Ursali

"Oi, human, here's your first chance to make things right," Xalrei goaded Agni as she disengaged from the Templar Knight, repositioning herself onto cover as she deftly swapped out her lance for her axe. "Kill that scum while I patch myself up." Xalrei moves to 11,13, equips her iron axe, and uses her vulnerary.

Xalrei rolled her eyes at the hero's insistence of peace. Even if Marina did talk down the Templar scum, she had no intention of letting any of them leave with their lives. Limbs already bristling with electricity, Xalrei leapt into the air, gliding over the trees and landing on the other side. She pointed her lance at the two knights on the other side, challenging them. "Come strike at me, murderers of the church! You'll find that you're no match for me in a fair fight!" Xalrei activates High Voltage and moves to 12,14.

Xalrei grunted at Lavinia's admonishment. She knew the vampire was right, that she was just being cruel. Hell, for the most part, she saw promise in what she'd seen from Marina; however, ironically, that wasn't what she wanted to see from the hero. It'd be so much easier to hate her if Marina would just live up to her expectations like the other human was. Before she could think more on the subject, Asami raised the alarm. The church's men, here? As she scanned the perimeter she saw them and then recognized them, nearly flying into a rage at the sight of their great helms and armor adorned with eagle crests. The murders that ambushed and kill her comrades, her friends, were right in front of her, she was sure of it. "Haven't you bastards done enough...?" She snarled, her limbs already beginning to crackle with electricity as she readied her lance. Xalrei deploys at 16,14.

"Don't mess up and I won't kill you. Simple as that." Xalrei called out, having overheard the conversation, not that she had really intended to listen in. She didn't plan to involve herself further than that, looking over to the fire and watching the shadows dance for a moment before returning to watch for movement. She didn't notice Agni approach the trio, but she definitely heard what he'd said. Only the church is to blame? What a joke. "You'd call her blameless? I suppose that would extend to you too, then?" She glared at the unrepentant human from her spot at the tree, crossing her arms. "If you were foolish enough to believe the lies that 'church' is spouting about us, then you're just as guilty as they are. Learn to take responsibility for your actions." Her tone was cold and dismissive, as though she was talking to an insignificant speck. As for the repentant human, she didn't know how to approach her. Marina seemed to have some grasp on what she'd done, some idea about what she needed to do. If Xalrei wasn't careful, she could extinguish the fires fueling her hatred. She grunted, offering an, admittedly weak, criticism of the hero. "Aren't you a bit too happy for an atoning sinner?"

Amertarsu already had her maul in hand before she even entered the cave, not willing to take any chances. When Jack pulled out the lantern she was relieved, not because it meant she could see, but because it meant she didn't have to do it. "They probably just sit around and wait to be aggro'd. I doubt time went into making them have societies." She answered Jack as they spotted the diverging paths, letting out an annoyed sound. "Tch. Can't just have a straight path huh? Hopefully, it doesn't really matter what way we take; though, right's right as far as I'm concerned."

As the sky darkened, both with clouds and as the day waned, Xalrei felt herself growing more and more restless for some reason she just couldn't explain. It had gone from a wary glance over her shoulder from time to time to sudden bursts of adrenaline whenever she saw something in the distance, immediately thinking it to be hostile. Often times it would just be something like a tree and she'd feel foolish, but the unease remained. As they came to a stop in was essentially an open plain with a few trees her anxiety only increased. Wait, right here? Where there's next to no cover? We'll be easy to spot. What if we're... "I'll volunteer for first watch." She announced suddenly as she dismounted the wagon, heading over to and leaning against the tree the horses had been tied to. She took a deep breath, letting out a heavy sigh after a few seconds. "I need to be better."

"You'll have to earn my trust if you want it." Even with Marina smiling at her, and her having at least seen the error of her ways, Xalrei couldn't find it in herself to attempt to be civil with the human. "Don't mistake my intentions. I'm coming to watch you, to see if what you're saying has any truth to it. If this is just an attempt to get back to the Church..." she scowled, "Then we'll continue where we left off on the battlefield." Her piece said she stomped off to a corner, tail angrily swishing behind her, to cool down before her anger got the better of her. Thankfully, distractions appeared in the form of Asami, the kitsune from earlier, and a siren, an apparent swindler by the name of Gabriela. Agni was once again mistaken for Marina, Xalrei shaking her head at the foolishness of it. As for Marina's actual decision, she was relieved to hear that she wasn't going to be marching on Khach, at least not immediately. Right now that was the last place she wanted to be, especially as part of an invading force. It also gave her a small speck of hope that Marina would actually stick to her word and that she, at least partially, understood the consequences of her actions.

