[OPEN] I'm busy taking stock of all the things that I've forgot-

[thedevilsmile]

Characters: People who're staying behind in the Victoria II~
Content: NOT AS PLANNED.
Setting: All over the goddammed Victoria II... kinda, I guess.
Time: Later in the evening, while TACTICAL INFILTRATION ACTION is on.
Warnings: Horror! Shock! Denial all around for our unfortunate heroes and Kristoph brand of fail. And, uh. Epic trainwreck? I guess

Comments

[butterflychains]

Soubi had no idea that Kristoph was carrying such ammunition on himself and was mildy impressed that his stepcousin managed to obtain them at all. However, he was very grateful for them, as it opened up an opportunity for him to do something else. But he wasn't quite sure on what to do

[butterflychains]

It was taking an awfully long time for Kristoph to be getting that exit open, and Soubi turned to look at his stepcousin, about to demand what was wrong when he too, caught a glimpse of the spent mana crystal.

What the hell did they do now!? Unless they had a spare mana crystal somewhere or were able to open the door manually, they were doomed. Immediately, Soubi set to work reinforcing the current shackles he had on the yeti, using every bit of his ability to create the strongest restraints possible. He didn't know how long they would last, though. And they couldn't just keep the thing in here. They'd have to either get it out or kill it, both of those options looking pretty impossible at the moment.

[thedevilsmile]

The console was out. Great. Now just how in Reial were they going to open the damn hatch? Kristoph let out a growl of frustration as he glared at the now useless console. Unless they could inject energy somewhere into the bloody machine (opening the door manually was a total impossibility; it was far too big) they were royally screwed. He should have known better than to not replace the battery here - though in self-defense he never really imagined himself to be in this sort of scenario. Especially in this kind of situation. It was just too unbelievable for words.

The quartermaster slammed his fist down onto the console, at a loss for what to do. Just what were they going to do? The mana crystal was out, they couldn't open the door... Soubi certainly couldn't hold down the yeti like that forever and that was noway he could contact anyone else because he forgot to take his journal along with him. Dammit all to hell. This was all going not as planned now...

[butterflychains]

Soubi didn't possess a mana crystal. The jewelry he wore consisted of just ordinary (albeit precious) stones, and he had just never gotten one. Despite his skill with spell words, he didn't use them often, and enhancing his already considerable skill with them were low on his list of priorities.

Had he known that he would be stuck fighting a mythical beast in the engine room of an airship one day, he might have considered getting one sooner.

But what Soubi did have, however, was his journal. Thanks to the Radio Ops' obsession with the Network, he took it everywhere he went, a quirk so deeply ingrained into his brain that he actually felt strange if he didn't take it with him somewhere. After double checking to make sure that the beast was still restrained, he quickly sent out a call for help. The yeti was regaining strength and coordination fast, and they didn't have long before it would be loose again.

[thedevilsmile]

As soon as he managed to recompose himself, Kristoph hurried back over to where Soubi was, a scowl on his features. So far everything was all not going as planned at all - it was only one screw up after another. The quartermaster was quite sure that von Karma was going to have his hide after this, if they didn't get rid of the yetis soon enough. The man kept an eye on the beast as Soubi quickly connected with the network and set out a post for help with anyone that might be available.

"Any luck so far?" the elder man asked as he drew out his gun once more and started to load it with bullets before taking aim and firing at the yeti once more, right on the chest. The bullets did nothing against the monster's iron-thick hide, but at least it could keep the thing occupied from breaking free of the shackles that restrained it.

They had better get help soon... or otherwise this was going to be all over.

[butterflychains]

"Nothing," Soubi said. Either everyone was too busy fighting other invaders, or they were too busy being cowards. Either way, it wasn't helping their situation any bit. "I'm afraid that we're doomed."

After all that effort, they were going to be undone by a worn out mana crystal. He was all but ready to admit defeat here.

Meanwhile, the yeti's struggles began to grow stronger.

[thedevilsmile]

Kristoph let out another frustrated growl, an uncharacteristic trait of his. Even someone like the noble was prone to actions like these, especially in these sort of situations. The quartermaster gritted his teeth as he wasted another cartridge on the yeti and only quickly took out another. Anything to keep the beast occupied from breaking free from the shackles. But at this rate as well, it was obvious that nothing was going to happen as well. Both him and Soubi would've drained their resources to no avail. They had to get rid of the monster soon, or face death or worse. Neither option seemed aesthetically pleasing right now at the moment

[butterflychains]

Powering up a mana crystal was beyond Soubi's ability. There were limits to what spell words could do, and there was no case of them ever successfully powering up a mana crystal. Not even his mother, who was a genius at the art, could do such a thing. The yeti struggled more, and Soubi could hear the shackles straining. They would not hold much longer.

