In Dreams to Come 2 - Back to the Future

[Dorni]

"Neither am I." Simon met Eric's gaze with his own look of concentrated disappointment. He gave weight to the potential benefit of this Tara and Daryll as yet another plausibly deniable spear pointed at Paradisia, but he knew the rest of his team wasn't even considering that. Without that part of the equation, letting those two through the portal was sheer madness.

"You two of all people don't have the right to declare that the past is irrelevant just when its convenient for you. And don't try to lecture me about responsibility. We're responsible for the impact our choices have on other people's lives, and that includes the impact on the lives that your 'personal goal' is going to destroy."

"You want to make this about saving lives? Prove it. Do your enhancements. Once you're done, I disable your powers before you're allowed through that portal. Resist and the deal's off. When we're through, we take you into custody. You'll still get to walk away from this timeline with your lives."

[DukeGod]

"I'm saying we let them come. But I agree with Simon. This isn't a negotiation. If you think this is your best change of survival you do this our way."

Gestalt turns around to follow Lorelei. It'll help if they can't see his face during this

"And don't make it about ethics. Don't you forget that I already DID kill half this city. World for all that I know."

[Quellian-dyrae]

Tara and Darryll exchanged kinda questioning looks with each other, though perhaps more curious than searching.

"I...believe they would still work. The ritual should be persisting the energy even if our own is cut off."

"It might depend on how he intends to do it. If he's blocking the flow of Spiritual Energy to the shapes, yes, we won't need a continuing flow. Would dispersing the shapes negate them, though?"

"It...shouldn't. The alteration to reality should already be complete; precluding further ones should not undo that which already exists. Like how some physical enhancements retain a charge through nullification."

"But does SIDE technology block the flow, or disperse the shape?"

"That...I have never quite been clear on. I believe the only way to counter the ritually-applied powers once placed should be to negate them directly, or for us to intentionally withdraw them. Travelling to another timeline should otherwise be analogous to any form of negation that would target us. Short one that uses the shape to draw back power produced through it, I suppose, but the only examples of something like that I've ever heard of were in Indelar."

"Hm...yes, I concur. The risk is low, and in any event, if it happened, it would likely still happen when we went through the portal."

Tara nodded. "Very well. We accept your terms. Bear in mind, we can still choose to release the ritual, and the elementals will be capable of taking us from here. Do not try to betray your side of the bargain." With that said, she went about quickly placing a series of augmentations on the future heroes, while Darryll ordered the elementals to assist the defense of this area and obey the orders of the heroes unless he gave a conflicting order.

[Starsign]

One held breath finally gives way to a small sigh of relief as Tara and Daryll agree to Simon's terms. To her, the time traveler's offer is as good as it can be. It's both relieving to see a compromise and, to a degree, vindication for Sheema's opinion. "Thank you," she says to everyone; first Tara and Daryll, then to Simon, Gestalt and Eric.

Makhana did not get any thanks, not that she wanted any. The dire rhino still thinks this is a horrible idea but she's not going to go to war with Sheema over this. Instead, the rhino gives a low growl in a warning of what's about to happen.

"Oh, right," the Perallan princess says as she unsheathes Galadhil from her back. "So are we just going to leave things to everyone? Or are we gonna help the rest fight back Legion?" She gives a sincere smile. Sure, the time travelers are supposed to return right away; but isn't it supposed to be a hero's job to face villainy instead of running from it?

Besides, Sheema's whole family is here. She's happy to fight alongside her parents.

[Grim ranger]

Sighing slowly as the situation seemed to de-escalate for the moment, Aquila glanced at Sheema, also apparently pondering the same question. "While there may be some measure of personal satisfaction to be gained from that, I have to point out that our elder, more experienced counterparts have not been able to halt Legion in any way whatsoever so far" he pointed out, looking bit uncomfortable. "Although it might be just my self-preservation talking, taking risks that might prevent us from returning and making Legion to never exist in the first place just seems reckless."

[Born]

Eric was glad Tara and Daryll had voiced their compliance with Simon's terms. After all, he knew that even if the rest of the group agreed to allow them to come, Simon would not settle for anything less than his demands here. The biggest thing he had made perfectly clear was that he works for the safety and security of the country.

Even though he relaxed for now, he would also remain vigilant. After all that Tara had done in their own timeline, he couldn't be certain that she was going to keep her word once they passed back to the other timeline. He hoped with all his heart that they would, of course, but enough of Simon's watchfulness had passed on to him that he was still a little bit worried. Nonetheless, he allowed himself to smile.

As for the question of whether they should stick around to help fight off Legion or just leave, Eric just wished he knew more about this timeline business. The team's future selves seemed convinced it would be best if they left now at least, so maybe that is the best course of action. He began to ponder the possibilities.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"While under ordinary circumstances I would be thrilled to kill Legion before we go, we will be of limited personal use in a battle this scale; the ritual will be using our energy for maintenance for as long as it can, to maximize the duration. While it is doing so, I cannot place any more augments, and Darryll is unable to summon any more creatures. Besides, our divinations indicate that Legion is still in his base. He isn't risking himself by joining the rest of the army," Tara said.

