mogmelodies | To All Heroes

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To All Heroes

To Everybody:

Whether we've met or not, I'd appreciate a reply from as many people as are willing, especially if you didn't just come from a version of Earth.

So, let's talk holidays. Christmas, I was willing to let pass as a coincidence. Any civilized planet out there with a winter season ends up with some version of a winter solstice. It doesn't matter the time or the planet or the alien race, they've got some kind of tradition that we would recognize. Celebration for being 'almost out of the dark,' as a friend of mine would put it.

But Valentine's Day? Definitely a product of Earth, of a specific time period of Earth, to be sure. At least, in my experience. And that's where you guys come in. Anybody else, not from Earth, have a custom or a legend like this? Something specifically surrounding a holiday, something that's celebrated. Also, is anybody else reading up on Aqures Ixen legends enough to know if we're going all going to be dealing with rabbits and eggs in two months? If so, I'm calling shenanigans now.

-Captain Jack Harkness

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It's a common trope. And I wouldn't worry about dinosaurs this far from a volcano.

Volcano? Maybe Jack doesn't want to know. He starts to lead the way towards the edge of the city, but he decides a tiny explanation is in order.

"I used to have a pet dinosaur. Pterodactyl. A- good friend and I, we caught her with chocolate bars. She was the closest thing we had to a guard dog." Jack ponders. "Guess that's one loose end I left behind at home. There's a candy-addicted dinosaur flying around Cardiff, and nobody that she'll answer to." Jack laughs at the mental image.

When they reach the gates to the city, Jack adjusts his grip on his belted sword. "Any idea, specifically, what's out there? Anything that we'd be better off running away from?"

So you've already got some Monster Hunter experience. You should try the Beastmaster job sometime too.

[It's almost the same thing. And maybe he'll find a dinosaur to tame.]

Hamsters. Don't try to fight them.

The double-take that comes out of that piece of information is so bad it makes Jack almost stumble. "Seriously!?" Jack stares at Chiaki incredulously for a second, and then shakes his head. "Hamsters. No no," he holds up his hands. "Run away from hamsters, got it. The more ridiculous the advice sounds, the more likely I should actually listen to it, because the dumber I'm going to feel when I mess it up."

I've never seen one in the wild, but the old man who runs the Monster Arena told me about them. There's probably no one in Aqures Ixen who can take one on and live to tell the tale.

"How would they even-?" Nope, not asking. And since Jack does not feel like adding 'Face Bitten Off By A Hamster' to his list of deaths, leave the Hamsters alone.

Jack leads the way as they leave the city. There is a dusting of snow covering the open field, Jack and Chiaki's footprints disturb the blank white surface. "At least whatever we're after is gonna be easy to track?" Jack tries to look on the bright side, but he'd be lying if he tried to say he wasn't keeping an eye out for itty bitty paw prints.

That's true. It shouldn't take us long to find something. Maybe it'll even be something I haven't captured yet. Then we can test your abilities and get a new monster for the arena at the same time.

"Hmm, something new?" Jack looks across the plains, and he can see the Aqurean Forest in the distance. It'll take them quite some time to get there, but he points. "Anybody been in there yet?" He smiles widely, because this has all the markings of a good adventure.

The extra good thing about the snow is that it makes it easier to avoid monsters. Thick tracks through the snow show where various things have been coming and going. For a little while, they're following the giant, distinctive footprints of a chocobo. "Should'a gotten one of these, hunh?" Jack points at the tracks.

I haven't, at least. Forests usually have different sets of enemies in them than what you can find in the surrounding plains, too. It's a good place to start, probably.

[Chiaki walks along beside Jack through the snow, looking down at the tracks.]

...Maybe. I don't do so well with things like that. I wouldn't know how to ride one.

"Really?" Jack shrugs, "I mean, I guess it's not for everyone, and I haven't tried it out yet, not on the birds here. But, how hard could it be? They can't even fly."

"Was on this planet, a long long time ago. The 'surface' was really just a bunch of floating platforms surrounding a gas giant. And you got from place to place by riding these big flying lizards, sort of? They didn't quite look like anything you'd see on Earth." Jack is waving his hands as he speaks, trying to illustrate what he's talking about. "We could both give the chocobos a try, later, if you wanted? Who knows, maybe figuring out how to ride those things is another skill we just know from the jobs?"

Jack smiles encouragingly as they reach the treeline. One hand goes to his scabbard, ready to draw, when he needs to. "Let's see what we find."

It's not that, it's just...

[How to put this.]

...they're so warm. I never really know what to do with that.

[There, that should be crystal clear, right?]

Maybe. Chocobo Knights should know how to do it for sure, but I don't have that class.

Jack tilts his head and gets that particular thoughtful but confused look on his face again that seems to come up a lot when talking to Chiaki. "I mean, I guess- that- makes sense? Be-cause it's a living creature, not a vehicle, so you don't feel like you have total control?" He's talking a little slowly, trying to work this through.

Jack is trying to keep them on track to a small path, it's only marked by a bigger gap between the trees, but it's less clear with the snow on the ground, and very easy to accidentally wander.

Yeah. With living things, you never know what they're gonna do next. It's kind of scary. Numbers and machines are much more predictable.

