[center][h2]Out of Action Report[/h2]
Location: Aboard the Avenger
Word Count: 3233 (+4 exp +2 rapport)[/center]

Edward blinked, and suddenly the pain, head and heart-ache was gone, and he was staring at a wall of alien metal. He blinked again, raised up a hand, clenched it hard, and then determined that things were [color=ea590c]”Real. Not the astral sea”[/color] before grunting, and admonishing himself [color=ea590c]”You don’t have a throne city, you can die”[/color] because he had, in the moment, forgotten that the memories from before the world of light were not the state of things now. 

No empire, no lifeline to pull his soul back from the astral sea, and thus, only one life to be spent wisely, not recklessly.

Still. The man had spent his life before, be it foolishly or strategically, had left the sting of life's end and so that was all it took to recover from his brush with mortality. He ceased introspection and turned to take in the place he had arrived, which, as it turned out, was the one he had left from, namely the avenger’s hanger, and he was not alone in it.

Already here was Queen Sectonia and, arriving a moment later came the source of their salvation: the Ace Cadet.

It was more than a little strange, the primitive wooden cart pulled and pushed by a squad of three-foot tall cats running on their two back legs. They unceremoniously dumped the monster hunter onto the ground in the hanger and then turned around, hustling out of sight. No one would be able to find them if they went looking, gone as soon as they disappeared around a corner.

Ace sat up quickly, pressing a hand to his forehead. As soon as he saw he was back on the Avenger he hopped to his feet. [color=salmon]"Dalamadammit!"[/color] he shouted in frustration.

Sectonia herself was awake, but relaxing and staring at the back of her hand. Sure the Gravemind was big, but being taken out by a roller coaster was something she not only didn't expect, nor did she expect it to hit as hard as it did. She was aware of the strange powers of the apparent Star Warrior, but was it as weird as this? At least the tentacles hitting as hard as they did made sense.

Ace sighed, looking between Edward and Sectonia.

[color=salmon]"Well I'm glad you're both alright. And that they brought us here and not just outside the tree. Honestly I wasn't sure where the palicos were gonna dump us after the first of us carted,"[/color] he said.

Considering it was his ability, hearing that wasn’t what Sectonia needed right now. She needed to heal and rest, clean herself, and relax more than anything. [color=92278f]”Now you tell us.”[/color] Sectonia laid her head on her pillow, waiting and using her own magic to slowly heal herself. [color=92278f]”I suppose no one has used this thing yet.”[/color] 

[color=ea590c]”Depositing us back into the time rain would rather defeat the effort put into saving us”[/color] Edward replied as he actively tried and failed to follow their travel before noting [color=ea590c]”Palicos where they? What incredibly useful spirts”[/color] and then realizing [color=ea590c]”which I assume no longer a factor in the battle now that you are here?”[/color]

Ace had, at least, the decency to look a little sheepish at Sectonia's comment. Of course there had been times when his Palico Rescue had saved people before, but they always ended up somewhere different depending on where they'd been saved from.

[color=salmon]"They're not spirits, just helpful felynes. I don't control them or anything,"[/color] he said to Edward, rubbing a hand on the back of his head. [color=salmon]"And they're purr-ty serious about work-life balance, so even if I hadn't... used our last cart, we still would have only gotten three."[/color]

[color=92278f]”Yes. Well, if O had used one of his biggest moves to take me out things should be fine. I remember F being not too bad outside of one big thing he did. The question is about the other two.”[/color] Sectonia said, still frustrated she got taken out by a carnival ride.

[color=salmon]"I dunno - by the time I carted, the Guardian had morphed into a totally new monster,"[/color] Ace reported. [color=salmon]"Maybe we can keep up with the fight from the bridge."[/color]

[color=ea590c]”I see”[/color] Edward replied, with a nod of thanks for the information, before suggesting [color=ea590c]”shall we?”[/color] with a gesture towards the door, with regards to the suggestion they go and keep up with the fight.

[color=ea590c]”A was.. Deeply unpleasant. Grotesque flesh warping magical abilities, some of which built up a physical and mental strain that did intense physical harm once a sufficient amount has been accrued”[/color] Edward said as they got on their way, filling the others in on the fight they had not been a part of.

