots to destroy them and free it.
As the ground forms into a giant Desaeus, Andrea stares at him with no emotion as the team moves to escape. Cheryl notes that was the Dark One leader in the past in the Dark War, but this seems to be simply a shade of the past that was destroyed long ago. Cheryl holds Kellin out the door of the Tigerko while Xeres forms a singulrity on it and Kellin fires his hyperspace dragoon bustah type attack at it and Thena motes it. As the Dark One is blown in half, the Aquarius flies down with it's hanger door open and Mireille teleports down to attach a crane to pull the Tigerko up into the hanger. After a lews comment by Dias, Cheryl crushes his balls.
Back on the ship and being showered up, the team is in the Aquarius' meeting room and studying the items they retrieved with the runes on the table. While talking the voice from Erica's breasts are heard again from the table, coming now from the Dark Rune. Angela deduces it is Kyouki and the Dark Rune states she is indeed correct. When Cheryl is like how did you jump to that conclusion, Angela notes the Dark Rune didn't kill her, it absorbed her when she was using it. After Kyouki asks about Erevis and is filled in on her antics since The Alien Wars 4: Season 10, they wonder why the Holy Rune isn't talking so Valen yells at it but Kyouki notes it doesn't absorb people. While Rachael notes she will get Valen a sympathy lay, indicating Moira and insulting her and Valen, Sabrina notes she feels something in the Dark Rune and uses her power to bring out a Sprite Kyouki of the Dark Rune with silver/white hair. While Thena immediately claims the tiny Kyouki, Sabrina continues to focus since it looks like if she loses it or her magik wavers, Kyouki might vanish. However her feelings at her hurt after a moment due to some banterand Thena vanishes leading to Sabrina to note that Thena is actually one of her favorites so Kyouki promises to apologize - did she fall into Thena's trap?
While Erica and Yuki tease Taiga's ears and Si looms over them, the others question Kyouki about the Dark Rune. While Cheryl notes back in her and Kyouki's day, the ship was filled with drama compared to today, they catch her up with events a little to help her know what is what. Eventually Kyouki returns to the Dark Rune as Sabrina tires herself out and has to rest as the Aquarius enters hyperspace and resumes their journey to the original destination. Andrea suggests possibily breaking the Dark Rune if needbe, to see if that will free Kyouki. Yuki goes to check on Yurica at the school while the team debates what to do about the Dark Rune.
Location: The Unknown Regions
They continue to get more into Dark One territory as they see more corrupted and stormy worlds and less Templar Worlds as they keep jumping with the Tiger Engine. Taiga returns and used the materials they found to update the Aquarius a little to make it stronger to Dark Attacks, though it is on the fly, and put the Dark Rune somewhere to help make the shieldings immune to their attacks and power the engines. The only drawback might be is if it effects Mireille, making Erica depressed. Tsukiyomi notes they are now one or two jumps away from Kaelan and that they are nearly there. At that same moment the Dark Ones do their shrill attack to try to take everyone out but the Dark Rune shielding maneuver only slightly wobbles Mireille as two Dark One Ships appear. As it fires off Dark Tendrils that bounce off the shields for once, Taiga notes it won't hold for long, Cheryl begins to find their weak points as she tries to recall after so many years, while Yuki asks Erica if they are going to fight or run.
As Erica orders the retreat, Pepper attempts to take out just one of them. Cheryl lines up the shot for Pepper even as they spool up the jump engines and she takes it, doing enough damage to shrivel it up a bit; it lets out a scream that would knock them on their ass normally without the shielding. Though it was not killed they manage to cripple the Dark One ship as they jump into hyperspace and escape. The team already makes plans how to up their weapons and make counter measures to do more damage in the future. Airym works on ideas to focus the weapons and Taiga notes that the Aquarius was meant to be a ship of discovery, not a war ship, so while it can be made to do true battle, they'd have to change certain parameters.
