Powder Miner

"Oh, I see. That's more..." Navin paused for a moment to try to find the word. "...it's a bit more... well, it's a bit more brutal than I'd thought." He dropped his voice a bit so that the prisoner would not hear this. "You said you have no intention of harming him, yes? If it's just a threat, it is... not the way I would do things, but it is something I could live with."

Isobel and LOTUS "I'm not exactly demanding a polite response here, considering what I've said. But we're bringing a lot of power to her side here, and either she or her archers have seen this so she has to know exactly how much we can help" here his display flicked back to be looking in the commander's general direction, "Those vehicles we are riding around in were spontaneous, by the way, to my knowledge not even a core part of our arsenal but in fact just an example of what we can do situationally, if that tells you anything about our group's versatility," and back to the party, "I think that my expressing irritation about continuing to get pulled around after having fought two armies without much information about who they even are is not going to be a dealbreaker." This got a fairly emphatic response out of Isobel, who was still pale and visibly rather worried. "That doesn't mean it's a good idea, LOTUS! Stop fff, ugh, just, stop!" she hissed at him. Navin Mhasalkar Navin raised his eyebrow at the captured man. "Well, as long as you're not making good on the threats of actually beating the captured man I don't see a problem with that." He turned to Liliya and performed his welcoming gesture of bowing with his hands palms-together in front of it. "I think we spoke previously, if only very briefly. My name is Navin Mhasalkar, by the way. Anyway, I do think it is likely that this man is an officer; the relative rarity and skill of these men compared to the skeletons would seem to indicate such."

Isobel began to try to take a fairly diplomatic approach as she jogged into the courtyard... "Well, we don't really have direct ranks, b--" ...but was shortly cut off by the tablet clipped to her apron, drawing a grimace from the botanist, LOTUS' displeased ":/" on his screen. "If you don't want formalities, then I won't bother with 'em. Look, the "have no patience" routine is a bit less impressive when we just spend a not-insignificant amount of effort, fighting off a lot of your enemies, and getting shot at by them, to help with your fuckin' siege. I understand being wary and being quick, that's just being smart, but I'm tired of getting jerked around. That said, here's the deal. There aren't really ranks among us, since we're not really an army, more a band of people working for a common cause. But some of us are a bit more relevant than others for this. I should come along, since I kind of exist for the purpose of tactics and strategy, and that means Isobel will come since she's holding me but we should just count as one," Isobel waved extremely awkwardly. "Then, yes, the angel lady over there should come along because she's got a link to someone who knows a hell of a lot more about this all than we do, and whoever the fuck wants to step up as our third commander I guess can." This entire rant had Isobel herself in fact growing visibly more and more worried by the sentence, and by the end of it she was pale and fumbling at LOTUS (to no real purpose) and panickedly muttering to him. "Whah-- what do you think you're doing LOTUS these are a lot of people with weapons that you're going to have provoked at me!" Navin had stood silently and waited patiently upon initially arriving in the courtyard, but shouting and threats of beating with clubs pretty naturally had the superhero frowning, bowing slightly as way of apology for his movement, and then walking over to check on the source of the sound -- Dackly and her prisoner, with that concerned frown still on his face. "I, ah... I hope you don't mind, but I'd like to know what's going on here."

Navin Mhasalkar Navin didn't hesitate in using the opportunity he had been given to start clearing that path -- though he wasn't just going to leave the other two there, he did intend to create a way out, and that he did by approaching an officer next to the paralyzed one and readying his hands in a pushing motion... before using directional explosions on each hand to send him flying with speed and force to push the officer several feet away with a Rocket Shove. "Come on, this way!" he shouted to Mitsurugi and Atton. Isobel and LOTUS Isobel sat there for a moment, before looking at the castle and nodding and then speaking up. "If I can get covered and close enough, I can try to climb up the castle with my hookshot! I guess it would be kind of vulnerable but I'm quick and I don't think it would take me real long to move up if I did it well! Uh, for now, though..." She turns and then has the bright idea to use the hookshot as a weapon this time, bracing herself onto the truck and then firing it at one of the nearby officers.

