"Hell yeah," Tony exclaimed. "That was something!"
Eidolon hummed in his grip, A trivial battle, the oversized corpses were ponderous... barely a challenge to block, though I do applaud your use of my bladed base.
Tony shook his head. He'd hoped that the rumble with the hulks would have counted as testing the limits of Eidolon, but he had to admit that clashing with the half-dozen amalgams wasn't nearly as challenging as the first fight he had with Experiment 12 back on the Haght'anak. It was to be expected though, he'd doubled in levels since then and his stats had increased dramatically.
"Ah, shit..." he grumbled as he examined the corpse's nameplates before he breathed a sigh of relief. The amalgams had not been Elite enemies, so he hadn't missed out on quest progress. Tony called up his settings and swiped over to "Quest Settings" to enable Quest Tracking then back to his quest log and toggled tracking for "Judge and Executioner," "Strike Team Social," "Dreadaegis Training," and "Gate of Endless Twilight" on a hunch.
Mendacius only having a shard sucked up into Legion' might make him think he's some sort of eternal... could be a good way to gain another Gate, Tony rationalized.
Jak's large hand clapped against Tony's back, "Well done out there, what was it, six of em just between you and the pup? And lookit that, not a scratch on ya."
Tony grinned at the recognition, “Eidolon helped a lot that auto-block function is really, really cool.”
“I get some of that with my Earth-flavored talents,” Jak replied with a lopsided grin.
Tony half spluttered a laugh, “Earth-flavored?”
”Yeah,” Jak chuckled back. “Thought that might get a laugh.”
Tony shook his head at the large man, “You’re too much, Jak. Let’s keep going.”
Vixie stepped up and toward Tony, “I didn’t have a chance to give you these, just in case of emergency,” she said as she handed him a small parcel of potions. He whisked the parcel into his inventory and examined them, when a cold sweat broke out across his back.
Items Received: Healing Draft (Experimental - Cherry Flavored) 3, Healing Draft (Experimental - Orange Flavored) 3, Healing Draft (Experimental - Grape Flavored) 3, Hamaskyr Dose 3, Essence Draft 3
Part of him wanted to shove the Hamaskyr back into Vixie’s hands and lose his shit, but part of him also recognized that, in a true emergency, the Hamaskyr could prove invaluable. He might need it…
Max brushed against his side so that Tony’s hand rested on his nose and he snapped out of his momentary dissociation.
"Can has treato?" Maximus whispered.
Tony couldn't help but laugh, "Of course buddy..." he said as he went into his inventory and pulled out one of the "high-quality" treats he kept around to encourage specific behavior from the Ascendant War Beast. Max snapping him out of a moment of... what was that... dread? indecision? panic? whatever it was, the dog's company and grounding was appreciated.
"Oh! Is da good treatos! Yay!" Max cheered.
"Right, so forward?" Esava cut in with a hand on Tony's tricep.
"Yeah, forward," he confirmed.
She stepped past him and over the corpses of the amalgams and held up her hands. A trio of lights, like shooting stars appeared in front of her and streaked into the three branching paths before the Strike Team. Tony walked up next to her and looked between the elf and the stars with a raised brow.
"It's an exploration talent... since this is a dungeon, hitting resistance means we're going the right way, right? So if one of those stars hits no resistance it'll just wink out and the one that does meet resistance will stay and we can follow its trail," Esava explained.
"That makes a lot of sense and is pretty damn cool," Tony answered.
"We are on a time crunch," Vasna mentioned as she approached.
When Tony looked at her, she had the we need to talk about that look on her face that Tony was getting more and more familiar with. He rolled his eyes at the shaman and looked forward as the middle and right trails went cold, meaning that the left path was the one to follow.
"Let's move. Jak, I want you in front tanking for a little bit, I'll be right there to swap out with you if you need it. I want to test out my Sentinel's Intercession talent a little bit more since I've only tried it once. Esava, do what you do best; sneak attack from the flanks. Vasna and Vixie, I want you two on control duty using your bombs and spells to funnel enemies in toward me and Jak; heal at your own discretion, I trust you on that," Tony said more to Vasna than Vixie, but still intended it for both of them.