While Erica checks on Mireille she finds her okay but the team teases her if she has any dark thought due to the Dark Rune being in engineering and soon Mireille whines to Erica that they are picking on her. While Mireille puffs her cheeks pouting, she only stops when Cookie gives her a brownie to eat on. When Angela asks what Element Mireille is she keeps getting Ship Control, frusting both since Angela keeps expecting something normal and Mireille keeps saying Ship Control, until Andrea touches the Spirit and states it is literally Ship Control. Erica notes she could have told them that - that her and her sister are their own thing. Kellin muses on the no element thing and notes he didn't think that was possible while Pepper notes Mireille has always been special. While people debate elements and machines, they give the Holy Rune to Mireille and after a bit she begins to speak like Cam'dee back in the day, speaking very much like a computer. Informing them there is a compability issues found, she attempts to interface with the object but notes it ia high level object but does detect spirit energy, but seeks Erica's permission to proceed.
Erica does not proceed and while Chad believes they should risk it, because he is Chad, Erica and the others believe Mireille is too valuable to risk on whatever may happen. So Mireille does surface level access of the Holy Rune and when they wonder that it is strange she has such a program to let he do this, Yuki notes she might be able to do this with any object because the Aquarius' creator is from this reality - referring to Tora. A pedestal rises up and Mireille places the Holy Rune on it and the ship gains a 20% Holy boost to weapons, but it will drain fast. As they continue on, Big Fate appears out of nowhere and after slamming Dias through a wall to test his dodging reflex, she tells him something important. She tells him that he will get to a point where he will have two major choices where either one will lead to a turning point and she will be waiting to see what choice he makes.
While Yuki and Erica discuss the future and maybe having another kid one day, Cookie and Pepper discuss offically getting married once they get back to the PAX and things calm down. Lorelei takes Valen and Moira to see a movie in a makeshift theater in the PAX that it looks like Lorelei made herself and the movie looks to be something they both made, leading them to wonder if she is trying to get them together. And Taiga and Chad work together to go over the Dark One relics they picked up in the Temple and understand their meanings and workings. They test the ritual dagger on a clone of Thena and the clone begins to get sucked into the dagger, surprising Thena and causing some chaos, making the dagger glow.
Date: 10-640.9.4
Location: Aquarius
While Yuki eyes the dagger in a box, Thena keeps away from it, declaring it her enemy which makes Warren grunt. Chad notes he is curious what would have happened if the Thena clone was fully corrupted or if the real one would have been targetted, since it seems the ritual dagger was made to put souls into runes. Taiga notes as soon as they find a safe planet she plans to launch the beacon that will allow them to go back home whenever they want to do so. At that moment they arrive at a Dark One planet below and they find below the Dark Ones and Templars fighting below. Tsukiyomi announces Kaelan is on the Dark One side of the conflict and the group notes if the Templars are hunting Kaelan they might be here to get her. Erica has the Aquarius land off from both sides and the group gears up to go outside the ship.
As they continue Sabrina uses her magik to protect the group from the corrupted landscape as they avoid the Templars. The group wonders as they go along how Tsukiyomi is still sensing her, which means she must still be praying her, which means she has to have a mind of her own as they near a Dark One temple like location. As they walk down the hallways, they find a room with a Dark One in a chair, Kaelan next to him looking like a corrupted Dark One, a female Dark One beside her, Urr and Cleo somehow, and a strange looking fauna. The Dark One leader, who stands at 9 foot, begins to talk with them and as Lorelei and the others speak, as the god ping goes off, Lorelei informs Kaelan that Harbringer is not in her anymore. Somehow during her journeys Harbringer left Kaelan's body - but since the god ping is going off, he is in this room as the team is surrounded by Dark Ones.
Location: Dark One Chambers
Picking up after the last session, the team faces the giant Dark One leader of this particular world - one of the lieutenants of whoever the Dark One commander is now after
Desaeus and the others are gone - a female Dark One, Urr and Cleo, an unknown Maka, Kaelan, and a room full of lower Dark Ones. Learning from Lorelei that Harbringer is no longer inside Kaelan but is still pinging from inside the room, the group begins to eye everyone inside it and wonder how to deal with the situation and who it could be now, with Kaelan eyeing the unknown Maka and Cleo especially. Kaelan's companions begin to eye each other suspiciously and Zegretta seems worried for Kaelan in this situation. Kaelan admits something happened with the Maka - named Gemane, who seems to be another reborn Tareh companion - and she isn't completely sure about her personality due to the events that happened to her on their journey here, getting a reaction of confusion from the Maka.