[Given Chiaki's nature, though - which she has yet to fully share with Jack, it's true - that inclination would make sense.]

Jack shakes his head a little. "Nah, I get it. Had a friend or two like that." He doesn't really need to know about Chiaki's nature. The thought process still makes sense, and if it were Toshiko here, she'd probably be saying something similar.

"I-"

Whatever Jack was about to say gets cut off, as what appeared to be a mound of snow ahead of them rumbles and moves. The snow falls away from the slow-rising form in chunks, gradually revealing the form of a Golem. Big and bulky and hard to tell if it's made of stone or steel, but definitely a creature disturbed by their arrival. Jack knows it's time to draw his sword, eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Much more predictable, hunh?"

[Chiaki just stands there, blinking, at the huge creature rising up in front of them.]

...Well, most of the time.

[Staff at the ready!]

The golem moves slow and lumbering, and Jack gets the feeling this is going to be his only advantage, because that thing looks armored to hell. They're here to test out this Dark Knight stuff, so Jack will open with that same Soul Eater attack. The pain, it's a focus. It's nothing he hasn't gone through before, only this time, it really is making him stronger.

He swings with his sword, and the attack carves a deep gouge into the Golem's leg. A massive fist is immediately headed towards Jack in retaliation, and he only partly dodges. It clips him as he tries to retreat. Ow. Okay, the Dark Knight armor isn't as protective as it looks. He's okay, though, still on his feet. For now.

[Chiaki dutifully takes her part near the back of the conflict, summoning her moogle Mogomi to join the fray roughly between where she and Jack are standing.]

I'll support you with healing from the back row while Mogomi casts spells, okay? Let me know if you need me to change tactics mid-battle.

[With that, Mogomi takes up her role as lead spellcaster, flinging a Thundara spell at the golem as Chiaki casts a Cura on Jack. He's going to need a lot of healing to make it through this.]

That still feels so strange, wounds knitting up faster than normal. The other ability they were trying to test out is for his 'health total,' as Chiaki put it, so time to try out Drain.

It's an absorption, like pulling at the Golem's own energy and drawing it into himself. He's felt this kind of thing in reverse before: Abbadon, shutting down the Time Store in Torchwood India. Before, he was using his own life energy as a battery, letting something else draw on it to overload it. When he had the whole Time Vortex running through him, Jack would always win. But this is the opposite.

The attack isn't the most effective on the magic-resistant Golem. Whatever damage he did certainly doesn't slow it down at all as it charges towards Jack with another punch.

"Get its attention, keep its attention," Jack mutters. "At least I've found a job I'm perfect for."

It looks like it resists magic. Mogomi's spell didn't do much damage either.

[Chiaki's moogle hangs her head, looking a little ashamed at being unable to offer much in the way of support.]

It's okay, Mogomi, you did your best. But maybe we should let Mech Gunner handle this one.

[Taking a moment to switch monsters, Chiaki turns to drop another Cura on Jack while she waits for her robot friend to ready its attack.]

See, now isn't Jack glad he didn't use the Gunner for target practice? He is unspeakably glad to see that thing come out, knowing that it's going to be on his side. But, the plan is still the same, Jack needs to keep that thing's attention, so he uses another Soul Eater attack. The pain as a focus is starting to feel familiar. He can outlast this thing. His sword carves another deep gouge in the Golem. It continues to come after Jack, as he has established himself as the most dangerous target on the field, giving the Gunner a very clear shot.

How's your HP, Jack?

[Whatever the answer, Chiaki is dropping another Cura on him anyway. Between the Golem's attacks and Jack's own Dark Knight techniques, he's certain to need it. And meanwhile, the Mech Gunner plays support by launching a cannon volley that collides directly with the Golem's chest.]

Nice timing, the Gunner shot helps slow the Golem just enough to aid Jack's dodge. He feels the Cura hit, and grins. "Doing better now!" he shouts back. He's got this. His next attack is a regular one, just a swing of the sword, but with the Gunner shooting cover for him, this might go faster now. He keeps his attacks focused on the thing's legs. Slow it down even more, maybe he has a chance.

When it's weak enough, I'll capture it for the arena.

[And since the Golem missed that time, this round Chiaki's going to change it up by casting Protect instead. The Mech Gunner keeps right on running interference with cannon shots, too.]

Ah, thanks for the reminder there, Chiaki. Jack hesitates just slightly with his next attack, remembering their secondary reason for coming out here. Don't just wipe it out, whittle it down so that Chiaki can grab it. Easy to get carried away here.

His next attack keeps at its legs, and finally, the Golem seems to slump to one side, its right leg unable to carry its weight any more. Its next strike hits Jack full on, batting him back out of melee range. He falls back, breath driven out of him for a second, but calls out, "Okay! I'm okay," for some value of okay. "Give it a shot!"

Right. Here goes.

[Chiaki steps forward, holding out a hand toward the Golem. After a bit of strain, it transforms into a small glowing white ball and flies toward Chiaki's hand.]

Capture complete.

[She smiles to herself, closing her hand and nodding.]

To All Heroes

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I did way too much research for this fight.

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