Scion - Petro Campaign - Session 70
O. M. G. We are so insanely badass!! WE DESTROYED THE GREAT CYCLOPS OF ATEN! Teamwork is a wonderful thing. ^_^ Now that all the celebration is over and it's really sinking in, I feel so empowered! Even Adam let loose a bit. lol. I've never seen him get as worked up as he was when he saw all the pieces fall into place and realized that maybe, just maybe, we could destroy the Cyclops once and for all, thus ridding Aten of one of his most potent servants. ^___^
Boy, Aten's gonna have it in for us now... >_<
Anyway, let me back up. Having defeated the Beast of a Thousand Tongues (yuck >_<), the way was clear to the front lines, where we joined up with the Bureaucracy army led by Nu Wa, Fu Xi, and Hou Yi. I decided I'd better transform back into my true self (I was still undead Erika after the previous battle) so that I could make the best impression possible, and it was a good thing too. Charles reminded us all that we'd need to apologize to Nu Wa for killing Da Li, her corrupted scion whom we defeated in Chongqing at the outset of this latest mission. Fu Xi and Nu Wa, both long, sinewy dragon-bodied gods, addressed us with honor and respect and thanked us for coming to their aid. We worked with them to plan our assault on the forces besieging the 10th Court.
Before we got into that, though, Charles and I respectfully approached Nu Wa, and with Charles in the lead, we conveyed our sincere apology for killing Da Li. Nu Wa was very gracious. I think she understood that we had done what was necessary. I still wish we could have redeemed Da Li...but at the time she was trying to kill me, and she was pretty resistant to my charms, so negotiation wasn't really much of an option. Anyway, Nu Wa was so impressed by the grace of our apology that she restored a bit of our divine strength. ^_^ It's always nice to build up good relationships with the gods. ^_^
T-Bone also got a gift from his father prior to the battle...though none of us aside from T-Bone saw Kalfu show up. All we knew was that as we approached the Celestial generals, T-Bone was playing with a roiling bag of chaos that apparently magically contained an army of grotesque, constantly shifting creatures: baka. T-Bone made good use of them later...
Nu Wa and Fu Xi offered us our choice of grand celestial dragons as mounts. The dragons would help us fight the hordes of titanspawn that still lay between us and the 9th and 10th Courts, and from what they told us, we'd need it. Not only were there countless angels, shititdama, Daitokuji robots, and servants of Hun Dun, but a number of shinigami were present in the ranks of the enemy. >_< Yikes. Last time we faced one of those Ray had rely on one of Togo's magic beans to make him powerful enough to face it.
While we were making preparations, Charles and I discussed the idea of creating a huge sound system using his mastery of Taiyi and my knowledge of...well, sound systems. We figured it would give me an edge in countering the overpowering songs of the angelic choirs we were bound to face. When Adam learned what we were up to, he got involved too. Those two working together are amazing. They created the best sound system I've EVER used, and even though the sound board wasn't MY sound board (I have a really good relationship with sound board's kami, who helps me out during shows), it was a quality piece of technology.
In fact, I recruited both Charles and Adam to help out with my next tour! Charles has agreed to help out as a sound engineer when he can, and Adam promised to at least get the initial set-up worked out and stay for a show. As long as we've known each other, it'll be the first tour date of mine that he's made. >_< So I'm glad he's finally going to see me at my best! ^_^
Anyway, the others selected sleek, elegant dragons as their mounts, each appropriate to its rider. I chose a heavenly dragon tortoise for my mount. It was probably a descendent of the tortoise that, in some myths, is said to bear the world upon its back, and we set the sound system up on a platform attached to its regal shell.