Kellin asks the Dark One on the throne if they can take Kaelan with them and he responds in a voice that makes many of them with weaker minds fall over and practically vomit or black out due to the sheer pressure in their heads. He notes it would amuse him to let one as corrupted as Kaelan to go, since Kaelan has become practically half Dark One with how much corrupted Dark One energy is now in her body, her tails now looking like tendrils instead of fox tails. But he warns they might want to leave before his leader arrives, indicating the Dark Ones' leader is headed this way, making many do a double take since they assumed it was him and Kaelan notes he is just the planet's leader. After asking if Harbringer might be inside the Dark One, Kaelan assures them that would not be the case since he apparently hates Dark One - she assumes - and is one of the reasons she let herself be corrupted. While Valen asks Kaelan questions on why he detests them and Zegetta seems to be taking an instant dislike to Sudako, the female Dark One, the team heads out of the temple.
Once outside they find the Templars have made a parameter blocking their path to the Aquarius and a God General they do not recognize steps forward toward Kaelan; he appears to be a stereotypical Paladin with long blonde hair and gives off a beautiful holy light that destroys the corrupted ground with his every step. Behind him Mercy seems to be his Templar attendant somehow, having joined them at some point. The God General seems to note he was right about Kaelan and that she was in league with the Dark Ones, despite Leon's claims, and the proof of it was here before him as he goes. After giving her a chance to plead her case to the Church if she is not in league with the Dark Ones while Sudako leands on Kaelan lovingly, after hearing Kaelan insult him as a racist "dickbag", he strikes her with a damaging Holy Light attack while Gemane surrounds Urr and Cleo with magical shields.
While Valen runs up to keep himself between Gemane and the twins, Ulieah and Zegretta note that he shouldn't have hurt Kaelan and the others move to draw their weapons. Xeres guages him and notes he has a lot more tricks up his sleeve and Durt and Si try to get in touch with the ship. while Truth heals Kaelan. While Valen questions Urr and Cleo about if they can teleport them to the ship in a semi-weird questioning way, they both say no. During all this the Templar attacks again and breaks their shields they put up on each other with another attack and begins to move forward when Ulieah uses one of her summons to keep him busy. Sudako touches Valen as she helps herself up and he feels at least from her no pinging, so at least she seems to be clear, right? Gemane during all this uses a wide scale teleport after some complaining about using her magik powers, saying it is hard on her body, and gets the team out of there while Mercy and the God General are busy on the "Death" Summon things that Ulieah can do.
Location: Aquarius
Warren, Cheryl, Airym, Cookie, Pepper, Chad, Adeline, Zephyr, and Angela are monitoring things on the bridge and studying information on the planet while Adeline plays with the Dark Rune. Being attuned to the Dark Rune, Adeline has the the rune on the table since it is not needed for the shields at the time and seems to be being drawn to it. As Airym does a scan of the ship and the area she picks up a dirty, fillthy Templar being let into the ship by Erica and dropping off what appears to be babies that resmbles Kaelan's children, leading to speculation that Kaelan has been "busy" during the long year+ she has been gone - the children having a Dark One nature and whatnot. The Templar clearly looks to be blind, or something along the likes with how she holds herself and keeps her eyes closed as she moves and has Erica put the children up to be observed.
The Templar is then led to the bridge where she sits down, still filthy as ever, while the others scan in other areas while studying the woman. Mireille suddenly opens her eyes during this and announces they have another problem approaching in Sector C and whtn Airym checks it out finds that a Dark One fleet is approaching along with something angelic among it, making Angela fearful about what that could mean. While Angela for some strange reason thinks it is the future ship race stuff - the Illiums - despite that alternate future being dealt with, everyone agrees they should probably prepare to leave when the others get back. As Pepper and the others question the Templar, she admits she is a defector that Kaelan dragged along and appears to be a Famfrit that lives in this sector of space. She notes that she thinks Harbringer is still in Kaelan last she heard, but he hasn't talked in a long time and when asked about her blindness she notes she lost her sight in a battle a few months ago where a lot of mana/magik overflooded her eyes, so it is not a light sensitivity like most Famfrits.