"More to the point, as we said before, we all have a get-out-of-timeline-free card. You guys don't," Future Simon said. "And the fact is, in a fight like this, having to worry about keeping all of you safe is going to be more of a hindrance to us than your fighting power would be a help." The old soldier put it bluntly, not apologizing for what he deemed a simple statement of fact. This wasn't about ego.

"And even if that weren't the case, the plan is to destroy the time machine after you all leave so that even if we can't stop Legion's army, he can't get access to it. As long as you're all here, we can't do that, which means that your staying to help opens up a the possibility that Legion escapes to another timeline. No amount of assistance you could provide is worth that."

"Yeah we've got this one, don't sweat it," Future Josh said.

Future Sheema gave her past self a smile at the offer, but said simply, "Get Dad home safe, okay?"

That all said...there wasn't really much time to discuss the matter in detail. The future heroes headed out after giving their advice, to go join the battle. If you guys did choose to stay and fight with them...well, they couldn't exactly afford to waste the effort trying to stop you, now could they?

[Dorni]

Simon watched the discussion between Tara and Daryll with a level stare. Tara and Daryll accepting his condition willingly had not been an outcome he'd assigned a high probability to.

"Us keep our word?" Simon snorted as Tara's not-so-subtle threat. "Remind me again which one of us is the Hero."

"Future us are right," the old soldier added to his team. "I know you all want to help, but the best way for us to help here is to get gone."

"The technique is physiological. Forgive me, but we need to move and I don't have a lot of time to be gentle," he explained as he approached Tara. His tone took on a distinct shade of a doctor reciting a clinical evaluation. There was no apology to be found. "You feel weak, numb, and experience loss of Spiritual Energy's natural strengthening. That's normal. Your powers will return with a few hours' rest. Mandragora! When I'm done, help her through the portal." With that, he took a stance and started.

Spoiler

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Attacking Tara with Target the Spiritual Energy Pathways followed by Target the Nerves. Same with Daryll.

[Starsign]

The words of everyone else comes through to Sheema as she watches her future self take off. Aquila's words had an impact on the present-day Perallan. He was right: how much was she going to help her future self with experience gap of ten years? He knew it; everyone else knew it; Sheema was the only one who wanted to reject the fact.

A slow but comforting huff from Makhana comforts Sheema along with the words of her older self. The present-day Perallan princess takes a deep breath and puts Galadhil on her back. "You're right Makhana," she says. "You're right. We've... done all we can here."

She takes another breath before putting on her big smile. Her hand rubs tightly on the dire rhino's silver hide. Sheema looks over to Aquila and Wulther next. "Alright, time to go home," she says to them, ready to leave with the others.

To the time travelers, this place must just be some soon-forgotten nightmare they'll forget a minute after leaving. To Sheema, it's slightly different. She's leaving a war-torn place with it apparently unresolved. It reminds her of her old home; it reminds her of Rivinas.

At least, this time, she's leaving with her full family.

[Born]

"Right." Mandragora nodded in acknowledgement at Simon's command. The vine man readied his tendrils, preparing to be able to grab at any moment. He didn't intend to drag her through the portal, but was ready to intercept if she tried to escape on the other side.

[DukeGod]

Gestalt takes one last look back, and then runs into the portal at high speed before he can change his mind

He hopes his thoughts of having already defeated The Master in his own way are true

[Quellian-dyrae]

Tara and Darryll offer no resistance as their powers are suppressed (the two look rather uncomfortable, but don't complain). The portal isn't open yet - you don't just leave a time portal up unattended, after all! - but by the time the group has all gathered Lorelei is inputting commands. "Sheema, Aquila, Wulther, Makhana, you four will go through first, then I'll reset the coordinates so everyone else can get back to-" she started saying.

Her explanation was interrupted by the arrival of the Master.

There was no flash or fanfare, no impressive display. There was just a soft pop of displaced air, and Legion was suddenly standing not six feet from Gestalt. Lorelei's explanation cut off with a startled cry, and the scientist boggled at him in shock. "That's not- You can't- Projections aren't- You can't do this!"

"Come now, my dear. Of course I can," Legion replied drolly, his voice pedantic. "Projection blockers can be overcome if you can smuggle the right sort of beacon inside. I simply summoned myself," he said with a cool smile, his eyes fixed on Gestalt with a subtle, appreciative menace, "to my own position."

Spoiler

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Legion has not attacked yet. It looks like he might be building up to a monologue. If you guys want to steal the first strike, all PCs on on turn. If you'd rather be a bit cautious about attacking the stupidly-overpowered summoner and see how things play out a bit, let me know and I'll post more dialog. Of course if your characters have anything they want to do or say in the interim feel free.

This is the climactic challenge of the episode and as such of the adventure. Hero Points are use 'em or lose 'em.

[Dorni]

Simon stared at Legion in shock.