The Strike Team progressed through the dungeon in Tony's suggested formation with little issue and great resistance. The Rotten and more Hulks made up a majority of the opposition with the occasional wall or ceiling mounted turret or mines laid on the floor. Nothing the team didn't figure out how to handle along the way. Whenever a turret dropped from the ceiling or popped out of a wall Esava would be the first to notice, she'd call out a direction and Tony would rotate out with Eidolon raised. Esava would throw one of her gleaming knives, Vixie would throw one of her explosive potions, or Vasna would cast one of her elemental spells and the turret would typically be fried.
When it came to the mines, Esava would attempt to disarm them and, if she failed, either Vixie or Vasna would trip it with one of their attacks, and if she succeeded, Esava would slip the mine into her inventory as "A helpful tool and or surprise for later," she would say with a wink at Tony.
After what had to be an hour of walking, fighting, following star trails, and dealing with the dungeon's traps they found a pair of red blast doors at the end of a rather squat hallway.
WARNING
You have located the boss chamber
Upon entry, talents or items that would teleport the user outside of this chamber will be disabled, or have their effective ranges reduced.
Do you wish to challenge the Dungeon Boss (Mendacius, Fractured Core of the Infernal Machine)?
Yes No
Tony looked to the Strike Team, "Last time we fought Mendacius, he had a bunch of projectile attacks, summoned a bunch of minions, and had environmental hazards... like the Hulk's tendril attacks but out of the walls and floors. I imagine that it'll be pretty similar, but with... well more since he's got the whole station to call on and not just a portion of the Haght'anak."
"Let's kick his bionic ass!" Jak crowed.
"Finish him for real this time," Vasna growled, Embry echoed her malice in a low rumbling sound that was somewhere between a tiger's rumble and a hyena's growl.
Vixie and Esava nodded to each other then to Tony.
Maximus approached him and licked his face, "Jus 'member Dadda, I are fierce war-pup I be okay if baddie kick-ed me."
Tony sighed at Maximus, "You got it buddy, if you get too hurt, you get behind me. Understand?"
Max chuffed in agreement and Tony focused on the affirmative.
The red blast doors hissed as the hydraulics activated and not only pulled the doors apart, but slid the floor they stood on forward, and slammed shut behind them, shrouding the room beyond in darkness save for a singular pillar of fluorescent light.
Bathed in the white light was Mendacius... or rather... what was left of him. Tony had left him in... well in no shape to be alive. All that had remained of Mendacius when Tony had been done with him was a bloodied waste and the legs attached to them. What he saw was like a poorly made attempt to remake the man. He was two-thirds mechanical rather than the approximate half he had been but his organic parts were... sloppy... hastily made. His face was the clearest indicator, his jaw and the skin under his organic eye sagged heavily, forcing his mouth open at the corner and exposing the, now blackened, glands and membranes under the eye. His lower half... the portion that had been intact, was either consumed or covered in tubing, scrap metal, and welded plates.
Tony rolled his shoulders, readying Legion and Eidolon and Mendacius' eyes flared crimson, locking onto Tony's position immediately.
"It's you... boy..." the monstrosity spat. "You thought you killed me... even thought you had that cursed blade consume my essence... my soul... but me! I was smarter than you..." Mendacius carried on.
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Tony wasn't having it. He overcharged an Adamant Slash and launched the crackling wave of indigo destruction at the dungeon boss.
A crimson shield of essence flared to life and dispersed the attack.
"I wasn't done..." Mendacius growled. "I stashed a backup... imperfect... unfortunately... but a backup nonetheless... of myself here, in the Infernal Machine... where I will be reborn... perfect once again after I take your body and retrieve the shard of my essence that you did steal. Then I will bring ruin upon Auren, his Ascendants, the Iskavorryn Reclaimers, and then the Universe!"
With the conclusion of Mendacius' monologue, dozens upon dozens of red eyes lit up in the darkness and baleful blue light cast the rest of the chamber in an eerie azure glow. Part organic, part machine imitations of Tony, Vasna, and Tolik as they had been when the dungeon formed on the Haght'anak belonged to the glowing red points of light.
Warning! Dire Battle Commenced
XP Gain Increased by 25%
Falling in Battle Will Result in Final Death
"Oh what the fuck," Vasna blanched.
"KILLING IT WITH FIRE!" Jak shouted as he stepped forward with a lunging U-punch that sent a cone of flame and lightning blasting over the surging horde of half-mechanical copies.
They kept coming.