Isobel Low and LOTUS Having watched the figure in the armored suit fly up and get shot at, LOTUS made a note of the assault the (probable) man endured, and addressed him as loudly as he could, "looking" upwards. "I don't mean outright flying over the walls, I just want someone to be able to convey Isobel's PDA over the walls; I'll have her draw a certain image on it to give advice as to where to fire! On another note, while our human opponents are better armored, that armor, like all armor, has points of motion which are weaknesses if aimed well at! Looking at them, I can see a couple of them..." Having finished speaking at Edmond, LOTUS then pinpointed the weaknesses of the human soldiers for the others on the truck. Listening to the small AI speak, Isobel frowned, but nodded, acknowledging that though drawing something that precisely would be hard, if she was pressed she could probably manage it. Then she peered at the castle, raised her chaingun arm, squinted at the castle walls, and did her best to judge the distance on a moving truck. "Hmmm... I wonder... how close would I have to be...?" She also then properly processed Sachi's question, the shy girl's query having been at the back of her head while she focused on her enemies and own tasks. "Oh! This may be a little selfish, but I'd appreciate it if you kept the ones attacking up close off me. I'm not much of a fighter." Navin Mhasalkar "Perfect! Thank you for your aid!" Smiling genuinely, Navin turned ever-so-briefly to thank Mitsurugi and Atton, before leaping forwards towards the siege engine he'd been advancing towards, the energy of his power tensely swirling around in the veins of his hand, in the fist that was raised in the air and hurtling down towards the siege engine he was striking at. "HYAH!" BOOM! All of that charged power erupted as the payoff of his new technique came, his fist hurtling in a heavy, timed punch onto the partially-constructed siege engine, a blow accompanied by a rather large blast, the effects of Navin's Patient Strike!

To Edmund's probable relief, Chloe stops to consider that question, sliding herself baaaack into her seat and giving Edmund a lot more space, putting a hand on her chin and thinking a bit. "What I'm trying to get out of Aurora... weelll, the council said that it was to help introduce the supernatural to people and all, and I do get that part of it, but a lot of it for me is that... well, I wanted to see somewhere different, you know? I kind of only have ever left my county a couple of times before this, and I never left Hawaii before. I just... want something new."

Isobel Low and LOTUS Isobel crouched against the side of Dackly and Gozer's truck, using her dexterity to keep a fairly stable position on what would otherwise be quite the precarious spot. Still, this didn't seem to make Isobel too confident, as she clenched her teeth and waved her hatchet threateningly at any skeletons coming her way. LOTUS, on the other hand, was quite talkative. "I've analyzed the terrain and developed a path that should keep us from getting bogged down too much by these skeletons -- if you want to follow it, then turn left about 15 degrees right here," states LOTUS, beginning his Pathing Advice, "But that isn't the only thing I can help with! If you can send a message to the defenders somehow --turn right!-- I can point out a pretty ideal firing solution for them!" Navin Mhasalkar Navin came slightly later, as part of the group of those approaching on foot, and he stopped for a moment to peer around at the area, before clenching his fists and beginning to advance towards one of the siege engines, moving purposefully. "I'm heading towards one of those siege engines, and if anyone is coming with me and gives me the chance to prepare a technique I've been working on recently, I should be able to do some very significant damage!" Navin began to purposefully move the flow of the energy of his superpower within him, moving it by flows and ebbs into his left first -- taking on a calm expression, the destiny-driven fighter preparing a Patient Strike.

Chloe giggled at his response, and then caught herself and slapped a hand over her mouth, before leaning in just a little further (a not insignificant part of her torso is at this point over the table) and talking perhaps a bit quietly to Edmund. "Ehehe, ah, no, I swear I'm not judging! I just didn't quite expect that. Me, well, eheh... I really like some of those old Disney movies. Like... Cinderella, you know, or the Little Mermaid. Or Aladdin." Chloe had avoided mentioning Lilo and Stitch because she figured it would be figured either too obvious or too stereotypical or something like that. ...she did in fact like Lilo and Stitch though.