Summoning oneself past a projection blocker was impossible. His timing - appearing just as the team was about to open the portal to escape and after Daryll and Tara had their Powers blocked - was perfect. His earlier concern that Legion might try spying within the Glade hadn't been unfounded, just based on false assumptions. He'd screwed up. If Legion prevailed here, Legion could escape his doomed timeline and reach the prime timeline. The damage he'd cause would be irreparable.

Then the moment ended. In the space of a heartbeat after Legion's appearance, Simon recovered from his shock and lashed out, striking as hard as he could and willing his suit to gather as much of that kinetic energy and launch it into Legion as he could. "Don't just stand around! Get him! Don't let him open the portal! Summit! Him your best shot!"

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Standard: Aid Summit with Tactics Tactics Tactics, AoA 5. Aid: (1d20+29)[39]. 6 Degrees of Success. Summit gets +5 to Attack, Mandragora gets +5 to Attack.
Triggers reaction Team Attack with Summit, PA 5. (1d20+24)[37]. +2 to DC. Effect rank 11.
Free Action: Change combat array to Focused Assault
Move: Charge Focused Assault
Extra Effort: Attack Legion with Focused Assault (AoA5, PA 5): (1d20+17)[19]. 35, Crit On hit,
DC 28 33 + Multi Toughness vs Damage & DC 23 28 Linked Weaken [Toughness] & Linked Affliction [Vulnerable / Defenseless]

All rolls assume Inspire. -5 defenses this round.

[manwithaplan]

Seeing what Simon was doing, Josh zipped in front of Tara and laid his hands back on the staff.

"Look, really...you do gotta give it back now," he smirked.

Then he went loud, engaging with Legion to throw a flurry of opening punches and kicks in the space of a moment. The combo wasn't super important, though - he disengaged quicker than he got in, and moved to his desired position - directly behind Aquila. If he had successfully stolen it, the speedster would slip the staff into Summit's grip.

"All eyes on you. Give this thing a try."

Spoiler

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Resolving this turn after Mandragora, before Aquila. Considering the possibility that Legion's defences will be lowered by Mandragora's action.

Standard Action: Flurry of Blows! Power Attack 5.

On Legion: Attack (1d20+16)[23] for DC 26+Multiattack Damage.
On Tara: Attack (1d20+14)[33] for DC (1d20+11)[31]+Multiattack Strength or Disarm.

Move Action: Get behind Aquila, give him the staff if I have it.

Status: Normal. Inspire Bonus applied to rolls.

[Born]

Mandragora, too, was caught off-guard by the immediate appearance of Legion. Nonetheless, he lashed out immediately on Simon's call. He knew that this moment could be the crux of everything. It was now or never in the stand against Legion. The fallen potential future version of Leviath had already proven that he cared nothing for Life, Joy, Purpose, or Right. For this one there would not be time for redemption and reform. The vine man put everything he had behind his next strikes, intent on hammering the fallen summoner into a state where he could no longer defend himself from the others. In a rare moment of sheer emotion and mercilessness, Eric cried out "This is for father!" as his vines struck out.

Spoiler: Actions

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Standard: Vine Lash on Legion. Power Attacking at -2. Includes Aid from Simon. (1d20+19)[23] plus Multiattack. On a hit, DC 28 Strength or Dodge versus grab. If this misses, I will reroll it in OOC.

Extra Effort Standard: There are two possibilities here.
1. If the first Vine Lash fails to hit or fails to grab, Vine Lash again to go for the hold (I'm assuming this one doesn't get Aid). (1d20+16)[20] plus Multiattack. On a hit, DC 26 Strength or Dodge versus grab.
2. If the first Vine Lash gets a grab, attempt a trip against Legion for even further bonus goodness for the others. Not sure if I need to roll an attack roll if I'm already grabbing, but if so this can use the attack roll from the first possibility (since that won't happen). DC (1d20+26)[31] Athletics check to avoid being knocked prone.

All actions Inspiration.

[Grim ranger]

Aquila was left staring at the enemy suddenly in their midst just as dumbstruck as anyone else. While he had been expecting some attempt from Legion to prevent their departure and inevitable erasure of this timeline, the villain suddenly appearing right on top of them had not been one of them. As far as underhanded surprise moves went, that one struck badly below the belt.

And then Simon spoke, and the surprised tension was replaced by frantic action.

Blinking somewhat to himself, Summit felt the staff being slipped into his grip by the resident speedster, his awareness suddenly expanding through the mountain. His power flowed easily through the thing even though he had never laid a hand on it much or even paid that much thought about the matter, a small shiver passing through the stone as he took a slow breath, his eyes fixed on Legion. And this time, he was far less intimidated of the man than during their first encounter.

"I think I speak for all of us..." he noted, his stony armor rising from the ground and clamping onto him to shroud him in his usual combat attire, the rocks and dust moving practically as one "...when I say we have heard QUITE ENOUGH ABOUT YOU."

