Sunflash sits calmly on a bench next to the fountain. The hylian was decked out in his full gear; black and red plate-mail like armor of reploid flavor covers him from the neck down, with a matching helmet resting in his lap. His head is leaned back across the bench, lost in thought as he stares towards the sky.

The cry of a great white beast splits the air as two pairs of furry wings carry it toward the landscape below, descending from the clouds in a spectacular display of white light against the blue sky. It streaks toward the city of Truce, with a young boy visibly seated behind the large dragon's head and holding tightly onto a tuft of its fur. Without the need to circle, Ambience guides the creature down to the cobbles near the center of Truce, as several people step back in a combination of awe, confusion, and apprehension; Ambience himself doesn't move from his seat, and it can now be seen that he carries a large leather case with him, held tightly in his lap. With a huff, the great beast sighs, and Ambience peers about himself, frowning in what might be embarassment. "I guess I didn't think t'check and see how middle-realm people would handle a big ol' Flammie landin' in one o' their cities. Maybe we better not stay too long." Notably, Ambience isn't wearing much in the way of armor; his attire is a rather-plain entourage of leather tunic and trousers, with a glinting, diamond-centered satin choker looped around his neck, and a familiar sword nestled in a sheath against his back.

The commotion is finally enough to rouse Sunflash from his thoughts. With a yawn and a streatch, the sorcerer straightens up and adjusts his equipment; a plain short-sword sheathed on his right hip, and a rapier upon his left. Helmet tucked under his arm, he walks calmly up to the big critter, moving easily dispite the armor.

"Ho, young master! You should've warned me about yer mode of transportation, I could've met ya outside ya know!" Sunflash gives a faint grin and nods to the beast.

If Ambience was put off at all by the title, he opted not to show it. Instead, he gently pets the back of the Flammie's large head and nods. "I'd have thought better of it, yeah. But since we're already here, we might as well get goin'. I still forget the differences between our realms sometimes, and I can always 'pologize later." He pauses, then adds, very subtly and with a glance skyward, "Maybe."

Sunflash laughs, and winks. "'course ya will. So long as you believe you'll come back, ain't nothin that can stop ya." With a few quick motions, Sunny slipped his helmet on over his head and fastened it tight. His voice came out quite clearly and naturally through the mouth, although a good eye might notice a speaker instead of a mouth hole. "So hows the best way for me to join ya up there?"

"Oh, yeah. She's big enough to where she prob'ly won't even feel us at all. Just find a comfortable spot in th' middle, like behind me, and hold onto her fur. She's more concerned 'bout the safety of th' people she carries than her own, she's kin'a made that way." Ambience grins slightly, turning back to the back of the Flammie's head. The creature gives a warbled coo of some sort of agreement or affirmation, golden eyes glancing at Sunflash out of the corner of their sockets.

Sunflash nods and carefully pushes himself off the ground, and over behind Ambience before gently plopping down. "Comfy way to fly, I suppose. I'm ready whenever you are!"

Ambience glances to either side of himself briefly, before nodding to himself. "Okay! Let's go, girl!" He doesn't even so much as kick or pull at all, as the dragon's mighty wings beat a furious gust around the fountain, forcing those who haven't run away to shield themselves from the gale as the beast lifts into the air, carrying Ambience and Sunflash off into the sky; Ambience holds tightly onto the case in his lap with one hand and the Flammie's neck with the other, squinting against the wind as they sail off towards the west, clearing the continent of Guardia and aiming toward Fa'diel.


---------------------------------------------



The morning above Fa'diel is relieved of its stillness with the announcing cry of a great white beast, which practically bellows its arrival to the western continent of the Cleft with a shrill wail, hovering just above the trees as it streaks westward, heading towards the southern stretch of highway near a small island off the southwestern coast. Ambience frowns to himself as the beast carries them on, one eye closed against the winds rushing aganist his face.

Sunflash gives a small sigh. "Well on the bright side, at least they'll know we're coming!"

Ambience raises his voice against the rushing air. "It's jus' a normal thing for her! She doesn't really like t'surprise people, so she makes sure they know she's comin'! Plus, y'know... they're just animals. They do that kin'a thing!" The three of them near the highway in short order, lifting high for a moment and kind of hovering there briefly, as if considering a spot to land. Critters native to the region scatter for cover as the giant dragon's shadow cascades over the area, disappearing into the sidebrush at random.

One such exception proves to be Gforte, standing before the dragon with an almost characteristic frown on his face. "Fucking flashy entrance again. Not like we're planning on assaulting a fortress or anything kid." His eye settles on the Flammie's second passenger, and if anything his scowl deepens. "Finding replacements for me already, kid?"

Ambience guides the Flamme down to the ground, landing a bit roughly as she wasn't sure of a safe spot, but settles for the center of the road; good enough, she figured. Ambience looks up toward Gforte from his perch behind the beast's head, his frown still there, but not worsening. "Nobody's replacing you. This man said he knew who you were, and I thought maybe we could use th' help." He neglected to mention the whole "I want to come back alive" piece that was nagging him, given that he'd probably take offense to it in some way. Like everything else.

Sunflash tosses himself off the back of the beast, landing with a small thud a few feet away from Haut. "I never did call you, did I? My bad." He straightened and removed his helmet to reveal his face. "Then again, after I melted the legs off your mech, I figured you'd not want to hear from me till I had good news." Slight smirk.

Gforte grunts. "You skin someone for that armor?" He doesn't bother waiting for a response, looking back to the kid. "I'll assume since your momma let you take the dragon out, we're just going to be assaulting the fortress from the front, hm?"

Ambience doesn't respond right away. The Flammie would have a part to play, alright, but it wouldn't be at their entrance. "The Fortress is protected from the outside. She's just goin' t'drop us off at th' front, so we can get inside. There's a barrier 'round it that prevents magical teleporting, so y'have to physically fly up there to get through it. This's why we have her." Ambience nods at the Flammie, still seated upon her neck.

Sunflash shrugs in response. "The orignal owner discarded it, and a friend remodled it for my use." He listens to Ambience's explantion before nodding. "However we actually approche this, to assume the occupants arn't expecting us would be pretty dumb. They'll probably know the instant we step foot inside there." He grins viciously. "Lets us get right down to cases."

Gforte shakes his head. "Whatever. Let's get this done with." He steps over to the Flammie and scales it, settling himself on it's back with two handfulls of hair. "Get going kid."

Sunflash rolls his eyes. "You two are just full of enthusasim, arn't you? Lighten up already!" He attaches his helmet and plops himself back up on the beast, behind Haut. "Can't win if you have a defeatist mentilaity, ya know."

Ambience hesitates, but only briefly. With a drawn-out exhale, Ambience nods. "Alright. Remember what mama said, girl. Drop us off, and then get out of there." Ambience leans in close, almost touching his face to the back of the Flammie's head. "Fly far, far away from it. As far as you can. Okay?" The dragon warbles some sort of beastial reply, before buffeting the air roughly with all four wings, ascending into the air and rising higher, higher, and higher... before levelling out, and sailing off toward the gloomy Fortress, clouded in darkness against the backdrop of the morning sky.


--------------------------------------------


The Mana Fortress - Foreward Deck
A wide, thick sheet of polished black metal provides the foundation
upon which this mighty aerial fortress rests upon, dug into the rocky
platform that supports it while it hovers ominously within the air. A dark
sky hangs over the immediate vicinity, blotting out most of the sunlight
during the daytime and creating an overall-gloomy atmosphere. Large, black
orbs are hewn into the metal in random locations all over the deck, leading
all the way up to the sparsely-illuminated castle ahead.

The Flammie carries the three of them toward the Fortress, slowing its approach as it gets closer to the deck that just out from under the Fortress itself. Its flying seems a bit jarred as it gets closer, but it seems to be trying to maintain a steady forward cruise, descending slowly as it nears the edge of the platform. Taloned feet scrape the metal surface roughly as it half-skids to a landing, stopping a bit suddenly and forcing Ambience to grip the Flammie's fur a bit tightly to prevent being thrown forward from the landing. The case he was carrying, however, slides off the side of the great beast and onto the polished metal floor, clattering roughly on impact but not breaking or opening. Up ahead, and near the Fortress' front, a lone figure can be made out, but its features are obscured by dark clouds filtering about the area; the only visible defining feature is a pair of enormous wings, which practically dwarf the body of the person they belong to.

Gforte doesn't bother holding his place on the back of the dragon, instead he sets his feet under himself and kicks off, leaping off and catapulting himself into the air. An almost lazy flip later, Gforte slams back into the ground, feet first. A sharp metallic noise rings out as he draws and expands his spear, settling it down as he glares at the figure.

Sunflash lets out a grunt at the landing, but managed to keep his seating. As Haut evacs, Sunny takes his cue and follows after, albiet far eaiser due to mana abuse. Settling down calmly, he pays little heed to mister mysterious and peers back at Ambience.

Ambience unsettles himself and slides down the side of the Flammie's back, landing next to the tossed case from earlier. He looks back up toward the Flammie, and doesn't say a word; he doesn't have to, apparently, because as soon as he's cleared from her back, she turns and hastefully claws her way over the edge of the deck, spreading her wings and gliding away from the Fortress as instructing with a wailing, beastial keen, gradually disappearing into the clouds. With a sigh, Ambience kneels over the case, and proceeds to unsnap the bindings olding it closed. He doesn't seem to have noticed the figure ahead of them yet. "Hey, Haut. There's somethin' for you here; one of them you need, and the other we thought might help express thanks from the Tribe for what you're doin' up here." (Ambience)

Gforte steps back a few paces, not looking away from the figure in quetion. Instead, he nudges Ambience. "Situational awareness kid, we have company." He does take a moment to glance at the contents of the box, but makes no move yet to collect them.

Sunflash steps between Haut and the figure, waving at the pair behind him. "Go ahead and converse guys, I'll go make small talk." With all the casual air of a blond bimbo, the sorcerer took a few steps forward. "Afternoon. This your place?" The helmet, sadly, hides his broad smirk.

Ambience looks up at Gforte in confusion at the mention of other people being nearby, as the lid of his case opens wide... revealing not only the polished golden edge of the Dual Blade, but also a beautiful, silver-tipped lance, with a 'tail' of sorts that leads off one end of the spearhead bottom and wraps multiple times around the length of the spear itself, coiling in a loop near the middle that could be considered a handle of sorts. Needless to say, it's very ornate and masterfully-designed. Ambience gets to his feet otherwise, and peers off toward the north, looking to be focusing on the figure... before wincing, looking rather upset. "Aw, man. I guess I should've expected that. I -knew- I forgot someone." In response to Sunflash's advance, the figure doesn't move, but is revealed to be a young female, and fairly wanting in terms of dress; she wears only a leather band that encompasses her sizeable bust and wraps around her back, below the enormous white wings that stand a foot or so taller than she is, and a ragged-looking teal long skirt that hangs at wickedly-sharp taloned avian feet; her arms are folded, as though she was waiting for someone, and her face has a red streak from one cheek to the other, clear across her face. She looks up at Sunflash's greeting, and just kind of... stares at him with half-lidded aquamarine eyes.

Gforte says ' You really should have told your girlfriend to stay home kid.'

Sunflash half-turns, keeping the figure in full view. "I take it you two know each other?" Sunny's turn conviently opens line-of-sight between the harpy and Ambience. "...Girlfriend?"

Ambience furrows his brow, leaving the weapon case behind and advancing toward (and past) Sunflash, trying to look more steadfast about this turn of events than he actually felt. "Molly, you can't be here." The named girl, turns slightly as Ambience makes his presence known, facing them all fully, but says not a word, watching the boy's approach. "I didn't ask you to come with us 'cause you got other things you gotta do. An' I didn't want to--" He gets cut short as Mollianne grabs him by the neck of Ambience's tunic and roughly pulls him forward with a fang-baring hiss. "Ssshhh. Be quiet." And without fanfare, she proceeds to almost forcibly lock lips with the dazed boy, pulling him tightly at the neckline before pushing him back, whereupon he manages to fall squarely on his behind, taken completely aback and staring up at her in wordless shock. She smiles in return, one fang protruding from her mouth slightly. "Just wanted to make sure you did not forget." Still grinning, she just-as-quickly spreads her wings and takes off, dropping over the edge of the platform and disappearing into the clouds. It all happens quite quickly.

Gforte lowers his spear at Mollianne flies off, having flipped it up into a throwing position, almost like a javalin before shaking his head. "Goddamn kids." With that he kneels down and begins picking up the boxed weapons, finding places to holster them.

Sunflash manages to not break out into helpless laughter, instead giving a few slow claps before offering a hand up to Ambience. "Well, looks like YOU'VE got your reason to come back from this one. A pretty little reason, I might add."

The Mana Fortress - Foreward Deck
A wide, thick sheet of polished black metal provides the foundation
upon which this mighty aerial fortress rests upon, dug into the rocky
platform that supports it while it hovers ominously within the air. A dark
sky hangs over the immediate vicinity, blotting out most of the sunlight
during the daytime and creating an overall-gloomy atmosphere. Large, black
orbs are hewn into the metal in random locations all over the deck, leading
all the way up to the sparsely-illuminated castle ahead.

Ambience looks like a balanced tossup of confused and embarassed, but willingly takes Sunflash's hand to be helped up with, wincing just slightly from the hard landing to his keister. "Ha heh, I guess you could say that. I'm jus' glad she didn't ask t'come with, s'what I was worried about." He nods at Sunflash, with a small glanced toward Gforte. "Will that lance work for you, Haut?"

Gforte stands now, bouncing on his feet a few times to make sure everything was staying in place. "Should work until the sword decides it likes me. If I had some more time I'd get more into checking it's weight, but I don't plan on throwing it around much." He steps over towards the two others and looks over them both. "Shall we then?"

Sunflash takes a moment to poke at something on one of his underarms before grumbling. "Going to hafta get Rika to adjust this damn thing again." He straightens and nods. "Ready! Do we have a particluar plan, or just go kill baddies till we run out of 'em?"

Ambience looks off toward the looming Fortress ahead of them, frowning. "I don't know. Mama says that the Sinistrals don't belong there, and that they just 'took it over', so there might not be a whole lot waiting for us besides them. But since I've never been in there, I dunno for sure. So I guess we'll just be ready." He starts off in the same direction, approaching the Fortress' doors just a short distance to the north; the hilt of his weapon gleams, almost in anticipation.

Gforte moves after Ambience, holding onto his collapsable spear as he goes. "I've got a plan. I figure they'll have an approach like last time. All four at once in a more or less constant magical assault. If we split off and take them one on one, we might throw them off enough that they can't do anything seriously powerful. I figure I'll go after the one in huge armor, Kid, you get to meet up with Erim again, and Mr. Cheerful here can take on the last guy. The one who isn't their boss."

Sunflash falls into line next to Haut, and nods. "Sounds fun. So they like to throw magic around too, huh?" He hummed for a moment. "That reminds me, Ambience; considering where we're at, should I expect any issues throwing spells around?"

Ambience shakes his head. "I don't think so. The way you use mana isn't really harmful. The spirits jus' don't like it because it's what they're there for; when you don't call on them for it, they feel cheated, and get kin'a uptight about it. I don't really know why." He offered something of a sheepish grin before continuing. "The Fortress shouldn't be restrictive at all, I don't think. Mana sustains it, so if there was any prevention for magic in it, it would probably drop out of the sky from not bein' able to keep up its energy source."

"One last thing." Gforte looks to you and Sunflash. "If you see me throw a sphere at the Sinistrals. Do not look directly at the sphere." He pulls two small objects from his pocket, and settles one in each of his ears before proceeding to snap his fingers repeatedly.

Sunflash breathes a sigh of relief. "Well that's good. About the mana stuff anyway. Don't mean to annoy the spirits, I jus do it naturally." He peered at Haut as he did his thing with the ears before nodding. "Hrm. Flashbang-type stuff? Seen a couple reploids throwing those things around before."

The Mana Fortress - Main Deck
Pale blue and electric purple glows give subtle lighting to the face
of this terrifying fortress, lining the massive double-doors and the entire
front surface. A strange current arcs and skims along the surface of the
mentioned doors, sparking and sizzling noisily at any object that gets too
close, but seems contained. The same black metal that provides the walkway
underfoot seems to be what composes the establishment as well, although at
this proximity, small veins of some energy source can be seen running along
transferring lines within the metal.

"Don't look at throwing spheres. Got it." Ambience nodded to himself, and stopped as they came upon the double-doors of the Fortress of Mana, crackling energetically from the binding seal that kept every living thing out from its interior. His erstwhile frown returned as he looked upon the seal that prevented their access, grimacing. "That almost hurts jus' to look at. It's basically a whole ton of mana power all crammed into one little spot. It'd kill anyone that tried to push through."

"Luckily, we're not pushing through, are we kid?" Gforte presses one of the earbuds in further, and eyes Ambience. "You got some kinda ritual to preform to break that thing?"