And then the army charged the enemy ranks, soaring like a divine wind over the void to crash into the enemy hordes. I was toward the center of the force, my music, enhanced by the sound system, dampening the songs of the angels. I gotta tell ya, I always get really inspired when I'm performing, but this was a whole new experience. Projecting the symphony of my electronic beats and guitar samples with my voice singing out clearly across the battlefield was invigorating. I chose to stick with my more metal/industrial-inspired music (it seemed appropriate ^_^) and the sight of my allies gaining strength from the music even while the angels' voices were overwhelmed was...incredible. The battle, and my role in it, will definitely become a part of the myths and legends that surround me! ^_^
The fury of our assault brought us to the gates of the 10th Court in only an hour or two of fighting, during which time we destroyed a number of archangels and other servants of Aten. And as we approached the 10th Court, the void below us became almost ravenous, as though it would storm forth from the depths to consume us all. Fortunately, it didn't. Unfortunately, just as we were breaking through the lines, several shinigami supported by a number of shitidama and a few of Aten's titanspawn rose to oppose us. Our dragons held most of the shinigami at bay, but one forced its way through >_<, followed by roughly twenty shitidama, a small angelic choir, several rasaps, and a couple of taotie masks. Knowing that the death spirit could kill most of us with a single swipe of its blade, we immediately made it our priority target; the other titanspawn could wait.
While maintaining the fervor of my music to counter the angels, I tossed my hair back and fixed the shinigami with a piercing gaze in which he could see reflected in me the abject beauty of death. The gaze enraptured the death spirit, compelling it to cease it assault long enough for the others to attack it. Pierre tore into its cold, robed flesh with a vicious punch, while Adam, Elisa, and Charles bull's-eyed it with withering shots from their guns, and together they destroyed the creature before it could do any harm. I then grabbed a shred of its robe to use as an exorcism charm, slamming it to the shell of my tortoise with a loud imprecation to drive away the shitidama, and forced several of them to flee the battle.
It was about then that I heard the deep and seductive voice of Erebus slithering through my mind. "Throw yourself into the Void and join me," it invited, "and I will see to it that the creatures of shadow are withdrawn from this battle..." For a moment, it seemed like a good deal. But then Yi, who was riding with me and supplying our allies with shadow bullets to aid them against Aten's titanspawn, sensed something was wrong and put an encouraging hand on my arm. I think that's what gave me the strength to give my response: "Patience, Erebus. This is one prize worth waiting for." Yi didn't hear what I said, but she squeezed my arm to encourage me anyway, and left me with a lasting impression that helped me perform even better throughout the rest of the battle.
And besides, I was pretty pleased with bit of tease I snuck into my response. The more Erebus wants me when the day comes to use him, the easier he'll be to manipulate.
Just then, the taotie masks tried to warp our minds and almost succeeded twice in tearing my mind from my body and switching it with one of my companions, but we were able to narrowly resist the effect. Then Adam and Charles shot them, and they died. ^_^ Meanwhile, Natalia, who was still fighting alongside us, attacked some of the angels, and Elisa, with all the glee she usually manifests when wielding explosives, blew away the rasaps with a well-placed rocket.
We soon mopped up the rest of the force that had broken through and reached the gates of the 10th Court, a massive Chinese citadel resting upon one of the floating chunks of earth above the Void. With siege broken, Granny Ming came out to greet us. Can you believe she actually asked me if my mother knew how I dressed? >_< I mean, sure, I'd changed into an extremely hot outfit for the show...or rather, the battle, but seriously? That's not the question I expected from a spirit who'd just been under siege.
While Charles, Adam, and I discussed the next stage of the battle with Granny Ming and the other leaders, T-Bone, Pierre, and Elisa flew out to gather as many of the phoenix pinions left from the battle as they could. The pinions, dropped from the corpses of Aten's phoenixes, are useful in fashioning very dangerous arrows, so they might be useful in the future. None of us use bows, but we know people who do. If nothing else, they might make a good gift to Hou Yi, and if I recall correctly, Miyako's not-friend Alexandra, scion of Artemis, is a talented archer.
