Nanami Touko

"Get moving little lady! Just stay ahead of me and you'll be fine!" Lati to 10,29 "New allies, then? Alright. You're spared." Talulah 12,25

"Whoa, hey, Lani-- T-Tasha!? What the heck is...!?" Alvira was very unceremoniously moved, though at least Tasha had warned her of that much in advance... "Hah, geez... Thanks for getting me closer, b-but... Mhnn..." She lifted me so easily... I should ask her for that in private. Goodness... With that pleasant thought in mind, it was time for a change in temperature... Alvira 15,10, Blizzard Soldier #5 Cass 16,13, Swordreaver Archer #2 M 16,10, .38 Soldier #6

"For you, anything." Sylmaria almost felt herself smile, biting the side of her cheek. She couldn't let go of her anger, her frustration, her focus. There would be time for tears. Time for vulnerability and sadness, time to speak with Giovanna when this was over. For now-- "if those of you that ride at Sylmaria's side will fight with her, then turn to those beside you and strike! Cut the down the same as Kazran will be! He falls today!" Sylmaria to 12,27, blast the Bow knight "Ohhhh, goodness, what a bunch of wounds... Here, shiny! Keep fighting~!" Krystal to 10,9, Physic Miria "Mrrrrhhhh..." Amera was feeling rather listless. Seila's magic had proven itself extremely useful, time and again, and here she was, milling about and just keeping up with the group. "Gotta do something... Even if it's something dangerous." With the forces ahead of them, something dangerous was definitely the plan... Amera to 15,11, swing on pirate #5

"Ah~! H-Hey..." He felt himself blush, also letting out something of a yelp that he hadn't been prepared for, smirking and reaching a hand over to pet her hair. "Maybe I'm into that. I just think it's nice to take a breather when we have the chance... This isn't going to be easy, so we should relax and loosen up while we can~" And I don't mind getting that fire lit for later... "And we're alone, anyway. No need to get so embarrassed, Aly... Cute yelp, by the way."

Versaris looked around and shrugged, stepping past Alriana and nabbing the key with one hand, while he gave her rear a quick spank with the other. "Considering we've been given a momentary reprieve from their forces, and I'm too injured to fight without you worrying... I'd say now is the perfect time to rile you up some. You don't like it?" Versaris to 10,40, trade the chest key, rile up Aly, pop open that box "Now who is... Is..." Sylmaria stared at the incoming forces, and at the head of them... "G... G-Gio, Giovanna, GiovaNNA!" It was her! She was safe! She was okay... "I-I, I came back! I came back to kill him, and to save you, and... And... you're okay...!" Sylmaria's vision was a bit blurry, the tears forming, her eyes glancing towards the nomad riding next to her only friend, wearing armor of similar color and pattern... "Are... Are they... If you, change sides, will they...?" Sylmaria didn't want to kill anyone that respected Giovanna. Anyone that was willing to fight at her side of their own wishes, not Kazran's... But if she had to...

"Hahhhh... I guess I should keep throwing my weight around-- just not literally this time. Heyyyyy! I'm gonna make this hurt, a lot, but if you stay down after it hits you, you should survive. Okay? Stay down, now!" Krystal to 8,8, arcfire cav 11

"HhhH!" M hissed, hoisted and moved, but struggling the whole time. "Do not TOUCH ME!" Cass 13,11 take M, drop on 13,10 "Enough barking," Cass said, picking the moth out of Miria's arms and dropping her, M recoiling away from the both of them. "She just saved you from certain death, moth." "Hhhhsssshhhhhhnngn... Fine... But never again...!" "Mrow... You sure are an odd one, miss Moth." Amera to 15,7

Versaris sheathed his sword and huffed, holding his right arm. "What, you think I won't?" At least Aly couldn't hide her frustrations about this... It was rather cute, all things considered. "I'll make sure she sees to it right away when we leave the area. Promise... As much fun as it is to have you doting over me like that. You're adorable, you know?" He couldn't help smirking, knowing it would likely frustrate her, but that only made her look cuter... M was really feeling herself. She hated to admit it, but this group was much more competent than her own men. "I should've waited. I should've waited and I'm fucking pissed off for not waiting! Which means you get the brunt of it!" M to 15,11 .38 Pirate #4 "Everyone, behind me!" Lati pulled her short bow out and glanced both in front and behind her. Reinforcements on both ends, and no easy way to combat them. "I'll take you all on!" I can at least hold this side off...! Lati to 6,30, shortbow on "Khhh... Fine. Don't let yourself die, archer!" Sylmaria groaned, heading closer to the other reinforcements... Too many knights, too much armor. "And me without my spell... Damned magic, work more, when I want you to." She tried to form the spell in her palm, but she was truly spent, the magic fizzling. "Ghh... I'm too damn tired. This fight needs to end, and soon." Sylm to 8,26 "Got it, Lati. Stay alive." Talulah to 10,28

