Cyanic

"Corundum?" Araha whispered, looking around then spotting the Cryptic on the wall. "Where's Damaya? Lead me to her, quick." She was still camouflaged, she was likely only detected because he was a spren. She followed the spren wherever it would lead her, but Ran still kept point, scouting just in case. She unlatched the reed from her glove as she followed the Cryptic, writing down 'CL, WC' before reattaching it onto the latch in the middle finger. *** The message transmitted to Deras' bracer-reed, they'd packed a translator for their codes, but he remembered most of them. This one in particular was: 'Corundum Located, Watch Careful' So Deras did as planned, taking the other advanced reeds and preparing in case the signal came. @Sorana

same here. I'd wanna join in, since I wasn't really involved in SDW, but gotta finish this other plot first!

Araha strolled around the neighborhood, a few houses from the Vulken house, it was daytime currently, and so she had to use the cover of being inconspicuous to blend in. Ran formed into a grain of sand, too small to be seen and flitted too quickly for the eye to see. She flew to the house, making a few passes, changing heights and speed to not be seen. There were a flock of windspren dancing about, so Ran joined them, forming herself into one of them, but she wasn't playing, she continued to observe the house. As the windspren passed the house, she took the long way round, making herself as small as she could and whispering the information into Araha's ear. Araha nodded in response, then Ran looked around for an empty alleyway. She found one and Araha ducked into it, testing the color-changing ring, she put her hand over the textured ground and made a few sweeps, making sure her hand's coloring was the same of the ground. It wasn't perfect, but it'll have to do. She folded up her cloak and put it somewhere. It could be stolen for all she cared. Then she went into her 'chameleon-form' as she dubbed it, periodically changing her appearance's color as she walked, not just skin, but eyes and hair, and clothing. It seemed to only change the abstract nature of color itself and didn't bend light, which was a good thing since Araha could be completely camouflaged and her eyes would still work. The 3.5 minute limit was still in place, but that didn't mean she couldn't change the color of something before the limit ran out. She maneuvered her way to the house, until she was by it. There was an unsettling aura about the house, which just told her there was something wrong with it. She made sure to keep to the shade of the house, as the sun currently dictated. It was easier to change colors when the color was less vibrant. Ran flitted past in as small a form as she could manage as fast as she could to not be seen, she came back to Araha and whispered information, how many people were there, what they were doing, the general layout, and Araha entered the house from the porch's window. *** Deras waited a bit farther, on a shorter rooftop where he wouldn't be seen since it would be strange to see an armored man standing on top of a house. His HUD still tracking Araha as she snaked her way through and into the house. He periodically glanced at the spanreed, as Araha had called it, on his wrist, sticking to the plan. Both advanced reeds were also by him, ready to send at a moment's notice.

