[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/5r7OTIh.png[/img]
[b][color=Aquamarine]wordcount:[/color][/b] 2,060 (+3)
[b][color=Aquamarine]Midna: level 9[/color][/b] EXP: [color=Aquamarine]////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color] (108/100) (+1 bonus pending)
[b][color=Aquamarine]Location:[/color][/b] Deep Ground
[color=Aquamarine]Warp Charges:[/color] 1
[hider=warp locations]
Virgin Victory teleport room
Top of the Split mountain
Outside the Convent of Our Lady of the Charred Visage
Tostarena Town
S.O.U. Building
Seiran Clinic
Underground Roadway (Seiran Rebel Base Outskirts)
Below City of glass entrance (plate maintenance tunnel)
Vandelay Campus (Alleyway)
Arahabaki’s entrance
Deep Ground - the Source
[/hider]
[/center]

By the time Midna had blinked her sight back, it was all over, and whatever machine had been built around Tychoon began to fall apart. The gateways which she hadn’t really paid attention to due to being focused on fighting collapsed, tearing apart the machinery that had been going through them.

[color=Aquamarine]”Huh, I wonder what that was all for?”[/color] Midna asked nobody in particular, and then, much too late, got a very bad feeling about this. C had, after all, just said that they had no idea what the consequences of their actions were going to be, and he was very much right. Well. That she didn’t know anyway. Sandalphon worked it out in short order, and it was very bad news.

At least that’s the impression she got, she didn’t exactly know what a ‘citywide blackout’ was exactly, but she could infer that it wasn’t going to be a good time.

[color=Aquamarine]”How much of the city’s… everything is going to stop working? Is there nothing else they can use in its place? The actual reactors maybe, if they are off?”[/color] Midna asked. Not that she was exactly in favor of draining life from the world or however those worked, but [color=Aquamarine]”It only has to keep running till we win, seeing as this is going away once we do”[/color] she suggested.

For Sandalphon, Midna's first few questions were a matter of guesswork, but she tried to provide perspective as best she could. "I am no electrician, but I can only imagine that the power needs of this city are truly staggering. Even if we could get the systems running in time, the region might not have enough life energy left to meet those needs, thanks to Nox."

Speaking of both Nox and power sources, the man had abandoned his at the start of the fight, and her eyes ended up drifting over to where it now lay, the untold amounts of life force it had held spent to undo his own victory and nothing more. It had also driven him mad, despite being just an energy storage device according to Sandalphon which might have dissuaded others from picking it up.

Midna on the other hand, who was presently wearing a madness inducing artifact as a hat, was fairly sure she could handle it. Just to be safe however, she formed and used her shadow hand to pick it up, the great orange glowing limb pinching the cube between thumb and forefinger, and then bringing it close to inspect. 

It felt heavy in her hand, though not so much with mass but with import. It also seemed to have a lingering mote of power as well, she could see, as she brought it close to her face. She moved a hand to slip aside the mask she was wearing, the lens was damaged and getting in the way of a detailed inspection, only for the fracture lines along it to close back up, fully and perfectly repaired without so much as a hint of fanfare.

[color=Aquamarine]”What?”[/color] she asked, slipping off the mask and turning it around in her hand, confirming its repaired state with her own eyes. She made a little surprised sound at the sight, before hanging the half mask around her neck and then saying [color=Aquamarine]”Well, aren't you a handy little thing?”[/color] to the cube.

[hider=looted by Midna]
[b][url=https://i.imgur.com/shnoDag.png]Eliacube[/url][/b]
[i]A mysterious artifact. Under normal circumstances the cube is dark and closed, with a texture like jade, and it never opens. It seems to hold some sort of restorative ability, and it can hold a seemingly limitless amount of energy, but how -and perhaps why- it works is an enigma. It's rather interesting and gives off an important feeling. Probably warrants further study. Could it have some sort of psychic effect on those who own it? Or is it just a mirror, reflecting your own uncertain face back at you, and its magic is all in your head?[/i]
[/hider]

In short order she’d used it to repair her broken tree spear, failed to find enough bits of her pistol to repair it, and then realized she could use this to fix the caved-in armor on her darknut. 

[color=Aquamarine]”We really need to find a way to make you more durable, don’t we thing?”[/color] she said as she was patching up the undead knight [color=Aquamarine]”Nearly everything we’ve faced that’s dangerous just ripped through you. That mech was way better… oh! Well there’s one way to solve that isn’t there?”[/color]

At this point they’d moved up through the one available teleporter out of the generator, and ended up next to the mainframe computer that controlled the city. She didn’t really have the know how to use it however, so instead she just answered and asked a few questions.