Smacking the end of the staff against the floor, Summit commanded the mountain around them, the ceiling and floor suddenly sprouting jagged spikes of volcanic rock that stabbed at Legion from all sides, the slight shuddering and compression of the walls making the attack a spitting image of mountain itself attempting to chew out the supervillain.

Spoiler: Actions

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Activating Earth my Armor and Besiege, using the staff to add the following to Besiege: Concentration on the Weaken Toughness (16 points), Improved Critical 4 to the overall power (4 points) and Reach 10 to the overall power (10 points). After that, attacking Legion with Besiege.

(1d20+16)[18] (Besiege, Inspiration and help from Simon added in)

[DukeGod]

Gestalt goes in front of the portal. He isn't surprised or shocked. It seemed easy to him to get behind the idea what his future version could have done something

He covers as much of it as he can with his body

"You'll have to go through me first, Master. And, know that you shall not pass"

He flares his light cape and stares defiantly at his self

Edit: Oops, formatting

Spoiler

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Move: Get in front of the Time Portal
Standard: Activate Caped Hero
HP Spent. +5 to everyone

[Starsign]

Sheema had been all set to return home, for real this time.

Alas, some things are never easy, are they?

She nearly stumbles as the very-much-not-Gestalt suddenly comes in out of nowhere, explaining that he entered in some... way which Sheema doesn't understand. Okay, just how long were these time travelers here last time? Seriously, they seem like they've been hiding a lot more than just being heroes five years from the future.

Not that they are her enemies as the Perallan princess draws out Galadhil. "Tara, stay back!" she warns the de-powered augmenter. Sheema almost groans at the thought of fighting with the machine right next to them. On the other hand, this is their chance to take out Legion! Maybe all will be as well as can be in this world if they defeat him here.

"Mom! Dad! Follow me!" she cries, suddenly taking Makhana's identity rather lightly as Sheema vaults on top of the dire rhino. She pulls out Galadhil before looking over Legion's power armor... He didn't actually have much of a weak point on his armor. Instead, she sheathes Galadhil and brings out her high-frequency blade. Sure, it may not have the sheer sharpness but it'll disrupt the machine's functions if it can self-repair.

In a stomping pound, Makhana leans down her head and charges forward with her horn! Closing in, she suddenly gives a short leap, bucks Sheema off her back and forward to skewer Legion in tandem with Mandagora's vines. Makhana then lands down hard on her front hooves, sending a disruptive quake in front of her and bringing rubble briefly up in the air. Sheema follows up right after, slicing into Legion's armor with her blade.

Spoiler: OOC

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So Sheema already rolled to Team Attack with Mandagora. She will now EE and use High-Frequency Blade and Frenzied Fighter together. Power Attack +5/-5 and All-Out Attack +5/-5. Inspire and Concealment cancel each other out. DC 28+Multiattack Toughness. Incurable, Affects Insubstantial 2, and Improved Critical 2 apply, where allowed: (1d20+14)[34]

Makhana is going to EE and attack Legion twice with Defensive Shockwave. Power Attack and All-Out Attack +5/-5. DC 34 Toughness + DC 27 Fort vs Impaired/Disabled/Incapacitated on hit. Concealment 4 vs Visual Senses, Evasion 2, and Improved Critical 2 apply:
(1d20+8)[17]
(1d20+8)[19]

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 1

The time travellers may not have been the single most powerful team of Heroes in Ilessia. They may not have been the best-known, or the most-feared. But what you had to remember was that as a general rule, there weren't very many cohesive Hero teams. Certainly, Heroes would work together when the threat warranted it, but for the most part, they operated more as a loose affiliation. They had each other's backs, but they didn't regularly work together. Sometimes you'd get an outsize group for a given city that worked more closely, or maybe a group with a prior association that all joined the Corps together, but still, of the give-or-take a thousand Heroes that protected modern Ilessia, it was fair to say that fewer than fifty were part of anything that could be considered a team.

And Arch smite it if any of those groups could claim to have the sheer level of tactical coordination that the Heroes of Adaros did!

Without any help from their future selves, the Heroes took the fight to Legion in a display of teamwork and tactics that would make any SIDE officer stand up and applaud. Gestalt, taking full advantage of the fact that Legion couldn't risk harming him, put himself squarely between his future self and the portal, extolling his allies to greater heights of valor. Simon directed their assault, developing and communicating a field strategy in moments even as he loosed the telekinetic forces of his super-suit on the villainous summoner. Josh hammered on their foe while simultaneously requisitioning the necessary materiel, Tara just blinking in surprise as Arcanis's staff was yoinked from her hands and placed in Summit's so swiftly and easily that it appeared to have been teleported. Mandragora locked their enemy down, his entangling vines grasping and crushing, and opening the way for their heavy-hitters.

Summit, Sheema, and Makhana took full advantage, hammering Legion with crushing power and deadly skill, leaving Legion's armor heavily damaged, and the summoner himself off-balance and winded in Mandragora's clutches.

Legion was a horrifyingly powerful summoner. But he didn't have any summons with him now!

...Well. Sort of.

