Yggdrasil Crew: Episode 9001 "The Return of Mango Reinhardt" [Read Rules First!]

[Killiak]

{Theme: Moonlight Sonata}

"If there's one thing I know...that man is out for vengeance. Everything else? Shit..."

Edward glanced over his shoulder as though he had heard something, then shrugged dismissively and held out his left hand, palm skyward and began casually flexing his fingers from opened to closed. Brilliant sparks of raw ether crackled along the surface of his gauntlet-clad finger tips, each individual wisp of the energy potent enough to turn a man's insides into chicken broth. The Knight did this absent mindedly, paying no mind to his surroundings for appearance's sake. To onlookers, he could have just as well been contemplating the decimation of their bodies. Anything was possible with this one, and it was anyone's guess the way he just stood there, giving off no emotion or intent. The only thing that could be felt, by those capable, was the undeniable will of this "man", the overwhelming command presence he beared.

Inwardly, Edward's thoughts ran rampant. Scenes of a spectacular battle replayed behind his chilling, deathless gaze. The image of a red-haired business man charging a monstrously powerful ether-shot from an otherwordly firearm, sights trained on Edward himself. The knight moved, swiftly, until the nearby city was at his back, forcing the red-haired man to avert his shot skyward. That day, the moon ceased to exist, and Edward walked away virtually unscathed save for the savage grin smeared across his face.

The tall, armor-clad Knight lowered his helm a few inches as he appeared to be deep in thought. In truth he was, no reason to hide that fact; through the vast stretch of time and space, he had so fortunately managed to be dropped on this backwoods good-for-nothing planet in the company of a vague acquaintance at best. He was certain the red-head was Cascade, there was no denying that vulpine face, fierce azure gaze...the flowing red hair done up in a loose pony-tail.

Yeah, it was definitely him...and yet not him at the same time. Dredging up ancient memories, Edward fought to remember just what became of the remnants of the Shin-Ra Corporation. He had known of Killiak's old apprentice, the young Einst, pursuing the band calling themselves the Yggdrasil Space Pirates. Something about an alter-ego of Cascade running around looting whatever bounty came their way. None of which Edward had been present for, but for his place among the ancient Seer's Tower allowing him to observe his newfound, newly-lost acquaintences...

They were foggy, incomplete clips of little tid-bits of information he managed to retain through his travels. With the one calling himself Crim proclaiming himself the leader of the very same band of Space Pirates, Edward pieced the puzzle together after only a short time. Maybe just the general outline, but it was enough.

But...who was the girl? Uncomfortable, Edward shifted his stance slightly, keeping his peripheal over Crim as he eyed the girl up and down. Not a second later, he scoffed and strode off on foot a good ten paces, stopping with his back to them both. Resting the end of his enormous axe on the ground he gave an unwarranted thrust, creating a spiderweb of fissures to pulse out through the charred soil, jamming the weapon down several inches with apparently no effort at all. Then, reaching one enormous hand up to his forehead he proceeded to remove his grand helm.

"There is no danger here, this girl is lost and I can see the Captain there is distraught with the fall of his ship...I shouldn't make things too...tense." Edward thought inwardly, slowly letting his flowing, jet black hair spill out over the enormous shoulders of his armor. He shook his head from one side to the other and took in a deep breath as if having risen from the sea, and returned his attention to his company.

"Girl...whoever you are, I need no praise from you. But...thanks, nonetheless. Once I'm finished with the good Captain up there, perhaps you can tell us what this damn planet has to offer."

Quickly, Edward raised his gaze to meet that of Crim's, who had been watching him with apparent unconcern. Smirking, Edward shouted up to him while gesturing with his free hand.

"So, it appears I've found the alter-self of an old acquaintance, shipwrecked on some desolate planet with no whore houses, no bars, no inns to lay rest. You there, Crim, you mind coming down from there so we can talk at leisure?"

Crim glanced down at the mysteriously young looking Knight and considered the request, but before he could really come to a decision, the loud mouth kept going.

"You know, I'd ask how a ship like that crashed on this backwater dump, but my guess is that you have no real idea. Perhaps it was mutiny, maybe an ambush, maybe both? In any case, you have no more enemies here, certainly not myself. Furthermore, where's that damn greenhorn Einst at? He should have been able to take care of things while you were gone."