"Tch!" Whoever was operating that ballista was getting better with his aim, Versaris wincing heavily at the sudden wound as rhe bolt grazed along his right arm. "Well... Haven't been hurt since Luthier. Kudos. But." As Aly turned the mages into mince, Versaris drew the beautifully intricate silver sword he'd purchased, letting his left hand do the talking this time. "If you're going to take me out, it had better be all at ONCE!" Sari to 11,39, silver sword Ballistician #1 "More reinforcements, eh!?" Alvira whipped around and cracked her tail against the tiles, rushing up to square off with one of the horsemen. "I don't think you shitbirds get it. It doesn't matter how many of you there are! As long as we're still standing, you all meet your makers!" Alvira to 9,7, Light Cavalier #12

"Alright... Get that wyvern. I've got my eyes set on someone else..." A sneak thief has rolled in behind the current forced, Lati knowing that he was likely fast enough to cause significant problems to those around her. "He won't get through my armor, but everyone else..." She rushed up alongside the wolf man who had just toppled the horseman, yanking his chakrams off his back and holding them out for him. "You, hold these instead. And you!" Then, the greatbow, almost as tall as her, slid off of her back and got one of its ends rammed into the floor, the spike on the end of the arc holding it firm in place. "You die!" Lati to 6,32, trade equip Ullr's Chakram, steel greatbow into Thief #1

Versaris managed to dodge a bolt that seemed to arch out of one of the nearby rooms, cursing under his breath. "Suppose I can't complain about warmachines when we have our own... Aly, let's clean this room out. We can't have that firing on anyone else that gets close." Versaris to 10,35, equip levin sword, open door "There are likely more than these... I cannot aid you with the wyvern, but I shall position myself to handle the rest." Talulah to 6,29 "Right behind you Tasha!" Alvira didn't hesitate to whip out her tome and follow after their leader, raining down magic on the axe wielder in their way! Alvira to 11,5, Light Fighter #8 "Mrow? We're trying to get her closer?" Amera noticed was Miria was up to, running up next to Roxanne and giving her a shoulder tackle of a push. "Go get 'em, laser girl!" Amera to 12,9, shove Roxanne Cass coughed up blood, her own, for once, but shook her head to stave off the sudden blurriness that followed. "Not that easy to take down... Laser girl, come on." Cassandra walked up to Roxanne and slipped a hand around her waist, smiling at her as she pulled her close-- not the prettiest visage with all the red. "Go make these flies regret coming in here, yeah?" She let her go with a push, shouldering her axe and taking a deep breath. "It's gonna take a lot more than that to kill me! Who's next!?" Cass to 13,9, shove Roxanne "Brutes." Krystal rolled her eyes and wandered up behind the armored woman with the giant sword, not even bothering to flirt. "Here. Gonna hedge my bets that all you women are tuna eaters and plenty involved, already. Just go kill something or whatever with your big funny sword." Krystal to 11,7, heal Laniva M fiddled with her revolver some as the dark mage ran up and blasted the priest with one of her spells. "No, no, that's not enough, not for these magic types. Like this--" BANG! M to 14, 10, commit a war crime

Sylmaria was feeling that taste in her throat again. Iron, from moving too hard, too fast. Her lungs were on fire; she'd fought harder alongside these freaks and demons more than she ever had for Kazran's sake... "Just goes to show how much I despise you, Kazran... And of course, it's always, more, FUCKING WYVERNS!" Sylmaria to 7,28, Shatter on 6,29! "DIE YOU PATHETIC FLIES!!"