Legion rattled in Tony's hand and started to emit a low wail, There are echoes of us... in that horde... the blade whispered into Tony's mind.
His brain kicked into overdrive as his body moved on instinct. Tony stepped into the pocket left by Jak's cone of flame and activated Chain of Severed Fangs. He put Eidolon between himself and the incoming swarm and cleaved away at their number with wide sweeping attacks of his Dreadblade. Lightning and flames arced through the masses as Vasna's spells coursed through the writing mechanical mass and Jak's strikes rang out with claps of thunder. Potions and slowly moving stars detonated among their ranks as Vixie and Esava activated their more deadly and group-oriented attack talents.
They kept coming.
Maximus and Embry each used their bulk to keep the fighting areas clear for Tony and Jak who were pressed back-to-back, parrying and striking at the inexorable tide of bodies that besieged them on nearly all sides.
"This isn't working!" Jak shouted.
"No shit!" Tony answered, "Can you do the big sandman thing?"
"They're all gonna target me when I do, talent's got a built in taunt!" Jak protested.
"I'm not bailing on you, Jak. I just need to get a gate up and cast a spell and I can't do both of those things and co-tank, just need a sec!"
Jak's form swelled to giant-size in answer to Tony's explanation, and Tony did exactly what he said he would, he cast Rune of Binding Earth, angry blackened limbs erupted from the shadows of his enemies and latched onto them, desperately trying to pull the copies into and through the floor greatly aiding in Jak's takeover as primary tank.
Then, Tony invoked The Gate of the Final Dawn.
The metal plates under Tony's feet buckled and cracked their corners turning up and crumpling as the bolts holding them in place shot out and ricocheted around the chamber, as though the pull of Tony's essence was too much to withstand. From behind him steadily rose a colossal obsidian gate, accented with golden runes and filagree. It loomed large in the chamber, eclipsing the blast doors and stretching toward the vaulted ceiling of the core room. The runes thrummed with a low tone that vibrated in Tony's chest and left a chorus of lingering whispers. The air around him hung heavy, thick with both reverence and dread... with uncertainty and anxiety... The doors of the Gate groaned and creaked, opening just so slightly that threads of white-gold radiance spilled out, searing and illuminating his enemies, but bathing his allies in rejuvenating warmth.
Jak roared with the boost in power provided by the gate and with a series of booming hooks and cleared even more space for Tony to work in. Tony surged forward as he felt a potion vial shatter against his back.
Buff: Elixir of Alacrity: Movement Speed and Attack Speed increased by 20% for 60s
In concert with Vixie's buff, Tony activated Meteoric impact and rocketed into the still collapsing half-organic horde. Instead of stopping at the first contact, he surged through the shattering image of himself that was unlucky enough to be first, and pushed through and forward, bowling breaking bodies aside in his wake until he hit the maximum range of the charge talent and activated Iron Lotus Unfurling, phantom copies of Legion erupted from the ground and thrashed about in a pattern similar to a lotus bloom caught in a violent wind, creating a second cleared spot, at least for a moment.
Buffs Activated
Greater Invocation of Wind Totem – Haste increased by thirty-five percent.
Greater Invocation of Flame Totem – Damage increased by forty percent, Regeneration increased by twenty percent.
Greater Invocation of Water Totem – Damage taken reduced by twenty percent.
Greater Invocation of Earth Totem – Armor increased by fifty percent.
"Oh, YEAH!" Tony roared as Vasna's Greater Invocation of the Elements buffs hit him. He cracked off Adamant Slashes into the encroaching masses to buy some additional time. He needed to think. There didn't seem to be any slowing to the horde... no significant reduction in their numbers despite the wide area attacks and AoE's going off all around the chamber. He was missing something.
A metal hand wrapped around his ankle and caught his attention. A half-copy of Vasna had latched onto him and as he watched, pieces of a Tolik copy that he had cut down dragged itself across the floor and fastened itself to the missing portions of the Vasna copy that it matched. Tony was equal parts "Oh, that makes sense" and "Oh what the actual fuck!"
One of Esava's astral knives slid into the Vasna copy's forehead, killing it for the moment. Tony felt the elf leaning against his back, she was breathing hard... tired...
"This... isn't... working..." she said, trying to gain her breath.
Is that just what everyone is going to say? Tony thought, fighting down his frustration.