In short order our final assault on the titans' forces commenced. It was a furious battle, and even with the sound system helping me, my music was only barely enough to overcome the voices of the angels of Aten. We fought out way through rasap and angels, with Elisa wielding her rocket launcher, T-Bone leaping among the enemies to confuse and weaken them, and Charles, Adam, and Natalia shooting down anything else that happened to survive. More of Daitokuji's robots and shitidama flew up from the void to support the servants of Aten, but we made short work of them too. In fact, taking out Daitokuji's robots is one of T-Bone's specialties, and Natalia isn't bad at it either. ^_^. I drove away the shitidama and kept shutting down the angels with my music, of course. ^_^
And eventually we broke through the enemy ranks and found ourself face-toface with the Great Cyclops of Aten, which is by far the biggest thing we've ever fought, except that titan under Glastonbury, and we didn't really fight that. >_< The beast must have been 200 feet tall and was made of blazing hot rock and lava, with a huge, glassy orb sitting atop its neck. That orb, which, according to Adam, is one of Aten's eyes, is what gives the Cyclops its name.
Our objective going into the fight was simply to put enough pressure on the cyclops that Aten would have to withdraw it. But as we charged in to attack, Adam analyzed the situation and realized that we had the potential to destroy the creature. Our group's ability to work together, which has only improved since Charles joined us, won the day.
The Cyclops wasn't alone. It was protected by Daitokuji's robots, celestial hounds, and phoenixes, and supported by a choir of angels. But t-Bone released his bag of baka, and the bizarre, Loony Toons army went berserk on the enemy, helping to distract them long enough for us to fight the Cyclops. I focused on shutting down the angels' song while Elisa, Adam, and Charles spread out to surround the Cyclops, each coordinating their fire to strike in perfect unison. Their shots did little individually against the Cyclops' nigh impenetrable hide (though Elisa's definitely hurt it), but they created the perfect opening for T-Bone and Pierre. T-Bone further weakened the Cyclops' defenses by braving the heat of its burning flesh and leaping onto it from one bit of rocky flesh to another, distracting it from the real assault: Pierre. The Cyclops barely even saw what hit it when Pierre threw himself at the creature, channeling every bit of legend he had left into two mountain shattering punches that made mockery of its stony flesh. He smashed two huge, magma-gushing wounds in the Cyclops' chest, enough to leave it reeling and to convince Aten to withdraw it.
Thanks to Aten, the Cyclops could teleport away almost immediately. The only delay in its flight was the split second it took to recover from Pierre's blows, and in that split second, I saw my opportunity. Much as I had when I stopped Da Li from fleeing, I acted before the Cyclops could turn its attention to fleeing, flew my tortoise right up in front its massive eye, and smiled with a dark radiance that must have been completely different from anything the Cyclops was used to in its master's luminous realm. The beast was enraptured by the sight, which prevented it from fleeing the battle for a few more seconds.
And in those few seconds, Adam cast a spell to restore Pierre's emptied reserves of strength, just enough for him to strike one last, divinely empowered blow upon the Cyclops. The force of the blow blasted a hole through to the thing's heart and the Great Cyclops of Aten swayed for a moment and then fell, crashing to the earth of the floating chuck of rock upon which the 9th Court stood.
We killed the Great Cyclops of Aten. ^_^
Adam stood up on his dragon and in the loudest voice I've ever heard him use, screamed to Aten, "That's right bitch! And there's more where that came from!!" I've never seen him so passionate about anything!! O_O It was awesome. ^_^
Mopping up the rest of the titanspawn was a cakewalk compared to the Cyclops, and many of them withdrew, but all of Aten's angels self-immolated when the Cyclops fell. The spectacle of millions of angelic explosions rippling out through the vast battlefield was morbidly beautiful, but the toll it took on the Celestial army was grim. Still, we won the day. The invasion of Di Yu was halted and turned back, and Aten suffered a horrendous loss. He won't be in any shape to do much in the war for some time to come.
We all withdrew into the 9th Court to recover and celebrate, and the victory party lasted for quite awhile. Elisa burned the Cyclops' heart as a sacrifice to her god (not quite sure how she managed that, but she did!). Charles got a lot of well-deserved recognition for his role in guiding us throughout the whole extended operation, and I've never seen Adam cut loose like he did. I think this was very cathartic for him! ^_^ And Yi...Yi is so relieved and happy. It warms my heart to see the burden of the last few days lifted from her slender shoulders.