[color=92278f]”Of course they did that. Rulers of such a hideous zone… or caretakers? Whatever the Consuls are, it's not surprising they power themselves up with such grotesque things.”[/color] Sectonia said. Although she could admit, that power DID beat her, so she had to strengthen herself. Now how could she do that?

[color=92278f]”I suppose observing the others could at least give us some insight into the Consuls if we have to fight others.”[/color] Sectonia said, snapping herself out of her own thoughts.

[color=ea590c]”Agreed”[/color] Edward replied, and soon enough they had crossed through the armory and ascended to the bridge, and there found a way to view the battle.

As the three observed the fight with Sandalphon, it was apparent that things were getting even more hectic. D was starting to get serious, A was going through forms, and the Gravemind was still kicking with Sectonia only having done a small bit of damage with her boost from the looks of it.

Edward did his best to take notes, but the flow of combat was far too hectic to really keep track of what was going on, leading the eyes this way and that and occasionally overwhelming them with explosive light shows. Still, lacking the power of an empire to allow for remote casting, all he could do was try and learn from his failures.

Though the other people in the room might not know him well enough to tell yet, the Ace Cadet was being uncharacteristically quiet as he watched the Seekers' battle continue to rage on with the rest of them. Things in the Qliphoth's final hollow seemed to have reached a fever pitch. Ace took in as much information as he could, though he mostly focused his attention on the area around the Gravemind and D. His eyes tracked the Guardian's new form and he considered where its weak points would be if it were a normal monster, privately contrasting his thoughts with what Sandalphon reported down to those still fighting in her role as handler. Periodically he clenched and unclenched his hands when things got really dicey, his rigging twitching as though reacting to his thoughts. There were a handful of times he could tell that he could have really helped out had he still been down there, which made the fact that he'd carted and was back up in the Avenger -safe while the others were in trouble- feel all the more bitter.

Sandalphon then had an idea, requesting Sectonia’s antlers to use an ability of hers to hopefully turn the tide of the fight. Indifferent to her antlers being used as batteries if it meant the destruction of such hideousness, she didn’t object giving Sandalphon some red antlers to leech off of to use her ability.

Edward would have offered the same, but the queen’s summoning was far faster than his own construction, and all he could do was clear some space for them to get to work.

As the fight progressed, and A reached his third and final form with O seemingly encasing himself in a building, D turning into some demon, and the Gravemind shifting to another form itself, Sectonia watched as A turned into a giant and… scooped up Midna into nothing? From what could be gathered from the reaction of those on the ground, this A killed Midna just like that? 

When the nightmare petered out and the battle resumed in earnest, Ace leaned further in toward the screens they were watching on as his eyes searched the whole arena. And yet, there really was no Midna to be found.

[color=salmon]"Did she just...?"[/color]

[color=92278f]”What a horrifying ability. I suppose when F said A was the strongest Consul, this is what he meant. Three phases of attacks, and this would apparently mean he couldn’t ever lose a duel.”[/color] Considering when he did this a second time and solidified Sectonia’s fear, she also realized that she would need more strength to handle things. Strength that might have to come from sources she didn’t understand.

Speaking of such a source, Sectonia pulled out the vial of glowing yellow liquid she had been holding onto. She couldn’t get anything from it outside of one word, Determination, as this was a product of both magic and science. But considering how easily one Consul took her out, and how another took out others but for good, she’d have to take some risks… Well, this was one of them and she injected herself with the syringe. 

[hider=For Sectonia]
[b]Limited Determination[/b]
Injecting herself with Determination gave Sectonia limited use of it. Once, should Sectonia die, she will respawn at the Avenger fully restored with all of her items and equipment. Will be the last death prevention ability used if multiple are in effect.
[/hider]

Much to her relief, it didn’t change anything about her. But it also didn’t seem to power her up any? Well, she did have a determination to not die, so maybe that was it? Although she had a feeling as time went on that she had a ‘save’ of some sort. Fragile, but it was there. What that meant she didn’t know, but that could be figured out later as the fight was starting to come to its climax.