"I know," he answered as evenly as he could. "I'm open to ideas."
"The boss... he's been channeling some sort of spell since the copies attacked, probably something to do with that," Esava said.
She sounded like she'd gotten her wind back. Just as Tony turned to say something and just as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, she dove on top of him and tackled him to the ground as a crimson blast of essence soared over the back of them.
"I had that," Tony said, looking up at her from his back.
Esava pushed herself up, her hands against Tony's chest and looked down at him. She'd always been wearing her deep hood and cloak around him and, compared to Tony, she was a little short. Looking up at her against the inside of her cloak, Tony couldn't help but stare. She was pretty, and not just elf pretty, but ethereal, strong, and vibrant. The hood and inside of her cloak was an infinite starscape of gleaming points and constellations that outlined her form in spectacular fashion.
Then Tony remembered that he was in the middle of a boss fight.
The skin on the back of his neck prickled again as Esava stared into his eyes, so he reached up, grabbed onto the side of her face and neck, and wrenched her to the side to roll on top of her, Eidolon raised to intercept another blast of red destruction.
"Stars," she said a flush evident in her cheeks. "Guess we're even now?"
"Not now, Esava!" Tony shouted over the din of the melee. He stood and drove Legion into the floor, then extended his hand for Esava. She took it and he pulled her to her feet.
"And a gentle--" she started, but Tony's glare cut her off. "Oh my."
Your Social Link with Esava has Increased!
Esava - Social Link 2: Duty-Bound Desire
Tony growled at the system message and yanked Legion out of the floor then turned his back on Esava. "Probably should have said 'No, Esava...' not now means maybe later... stupid system..." he lamented.
He looked up at Mendacius and could certainly see that the man-borg was channeling some sort of techno-magic and if he had to guess, it was something that kept the horde reforming itself over and over again or it was the red doom blasts that had struck at him twice now. Tony focused his will on Mendacius, sensing the flow of magic, and crushed it with the upgraded version of Asphyxiate.
All at once, the animated horde collapsed to the ground in whatever half-configuration they had been in at the time and aside from Mendacius' wracking coughs and Maximus growling as he thrashed a copy of Tolik side to side in his maw, the chamber fell relatively silent.
"You DARE!" Mendacius rasped, the chamber in whole turned blood red as low-frequency oscillations spun up, like essence capacitors overloading in slow succession.
"That sounds bad!" Vixie shouted.
"You think?!" Tony roared, having had it with the observations of the obvious.
If the crimson blasts earlier were doom, the torrent of black and red destruction that surged at Tony was the Apocalypse.
"ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ!" Tony roared on reflex as he brought Eidolon up and activated two of her abilities. Forced down to his knees by the force of the cascading beam against his shield and watching the shield provided by Pyrrhic Phalanx tick down at an alarming rate, he activated Abyssal Phalanx, large scorpion legs peeled away from the shield's surface and billowed with golden essence, diverting the overflow from the blast away from his allies... away from Max and Vasna...
Colossal Entrenchment was next. Tony had already been forced to his knees, he wasn't going to be moved any further, not if he had anything to say about it.
My King, Eidolon's voice rang sweetly in his mind, like she was calling him to dinner, I am fully charged, let us destroy this shell of a man who dares think he can replicate you.
Tony looked toward Eidolon's surface and saw that the eye on its surface was brimming with golden essence.
"Let's fucking go," Tony growled through grit teeth as his over shield shattered and Activated Eye of Ohnas. A stream of molten sunlight and fury erupted out of Eidolon, not as wide as the beam Mendacius maintained, but more dense and concentrated, it punched through the middle of the attack, forcing it back. Tony felt Eidolon buck in his grip, struggling against Mendacius. Tony got to his feet and roared, pushing outward with his essence and will as his Aura of Vengeance erupted and surged causing light to refract off of the varied metals in the chamber and shadows to dance in furious patterns.
Tony charged Lore and Lethis into Legion's blade, feeling it grow dense and heavy in his hand, "Now you die!" Tony roared as he fired the blazing white ethereal ringing of Eschaton Breaker up alongside the Eye of Ohnas and from The Gate of the Final Dawn.
The blast from the Gate destroyed Mendacius' back-up shield, and the concert of Legion and Eidolon's destructive force washed over the machine-man silencing both him and the combat indicator in his vision.