LOTUS spoke, the tablet device moving his emoticon display to look up at the woman who had destroyed the skeletons, looks up. "We do have things to discuss indeed. I'm not particularly trusting of this entire situation now, but I'll just say that we're... not from around here. You talk about the human fortress, what's going on here? Where are we, and what is this greater war that appears to be going on? What side are you on?" Navin clears his throat softly. "Ah, I have a question myself. My name is Navin Gopinath Mhasalkar, but the question I had for you is whether or not there are civilians involved in this war that we can protect. I would... see it as my duty to do so, I think."

"Ooh, arquebuses," LOTUS remarks rather snarkily, "We've gone up a couple of centuries in technology. Next we'll have," dramatic pause. "Flintlocks." Isobel, meanwhile, doesn't need telling a second time, and while LOTUS snarks she is running to follow along -- but she pauses and turns around.. "Guess this is a lucky break, but does anyone need help getting out? I'll help you if you do!" LOTUS then analyzes this new arrival, scrutinizing little eyebrows popping up on his display. "Well, for obvious reasons I'll mark her as an ally for now, but I will be a little wary until i get some information." Forcing himself through the memories of Mumbai had kicked Navin out of the trance that the mist had put him into, but he had been slowed down enough to receive multiple slashes across his body -- thankfully, that man Morgan had healed most of them, and the one slash across his back that did remain was not enough to truly hinder the man with the explosive punches as he began to move, staying around the middle of the pack as he did so so that noone was left behind. "We're in the middle of a greater war, then? I hope you do not feel offense if I ask about it later, when we're at this fortress!" he calls out to the woman with the arquebuses.

Chloe did give Rocky just a bit of a strange look; she didn't much like Baywatch (at least from the trailers and reviews she'd seen) because it made people on beaches, if Florida's, look really dumb, especially the lifeguards, who she'd always admired. Chloe did not say any of this, however, seeing as she very much disliked getting in arguments. Now, what caught her ear was Edmund complaining about not being able to watch the movies he liked as a kid. Suddenly interested, Chloe leaned in over the table a bit, curious, her hands on its edge. "Ohhhh? Tell me more about what kind of movies you liked to watch, I promise I won't judge."

Isobel looked around for a moment at the reinforcements, somewhat unsure, but LOTUS was in overdrive, his case actually whirring slightly as it cooled down while he thought everything out in a quick timespan, his electronic dot face's position darting this way and that on his screen. "We do NOT have much time before these new enemies catch up to us, so I need these five people to act now, and in this way: Isobel, take me over to the guy with brown hair, brown skin, who is tall as fuck and has a big sword, and I'm going to augment his efficiency. Then I want him to use that healing ability he just used, but on the explosion-fist guy, the flashy chick shooting giant beams, and Venus, the guy who threw a bomb! Blonde, cloak, ring, I want you to heal Sachi, who is the girl in the leotard with the flower brooch! Stone elemental, you need to toughen up Mitsurugi, who is the chick that just blew everything up. The guy who I advised earlier on efficiency, the shouting one, needs to do that too! Now, for the first part of the plan, tall guy, if you want to use that heal again, I suggest..." Isobel hurried towards Morgan and LOTUS explained for him a way to use his heal again immediately. LOTUS uses Efficiency Analysis on Morgan! ((Here's the plan in more clear, OOC terms, as hashed out on the Discord: With these next four actions, in any order, to cover our bases defensively, Morgan should use Soul Mend on Navin, Bridgett, and Venus. Melina should use Sacrifice Heal on Sachi. Gozer and Atton should both use their respective RES buffs on Mitsurugi.))

Chloe looks upwards and suddenly looks just a little embarrassed when the topic steers towards movies. She twiddles her thumbs -- oh, she knew she shouldn't have brought that up, now she was probably gonna embarrass herself! Wellll, nothing to do about it, she supposed. "Uhhh, eheh, not usually action movies, actually. Violence for the sake of violence isn't usually my thing, you know?" There's a pause. "And yeah, Baywatch does look pretty dumb, honestly."