"Once there's time, feel free to ask what you will." She sighed, loosening her claws and crossing her arms. "I don't want to get in the way of your plans for the Hero." Yikes, is it really that bad...?. Xalrei knew that the situation was bad, and she hadn't expected the Church to pull any punches, but she had been operating off of rumors and hearsay. To hear that the state of the country was this devastated from the Demon King's own general was eye-opening. All the more reason that these humans needed to set things right. But where did that leave her? Right now she was just a nobody, at worst a nobody deserter. She didn't want to go back, at least not like this. She'd come all this way to help, she'd be damned if she didn't at least try. "I want in with... Whatever it is you're going to be doing, hero." She tried to mask the contempt behind that word, but she couldn't manage to keep it completely locked away. "Whatever you're doing there'll probably be fighting and if there's one thing I have confidence in, it's my battle prowess."

Did this human have no sense of self-preservation or did he just not realize what sort of danger he was in? Either way, his fate wasn't her concern. Rising to her feet as she was addressed, Xalrei bowed to the Demon King before turning to leave, matching her pace with Lavinia's. "I am Xalrei Id..." She paused, unsure if she should give her full name. She didn't want to damage her father's reputation because she had acted rashly. "Just Xalrei, a soldier of Khach, no rank to speak of. I heard the Hero was marching on Vaia and rushed here to lend my assistance; though, it seems that I wasn't needed..." Although her face remained stoic her claws balled into fists, recalling what had happened just a day prior because of her decision to rush ahead.

As Xalrei was lead through the Demon King's castle she couldn't help but be amazed. It was much grander than the family manor back in Khach. Truthfully, she felt a little out of place, going to meet the Demon King and all. She was just a soldier, or she had been before she rushed off at least. She'd be lucky if she was just discharged when she went back. As the doors opened she gulped, trying to prepare herself to see the Demon King in all his glory... What? She didn't know what she'd been expecting, but it definitely wasn't the short-statured Medusa on the throne. Still, she could feel her power, taking a knee in reverence. Of course, the non-hero human just had to open his smart mouth to make light of the Demon King's appearance. The Demon King was probably young for a Medusa if she was still that short. Xalrei knew that pain too, being a young dragonewt herself. Still kneeled, she growled at Agni. "Show respect for the Demon King, human. She may be young, but she's even more powerful than her general."

Sounds like an excuse to play more aliens Mark me down as interested/in.

"Just... don't, do it again. Please..." She was nearly begging Tristan. If he had actually died, she didn't know what she would do, moving forward. Would she be strong enough to continue on as she was now? Or would she... She didn't want to think about it, and now certainly wasn't the time for it; she'd be the one disappearing if she didn't get her act together. The immediate threat might have been gone, but there was still a field full of enemies in front of her. "I- We will win. I'm sure of it." A warning from the Alymdis alerted her to Duane and his squad as they arrived. A pincer attack? They couldn't afford to let these enemies gain momentum while the rest of the enemies were bearing down on them. It was time to stop them in their tracks, starting with the lead model. Almydis to 4,6 Acid Shotgun Duane.

Simply hearing Tristan's voice, nevermind the fact that he was (mostly) alright, filled Alriana with so much relief she didn't know how to process it. Even though she wasn't sad, she was crying again. "If... If you, do that again... I- I'll do, something, to you." A vague threat to be sure, but weren't those the most worrying? It wasn't important anyway. Tristan was alive! That was what mattered right now, not threats about the future. A future that she would try her hardest to prevent. After a pause, Alriana wiped her tears, having gotten it out of her system. "I think, that I am... okay. I... do not know, what happened. Or what I did. But... Yes. Soor'kan is gone. I... I do not have to, be afraid. Anymore."