"Is there an alternate way to power the console?" Soubi asked. It was a long shot, as most machinery ran on steam or mana crystals these days.

[thedevilsmile]

"None as far as I know," Kristoph replied as he glanced sideways towards his cousin, most of his vision set on the struggling yeti. It was only a matter of time before the monster was able to break free of the chains. They had better find a way to their current predicament quickly soon enough or risk dire consequences. If not now, than later from the admiral. Failure was not an option.

The quartermaster quickly worked his brain, thinking of any possible routes out of it when he then looked back at the console again and noticed something... something behind the now dead crystal. He wasn't sure what it was exactly from where he was, but if he could just go look at it a little closer...

"Try and keep it down for a moment!" the elder man shouted as he emptied his third-last magazine of bullets and quickly reloaded with a new one before he stopped his attack, trusting his stepcousin to quickly take over for him.

[butterflychains]

Keep it down? How? Well, Soubi would think of something. The beast started moving again, and since it was far enough away from the machinery, Soubi struck it with a strong wind spell to force it down again, putting enough force to knock it over, but not to harm it. He was trying to avoid provoking the yeti into going into a rage. As worry grew in his mind, Soubi found it harder to clearly envision his spells, weakening them.

He hoped whatever it was Kristoph was doing worked.

[thedevilsmile]

The elder man hurried back to the console, kneeling down as he re-examined the battery compartment. The crystal was dead alright - its gleam was lost, and the shine that indicated it had mana inside was gone. However this time it wasn't the crystal that was of interest. Kristoph reached into the machine and grabbed the dead crystal, tugging on it in a bid to remove it from its compartment. He managed to do that on his fourth try, and finally smirked when he saw what was behind the crystal.

Mana crystals, as reliable as they were also had the capability to malfunction as well. Thus most machinery were equipped with a secondary back up power in case the primary one failed to work. And in the case here, it was a steam engine. Just as he had predicted. Perfect. Now things were going to work out for him once again

[butterflychains]

If there was anything Soubi excelled at, it was following orders. When given to him by someone he respected, of course. The young man immediately left the yeti alone - time was even more critical than it was before - and ran towards the steam engine. He had to look over it for a second to find the switch, but it was there.

For a tense moment, he listened in silence, afraid that the steam engine too would have something wrong with it. But fortunately for, the machine started to run, making a lot of noise as it started up.

[thedevilsmile]

There was a lurch, and then a few splutters before the rumble of the engine came as it powered up. The yeti, as if knowing what was to happen next, became more violent in its struggling, the first sounding cracks resounding within the room as the shackles could no longer hold their captive down. A muffled roar came from the beast as it fought to break free of its constraints. Kristoph only growled and gritted his teeth, reaching for his last cartridge of normal bullets as he glanced back at the powering up console. The indicator for the power (that he didn't notice earlier) had no lit up yet, and the machine was obviously still warming up.

The quartermaster turned back to the yeti as another crack came from the metal and he cursed, firing his last bullets onto the beast. "Tell me once the indicator lights up!" the elder of the two yelled as he struggled to keep the beast down, but it was obvious that the beast was going to break free soon enough.

[butterflychains]

All they could do was wait. And it felt like the machine was taking its time in starting up. Meanwhile, the yeti struggled again, and Soubi could hear the metal straining under the creature's brute strength. This was their last chance, and Soubi alternated between staring at the indicator and at the beast.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the indicator lit up and the engine was going.

"Now! It's lit!"

[thedevilsmile]

At the response, Kristoph immediately wasted off the last of his bullets, letting the empty shells clink onto the metal ground as the quartermaster loaded his pistol with the mana -infused bullets once more. Time was getting desperate - the shackles were breaking bit by bit, and it was only moments before they'd break entirely and all their efforts then would be for naught. Gathering his wits, the man loaded the twin bullets just as the shackles finally broke and the yeti swung one arm towards him

[butterflychains]

Soubi didn't need to be told twice. As soon as the order was given, Soubi set into action, rushing to the console and opening the hatch. The hatch creaked as it opened, having not been used for such a long time. Fortunately, despite its protests, it opened without problem.

As soon as the door was opened, Soubi cast a wind spell at the yeti, knocking out the hatch.

Finally. It was out.