Sunflash winces. "Cripes, yeah. I think I could get a headache just being in the room for an hour." He rolls his shoulder and steps off to the side from the group, just in case.

Ambience shakes his head. "No. I think I understand why this Sword is needed, though. It makes sense." He withdraws the polished blade from its resting place, Tree's insignia flashing briefly as he holds it level over the crackling seal on the door, still frowning. "Its a 'cancelling out' process. Because this Sword is also made almost entirely outta mana..." Ambience raises the weapon, and swiftly brings it down in a carving overhead slash, issuing forth a jarring BZZZZZZT from the seal, as it unceremoniously just... shorts out, and fades away altogether. The weapon he holds glows softly, however, taking on a greenish tint before reverting to a normal-looking blade. Ambience lowers the sword, and nods as he studies it, interestedly. "Yeah. I think we're good."

Gforte grunts. "Man, that was all kinds of fancy." With that, he steps forwards, and delivers a solid boot to the right-hand door, attempting to open it with similar flashiness.

Sunflash gives a soft whistle and peers at Ambience. "Jango's teeth, that's what it felt like allright. I'm impressed, and a little awed, I do believe." He gives an impossible-to-see grin.

Ambience wassn't sure is Sunflash was complimenting him or not, but he didn't let it go to his head; he was just the helper here. This was Haut's quest, Haut's decision. He needed a Sword-bearer. Even if it did feel nice to be appreciated. Ambience kept the weapon out and in his hand, wincing slightly from the obnoxiously-forceful entry, and the dull sound of metalworking that comes from beyond the now-open door. He took a breath. "Alright. Guess we better keep our guard up."

The Mana Fortress - Entry Walkway
A solid, metallic chainlink bridge forms a walkway into this grand
Fortress, where embedded lights on each and every wall significantly
illuminate the area. The grinding and clanging of gears and other aspects
of machinery can be both seen and heard for leagues far below the platform,
where it eventually disappears into inky blackness, and a ninety-degree bend
in the bridge turns the direction towards a large doorway leading further
on. Amidst the machinations that apparently keep the Fortress running,
lines of pale blue and dark violet are seen coursing along the walls,
feeding directly into the spinning cogs and other pieces of machinery.

The Fortress appears to be uninhabited, at least in the immediate vicinity.

Gforte gives a low whistle, looking around the gearworks of the present area. "My kinda place. If I had the half the cash and metal that went into this place, I could work wonders." Gforte allows himself a small daydream, while the area seems safe.

Sunflash peers around carefully. "Gonna see if I can have Rika find a way to activate the damn sensors on this thing too..." He shrugs before peering at the other two. "Stay cool a sec."

For just an instant, Ambience and Haut's vision would seem to sharpen just perceptiably before returning to normal. Sunflash gave a nod. "We can now see through just about any type of magical invis. Won't help with technolgical cloaking more than a little though. Stay sharp."

Ambience takes in the immediate area, the frown still not having left his face. He looks fairly unhappy on the whole, as it stands. "No wonder th' Goddess has such a strong stance against machines integrating with mana, if this was meant t'be the origin. It's suckin' mana power right out of th' air just to feed this place." A couple of faint green wisps of light flicker briefly around his shoulders, before fading out of sight again. "Do you feel it at all, Sunflash? I dunno how attuned to mana power you actually are, but..." Ambience trails off, blinking a few times from the sudden vision focus and de-focus.

A sinister chuckle seems to roll through the air of the room, never quite reaching a laugh, but still expressing amusement; Daos' voice calls out from seemingly out of nowhere. "So, you finally made it. And you found some friends, after all! I was beginning to wonder if trusting people was simply beneath you. Maybe your eradication won't be as swift and uninteresting as we first thought."

Gforte grins. "Oh hey, it's the fat bastard. Hey, tell me, do you wear armor all the time because you're that scared of getting hurt? Or is it because you're such an ugly son of a bitch that your little demi-god buddies wouldn't let you hang out with them?"

Sunflash turns his head up towards the cieling for a moment before shrugging and nodding at Ambience. "My skin's been tingling since we got close to this bloody place. It doesn't seem to be strong enough to actually affect me, but it IS rather unpleasent, I'll grant ya that. Whatta ya say we put a stop to it, hrm?" His voice is light and carefree, almost eager.

Ambience raises an eyebrow. What kind of language was that? He guessed it probably wasn't something his mother would want him repeating around her, just from the malicious sound of it. Instead of calling out something, himself, Ambience opted to stay quiet, his grip tightening on the Mana Sword in his hand. He'd be lying if he told anyone he wasn't a little bit frightened, even only a little.

Daos' voice laughs, more openly this time. "I could spend any length of time trying to offer you some semblence of fashion or even clothes that didn't make you look no different than a peddling street urchin, but I daresay you wouldn't be inclined to listen. So instead of drawing this out, why don't you come and end this? We're waiting for you above. Oh, and one more thing."

"I'm appalled at you, Mr. Haut. You actually brought a child with you to meet his end? Be certain that we will not spare him if you bring him to our doorstep, this I promise. I knew you were tactless, but I didn't think you would stoop so low as to bargain a child against your success in our defeat. Utterly appalling." One could almost see Daos shaking his head, despite him obviously not being there.

"Oh, there's those ancient witticisms I've come to know and love. Seriously, who the fuck says calls anyone a street urchin? Come on you dopey ass motherfucker, give me something more modern to feel sorry for you saying. Oh wait, you don't know anything modern because you've all been constantly dead!" Gforte begins walking forwards, shaking his own head now. "And really We all know what's going to happen here. I'm going to step up there and start whipping you like a thief in a stockade, that was something more age relevant for you, and then you're going to run out of mocking words because you'll be too busy choking on your own teeth."

Sunflash briefly considers taking off his helmet so Ambience could see how hard he was rolling his eyes, but decided against it. Instead, he settled for keeping a close watch on the rest of the room, waiting for the banter, however witty, to finish.

Ambience just listens to the exchange between Daos' voice and Gforte, curious at all the new words being issued forth. At the mention of Haut's cowardice in relation to himself, his frown deepens, taking on a slightly angirer tone. As much as he wanted to, though, he doesn't say anything. Maybe it would be to their benefit if he kept his abilities a surprise until they became needed, anyway.

In lieu of Ambience's anger, the diamond-centered choker that wraps around his neck glints brightly, as if in warning (though to himself or those around him, it couldn't be ascertained).

Daos' voice does not return at this time; the clink-clang of machinery takes over the ambient noise of the Fortress.

Gforte rolls his singlar eye. "That's what I thought you humpty ass bitch." He turns back to Ambience and Sunflash and jerks his head. "Come on you two, let's get moving. Don't wanna make our hosts wait."

Sunflash nods. "Just keep your head on straight. Don't let 'em bait you into anything completely stupid." He pauses. "Also, when or if we split up like you suggested; don't be afraid to holler for help if you turn out to need it."

Ambience looks up between the two of them, and lets out a breath, forcibly relaxing; the gleam on his single-jewelled collar diminishes, returning to normal. "Okay. The sooner we finish this, the sooner we can go home." He looked off toward the other door at the end of the room, then at Gforte specifically.

The Mana Fortress - 1F Walkway
This large, open room features a cross-shaped catwalk of the same
chainlink design that spreads over a mass of churning machinery within the
underside below. A cave-in of sorts, consisting of bent and twisted metal
along with broken parts, sits against the north wall, and since one section
of the walkway leads up to it, one could surmise it to be a blocked-off
room. The air inside this establishment would be quiet and eerie, if not
for the constant droning of wheels, gears, and assorted other mechanical
bits clanking away.

Gforte lets out a long sigh as he runs his eye over the twisted metal. "Did those assholes collapse the path to make us take longer to get there? Really?"

Sunflash shrugs. "Well. We can take one of the other paths, or I can try to cut our way through the wreckage. I have no idea how well that'd work though." He paused. "Personally speaking though, I'd vastly prefer it if we didn't split up until we had to."

Ambience looks upon the wreckage of the northern route, his eyes darting between the rubbled pieces but not seeing what he may be looking for. Retaining his silence, he turns halfway and glances eastward, taking a single step that way for a slightly-better look. "That looks like an elevator." It was a simple statement, but to the point.

Gforte raises an eyebrow, and then follows Ambience, looking at the eastern path. "Huh. Look at that." He doesn't say much else, instead just starts walking down that path.

Sunflash says 'Oh good. Box-shaped death-traps. I'm thrilled." A snicker escapes his helmet as he shrugs and starts following.'

Ambience lets Gforte and Sunflash go past him as he glances toward the room they didn't choose, thoughtfully, before falling in line behind Sunflash and following the both of them toward the eastern room.

The Mana Fortress - 1F Elevator
An immense, upright cylinder makes for an operable elevator that
currently sits at the bottom of the shaft, and high above, the top of this
same shaft is visible through a transparent glass ceiling. The entry (and
exit) door does not seem to have anything closeable, which means that one is
best off keeping their limbs inside during movement. On one side of said
non-closing door, a small console is visible, likely used in operation of
the elevator, and several veins of blue and purple feed directly into it
from all sides.

Gforte examines the elevator. "Hey, relax man. It's a Cylindrical death trap, not box shaped." He steps forwards and examines the console, seeing if it's only slaved to the the elevator of if he can gather more information about the area from it.

Unfortunately, Gforte's likely to get less information out of than even the former of those two options: a large piece of it appears to be missing entirely, pulled free from the console and simply no longer there. Though the veins of light still feed into the panel, the console as a whole is dark and lifeless, without any lightup for operation at all.

Sunflash frowns at the console for a moment before swinging his head towards Ambience quickly. "Stupid, stupid question: What do you think'd happen if I opened one of those power lines and tried to see what's inside?"

Ambience gives Sunflash a blank look for a moment, then glances at one of the glowing lines nearby, inclining his head. "I don't really know, but I don't think it'd be a good idea. Those are feeding mana through this place; you're actually seein' physical mana being made into a power source for th' Fortress. It's actually kin'a... gross." Again with the unhappy look.

Gforte grunts, having ignored the both of them. "I could try to re-route this, but I might short-circuit it if I do things wrong." Gforte steps back for a moment, clacking his teeth together before looking back at Sunflash and Ambience. "Let's go check out that other room. I got a feelin'."

Sunflash shrugs. "Figured as much. Right behind ya Haut." Quick nod in agreement with Ambi.

Ambience actually finds himself staring at the one line that he'd glanced at when Sunflash's query popped up, an entourage of expressions flickering over his face as he watches it pulse and flicker on toward the panel, before he shakes his head. "Yeah, sorry. Let's go have a look."

The Mana Fortress - Cluttered Storage Compartment
This small side room is filled with all manner of junk related to a
mechanical nature. Broken gears, ripped-away pipes, shattered glass and
metal fragments, its all there in varying amounts. A wide pipe's opening is
appended to a wall in the back, and the amount of trash piled immediately
under it indicates that its probably a refuse chute of sorts. A large fan
overhead blows a consistent breeze down into the room, adding a steady whir
to the otherwise-constant grinding of machinery about and around.

Gforte hums as he steps into the apparent storage compartment. "Here we go. Shit like that, expensive and easily broken tech. You wanna have a storage works nearby. Probably one upstairs too. Help me dig around kids." He sets turning over equipment, looking for something to fit the hole.

Sunflash grumbles as he starts to poke around. "Are you sure this is a storage depot, and not just a trash room? Ninety percent of this looks like junk."

Ambience stands in the doorway for a moment, raising an eyebrow at the mess as he slips the Mana Sword back into its sheath for the time being. Why would a Fortress like this have a room devoted to broken garbage? The Sinistrals were weird people. Nevertheless, they did need to find something to make the elevator panel work, so he took to hunching down along the wall, overturning a few of the lighter pieces of junk to look for something somewhat computer-related.

As a larger piece of marred iron is overturned, a glowing circuit card is seen underneath where is once was, looking as though it were it were infused with some kind of inherent energy without even being attached to anything. Was it tossed here intentionally, or just not hidden very well? Who the fuck knows, man.

Gforte bends down, and picks up the circuit card, eyeing it with a slight grin. "Here we go. Glad I didn't try to replicate this thing. Would have been a pain in the ass." He stashes the card in his pocket and looks to his group once more. "Shall we then?"

Sunflash straightens back up, dropping a chunk of junk off to the side. "Finally. Was going to just go blast a hole through the roof or something."

Ambience looks down at a small sheet of chipped glass he'd picked up for a moment as Gforte announces his finding, and gently sets it back down (don't wanna break it) before stepping around some of the more hazardous crap, rejoining Sunflash and Gforte. "You must have a knack for that sorta thing, I didn't think it would'a been that easy t'find." He sounds somewhat impressed, at the very least.

The Mana Fortress - 1F Elevator
An immense, upright cylinder makes for an operable elevator that
currently sits at the bottom of the shaft, and high above, the top of this
same shaft is visible through a transparent glass ceiling. The entry (and
exit) door does not seem to have anything closeable, which means that one is
best off keeping their limbs inside during movement. On one side of said
non-closing door, a small console is visible, likely used in operation of
the elevator, and several veins of blue and purple feed directly into it
from all sides.

Gforte settles himself next to the console for a moment, examining it and the card before connecting the two together with a small, satisfied grin. "Why am I so good?"

Ambience steps into the elevator and settles himself along the opposite side of the door, not knowing how fast or smooth the elevator may or may not take off and not wanting any chances. He was kind of hoping they'd find the Sinistrals soon, just being in this place was starting to get to him.

Sunflash does the opposite of Ambience, and plants himself basically infront of the entrance. "Onwards and upwards then!"

The elevator rumbles into operation a bit roughly, trembling and vibrating for a moment or two before it gradually ascends into the upper levels of the Fortress interior, taking the three of them with it. A minute or two passes before it stops again, the opening that is the door now allowing entry into a much larger western room atop this new level of the Fortress; the mechanical sound of the previous floor is much, much more distant now, and barely audible without straining to hear it.

The Mana Fortress - 2F Elevator
An immense, upright cylinder makes for an operable elevator that
currently sits at the top of the shaft, and far below, the bottom of this
same shaft is visible through a transparent glass floor surface. The entry
(and exit) door does not seem to have anything closeable, which means that
one is best off keeping their limbs inside during movement. On one side of
said non-closing door, a small console is visible, likely used in operation
of the elevator, and several veins of blue and purple feed directly into it
from all sides.

Gforte nods. "Alright, this could be it. You guys ready?" Gforte twirls his spear for a moment, getting used to the feeling of it in his hand again.

Ambience tenses, wondering if the Goddess had actually heard his thoughts. He didn't REALLY think they were going to come upon them this fast, but... "Yeah." Ambience adjusted the black rose that entwined itself behind his right ear, looking between the two of them. "I'm good t'go."

Sunflash nods in return. "Jus remember: Stay cool, stay focused. Any baddie who talks that much is jus trying to get under yer skin, so jus ignore the talk and focus on the fight." The commentary was directed towards both, but he was pretty sure he wasn't fooling anyone who he REALLY intended the advice for. No matter. He stepped aside and motioned to the door. "Ready as you are!"

The Mana Fortress - 2F Communal Room
Two rows of polished blacksteel benches line the west and east sides of
this huge room, generally empty otherwise except for a smilarly-colored
podium set at the far end. Beyond this, a wide staircase is seen leading up
to another level of the Fortress, and a short doorway leads into an elevator
on the opposite side. This room feels somewhat sacremental and was possibly
used for religious means, judging by a pair of strange motifs visible on the
walls high above each set of benches; the atmosphere is quiet, but feels
somewhat pressured, and the faint sound of metallic grinding can be heard
somewhere far below.

The almost tangible, holy-like presence of the room seems incredibly offput from the rest of the Fortress so far, and if it was filled with any amount of other people, they would likely be revering some sort of deity at this time. However, there doesn't appear to be anyone else here. Oh, except for one person; a tall, flowing-blue-haired woman swathed in a loose, silky gown of paler blue color, standing behind the podium at the base of the staircase.

Her hands are clasped together in front of her, and she's smiling. Oh, is she ever smiling.

Gforte's spear flares with runic symbols as he saunters into the room, like he owned it. "Man, I have to say, I hate what you've done with the place. Seriously if it were up to me I would have ripped all this shit down and set up a bar." He looks to the woman with a raised eyebrow. "Or is it that you haven't gotten around to redecorating yet?"

Ambience seems a little offended at Gforte's blatant anti-religious statement just now (or at least it seemed that way to him, but given his birth, eh...), but brushes it aside as he steps out from behind him, instantly hesitant when he sees who is there to greet them. "Erim..."

Sunflash pops out to the other side opposite from Ambience, and stands there with his arms crossed. No actual comment yet, just watching and waiting.

"Oh, this? Don't get us wrong." Erim gestures, her fingertips sizzling with the power of electricity as she does. "This isn't to our taste at all, but we're merely borrowing this castle; we still seek our own homeland in the meantime. It's a shame you had to come straight for us, and couldn't be bothered to admire the architecture along the way. But then, this is mankind in a nutshell, isn't it? Curt and straight to the point. You philistines." Erim lets her hands fall back to her sides, smile still present, but ony half as much.