[color=ea590c]”The children appear to have become… that”[/color] Edward informed her, catching Sectonia up on what she had been injecting herself, namely the appearance of the towering Monster. His tone was still level and practical but the presence of a snapped quill sat on the consul he was leaning indicated that he had not been unaffected by the loss of Midna.

The replacement had been rapidly scribbling about this new development, but he paused to glance at her and raise an enquiring eyebrow, as if to ask “what was that?” regarding her injecting herself.

[color=92278f]”Yes, they got some sort of tape player or something that lets them turn into people. Although a bit strange they fused, I don’t think they did that before.”[/color] Sectonia said.

Rather than press his subtle query, Edward discarded it and instead declared the children’s fusion [color=ea590c]”fascinating”[/color] as he jotted down more notes on the subject, before beginning to say that [color=ea590c]”perhaps with this they might take A down before-”[/color] only to be proven wrong as the Consul stole another life with, as far as they could see, zero effort.

[color=salmon]"Aw no, no...!"[/color] Ace said, bringing his hands up to rest anxiously on his head when A's ability went off a second time. He'd felt his stomach nearly drop out when D had ripped Nadia in half, and now they'd just seen someone else get taken. Ace had barely known Midna or Goldlewis, but only the heartless wouldn't feel the loss of a comrade. Honestly he didn't know if it would have been easier to handle had they not been watching the battle live, and were just told about casualties afterward. Both the suspense of not knowing whether your allies were alive or dead, and the gut wrenching horror of seeing it happen were awful in their own ways.

[color=92278f]”And there's a second one… Imagine if we could use this against the Guardians. Although from what I notice, no spirit remains whenever he does this. Are they fully dead, or just transported to some weird realm? ”[/color] Sectonia said, noticing whatever A grabbed as a giant didn’t stay as a spirit. A bit of false hope, or a weakness of this powerful ability? Sectonia didn’t know, but if he did teleport things to some eldritch realm, perhaps that was a way to take out his enemies without their allies having any way of saving them.

The Cadet glanced at Sectonia. Based on what A had said, he got the feeling that the two Seekers that had given themselves up were gone for real; and he seemed to interpret Sectonia's words as want for some comfort for that fact, or at least a silver lining.

[color=salmon]"If they did die,"[/color] Ace started, pausing only briefly to consider how to word his thoughts, [color=salmon]"it won't be an actual dead end for them, right? They'll loop back around. Different memories, but... same people. We might be able to run into them again, and jog their old memories."[/color]

[color=ea590c]”Yes…”[/color] Edward replied, not entirely sure, before becoming more confident in the idea upon recalling [color=ea590c]”Yes, Midna did mention dreams of a past encounter with D, so it might well be possible”[/color]

Ace turned back to the conflict at hand. The state of the battlefield had been changing majorly and rapidly, and something was going to have to give soon. Hopefully it wouldn't be anymore of the Seekers. [color=salmon]"Come on guys, you must be almost there..."[/color]

As the fight continued, A looked a bit rough after his second abduction and the Gravemind had changed forms yet again after taking more catastrophic damage. This time turning into some balloon and propelling itself towards that giant flesh moon that was going to soon crash into the remaining seekers. Though in a bit of good news after Juri had infiltrated and left O’s command tower following the Monster, there hadn’t been any more movement from the Consul. She confirmed as much herself when she called out she’d taken care of O.

[color=92278f]”You know, I notice we have quite the lack of flyers.”[/color] Sectonia said, pointing out how the only one that could get the Gravemind back to the ground was the medic with her being the only flyer left of the group. 

[color=ea590c]”Somewhat of an issue, yes. That or additional artillery would have been quite valuable in this situation”[/color] Edward agreed, as D casually bombarded the seekers from up on high, something the group who had been fighting him had little to no ability to counteract it seemed. Had they switched out with some of the others, the team might have been able to take the fight to him, but he could hardly blame the focus on the largest threat A, and their primary objective, the gravemind.