The Knight waited his answer calmly, neither wanting to irritate the unfortunate Captain or turn him away. The simple fact of the matter was, he needed a way off this rock. If he could perhaps convince the man that he was a "friend", then all he'd have to do is stick around, maybe offer up his services for protection, and everything would work itself out. While he didn't let it show, he was in all actuality quite disturbed that time had appeared to change so drastically since the last he saw anyone of the realm. He could feel that same, slumbering enormous power laying beneath the surface from Crim, but the experiences were far different with this man. Secretly, he cursed his luck that his only hope was to seek the aid of a recently devastated force...

Edward scanned the horizon. From the re-landscaped treeline, to the ship, the distant mountains afar. There was no other choice in the matter...

[Helter Skelter]

Soma listened attentively as Nyla introduced herself, Nen and the little creature, "It's a pleasure to meet you all.", he replied smiling. When she began to answer his questions most of her answers only raised more questions in the man's mind. After she suggested moving back to the surface he nodded in agreement and followed the obvious leader of the group while sticking by Nen's side examining both women as they walked up the limestone-esque stairs and once out of the tower moved along an ledge that lead to what seemed to be the exit.

"ARMS pistol...Nyla has one and isn't from this planet, so...does that mean I'm not from here as well?, Soma questioned himself in the recesses of his mind, before remembering that he was covered in mud and shards of clay. He began to pick bits and pieces out his hair and wiping the messy variety off in moist, oozy clumps.

You ok with the little one on your shoulder? Or would you like to plop it back on my bag?”, Nyla asked Nen as they began their slow walk up to the surface. She then turned to Soma, “You have ARMS pistols so you can’t be from this planet: are you a survivor from the ship crash?”

"Ship crash? That falling star was a ship!?", he asked in disbelief which subsided shortly after, "No, I wasn't a part of that... I actually woke up here two years ago with no memory except for my name and age. I was on my way to investigate the crash, but I got sidetracked by the light pillar like I said earlier."

[Lusca]

BGM: “Car24”

Halinn stood there, confused, but having the self-control to not let her confusion show. Her expression was polite, betraying no hint of unease, only unwavering self-composure. Her house would be proud of her if they could see her now. Which brought her to another question, one that she had asked herself a good few dozen times in the past hours.

Just where the hell was she?

Her wrist computer boasted about it's brilliant built-in GPS. It didn't work, because there were no satellites anywhere above her head, floating silently in orbit. The thing was essentially useless. Even the calendar was unusable, because this shithole of a planet had a different time scale than Versura. She made a habit out of researching planets, and, from her memory, none of them were remotely like this one, which led to her conclusion that she was one hell of a distance away from her homeworld. Far away from home, and her company consisted of a well-mannered demon, what appeared to be a quasi-medieval knight and the lunatic captain of a crashed starship.

The redhead captain just wouldn't stop talking. Even when he realised he was blabbering out his thoughts and... reacted, words didn't stop coming. It seemed as if he couldn't differentiate between the voice inside his head and the voice coming out of his mouth. He identified himself as Captain Crim El Furaga, a member and most likely the leader of the Yggdrasil Space Pirates, and Halinn, risking it all, reached out with her mind and lightly brushed against his psyche. It was nigh-impenetrable, but not because of any mental blockades he had conjured up: his mind was a warped, twisted maelstrom of thoughts and memories, spinning in turmoil. But this was just the surface view, and Halinn had no intention of trying to delve deeper into the ravaging depths.

So instead she directed her attention to the other guy, the armoured warrior. His mind was equally closed, though this time, thankfully, he seemed to be in control of his own head. All she could discern was an unbreakable will and sense of purpose, along with his name. Edward Indelacio... Halinn liked it, it had a certain ring to it.

“Hallin, you are going to fall over.” Azeris warned, bringing Halinn's attention back to her body. She realised that during her investigations, she had forgotten to control any parts of her body and was now about to topple.

She righted herself expertly as Edward turned to her and basically asked her what this planet was like, the answer of which was, in all honesty, “pretty shit”. He went on to speak to Crim, and Halinn theorised that they were acquaintances, or at least they had been at some time. The Captain certainly didn't give any impression of recognition, in any case.