Araha glanced at Deras, who glanced back and walked inside the armor. The craftsmen said it was going to be worn like regular shardplate, but regular shardplate does not stand on its own, so this was a pleasant surprise. Deras fitted the armor onto himself, sliding his hands into the gauntlets, and the feet. Araha walked over and analyzed the armor itself, there was a thick layer that she spotted on the opened piece, with different materials, which was exactly what she asked for. There were also a few gemstones powering the fabrials, they were surprisingly efficient, not even visibly leaking stormlight. Everything seemed to be in place, even the pumps were there. She motioned to close the hatch, then hesitated. "Deras, can you close it automatically?" "How?" He asked. "I think the machine responds to intention, you just need to want to close it." "Understood." The man nodded, and the machine closed itself. Then locked into place, the pumps injecting into Deras, like an augmented circulatory system. It was a wonder how the craftsman managed to pilot this thing without suffocating since it didn't have any face openings. "Right. Now activate the fog-cloak." Araha stepped to the side, looking the thing over. Deras did so and his back started streaming with grey fog indiscriminately. She nodded, satisfied that this worked, a bit of excitement leaked from within the currently frozen depths of her mind. "How do you feel?" Araha asked. "Stronger." He responded. "Good. Try to lift different things." She told him. Deras went over to the Vindicator that the craftsmen left... and lifted it. The tracks clear off the ground. Araha's eyes widened, this was much better than what she was hoping for. He put the tank back down. She walked over to him, "activate your HUD, just intend to, and I think it will." "Done." He confirmed. "What do you see?" She asked, and Deras turned to her, "You're highlighted red," Deras turned to the tank, "so is tank, and building," he said, referring to the Waystop. "Can you turn those green?" He paused, then turned back to Araha, "you are green, so is building, left tank as red," he paused again, "tank is green now." "Un-highlight the tank, and keep me as green." She said, then walked behind the tank. "Can still see outline," he said in a loud voice so she could hear. She returned. "Good," she said. "Right. Speed test." She told him, and he nodded. He raised to one side of the Waystop almost in an eyeblink, then to the other, just as fast. "Perfect." She commented, then took something from her pack, the spanreed that was attached to the bracer, the one without a reed. "Here it is," she said as she attached it to Deras' forearm, the side facing him. "Just remember the plan." She also gave him the advanced spanreeds and one of the radios, keeping one on her person. They couldn't afford to waste time, but if anyone wanted to go with them, she had left something inside the Waystop. A note inside the Waystop had the address of Damaya's house and where Araha and Deras were heading to. Allowing anyone from inside to follow them. It also had another, smaller note attached to it: "Please destroy after reading." Araha prepared herself, wearing her bracers over the reedglove that she'd made, then wore her hooded cloak over her outfit, but left her head uncovered. Then they walked toward the perpendicularity to the AlleyCity. Araha thought about her friend. She needed to be saved, to be protected. She muttered to herself, closing her eyes: "I will protect those who cannot protect themselves." The words came naturally, and sincerely. This was what they meant. Ran was surprised, looking at Araha with wide eyes, then she smiled, proud of her sister.

Double posting here, sorry, but I'll just include everything in this one post as much as I can. A few more hours later: Dawn on the next day Noon - Night

@Life&Death --- @MacThorstenson The theatrics that the Craftsmen did were unnecessary, and she couldn't really be impressed what with her current state. She nodded at the Craftsman that addressed her, "this is up to standards that we talked about?" She asked, then continued: "If so, you can start collecting the Chaos tech, they're in a pile over there." She gestured to a pile. Deras walked up, wearing a tunic and non-worn pants, he looked like a regular man, just extremely grey. "This we spoke of?" He asked Araha. "Yes, this is it," She turned back to the suit, "this is our army," she concluded. "Can you disembark please?" she addressed the craftsmen wearing it, "we'd want to use it as soon as possible."

Taking place a few hours after the kidnapping of Damaya @Sorana (from the Waystop thread) Will post more scenes from the in-between days later on.