From the first, Legion had commanded the same four types of creatures that Gestalt did. The Red Wyvern, the Ice Witch, the Rainbow Bird, and the Iron Knight. These were the minions he had transformed the victims of the Disappearance into. The warriors he had unsummoned back in time to do his bidding. The army he had whelmed to conquer Ilessia in this future. And the personal champions he called forth to battle his foes. Since then, Gestalt had earned the services of a fifth summon, but the Feynmen Series PX-30 Nanite Swarm had never been seen among Legion's forces. It would be reasonable to assume that since Gestalt had only discovered that summon once leaving this timeline, it simply wasn't part of Legion's repertoire.

Legion's powered armor revealed otherwise. The Heroes inflicted severe damage to Legion's armor, but an assault like that would have torn any normal suit of powered armor - even the cutting-edge, ultra-modern suits used by ADE elites - to shreds. An assault like that would have brought some mecha to their knees.

But Legion's suit absorbed it all. Not without harm, but better than any mere technology, even with another ten years of advancement, could have hoped to do.

And the Feynmen Series PX-30 Nanotech Powered Armor was not without its tricks, either. As soon as the nanite swarm's advanced AI detected its wearer in a vulnerable position, it released a concealing cloud of nanites that projected holographic duplicates all around Legion to supplement its deflective fields. It wasn't enough to turn the assault aside, but every little bit helped.

It also began initiating nanorepairs.

And while his armor was damaged, Legion was anything but out. In an instant, he vanished from Mandragora's coils, summoning himself to a new position and attempting to likewise escape Summit's crushing stonework. Then he raised a hand towards the group, prepared to unleash a devastating attack that would-

Lorelei moved.

Seeing Gestalt standing between Legion and the portal, she took a quick breath and darted away from the portal's console, getting more-or-less in the midst of the group and facing Legion directly.

With a tap to her belt buckle, she deactivated her forcefield.

And stood her ground.

"If you want to blast them, you'll have to blast me too, Leviath," she told him simply, firmly, one hand resting unconsciously on her stomach. Actually, it was about the spot where your Lorelei had been shot during the ill-fated time jaunt that had begun this whole misadventure. "Maybe that won't be so hard for you, anymore. ...Or maybe it's a little different when you're not just ordering a minion to do it."

Legion's expression was obscured by his helmet, but he retorted, "What makes you think I was planning to use an area attack?"

And then he went blinking around the room, summoning himself to one position after another. The gauntlets of his powered armor grew into claws...no, into distinctly bird-like talons, which he lashed at one Hero after another in the fraction of a blink he stood beside them, before whisking himself to another part of the room.

As soon as he had halted, Wulther charged. He didn't take his rhino form. This was already a kinda cramped environment and frankly, he was the least powerful warrior here and knew it. He wasn't a Hero, he wasn't even a Dreamer, and even in a contest of straight ability, his daughter had surpassed him in skill, and it would appear, his wife - or what remained of her - in sheer physical power.

This was not a battle that Wulther could contribute to as a warrior, nor as a beast.

So he would fight as a king. Not directing tactics as a general, nor dispatching enemies as a champion, no. He would lead by example and from the front, emboldening any unit he fought beside even as he shielded them from harm.

Besides, he knew exactly what sort of openings a dire rhino could exploit, when they were offered.

So Wulther got right up in Legion's face and went at him with nothing more than his noble spirit, his fearless will, and his two bare fists!

Judy swallowed hard as battle was joined. Her power was great and her creations potent, but a warrior she was not. She hung back, hesitant, debating the merits of fleeing outright, her eyes wide with fear.

Which made her a perfect target.

What was it that made Tara Ellens the most feared villain in modern Ilessian history?

It was not her tactical ability. Tara's plan had been...workable, certainly, but as Simon himself had had occasion to note, it was hardly a flawless work of genius. It had enacted the first breakout in SIDE history, which wasn't nothing, but it had more-or-less completely fallen apart in the aftermath, and Tara had never really recovered the initiative since.

It wasn't her drive for vengeance. Certainly, her single-minded determination spoke of a formidable will, and added to the threat she presented. But even her paramour Darryll had openly admitted that her uncompromising drive to destroy those who had wronged her was more a flaw of her character than a strength of it.

Her Dreamer power? Certainly it was formidable, easily qualifying her as one of the most personally-powerful Dreamers in the world. But for all the phenomenal power she could bestow, Legion was not wrong to note that her power was useless on its own. A massive amount of raw energy, for certain, but merely energy nonetheless.

Perhaps her mastery of ritual, then? That certainly got closer to the truth. Her persistent rituals were incredible feats of spellcraft on their own, and gave her a channel through which to use her Dreamer power personally. And even discounting those, her ritual mastery had sundered SIDE's strongest fortifications. To say nothing for the incredible results that she had achieved combining her rituals with APEX power. It would be fair to say that all of her greatest personal feats were expressions of her ritual magic.