"This seems to be going a bit too easily, mrrrrr... Hopefully it stays this way." Amera to 9,7

Player Phase/Turn 7

"Er, y... yes." Louise had nearly frozen when Sia hugged her, still not used to the woman's sudden softness against her, but more disarming was the reciprocation of the act... Louise had to pause once she sat in the transport, staring out at nothing, finally starting the engine. "Sia..." She spared the half asleep captain a glance and muttered her name, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. No matter what, I will do everything I can for you. No matter how difficult this all becomes... Even if I have to stare down that monstrous woman on foot. I'll do it... "First thing's first, let's get us back." She'd calmed herself down enough to manage driving, focused on the next step. "We get back, you get some rest, and I start diving through what we have access to..." Louise was repeating the instructions to herself quietly, pulling the transport out of the embassy's parking lot and down Remansburg's roads... "Uh." Kazue wasn't actually sure... She didn't know the Dawn's policies about allowing civilians on board, but... "I am sure that, as long as you are with me and do not wander off, it should be fine. I am registered as an Ensign aboard the ship. I can supervise your being there." She was confident about that much, but... "I will ask the Doctor and the Captain if there is anything you need to sign when you come on board. I think that will be alright, though, unless you have reason to stay, I do not believe I will inconvenience you for long... If I knew any of them, I would bring you to a Doctor here in Remansburg, but, alas... I am only familiar with Earth." Hopefully this all would do. Whether or not he was that harmed or injured, their practice conflict had come about by her own indecision to act. She owed him this much. "Wooooowwww... What a gentleman. I think you should play the rest of this as best as you can. How's that sound?" Miz didn't holster the toy gun, but she was ready for things to get much, much more easy. "Don't you think seeing the ending would be worth it? And there's no way that I'm gonna be able to manage that on my own, or really help you to achieve it. I'll still shoot the funny zombies, but... Maybe, flex a little, and see where we get~?" She smiled and aimed her gun at the screen again, the cutscene starting to end. "Whacha say, Markus?"

"That's not enough, Gaffney!" Sylm ran up beside Owen, magic crackling and at the ready, blasting it after him at the pirate! ... Except, Owen had already killed the man, leaving her gawking and blushing some. "Or... Or, it is. Hmph." Sylm to 9,26

"Everyone, get behind me!" Lati took a few steps and stanced up in her armor, ready for the incoming reinforcements. "Come on, cowards! Break your weapons on me! I'm not gonna feel a Gods damned thing!" Lati to 8,29, shortbow "Well, you heard her." Talulah to 11,29, steel sword Alvira ran up behind the rest of the group, gasping quietly. "Whoa, what a mess!" And the wyvern in the back didn't seem very friendly... Lots of them, recently. Guess they're just a big islexian thing? Ugh... Not hard to deal with through magic, but their mobility is a problem. Alvira to 6,5

"No one's gonna answer me? FINE! I'll kill as many of you as it takes to make you're sniveling shitheel of a boss show himself! Starting with you, hhHHRAHHH!" Cass 11,7 Swordreaver Merc #5 "Mmmmm... Ooops~" Krystal bumped into M to get her just a tad closer to a target, giggling some (and trying to overcome her embarrassment from Tasha and Alvira). "Go get em, bug!" Krystal 8,6 Shove M "Gah! Hey!? Watch where you swing those hips! Luscious, curvy, tasty hips... Rrhh. No distractions!" M 10,11 .38 Special Cav #8 Sari continued his aloof exploration of the place, rushing down another sword wielder. "Aly, this way. Gotta say, the decor in here needs work. It's incredibly drab. You're awful people, but surely you can have a sense of fashion, can't you? Anyway." Sari to 10,34, iron sword Merc #2

"I thought these were meant to be Kazran's elites!? Where's the fight, eh!? Aren't we supposed to be ragtag? Just a bunch of monsters from Eslcas!? Rabble that isn't worth anything!? Ehhhh!? Where are you, Kazran!? Show yourself you damned coward! This rabble wants a word!" Cass 8,6 "Pretty brave of you to still be holding that sword after seeing us disarm the well guarded men in front of you. Allow me to relieve you of it." Sari 10,29, iron sword da merc "This is going well... Too well." Lati 8, 27, equip shortbow "Kazran has to be around here somewhere... Has to be... He wouldn't stay hidden this whole time. He wouldn't. It goes against his pride..." Sylm 7,29 "I'm sure you'll find your mark in time, restless dragon. For now, conserve your ire. Spend it on your target when he is within your grasp." Talulah to 6,28