"Fucking hypocrites. First you tell us to hurry on up here and not drag things out, and then you chide us for not stopping to smell the roses." Gforte pulls his backpack off, and drops it near the entrance to the room before stepping further in. "Really Erim, either do all the talking or reign your brother in some. He's making you look bad."

Sunflash gives a barely audible sigh and turns his head slightly towards Ambience, though he keeps Erim in view. "Should I point out to her I'm not actually a human, or do you think that'd ruin her mojo she's got going?" His voice isn't quite whispered, but it's definatly quiet.

Ambience momentarily looks from Erim to Sunflash, shaking his head somewhat. "She's kind of... not wrong. From some of what I've seen, anyway. But I think she was generalizing." Since Sunflash had caught his attention, he opted not to look back at Erim right away.

"My brothers do as they will, as do I. We are a family, but we still have regard for certain differences without our individual tropes." Erim looks from Gforte to Sunflash, and then to Ambience, noting that he isn't looking at her, and then back to Gforte. "Why did you bring the child with you? If I recall, this was your vendetta against us. Why risk the life of someone who has no bearing on yourself? Are you really a coward, as lord Daos perceives? Or is there more to it?" Her question is blatant and straightforward, dropping the jabs and subtle antagonism.

Sunflash blatantly holds his hands up and gives a pair of short, sarcastic claps. "Hey, progress!"

Gforte rolls his only available eye. "What is with you people and assuming I brought him. If you had dropped your little forcefield I wouldn't need him here. But nooo, you had to keep it up, and now I have to drag the kid around. Hell, I told him to just stay at the door when we first went over this, but Someone's gone and ignored me on that."

Ambience looks toward Gforte, then sidelong at Erim, and at Gforte again, frowning noticeably. Why was he so mean? Was this his reaction to any help anyone ever gave him? Did he even understand what was at stake beyond whatever quest for vengeance he had in mind? The diamond at the center of Ambience's choker began to glimmer again...

Erim seems to notice this, and her smile returns. "Ah, I see. So then you're just making the most of it, I assume? If he's going to be here anywway, you might as well get what you can out of him. Be the hero, then! Take what you need and to hell with the rest! Am I right?" Erim laughs softly, which gradually becomes more shrill and sinister. "You assume we have complete control over this fortress, anyway. Did you not hear what I said? Simply because we blew up a town and tried to do the same to another doesn't mean we have full control over everything it can do, yet. This includes petty things like barriers. So reeeeally..." She draws the word out, obnoxiously. "You can't wholly fault us for that one."

Gforte sighs. "Look, this is pointless. We can bicker back and forth over who is better, or we can actually get down to business and deal with it." Gforte eyes Erim for a moment before grinning. "Unless you lot are too afraid that you're going to fail. Again."

Ambience is still flustered, apparently taking measures to try and calm himself down from whatever aggression he was feeling toward Gforte recently. At this point, he's specifically avoided looking at either one of them, as the diamond at his throat gradually dims a little bit at a time.

Sunflash takes a step closer to Ambience, and gives him a gentle poke in the shoulder. "Remember what i said about people talking trash, trying to bother ya? Both sides do it. Just grin and ignore it."

"A point well-made." A crackle of thunder and a bolt of lightning later, and a golden trident is now gripped in Erim's waiting hand, blunt end settled on the metal floor. "I won't hold back this time. If you want to prove yourself a hero for your own miserable cause, then now's your chance. My brothers can wait their turn." Her grin is as malicious as they come, no less so as a pale violet aura flares around her body, exuding the presence of the reaper himself.

Sunflash gives a magnificent sigh from his position slightly behind and to the left of Haut. "All this melodrama and flashy effects. What happened to good ole fist fights and wizard struggles? I mean really, its not like we're putting on a play or anything." He paused and shook a finger up towards the ceiling. "Unless...Bah."

Gforte twirls his spear around in his fingers once more before grinning. "Fan out and single file for now." Gforte doesn't bother waiting for confirmation from either other person, instead taking off towards Erim and a run, trying to close distance between himself and her.

Ambience raises his red irises and looks on after Gforte, but makes no move otherwise; the Mana Sword remains in its sheath on his back. He only looks between the two of them, fighting with himself on what to do; his friend with a penchant for world domination, or his ally with no compassion, no grace and arguably no concern for anyone but himself?

Erim's grin disappears as her expression takes on a dutiful sneer, drawing back her trident and sparking noticeably in her free hand, no doubt preparing for some kind of electrical attack. The points of her weapon gleam maliciously, despite the fact that they aren't poised for an attack. "You're all the same. How is your cause any better than ours? What makes YOU so much better than us?"

Sunflash follows Haut's barked command with an invisible grimace, slipping off to one side and staying somewhat behind. At Erim's comment, Sunny couldn't help himself but lash out in return. "Are you really so self-centered that you're wanting to argue phisophsy in the middle of a fight? Really? THAT'S what's important?" He throws his hands up towards the cieling in an overly-dramatic pose.

Gforte's rune-charged spear slams into the ground as he presses his weight into it and jumps into the air. "Bitch all you want. I just want back what you took." Regardless of his words, there's a small smile on Gforte's face, as one of his hands dips into his bag and pulls out a small sphere. Lights flash in both of his ears as he primes the weapon, dropping it in mid-air on his arcing jump towards Erim. A moment after it hits the ground, one can almost hear the charging whirr of electronics before a piercing scream explodes from the orb, doing it's best to drown out any more speech.

Ambience Looks up suddenly at Erim's beratement of Gforte, as though something were dawning on him. As he reaches for the Sword on his back, though, he taks note of the dropped object midway through Gforte's aerial assault and whirls around, crouching partway... only to cry out in surprise at the sheer volume of the aural grenade, letting his weapon's hilt go and covering both ears.

As well, Erim continues to charge her attack as she holds her trident across her forehead, shielding her eyes and preparing to throw her hand foreward as a burst of lightning arcs from her fingertips... but she only gets a few choice bolts out before the scream pierces her ears, shorting out her spell in midcast and forcing her to cover her ears with both hands (though one is actually a wrist, since she doesn't let go of her weapon). In furious response to this, however, she belts out a vicious, primal scream as well, doing well to match what is coming out of the device nearby!

Sunflash Sunflash's reaction is almost as furious as Erims. Having thrown an arm up to shield his eyes, only to get the ear-shattering attack instead; the sorcerer turns slightly and throws a fist in the direction of the nearest bench. Said bench is thrown against the wall, and gets violently ripped to shreds in time with each barely audible curse coming from his person.

Gforte's mocking laughter can almost be heard under the various screams, but the wild look in his eye calls for no less blood with his good mood. Twirling for a moment in the air, Gforte sets his spear blade down, now poised to crash into Erim if the Sinistral elects to not move out of his way extremely quick.

Ambience is practically helpless between the two screams; he's just a kid, after all. Unable to tolerate the volume of that which is assaulting his sense of hearing, he presses his palms more tightly against his ears, hunched over on the ground even as Sunflash makes a mess of things nearby.

Erim herself does not move to get out of the way, but as her scream presses on, the gleam on the points of her trident suddenly flicker out, and her voice takes on a physical aspect, issuing vibrating waves that grant a gale-like current to her vocal assault, whipping at Gforte (and at a distance, the other two) as he descends! It should be said that it is very likely, at this time, that the volume of her voice is rapidly overpowering the machine still on the ground.

Sunflash finally manages to overcome his inital surprise and rage to force his mind through the pain and pick up on what's going on. As the wind starts to affect him and Ambience, he decides enough was enough. With a sharp wave of his hand, a shimmering bubble pops into existence around Sunflash and Ambience. A...almost solid white shimmering bubble?

Gforte clacks his teeth shut as Erim's scream impacts him, losing the mocking laughter he had earlier. Instead of continuing his jump and trying to impale Erim with the entirety of his bodyweight, he pulls back his arm and thrusts it forwards, attempting to hurl the spear at Erim.

It takes Ambience a moment or three to realized that the offending soundwaves have been muffled thanks to Sunflash's protective aptitude, but as he hauls himself to his feet, the scowl on his face is decidedly unfriendly. The diamond at the center of his choker gleams almost threateningly, and as he peers through the near-opacity of the shielding bubble around him and Sunflash, he reaches for his Sword again, drawing out the smooth ring of metal against leather as it is pulled free, painedly speaking up. "Thanks, that kin'a hurt."

Erim realizes at the last possible moment that Gforte's capacity for equally-last-moment maneuvers is quite expansive, and the force of her scream diminishes as she swings her trident in a lunging deflective strike, only to have the head of the crude weapon skewer her in the left shoulder, cutting through her gown and into her flesh as it pierces and glances off elsewhere, clattering to the smooth metal floor nearby. She shrieks more in surprise than pain, and despite the wound being clearly visible through the tear in her attire, no blood flows from it; torn flesh is all that indicates her injury, but she grabs at the site with her free hand, giving Gforte a hideous glare that, if his was anything of the normal sort, could be felt deep in the soul.

Sunflash has his hands on his knees as Ambience stands back, panting for a moment or two before straighting up and rubbing his forehead. "Kinda is a bit of an understatement. 'bout snapped back there myself." He lowered his hand to frown at the shield. "Credit where credit is due, that WAS a clever trick. Tell US one thing, so our reactions don't tip off the foe. Still hurt like hell though." Grumble mumble before a curious look is sent at Ambience. "...You okay?"

Gforte spins in the air after launching his spear away, robbing him of knowing if it impacts as he finds his descent out of control. A moment of vertigo takes the human and he lashes out with his limbs, attempting to feel the ground before gravity lets him know exactly where he is. Gforte lands kneeling, hard before looking to the side and catching a glimpse of Erim's glare. With that, he settles his hand on the grip of the dual blade, and frees the weapon from it's sheathe.

"I feel angry. And mama says that's not a good thing for us." Ambience was visibly breathing hard, though not quite to Sunflash's extent. He looked like he was going to say something else, but as he opens his mouth, the grip on his weapon tightens somewhat, and he steps forward as though the break into a run... and vanishes in a flash of coloration that vaguely resembled the clothes on his body!

Erim contains her penetrating scowl upon Gforte as he lands, but her expression changes as he withdraws the Dual Blade, and as he does, it begins to ring. Not loudly, but noticeably, and she suddenly laughs. She laughs loudly, and she laughs maliciously. "Look at you, the 'hero'! You really believe the Dual Blade will accept you simply because you landed a blow?" Her laughter cuts short, and her snarl returns. "You're a worm. Your tricks don't amount to valor, and you couldn't possibly--

Erim's monologue stops in mid-boast, and she looks.. confused for a moment. In that same moment, a thin line suddenly separates her long hair, cropping it short as the bottom half of her tresses are sliced clean off, fluttering in disheveled amounts to the floor below. As she turns to try and figure out what happened, Ambience's young form is displayed at her behind, Mana Sword held horizontally in front of his face, a frightening (even for a child) grimace present on his face, and the diamond at his throat shining with reflected light, saying not a word.

As Ambience vanishes, Sunflash manages a "Uh-oh." before quickly canceling his manashield. He manages to catch the tail end of the little exchange before sptting out a curse. Now what!

Gforte doesn't bother making any kind of retort. The moment Erim decides that it's wiser to look at Ambience than him, he dashes forwards, reversing his grip on the Dual-Sword and attempting to ram it through Erim's spine, or some other equally vulnerable target.

"Stand down, Erim." Ambience's request/demand sounds shaken, betraying the fact that he was likely not as in-control as his stance made him out to be. "It doesn't need'ta end like--" Ambience's eyes widen as he sees what Gforte prepares to do, and he tries to reach out and call for him to wait, but it turns out to be unwarranted. Erim realizes who it is behind her just as Gforte gets the idea to strike a decisive blow, and still in a state of shock, she turns just as Gforte intends to spear (no ironic pun intended) her with the Dual Blade... and freezes as the weapon halts itself as it comes into contact with her gown, likely jarring Gforte's momentum as it simply will not go further forward. Erim's confusion gradually becomes a new sneer, still between the two. "Forgot to do your homework, didn't you? I might've known."

Gforte looks down to the weapon in his hand as it refuses his action, and curses. "Well damn you." He skips back a step, putting distance between him and Erim as he sheathes the blade. "If you refuse to do it, I'll do this by myself." He draws the lance from his back and runes carve themselves upon it's surface as Gforte narrows his eye at Erim. "I came up here to stop you. All of you. It will happen, will of the universe against me, I'll end all of you."

Sunflash takes a few steps forward before stopping as Haut gives his little comments and mini speech. "...You're joking. TWO sentient netural blades?" A frown of epic porportions crosses his face. "What in Din's name..." He breaks off, distracted by some thought.

Ambience lowers his weapon slightly, but not enough to prevent being ready in the event of a new attack. He seems to want to say something, but his position doesn't allow him to say much without sounding offensive to one or the other of them; he's got a bad case of being caught between personal desires and moral obligation. So instead, he just holds his position, pincering Erim between himself and Gforte.

Erim takes his moment of hesitance and attack prepation to give a look of smugness, still holding her shoulder. "That remains to be seen. For now, though, I'll allow you the grace of victory in spirit. Keep that weapon safe, because whether it chooses you or us, you won't leave here alive regardless!" She starts to laugh, but only gets a fractional second into it before a blue numbus engulfs her body and conforms it into a tiny mote of light, which whips around and speeds off towards the western exit, fleeing up the visible staircase.

Gforte's eye widens, if Erim can escape then the further challenges will be that much more difficult! With that he whips the weapon in his hands around, attempting to fling the silver lance at Erim's fleeting form. "Don't let her escape!"

Sunflash raises a hand as if to follow through with Haut's order, then lowers it with a shake of his head. "She's already gone. We'll catch up eventually, she knows the fight has to be finished." He peers at Ambience. "I think you owe me a story when we get a breather, by the by."

Ambience follows the magnificent spear as it sails through the air, but Erim's wisp is already fled by the time it hits the bottom of the staircase, clattering noisily against the metal bottom step. He frowns in a fairly childlike-upset manner, not moving immediately to replace the wepaon to its storage. "She was my first friend, in this realm. An' for a long time, my only friend." He blatantly avoids eye contact with Gforte, not wanting to see the ire that was potentially going to be set upon him for not acting when he had the chance. "I'm sorry. I didn't know it was gonna turn out this way."

Gforte growls blatantly, and collects both of his weapons, keeping the runiced lance out for now. "You knew kid, you just didn't want to believe it. That's why I didn't want you to follow me in here." He turns to face the representative of the mana tribe. "People are going to die. That is the only way this will end, no matter what path we go down." He bites off his speech for a moment to think of phrasing.

"When I told you two that I'd strike first, it's because I saw you kid. You froze out there. You still want your friend to see reason." Gforte points to your hands. "There's no blood there. That's also what I'm trying to avoid. Your job is to sit back now. Keep a watch on our backs as we fight, and if you can still heal afterwards, do that."

Gforte's voice softens a note as he continues. "I'm not doing this to beat you down kid. There's just some things that people shouldn't have to do. Just, do this for me. Don't jump in again unless you absolutely need to. You've got better shit you can do with your life than killing people."

Sunflash grunts at the start of Haut's little heart-to-heart, and steps off to the side to glare up at the decorations carved into the walls silently. It almost sounds like a bar joke...a wizard, a mana kid, and a maniac walk into the mana fortress...

That was... nowhere near as scathing as Ambience expected it to be. Confused, Ambience looks up at Gforte, but his confusion only gives way to realization when it spells out Gforte's rationale. And the harrowing part, at least to him, was that he was right; he didn't belong here. He didn't need to be killing anyone. With a defeated sigh, Ambience sheathed the Sword long his back. "I... no, nevermind. I got it." Ambience nods, reluctantly, but firmly. Notably, the gleam on his choker's jewel has died down completely. "This's your fight. I'm sorry for forgettin'."

Gforte shakes his head. "Shit happens. Just don't get too invested kid. You're the squire here. Watch and learn, and hope that you never actually have to do." Gforte taps his foot for a moment, suddenly seeming impatient before casting his eye about. "Alright, let's get going. They'll know about the sonics now, so you two should as well. Cover your ears after you look away whenever you see me throwing something. I would have made some more dampeners, but I was a bit busy."

Sunflash shakes his head subtly. "When people start nuking entire villages, it becomes everyone's fight even if they don't want it to be." He finally turns and walks back to the group. "I think i'm going to insist on taking the next fight. I owe someone here a beating anyway." He motions to the stairway. "Shall we?"

Ambience seems distracted by something momentarily, acknowledging the presence of two subtle green wisps of light fading in and out of sight around his shoulders, then promptly looks up between Sunflash and Gforte. "Yeah. Go ahead, I'll watch behind us."