“At least they're what would pass for friendly, “ Halinn conferred with Azeris, speaking telepathically just like always. Halinn often wondered if others were put off by her sudden silences during conversations, particularly when the individual sensed that the conversation seemed to be continuing with someone else that seemed to be non-existent.

“They are our only way off of this planet, so their lack of hostility is a good plus point. Do you think we can trust them?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Very well. Shall I introduce myself? After you, of course.”

“Be my guest.”

Noting that her two companions had finished at least some of their discussion, Halinn decided now was a good time to introduce herself, taking into consideration that the two of them were the only viable help she knew of.

“I assume the two of you are finished? Excellent. I am Halinn Celera, a noble of House Celera. I doubt either of you have heard of my homeworld, Versura, and, to cut a long story short, I arrived here by means of a form of teleportation. I have no idea where I am, or who either of you are, but I hope we can get past that. In addition...”

“I am Azeris,” her companion spirit piped up. “And I am a demon. I also have no physical body so this is of course my telepathic means of communication. I do hope you are well.”

“Now then,” Halinn concluded, and with a click of her fingers three glasses appeared before the three of them, held in place by her telekinesis. “Would any of you care for refreshments? I assure you, your options are many, no matter how few storage spaces I may have. I have these powers, you see...”

[Nekonova]

(OCC: Really sorry for my absence! Been very busy with my uni exams: I’ve passed 3 out of the 4 exams, waiting to hear the results of the last one – yay! =^.^=)

{BGM: "Desiderium"}
“Huh,” said Nyla to Soma, “so you have no idea how you got here? Wow…”

As Soma pulled flakes of mud and clay from his hair, the little creature leaped from Nen’s shoulder to land on Soma’s and began to lick the nearest bit of his face and neck clean of the mud. Nyla couldn’t help but giggle: especially at the reaction from Soma. It cried a little “Neew” before jumping again onto the backpack on Nyla’s shoulder: where it began to snuggle itself in again comfortably.

“We’ve done scans of the planet from out station of the surface and found nothing resembling a space ship or an escape pod of any sorts,” continued Nyla, “although the scan isn’t 100% accurate of course, and it can’t see what’s underground. Do you remember anything from where you’re from?”

The ledge curved gently and upwards as they walked towards the exit. Nyla couldn’t help but glance ever so often at Nen, wondering what feelings and emotions she was going through after waking up hundreds, thousands maybe, of years and finding everything had changed: her civilisation no more. The four of them entered the darken tunnel before stepping out into brilliant sunshine as they exited the cavern. In front of them was the lush green forest of the outside world.

The cave took them nor far out from the downed ship, and Nyla could make out the metal structure not too far away billowing out of the treetops. “Come on,” said Nyla, “there may be survivors”. The group approached the ship from the rear port side, not that far up from where the engines were. There were holes in the structure of the ship, with the area leading up to the ship scorched and burned: most likely from the ship crash though Nyla.

Nyla poked her head into the hole of the ship: it was fairly dark and Nyla reached back into her bag to pull out a flashlight attachment. Some of the electronics and wiring were still flicked away but the majority of it looked dead. “Hello! Is anyone alive in there?” shouted Nyla, waiting for a response. She turned back to face Soma and Nen: “we need to see if anyone is still alive: it looks horrific and very bad but someone might have gotten lucky. Anyway, we’ll need to see if we can salavage a comms system or a distress beacon if we’re to get off this planet. We can either enter the ship here or keep walking around to see if the front or the other side looks any better. Thoughts?”

[Reno]

For a brief moment, Crim eyed the floating mystery drink with his own brand of screwball scrutiny. Then he just grabbed it and gulped it down with the sort of reckless abandon that typically got normal people killed. But not Crim though. Nope. This guy lived pretty far away from normal, maybe a little too far. And it was too late to worry about it now anyway.

He chucked the empty glass over his shoulder and looked at the big bold knight.

“So you know Einst? Good. Tell me where he is right now.”

Now, Crim knew full well that Edward didn’t know where Einst was. Einst didn’t even know where Einst was. But Edward didn’t know that, and he didn’t need to know that as far as Crim was concerned.

