The Mana-Verse

[Quickman]

((I got a bit bored and dramatic with a character who can kick some ass.  Unlike Prof, who is pretty much unarmed right now.  I suppose he could find himself in a pinch and harness some untapped mana through sheer panic...))

[Dr. Wily II]

(Well, that's still 2 Cheval Joes down. I'll see what the others have come up with. And Phi, Peam's Cheval Joe caught a small flame from her attack.  Winknudge. )

[Sapphire Knight]

[So... Should Shuu have Susanoo mediate the weather for easier visibility, or just have him turn into a sword and join in on the fight with lightning strikes?]

[Mr. Haxwell]

Anticipating a Cheval Joe, wheelie-ing itself towards her. Toshi quickly pulls of her mitts; clamping them between her armpits, so that they don't get lost in the snow; then forming a monkey handsign, as the Cheval closed in...

Toshi - "Hyōton: Yuki otome no tatchi!!" she dodges slightly to the side as the Joe barely misses her, just so that she could simple poke the Joe with her finger. Before the Joe could realize what Toshi just did, its body froze from the inside causing him to slump over the steering; as unfortunate as it was, its cheval, along with its driver was sent off a cliff, crashing into the crevass below.

Feeling her hands beginning to freeze over a little, she quickly slipped her mitts back on; pulling out the staff segment of her spear, prepping herself for another fight.

(Still thinking I should just let Toshi lose the mitts, though.)

[Fxeni]

Fxeni barely dodged the Cheval that was incoming. As it whizzed by, another one started its charge.

"Thanks Prof!" he said as he tossed one of the vials at the ground in front of the incoming Cheval. It managed to push its way through with wheelie powerᵗᵐ, but it was considerably slowed down in the process. Fxeni channeled mana through his short spear and pointed it at the Cheval. A bolt of lightning struck the engine, causing a feedback loop which resulted in the Cheval going into overdrive and exploding.

"Susanoo! Could you calm down the winds?" Fxeni yelled as his target exploded.

(Leaving Phi's flaming Cheval intact for Pema to dispose of )

[Sapphire Knight]

"Calming down the storm it is!" Shuu declared, Susanoo nodding.

The daemon arched his back before letting out another roar, this one releasing an expanding burst of magic that calmed down the winds around them. "Gonsol, in order for you to assist your new comrades while I hold the winds, you'll need the horse."

"Already on it!" Shuu had Grani summoned as a lance and was charging straight at one of the Cheval Joes.

[Blue Valkyrie]

Aya raised her barrier gauntlet just as a cheval tried to run her down, the physical barrier deflected the joe away and left it spinning out. The snow had reduced Aya's mobility and to follow up on her attack she'd need to follow fast, jumping into the air and gliding with her wings she landed on the out of control Cheval and plunged her blade into it's engine hoping off before it could explode or it's drive counter attack.

[Dr. Wily II]

The remaining Cheval Joes remain undaunted, and continued their wheelie charge at the group of heroes.


Back at Heimdall, random villagers were still being frozen solid by Freeze Master and Blizzard Master. A Cheval Joe rode up to Freeze Master, and reported its latest findings.

"Freezzzzzzzzze... It seems our guests are having a time with our welcome party..."

"Shouldn't we roll them over?"

"... No... Master Albertus has plans... Freezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzze... The Joes are expendable..."

The Cheval Joe gave a look at Freeze Master, and was instantly shot down by Freeze Master's glare.

[Mr. Haxwell]

(I almost read that last part, as if the Cheval Joe was literally shot down by Freeze Master's glare.)

[Sakura Leic]

(I feel like having 2 Cheval Joes crash into each other trying to crash into Sakura and Calien and then they finish them off.)

[Phi]

"Do you see that? He caught fire!" Salem exclaimed.

Pema nodded, "Yeah, and I know exactly what to do!" She found her footing and held the staff steady, the gems engraved into it glowing brightly. Electric surges flowed through the staff as she aimed it forward, firing a lightning bolt at the Cheval.

He narrowly dodged the blast and grazed her, knocking Salem out of her hand. The Cheval swerved back towards her and charged again. Pema stumbled out of the way and crawled to her feet; while she was able to melt some of the snow, it still wasn't quite enough. For someone of her height, these conditions were not particularly favorable.

She trudged through the snow to find where Salem fell. Soon after, he emerged from a snowbank, floating towards her, "Are you okay?" He spoke.

"I think that's my line," Pema smiled, then faced the Cheval, "I just need to concentrate."

She channeled her mana into the staff, once again, electricity surrounding Salem. Pema aimed, closing one eye and focusing on the flaming engine with the other. Once he revved up the engine and charged at her, she fired a lightning bolt at the flames.

The electric current from the blast immediately reacted to the fire, resulting in a massive explosion.

[Sapphire Knight]

[So... How many Cheval Joes are there? And whose controlling them?]

[Quickman]

((No idea the count, and I've been treating them like Wushu mooks.))

[Dr. Wily II]

(Well, since this is the first wave, just one per hero/ine. Prof, Riagan, Toshi, Fxeni, Aya and Peam have settled theirs. Just left with Shuu, Sakura and Calien... Did I miss out anyone? >_>

As for control, unless you destroy your Cheval Joe, I'll take control. You are in command of how you defeat them.)

[Sakura Leic]

(Okay I'll just take care of Sakura and Calien's.)

Sakura and Calien were each being chased by a Cheval trying to run them down.  Eventually the both of them decided to run as fast as they could into each other luring the Chevals with them.  When they got close enough they both got out of the way which left the Chevals no time to turn as they crashed into each other in a firey explosion.

(Eh maybe not as flashy as the others but I couldn't think of anything better.)

[Dr. Wily II]

(I never intended for this part to be long anyways, just a welcome party of sorts. Only left with yours, Shuu.)

[Quickman]

((The journey on foot through a friggin' blizzard will take long enough anyway.  You know how easy it is to get turned around and lost when all you see is blinding snow?  Very, very easy.  And that snow really hurts on exposed skin.  And you can't hear for [parasitic bomb] in horizontal snow.))

[Dr. Wily II]

(I just wanted something else besides white death. )

[Sakura Leic]

(Guess we might have to camp after all.)

[Sapphire Knight]

[Well, the blizzard is sorta being dealt with by Susanoo, who has a decent-sized bubble of no blizzard set. o3o]

Shuu dodged the last Cheval Joe as it charged him from the sides, repeatedly. "Damn! It's hard to move fast in this deep snow." The knight growled, having difficulty even turning fast enough. It was only by blind luck that he stabbed his lance into the Cheval as it came right at him one last time, exploding in his face.

[Quickman]

(Guess we might have to camp after all.)

((Let's see how much progress they can make, first.  The fighting will get their adrenaline pumping and warm them up enough to travel.))

[Sakura Leic]

(Good point anyway fighting's done.)

Calien looked around noticing the Chevals were all destroyed.

"Everyone still in one piece?"

[Quickman]

Riagan looked around and gave one of the chevals another hit just to make sure it stayed down.  He then made his way to Pema, ready to carry her again. "Those machinations were no match for me."

On the other side of the battlefield, the Professor didn't hear Calien over the howling winds, and just raised his hand to show that he was still there.

[Sakura Leic]

"There's probably going to be more of them, the Pigs said there were a lot of them." Sakura pointed out.

[Phi]

"Yeah, I'm fine!" Pema hollered as she was hoistened on Riagan's back.