Although her own assault had ended, Alriana's attention was still entirely invested on the Alpha, like a beast preparing to finish off its prey; however, that chance never came. Soor'kan attempted to flee and Kim was more than ready to intercept. She watched as Soor'kan was bested at every turn by Kim, slowly beaten further and further into a corner until finally he, and the entire corner, was blown to kingdom come, leaving nothing but a smoldering wreck behind. "Zhro..." Even if not directly by her hand, it was over. Soor'kan was no more. His reign of terror, his control over her, had ended. Permanently. Contrary to Aliza's fears, Alriana did not appear to be continuing her rampage, at least for the moment. The driving force fueling her unbridled rage gone, the Almydis' pilot was in an odd state of flux. Her instincts still called for destruction, for the wholesale slaughter of any and everything she could get her hands on; however, the rest of her saw no point in continuing to fight. Soor'kan was dead, she had succeeded in that regard. Mission accomplished, and all that. There was no reason why she couldn't just simply... stop. "ALY!" A familiar voice, calling out to her. That's right, there was still... "It's me, Aliza! Tristan isn't dead he just called me!" The Almydis froze and went silent. Alriana blinked and rubbed her eyes, taking in her surroundings. She was... in the Almydis? It felt like she'd just awoken from a dream, or maybe it was better to call it a nightmare. What had she been doing? Think. A mix of humans and Sacarians, a battle about to start. Then suddenly Soor'kan had teleported in, attacked and... The rest was hazy, as if under a veil, save for Aliza's news. Wait, was that wreck of a mobile suit the Praxis Alpha? Was- Had it all been real, then? She needed to know, hailing the Riese. "Tristan! Are you, there?" She asked, the question equally full of both hope and trepidation.

Alriana had yet to act after the outburst, merely observing as Soor'kan was penned in and assaulted by a variety of machines. What was left of her attention was solely on the Alpha, Jess' and Caroline's words fell on essentially deaf ears. Alriana wasn't exactly capable of understanding them at the moment, but, if she was, she would have definitely appreciated the women's words. As soon as the Almydis finished processing the data and confirmed a lock on the Sacarian suit, it was immediately in motion. With no warning save another murderous roar from its pilot, the Almydis leapt into the air and onto the Praxis Alpha, latching itself in place with its new tail. Raised fists mercilessly crashed down on the craft over and over again, smashing and bending the Alpha's protective plating out of shape. The Almydis only ever paused its assault to tear the plating from the suit, as if trying to tear its way into the very core of the machine. There was no sense to the attack, no coordination between blows or logical targetting of already damaged areas. Just nonsensical carnage fueled by murderous rage; destruction for the sake of destruction. Eventually, the Almydis' assault slowed, and then finally came to a halt. How long had it lasted? It didn't matter, the damage was done. Tail loosened, the Praxis Alpha was able to push the Almydis off of it, creating space for a counter attack. Aly (The Beast) Dunwich Horrors Soor'kan.

"I wouldn't mind going in first." Ammy volunteered herself, taking a quick peek inside after Felicity to confirm something. "...Yeah. Apparently, Oni can see better in the dark too. And if José really needs me to, I've got my own lantern and a weapon I can one-hand, though I'll lose a bit of my combat effectiveness. I guess we could have someone be a lantern-bearer, but I'm not sure who'd be the best person to do that."

The enemy had finally arrived in full force, familiar machines reappearing in the form of both the Ceres and the personal machines of several Sacarians Knights. Of course, the Alpha was here, the pilot could only be him. Concentrate. It's just another target. Another to be added to the pile. She just needed to keep telling herself that, keep reminding herself that they would win. After today, there would be no more Soor'kan. She would make sure of it. And if she needed help in any way, Aliza, Cheryl, and of course Tristan were here supporting her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Everything would be alright. Opening her eyes, something clearly wasn't right. What had been empty space before was now the Alpha almost directly above her. Had he detected her? No, his attention was elsewhere... Eyes widening in horrified realization, Alriana shouted over the comms. "Tristan run!" Far too soon for anyone to have acted upon her warning, she watched as the Alpha's claw smashed into the bridge of the Riese, letting out a deafening sound as alien metal tore through the ship. And then there was silence, save for the cackling of the cat. "No... No! Tristan! Tristan, answer me! You said...! You promised you-!" No response from the bridge at all, not even Jesicka. Collapsing, tears began to fall. She was crying over open comms, but she just didn't care. Soor'kan had stolen Tristan from her, and she had been powerless to stop it. It wasn't fair! None of this was. Joining her sorrow was her anger, rapidly building; she was angry at Soor'kan for taking Tristan, the man himself for dying, herself for exposing herself to this, everyone for not stopping the cat, the cat for boasting, herself for being weak, and everything else in between. Her building anger quickly turned to fury, and that fury, in turn, became a wild rage with one thing, one thought, at the center. Rising to her feet, she exploded. "SOOR'KAN! Y' YMG' EPHAIAH'N'GHA LIAHE LI AH AHOTH!" Nothing else mattered anymore. No matter what it cost her, he would die by her hand. "Ymg' nafl l' ah na'ah'n'ghayar. Nafl mgepnnn ah hnah. Epgoka fahf agl." Not fit to fight? Retreat? The Almydis wanted her to flee with her tail tucked between her legs, defeated. Stupid machine, what did it know? She brushed the warning and new system aside. Retreat was no longer an option... No, it had never been an option. What happened to her was never of consequence; she was going to fight until- A sudden prick in her back, where she was connected to the Almydis. What did- She staggered, clutching at her head and growling as something took effect, coursing through her system. "RrrrraaaaaaaAAAAAHHH!" She felt lighter and the world somehow seemed both clearer and hazy. It felt like she was losing herself, losing control. "GRAAAAAHHHHH!" A proper roar this time as the Almydis lurched forward, much more feral and much less like 'Aly'. "Hraa... Hah... Hah..." Only instinct was left, that being to destroy until she herself was destroyed. But perhaps she wasn't all gone, her attention still locked on the Alpha. For now.

