[h2][center]Geralt of Rivia [/center][/h2]
[center]Midgar- Seiran, Abandoned Subway- Infinite Corridor [/center]
[center]Lvl 9 (196/90) -> (197/90) [/center]
[center]Word Count: 386 words[/center]

Geralt grunted once he realized that his crossbow wasn't going to manage to land any hits on the flying camera, the intense speeds they were moving at more than he was used to working with. After a good few shots completely failed to land and it became obvious none would, he switched tactics, drawing his silver sword and working to keep the Pounds off the few who could do anything to the damn thing. Aard was particularly useful here, though Quen kept him from the worst of the damage if he didn't manage to shove or blast any away in time and had to tank an explosion. It still hurt, but far, far less through the protective shield.

The signs were a pain to deal with, but with his attention less focused on a single object, Geralt was easily capable of reacting in time and getting out of harm's way. As time went on, they managed to chip away at the eldritch object, though it felt like Goldlewis was doing a lot of the heavy lifting there (literally and figuratively, with that damn coffin).

That, however, triggered a change in their situation. As the Session Pounds ceased appearing, they were replaced by something equally strange, but...different in a way that was hard to put his finger on. As the creepy creatures raced up to their lifts and began shaking them to pull them off-track, Geralt cursed and steadied himself, turning to the thing and snarling. Midna's creature had nearly been taken out by that oppressively bright light and...something happening, though it took Midna's callout for Geralt to realize what it was- that light was suppressing its Spirit Fusion abilities. As more of the things appeared to attack their lifts, Geralt cursed and moved into the light, sighing as his mind felt a little clearer. Hmm. That boded poorly. 

Ignoring [i]that[/i] ill omen for now, the Witcher hefted his sword and began his assault, casting Igni to scorch the Cleansers hands and following up with a cut as it tried to punch at him, drawing blood and a pained cry. "Doesn't feel good, does it?" He taunted, hacking away at and fighting the thing, before being forced to disengage and leap to another lift when a sign nearly wiped him out. "Dammit! Just...gotta keep them busy!"


[hr]

[h2][center][color=BFBFBF]Zenkichi Hasegawa[/color][/center][/h2]
[center]Valley of Ruin [/center]
[center]Lvl 2 (9/20) -> Lvl 2 (11/20) [/center]
[center]Word Count: 871 words[/center]

Thankfully, with the quick actions of Roxas and Pit, who flew- one literally and the other only mostly figuratively- Susie managed to make some distance from the robots she'd engaged, and the trio quickly beat a hasty retreat and rejoined the main group. Zenkichi didn't have anything to say, as Giovanna had more than made her point clear earlier, and frankly it wasn't his job to tell anybody what to do. Besides, right now? They had bigger fish to fry.

As they all gathered around the salvage truck, Zenkichi's eyes narrowed when the Tallneck started approaching. He knew Tora was a good hacker, based on how he overrode the trucks' autopilots, but that thing? He was wary, waiting for the inevitable kicking rampage, but...it just stood there. Until Tora's little wings popped up in their vision and his voiced carried over. [color=BFBFBF]"Hahahaha, [i]no thank you![/i]"[/color] Zenkichi called back, getting in the truck before anybody else had any bright ideas about stealing a spot from him. The kids could get on that deathtrap, bunch of adrenaline junkies he knew they could be. Not him, no way, he was taking the truck even if he had to drive it himself. 

That thing was pretty fast, too, so Zenkichi was definitely glad at his choice to not board it. No way, screw that. The bad news was that they were [i]almost[/i] too late. Midgar loomed nearby, as the truck and Tallneck stopped atop a hill overlooking the road leading to its entrance. 

[color=BFBFBF]"Wow, that is...really bad."[/color] Zenkichi summarized as he looked down upon the thousand-strong army of Machines marching on Midgar. They came in all sorts of shapes and sizes, some fairly humanoid, some a twisted mockery of the human form. Shaking his head at Poppi's estimation and Giovanna's quick math, he steeled his resolve. A hundred machines. He could do that. He and the rest of the Phantom Thieves routinely dealt with hordes of Shadows in the Jails, especially when they had to protect Oracle. 

The other Seekers began making their preparations, Partitio getting a rifle from the Rust Crew, Poppi changing into a more defensively-oriented configuration, Susie getting in her suit and providing long-ranged artillery, and Zenkichi taking a slow, deep breath as Partitio gave him a hearty slap on the back and an offer to co-operate. Though, it seemed like the merchant was already pretty damn hyped up, as he didn't even wait for an answer before sliding down the hill, hooting and hollering like a man possessed. Zenkichi just shook his head, letting the persona of Wolf out. 

[color=BFBFBF]"Valjean! Let's do this!"[/color] He cried, leaping into the fray, chasing Partitio down and cutting a machine straight down the middle that thought it had an easy target. [color=BFBFBF]"These bones may not be as young as they once were, but I've got plenty of life left in me!"[/color] He called to the merchant, drawing one of his revolvers and blasting a machine that was coming close, knocking it off balance for a clean sweep of his greatsword, severing it in half. [color=BFBFBF]"Valjean, Rakukaja!"[/color] He cried, pointing at Partitio. The merchant could feel, just for a little while, a little sturdier in that armor of his, as Wolf went to work carving through the horde in front of them. 

As he fought through the machines, giving a helluva lot harder than he got and regaining a little bit of lost vitality for every hit, Partitio managed to pull off a gambit that he never would have expected to work, mounting one of the quadrupedal machines like a horse and bringing it on by for Wolf to climb on board. [color=BFBFBF]"Alright then!"[/color] He simply replied, taking a mighty leap and landing atop the mechanical steed, revolvers flashing out as he stowed his greatsword, bullets flying and knocking out a few of the smaller flying machines rather quickly. Reloading from atop the slightly safer spot their mount gave them, Wolf looked out over the battlefield. Explosions, elemental energy, Tora and Poppi's Master and Blade onslaught, and the Rust Crew's gunfire ripped through machines, and he took a deep breath. 

[color=BFBFBF]"Valjean! Megido!"[/color] He cried, swirling orbs of Almighty energy appearing among the Machines before exploding, scrapping a few bipeds and damaging a large biped that was nearby them, to which he followed up with a fusillade of gunfire, cracking and destroying its head, causing the Machine to collapse, defeated. [color=BFBFBF]"I'll hunt you down!"[/color] He yelled in challenge to the other machines, dumping both revolvers into the horde, taking down another couple of bipeds and catching the attention of a Goliath. [color=BFBFBF]"Incoming![/color] He called to Partitio as it approached, quickly stashing his guns and drawing his sword, hefting it to block the swing of its giant arm. Their quadruped stumbled, but Wolf roared, forcing all he could into the block, pushing against the Goliath's strength, and won out in the end, even if his arms were aching like hell. 

[color=BFBFBF]"Get us away from that thing!"[/color] He called to Partitio, pointing at the Goliath, which had stopped and was belching out crackling balls of slow-moving energy towards them. [color=BFBFBF]"Don't wanna know how much those hurt!"[/color]

Count- 8 small fliers, 4 medium fliers, 26 medium bipeds, 5 large bipeds. Total: 43 machines defeated.