Deras was the first to react, as if in slow motion, he saw one of the enemy materialize in front of one of the women from the Waystop, Araha's friend, though he didn't know her name. He ran forward, as fast as he could, but as he reached them, the enemy disappeared along with the woman. His eyes widened. He'd failed. For the first time that he could remember, he'd failed. He panted, an instinctive response even though he didn't need air. He had failed. He stood there. Still acknowledging what just happened. *** Araha saw the column dissipate, then Deras suddenly reacted, in the next moment, he was a few feet from his original position, almost disappearing. "Whoa!" Araha reacted and flinched, instinctively putting up her hands in a combat stance, "what's wrong, Deras?" she asked, but he didn't answer. He always answered. She saw him staring long into nothing, "what are you...?" She looked around, noticing Damaya was gone, "wait... where's Damaya?" No one answered, Ran turned into her larger woman form. "WHERE'S DAMAYA?" Araha asked again, shouting. No answer still. Then she saw what Deras was staring at. On the ground, were footprints, where someone was standing just a moment ago, on them were a stack of paper. Araha rushed forward, pushing past Deras' still standing form and kneeling to look at the papers, her kneel so quick that she skidded on the ground. No... no, please, she pleaded in her mind, where was Damaya? What had happened? Questions ran through her head as panic started to set in, she read the contents. Her mind kicked into overdrive: The first letter seemed to belong to the abusive people that adopted Damaya or at least their house, the second, she wasn't sure, perhaps another of the Chaos forces. This one was clear that they were targeting Damaya, the mentions of 'burning her mind clean,' sent chills down her spine, as fear and worry gripped, her. She read on though, needing more answers. the third letter was useless save for the mention of a name, and the fourth was from the bastard she should have killed him. He should have died. If only that sparking man-creature didn't intervene, they could've taken the fight to THEM. She wasn't sure how to really decode this, her mind was in turmoil, she didn't know if she wanted to push the emotions down or let them surge, tears begun streaming from her eyes as one fact stood above all, Damaya was taken. She wanted to burn these pages, bring her back that way, call upon the Nightwatcher maybe, an Aon somewhere? Master Soren? Something, somehow, someway, just to bring her friend back. She was hyperventilating now. Once again she was helpless. Helpless. The night of her parent's death flashed in her eyes, their corpses, the red. Her breathing quickened even more, she tried to find her center, good memories, Master Soren... Damaya... Her friend was gone. She screamed, panic setting in. She kept yelping as she curled into a ball. *** Ran in her woman form noticed that Araha was having a panic attack, and she tried as hard as she could to help her, but it seemed as if she didn't even feel the spren's comforting hands. "Araha! Araha, I'm here. Please!" She pleaded, trying as hard as she could to solidify and give her sister a hug. "Araha, I'm here." She was still hyperventilating, Araha slumped, Ran's slight solidity couldn't stop her from falling over. She was unconscious. Ran was worried, and felt horrible for Araha. She was probably having the worst nightmare. She hoped she could still snap out of it even after the nightmare. She cared for Damaya too, at least in respects to her friendship with Araha. Losing her permanently was not an option. *** Deras snapped out of it. He was reading the letters too. The woman could still be rescued. Araha was taking it much harder than he was, and she fainted. A glowing woman, the same feeling as the one he got from Ida's companion when he helped her, was visible to him, this must be Araha's own companion. She looked up at Deras, "help her," He nodded at the translucent woman and carried Araha, the woman lead her back to her room. *** @MacThorstenson The woman walked up, "yes, that's me," she took the pen and signed. "Thank you." she said, expressionless as ever.

@Grey Knight

"Thanks," Araha said weakly as she breathed the stormlight in, just a bit, enough to properly heal her fatigue. In the next moment she was already standing up, she was still a bit tired, but she could feel the stormlight invigorating her, she took another small gasp, to really patch the fatigue up. @Sorana She turned to Mr. Amber. "Mr. Amber? What do you think we should do to close the thing?" she asked. @Life&Death As Araha stood, a small Ran bumped into her cheek, "that was reckless," she said, relief in her voice. "Yeah, but I'm a windrunner, that's what I do, right? Protect people and stuff." She asked her spren, grinning, though it was sincere, it wasn't a full grin, as there was still the problem of the column. Ran sighed, "just be careful," she said, returning to her air of maturity. @Ark1002

