Gathering Guardians

"Mhm."

[This is the worst spot ever.]

*She turns the page.*

Ark: <... Aw, whatever. I don't even care.>

*He walks out and down a couple flights of stairs, sitting on the wall and staring at the woods*

*Luna comes out a while later.*

"I'm sorry, I didn't think to tell them I had any Guardians, let alone--well--you know."
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*Another Al Bhed appears behind Syrona, but he looks different. He's wearing a white robe, has shoulder-length, black hair, & he's got kind of a slight build.*

<Ed ec Senthose! Fryd ec ra tuehk rana?>

<Tuach'd syddan fru ra ec uhla ra'c tayt. Vena!>

*A massive electrical charge shoots through the steel docks, hurling the Al Bhed with the rifle into the sea. 4 Al Bhed on the boat draw their own guns & start firing as he dives behind the crate with Syrona.*

"Hey. Maybe if they don't kill one or both of us, I can treat you to dinner, some time...?"
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*From inside the cage, Max can vaguely see what's going on. As his eyes adjust, he can also make out the hinges of the door.*

*Hitomi closes the book and stands up. She begins to leave the docks walking behind crates.*

Ark: <Eh. Can we get going? I bet Luca's our next stop and the tournament should be starting this week.>

OOC: I apologize for not posting till now, my net died at 8pm and it came back about 5 minutes ago.

Zephyr remains silent.

Max: (I have to get out somehow...)

*Max starts moving around to try to tip the cage over.*

"Tomorrow, actually."

~Timeskip!~

*Somehow, Hitomi ends up passing by the dock that Luna & co. are entering. They see her as Luna emerges on deck.*

"So, I've been thinking. We should probably try to find more help & what in Yevon's name is going on there?"

*She points to one of the other docks, where there's some kind of gun fight going on between some Al Bhed & an unknown party.*
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*The cage proves to be too heavy to tip over.*

"Boy, you really know how to catch a girl at the right moment..."

*She quickly peeks her guns around the crate to take a few potshots towards the boat.*

"What the hell's their problem anyways...Senthose, right?"

Ark: <Al Bhed!>

*He dashes to the attackers, hugging the wall to prevent getting shot*

Ark: <Fryd ec kuehk uh? Fru yna drao!?>

Zephyr is staring apathecially towards the water.

"Guess they don't like my leadership style."

*Senthose grabs Ark & drags him behind the crate.*

"Kid, I'd hate to burst your bubble, but not all Al Bhed are misunderstood salvagers. Some are drug smugglers, some are pirates, & some are even--"

*Senthose visibly shudders.*

"Politicians. Also Geomancers. But that doesn't mean much if I'm not on the boat WITH them."

*One of the Al Bhed spots Valefor, pointing at it as it soars through the air.*

<Drao ryja y Summoner! Fa ryja du ica dra Machina faybuh!>

<Pid fa tuh'd ajah ghuf fryd ed tuac oad! Fa'na eh duu taab, mad'c zicd dinh uincamjac eh!>

<Tu yc E cyo!>

*One of the Al Bhed runs to the back of the boat. As he pushes a button, the doors open, & a large Machina resembling a spider emerges from the hold. It has tanks of liquid on each leg, a scorpion-like tail in the back, & a "head" with a valve. Gas sprays from the valve & a few seconds later, the Al Bhed fall over. It then directs its attention to the group, raising its forearms & firing at them with machineguns. One of the crates breaks & falls apart.*

*Hitomi resumes wandering about.*

*Max gives up trying to tip the cage over and looks in his spell book for something that might be able to let him out.*

Max: <Come on, there MUST be something...>

*He finds that he knows Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, Water, & Osmose.*
===================================================
*She ends up finding the Sphere Theater.*

Max: <Maybe Blizzard...?>

*Max looks at a lock on the door*

Max: <Blizzard!>

*The lock freezes in a solid block of ice. When the ice breaks, it cracks noticably.*

*Max pulls the rod out of his pocket and starts bashing the lock with it*

Ark: <Machina faybuh? Luna, you need to hide, now!>

*He looks at the unconscious Al Bhed*

[...They might have something I can use..]

*He runs to them and quickly checks their pockets before dashing back to the group*

"You going to try and handle this thing like you handled the plant Ark?" Zephyr questions.

*Ark is shot multiple times, but he manages to lift a potion off the 1 Al Bhed body he could actually reach. Valefor blasts the robot onto the docks, then flies over to shield Luna because they're running out of room behind the creates, another of which bursts open, leaving only 1 left.*

"Those tanks must be weak points, but they're filled with poison."

*The machina rights itself & raises its tail.*

"And I don't even want to know what that means."

*Max manages to break the lock on his cage.*

"This is so not good!"

*Syrona rolls out into the open and takes a couple potshots at the spider's tail*

"How do we stop it, with out releasing the poison?"

"It means we're fucked."

"Ark, I think I saw a white mage in town. Small, nerdy looking girl with glasses. Go see if she'll help, we may need her."

*The shots to the tail cause it to lower, but it blasts a stream of poisonous gas at them. The poison hits Valefor, having no discernable effect.*

"I know machines are weak against lightning magic. Other than that...."

*Lightning shoots through the floor from Senthose, shattering one of the poison canisters. A small cloud of gas emerges around the leg, then disappears.*

"Anything I can do?"