As they prepare to leave the power suddenly goes out and the Templar girl notes it is suddenly dark, which leads to Pepper questioning how she would know that. While the Templar thinks on that she notes she doesn't know really but sometimes feels like she can almost see shapes or something at times. When Mireille goes to investigate why they lost power, she suddenly falls over face first and asks Airym to try the auxilary power and notes something is draining their Spirit Energy. Pepper notes they have to stop the drain as she moves over protectively by Mireille and Chad ponders if it's external or internal and Adeline pockets the Dark Rune to protect it.
Location: Dark One Planet
The group lands near the Aquarius due to Gemane's teleport and bounce along hard from the landing, which sends Urr and Cleo comically rolling. While everyone recovers from their landing, despite Urr and Cleo flailing from being stuck in the mud, Lorelei notes she still feels the God-ping going off quite strongly while Gemane pants and looks weak from the port. Sudako proclaims herself to be innocent to everyone while Kaelan frees the two kittens and Si nears Sudako to try to ping her but finds the Dark One is too close to everyone to get an accurate read on if she is innocent. Valen then comically proclaims he has a new idea and grabs Urr and Cleo and begins to run away with them from the group, making everyone stare and Urr and Cleo proclaim Valen wants their body and to be gentle to them. However the plan works and the two seem to be completely clean.
Kaelan asks Sudako to step away from the team so they can check her and she grumbles that she doesn't like it but complies, moving away from the group when Valen notes that it must be Gemane since he checked Sudako earlier in the Templar battle and Sudako was off to herself. Suddenly as Sudako gets away from the team she gets a ping from her indicating she is the God and Sudako looks startled and confused and Zegretta crows victoriously that she knew it and Kaelan looks confused, saying it can't be her, making Zegretta and Kaelan have a spat. Si checks once more and finds the ping to be faint but it is definitely Sudako, who is proclaiming her innocence to everyone that it isn't her and asking what she can do to prove it, acting very un-Dark One like but it's mainly directed at Kaelan. Kaelan in the mean time subtly pings Gemane but only gets a black hole in response, whatever that means, so she asks Lorelei to mark Sudako.
After asking Kaelan if she really wants her to mark a Dark One, Kaelan notes that she is technically a Dark One now practically and that Sudako is of her blood, making her part Kitsune. Due to the fact Kaelan found Sudako as an egg on a planet and used her blood to hatch Sudako and feed her. After a sigh she complies after knocking Sudako out, putting a mark on Sudako and focusing on the mark, she informs everyone that Sudako is not Harbringer but she notes that Harbringer put something on Sudako to make a false detection on Sudako. After hearing that Valen and the others begin to turn on Gemane, who begins to act all confused like Sudako, and Sabrina is enraged that Harbringer that he sould use a Maka like that. While Xeres notes she thinks this is all part of Harbringer's plan to make them fight each other, the others move in for the attack, making Gemane put up a shield and note it's time for her to leave then. They finally look to Lorelei for permisison to stop Gemane and Lorelei gives it, initiating a battle with the possible Harbringer.
Gemane/Harbringer? turns into her Maka form and begins to battle the team with rather harsh results and even Tsukiyomi joins in to aid them. However Kaelan seems convinced and is enraged during the fight, going at it full force in her blows to take out the Maka. While Harbringer and Andrea/Billy provide buffs, the team begins to get the upper hand before Gemane/Harbringer summons 4 orbs that do various effects from damaging to healing their foe. Forcing them to forcus on the orbs somewhat before they can truly take out their enemy. After they manage to stop the healing orb and whatnot, it soon becomes obvious that the higher level magik that Gemane/Harbringer is using is injuring the Maka's body, indicating that is definitely Harbringer as they begin to cough up blood and with the team's massive attacks from Dias, Kellin, Kaelan, Moira, Truth, Sabrina, and so on, it's clear that the Maka is beginning to wear down. However the powerful magik plus the orbs also begin to come close wo wiping the team a bit as well, forcing Tsukiyomi and Andrea, as well as the healers to keep the team on their feet.