"If it's anyone other than the Knight, they're all yours." Gforte turns, and heads up the stairs that Erim fled to previously, keeping his lance at the ready in case the Sinistrals didn't wait until the next room to attack the group.

Sunflash nods and falls into line. "So are they all that highborn-holier-than-thou, or what? Any idea?" He seemed genuinly curious, although if that's for a reason other than pre-framing future jokes is unknown.

Gforte pauses on the stairs, and shrugs. "Pretty much. Either they're telling me about how mankind is a pitiful waste that doesn't deserve what we have, or they're griping about how I'm wholly unequipped to be anything approaching a hero."

Ambience remains silent as he follows along at the back of the group. Besides what he thought he knew about Erim, he doesn't actually have any knowledge to contribute. It was the Fortress that was his reason for being here, not the ones who'd taken it over.

Sunflash shakes his head. "Figures. Why do I always have to find the ones insistent on fighting for philopichal reasons? The blazes happened to "Good vs Evil", anyway? Ugh." He shrugs as well. "Oh well. If they're willing to nuke a village full of farmers for no good reason, I'm willing to nuke their faces for no good reason. Lead on Mc'Duff!"

Gforte shakes his head. "You'll handle who you handle. For now let's just get to the next one and hope they haven't decided to trap the hallways." Gforte heads up the steps into the 'new' branch of the Mana Fortress.

Ambience opts to follow along in silence, gradually seeming to get the notion of what he had gotten himself into, at this point. Or, at least it seemed that way. He would need to try and be a little more stable when the next encounter came.

Sunflash seems to be in slightly better spirits than he was during the fight earlier, looking almost carefree again. "Eh, doesn't fit their profile from what I've seen. Then again, they may be completely crazy. And there's no prediciting crazy."

The Mana Fortress - West-End Stairwell
A semi-spiral staircase winds broadly around the western end of the
Fortress, curving upward at a gradual incline and taking many, many stairs,
as a result, to actually ascend. Along the wall are carved a series of
intricate windows shaped in varying designs, including diamonds, crosses,
stars, and other familiar shapes. There is no glass barring the outside
from the inside, however, and the cold, rushing air from the outside whips
furiously against the window edges along the stairwell. Familiar veins of
blue and violet continue to decorate the walls and floor all around,
cascading in pinstripe fashion all throughout the Fortress' surfaces.

Eyeing the staircase, Gforte gives a low whistle. "Someone put a lot of work carving out silly windows here. Either of you figure there's any reason for them to look like that?"

"A lot of it looks religious." Ambience had stopped for a moment to eye the ascending window patterns, with a quick glance back down the stairs behind them. "This place's seen as an abomination against the Goddess, 'cause of how it steals mana power to use for th' machinery. The mana tribe has kin'a a grudge against machines, for that reason... they're not really illegal or anythin', but they're not smiled at, either."

"The first time this Fortress went into th' sky, it made the Goddess so angry that she sent the Manabeasts to destroy it. But its too strong to actually be destroyed, so instead, they damaged it enough to where it couldn't keep itself in the air. And, well..." Ambience trailed off, glancing out one of the windows even as the rushing air whips at his face.

"And noone was able to hunt it down and disable it after the fact? Figures." Sunflash had heard the legend, of course; but it was nice to hear it confirmed. "I'm kinda confused, I must admit; as to why it was built with so much apparent reverence towards the Goddess, even though it so obviously smacks of going against the rules." He seemed to be thinking outloud more than actually questioning.

Gforte shrugs and begins up the stairway proper. As he walks, he casts an eye back to Ambience, as if mulling something over in his head. "Hey kid, any reason for the bell around your neck?"

Ambience looks toward Sunflash, with a subtle head shake. "It was built in defiance of the Goddess, not for her. People thought they could do better, an' that they could use mana's power for their own wants and needs. It didn't have anythin' t'do with fealty. They were misusing mana power for their oen wants; that was why th' Goddess was angry." He pauses, then adds... "An' I'm pretty there's somethin' about it being against the 'natural order' of somethin', too. Mana is the source of life in a lot of things, but when you take it and make machines instead of living things, it's kind of.. a sin. Misuse." Ambience rubs his cheek, before exchanging his gaze from Sunflash to Gforte, and looking a little uneasy. Just a little. "Mama says it's called a 'limiter'. Basically, it's 'cause I got too much power and my body can't contain all of it at once, 'cause I'm not strong enough to hold it all back. Mama has t'wear one, too. I guess it's got somethin' to do with our bloodline, but I dunno for sure. The most I got out of it was that if I didn't wear it, I might do somethin' really bad. And that's all she told me; so I took her word for it."

Ambience looks cconcerned for a brief moment. "Why?"

Sunflash seems slightly lost in thought, responding to Ambi's comments with an "Mmhmm." before continuing to gaze thoughtfully at the windows. He just barely registers the convsersation between Haut and Ambi.

Gforte looks Ambience over, fully, and raises an eyebrow. "That's gotta be stupidest shit I've ever heard. How the hell are you supposed to get used to yourself if you always limit what you're doing." Gforte grimaces a bit at this. "If I were you, I'd take the damn thing off. It can't stay on you forever, and if it does come off when you don't expect it to, then you'll have no idea how to handle it."

Ambience just looks down, not saying anything right away. Obviously, he doesn't make a move to remove the choker, either, giving himself a moment of thought before responding. "I don't wanna hurt anyone else. I already did, once... and I can't remember anythin' about it. All I know is that I did somethin' really, really bad, once, already. And that's why mama said I have t'wear this in th' first place."

Sunflash hums softly before shrugging. "I think I gotta agree with Ambience. Lets leave him alone, eh? Family knows best, sometimes." He gives Ambience a reassuring pat on the back. "Shall we?"

The Mana Fortress - 3F Open Deck
The end of the staircase below winds up into this small room with very
little decor and lighting; in fact, one would be hard-pressed to consider it
a room at all, considering the opposite end of it is completely exposed to
the outside air. Indeed, the room appears to cut off midway through, where
a long metal floor extends out into the exterior of the Fortress. A trace
of staircase is visible outside, looking to lead further up along the
exterior surface.

Gforte shrugs. "I'm just saying, it seems like a bad idea in the long run." Gforte turns his eye to the new room and hums for a bit himself. "Well. Anyone afraid of heights?"

Ambience shakes his head, attempting to focus on what might lay ahead, upon reaching the top of the stairs. Noting the room eventually becoming more outdoor than indoor, he shakes his head. "Heights're fine. I climbed plenty of trees when I was little, so they don't bother me at all."

Sunflash shrugs. "I don't think it'll be a problem. Fairly sheltered part of the fortress anyway."

The Mana Fortress - 3F Outer Deck
Having climbed some distanceinto the Fortress, the height of this
location beckons the wind and air currents in such a natural fury that one
would think the Fortress itself were speeding through the atmosphere. A
thick chain looped around several poles, forming a loose guardrail, snaps
and flails around in the assaulting gale, but holds fast. A
shallow-inclined flight of stairs leads up from here, and a small bay-like
room to the east provides shelter from the tumultuous wind.

What can only be described as a black suit of solid looking armor, perhaps with someone in it to hold it up, is stationed at the foot of the staircase, palming over the pommel of an incredibly-large, equally-black greatsword with both hands, the point of which is tipped against the ground in front of him. This guy is pretty big, too, easily surpassing seven feet in height; red lights glare out from a pair of eyeholes in the helmet, and he seems completely unphased (and unmoving) from the excessive wind.

The 'suit' of armor doesn't make any sudden moves as the trip move out of the enclosed section of the room, merely holding his place to prevent any further access onward (or so it would seem).

Gforte's demeanor changes greatly as he catches sight of the suit of armor, and once again his spear finds itself in his hands. "Hey. Didn't I vaporize you on a molecular level? You gotta tell me buddy, how does that feel? I've only had my arm and leg deconstructed before."

Ambience backs up a step or two upon seeing the armored figure. Besides his uncertainty at what to expect, it WAS what Gforte told him to do, anyway. And he's the boss.

Sunflash seemed poised to step forward, guns blazing; till Haut spoke. A muttered curse escapes his lips before he steps back and to the side, near Ambience. "At this rate I'll be lucky to do anything before the end of the night!" Whine whine whiinnneee

The figure's head turns just a slight amount to look in Gforte and co.'s direction, not moving the rest of his body otherwise. "Flesh is an umportant matter. Erim's continued survival guarantees our own. That is all you need to know; you may defeat me a hundred and one times, but I will always return. As will the rest of us." The voice that speaks from the armor is deep and almost jagged, sounding not unlike two large boulders being incessantly ground against each other.

Gforte smirks. "For once, someone I agree with." The human reaches out to his side, and surprisingly slams his spear point-first into the ground, sticking it fast there. He does the same with his other spear, before drawing the Dual Blade's scabbard, settling it by his side in his hand. "You know, there was once a time when I was a knight. Hell, even a guardian." He settles his free hand on the hilt of the weapon, and looks directly at the armored figure. "I think you and I both know what needs to happen here."

Ambience looks confused. Did Haut just... challenge that suit of armor to a duel? As in, one on one? Was he insane? It was all Ambience could do not to hurry to his side, but... he knew how to listen. But, if things went badly... if it was a duel, could he still interfere?

Sunflash's scowl deepens. "Sure, sure. Take all the fun." Does someone just not know how to be serious? Really? "Still think this is a dumb idea."

The tone of this armored man's voice changes in such a way that one could almost see the eyebrow raise from within the confines of his helmet. "You must be joking. Are you that eager to be ripped apart? I won't go any easier on your companions just because they don't have the Dual Blade. But I'm more than willing to end this quickly and get on with Daos' plans."

Gforte draws the Dual Blade, and drops it's scabbard while rolling his neck. "Cocky words coming from the guy who's job seems to be 'die a lot.'" Gforte smirks slightly at this, before his face drops to being serious again. "Come on. With all the talk of honor you people get on about, are you seriously turning down a duel?" He holds up the dual blade. "This thing doesn't even accept me. I can't really handicap myself any more against you."

Gforte twirls the blade, getting used to it in his hands. "I said I'd stop you all. You really should have gotten the message after I stopped being dead. If you aren't scared yet, I don't know why. I am literally standing in the middle of your base. I will win this little war of ours, even if I have to drag my bloody body up the next set of stairs. Get into your fighting stance already."

Ambience looks up at Sunflash, as if wondering if he really was keen on just... sitting back and watching this happen.

Sunflash catches Ambience's glance while he's busy rolling his eyes. He passes a quick wink to Ambience before crossing his arms and seeming to settle back on his feet to watch the ensuing battle. "Why do I think i'm going to need some popcorn for this."

The armored figure chuckles, and the greatsword in his fade abruptly zips out of existence with a generic flash of light. "I think you forget not only yourself, but a few important details about us, as well. No matter; I wouldn't want to depress you too much, yet; I'll wait until just before I'm about to remove that head from your shoulders." As he finishes speaking, he raises both arms... just in time for a huge black kite shield and a black-bladed greatsword to appear in his respective grips, a black aura flickering about the blade of the weapon. "Have at you, then!"

Gforte settles intop an old and obviously well practiced stance, clutching the hilt of the dual blade with both hands as he examines Gades' weapon change. "How considerate. Next, halfway throughout the fight you'll tell me that you've been left handed the whole time." Quip out of the way, Gforte begins slowly stepping towards the armored figure, almost trying to circle him.

Ambience sighs, tense, but not going against Haut's request. Pride is a terrible thing; he just hoped it didn't get Haut killed, and possibly the rest of them as well.

Sunflash narrows his eyes now, watching carefully. This'll be good, no doubt. HOW good, on the other hand...well.

"You have your choice and I have mine. If you don't like it, feel free to take your meager self back to where you came from and build another crab. Oh, but I forget; it's not as simple for you to mend things as it is for us. Tough, then!" The armor lunges forward as Gforte begins to circle, swiping horizontally across at him with his blade!

Gforte doesn't react as the knight swings at him, instead he demonstrates his ability to jump once again, taking himself off the ground in a backflip away from the knight with very little apparent effort. In fact, he seems to push himself towards the guard chains, cutting off his own escape route, seemingly.

Gforte says 'It was a Lobster, asshole.'

A faint green light manifests into the air at Ambience's shoulder, and his attention is taken for a moment as it seems to beckon him for something, conversing in some manner that isn't immediately apparent or audible.

The armored knight allows himself to complete swing all the way across even as it misses, using the momentum to backhand across with his enormous shield, attempting to bash Gforte clear over the Fortress's edge!

Sunflash happens to glance over at Ambience at the right time, and raises an eyebrow. "...Is your friend going to try to slap the Fortress the way it slapped me?" A faint teasing grin flickers across his face.

Gforte simply looks at the incoming shield, and frees a hand from the dual blade as it closes with him. Those who can see magic, or comprehend it will see the spark of a failed spell from Gforte's hand. What happens next however, is more shocking. From the sparks of positive healing magic suddenly spews raw negative energy as Gforte seeks to deflect the shield from it's current course. Or, simply dismantle it entirely.

Ambience frowns to himself, shaking his head at Sunflash's query. "No, it's Molly. Sylvan's checkin' on her for me, but she's not doin' too well. She's in heat and doesn't have any more medication left..." Ambience trails off, even as the wisp of green light continues to flutter around his shoulder. "Ugh."

Sunflash manages to quash his eyebrow back down to normal level enough to offer another pat on the back. He lowers his voice as low as he dared under the sound of the fight. "We'll only play nice until the last second. Keep your mind on the moment, however. Worry about what you CAN fix, and worry about what you can't at a later time." His attention goes back to the swordplay.

The knight's shield bash is slowed noticeably as it is hit with a barrage of negative energy, coating the front of his shield and likely intoxicating it thoroughly. The metal of the shield seems to be eaten through at a fairly rapid pace, but instead of trying to play away from it, Gades bum-rushes Gforte altogether, turning his shield swipe (with what's left of said shield) into a full-body tackle, sword and all!

Gforte simply grins at Gades, and reaches back, taking a hold of one of the chains guarding people from falling off the walkway, and destroying a few links, After that he cuts off the magic, taking hold of the now loose chain and jumping backwards, off of the edge.

Gades does indeed seem to fall for this 'trick', taking no precaution and fully plowing on ahead, even if it means (and it does) careening over the now guardless edge of the Fortress's rim! A glint of the red behind his helmet seems to flash as he misses Gforte on his way over the edge, however, and despite his inability to save himself from plummetting over the side, he DOES, however, release his sword... which proceeds, apparently of its own ability, to begin whirling about in a hyperactive manner, flaring darkly with the aforementioned aura! Gades himself drops into the abyss that is the high sky above, but his sword is left behind, and proceeds to practically buzzsaw its way through the pillars supporting the guardrail chain!

Gforte puzzles at the falling figure for a moment before noticing Gades' sword, and cursing. Spending a moment shoving the Dual Blade into his belt, he reaches up with his free hand and grabs the chain, grunting as he attempts to force runic seals onto it before trying to climb his way up faster than the sword can cut pillars.

Unfortunately, Ambience seems to have lost attention on the fight, taken in by whatever conversation is taking place between him and the semi-visible Wood spirit; he apparently didn't intend for things tot urn sour this quickly, and thus wasn't making a big deal out of keeping an eye out right away. Oops!

Sunflash was, luckily enough, paying attention to the fight. As soon as both combants went over the edge, the Sorcerer sprung into action. Sending himself bounding right up to edge, he peered fearlessly over the side. "By the Three, I wish you'd think these plans out a little more throughly!"

The whirling sword continues to slice off pillar by pillar, lengthening the chain at Gforte's expense, and eventually buzzing its way without relent toward Sunflash where he's made his stand at the chosen pillar!

Gforte grunts as the chain suddenly lengthens, making his climb more difficult. With effort however, he closes the rest of the gap to the first sawn off section of pillar. Clinging to the section of stone as a lifeline, the human struggles for a moment and gets his feet under him, looking up at the next fallen pillar and, somewhat insanely, leaping off the one he's holding, while aiming himself far below the next one up. The air, however seems to be Gforte's true aim, as he uses the driving wind to change his course in mid air to land on the next fallen pillar.

Ambience suddenly looks up as Sunflash rushes past him, and for only a moment seems confused at neither the knight nor Haut being visible. However, the flailing sword and Sunflash's actions make it obvious what's happening, and he quickly sprints out to the platform, opposite Sunflash's side, throwing one hand out as a flickering spirit appears nearby, in the shape of a tiny woman within a lunar embrace. A burst of yellow light explodes outward from his hand, which covers the whirling sword in a series of sparkling shapes and designs... before it stiffens completely, and clatters to the platform at the edge of the Fortress, lifeless.

After a few quick glances down, up and everywhere else; Sunflash decides he's not about to be ganked hard by another suit of armor and makes a short wave with his offhand.

A visable beam darts forth from Sunflash's outstreached palm, and wraps itself around the pillar Haut just jumped to. "OYE, grab hold of the pillar already! I dun wanna stand here all day!"