He left it unsaid that he and the queen, fliers and artillery both, had both failed to be there when they were needed.

Still, the Seekers that remained in the Qliphoth did their utmost. Even as they struggled they were determined to fight to the bitter end. With a bird's eye view those saved by the palicos could see just how close some of the close calls were getting. Things were tense on the bridge as they, and the other people assembled to oversee the fight, continued to watch - there was little else they could do from there, after all.

There was a breath stopping moment when the Guardian's core was almost within reach of the moon, and the Monster fell apart while A still loomed large... until, finally, the next turning point in the Seekers' favor. They saw the eldritch monstrosity that was A engulfed in an anti-light show, billowing shadow taking over his form. When it faded, Moebius A lay in melting pieces, and those that opposed him were still alive.

[color=salmon]"He's down!"[/color] Ace said, even before they knew for sure. He let out the breath he'd been holding.

Edward meanwhile simply sighed with relief.

[color=92278f]”About time. And he was the ‘strongest’ of the consuls, if what F said in his childlike fear was true.”[/color] Sectonia said, glad that F had gone down to quite the mix of attacks.

That left D and the Gravemind, the latter of which having already taken a hell of a beating which wasn't about to let up. 

The Gravemind itself after having turned into a balloon, didn’t seem to have too much of an attack to speak of, and after Blazermate bit into it with her shield arm and punctured it with her ubersaw arm, the balloon deflated and fell back to the ground where Ganondorf in his enraged state, the only ‘villain’ of the group left in the fight, finished it off with a hard hitting attack.

[color=92278f]”tck, I suppose the consuls didn’t have enough attacks to take out all the priority targets did they.”[/color] Sectonia said.

With the other Consuls and the guardian defeated, instead of staying to fight D instead decided to retreat, not one to risk himself for nothing. [color=92278f]”Well, if we see him again, next time we know what to hit him with. And I have holy magic as well to really devastate him.”[/color] Sectonia commented.

[color=ea590c]”That he can seamlessly retreat like that is concerning. We’ll need to find a way to lock him down if we are ever to be rid of him”[/color] Edward noted, both verbally and in his journal.

[color=92278f]”Which comes back to the lack of aerial superiority when I’m not there. You saw how he just kept whoever was fighting him at a standstill once he took to the sky.”[/color] Sectonia said, giving a bit of a humble brag.

With that, the battle was over, and Sandalphon departed to get the remaining seekers in the tree out of there, which as it turned out would be a far more straightforward affair compared to getting up there in the first place, to the extent that they could expect them to start arriving any moment now.

[color=ea590c]”Well then”[/color] Edward said, snapping his journal shut, note taking completed, before suggesting [color=ea590c]”I suppose we should go meet them?”[/color] 

[color=salmon]"Of course,"[/color] the Cadet said with a nod.

[color=92278f]”Might as well. No real rewards to divide through outside of the Guardian. And I for one feel whoever takes that thing will be adopting quite a curse instead of a boon.”[/color] Sectonia said, although her opinion on what she thought of the Gravemind was pretty common knowledge at this point. Although she did know of the power a Guardian spirit gave having adopted one of her own and that you could possibly unlock even more powers.

Her remark came off as callous to the Ace Cadet. He liked being able to take prizes and trophies from hunts as much as anyone else did, maybe even more, but this hadn't been a run of the mill battle.

[color=salmon]"You're Kirin me - its reward enough that most of us made it back in one piece,"[/color] he said to her with a grimace. Then he turned, motioning for Sectonia and Edward to follow as he headed for the hanger they knew the other Seekers would arrive in. [color=salmon]"C'mon, let's go see them!"[/color]

A faint smile touched Edward’s lips at the man’s enthusiasm, rather easily discerning at least one part of its source, before nodding and striding after the man. He had less reason to be so enthused, one of the few people he knew in any real regard was among the fallen, but it would still be a relief to see the others face to face.

[color=92278f]”We’ll also need to get everyone clean. I’m sure being covered in such foul liquids and leaving an area that could be politely summarized as a ‘gore tree’ would be in need of a shower.”[/color] Sectonia said as she followed.