mogmelodies | 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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[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.]

Jack's eyebrows raise in interest. "Coool. Ow." He drags himself up off the ground, moving stiffly. "That. Is. Neat. Magic, hunh?" He shakes his head in slight disbelief.

He looks to Chiaki ans smiles. "You doing okay?"

I'm fine. You did a great job drawing aggro.

"Jack Harkness, Professional Attention-Getter. Think I've finally found a job that's perfect for me." Jack dusts himself off a little and puts the sword away. "We should sneak out of here before anything else decides we're an easy meal." He'll start to lead the way back where they came, the snow still gives them a simple path to follow.

To All Heroes

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I did way too much research for this fight.

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