Gforte had just grabbed hold of said pillar before noticing Sunflash had, in fact, magicked it. He is obviously a little peeved, but stands on it regardless. "Fine, haul me in ya impatient ass!"

Ambience frowns to himself as Sunflash sets upon getting Gforte rescued, as the Luna spirit does a little half-curtsey toward Ambience and poofs into the air. "Geez, I only looked away for a couple of minutes..."

Sunflash chuckles at Ambience as he guides the pillar in. "That's how it usually goes. Hence the bit about focusing on the things you can actually deal with." As the pillar lands, gives a shrug. "It's okay though, you reacted MUCH faster than I would've expected. T'was really well done." And indeed, the wizard was actually impressed. Kid be quick on his feet, yo.

Gforte easily steps off the pillar, walking over to his weapons and proceeding to pack them up. Once finished, he turns back to his two companions, while shaking his left hand, as if something was on it. "You know, I had that. It was going to be close, but I had it."

Ambience still frowns, but lets out a sigh anyway. "A lot is riding on you, Haut. Sometimes its best not to take chances. If you didn't "have that" and you died, what purpose would this whole thing've served? I don't wanna be the one to tell ms. Jillian about it, if so."

Sunflash rolls his eyes. "Of course you did. Our way was much quicker though, don't you agree? Saved a ton in the hassle deparment." He nodded at Ambience. "'sides, he's right ya know. These whole honorable duals mess is kinda dumb." He paused.

Sunflash says 'That doesn't mean I want any help when we find that Erim lady again though. She's /mine/.'

Gforte shakes his head. "Ooh, emotional blackmail. You're learning something all right kid." Gforte glances at his left hand, the palm and surface of which are now actually quite red. "Whatever. I'll keep it in mind that "Spending more than two minutes fighting someone" is taking too long. Shall we gentlemen?"

Ambience frowns lightly at the accusation. "It's not blackmail. Plenty of people've died already, and lots more could've if you hadn't been there to save 'em, at Monstro Town. I don't know if you're tryin' to make a name for yourself or somethin', but the whole "goin' out with a bang" idea doesn't really help anyone out in th' long run." This piece of oddly-sagely advice from the boy is punctuated by his abrupt turn to head on up the stairs without waiting to be responded to, but he at least seems pretty focused. For now.

Sunflash appears to have little to say on the matter at this point, seeming content to simply follow the stairs upward. Probably a bit itchy for the next fight.

Gforte rolls his eyes and follows after Ambience, pressing the palm of his left hand hard against his jeans and using his spear almost like a walking stick as he heads up the stairs.

The Mana Fortress - 4F Outer Deck
Leading up from below, a shallow flight of stairs leads up to what merely
looks to be a higher level of the same wind-assaulted deck on the Fortress'
exterior, with no further applicable destination. However, a large hole
that has been blown in the side of the Fortress' wall here begs to speak
otherwise, allowing re-entry into its domain. Shredded metal acts as an
eerie doorframe thus, and the room upon which is offers to lead is very
dark.

Ambience stops immediately following the top step, raising an eyebrow at the sight in front of them. "This Fortress's s'posed to be made of some of th' hardest metal that exists. Anything that could make THAT kind of hole..." He trails off, letting the thought hand there.

Sunflash raises an eyebrow. "Interesting. Pretty clean entry too, all things considered; though that may be because of the material invovled." He shrugs. "Guess we'll deal with it if we run into it."

"You know a lot about this place, kid. You take my advice and read any technical manuals before you got blanked out?" Gforte steps through the hole without much care about either the metal itself, or the callous statement he just made.

"Lots of things've been different so far, though." Ambience follows behind Gforte, allowing him to retake the lead. "This Fortress was s'posed to've been destroyed once already; even though its still here, it looks kin'a beat up in some places. I can't know what the Sinistrals've done to it since they got ahold of it..." His tone was slightly defensive, but not overly so.

The Mana Fortress - 4F 'Room'?
The pitch blackness of this room seems to idealize that it probably
isn't meant to be a traversible section of the Fotress. With a light in
hand, one can make out a very large, thick chain that stretches high above,
fastened to something not seen here, and also dangles deep down into an
unseen abyss where light does not penetrate. The 'room' is fairly small
otherwise, with no decoration to speak of whatsoever.

As the group enters the grue-friendly territory, Sunflash pauses. "What, someone channeling Jango? Stupid dark." He snaps a finger, and a glowing ball of fire suddenly pops into exstience above everyone's heads. "Much better. Now, do we take the chain; or fly?"

"If you can fly us all, then that'd be better. If not then we better get climbing shouldn't we?" Gforte walks over to the Chain and looks to Sunflash expectantly, waiting for what his answer will be.

Ambience looks between the two of them as they exchange ideas, before walking over himself to the chain and peering up, up, and up. An idea pops into his head at that point, and he gestures subtly at nothing in particular, summoning a small ball of lucid green light that bobs in the air in front of him. "Hey, can you go take a look up there for us and check if it's safe?" The green wisp bobs affirmingly, whizzing up and away as it briskly ascends alongside the chain leading up, giving a small range of greenlit illumination along the way until it gets too far and is rendered out of sight. (Ambience)

Gforte follows the green light-blob as it heads up and grunts. "Good idea kid. If I had known you could summon magical neon green spies, I would have told you to start doing that a lot sooner."

Ambience is unable to retain a grin at Gforte's comment, watching the spirit fly upward as long as its visibility allows. "They're extremely helpful for things like this, yeah. It kin'a works in our favor, really, 'cause the mana spirits wanna see this place gone as much as anyone, if not moreso."

In relatively short order, the green wisp of light comes fluttering back down the length of chain, settling into a hover a few inches in front of Ambience's face. The boy looks upon the light for a moment, as though listening, and nods as it simultaneously disappears. "Okay. She says it's empty up there. The chain goes way up top to somewhere else, somethin' about another platform we can get off on."

Sunflash "Well that's something at any rate. I for one don't plan on bothering with the climb though." He makes a gesture, and a large shimmering disk appears, which he then steps upon. "Anyone else?"

Gforte mulls it over in his head for a few moments before stepping to the disk. "Got enough work on my damn plate as is. Not gonna bust my ass climbing that thing too."

Ambience almost wanted to make a remark about how Gforte'd already had his daily supply of chain-climbing, but decides against it. With only a small smirk instead, he also climbs up on top of the disk, peering up into the overhead abyss.

Sunflash gives a short nod before the disk starts to raise at a decent clip.

The Mana Fortress - 5F Walkway
An enormous, thick-ringed chain fastens securely to a blacksteel loop
sticking out of one side of the north wall here, hanging over the side of a
metal-grated walkway that offers no guardrail for one's safety. The west
end of the walkway is ravaged and ripped apart in several places,
disallowing entry into a darkened room some ten feet on the other side of
the broken end. However, a separate room lies just opposite, and what's
more, a glowing white light seems to illuminate it from the inside, the
details of which cannot be fully made out from here.

Sunflash Sunflash's little saucer lands atop the platform with not but a sound, actually seeming to meld into the walkway's surface so there was no actual step-off required. "Well that's different."

Gforte looks around the small area, and nods to the lit entrance. "Not much of a choice, really. Come on kids, let's see who is behind door number three."

Ambience looks a little confused by the walkably-inaccessible west door way out beyond the broken platform's edge, attempting to peer out over the edge to see if he can make anything out on the other side. He can't, of course. "Huh. Well, okay." Without pressing the issue, he turns to follow Gforte toward the other, more accessible door.

Only, neither of them get very far before a thick metallic gate suddenly slams down in the doorway of their intended destination, issuing an extremely-loud CLANG that echoes throughout the immediate area and spaces beyond. Impact marks can be seen in the steel grounding where the gate base hit it as hard as it had.

Sunflash frowns and sighs rather audibly. "Why am I not surprised. Welp, the other way then?" Without really waiting for a response, he turns and casually wills another fireball-light into existence before flinging it across the gap; where it floats a foot or so past the broken wall.

The conjured firelight zips across the makeshift pit and flares light into the otherwise-black room, revealing... pretty much nothing. The hole made here seems to be merely a large impact taken out of the wall as opposed to opening into a room itself. In the broadest of sense, the created hole appears to be more of a deep gouge in the metal wall, as opposed to a room's entryway.

"Hold on, hold on. Jeeze ya impatient bastard." Gforte steps up to the gate and holds up his hand, evoking the same negative energy from before with his left hand. This time, he presses his hand against the bars of the gate, attempting to destroy them, if possible.

Ambience frowns softly to himself, looking between Sunflash's attempts to find a new path and Gforte's mindset to restore the original one, but his attention is suddenly take elsewhere, at a spot right behind Gforte. He tilts his head, blinking a few times, but seeing nothing. "What the..? Something's here!"

Having turned around at Haut's comment with a shrug, Sunflash manages to catch a glispe of something very unfriendly looking about the same time as you figures it out. Without wasting a word, Sunny swings an arm to the side.

As Sunflash makes his motion, Haut would suddenly get a very forceful, decidedly unfriendly-but-only-just shove off to one side. "Cloak of some sort!" is Sunny's barked notifcation as he steps forward, hand ablaze in a firey glow.

The negative energy emanating from Gforte's palm begins to eat away at the bars, but at a very slow rate; the metal of the Fortress itself seems to be different than that of Gades' shield, taking on a much denser form of metal. It could even possibly be magic resistance in general, given the lines of mana that are actually being fed through the entire place's surface.

Gforte concentrates on his efforts, right before Ambience's call alerts him to a possible issue. Halfway between turning around to attempt to lay his negative energy laced palm on any enemy that might behind him, he suddenly feels himself being thrown to the side. A heavy grunt follows as Gforte is thrown off his feet, and he immediately starts cursing. "Gods dammnit man keep your fucking magic off of me!"

Seeing its element of surprise blown, a reptilian hiss, followed by a reptilan hiss... followed by five more reptilian hisses all sound out from the area right behind (now in front?) of Gforte, as a large form shimmers and blurs... before taking on an enormous blue-scaled quadripedal beast with seven separate heads, all flicking large forked tongues and squirming about en masse as seven pairs of eyes all fix themselves upon Gforte's fallen form.

Gforte says ' Oh you have got to be fucking kidding me, you GODDAMN ASSHOLE!'

Still alarmed at the notion of potentially having been caught offguard, Ambience's Sword is out of its sheath and into his hand, glowing subtly with the power it holds. He waits, though, unsure of a direct charge is a wise idea with Sunflash flinging spells around. Instead, he glances sidelong at the mage, waiting for some kind of signal.

Sunflash steps between the downed knight and the lizard spnyx. "Hi there. You happen to speak a language other than "Gut me painfully", by chance?" A faint sphere of sparkles briefly appears around the wizard as he stands calmly.

Gforte eyes as many of the Hydra heads as he can while grimacing. "Well. I'm sitting on my ass looking at something that wants me dead. Remind me why I let the kid bring you along again?" With that, he sneaks one of the small spheres in his pocket into a hand, moving slowly to attempt to keep from giving the monster any reason to attack him.

Ambience takes this for as good a sign as any, welcome the momentary distraction that entices the Hydra to decide whom to target first; it's just as well, because one head decides it doesn't need the others' permission and proceeds to belch forth a gross acidic mucous, attempting to shower Gforte's still-seated form with its corrosiveness. In an instant, however, Ambience has bolted forward, leaping high and diving forward with his Sword outstretched, burying it deep in the Hydra's backside and holding it there! The injury is at least enough to spontaneously throw off the beast's aim, which instead showers acid into the air above as it shrieks in pain with seven voices, splattering the ground in random locations with bubbling, fizzing grossness.

With the obvious attack, Sunflash's question is answered with deeds, and responded to in kind. As the beast shrieked its discontent at the current situation, the wizard takes a half-step back and makes a quick, hard...clapping motion?

As the wizard's hands connected, a pair of decidedly unfriendly-looking nebulous orange blocks appeared from thin air on both sides of the hydra before rushing towards each other with a fair amount of bone-crushing force... Sunflash, understandably, raises an arm to shield his face.

Gforte grits his teeth as the Hydra head manages a spit at him, and defends himself as much as someone can in this situation, by throwing up his arms and attempting to block as much of the acid as possible. For the most part, it even works, though that still doesn't mean Gforte doesn't cry out as acid begins eating away at the flesh of his left arm.

Ambience holds on tight to the Sword that remains buried in the Hydra's rump, even going so far as to assert himself despite the thrashing that this thing is doing in an attempt to throw off the source of its impalement. He happens to look up just then, though, and notice two large... blocks? Hoping they aren't meant for him, all he manages to do is hunker down against the scaley backside against the Sword's hilt, bracing for impact!

And impact they do! All the thrashing and gallavanting doesn't seem to provide much of an evasive maneuver for the Hydra, and if anything, puts it more in the way of targetting; nevertheless, a resounding SMASH reverberates against the metallic walls of the Fortress as the front section of the Hydra is pancaked, bisecting it messily from the shoulders-forward and sending scaled gibs flying in all directions! A large chunk hits the ground next to Gforte, making a gross plop as it settles on the cold metal. As for the back half of the once-creature... it more or less stops cold, but remains uprght for at least a moment or three, before buckling and pitching over onto its side, sending Ambience rolling away onto the metal grate walkway alongside it.

Sunflash 's mana-shield sizzles briefly as the various spit and bile connects, but the wizard himself simply dusts his hands. "Sorry about that Ambience, didn't really want to give it time to recover. Nice moves though!" He turns around to offer Haut a hand up. "And yeah, my bad. I wasn't sure how quickly you could disengage from what you were doing, and I couldn't get a safe fix on the thing till it decloaked."

Gforte growls, and keeps growling until he finishes unsheathing the dual-blade, ignoring Sunflash's attempted help. Setting the blade against his arm, he quickly scrapes down with it, attempting to shear off as much of the acid as he can before it eats fully into his flesh. After a few scrapes to try and get it clear, Gforte stands on his own, shaking the dual-blade clean before sheathing it again. Small rivulets of blood run down his arm from places the acid ate, and a section of his palm is also bloody. He keeps his mouth clenched at the moment, not berating Sunflash any, but also not giving off a happy air about him.

Ambience gets to his feet with little effort, temporarily ignoring the still-buried Mana Sword in the beast's bum and noting Haut's injuries, which he wastes no time in conjuring a Luminant spirit into being to help with. This cloudy wisp floats from Ambience's beckoning over toward Gforte, bringing with it a glowing light that attempts to settle over Gforte as a whole, not just the affected injuries, and bestowing a healing force over the entirety of it all. At this, the Sword behind him gleams brightly, as if conjoined in some way with the spirit's activities.

Sunflash simply peers at Haut curiously. "Damn, thought I blocked more of that. Can I uh...do anything?" And of course the kid with healing magic beats him to it. Ah well.

Gforte grunts, and shakes his arm as Ambience's magic washes over him. "Fuckin' acid. Doesn't matter. Since you're so gung-ho about magic, you mind cracking open the gate for us? Or can I get back to it without being flung about?"

Ambience is rendered immobile as the pommel of his weapon continues to gleam, something about it holding him fast as his focus remains on the small light spirit currently tending to Gforte's wounds. The intensity of its mana-infused healing seems a fair bit stronger than it normally would be, but whether that makes a difference or not ia nyone's guess; Gforte was kind of a unique case.

Nevertheless, if Ambience wasn't going to be a frontline fighter in this adventure, he was going to do what he could with what he had.

Sunflash hums and shrugs. "I can give it a shot, sure. You have my permission to toss me aside while I'm doing so if it makes ya feel better." A chuckle escapes his helmet as the wizard turns back to the gate in question. A couple moments of inspection later, and he is busy applying what looks like straight acid to the bars.

The bars don't seem to be made out of your standard steel or iron, and as such don't corrode so easily. However, consistent application does seem to get to them eventually, but it is a gradual process and will likely take several minutes to erode enough of the bars away to gain entry to the room beyond.

"Goddamn Sinistrals are getting desparate, putting childish shit like this to stop us for a while." Gforte looks to you and raises an eyebrow. "You can stop now, Kid. It'll just progress while we're fighting anyways. Thanks for the effort though." With that said, Gforte turns his attention now to the corpse of the Hydra, almost expecting to find some kind of key on or near it.

Ambience frowns, and the emotion seems to be shared with the light spirit hovering over Gforte as well, which halts its healing aura and drifts back over to Ambience. The boy offers a small smile of thanks, and gestures loosely as the spirit fades away. Suffice it to say, the shine on the hilt of his weapon also disperses. "I know most people don't 'xactly regenerate, but I've never seen anyone not respond t'healing before. Are you goin' to be okay by th' time we get to the others, Haut?"

Ambience glanced beyond Gforte toward Sunflash, noting his progression to clear them a path, before waiting for the former's response.