But then...even with her ritual to shatter their fortifications, Tara could not have overcome the full defenses and security of the SIDE prison alone. Even with her rituals to persist her augmentations long-term, merely adding power to the escapees would not have provided the cover she needed to avoid SIDE's Task Force for so long. Her assault on the Adaros prison would not have come as close as it did if she hadn't somehow gotten Chlorine to accept the taint of APEX.

At the end of the day Tara was an augmenter, her power always best expressed through her allies. And so throughout it all, Tara's greatest strength had never been cunning or will, had never been the power of her Dream or her magic. It had been the skill that had kept her alive and allowed her to thrive since she, a mere ten year old girl with no powers to speak of and abandoned by her family had been cast from the only home she had ever known to a foreign country and forced to rely on the kindness of strangers to survive. The skill that had allowed her to direct the anger of Rin Kidora, to inflame the curiosity of Evans Ayers, to guide the battle-lust of Brava Suldoon. The skill that had earned her the undying love and loyalty of Darryll Harrens. The skill that even today had won her Sheema's support and gotten her a chance to return to the past even from a group of Heroes who knew what she was capable of.

The skill to tell people exactly what they needed to hear, to get them to do exactly what she needed them to do.

"Judy...we can't give Legion the opportunity to recover. He will kill all of them, all of us. And if he makes it back through the portal, nobody will be safe. They aren't powerful enough to defeat him themselves. With my power they can. I've seen what your potions can do. Help me!"

"I..." Judy replied uncertainly, but she reached for a vial of her healing potions, and for her pouch of nanite dust.

Spoiler

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First off, have a map.

Lorelei:
Move: Into J6.
Free: Deactivate her forcefield.
Standard: None.

Legion's Lost Love Complication triggers. He is unable to bring himself to target any non-selective Area attack such that its area comes within 10' of Lorelei. This uses up the remaining pending Complication that Gestalt had imposed.

Legion:

Non-Action: Buying off Dazed with GM Fiat. The party receives a floating Hero Point.

Free: Reconfigure the dynamic points of his Supplemental Systems, including the 15 bonus points from his Ritual. 10 points to the Regeneration 10 of Nanotech. 10 points to the Limited Concealment of Nanotech. 23 points for Power Augmentation - Summon Self, minus the Increased Mass and Change Direction extras. 2 points for the Critical Immunity of Impenetrable Armor.

Move: Precise Teleport into J2, escaping the Grab.

Standard: Attempt to Counter Legion's Concentration Damage by teleporting out of it. Since his Weapons Systems array had to be on Greater Augmentation - Targeted Summoning, the Enhanced Teleport rank applies. Counter at (1d20+17)[35] after -2 for Impaired vs. (1d20+16)[33]. If Legion rolls a 10 or lower, he'll reroll and Summit will get a Hero Point. Summit may spend points to reroll his check normally if desired; Legion's opportunity to reroll expires once Summit's result is known. Countered. Summit could reroll this but since ties go to the higher bonus he'd need a 20 to do it, so probably safe to say countered.

Move-by Action: Use the Feature of Power Augmentation - Summon Self to function as movement and start teleporting between several of the heroes, finally ending in E9.

Free: Swap his Weapons Systems array to Emulation Mode - Raptor Attack.

Extra Effort - Additional Standard Action: Use the Feature of Power Augmentation - Summon Self to divide a Multiattack among teleports and attack Simon, Sheema, Aquila, Makhana, and Wulther with Emulation Mode - Raptor Attack, Defensive Attacking for 4, Accurate Attacking for 2, Multiattacking for 4, and at -2 from Impaired. On a hit, Defense (including the penalty from your All Out Attacks) DC 26 vs. Impaired+Vulnerable/Disabled+Defenseless Affliction. Use Fortitude to recover from this Affliction.
Simon: (1d20+10)[30]. Crit. DC becomes 31.
Sheema: (1d20+10)[30]. Crit. DC becomes 31. Legion really does have awfully good luck...
Aquila: (1d20+10)[21]. Hit
Makhana: (1d20+10)[15]. Hit due to AoA Nope, strike that, miss from Concealment
Wulther: (1d20+10)[12]. Defense: (1d20+10)[21]. Miss! Who says Wulther's the weakest? Who says!?

End of Turn: Fortitude to remove Affliction (DC 27, -2 for Impaired): (1d20+16)[24]. Regenerates a Bruise. Recovers a point of Toughness. Still Impaired

Wulther:
Move: Into F9.
Standard: King's Cover, using the attack to Aid Makhana at (1d20+19)[39] minus whatever from Legion's attack. He Deflects for anyone within 30' of him, while they are within 30', at 1d10+20, -1 per point of Toughness above 10, and minus whatever from Legion, assuming he isn't Defenseless. Critical Aid! Not that crits are actually useful on Aid but still! WHO SAYS!!!!?
End of Turn: If necessary, Fortitude to remove Affliction: (1d20+10)[14] minus whatever.
EDIT: Also, he did all that without me remembering the +5 for Inspire.