Slyly, he cast his increasingly shifty gaze towards the new girl with the fancy conjuring powers. Conjurers...aye, they were a clever bunch. He wondered what sorts of limitations there might be on her abilities. Seemed pretty legit, anyway. That drink wasn’t too bad. Kind of flat, but it definitely wasn’t poison. Then again, even if it had been, it’s not like it would have killed him anyway. Being the bearer of a True Rune did come with a few perks, after all. Of course, that very same perk was what prevented him from getting hammered. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d just been straight-up falling-down gutter-faced drunk.

“Hmm, all right. You passed the test too, I guess.” His suspicion seemed to subside. “You guys probably want to get off this stupid rock too, huh. Yeah, just like those idiots sneaking around my ship over there.” He pointed his thumb back in the direction of the Yggdrasil. Sure enough, a small group of interlopers could just barely be made out off in the distance.

“Normally, I’d be all like ‘hey you son-of-a-bitches get the fuck off my lawn’ but today I am feeling generous or whatever, so I am just going to scare the fuck out of them.”

Suddenly, a huge blast erupted from the already scorched plain that separated them from the crash site. A shockwave of tremendous force sent car-sized rocks and other scattered debris flying all over the place, and the noise was almost deafening.

“The hell is this shit?” Crim asked to nobody in particular. “Did some idiot leave the gas on again?”

The noise didn’t die down even after the explosion settled. In fact, if anything, it had gotten worse. It was like rocks and metal grinding together, being pulverized perpetually for the purpose of pissing everyone the fuck off for no reason. Or so Crim assumed. He had no idea what the others were making of it. Didn’t really care, either. No time to care. Big bad was coming. Probably woke it up when the ship crashed. Or maybe it had been Eddie’s colossal firestorm. Or Halinn’s...SUV...causing global warming. Yeah, that.

“Definitely wasn’t my fault, anyway,” said Crim with a chuckle. He knew what was coming though, and it was no laughing matter. Well, not to any normal guy. But again, Crim and normal were pretty much mutually exclusive. He was actually pretty pleased to find such a creature in a place like this. Because it meant he’d have an easier time getting himself (and anyone else that wanted to come along for the ride) the hell off this backwoods planet.

The dust settled, and through the haze of heat and ash, a ghastly figure could be seen. It looked like a knight clad in rough silver armor, but it was huge. Way more huge than Edward, even. It was closer to the size of Neo-Weltall, actually. Maybe even a little bigger.

“Hoooo...boy,” said Crim. “That’s a big one. Don’t think I’ve ever seen a Gigafried that big, actually.”

Edward and Halinn both looked at each other, then at Crim.

“Huh?”

Name: Gigafried
Category: Humanoid/Armored
Size: Large - Colossal
Attack Level: ||||||||||
Intelligence Level: ||||||||||
Skill Level: ||||||||||
Speed Level: ||||||||||
Agility Level: ||||||||||
Defense Level: ||||||||||
Overall Level: Advanced
Description: If you hear the telltale clanging of heavy armor, you’d best make tracks. Of course, if you’re close enough to hear it, it’s probably too late. The Gigafried is a ten-foot, two-ton son-of-a-bitching monstrosity clad in a natural metal armor that is incredibly difficult to penetrate. This thing’s physiology is vastly different from most biological creatures, seemingly having more in common with that of artificial life forms. But, it has a heart, and it pumps blood, just like anything else. It’s just that this monster’s blood is molten iron, but hey, whatever works. The Gigafried stands upright, and has an overall appearance that is very similar to a heavily armored knight. It produces natural weapons, made of the same organic alloy that makes up its external shell. These weapons vary in appearance, but often take the form of jagged swords and lances. Though its large size and weight make it somewhat slow to move around, Gigafried is a surprisingly nimble and skilled combatant, capable of matching expert swordsmen blow for blow. And, in addition to all that, this beast can actually fly, over short distances, by forcing superheated energy out of a pair of ducts on its back. That’s right. Gigafried has a built-in jet pack. This is one bad boy that is not to be trifled with. Unless you have a death wish, that is.

“Hmm. Gonna hafta update the database later...huh, h-hey!”