Sunflash was only paying half attention to the conversation going on, focused as he was on not having a repeat of the lobstertrocity's issue. A couple of moments more in though, and he pauses his relentless spray. "Hey Ambiance? Can you do me a favor and tell the Sword not to get excited at me in a moment? I think I'm gonna try cheating, acid is awfully slow on these bars."

"I'll live for a while yet kid, relax." Gforte steps over to the corpse now, and begins shifting around whatever portions of it's neck that may be left, figuring there might be a necklace on it with the key.

Ambience takes a step back as Gforte sets about rummaging through what's left of the Hydra, giving his own head an idle scratch as he looks up at Sunflash. "Oh, uh." His attention is taken by something unseen for a moment, and he suddenly laughs, a short but loud chuckle. "Well, they'll have to understand. Right now, we need all th' help we can get, even if it means takin' shortcuts. I think it's a li'l different now that they know you're on our side, anyway."

Sunflash gives a quick nod before leaning against the bars and placing a finger next to one, carefully applying a small amount pure "I'm going to murder you" mana to the bar to make sure it didn't reflect.

Gforte steps back from the corpse and kicks it in fustration. "Fucking, seriously?" He raises his voice now, yelling as if the Sinistrals can hear him. "Are you three this fucking scared of me?! Open this damn gate!"

The miniscule amount of raw mana cuts clean through the bar next to Sunflash's finger, including searing into a small portion along the rim of the one next to it, too.

Ambience has considered trying to see if the Mana Sword would've been strong enough to cleave through the bars at one point, but not wanting to see the look on his mother's face when he brought back a chipped Holy Sword prevented him from speaking up. It seemed Sunflash was making progress anyway, so it was probably alright. A faint smirk does cross his face a Gforte's complaint, however, but is quickly dissolved.

Sunflash gives a small nod to himself before stepping back and making a series of slashes in the air with his hand. In sequence with the slashes, short bursts of mana zip out. Shortly after, a good sized chunk of the gate crashes over, leaving plenty of room for the party to pass through. "Gentlemen, our door is ready. Shall we?"

A glass orb, entrapping a brightly-glowing faerie flickers and goes out.
Gforte rolls his eyes. "Sure, mage-boy. Let's see what awaits us behind door number whatever." He gives one last spiteful kick to the dead hydra corpse before looking to Ambience and jerking his head to the door.

Ambience nods quickly, peering beyond the gate-pieced door at what lies beyond.

The Mana Fortress - 5F Transportation Room
Simply designed and straight to the point, this room has only a tall
column of white light to speak of, situated directly in the center and
coming up out of the metal floor. The ceiling is a bit on the low side,
forcing some of the taller species to duck in order to adequately fit.

Ambience's eyes widen somewhat as the room is presented to them all, skirting the edge of the white light just in case. "I thought I felt transferral energy somewhere nearby. I didn't know it was what was lightin' up the room itself."

Sunflash hums softly. "That'd do it allright. Who needs an elevator when you can just use mana, eh?" He peers at Haut. "Who first?"

Gforte eyes the pillar of light unhappily, before giving a dull look at Sunflash. "Fucking teleportation. Fucking mages. Fucking Demi-gods." A quick draw of the Dual Blade later, and Gforte simply steps forward into the light.

Ambience offers a small shrug, looking at Sunflash before entering the light, himself. "From what I've come t'understand so far in th' time we've been workin' together, that pretty much sums up this whole thing for 'im."

Sunflash simply shakes his head in a mute sigh before following suit with the others into the light.

The Mana Fortress - Dais
A wide metal platform hovers over a deep pit, suspended by a single
column underneath in the center. Situated at the southern end, a column of
bright white light acts as a transportation shaft between here and some
other location within the Fortress. At the opposite end, a large stone
statue of a reaper-like being has been place, details finely chiseled from
the rock it is made of. Beyond it, a thin metal-linked bridge connects this
platform to an outlying rim, where a door leads onward to the north.

The sound of rushing wind via exposed air can be heard a decent distance to the north from here. That aside, the Fortress interior is eerily quiet.

Gforte pauses only long enough on the platform for the other two people in his party to arrive. And to finish vomiting, of course. He stands after a few moments, spitting unhappily before moving towards the bridge.

Ambience steps out of the light just in time for Gforte to finish spitting the foulness out of his mouth following the upheaval prior, and tries not to pay it any obvious notion for both their sakes. Instead, his attention is swiftly taken by the statue set at the other end of the platform. "Is that..?" Without even finishing his self-imposed question, he's headed over to inspect it more closely.

Sunflash manages to just catch Ambience's unfinished question as he pops into existence. "Is what what? Where ya runnin off too?" He shoots Haut a quick glance before starting after Ambience, just in case.

Gforte follows after both the Mage and the child, his chosen weapon already drawn as he fights down further nausea from the teleportation process. The statue was, however, also drawing his interest.

Ambience looks upon the statue from multiple angles, doing no less than two full circles around it with varying expressions, before stopping again in front of it, with a grimace. "The Fortress remembers. Or, at some point, someone else did. It's.. Thanatos. The stories say he was b'hind most of th' Vandole War, back then. Vandole was after the Holyland, but Thanatos was after more than that; he almost succeeded, too."

"I'm havin' a hard time believin' this thing is still in this kin'a condition, especially after the Fortress was brought down the first time. Is somethin' protectin' it..?" Ambience allows a quick glance around one side of the statue, toward the northern exit where the sound of wind can be heard.

Sunflash frowns and gives a shrug. "Its possible. Perhaps some sort of minor enchanment. You probably didn't want your evil boss to think his memorial would go down easy, right?" Another shrug and he starts to wander towards the northern exit.

"Screw the statue kid, for all we know, Erim has a crush on him. We've got more important shit to do." Gforte shows absolutely no signs of knowing Thanatos' name, or even knowing what Vandole was. Instead he too walks towards the northern exit, apparentally thinking of the next fight instead of past history.

Ambience takes a step back as Sunflash and Gforte meander on toward the next room, still frowning at the statue. It was creeping seeing the face, stone or otherwise, of the instigator of so stories he'd been told. But he'd have to shake it off for now; Gforte was right. The past didn't really have any bearing on anything right now. To that end, he hurried after them, not wanting to be left behind.

The Mana Fortress - Glass Bridge
No more than four feet across but many tens of feet long, a glass-tiled
bridge separates the southern platform of the previous room to a shallow
ramp leading to a much larger-looking northern room on the other side.
There doesn't appear to be anything below that is holding the glass bridge
up; either it is magically suspended, or it is fastened with extreme
security to the metallic ends to which it is connected.

Sunflash grumbles under his breath. "Those punks that built this place sure had a thing for bridges over nothing, didn't they? Stupidity."

Gforte thumps the glass bridge with his boot before actually stepping onto the structure. Once happy with it's suspension however, he begins walking across it as well, apparentally more upset that the Sinistrals haven't made an appearance in a while.

Ambience had expected some kind of trick as well, given the sudden aversion to black metal that had made the Fortress popular up until this point. Noting Gforte's success in traversing the gap, though, he allowed himself to cross as well, thankfully without incident.

Sunflash leads the way across rather carefreely. "When are they going to stop screwing around anyway?" Grumble whine complain.

A crackle of thunder booms from the immediate north, followed by a bright flash of white, possibly indicating lightning. Nothing seems to be preventing the three of them from traversing the glass bridge, however, despite what may seem obvious as a trap.

The Mana Fortress - Open-Sky Room
This room almost couldn't considered a 'room', considering how open to
the elements it is; huge windows are hewn from the walls on all sides, and
there is no ceiling; the sky, complete with its racing clouds, is fully open
and unobstructed. The area itself appears to be a dead end, with no other
visible route leading elsewhere except back the way one came.

Gforte steps into the huge, windowed room and visibly frowns, keeping the Dual-Blade at a half-ready stance as he looks about the room. "Oh what in the hell is all this shit?"

In the center of the room, a golden-armored (minus a helmet) man is standing with legs slightly apart, adopting a pre-determined battle stance with a lethal-looking golden trident blunt-end down on the metallic floor, his eyes averted to the ground nearby. The sky has grown dark overhead, dark clouds whipping around in league with the wind; the distant rumble of thunder is audible, and he himself does not seem to react to the three entering his vicinity.

Gforte steps into the room, and shifts the Dual-blade in his hand into a more comfortable position. "Oh hey, it's uh..." Gforte looks at the sinistral for several long moments before grunting. "Actually you know, I forget your name. You should get a name-tag man. You know, one of those 'Hi my name is:' deals."

Ambience doesn't really like the look of those clouds. Fighting in this room would be significantly easier than doing so on that windy terrace where Gades came about, but still... "Oh. Right." Ambience remembered then what he'd been asked; stand back unless called on. And he did just that, stepping off to one side, but eyeing the golden man warily, just the same.

Sunflash seems slightly distracted at the moment, peering up at the storm in curiosity. "That's a neat trick. Illusion, I wonder; or just flat weather control? Somewhat impressive either way I suppose." The trident-wielding punk is blatently ignored for the moment. Priorites.

The man in golden armor holds his silence for a moment or so longer before lifting his head and addressing the group, looking profoundly unamused. "My kin are spoiled in their ways and means, much to a fault. You'll have no such advantage to take over me, I'm afraid. I'll save lord Daos the trouble of having to worry about the Dual Blade by destroying it along with you, right here." He taps his golden polearm on the metal floor, eliciting a crack of thunder that splits the sky overhead as he does.

Gforte looks similarly unamused at the demi-god speaks. "You know. I'll admit. I appreciate you actually taking this seriously. And if you were the person in the first room, I would have had a standup fight with you. But let's face it. You're four gods and I'm some tired, old ass human." Gforte looks over to the side at Sunflash. "Hey, Mage. You looking to get some fighting in? This is the only chance you got."

Ambience jumps a little at the sudden blast of thunder, but makes a valid attempt at trying not to be such a feeble child. Amon's words sounded threatening, and he didn't really know if leaving the fight to Sunflash alone was a good idea... but...

Ambience sighs. It wasn't his choice; he'd ask for help if he needed it, Ambience guessed.

Sunflash gave a short wave towards Haut. "As if I was going to give you the choice, really. Ambi, keep an eye on him." The wizard calmly walks up towards the golden statue, coming to a stop a good bit away. "I don't think we've had the pleasure of meeting yet. I'm Sunflash, a Spell-twister. Who are you?"(c)

His voice was still almost light, and his posture relaxed; but the glint in Sunflash's eyes betrayed just how serious he was taking the encounter.

"I am Amon, Sinistral of Terror." He speaks straight and to-the-point, hefting his trident into a more fitting battle-ready state. "Though I am uncertain if 'pleasure' is the word you prefer. Challenging me in single combat is likely to be a fatal mistake, but as you insist." The snap of a stiff wind rolls through the area, billowing a short black cape layered along the back of his armored shoulders.

The sky flashes white amidst the opaque cloud cover as a brilliant surge of lightning comes careening down from them, seeking to impact the spot where Sunflash stands!

Gforte steps backwards as Sunflash steps up. It was the mage's fight now. He wanted in on this whole thing, it was up to him to take the damage that came with it. Instead, the human returned to where Ambience stood, leaning against the wall with little interest.

Ambience watches the exchange between the two of them as conversation proceeds, but averts his attention partway through as something unseen beckons his notice. His red eyes follow seemingly-nothing as he looks back and forth, but he finally nods in affirmation, all without saying anything; a column of lightning coming down from the clouds above abruptly jolts him back to the oncoming fight, and he reaches up to shield his eyes from the results of the impact!

Sunflash doesn't even budge as the bolt connects, his manashield flaring as it absorbs the impact. A second later and the wizard remains standing, a grim chuckle escaping his helmet."Oh very well done! Been a while since I've seen that style of casting."

The wizard raised his right hand, holding it palmwards to the sky for a moment. "My turn." Sunflash snapped his fingers, and is suddenly blurred for a moment before a collection of clones leaps away from his inital position and begin dashing towards Amon...save for one in the back, standing as he was when he snapped his fingers.

Sunflash's admonishment, fortunately or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, gives Amon ample time to prepare a defense manuever, which he enacts simply by positioning his trident in front of himself and whirling it rapidly as the spell-twister raises his palm skyward; Sunflash clones race toward him as the trident fan spins faster, and with several gross shlorps, are sucked into the whirl created by Amon's weapon and disperse into nothingness. Another crack of thunder peals out from overhead, brightening the dark sky for only a moment.

Gforte looks over to Ambience as he watches the fight, though he keeps a sombre expression on his face. "Hey Kid. You mentioned something a while ago. About how you couldn't remember some stuff." He seems not to care at all about the entirely too casual tone of this conversation, almost like he trusts Sunflash.

Ambience is, alternately, a bit more focused on the fight now, apparently wanting to make sure he doesn't miss a cue that might be vital for him to step into the fray; he looks over at Gforte's and the comment, though, and nods halfwise. "It's kin'a weird. I don't remember where I got some things, but it all happened anyway. Mama knows more about what happened, you'd have'ta ask her if you wanted the details." He looks back toward Sunflash quickly, the jewel at his throat gleaming just a trace.

Sunflash gives a short nod. "Well done." His hand snaps again, and suddenly a giant solid-iron ball appears above the wizard. A split second later and the gyro ball is sent hurtling towards---the wall to the left of Amon. SKILL SHOT INCOMING!

Instead of apparently working about the massive iron ball getting set to ricochet off the wall to one side of him, Amon looses his spinning trident in a buzzsaw fashion toward Sunflash, which whistles audibly as it slices through the air toward him! His reaction time could use some work though, as the huge metal orb collides into him from off the wall, sending him sprawling along as it crashes into the opposite wall!

Gforte looks on as Amon is struck, and allows himself a small smirk. "What if I told you I might be able to bring back your memories, kid?" Gforte cracks his knuckles as he says this, keeping an eye on Ambience's face to gague his reaction.

Ambience glances sidelong at Gforte, acknowledging that he heard, but still seems a bit too involved mentally in the fight to give it the attention he should. "How does that work? Were you at every place I was that I can't remember being? That sounds... confusing."

Sunflash was almost caught completely offguard, primarly because he didn't really expect Amon to NOT DODGE. As it was, he didn't really have a good chance to set himself, so he just took the blow. Flinging an arm up, he managed to deflect the worst of the hit with a burst of mana at the trident, but was still sent rolling backwards as the weapon clipped his manashield and knocked him off his feet. He sprung back up with a grunt, rolling his shoulder.

Rolling onto his side, Amon's body disintegrates into a column of white light, which then rights itself and reforms into a standing Amon, who calmly holds his hand out as the weapon, diverted from Sunflash's blast, comes flying back into his grip. "You're no regular magician. There aren't a lot of people who skirt the boundaries of practiced magic as you do." If it was a compliment, it was hard to tell considering the tight-lipped dryness of Amon's tone.

Gforte grunts. "Memories aren't always that easy to just up and erase, kid. Things cling on sometime. I can take a look inside your head, see if there's anything left. At the very least, it might give you some closure."

Ambience looks a little unsettled by the idea, quite noticeably in fact. "I.. uh, maybe we can talk 'bout the details after we're done here? That doesn't sound like somethin' I just wanna say yes or no to on th' spot."

Sunflash gave a shrug. "Tis a gift, you might say. Still, that's just the tip of the iceburg." He paused. "Speaking of!" With no other warning, a giant icecicle drops out of the sky above Amon. If he had a bullseye pad to slip underneath him...

Amon apparently stands to do little to prevent himself from being smashed from on high from the huge mass of ice, but from out of nowhere, a huge gout of fire envelopes the icicle right before it hits Amon, melting it instantly into a brief deluge of water which does little more than to thoroughly soak Amon. The Sinistral, to this end, looks thoroughly annoyed as he brushes wet blonde hair out of his face. "I don't require your aid, sister Erim. I can handle them alone."

The ball of flame twists and contorts in the air above Amon, before it glides down to the ground nearby and settles, conforming its shape and color until Erim herself is indeed standing there, without her weapon. Her hair seems to have been restored, as well, since their last encounter. "You may think so, but Daos grows impatient."

Erim looks upon Sunflash, and the other two, in something of a 'Did you miss me?' sort of expression.

Gforte doesn't even give Sunflash a warning. Immediately, a sphere is lobbed into the air, almost like a fast-ball being thrown at a batter. Even before Gforte finishes his throw, his other hand goes for the Dual Blade once more. But, he doesn't give Erim a look in return. Instead, his eye simply closes.

"What the..?" Ambience immediately goes for his weapon, but as Gforte quickly hurls something out, wisdom of previous encounters surfaces, and he instead turns away and covers his ears, leaning against the wall for support.

Sunflash throws his hands up in the air in rather obvious frustration. "OH COME ON!!" His tirade is interrupted, sadly, by Haut's incoming tennis ball. "Goddamnit." He supposed he desevered that, what with the last two fights of Haut's that he interrupted, but STILL.