Right, it assimilates different energy. Fine. Araha looked on, the supposed allure of the daemon not affecting her for some reason, (and there is a reason). Ran sighed, flying forward at blinding speeds and Adhesing a large area of the ground around the daemon without the aid of stormlight. She flitted back to Araha. "Plans?" Ran asked Araha, The daemon would be stuck for a while, "I'm thinking!" Araha ran different ideas through her head. Then an idea hit her. *** Deras didn't give it time to react beyond the hissing, in a moment, he was at the beast's feet, leaping above the zones of Adhesion on the ground then slashing both legs with the shardblade. It got a strike in, but it was slow enough and Deras was fast enough that he blocked the broadsword with his shardblade. The sword being sheared in half with little resistance, the front blade sliding off uselessly. The fact that it was stuck made it an easier target. It fell over from its non-moving feet and got even more stuck on the Adhesion zones, Deras slashed its arms first, greying them out without severing them. Then he stepped back, their corpses would be re-absorbed by the column and get stronger, so he made sure to not kill this thing yet. The Adhesion zones dissipated. *** As Deras fought the creature Araha enacted her plan. She breathed in as much stormlight as she could then half-lashed herself forward straight to the daemon. "What are you doing?!" Ran exclaimed, concerned and confused, this was a first. Araha didn't answer and burst forward, she was still on the ground, but it was like running down a hill, it was hard but she kept her footing. "DERAS! KILL IT!" She yelled while running, prompting the Lifeless to do as she said, the man greyed the daemon's head out, killing it. She placed a hand on the daemon prince's fallen form and poured everything into it. Absorbing stormlight? It didn't matter as she converted all the stormlight into the surge of Gravitation almost as quickly, lashing it upward as much as the stormlight would allow. Just like the bomb from earlier. "Checkmate," she whispered. The daemon was flung upward at a speed a bit faster than even the bomb from before. Even if it was going to stream back into the column, it would be far, far in space, and the column would already be closed before the absorption could even travel the distance. She collapsed, but was caught on one arm by Deras. She was about to faint but willed herself as much as she could to stay awake. There was still the problem of the column itself and she needed to be awake for that. Deras jogged back to the group of the dragon, Damaya, and Mr. Amber, Araha being carried, "we still need... to close that..." she rasped in a weak voice. @Grey Knight @Sorana @Life&Death

"Seriously?!" Araha reacted as she was observing the reactions, she turned to Deras again, getting another idea, if it just feeds off its own energy, let's see it reacting to external Investiture and material. She thought. "Deras, cut out a piece of the ground, make it big," she said, putting her hands up to demonstrate the size. Deras nodded and cut a piece of the ground, it wasn't neat by any means but that doesn't matter. She went to the spheres, and gathered as much as she could, breathing in only some of them. She used Adhesion on on about two non-dun spheres and stuck them to the chunk of ground. She lashed the ground toward the column a few times, flinging it quickly and into the column and toward the shape. *** Deras followed Araha's lead, running toward a nearby tree and chopping it down with two passes of his shardblade. The tree was large and tall, and it took the most effort Deras had ever needed to lift the tree. Then, pointing the tree parallel to the ground and toward the column, he used it as a lance, running full forward at the column of light, then releasing it, the momentum carrying it the way through toward the column. *** The chunk of dirt went inside first, the one with the stormlight, then the non-Investiture'd tree.

Araha stepped by the dragon, and she saw that it was eyeing the parts, "we'll need some of this still, so please leave some," she requested.

Deras saw the claw burped out and adopted Araha's caution. He walked over to the claw and back to where the pile of mince daemon-head were, then he also minced the claw, gathering them into a pile beside the minced daemon-head. If Araha needed more parts to be thrown, these would still work anyway.

Araha saw another dragon eat the parts on the ground then the creature in the air. Was this the same dragon as before? She wasn't sure but it didn't seem like it. Deras had helped her again, she wasn't sure if she could even take the creature that was charging towards them head on, so she was thankful he was there. The way he dispatched the creature seemed ruthless and brutal, but she could recognize that he was trying to kill it as efficiently as he could, his form told her that he wasn't proficient at combat, though he seemed to have the basics down, he'd ask him if he wanted to be trained later. Besides that though, she made sure to check if she felt anything toward him as she thought this. Not much, though the way he dispatched the creature without so much as a grunt, but also showing a brutal efficiency was kinda cool, she nodded to herself that's for later. Right now there were still more pressing matters. She turned to Mr. Amber and Damaya, "do either of you know how to close that thing?" (@Sorana @Life&Death) she asked, pointing at the column. Then she had an idea, something about counter-forces and equal reactions, that Master Soren had taught her about before. She walked to the dragon that just ate the creatures, slightly questioning why she wasn't afraid of the beast, "I'm sorry for disturbing you," she begun, addressing the creature, she wasn't even sure if the dragon could understand english, "could you regurgitate those parts back into the portal?" @Ark1002 Deras stepped close, a while ago, he had an aura of red, she was sure it wasn't her imagination either, now he didn't. Deras interjected, "not need, have part," he raised the daemon's head and spine that he ripped off, slightly startling her. He must have retrieved it while she was looking at the situation. "Perfect," she begun, "throw it into the column as hard as you can, things going back inside should counter act its energy or something. I dunno," she turned back to the dragon @Ark1002 "nevermind, mister dragon, sorry for bothering you." Deras began winding up, "WAIT, NO!" Araha exclaimed, which made Deras hesitate. "Throw a piece of spine into the thing, just one. I can observe the reaction from here." She wasn't really sure what to look for though, "and keep your shardblade up, I don't know how strong this creature is, looking at the head, but I want to make sure it stays dead." Deras nodded then tore a piece of the spine off, he stepped forward and threw the piece into the column, the piece emitting a small 'snap' as it broke the sound barrier and straight into the column. @Grey Knight "Not problem," Deras added, then he used the shardblade to mince the head into pieces, if it was still alive, the blade would phase through it, so it was definitely dead, being minced only reassured her. This man was definitely efficient, which she liked.