"Yes. I will... So please, this way." Kazue hoisted his good arm over her shoulder and began to walk him towards the transport she'd drove into town, eyes fill with determination, but not the kind that anyone on the Dawn would likely appreciate. The best chance I will have to get at Tanvir will be from within my HEX when there is an attack happening... If he is anywhere near as augmented as his boss is, I will have little chance in a hand to hand fight, but I do not have to be honourable about this. Tokiwa will not play by our rules... So I will not play by hers. Fie on you, demon fox, and your plans. I will throw them into disarray for my own needs. "Wh-Whoa..." Miz tried to help some more once things had calmed down from Markus' sudden change in play posture, but it didn't seem like he needed any, clearing the stage with an intense precision that hadn't been there before. "Holy crap. If you could do that the whole time, what had you holding back?" She was smiling, definitely impressed, because it certainly wasn't all game skill... That had military training written all over it. "Geez... Guess we'll clear the whole game, huh? You gonna keep that up? Or relax again and make me work for it?" She pouted a little, but was mostly playing it up, wondering where Markus kept that sort of hidden focus and how long it was going to stay hidden... "I've got plenty of thoughts about everyone on board... I just don't say them cuz some of them aren't exactly positive, and then people get upset, and unless I've got a wall to hide behind, I can't handle that. Aaaaaaaaaaaand, it's definitely not her comms. Always looks like she's working on something, but I can never see what. Maybe I should install my own camera closer--" She paused, then looked up at Alrenne and smiled sheepishly. "That's illegal, isn't it...? Ahhh, well, if she's plotting the destruction of the ship, somehow, she's doing a terrible job of acting. That joy over normal guy is pretty damn genuine... Maybe it's a secret project or something. Couldn't hurt to ask? But not me. Not doing that asking. Yet." She huffed some, really slumping against him, almost completely latching onto his arm. "Where to next?" "Alright, this... This isn't too bad." Selu was propping herself up on the back bar of the dance pad, hitting the arrows as they came up to match the frames... normal wasn't too difficult. "Maybe the difficulty was set to something dummy high back then... This is, kinda fun." That memory was quickly getting washed away with the present, Selu cracking something of a smile. It was nice to see Catrin having perhaps too much fun with it, almost actually dancing on the pad. It did end up feeling a little... Childish, to have the difficulty so low next to someone hitting it on what looked like the highest? But it was leagues better than having to deal with the fear of falling over. The song ended, and whatever Japanese tune this was came on next, and it was just about as enjoyable. Faster, for sure, but it was easy to hit stuff and there were a few small combos on her end... Mmm... Hope I can visit Earth, one day. This whole mall, this arcade, everything is just... Fabricated based on what's on Earth, by AHI, to make folks feel comfortable. But it feels a little soulless... I don't think I'd be having fun if Catrin wasn't here with me. So one day... Earth, would be nice. Yeah. "Whenever you'd like, really," Cheryl said, leaning back and crossing her hands on her stomach. "All pilots and military personnel on board have infinite hours... You can walk in whenever. But, since this was tough for you the first time, let's..." she groaned a bit as she sat up, pulling up her calendar on a digital display and punching in a date a week from now. "Next week, come and tell me how things went with your friend, and if you're still feeling like you're not pulling your weight. We'll see how your feelings shift with some more time spent on getting to integrate with your fellow pilots and experience a few more battles-- hopefully not too rough on any of you. If things get bad between now and then, the door's always open, and you can come to tell me anything, or speak with Rosa about your medication, if you need to... Okay?" She really wanted to emphasize that Rosa wasn't hidden behind any meeting needs or specifications, either. Cyber Newtypes were rougher to deal with if things went out of wack with their necessary meds. "If that's all... It was a pleasure meeting you in person, Esther. I'm rooting for you to break out of that shell some."