Navin Mhasalkar Navin was swept over by the fog in the fighting, and then as it overtook him was suddenly assaulted by thoughts of paranoia, of betrayal, of attack, reprisal, and getting them before they could get him-- he clasped his hands to his head and he groaned. Navin did not know what crack in his psyche these thoughts were forcing themselves through, but they were forcing themselves through his head. Navin shuddered and shook his head, though it did not clear the thoughts. He was a protector, not a betrayer -- he couldn't let himself fall to this. And as Navin struggled within his head to dislodge the distrust, his new paranoia caused him to see things on the edges of his vision: silhouettes, of humanoid beings larger and wider than any man, studded by armor plates like the ones on Navin's own costume, with the ridges of angular, goggled masks. The enemies he'd faced, during the Kemenel wars. Navin forced himself to remember... Navin sometimes made himself remember this, whenever he began to lose heart, made himself remember this gory memory: because his fate and his duty to be a protector drove him, and he could never allow himself to betray that fate... no matter what the cost might be. Of course, the flashback combined with the thoughts of paranoia ensured that he did just stand there for now. Navin is stunned! Isobel Low & LOTUS Paranoia and fear assaulted Isobel, too, while LOTUS' screen looked around and the tablet demanded answers as to what the effect of the fog was. Traitors or cultists or crazy men with guns -- many times someone turned out to be far more evil than they made themselves look to be, it had been an occurrence every couple of weeks or months on the NSS Exodus, and Isobel was struck by the thought that it might be about to happen to her again. But she forced in a jerking breath: she was here to help, and if helping people was what she could do, then it was what she would do -- opening herself up to potential pain was just a risk she had to take. The botanist looked around the battlefield, her unbound hair swishing, and saw people who had been far more affected than she -- including Sachi, the shy and armored girl she had fought next to on the mission in Rio, and who had helped her during that mission. It was time to return that favor. Calmly, Isobel walked over to to the short Hero, and placed a hand on each of her arms, lightly shaking her out of whatever reverie she was in... but so gently and caringly that even struck by the paranoia it was a step towards snapping Sachi out of it, "Sachi... please, now more than at any other point in this battle, we need to be helping each other. Helping each other is what makes people work together, and even with this fog making me wary I can't bring myself not to help you. Don't you want to help people, too...?" Isobel unstuns Sachi with Help Intent!

She grinned cheekily at his wit. "Welll, hehehe, that's a pretty wide range of activities that you're describing right there! But yeah, I do have one or two other hobbies. In addition to my evening trips to the beach, I'm actually a pretty good surfer and swimmer if I do say so myself! If I'm stuck indoors and bored, I actually do tend to browse the internet, but that's kinda rare most of the time. I also like the occasional movie."

"Haha, now you're doing some assuming yourself, my British friend! I'm actually used to the rain, Kauai is quite the rainy place, and it actually has THE wettest place on the planet! Kauai County is definitely a lot hotter than the UK though, it's warm allll the time." Chloe looks as pleased as punch to have been able to shoehorn bragging about her country into the conversation, if her bright grin is any indication, but she does calm down and actually reply on the topic of the conversation. "I'll tell you what my ideal evening is, it's lying on the beach on Kauai, being in tune with it, watching the sunset turn the sky purple and listening to the soft sound of the waves~" Chloe has gone a little dreamy just thinking about it, closing her eyes and smiling quietly for a moment. "Absolutely beautiful, it is."

Isobel Low & LOTUS Isobel had ratcheted down her level of movement, the business with the goblins ensuring that she didn't really have to do much dodging for now. Instead, she stayed near the center of the group, away from the mist, while LOTUS spoke, the expression on his screen actually set to a plain smile. "I can't believe I'm praising a strategy this crazy, but whoever is doing what they're doing with the goblin and pot, that's brilliant! It also looks like the skeletal warriors over there are presently getting locked down, so I would presently recommend hitting the archers for now, but since you all are already doing that... well, I'm satisfied! Keep doing what you're doing, this is working out well! ...I do, however, recommend staying out of the mist if at all possible, since without ANY external information about where we are, it could potentially be anything, even something deadly. If you want to hit those archers, I recommend targeting..." Efficiency Analysis on the Archer Battalion! Navin Mhasalkar "Well, this would appear to be working! My deepest thanks to whoever aided me!" With those words of thanks, Navin dashed off towards the large group of arriving archers, moving his arms quickly; he may be getting predictable, but the fact was that the energy he felt flowing in his veins was greater than usual; thanks to the boost he had received earlier, he had felt a rather immense potential for a few seconds now, and he had seen it translate to greater power within his strikes; his lighter but faster ability became very potent in this state, and none of his enemies seemed to be as heavily armored as the Kemenel enemies he had developed his other techniques for during the War. Really, it would have been a waste not to use this technique again. Flurry of Explosions on the Archer Battalion!