Gforte's projectile whizzes its way out toward the small group in the mainstay of the room, but as soon as it is out into the open, something dark and heavy suddenly catapults down from the lip of the wall overhead, dropping into the sphere in midflight and squashing it flat into the metal ground beneath its dark boots. With a coarse chuckle, Gades straightens himself, also weaponless, and turns to face the others as he draws himself upright. "Leaving me behind, are you? Erim's words ring true; Likely it is that lord Daos has had enough of this meddling, too. No more games."

A piercing ring suddenly cuts through the immediate area as the Dual Blade begins to emit a piercing keen, echoign and reverberating through the metal interior of the immediate area!

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I hear you, you goddamn thing." Gforte begins stepping forwards, looking to the Sinistrals with an oddly neutral expression. "Sunflash, back down. I know you wanted this, but they don't want to play." With that said, Gforte stares blankly at the three 'siblings'. "Fine. Your boss is done with this? So am I. Let's settle this like it should have been done. I kill all of you and then die bleeding. The kid takes the sword back to his holyland and hopes the damn thing never gets used again." Gforte settles down into an offensive stance, eye narrowing. "Come on. Let's finish this already."

Ambience looks blankly at Gforte as he saunters his way out to meet with the Sinistrals and Sunflash, not moving from his own spot immediately. "What? We don't want that sword. I never said..." He trails off in mid rant as something touches him from behind, and he stiffens tensely without immediately turning around to see what it is.

Sunflash doesn't even bother turning around, simply crossing his arms. "Like goddamn hell. I didn't come along to just sit back while you threw yourself into a sucide match. Besides, I don't need your bloody blade to stop these damn lunatics." His voice takes on a razor-like edge. "Besides, you're not really in any condition to stop me anymore than they are at this point."

"I beg to differ." A calm and imperial-sounding voice floats in as a regally-robed man in red and traces of white and yellow flashes into existence at the fore of the other three Sinistrals, completing the group. Daos raises a gleaming, silver-gauntleted hand, gesturing at Sunflash and Gforte. "This has gone on long enough, I'm afraid. I commend you for your ability to withstand our might individually, but this really was never in the cards. A slight underestimation on our part; you see, I expected to simply squash the frail little man, send the boy home to his mother, and be done with it. You've all really made this a sticker situation than I'd really rather have preferred, but no matter. This won't end like the previous generations. If all you have is a sword that won't even obey you, a child prodigy and a mage with a unique blend of magic, I'm afraid you're lacking something vital." As he finishes speaking, a very pronounced hum is heard, transcending what might well be the entire Fortress. The ground can almost even be felt vibrating, if only subtly.

The other three Sinistrals seem to be at attention, and neither move for or against anyone at this time; they seem to be.. concentrating?

"No. It ends better than it did before." Gforte's voice is almost quiet as he regards Daos, but then again, the Sinistrals are not the only ones concentrating. "Because I'll do whatever I goddamn feel like. It isn't about the sword you goddamn idiot." Sparks of light manifest around Gforte as he speaks, and his grip on the dual-blade tightens to the point where his knuckles turn white. "It's about mankind surviving. And do you know what I am in the face of this entire planet?" He pauses after saying this, almost as if a thought had fallen into his head. He looks back up to the sinistrals, and the lights fade. "You're right. I am lacking something vital. That's been my issue all along, hasn't it?" He holds the Dual-blade out again, glaring at Daos. "I've been being an outsider. I thought the only way for me to win this whole thing was to do with even if it meant my own death. But I don't Have to die, do I?" Gforte straightens his back, and looks to both the men at his sides. "Come on. Let's do this. I've got a home to go back to, goddamnit."

Ambience had actually been fallen back since Gforte advanced forward, taken by whatever had spooked him before without Sunflash or Gforte even having noticed (apparently). But following Gforte's little minispeech, Ambience now comes out like he's supposed to... but not alone. Alongside him is a somewhat tall and lean woman, wearing a familiar black turtleneck that accents the ampleness of her bust via an inverted triangle curt out of the fabric upon her chest. Her hair is a stark white and cascades in dro

droves down her back, contrasting deeply with the black denim of her pants and black boots. Her eyes are not vertical, but the irises of a normal person, though they retain their emerald hue as they always have. She and Ambience stride calmly toward Sunflash and Gforte, but say nary a word, letting the woman's smile speak for itself in the midst of this dark situation.

Sunflash managed to remain quiet enough throughout the proceedings to actually peek around and catch everything going on. As Ambi and his friend walk foward, Sunny turns towards Daos and shrugs. "Let's be honest. At this point the vital thing we're missing is a non-messy way to shut your yap. I mean come on, you had the entire trek up here to blabber at us and you chose NOW to yak? No respect I tell ya."

The look on Daos' face gives the impression that he either couldn't care less, or didn't approve of Sunflash's method of self-amusement. The Fortress-wide hum that began just recently rises in scale, as a reddish-tinted encircling of sparkling spherical objects begin to rotate around the Sinistrals as a whole body, sparking noisily and giving off lucid light particles. Erim, Amon and Gades stand at attention behind Daos, but are focused in their individual glares; it leaves no doubt that they are altogether behind whatever is happening, en masse. A small smirk allows itself to manifest on Daos' face as he looks upon those opposing him. "Whatever knowledge you have gained since our first meeting, you would do well to utilize it as best you can, here and now. There will be no second chances!" He laughs, a quick but malicious chuckle as the light orbs circle around himself and the other Sinistrals with their malevolent red light.

"No. There won't be." Gforte's hand dips down, retrieving the collapsed form of his spear as he pulls it back up. The sound of the spear assuming it's full size accompanies Gforte's first running step, and even as he raises the spear to throw it, runes carve themselves into it's surface. His knuckles whiten as the grip on the dual blade increases, even as he's throwing the spear forwards. In truth, Gforte doesn't care which of the sinistrals it strikes, he isn't even looking at any of them, except Daos as he begins charging.

Ambience looks worriedly upon the four demi-gods as this exchange takes place, unsure of what they meant but hoping Gforte might. The Mana Sword is out of its own sheath and into his hands as Gforte retrieved his polearm as well, but he hesitates to strike, eyeing the rotating spheres warily. He seems to be waiting for some kind of cue, not trusting any urges to simpyl leap into (or start) a fray.

Ambience braces himself as Gforte's rune-laced spear leaves its owner's grip, sailing through the air toward the Sinistrals' group.

Sunflash raises a hand and half-turns as if to say something just as Haut's spear go flying by. "---WELL then." Always an idiot of action, Sunny wasted no time in throwing himself bodily upwards on an arc over the Sinistrals.

The white-haired woman maintains her silence in the midst of all of this opening, standing between Ambience and Gforte on one side as the latter's spear is launched, following by Sunflash's full-body launch. She casts a subtle glance down at the Dual Blade in Gforte's grip, smiling faintly at nothing in particular before she raises her eyes toward the Sinistrals once more, emeral eyes shining with a knowledge that remains inaudible at this time as she awaits results.

At this time, a familiar ring that has become known of the Dual Blade resurfaces, pitching a low keen that blares out within the room and causes the relic weapon to vibrate loosely in gforte's hand, emitting a soft pulse. In the meantime, Gforte's spear arcs downward and streaks toward Erim's face... and crashes into some unseen field, disintegrating on contact into a fine powdered mist of whatever the spear was made of at a molecular level. Even the runes it was inscribed with did not seem to provoke any response from them or it; they continue their concentration at this time, causing the orbs to encircle faster and more rapidly around them as red sparks of electricity fly off of them. Daos in particular seems to be regarding the Dual Blade in Gforte's hand, taking his eyes off the man himself and focusing on the sword. "You won't have it this time, you worthless worms. You don't have what it takes! The sword will never choose you! Our will to dominate is supreme and ever will be! Come to us, Dual Blade! Fulfill Arek's prophecy and allow us to finally rid the world of all pitiful mortal strife!"

Gforte never even takes his eye of Daos as he charges the room. He sees his spear disintegrate. He hears the words of the so called 'god'. Gforte raises the sword as his foosteps fall, and with a two handed grip he brings the blade crashing down on wherever the field should be.

Ambience grimly watches these events unfold without saying or doing anything, but suddenly snaps to attention as something catches him, and he looks up at Jillian nearby, who is only looking on with a faint smile, not lifting a finger at the moment otherwise. With a small smile of his own, he nods. "I will. This is for all of us. For the entire world." Ambience raises the Sword high above, inverting the blade as he places both hands on its hilt... and proceeds to drive it sharply into the steel flooring at his feet, eliciting a terrible shriek of metal on metal as its tip pierces the thick blackmetal surface, sinking deep into it with a grunt of effort from Ambience! The hum reverberating throughout the Fortress grows louder as the Tree-engraved pommel of the Sword of Mana gleams fervently, taking on a green aura!

Sunflash had once again raised a hand, and once again his motion is stopped cold; this time by the effects of Ambience's actions. The nearly instantous effect caused one hell of a cackel to erupt from the wizard's helmet. "THAT'S more like it!" His arc completes, and Sunflash wastes no time as he lands; sending a blue-white ball of concentrated mana hurtling into the formation at a slight angle from center(to avoid Haut, of course).

Jillian calmly raises one delicate hand, motioning after Gforte as he rushes with Blade drawn at Daos. She clenches this hand in front of herself, bringing it back to her chest as she chants something unidentifiable, murmering to herself as a blue aura gathers around Gforte, transparent, but there just the same. Nothing offensive seems to come from her otherwise, however. The look on her face is one of hope, one of faith... one of belief.

Erim turns at the last minute as Sunflash lands and fires off a shot of mana, swiveling one of the surrounding orbs into place and utilizing it as a deflection device, which does indeed reflect the blue mana sphere... right back in Sunflash's direction. Erim scowls hideously, glaring menacingly at him for his attempts to get the better of them.

Unfortunately, the larger part of their concentrated effort shifts, seemingly due to some unintended effect that is taking place somewhere, and as Gforte comes charging in, the Dual Blade comes down and collides with the barrier of the Sinistrals, ringing loudly and boisterously as a phantasmic tearing sound issues from the point of impact; the Dual Blade pulses rhythmically in Gforte's grip as it cuts slowly but steadily through the barrier, being resisted by the force that Daos, Amon and Gades are still putting into the energy field! Daos curses, holding up his gauntleted hands to exact more force into the field. "Do not falter, Erim! Leave the rabble to his fate and focus!" Almost as soon as Daos says these words, a horrifying, black-cloaked ghoul suddenly materializes in the air beside Sunflash, taking aim with a wicked scythe and swinging it down toward him at the same time that Erim's deflected sphere careens toward him!

Gforte bares his teeth at the Sinistrals, his eye widened as he pushes more of his body weight into the clash going on between his sword and their shield. He could do this. He was doing this. "I did end up learning something this time Daos. I'm not alone this time."

Two tiny Dryads manifest into being beside Ambience as he pushes all that he's got into the Sword, which glows fiercely along with the now-visibly-gleaming diamond at his throat's choker. The two tree-maidens encircle the glowing hilt, assisting him as best that can in... whatever it is he's doing. However, a shrill, almost-draconic screech fills the sky a good distance off, and this cry in particular seems to jolt Ambience's attention, his face paling as he hears it. Ambience grimaces as he tries to redouble his efforts, apparently knowing what's coming. "Not yet, not yet, not yet... please..."

Sunflash had already begun twisting to the side when his manaball was reflected, and so wasn't caught completely offguard as the ghoul popped into existence directly infront of him. With a short gesture, his orignal attack shifts trjectory slightly to impact the ghoul. With a muttered curse he flings himself back into the air on an arc again. As the screech erupts, his vision is narrowed onto Ambience. "Ambience! How can I help?"

Jillian's eyes raise toward the sky for a moment as the screen fills the air, however far away it may yet be. She frowns, the first sign of negativity she's shown since her arrival, and she calls up to Sunflash, her soft voice requiring a bit of effort to yell loud enough to be heard. "Keep on them, Sunflash! Give Haut the distraction he needs to bring down the Annihilation Field!" She'd considered after the fact that calling it by name may've been more confusing than just 'barrier', but eh.

Being around for hundreds of years tended to leave the information lingering and on the tip of your tongue at times. And no, her name wasn't 'Ambience', but the boy was kind of tied up at the moment...

Erim refocuses as the spheres surrounding them continue spinning, hastening now as the four of them focus against Gforte's assault, gradually getting the upper hand as the four of them face off against the Dual Blade's might, and oh-so-slowly repairing the tear that was made from the Blade's edge. "All the better, you're a sorry sight in anyone's eyes, the lot of you. We'll eradicate you and your wench and succeed in doing what we couldn't centuries ago!" The entire Fortress rumbles from some considerable quake that permeates through it, growing less stable as the Sinistral's field bears on!

"Sunflash. Rain fire down on this entire area. Cook them in their little field." Gforte doesn't let go of his grip of the Dual Blade, not wanting to lose any more of the progress he had started, though the anger in his voice is obvious. He almost doesn't seem to notice the fortress' instability however, focused as he is.

The gleam from Ambience's diamond-apexed choker sparkles vehemently with his efforts to focus on his current task, the Dryads continually encircling the embedded Sword as the lightshow between them all continues to gain intensity. Another shrill cry tears through the open sky, much closer than before; whatever it is, it's closing in at a rapid pace! This combined with the tremor that shakes the Fortress upends Ambience unexpectedly, and he grunts in annoyance as he lands on his keister in front of the Sword.

Just about the last thing any normal person in the room would see of Sunflash would be a brief nod in Jillan's direction before the Sorcerer's descent came to a sudden halt. Positioned almost directly above the Sinistrals, Sunflash wasted no effort on witty comments or insightful observations. Both of his arms rear back over his head, and start letting off bluiesh-white sparks.

Suspended as he was, the Fortress' shaking didn't even phase Sunflash as he flung his arms down and out towards the Field. A wordless scream erupted from his person as the sparks suddenly condensed into a near-blinding(were you staring at it directly) beam of pure mana-energy, exploding downward onto the field below.

Jillian clasps her hands together in front of herself, closing her eyes and adopting something of a 'prayer' stance, mouth moving in silent incantation (?) of something not heard or seen as Gforte and Sunflash work to bring down the barrier from around the Sinistrals. The Dual Blade glows brightly in Gforte's hands as it fights against the field, taking on something of a will of its own as it forces itself into the barrier alongside Gforte's strength behind it, though whether this is an effect from

Jillian or just its response to Gforte's will to break through (or both!) is anyone's guess.

Almost as though the swirling spheres had a mind of self preservation, several of them gather at the peak over the Sinistrals to meet the ferocious blast of mana coming down atop it, sending a shockwave through the air where the two forces collide together and literally ripping the top layer off of the 'room', leaving a jagged scraping of wall-top on all sides as pieces of metal fly outward into the open sky! The field itself seems to withstand the huge mana surge bearing down on it, but doesn't succeed in either dispersing or deflecting; it merely seems to 'hold' it in place. However, the reserves needed to perform a task are seemingly high, as Gforte's assault now tears through the barrier at a fairly quick pace, eliciting a dark stream of curses in his direction from Daos as the Blade gradually bears down toward him from the outside, cleaving its way through the barrier that the four of them can't seem to hold against both forces!

In the midst of this hopeful spot, however, a huge shadow veers over the whole of the Fortress, something massive now passing over it as the sound of multiple pairs of wings beat a furious and erratic tempo against the windy skies above. A deafening, shrill cry of arrival announcement pierces the air, sending its own vibrations through the Fortress all on its own as a set of MASSIVE white jowls are suddenly seen aiming toward Sunflash's aerial form from on high!

The noises now overtaking the room don't cause Gforte to falter. If anything, he just shifts into putting everything that he can into the blade. "Priority to the Mana Beast. Sunflash, help Ambience in any way you can." Even when dispensing tactics, Gforte keeps his gaze locked on Daos. "You won't win this time. I'll see to it that you don't!"

Ambience gets to his feet just as the shrillness of the White Dragon's cry takes over the Fortress proper, horror showing on his young features as he sees for himself exactly what the Mana Beast held in store for them. It was plain to see that even the Sinistrals didn't worry him as much as this creature did; its wrath would not only destroy the Fortress, but each and every one of them with it! Unfortunate though it was that he was unable to keep the mana blockage going any longer, he hoped beyond hope that Gforte had enough of a grip on the situation that he wouldn't be needed further; gripping the Sword in both hands and giving a mighty tug, Ambience wrenches the weapon free from the metal sheath where it had been embedded, and gazes upon the massive creature as it dives at Sunflash, one hand gingerly touching the sparkling diamond at his throat as the fear never leaves his face.

Sunflash's barrage is suddenly cut off as he processes the giant shadow and the sound of the wings. The beam is cut off as he twists and drops into a dive of sorts. His back towards the sinistrals, Sunflash's thoughts were shattered as he took in the approching Mana Beast. A quick glance over his shoulder took in Haut's attempted progress and the fact that noone else was still swinging at the barrier. (c)

A sudden idea struck him almost like lighting, and Sunflash returned the favor of sorts by twisting back towards the Flammie and launching a quick lighting bolt towards its muzzle. With an invisible wolf-like grin, the sorcerer then twisted a final time and dove towards the Field, flinging fireballs and lighting bolts as he went further and further towards the ground. "HEY GUYS! I FOUND A FRIEND! CAN WE KEEP HIM?!"