Oh, what luck! The massive monster wasn’t even acknowledging the presence of Crim, his Gear and the two other insanely powerful warriors who stood with him. Instead, it started hauling ass straight for the ship and the small group of hapless tourists who were climbing around outside of it.

{BGM: "Silent Ops Type 2"}

“You dumb idiot!” shouted Crim as he somersaulted back into the cockpit of his Geardam. “You’re a waste!” The hatch closed and he fired up Weltall’s thrusters, propelling the dark Gear skyward at an obscene rate of acceleration.

Mister Mega Gigafried was fast all right, but Crim’s Geardam was faster. Before the giant creature even had any idea what was happening, it was already far too late to react in any meaningful way. Neo-Weltall descended upon it with a fiercely powerful drop-kick of doom to the center of its back. This meteoric impact generated a huge shockwave of pure force, which was further augmented by a healthy dose of Ether power in the form of a blue and white burst of crackling sparks.

The monster took a nasty face-first tumble into the ground, with around 400 meters yet between it and the ship. Plenty of room to work with. The tourists, as Crim currently thought of them, would be safe for the time being, so long as he was able to hold the overgrown Gigafried’s attention.

Crim had Neo-Weltall hover over the downed fiend for a few moments before deftly setting down on solid ground and settling into his standard combat stance. As expected, the giant metallic monster was down, but not out. Sparks flew from the Gigafried’s joints as it seemed to momentarily struggle to regain its equilibrium. Crim had hit it pretty damn hard, after all, so it was no surprise that the creature was reeling from all kinds of damage, both internal and superficial. It would only take a few more solid hits to blow the big bastard into little pieces.

“Yeah, one foot in the junkyard already,” said Crim as he watched the monster on his main monitor. The other screens within Neo-Weltall’s cockpit displayed the surrounding panorama in great detail. One screen showed a close-up of the tourists. Just as he thought...bunch of kids.

Another screen displayed Edward and Halinn, who had also sprung into action. This was a pleasing development, as it would allow him to see the both of them in action without actually having to fight them himself. With that in mind, he held off on pressing his own attack, instead allowing either Edward or Halinn to take the next move. He had a feeling that even without a Geardam, these two would be able to tackle this foe without much trouble.

[Killiak]

The Knight cast his chilling gaze down over the younger woman as she introduced herself, appearing, for all intents and purposes, as gallant as any Knight would be expected to. The left corner of his mouth curled slightly into a smile, though he wasn't quite sure what to make of her just yet. When only a moment later, "Halin" procured three glasses and offered her services for refreshment. Unintentionally, Edward's demeanor instantly transformed from gallant and courteous to incredibly hostile. Every muscle in his right arm twisted and contracted powerfully as the "man" struggled considerably to hold himself back from taking her head right then and there. Knowing the threat of his own anger, the Knight forced himself into inaction. Instead, he withdrew a deep breath and stared up into the sky just above the woman, hardly moving his head but an inch or two...

Meanwhile, Crim wasted no time in accepting the offer. Even in his apparent focus elsewhere, the Knight could see the momentary pause in the Captain's decision. This only told Edward that he really didn't care what may or may not happen, or perhaps he'd acquired other means of protection. Even still, given Edward's recent exploitation via a "friendly drink"...needless to say, he wasn't nearly so trusting or reckless.

After all was said and done, the Captain accepted Edward and the girl's company, and not a moment too soon. An intense premonition fell upon the Knight just seconds before the intense shockwave fell upon the group. Edward himself cursed under his breath and donned his Helm once more, the mysterious item magically drawing up the long strands of his hair (where it went was anyone's guess), and sealing itself with a vibrant ring of light. Whether Edward simply got swept up by the shockwave or he allowed himself to be loosely shoved in the direction of his Great Axe wasn't too easily discernible, but that's where he ended up nonetheless. Grasping the large weapon in his right hand, the skilled Knight righted himself and set down once more, sliding backward several feet. He watched with careful attention to detail as Crim suited up and gave pursuit to the source of all the damn racket and the annoying shockwaves, listening only partially as he spouted something off that sounded like "Gigawatt". Whatever the fuck that was, Ed didn't care.