Speaking of Yi, she's trying to get me to shut this down and go celebrate in private with her, so I'd better do what she wants. ^_^ More later.
Boy, Aten's gonna have it in for us now... >_<
Anyway, let me back up. Having defeated the Beast of a Thousand Tongues (yuck >_<), the way was clear to the front lines, where we joined up with the Bureaucracy army led by Nu Wa, Fu Xi, and Hou Yi. I decided I'd better transform back into my true self (I was still undead Erika after the previous battle) so that I could make the best impression possible, and it was a good thing too. Charles reminded us all that we'd need to apologize to Nu Wa for killing Da Li, her corrupted scion whom we defeated in Chongqing at the outset of this latest mission. Fu Xi and Nu Wa, both long, sinewy dragon-bodied gods, addressed us with honor and respect and thanked us for coming to their aid. We worked with them to plan our assault on the forces besieging the 10th Court.
Before we got into that, though, Charles and I respectfully approached Nu Wa, and with Charles in the lead, we conveyed our sincere apology for killing Da Li. Nu Wa was very gracious. I think she understood that we had done what was necessary. I still wish we could have redeemed Da Li...but at the time she was trying to kill me, and she was pretty resistant to my charms, so negotiation wasn't really much of an option. Anyway, Nu Wa was so impressed by the grace of our apology that she restored a bit of our divine strength. ^_^ It's always nice to build up good relationships with the gods. ^_^
T-Bone also got a gift from his father prior to the battle...though none of us aside from T-Bone saw Kalfu show up. All we knew was that as we approached the Celestial generals, T-Bone was playing with a roiling bag of chaos that apparently magically contained an army of grotesque, constantly shifting creatures: baka. T-Bone made good use of them later...
Nu Wa and Fu Xi offered us our choice of grand celestial dragons as mounts. The dragons would help us fight the hordes of titanspawn that still lay between us and the 9th and 10th Courts, and from what they told us, we'd need it. Not only were there countless angels, shititdama, Daitokuji robots, and servants of Hun Dun, but a number of shinigami were present in the ranks of the enemy. >_< Yikes. Last time we faced one of those Ray had rely on one of Togo's magic beans to make him powerful enough to face it.
While we were making preparations, Charles and I discussed the idea of creating a huge sound system using his mastery of Taiyi and my knowledge of...well, sound systems. We figured it would give me an edge in countering the overpowering songs of the angelic choirs we were bound to face. When Adam learned what we were up to, he got involved too. Those two working together are amazing. They created the best sound system I've EVER used, and even though the sound board wasn't MY sound board (I have a really good relationship with sound board's kami, who helps me out during shows), it was a quality piece of technology.
In fact, I recruited both Charles and Adam to help out with my next tour! Charles has agreed to help out as a sound engineer when he can, and Adam promised to at least get the initial set-up worked out and stay for a show. As long as we've known each other, it'll be the first tour date of mine that he's made. >_< So I'm glad he's finally going to see me at my best! ^_^
Anyway, the others selected sleek, elegant dragons as their mounts, each appropriate to its rider. I chose a heavenly dragon tortoise for my mount. It was probably a descendent of the tortoise that, in some myths, is said to bear the world upon its back, and we set the sound system up on a platform attached to its regal shell.