Tara:
Standard: Persuade Judy to help her get her powers back at (1d20+24)[42]. Since Judy's not exactly "up" on the news, her default reaction to Tara is Indifferent, so Tara can't fail to bring her to Helpful. That's...I'll be honest, that's gonna be tough to beat.
Move: None.
End of Turn: Attempt to remove the Disabled+Defenseless portion of the Affliction (DC 23, -5 for Disabled, -13 for Weaken): (1d20-2)[0]. Recover one point of defenses. LOL

Darryll:
Standard: Ready an action to leap in the way of any attack made for Tara, effectively giving him an additional Interpose for her this round.
Move: Nah.
End of Turn: Can't remove the Affliction even on a 20 currently, but recovers one point of defenses.

Judy:
Extra Effort - Power Stunt off of Artificer's Arsenal.

Nanite Infusion: Healing Potion gets +2 ranks, +8 ranks Restorative, and gains Linked Nullify Afflictions 15 (Broad, Simultaneous, Effortless, Reduced Range [Close], Limited [Counters Only]).

Standard: Ready an action to use Nanite Infusion on Tara. This action will trigger if anyone attacks Tara, or if the PC turn ends with nobody stopping Judy from doing this. Stopping Judy can be done through main force, or as a Deception, Intimidation, or Persuasion check that beats Tara's roll. On a two degree success, Judy will instead redirect the action to the worst-off PC. Attempting the check is a standard action, or a move action at -5.

Move: Meh.

All PCs are on turn.

Spoiler: The Battle Outside

Show

Glade battles the majority of Legion's forces. The majority of the defenders of Glade are dealing with the concentrated force. That leaves your future selves to deal with Legion's summons. Josh vs. the Rainbow Phoenix, Summit vs. the Iron Dreadnought, Simon vs. the Ice Queen, and Sheema/Makhana vs. the Ancient Wyvern. Each round each side rolls a PL check, DC 10 + opposing PL. Glade and Legion's army fight on four separate fronts, and both swing at +30. Since you guys accepted Darryll and Tara's offer, your future selves count as 3 PL higher for this fight from the assistance of a summon and the effect of the augments, setting them even against Legion's summons.

For each degree of success, the DC lowers by 1 in future rounds (2 per degree for the Glade/Army matchups, due to the large numbers and wealth of area attacks available). AT YOUR DISCRETION, your future selves can spend the Hero Points they get from you to reroll their check, or to increase their DC for the round by 1d10 (as if rerolling a natural 10 with a Hero Point). If your future self goes down, the relevant summon is able to punch through and join Legion in the next round. If the summon goes down, the relevant future self is able to disengage and join you guys in the next round.

If Glade or an enemy force reduce their opposition to half points (+15) or less, they get a stacking +1 offense bonus per round on that front. For each front fully defeated, all allies on the victorious side get a stacking +1 offense bonus per round.
If Glade is defeated on all fronts, you guys will have two rounds to finish Legion and get the flip out of Dodge before you are swarmed by his army.

If the fight keeps up at the rate your going none of this will matter literally at all because Legion will probably be down in another, like, round or two or something. But whatever! We'll see how it goes!

Josh vs. Rainbow Phoenix (DC 28): (1d20+18)[21]. No effect. Not enough walls around out here, obviously.
Summit vs. Iron Dreadnought (DC 28): (1d20+18)[33]. Two degrees
Simon vs. Ice Queen (DC 28): (1d20+18)[26]. No effect
Sheema vs. Ancient Wyvern (DC 28): (1d20+18)[22]. No effect

Glade North vs. Army North (DC 40): (1d20+30)[32]. What
Glade East vs. Army East (DC 40): (1d20+30)[39]. The
Glade South vs. Army South (DC 40): (1d20+30)[32]. Flip
Glade West vs. Army West (DC 40): (1d20+30)[34]. Glade?

Rainbow Phoenix vs. Josh (DC 28): (1d20+18)[33]. Two degrees
Iron Dreadnought vs. Summit (DC 28): (1d20+18)[20]. No effect
Ice Queen vs. Simon (DC 28): (1d20+18)[27]. No effect
Ancient Wyvern vs. Sheema (DC 28): (1d20+18)[24]. No effect

Army North vs. Glade North (DC 40): (1d20+30)[42]. One degree
Army East vs. Glade East (DC 40): (1d20+30)[32]. No effect
Army South vs. Glade South (DC 40): (1d20+30)[37]. No effect
Army West vs. Glade West (DC 40): (1d20+30)[44]. One degree

[Dorni]

Simon smiled his wolfish smile. Legion was a terrifyingly powerful and capable Dreamer. His raw power dwarfed any of theirs, and he'd taken them by surprise. And the team had responded admirably, recovering themselves and tearing into the sociopath in a coordinated. It was enough to make him proud even before taking into account the results. Legion remained far from defeated, but he'd taken a considerable beating. The fact that he'd switched to fighting very defensively told Simon that even Legion was now wary of them.

It was enough to make him wonder when was the last time Legion had fought himself without relying on his Summons.