The pressure from atop the field subsides as Sunflash's massive assault diminishes to mere parlor tricks (by comparison), but it seems to come a little on the late sight; Jillian's continued 'prayer' seems to help amplify the dormant sentience within the Dual Blade, and it comes alive in Gforte's grip just in time to tear through the front of the forcefield! Every red sphere explodes with a loud and violent bang as this happens, and as if that weren't enough, the Mana Beast soaring overhead misses Sunflash as he twists out of the way (and is unimpeded by the lightning bolt hurled its way; it seems to merely absorb it into the side of its face), but it streaks down toward the Fortress's level anyway, slapping its massive tail behind in its wake and catching both Erim and Amon in the back, knocking them flat! Its gaze fixes elsewhere as its previous target is nowhere in the immediate vicinity, and the power of Mana grabs its attention as Ambience holds his sword aloft, gleaming in tune with the choker around his neck. The Mana Beast hovers in the air just a small distance above the surface, its golden-eyed gaze making contact with Ambience's own by not making any further (immediate moves) other than to roar fearsomely and intimidatingly!

Gforte lunges forwards with the destruction of the field, quickly reversing his grip on the Dual Blade as he attempts to bring it in a slashing arc back across Daos' body. As the Dragon roars, Gforte also does, the human lunging out and lashing at victory.

Ambience's face turns from fear to sadness as he makes eye contact with the Beast, though it doesn't move to attack further right then. He lowers his Sword fractionally, advancing toward it despite the height difference its aerial hovering makes. His attention is focused solely on the oversized dragon at this time, Gforte and the Sinistrals all forgotten at the moment. "Please don't make me do this, girl... you know who I am, right..? Right..?" He loweres his sword further, attempting to indicate his lack of hostility towards it.

Sunflash wasn't completely sure Ambi could handle the dragon by himself, but he WAS sure he couldn't let the opening on the sinistrals pass. Somehow still unmolested, the crazy sorcrer locks his rage-filled gaze on the hag who tried to smack him with his own spell. He gathered another ball of mana behind him as he dove down, sparks flying from his right arm as it pulled back. At what was probably far too close to stop his descent, the wizard flung his arm and the mana forward towards Erim's sprawled form.

Jillian finally unclasps her hands in the midst of everything that has transpired since she started, and waves gesturingly toward the disheveled Sinistral lot, bringing one hand up in the air and then simultaneously dropping it; as she does, a massive, jagged spike of earth materializes in the air above Amon's sprawled form, next to Erim's, and as he fights to get to his feet, the huge chunk of pointy earth drops like a rock (ho ho ho)!

The Sinistrals are in trouble at this point. Erim flips over onto her side as she realizes her vulnerability, throwing her hands up and attempting a counterspell of sorts.. but the effort involved in their earlier field has left her with limited reserves, and all she can do is raise her arms in shielding as the mana bolt slams into her body! A phantasmal cry issues forth as her corporeal body is destroyed from the blast, with no defense left to stand against it, and she explodes in a dazzling display of white orbs that, in themselves, quickly snap and pop out of existence. Nearby, Amon has just clambered to his feet and stands to glare at Gforte as he moves to strike Daos, moving to summon his Trident... and is promptly crushed under the weight of Jillian's massive spire, which lands on top of him with a loud whoom! It doesn't dematerialize, either, strangely enough.

Daos, through gritted teeth simultaneously shoots his arm forward to grab Gforte by the throat even as he arcs forward, Dual Blade flashing spectacular as it cuts clean through him... and his arm stops short, hateful eyes glaring at Gforte as he flexes his fingers once, twice... and then promptly deteriorates, taking on an ashen shade of gray as his body blackens and disperses in the wind, much like a body suddenly turned to ash.

In the midst of his comrades and siblings falling around him, Gades issues a feral, last-ditch roar that seems to come from his very soul, calling down a massive black broadsword into existence and charging Gforte with everything he's got, swinging his weapon down in a skull-splitting manner!

The Manabeast seems to regard Ambience with interest as he approach; the eyes that look upon the boy are feral and wild, but something seems to be registering there, if for a moment... but it suddenly snaps, as the creature's purpose comes roaring back into its mind, and with another, familiar cry of anguish over the existence of such an abomination unto the Goddess, the loyal pet snaps all four wings open and streaks toward Ambience, eyes narrowed in vengeful, uncontrolled rage!

Gforte allows himself a split second of victory as Daos falls, but cuts the feeling of elation short. There was more work to do. Rather than trying to take on Gades head on, after having spent so much effort cutting through the shield, Gforte dives Towards Gades, seeking to get out of the heavily armored Sinistral's attack range and force the big man to re-adjust himself.

The color in Ambience's face drains as he realizes too late that the great dragon isn't going to listen to him. Bracing for impact, Ambience gestures wildly in an attempt to cast a Lucid Barrier spell, only to have the Manabeast crash into him snout-first and get the Mana Sword gouged into the side of its face in the process! With a shrill scream, the Beast streaks on in its original trajectory, taking Ambience (who hasn't let go of the Sword) with it as it sails off the edge of the Fortress and into the sky. Something seems to have been left behind, however... the glint of a small diamond attached to a black satin cloth flutters to the cold metal ground, ripped in one spot of the fabric that allowed for its severence.

Sunflash hits the ground where Erim formally was with a heavy thud, and lies there for a few moments. He struggles to his feet and stands wearily watching gades and haut go at it. He drew himself up to join in the fray right as the manabeast let its roar out. Sunny turned in time to see Ambience get tackled by the goddamn Beast. Letting out an oath vile enough to curdle milk, he threw himself to the edge of the room to stare upwards at the flying pair. "Farore's breath, i don't have anything to touch that thing!" Sunflash seemed mostly to be gathering his breath.

Jillian looks up from her handiwork just in time to see Ambience get plowed into by the raging Beast, and gasps audibly... but her attention is taken to the cloth that is left behind, recognizing it for what it is, and what it means. "Uh oh..." Her voice is quiet, almost inaudible as she raises her eyes toward the sky, where the two of them are engaged.

Gades shouts loudly as he brings his mighty sword down to the ground, narrowly missing Gforte as he darts out under one of his arms, and the ring of metal on metal is frighteningly awful. Gades drags his sword malevolently across the metal floor as he turns to face Gforte, letting the grinding metal-on-metal noise aggravate those in audible range.

Gforte doesn't bother halting his momentum by a normal mean, instead he draws the lance from his back, slamming the tip of the weapon into the metal ground of the mana fortress hard enough to bite into the metal clad ground. Momentum brought to a quick halt, Gforte kicks off of the lance, bringing the Dual Blade up in a horizontal slash as he barrels back towards Gades.

It can't be determined what Ambience is doing, at this point; the Manabeast has carried him way off the platform of the Mana Fortress, and he's too far away to discern at this time. The only notable thing is the erratic flight patterns that the Manabeast appears to be maneuvering through as it streaks across the sky.

Sunflash doesn't do much besides glare at the sky for a moment and turn around towards Jillian. "....Any ideas?"

Jillian apparently ignores Sunflash, seeing Gforte charging at Gades who, in his own stance, is fully prepared to intercept him head-on. Fearing the worst, she decides now isn't the time for fanciness. Grabbing a nearby piece of metal that had been blown off the Fortress top from earlier, she lobs it at Gades!

Gades is, indeed, preparing for Gforte's charge, raising his sword midway to prepare a decapitative strike in something of a sword-clothesline maneuver... but is bonked in the back of the head by a large metal fragment, causing him to stumble forward from the impact. This effect is all that it takes, really; the Dual Blade flares to life as Gforte nears Gades, and a jet of golden flame erupts from its edge as it slices cleanly through Gades' midsection! The smell of smoke suddenly hangs in the air for a second or two, before various metal 'parts' that make up Gades all clatter to the ground in a grody little heap, devoid of life.

Gforte slams to a halt after passing where Gades had once stood, eye wide as he pants a few times, trying to get his breath back. Looking up, he tries to get a sight on either Ambience or the Mana Beast before scowling. "Jill, can you teleport me on top of the dragon?" He doesn't take any more time to rest, instead just pulling the Daedalus Lance from the ground before looking at Jillian."

Sunflash had already grumbled and turned back to glaring at the sky. "Fat load of good it'll do us without the damn Sword. That thing's pretty much immune to everything else, if my memory serves."

Jillian shakes her head. "I can't, Haut. I'm... not the same anymore. I don't have that kind of ability any longer. And even then..." She turns again to look up toward the great Beast in the sky. "I'm sad to admit that Sunflash's words are true. You can't do anything, this time... only the one who wields the Sword can stop the Manabeast, before it destroys the world along with the Fortress. Instead..." She turns around again. "We need to leave. Without the Sinistrals to hold the balance of power here, this place is going to gradually destabilize, with or without the Beast's rage taking part. We're in no small danger if we remain here."

Gforte continues looking up into the sky, towards the mana beast. "Where is the control room for this place?" He looks to Jillian's turned back. "They have to have piloted it from somewhere. Where is it at?"

Sunflash rears back and punches at a wall. He promptly winces on impact, and holds his right shoulder with a frown. "What do you have in mind, trying to distract it? I don't think it's so single-minded to ignore the one thing that can hurt it to come after the Fortress."

Jillian sighs. "The control room is virtually non-existent. There is one, but the Sinistrals were the o--" As if on cue, a horrible tremor takes over the Fortress, following by something sounding akin to a large power source shorting out. Jillian wobbles, but maintains her balance, frowning. "The Sinistrals were the ones keeping the power steady in this place. Without a large energy source, it's simply going to plummet! I doubt very seriously any of us have the amount of energy that four demi-gods would encompass, if I may be brutally honest."

A shrill cry cuts through the air, as the Beast flips around in the air and suddenly careens back toward the Fortress at an incredible speed!

Gforte looks up to the plummeting beast, and growls ferally. "Of fucking course. Fine, everyone fall back." He backs away from the area that the dragon is plummeting down to, but doesn't actually leave the room entirely.

Sunflash backs up to join the other two. "Unless one of you have a better idea, I suggest we go cut a hole in the wall somewhere below and get out of dodge?"

Jillian looks up at the incoming Manabeast, looking slightly panicked. "I don't suppose you have a teleport spell of any kind, do you Sunflash? We need to get out of here quick, and we don't exactly have a ride back since the way you came in is currently accounted for otherwise."

"Here!" Gforte pulls a small object from his pocket, which looks almost like an oriental fan crafted of metal. He throws it down on the ground, prompting the device to spread open into a large plate-like platform. "Everyone get on. I didn't really plan for this thing to be used by more than one person, but we don't have a hell of a lot of choice at the moment!"

Sunflash hesitated at Jillian's question. "The last teleport spell I used kinda sorta scorched some surrounding pretty well. I'll save it for a last resort if this doesn't work." He hops onto the platform carefully, still holding his shoulder.

Jillian looks up one last time at the speeding Dragon heading toward them; at this proximity, Ambience can be seen holding on both by the Sword embedded in its face and a truft of its fur; Quickly, though, she steps onto the positioned pad, hoping that this all wasn't in vain.

Gforte steps onto the pad himself, kneeling and jabbing his thumb into the crystal set at the bottom of the pad. The technology immediately screams to life, a field of visible energy rising around the edges of the pad as everyone on it feels themselves being PULLED. Sparks fly out of the pad as Gforte yells "HOLD TOGETHER GODDAMNIT! EVERYONE BRAC-" The rest of his statement is cut short by a massive 'THOOM', and group vanishes.

Fa'Diel - Myrrh Island: High Cliff Cave
The corridor leads to a small cylindrically carved area which appears
to be well traveled and marked by recent excavation. Stalagmites from the
ceiling appear to be unnatural and carved out purposefully, with holes
sliced through their tips, holding metallic rings which in turn clamp onto
small oil lamps. Along the sides of the walls are various old metallic
stands carrying more torches, some burned out. The southern wall has some
sort of suspicious indentation.

The relative silence of Myrrh Island's caves is shattered by a crackling 'BOOM' as three people suddenly arrive in one of the more secluded caverns. Gforte staggers as he lands, eye wide but choking back the sickness that he's feeling. "Everyone in one piece?"

Sunflash stumbles hard to come to a thud against a wall and then sprawls out on the ground. "...Maybe?" he just lies there letting the world stop spinning. "Can we never do that again?"

Jillian flashes into existence as well, staggering forward from the teleportational momentum but catching herself with both hands against a rockface, gaining her balance for a moment before letting out a sigh. "That feels different when you're not immortal."

Jillian shakes her head loosely, looking up and about for an exit to the caves that might lead outside.

Gforte almost feels tempted to celebrate their victory there, to just hug Jill and start cheering. But, the job wasn't done yet. "Come on, this way." He starts heading out of the caves, moving slow enough around the corners for the other two to follow him, should they care to. "Is there anything we can do to help him?"

Sunflash struggles to his feet again, managing to keep up with Haut. "I'm not sure what that would be. I know /I'm/ practically useless."

Jillian predominantly keeps her silence for the moment, anxious to get outside. In the distance, something akin to rolling thunder can be heard, but it sounds way, way off to the north.

Gforte breaks out of the cave system at a slow jog, already looking to the skies an in attempt to try and find Ambience and the Mana Beast in their struggle.

Sunflash's pace grew slower and slower as the group progressed through the caves. Once they finally got outside, Sunny leaned against a wall for a moment before slowly sliding down into a sitting position. "Really...gotta catch....my breath guys...." His eyes flickered shut as he gave a short growl. "Just...lemme rest a...moment, huh?" With that, the burnt-out Sorcerer managed to pretty much pass out completely. Hey, at least he's all in one piece this time!

Jillian clears the caves behind Gforte and Sunflash, just in time for another low roll of thunder... followed by a massive explosion that does well to light up the night sky in the northern distance, filling the atmosphere with brilliant sparks of white and gold! The sky is completely illuminated for several moments until the fireworks show eventually fizzles out, and returns the night to itself.

Jillian freezes in place as this happens, emerald eyes wide, but voiceless.

Gforte stares at the sky as it explodes, and then turns to Jillian, almost trying to decypher the meaning from her. It does not seem good, given her expression. "Jill? Was that good? Is he okay?" He steps closer to the woman, unsure of too many things at this point to really make sense of his emotions.

Jillian frowns, lowering her eyes. "I don't know. I can't sense lifeforces anymore... so I don't know if that was intended or not. It's too dark to see from here, at night. I want to think, though, that he is probably fine. His power is uncapped because he lost his limiter. There's nobody stronger than he is at this moment."

Jillian pauses, and adds. "Though that comes with as many 'bads' as it does 'goods', situation-depending."

Gforte finally narrows his eye at Jillian. "You've been acting weird Jill. You look different too... W-what happened? Why aren't you and Lillian together? My job wasn't done yet."

Jillian looks up, with a faint smirk. "I'm not a goddess anymore. Lillian split us apart, permanently. We made a deal, the two of us; if you made it far enough into the Fortress and proved that you were competent enough to truly face the Sinistrals, then Lillian would not only revert the two of us, but she would grant my request, too: a normal existence. I, uh." She pauses, allowing her tail to flick back and forth a few times. "Some things couldn't be helped. I guess I'm not exactly human, but I'm not fully Succubus anymore, either. Devolving from godhood isn't something that happens very often, you see." Jillian looks again toward the north. "When she fulfilled my wish, she also sent me to the Fortress... to help you. If I were still a goddess, I wouldn't be allowed to help. You could say I gave it up just so I could see you through to the end." She shrugs lightly, almost offhandedly, like it weren't a big deal.

Gforte doesn't react quite nonchalantly, instead stepping forwards and throwing his arms around Jillian, wrapping the 'mostly-human' woman in a massive hug. "Goddamnit Jill, you did that?" He pulls back slightly to look at her. "I could have died in there at any moment! You just threw that much on the idea that I might, maybe live?"

Jillian grunts from the sudden hug, not expecting it, and laughs. "Nothing happens if you don't have faith. If you didn't believe either, you wouldn't have been able to pull off what you did. All I did was give you a little push. But sometimes it can make a difference; am I wrong?"

Gforte stares blankly at Jillian as she just so easily rationalizes things. It was almost mind boggling, really. "I-" He blinks, not even really sure how to continue, before realizing he was still hugging her and letting go. "Well, Uh. It's good to see you again?"

Jillian smiles warmly. "You performed as well as I expected. If there was ever anyone who believed you would pull through, I would be one such person. A lot has happened lately... and hopefully things will calm down after this. For now, let us rest on these laurels. You've earned a bit of peace, I think."

"Oh, and thank you. For, ah, 'sticking to your guns'."