Perhaps deploying so soon wasn't the best idea for the over-eager raptor shark. Without the enemies clearly in front of her, it was hard to avoid thinking about the potential composition of the approaching force. A certain alien cat came to mind and, above all else, she hoped he wouldn't be making a comeback. Finally, some of the enemies were close enough for her to make out. They were definitely the human's machines. While that gave her some relief, she was all too aware that the Sacarians could- "Yes?" Aliza had contacted her over the comms, interrupting her train of thought. "Our, vi-toria?" Oh, victory. "Yes. Today, we will win. And, I would like, that too. After today, when there is time. We could, do that." Still, despite Aliza's words of encouragement, the sinking feeling that had taken root in her chest wouldn't budge. As much as she tried to, she couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen.

"Understood. I will, be more careful, this time. Shark out." She muted her comms and took a few deep breaths as she walked the Almydis over to the launch pad. It still felt... awkward to treat Jesicka as a superior given her feelings on the metal woman, but that wasn't the cause of her brief deep breathing exercise. Rather, it was an attempt to ready herself for the coming clash. She had no way to know what was in store for her; it was a very real possibility that he would make an appearance. She needed to be ready for that possibility... Ready to reach out, if needed. With concluding light slaps to her face, as if snapping herself awake, she unmuted her comms. "Shark, deploying!" Dropping out of the Riese, Alriana engaged the Almydis' active camouflage. She wouldn't squander her advantage in a panic this time. Assault Rifle in hand, she prepared to unload on the approaching enemies once they entered her range.

"...Do we even need to eat in this game? Like, do you think we'll actually feel hungry and stuff?" The game had been toted as an immersive MMO experience, so she could imagine there would be skills devoted to useless but otherwise time-consuming, and arguably fun, skills like cooking or fishing. Whether that led into a hunger mechanic was another matter entirely. It wasn't like they would have time to grind them up anyway, a fast escape seemed to be at the top of their list. "Actually, what about sleep, anyone got any ideas if we still need to do that too?" "I agree." Ammy uncrossed her arms and stood up straighter. "No need to wait around, 'specially if we're gonna need to clear the main dungeon before we can even leave this tutorial island."

Another day, another chance to train; though, not in the usual sense for the active alien. Alriana was in the hanger testing out a new addition to the Almydis that Buck had installed at her request: a linked tail. Normally her tail was free to do as it pleased; however, she now had to consciously keep track of the extra appendage, lest it smash into the Almydis, or an allied machine, in the middle of combat. After years of ignoring her tail, it was proving to be more difficult to remain focused on it than she'd thought it'd be; perhaps this was why the Sacarians had refused the request in the first place. Still, she felt that she was making good progress and would have it mastered with time to spare before the upcoming clash. The sudden siren of the emergency alarm jolted her attention away from her tail, thankfully not causing an accident. A low growl of annoyance escaped her lips as she realized that she would be doing the rest of her testing during live combat. A trial by fire, but that wasn't anything new. She sighed and opened a channel to Jesicka. "Captain. I am ready to, deploy. Should I wait, or go now?" Seeking Shelter, Not Help