Player Phase/Turn 6

"Y-Yeah? I guess so... mm." Selu tapped through the songs, trying to get a feel for the pad as she did. It didn't seem to need a lot of pressure to activate, so she just had to focus on tapping them in time. "I think I can... do this. Maybe..." She hadn't exactly trained her center of balance; she'd never needed it as a pilot, being seated so often... It would be funny if she fell over, at least. "A-Alright. You can hit start... I'll-- oh, righ, a song, uhhhh..." She tapped through everything until she landed on some anime song in japanese-- something about angels and writing papers. "That'll do? I guess? I'm, gonna do it on normal... Try to catch me if I slip." "You? Get scared of an old game like this? C'mon, Markus~ There's no way, right?" Miz leveled her gun at the screen as they started, and things weren't exactly that difficult to begin with. A lot of the zombies moved slowly, and while there were some jumpscares to try and catch you off guard, as long as it was undead shambling figures, she was holding her own with her shots, eyes focusing hard, shooting outside of the screen to reload, trying to flick the gun to as many targets as she could...! When the later chapters came upon them, she began to panic some, as the enemies got smaller, faster, and she started missing shots. "Kyahhh! This is too hard! Markus, save me!" "Y-Yes, the Dawn. The Imminent Dawn, the CEN ship that touched down on Callisto recently..." He hadn't been at the AHI headquarters, so it was probably fine to tell him. It had been all over radio news, anyway, and you'd have to have arrived after it to have missed it. "If you are sure that you are alright, but I would feel more comfortable having the Doctor check on you, especially since this was my fault. If you are willing, I parked my transport just a few blocks down... If not, I understand. The people of Callisto do not seem to take well to, the CEN or AHI... it is a very troubling situation."

"Hahhh, okay... Now that that's resolved... Heyyyy, dragon lady~" Krystal ran up behind Alvira and placed that same warm hand on her back, sending that magic right into her core. "Since the Tiger wasn't so receptive, maybe you'll be kinder~?" Krystal to 4,6, give Alvira that brave juice "Hwahh!?" Alvira felt a surge of fire magic slip straight into her core, a very, very welcome feeling, but not quite welcome from a stranger that had been on the enemy's side so recently. "H-Hey! Don't do that-- and, Tiger!? What'd you do to my girlfriend!?" "Wh-What!? How'd I manage to get her and then her GF one after the other!? Ugh, this sucks, whatever! Go kill someone with all that magic... Is ANYONE single around here? Not trying to be a homewrecker..." "Rrhhh..." Alvira to 4,2, light up Brawls #5 "Mrorow... Better not let her get too close to Seila... Don't want her getting too excited in the middle of a fight." Amera to 7,6, mrow "Finally, someone to shoot. Off your high horse, shit bag!" M to 8,7, pop Cav #5

"Not a problem, I can drive." Louise got out and made to cross over past Sia, but seeing the captain so tired and hearing her stress... She took the opportunity to hug her, holding her tight for a moment before pulling back to arm's length, hands on Sia's shoulders. "You're not alone. You have me. You have Alrenne. You have the rest of the bridge, the rest of the squad... I just want to remind you that we're all doing this together. We're all trying together... So whenever things become too much, you can always take a step back and rely on us for a bit. I promise." She didn't linger on that moment longer than necessary, stepping past her and sliding into the driver's seat, gently brushing some of her hair over her face to hide her growing blush. I'll always be there for you, Sia. No matter what... we'll find what we need and see this through.

"Christ," she muttered, dropping all pretense and running over to Daniel, trying to help him up. "A-Are you okay...? I... Hhh..." She was frustrated with herself. Both for taking out her haze on a stranger, and knowing how right he was, all at the same time. "... You are right. I should not be walking around town in a daze, I should be going right up to the problem and handling it the only way I know that I can... I will do just that. For now, are you going to be okay? We have doctors back on the Dawn... If I broke anything, it would be better that we have it handled there. Then you can explain more of exactly who you are... Mr. Stranger, asking the world martial arts champion to a spar in the middle of the streets of Remansburg." She sighed, shaking her head... If he said he was fine, she had half a mind to drag him back anyway, but he had landed, somewhat... Where do all of these weirdos come from? And how do I manage to run into them...? Hahhh... Tanvir. I will not wait until the next time we meet. I will walk up to your doorstep and make you answer me. "Mmmm... Well. I think you had an image of how things would go once you got to this stage in your life, and that image is turning out to be harder to piece together than you expected. I don't think it's as simple as a 'bad day and a bad argument'. I think you'll agree if you think about it a bit, Esther... Either way. Your feelings are valid, both on your expectations and how you've reacted to it all. What comes of them is what you do next... And I think that making a plan to contact him later is a great idea." Cheryl smiled, hoping it was helping to validate her; she didn't want to come across as placating her, but it was difficult to separate cloying sweetness from genuine acceptance at times. "Is there anything else you'd like to tell me, Esther?"