[color=Aquamarine]”Think it can tell us how much time the city has left power wise, and if there’s a way to turn on the other reactors? Also anything else we can really use? Such as why the regime was making Others in the first place?”[/color] she asked first


The archangel could make no suppositions about the inner workings of Shinra's power infrastructure. "I am unsure. Given the sheer scale of this facility, not to mention the city itself, restoring it to its original configuration could be an infeasibly gargantuan undertaking." When Midna mention Others, however, Sandalphon seemed to be at a loss. "Making Others...?"

Goldlewis realized that, as a member of DespoRHado down in Detroit, the healer must have seldom, if ever, interacted with an aspect of the Ever Crisis that mostly concerned the psionics of the plates above. "Uh, to be specific, she means targeted metamorphosis, not all Others." He stroked his whiskers. "I reckoned it was a way to assassinate their enemies all stealthy-like, turnin' 'em into monsters nobody'd think twice about killin'." The veteran's brows furrowed. "Now that I think about it, though, we never figured out how to stop Others droppin' from the Extinction Belt. That ain't good..."

[color=Aquamarine]”Still a strange thing to have developed in the first place, right?”[/color] she replied, but she had to admit, that even if they did work it out, it wasn’t a solution. None of the questions she’d asked had solutions, it seemed.

She did at least have one of her own, and that was ways of how to get out of here: [color=Aquamarine]”I’ve got enough power to make one more, but I did also make one down in the guardian’s room to escape the massive explosion attack. If we can get back down, we should use that”[/color]

[color=Aquamarine]”As for places we can go in the city, that’d be the entrance of this place, the S.O.U. Building, the Seiran Clinic, two in the city of glass, and one in the underway subway tunnels out in the outskirts. Only useful one that doesn’t just put us back in the desert or up a mountain is the virgin victory, which is out in Port Meridian west of here. If it’s fixed, we could fly it anywhere, assuming it doesn’t get attacked again”[/color] she wasn’t exactly for that however. They’d come to solve the ever crisis, and by all accounts, they’d just made it worse by undermining the city at every turn, regardless of how corrupt it had been. 

Questions asked and answered, she got back to the whole improving her darknut situation, resummoning it and applying the spirit of Roadblock to its chest.

[center][hider=For the Darknut]Spirit absorbed:
[b][url=https://i.imgur.com/FlEvzEU.png]Roadblock[/url][/b]
The host is now a hulking seven-foot titan of yellow and black metal, futuristic in make and fantastical in style. Nigh impervious to slashing, and resistant to practically anything else, it is an immovable object on the battlefield that foes are forced to play around, although its slow speed and short range make it somewhat one-note. This spirit confers the Power [b]Obstacle[/b], allowing it to project a large rectangular energy barrier from the shield on its left arm. Allies can move and shoot through it, but enemies cannot do either, and it can take some serious punishment. This spirit also confers the Weakness [b]Mighty Glacier[/b], making the Darknut unable to jump or run[/hider]

[color=Aquamarine]”Quite the makeover. I think you got a bit of an armor upgrade out of that too which is good. So, can you-”[/color] she began asking even ash she magically commanded it, prompting it to raise its shield and project a barrier before it, a rectangle with beveled edges rather than the angular ones of the original Roadblock [color=Aquamarine]”- yeah you can. Perfect”[/color]

After that very fitting and needed upgrade, she was still left with several more spirits of unfused strikers. She was tempted to fuse with one of the initiates, but her fusion had been getting pretty costly as of late, and so she decided the worth of the mediocre power was probably not worth whatever she’d sacrifice this time. Skywave might be worth it given its toolbox of tricks, but she ended up offering it to Sandalphon seeing as it fit well with her entire aesthetic and role in the team. The chillfos were not even worth considering, so she crushed them alongside the initiates.

[hider=For Midna]Items obtained:
[url=https://i.imgur.com/uxSyGen.png][b]Ice Shield[/b][/url]
[i] A somewhat cumbersome medium shield, decorative and heavy. It nevertheless provides great defense, especially against ice, water, air, and slash attacks[/i]
[url=https://i.imgur.com/A4esdMH.png][b]Horned Ice Helm[/b][/url]
[i]An enchanted helmet that protects against the elements, numbing cold's sting and cooling one off in the heat. The protective ice, which provides the resistance and extra defense, can be melted or broken but will refreeze if given the chance[/i]
[url=https://i.imgur.com/PSS2dSP.png][b]Festive Spycicle[/b][/url]
[i]An ice-cold spike wrapped in blinking Christmas lights. Though very strange, it's actually incredibly valuable to anyone with an eye for appraisal. If not for the light on the end it could probably kill someone with a backstab, but it still deals critical damage from behind. If the holder is ignited, it will extinguish the fire at the cost of melting for good[/i]
[url=https://i.imgur.com/CKcGi1v.png][b]Ice Geode[/b][/url]
[i]Smithing material that's great for ice enchantments or making ice-themed weapons, though it'll take a master to put it to good use[/i]
[url=https://i.imgur.com/iChzWxU.png][b]Psi Stone of Dissonance[/b][/url]
[i]A crystalline pyramid that can be used to launch a conical energy wave that deals mental damage, applying high stagger. It takes a long time to recharge, however, and can only be used effectively once every five minutes. It darkens after use and starts glowing again when ready to blast[/i]
[url=https://i.imgur.com/1eeXUe3.png][b]PSI Core[/b][/url]
[i]A disembodied eye with an alien appearance. If combined with nine PSI cards, it forms a PSI Challenge Marker that's can provide a free psychic level upgrade to a psychic character[/i]
[url=https://i.imgur.com/KHGuZRc.png][b]PSI Card[/b][/url]
[i]A collectible from a mental world, fairly common in psychic circles. If nine of them are combined with a PSI Core, they form a PSI Challenge Marker that's can provide a free psychic level upgrade to a psychic character[/i][/hider]
[/center]