LOTUS uses Efficiency Analysis on the Beasts Navin uses another Flurry of Explosions on the Beasts as well

Edmund's witty response gets a peal of giggling out of the Kauai County spirit, but her expression also settles into an undeniably, absolutely cheeky smile that signals that she was probably in fact messing with Edmund a little. "Hehehe... Well, you know what? It can't hurt, right?" Given that the two of them have, of course, just met, Chloe doesn't let Edmund feed her, but at least she doesn't look taken aback or offended. What she does do is deftly take the bit of fish with two fingers, flip it up slightly in the air, and then catch it with her mouth -- not the best table manners, perhaps, but kind of impressive. She sucks away the little bit of sauce she got on her fingers, then chews on the bit of fried fish, looking thoughtfully for a moment before swallowing and grinning, looking at Edmund and throwing Exorcia a glance as to signify that she was answering the exorcists question herself. "Well, you know what, I did try it, and it wasn't half bad! And anyway, I'm a spirit of part of Hawaii, there is absolutely no way I could not like fish, so yeah, I can appreciate that!"

Isobel Low and LOTUS Isobel clenched her teeth as she received a gash up her arm and an arrow nicked her cheek, and drew in breath with a hiss. "Ah, God, that one isn't fun. Well, others have it way worse..." Nonetheless she pursed her lips, kind of raised her fists, and stayed bouncing and light on her feet. "Fuck the archers, they're not a pressing threat right now -- we're going to have to deal with them sooner or later, but right now they're the least dangerous! Deal with the animal-like ones, having to deal with them will NOT be sustainable, just gun them down as fast as is possible. You, Shouty! Bit of advice, don't let up, with those things around it's going to be necessary to have whatever advantage you're providing right now, because this is the craziest part of the battle! Don't be afraid to unleash firepower!" Efficiency Analysis on Atton! Navin Mhasalkar An arrow thudded against Navin's armor plate, and didn't much bother him -- and the reason it didn't is because he was watching the battle closely, noting the state of it with displeasure, and how his teammates here were getting gouged and slashed, especially the younger hero he'd talked to Samantha. He had to help lest these creatures take her, or any of the others that they were mauling, down. "How about you not get too focused on them, ah? Take it up with me, and see how you deal with this!" Normally, Navin would have immediately started with his war-honed anti-armor technique, but another one of his teammates had cast some sort of spell on him, and he could feel the flow of his energy through him advanced, strengthened -- he could afford to bring down the same cluster of explosions. "Hyah!" Again his fists moved, but this time with notably louder POPs. Flurry Of Explosions on Beast Group A!

Chloe smiled when Edmund walked on over and addressed her, but when he asked his question about her typical choice of drink she shrugged widely, tousling her sand-colored hair a little in the process. "Honestly, dude, I could go for either. As long as something isn't bland I can usually go for it. I usually like those kind of... sweet fruit teas a lot, though. I do like sweet stuff! No shortage of it in Hawaii, after all." Accordingly, Chloe grabs herself a cup of orange juice and returns to sit next to Edmund, having grabbed a particularly flavorful sandwich for her own consumption, which she dug into without delay, and though she wasn't a messy eater, she definitely didn't bother to eat daintily. "Sho--" Here Chloe decided to swallow before speaking, though she showed little of that same tact with what she said immediately after. "I've heard people say that British food is all bland, is that true?"