Alriana had given Calina, and then Abby, a small nod of approval, but aside from that hadn't really contributed much to the meeting. Most of the news wasn't very concerning to her, mainly the number of enemy units, or was information she could have given Jesicka herself if the captain had asked. She'd known about the knights and Trel'Vaar; she'd actually been sent to kill Jesicka by said Sacarian king. Now she knew why; Soor'kan had been out terrorizing an ANF squadron. Trel'Vaar's presence was definitely much worse than Soor'Kan's though, but she wouldn't put it as exactly as high as Vera had. Soor'Kan being the runt of the litter so to speak didn't bolster her confidence, but she was aiming to treat the other knights the same as Gaal'bathy: dangerous, but beatable. Aside from a little drama between Tarquin, Abigail, and Thorvald, it was a pretty slow meeting so she hadn't been expecting something like Elaine sucker-punching Tarquin. By the time she was ready to react, Jesicka and Kim had already made it over to Elaine to restrain her and tend to Tarquin respectively. But still her adrenaline had spiked at the sudden violence; her tensed muscles and her stare gave away that she was restraining herself. Before she could cause an incident like Elaine just had, she quickly removed herself from the room. She didn't want to ruin what she'd built up because she couldn't control herself. Resting against a nearby wall she started to try and calm herself down.

Leadership got sorted nice and civilly so there wasn't more to add to that conversation. Jack and José would be doing a joint leadership thing until further notice which, barring a severe lack of communication and coordination, should work out fine. It was quickly decided that, aside from forming a party, questing would be the next step on their long road to escape their escapism. Seemed like they already had a quest too, a little bit of goblin subjugation. "Yeah. Everyone was pretty spread out 'cause of that jackass just dropping monsters on us last time. If we're prepared we'll be sure to protect ya, Mysty. We got..." There was Alf, Jack, José, and herself, "four frontliners. Shouldn't be too hard." Amaterasu wasn't absolutely sure how combat worked in this game just yet, but she wasn't going to let that ruin her confidence. She was sure it would work out fine in the end as long as they prepared. "Though I'm a bit curious about that Hobgoblin spawn. Wonder what the exact rate is and how much stronger it's supposed to be."

The trip to the chapel had been more sobering than anything else up to this point. The fact that it wasn't just that one guy, Paul as Mysty called, really drove home the risk involved with going along with this game. Honestly, the bodies staying behind as, well, bodies was kinda freaky. This was a game, right? Why didn't they just pop into crystals or fade away into nothing? Thinking about it, she wasn't sure if that'd be better or worse for the friends, maybe family, of the deceased. Thankfully they didn't tarry for long, but their newest addition in the form of a half-orc by the name of Alf managed to blow Mysty's, or Charles', cover. She wasn't too concerned by the revelation, having been friends with more than a few of those kinds of people over her MMO experiences. Thankfully without an uproar, they moved onto the guild short one Alf and Mysty short while they finished burying their friend. The Guild hall was a cozy enough place for being a part of their virtual prison and it wasn't long before Clarissa was bringing more topics to the table, literally. Standing, rather than sitting, she gave her take on this party leader business. "Not really gonna help with making a decision, but I'm fine with either Jack or José. Haven't been in a leadership position before, don't really want to start now. 'Specially not with all the added risks here." Mysty and Alf had returned, finished with their task. "Nah, we just got here too. Just talkin' about who should be group leader. Clarissa, Felicity, and I have already dropped out of the running so, unless either of you want to hop in, it's just between Jack and José... Er, Ocelotlalli."

She seriously debated answering Clarissa's request to put Nyahrissa behind her with a pun of her own, but the mood... wasn't really right for that right now. She'd file it away for later if the chance presented itself. Anyway, she accepted the friend request, but not without an icon catching her attention on her own status page. 'Level up?' A lot of her abilities had good payoffs, but saw almost no benefit before they were maxed. The only thing that offered an immediate boost was her healing ability. Well, with the way the healer had nearly been floored as soon as combat started maybe it'd be a worthwhile investment. As she figured her skill points the kid, Mysty, had expressed wanting to go find her remaining friend. There was some mention of the need to stick together, but wasn't that kind of obvious? "We're a party now, yeah? Don't see why we wouldn't wanna stick together when possible. No telling what the game, or that twisted guy in charge, has in store for us."