[color=Aquamarine]”Well would you look at that, I’ve been needing a replacement shield-”[/color] Midna commented as that one appeared, grabbing it with two hands before it could fall on her foot [color=Aquamarine]”- bit heavy though. Still, if it works it works”[/color]

Among the other items produced there were some additional useful oddities. The icy knife was bizarre in form but felt swift and deadly in hand to Midna, though her analysis was that it would be good to sneak into weak spots rather than specifically into the back. The Psi Stone meanwhile might have been awkward to use for some, but she figured she could blast with it, and then chuck it into a portal to free up her hand, which would work rather well.

As for the last bit of equipment she ended up asking [color=Aquamarine]”Anyone need a helmet? It is nice to see all your pretty faces but it would be wise to protect them”[/color] in a bit of hypocrisy given she was basically only wearing a helmet for protection. Maybe, she thought, she should change that. 

Then finally the geode, weird eye and card were stashed for when she could work out what in the world they were for. Or, more likely, worth.

With that all out of the way, all that was left was to try and avoid going blind from any and all other flashes of fusion going on, as well as sit back and see if anyone who knew how to work the computer would find any value in doing so. That and see if anyone was going to be the bearer of bad news to the city. Their premier hero and leader were both dead, their power about to fail, who knew how bad the machine attack had gotten outside without them. Things were not looking good. 

[color=Aquamarine]”Only thing we can hope for is that Nox’s giving up puts a damper on the machine army. Do we think that without their leader they’ll just, well, stop?”[/color] she asked, very much hoping that it was a take of the king of evil’s head and his armies melted away sort of situation.

When Midna asked about the Machines, Sandalphon nodded stiffly. "Not Nox, per se. While we made our way through Deep Ground, the Machines clashed with Midgar's defenders just outside the city. I've been receiving reports from YoRHa operatives the whole time, and according to them, the loss of two humanoid units -known as Adam and Eve- left the enemy force leaderless and unable to fight. By now, their extermination should be nearing completion."

Goldlewis gave a sigh of relief. "Guess that's one third of the Ever Crisis that oughta be over with. If the OSF's busted and the city's shut down, though, the Others could still finish the job." He crossed his arms. "After seein' just how rotten Midgar really is for myself, I really wondered if there was any savin' it. Just too many people all crammed together, everythin' dug in too deep. I thought to myself, maybe it'd be better if we all started over. If the city's fixin' to go dark, maybe a mass evacuation'd be for the best."

[color=Aquamarine]”But where would we evacuate them too? This place is so isolated. Plus where can you even support this many people?”[/color]  she asked, before pausing, and finally thinking out loud [color=Aquamarine]”... there’s no farms here. There were ones where the Virgin Victory is parked, I think, and that’s nearby. So that’s probably where they get the food from. If they can get the food to here, they can get the people to where the food is the same way?”[/color] 

Sandalphon opened a map screen. "Options nearby include Gutsford, the Satisfactory industrial zone, and Everdream Valley, where Meridian is located. New settlements could also be established in Kunad Highway or the Valley of Ruin, now that the Machines are no longer a threat. However, it is doubtful that 'we' have the means or time to evacuate them, beyond delivering a message. Chaos and panic will set in soon, if they haven't already. Many will no doubt refuse to leave, even with the continued threat of Others and Chimeras, and many will fight over the scraps now that the tenuous rule of law has shattered."

Giovanna shrugged. "Even if we took this chance to, I dunno, stick Vernon in the power vacuum, it'd be meaningless at this point."

"Midgar was already a hellhole," Goldlewis grumbled. "And now it's been dismantled from the bottom up."

[color=Aquamarine]”Living under a monster spawning sky and in a place where dimensional rifts kept opening was probably not the best idea in the first place, yes”[/color] Midna agreed plainly [color=Aquamarine]”Not that anyone decided to do that I suppose, its all Galeem’s fault”[/color]