(@Ark1002 I'll leave you the honor of turning either daemon to ash with your statue thing, eveb the one I'm fighting ) Deras met the challenge with a flare of furyspren. Coating him in a red aura. He summoned back his shardblade which disappeared fron wherever it was and reappeared in his hands. The battlefield was cleared for engagement as some turrets were destroyed and the rest were focused on the bird. The stock of weapons they'd piled earlier was a ways off so he had to dispatch of the threat in melee. Fine. He needed to protect those behind him anyway. The demon was suddenly in a puddle of water, though that didn't really impede him, only tripping the demon at least. He used this opportunity to rest the shardblade against his shoulder and slam into the demon, breaking a few bones in it from the sheer force of the boost with the shardblade in the middle. It was another enemy. Much worse this time, but much easier to dissociate. He didn't let up, hacking and slashing with enhanced strength and speed, cleaving through one of the axe handles and greying out its other arm. No rest. No mercy. He continued slicing, greying out its wing and leg. He blocked a slash from the creature as he stepped close. He put a hand on its shoulder and kicked its leg to pieces. He took the shardblade and hacked even more. He hit some of the greyed out limbs as well which cut them clean off. It tried to be with fervor, but Deras responded by jumping on its back and ripping one of its still attached wings off. He jumped off. No. It will die. Shardblade in hand, he stabbed the now pathetic creature through the chest and dragged the blade up and out of its head. Greying it out completely from its chest up. It fell to the ground and Deras stepped forward, putting a hand around its neck and the base on the chest. It took some effort, not as much as freeing the man from the dreadnought yesterday, but he managed to pull the head free of the body, spine still in tact, which also pulled from the body. He then threw the head still connected to the spine at the bird. *** Araha saw Damaya soulcast, but it wasn't enough, she breathed in stormlight as she stepped forward in a stance, about to face the daemon, then Deras dispatched of it. The man making extremely short work of it. There was still the bird thing to worry about. She turned back to Mr. Amber and Damaya, but she wasn't sure if going back inside would even be safe, she resolved to continue standing in her stance and walked near Damaya. "You did alright," she told her friend, wanting to reassure her that what she did did help. @Sorana @Grey Knight

Yeah, that's what I called the sideplot with Damaya, but it's just my own term that I made up, it's not adapted into the actual title for the side plot (at least not yet)

@Soranasaid it wasn't planned to be one, and since this really revolves around her character, I think it's her call

Ran returned as Araha saw the creature materializing, then in the next moment, the defenses of the Waystop started firing, which made her instinctively duck. Why do these sparking things keep happening?! She yelled in her mind. She turned to Damaya and Mr. Amber, "we need to get back inside the Waystop, I don't wanna risk getting hit by a stray bullet," she said to both of them. @Sorana @Life&Death *** Deras was about to charge at the thing, a single furyspren materializing, then he held back for now as the defenses did their work as intended, he didn't want to get caught in the crossfire. He did however help the defenses out. Summoning his shardblade, he threw it at the thing with both hands, the sword tumbling through the air rapidly, helped by his immense strength, and straight toward the creature's thighs.