And then the army charged the enemy ranks, soaring like a divine wind over the void to crash into the enemy hordes. I was toward the center of the force, my music, enhanced by the sound system, dampening the songs of the angels. I gotta tell ya, I always get really inspired when I'm performing, but this was a whole new experience. Projecting the symphony of my electronic beats and guitar samples with my voice singing out clearly across the battlefield was invigorating. I chose to stick with my more metal/industrial-inspired music (it seemed appropriate ^_^) and the sight of my allies gaining strength from the music even while the angels' voices were overwhelmed was...incredible. The battle, and my role in it, will definitely become a part of the myths and legends that surround me! ^_^
The fury of our assault brought us to the gates of the 10th Court in only an hour or two of fighting, during which time we destroyed a number of archangels and other servants of Aten. And as we approached the 10th Court, the void below us became almost ravenous, as though it would storm forth from the depths to consume us all. Fortunately, it didn't. Unfortunately, just as we were breaking through the lines, several shinigami supported by a number of shitidama and a few of Aten's titanspawn rose to oppose us. Our dragons held most of the shinigami at bay, but one forced its way through >_<, followed by roughly twenty shitidama, a small angelic choir, several rasaps, and a couple of taotie masks. Knowing that the death spirit could kill most of us with a single swipe of its blade, we immediately made it our priority target; the other titanspawn could wait.
While maintaining the fervor of my music to counter the angels, I tossed my hair back and fixed the shinigami with a piercing gaze in which he could see reflected in me the abject beauty of death. The gaze enraptured the death spirit, compelling it to cease it assault long enough for the others to attack it. Pierre tore into its cold, robed flesh with a vicious punch, while Adam, Elisa, and Charles bull's-eyed it with withering shots from their guns, and together they destroyed the creature before it could do any harm. I then grabbed a shred of its robe to use as an exorcism charm, slamming it to the shell of my tortoise with a loud imprecation to drive away the shitidama, and forced several of them to flee the battle.
It was about then that I heard the deep and seductive voice of Erebus slithering through my mind. "Throw yourself into the Void and join me," it invited, "and I will see to it that the creatures of shadow are withdrawn from this battle..." For a moment, it seemed like a good deal. But then Yi, who was riding with me and supplying our allies with shadow bullets to aid them against Aten's titanspawn, sensed something was wrong and put an encouraging hand on my arm. I think that's what gave me the strength to give my response: "Patience, Erebus. This is one prize worth waiting for." Yi didn't hear what I said, but she squeezed my arm to encourage me anyway, and left me with a lasting impression that helped me perform even better throughout the rest of the battle.
And besides, I was pretty pleased with bit of tease I snuck into my response. The more Erebus wants me when the day comes to use him, the easier he'll be to manipulate.
Just then, the taotie masks tried to warp our minds and almost succeeded twice in tearing my mind from my body and switching it with one of my companions, but we were able to narrowly resist the effect. Then Adam and Charles shot them, and they died. ^_^ Meanwhile, Natalia, who was still fighting alongside us, attacked some of the angels, and Elisa, with all the glee she usually manifests when wielding explosives, blew away the rasaps with a well-placed rocket.
We soon mopped up the rest of the force that had broken through and reached the gates of the 10th Court, a massive Chinese citadel resting upon one of the floating chunks of earth above the Void. With siege broken, Granny Ming came out to greet us. Can you believe she actually asked me if my mother knew how I dressed? >_< I mean, sure, I'd changed into an extremely hot outfit for the show...or rather, the battle, but seriously? That's not the question I expected from a spirit who'd just been under siege.
While Charles, Adam, and I discussed the next stage of the battle with Granny Ming and the other leaders, T-Bone, Pierre, and Elisa flew out to gather as many of the phoenix pinions left from the battle as they could. The pinions, dropped from the corpses of Aten's phoenixes, are useful in fashioning very dangerous arrows, so they might be useful in the future. None of us use bows, but we know people who do. If nothing else, they might make a good gift to Hou Yi, and if I recall correctly, Miyako's not-friend Alexandra, scion of Artemis, is a talented archer.
In short order our final assault on the titans' forces commenced. It was a furious battle, and even with the sound system helping me, my music was only barely enough to overcome the voices of the angels of Aten. We fought out way through rasap and angels, with Elisa wielding her rocket launcher, T-Bone leaping among the enemies to confuse and weaken them, and Charles, Adam, and Natalia shooting down anything else that happened to survive. More of Daitokuji's robots and shitidama flew up from the void to support the servants of Aten, but we made short work of them too. In fact, taking out Daitokuji's robots is one of T-Bone's specialties, and Natalia isn't bad at it either. ^_^. I drove away the shitidama and kept shutting down the angels with my music, of course. ^_^
And eventually we broke through the enemy ranks and found ourself face-toface with the Great Cyclops of Aten, which is by far the biggest thing we've ever fought, except that titan under Glastonbury, and we didn't really fight that. >_< The beast must have been 200 feet tall and was made of blazing hot rock and lava, with a huge, glassy orb sitting atop its neck. That orb, which, according to Adam, is one of Aten's eyes, is what gives the Cyclops its name.