As the two "machines" distanced themselves from Ed's position, the Knight calmly walked toward them, making no sudden movement aside from a quick jerk of his head right then left, cracking it, and the slow roll of his shoulders. The whole time, his death-inducing glare never left the "Gigawatt", drinking in every physical detail he could by watching the engagement. Whatever this Gigawatt was, it was fairly quick for its size, and it spoke of raw power. It didn't appear to be very aware of its surroundings and followed a one-track course.

"Madam Halinn, I know not of your experience in battle, if any, but you may want to stay right where you stand..."

A customary warning, Ed finally made a decision on his first move. Keeping within the scope of what he had shown thus far, the Knight lurched forward, bent at the knee and lunged with great force. This propelled him forward at "break-neck speed", easily catching up to the metallic giants. Gigawatt was recovering from Captain Nutjob's brutal feet-first attack and threw out both arms. From its crudely shaped hands spouted enormous lances made of whatever metallic alloy the beast's body was. Right at that time, Edward aligned his body behind his shield, rotating his shoulder slightly so as to deliver the brunt of the force across his entire body rather than take it solely in one arm. This was merely for show, since the enormous shield the Knight used left zero vibration or kinetic feedback to the user to begin with.

The Beast swung both arms downward, seeking for a dual strike into the shoulders of Neo-Weltall. At that moment, Edward released a significant amount of ether from his core, boosting him upward into the beast's swing. The beast however wasn't quite as brick-headed as it looked, and managed to discover Edward's attempt at a sneak attack. As such, the beast redirected its right arm into a sideways swing intended to bat Edward out of the sky, but Knight pressed on with his original attack. The two collided with a thunderous clang rivaling the prior attack from Neo-Weltall. Furthermore, the Knight managed to completely overthrow Gigawatt's balance, sending its right arm crashing into the left, effectively removing the Captain from danger entirely, ultimately causing the beast to spin around.

The Knight lowered his shield slightly and positioned his axe downward at an angle with one edge facing the stunned monstrosity, keeping himself on high alert as he knew full well it would take far less time to recouperate from his strike than the first it had suffered today. Considering ending it then and there, he instead scanned the surrounding area, focusing specifically on the ship lying less than a half-click away. It was in poor shape, and half hanging off the ledge of a steep cliff. One false move and he would accidentally send it to the depths below. Smirking underneath the veil of his helm, Edward slowly eased himself backward through careful manipulation of his ethereal powers, keeping to the skies so as not to risk causing an earthquake should he take the fight to the ground.

"Well Crim, it seems to me the big guy here wants your ship. Perhaps it means to make it his wife? Hahaha. Well, it's your go...he's about to do something nasty.."

[Jorsh]

It wasn’t long after Crim left that Gren had a bad feeling.

“Hey, Beck…I’ll be back.”

The engineer looked up at the kid quickly, and saw the look of anguish on his face.

“Alright kid. Be careful out there.”

As Gren jumped out of the hole he and Beck had been in, something massive struck the ship and shook it hard, and Gren was unable to compensate and fell right back in. He landed on his ass and looked over at Beck who had been hit on the head with something metal from above.

“AGH! God damn it kid! Go out there and help the Cap’n. He might need it. I’ll have this done by the time you guys are.”

Gren nodded and tried again. He jumped out of the hole and ran full speed to the opening. And what he saw…made him excited. It was a gigantic suit of armor. But it was going through quite the battle with Neo-Weltall and…well, some medieval knight, it appeared. And of course, the Captain knew he was there watching, cause he suddenly got a call on his yPhone.

“Hey, Gren. You there?”

“Yeah Cap’n. Whats up?”

“Look, we out here have this thing. There are some people climbing the hull of the ship though. I want you to keep them safe and get them inside. You got that?”

“But…but…but…”

“HEY! No ‘buts’, kid. We don’t need those…well, not yet. Get them, protect them. GO!”

With that, the communicator lost connection and Gren returned it to the pocket on his right hip. He knew there was no arguing with the Captain, so he decided to just take the orders and move. He ran out and jumped to the top of the ship in one leap and found the group Crim was talking about. Gren ran to the giant hole where the cockpit used to be and took a defensive stance with the Kiyoshi Doragon drawn.

“Alright…I dare you to attack us up here…”