The fight soon continues with two orbs down and both sides heavily injured.
Location: Dark One Planet, Unknown Regions
The battle with Harbringer continues as the body of Gemane bleeds and begins to look broken from the team's attacks. Dias seems excited at being able to go all out on an enemy in the first time in a while while the others are barely hanging on so far, as Harbringer Gemane is doing major attacks so far; Kellin is laying on his back from his last attack, Sabrina is trembling in rage, and Durt seems nonchalant. After Harbringer asks if they want to call it quits and everyone rejects it, Harbringer Gemane begins to go all out in the battle now, unleashing more devastating attacks against the team and doing even more damage, nearly wiping the team members he is targetting but the damage recoil from the magik is damaging Gemane's body. Truth is needed to do a team restore after a few on the team is almost KOed after the attack and the battle resumes.
Dias and Michelle do their attacks, with Dias doing a super attack with his circuits that nearly blows Harbringer Gemane in half and causes massive blood loss. While barely standing Si'Chii's attack kills him and Gemane's body falls onto the ground, dead, and the team panics since that means Harbringer will jump to another body. While the others deal with the remaining magical drones, Ulieah and the healers heal Gemane's body and Lorelei exorcises Harbringer from her body when she is brought back to life before Gemane's spirit moves on and the body is too far gone. While Tsukiyomi and Andrea study the sky, as if sensing something coming, the others pick up Gemane as Sudako comes to and they all head for the PAX.
Location: Aquarius
Cheryl and Zephyr lead the search outside the ship for what is draining the Aquarius of it's energy and see that the corruption of the planet has begun to grow up the ramp legs of the ship. Angela uses the holy rune on the corruption and begins to burn it away while Pepper protects her, seeing a cloaked figure watching her from a distance while Chad, Cheryl, Zephyr, and SpoC head back inside. Inside Adeline is studying the Dark Rune, musing on Kyouki inside, while those inside begin to head up to bridge as the ship begins to regain some power from the corruption begins to be destroyed, Mireille stirring but not quite awake yet. Airym begins to detect the Templar and Dark One fleets heading this way toward the planet in space while Pepper tries to get a look to the tall, cloaked figure in the distance. He points at the sky as Pepper looks at them and when Pepper gets closer, vanishes as she looks at him; Angela dismisses it since people can teleport but Pepper seems perterbed since he vanishes in a blink of an eye.
While Adeline focuses on the Dark Rune, Kyouki wakes up inside it just as Lorelei's people begin to arrive and move up inside the ship. Zegretta and Sudako are still at odds while Kaelan decides to leave the ship she has been using so far behind on the planet; Yuki takes the co-captain planet and Erica the captain's seat while the others move to the bridge of the medical bay to recover from the battle. The team decides they want to escape and avoid fighting but Mireille is out like a light, so Taiga informs them various engines are not an option. Tsukiyomi and Andrea comment they feel something wrong as they enter the atmosphere and see the two large fleets in combat - The Templar Fleet and the Dark One Fleet all over the planet, but worse is a corrupted Erusian vessel with wings.
While Kaelan and Zegretta catch up, the latter seeming a little thrown at the Dark One lover, and everything else, they seem to be slowly making up as all hell breaks loose in space. While Angela thinks it is the Legacy ships, future ships that are based on Erusian and Suisen Ships together, it seems this is a Erusian Planet Killer ship according to Airym, Xeres, and Cheryl - a Black Angel III. Receiving a transmission from the Dark One ships that makes the communications almost burn out, the voice on the screen almost makes those with a low mind almost collapse as a Dark One appears on screen giving off massive Dark Energy. Demanding the return of the Dark Rune if they want to survive, it seems surprised to hear Kyouki is awake inside it despite Kyouki trying to play it cool and not speak. While Angela says she has her own will and refuses for the team, the Dark One says wills can be broken before ending the transmission.