Our objective going into the fight was simply to put enough pressure on the cyclops that Aten would have to withdraw it. But as we charged in to attack, Adam analyzed the situation and realized that we had the potential to destroy the creature. Our group's ability to work together, which has only improved since Charles joined us, won the day.
The Cyclops wasn't alone. It was protected by Daitokuji's robots, celestial hounds, and phoenixes, and supported by a choir of angels. But t-Bone released his bag of baka, and the bizarre, Loony Toons army went berserk on the enemy, helping to distract them long enough for us to fight the Cyclops. I focused on shutting down the angels' song while Elisa, Adam, and Charles spread out to surround the Cyclops, each coordinating their fire to strike in perfect unison. Their shots did little individually against the Cyclops' nigh impenetrable hide (though Elisa's definitely hurt it), but they created the perfect opening for T-Bone and Pierre. T-Bone further weakened the Cyclops' defenses by braving the heat of its burning flesh and leaping onto it from one bit of rocky flesh to another, distracting it from the real assault: Pierre. The Cyclops barely even saw what hit it when Pierre threw himself at the creature, channeling every bit of legend he had left into two mountain shattering punches that made mockery of its stony flesh. He smashed two huge, magma-gushing wounds in the Cyclops' chest, enough to leave it reeling and to convince Aten to withdraw it.
Thanks to Aten, the Cyclops could teleport away almost immediately. The only delay in its flight was the split second it took to recover from Pierre's blows, and in that split second, I saw my opportunity. Much as I had when I stopped Da Li from fleeing, I acted before the Cyclops could turn its attention to fleeing, flew my tortoise right up in front its massive eye, and smiled with a dark radiance that must have been completely different from anything the Cyclops was used to in its master's luminous realm. The beast was enraptured by the sight, which prevented it from fleeing the battle for a few more seconds.
And in those few seconds, Adam cast a spell to restore Pierre's emptied reserves of strength, just enough for him to strike one last, divinely empowered blow upon the Cyclops. The force of the blow blasted a hole through to the thing's heart and the Great Cyclops of Aten swayed for a moment and then fell, crashing to the earth of the floating chuck of rock upon which the 9th Court stood.
We killed the Great Cyclops of Aten. ^_^
Adam stood up on his dragon and in the loudest voice I've ever heard him use, screamed to Aten, "That's right bitch! And there's more where that came from!!" I've never seen him so passionate about anything!! O_O It was awesome. ^_^
Mopping up the rest of the titanspawn was a cakewalk compared to the Cyclops, and many of them withdrew, but all of Aten's angels self-immolated when the Cyclops fell. The spectacle of millions of angelic explosions rippling out through the vast battlefield was morbidly beautiful, but the toll it took on the Celestial army was grim. Still, we won the day. The invasion of Di Yu was halted and turned back, and Aten suffered a horrendous loss. He won't be in any shape to do much in the war for some time to come.
We all withdrew into the 9th Court to recover and celebrate, and the victory party lasted for quite awhile. Elisa burned the Cyclops' heart as a sacrifice to her god (not quite sure how she managed that, but she did!). Charles got a lot of well-deserved recognition for his role in guiding us throughout the whole extended operation, and I've never seen Adam cut loose like he did. I think this was very cathartic for him! ^_^ And Yi...Yi is so relieved and happy. It warms my heart to see the burden of the last few days lifted from her slender shoulders.
Speaking of Yi, she's trying to get me to shut this down and go celebrate in private with her, so I'd better do what she wants. ^_^ More later.