Isobel Low and LOTUS Isobel's bandanna came loose as she fell through the air, the tied square of fabric falling off and floating through the air after her -- while her long brown hair whipped and buffeted as she fell through the air. LOTUS reacted immediately the moment that they were suddenly outside of the castle despite his own surprise, shouting advice at his holder even as the apron he was currently in twisted around dangerously. "Better your legs than your organs, land on your feet, land on your feet, land on your feet, land on your fee-" he blared over and over, his half-electronic-sounding voice cutting through the sound of the wind around them as he transmitted directly into Isobel's radio headset. "Eyaaaaah!" Isobel reacted poorly, considering all the sudden falling and shouting, but she twisted her body anyway to try to orient herself to land on her feet, but she-- ...actually landed on her feet. The dexterous woman crouched deeply as the force of her fall pushed her slightly downwards, then straightened herself up, looking around, and adjusting the bangle on her wrist. "LOTUS!" The skeletons were almost already on them, LOTUS had to be brief. "Don't get separated, because they might swarm you, but don't get in each other's way, in case they have area attacks or you hinder each other! I agree with the... angel, hit the archers, not the fodder! For this one, fire here!" Weakness Pinpoint Dragon Tooth Archer B... or just one of them if that's how it works, I don't have a lot of options. Navin Mhasalkar The armored, Indian superhero felt himself falling as well... but not only was he a heavier man than the Scottish space botanist, he was much more armored, and rather less agile. So when he fell, he fell, colliding with the dirt with an "Oomph!" and a light spray of dirt as he made impact, flat on his stomach. But as uncomfortable as his fall may have been, it hadn't genuinely injured him, let alone killed him, so he could allow himself no time to simply lay there as if he were dead. He began pulling himself up off of the ground, in a rather practiced movement, pushing his arms up and getting his knee under him -- this was far, far from the first time he'd fallen, and was most certainly one of his softer landings. He immediately looked up once he got his feet, and saw the masses of skeletons advancing towards them. An army. He'd fought an army alongside others before. He'd beaten an army alongside others before! He wasn't going to be shaken from his duty by something like this! So Navin raised his fists, engaging in a bit of heroic banter as he rushed towards his new enemies, his fatigue forgotten. "Ah, more skeletons for me to fight today, it would seem. Lucky me, right? Well, I will not be cowed by simple bones and numbers! Come, my undead enemies, and let us see what you are made of!" His fists were already moving as he approached them, moving in a quick peppering of light punches... paired with the POP! POP! POP! of light explosions. Flurry of Explosions on Dragon Tooth Archer B!

It took Isobel a moment to decipher the twists and turns of Venus' speech to figure out just what he was saying, but thanks to being an AI LOTUS understood the meaning of each word equally no matter how unusual it was, and he responded right away. "Well, I at least am quite fine, considering how successful we were last mission. Being as objective-oriented as I am, that gives me quite a bit of satisfaction. Craftsmen, well... I suppose there is Mar." Isobel raised her arm to show the little device on it, the stone bangle around her wrist that shot out magical pointed chains. "Mar, he's the... Orc I guess he's called, green and quite large, made me this thing. I guess I kinda associate him with more complicated things but the way he works there's no way he wouldn't be able to make a bar. Oh, and I'm doing nicely too!"

"What, a room with a nice view of the horrible swirling void or whatever is surrounding the castle? Oh man, do we even have windows? If we do I hope they're reinforced." "I think LOTUS might be right about the view thing, but yeah, that does sound nice! My talent lies in botany, but I'll have you know that I've actually bartended a few times at the station I worked at back in my world. Wine's my favorite, but I can brag that I know my way around my drinks! If we actually go and set up a bar and get some drinks to go with it, I'll happily run it." Isobel practically swells up a little with pride on this topic. She holds her nose when the apider goes by, though. "Eugh... what is that...?" LOTUS shifts his screen-face to look up at Isobel, then makes it a smirk. "Haha, no nose. If I was a complete moron, I'd take the opportunity to start calling you inferior organics at this point."

"Plus I'm pretty sure this place is just... super, super old, anyway, and I'm not sure there'd be anything that would still be drinkable, which is a shame. I like a good glass of wine or two myself! I'm a plant nerd who worked next door to a bar, after all, hehehe. I wonder if we'll end up somewhere we can snatch something to drink next time." "Incredible prioritization there." "Oh, shush."