The Dark One Ships begin to fly toward them, along with the Corrupted Erusian Planet Killer, and ideas begin to fly about what to do next. Adeline asks if she should break it and even Kellin and Durt agree and Kyouki wants to take her chances outside the rune; once everyone is on board, even if it fails it will deny them a complete Dark Rune, Adeline begins to the process. Adeline notes she could use the power to take out the fleet and Dias and Cheryl warn her against following Kyouki's path so she breaks the Rune as dark veins appear on her forehead and she collapses, releasing a tiny sprite Kyouki with white hair. During this Tsukiyomi encourages them to scan for a moon and fly toward her it since she can use the moon's power to help them out. While Cookie and the others panic over the unconscious Adeline until Kyouki fixes the Rune.
As the battle begins with Pepper using the weapons, which have been depleted without Mireille, and Angela using her holy powers to try to reinforce the shields, the team seems to be out classed in the fire department. They decide to use Kyouki in Mireille's spirit chamber, though Yuki seems dubious it will work since Mireille has been born to work with the Aquarius. At first the Aquarius' systems hook and attach into Kyouki's body, but being a spirit it doesn't affect her, and the information overload would be too much for a normal spirit but having trained to deal with such information she is able to handle it, boosting the systems a little bit and give it a dark element. At that time they arrive at the moon while Thena does her mote thing and keeps the Dark Ones at bay, the shields going up to 200% and protecting them even better as Tsukiyomi channels her God powers into them.
The Corrupted Black Angel begins to charge it's main cannon while it's smaller weapons begin to hit the Aquarius, dropping it's shields by 50%. Since it's Main Cannon can blow up a planet, the team begins to panic. Kyouki begins to send more power into the weapons and Pepper finds special weapon menus unlocking with warnings not to fire them at this time. After asking permission fom Cookie, Pepper fires the new weapon options and fires a massive spirit gun at point blank range and damages the main cannon an 2 of the wings; this causes the lights to dim and power to drop to 10%, ejecting Kyouki. Chad begins to prepare a path for them with his ability as Cookie begins to move the Aquarius as the ship prepares to fire despite it's damage and a beam hits the Aquarius, damaging the bridge severely. If not for shields going up, the team would be sucked into space and Yuki and Erica, as well as Mireille's space, Airym's spot, and some other spots are collapsed.
Dark Ones teleport onto the bridge and the God Ping is felt, making the team tense up as the ship is raided. As the team tries to recover, Taiga barely on her knees and Kyouki tensing and Valen shouting God, the team begins to attack the Dark Ones. While they try to break Thena's neck, Dias rushes in to do battle. As Lorelei shouts warnings, they repel the Dark Ones as Mireille begins to wake up. One remaining Dark One grabs Kyouki and runs for it, trying to escape with her and leaving the Dark Rune, but it is cut down by Truth and Kyouki itself. While Yuki helps Erica, Lorelei informs the team that someone killed Tsukiyomi and it is likely a God. The team believes, with the power they felt, it is either Gartareh they felt, or Amazo. With Tsukiyomi's death they notice that the moon is acting up a little and darkening. The team decides to take her body back to Luna in the hopes of healing her there even though she is dead and nothing is working. Kellin meanwhile works on feeding energy into the engines to help Mireille do the Tiger Engines and the team jumps and escapes the battle. The team begins to break off to recover, get to medical, and talk - Zegretta and Kaelan moving to talk and Sudako looking around.
Date: 10-640.9.6
Location: The Aquarius
While still in Tiger Jump mode, the team notes they need to find a planet that seems safe to place the the beacon so they can get back to the PAX and Known Space, but they seem to be deep in enemy territory right now. Mireille seems to have fallen for Kyouki as her big sis, following her around, and Valen wonders if they actually got Harbringer and Lorelei assures him they did. Angela begins to discuss Angelos becoming a woman with his powers and stuff, which makes Lorelei exit out of the conversation and Adeline begins to get snarky, nursing a hurt arm from the battle.
During this, Kyouki begins to get trained by Andrea how to use her corrupted Dark Powers, slowly learning to get out of Sprite form into a Loli like form, trying to slowly shapeshift back into her original form. Now with a slightly bigger body outside a flying sprite form, Kyouki begins to explore the ship and hang out in the bar with the others, talking to the mysterious bartender who seems to know things from the first Dark One days, making Adeline wonder who she is really.