"Judy, don't listen to her! We've already got the advantage! Everyone, keep it up!"

Simon suited his own words. Legion was on the defensive, so rather than try to project the kinetic energy from his own attacks at the already on guard summoner, he reached out with his suit and harnessed the kinetic energy of the summoner himself and the nanites swarming him. With brutal effeciency he simply condensed it and slammed it into the traitor.

Spoiler

Show

Free: Set Kinetics Suit to Kinetic Sunder
Move: I think I'm good
Standard: Attack Legion with Kinetic Sunder. Perception attack. DC 25 Toughness vs Damage. This attack carries Secondary Effect and Penetrating 6.
Extra Effort: Attack Legion with Kinetic Sunder. Perception attack. DC 25 Toughness vs Damage. This attack carries Secondary Effect and Penetrating 6.
to buy off Fatigue

[DukeGod]

Their opening move done, Gestalt makes the familiar gestures, and summons his own Feynmen.

His nanoswarm is different of course, all their summons are. Liquid metal seemingly pools around and drips around his armor.

[manwithaplan]

"Oh damn. Watch the legs, not the hands."

Josh was tangible again, and right in Legion's grill with a leg sweep, a shoulder charge from the opposite direction, and hands around the throat.

At the same time.

But he briefly disengaged from the melee to kneel beside Judy.

"Hey. We talked about this. We don't let big strong people tell us what to do."

Before she had responded, he knew it wasn't enough, and he sighed.

"Sorry Joo."

With a flicker, the pouch of nanites were in his hand. Another flicker, and he was a little displaced, and the pouch was gone altogether.

Spoiler

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Move-By Action: Up to Legion, switch to Flurry of Blows, and Aid Mandragora at Accurate Attack 2 (1d20+18)[22]. Finish on Lorelei's side of Judy.
Extra Effort - Standard Action: Switch to full Speed ranks and Counter the Power Stunt at (1d20+21)[39].

Spending a floating Hero Point to buy off the Fatigue from this Extra Effort.

Meanwhile, Future Josh will reroll his power check against Rainbow Bird (1d20+18)[19].

Status: Fatigued next round.

[Born]

By now, Eric was used to villains slipping his grip with a teleport. Nonetheless, he wasn't about to give up yet. Even if Legion could slip out again, the vines themselves hit hard enough to damage that fancy power suit, and the others could take advantage of the brief moments when the enemy was captured. So he watched intently, looking for a moment to strike, when he just caught sight of Josh giving him the moment he needed. Vines surged forward again at the summoner, intent on locking him down again, if only for a few moments.

Spoiler: Actions

Show

Standard: Vine Lash on Legion. Includes bonus from Josh's Aid. (1d20+16)[18]. On a hit, DC 26 plus Multiattack toughness versus damage, and DC 26 Strength or Dodge versus grab.

[Starsign]

For all that Makhana is about bulk and size, she knows how to use the environment to her advantage. She had no way of reacting to Legion's teleport attacks. In fact, this reminded her of how to fight dire birds in Peral. Their diving attacks with their talons are simply too fast for her to dodge. So she usually tears off a tree or a piece of the earth to block the blow.

So all she had to do was to use her horn and throw up a large chunk of rubble torn out from her prior shockwave. Happily for her, his energy talon, gauntlet... thing (how do humans make these things) shatters the heavy stone chunk without slicing at her face.

Sheema was slightly less fortunate. While fast on her feet, she wasn't wielding Galadhil to help deflect a talon-like strike that would otherwise slice through her. She considers herself fortunate, then, to backstep just enough that the swipe merely slices through her kevlar around her stomach.

With slightly haggard breaths, facing down an enemy significantly more powerful than her, Sheema gives a quick flick of her blade as a signal to Makhana as the dire rhino encircles around Legion. Putting the villain in a pincer, the dire rhino tears up more of the ground with her horn to help cover her before bringing her hooves high up to crash down on Legion!

Sheema, meanwhile, recalls one move she remembers way back in Peral as she exchanges her blade for Galadhil. The elite soldiers of Rivinas were skilled with a spear move fast and accurate enough that dodging it was impossible for a grand majority of fighters. She knew the basics of it but not enough to utilize it consistently. Against an enemy like this, whose strange armor keeps him protected from many forms of defense, she might need to use that technique. So recalling the training, Sheema puts her right foot back, spear placed low, then thrusts with impeccable speed!

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Alrighty, so:

Sheema will power stunt from her Hunter's Tricks array: Instant Strike. (rolls to come in OOC)

Makhana will do Defensive Strike again, taking her +5 bonus from Wulther. She will also All-Out Attack +5/-5 to get a hit in on Legion. DC 29 Toughness + DC 22 Fort vs Impaired/Disabled/Incapacitated. Makhana has Concealment 4 vs Visual Senses and Evasion 2: (1d20+18)[34]

[Quellian-dyrae]

Legion and his army was basically a force of nature. It had brought the entire nation of Ilessia to its knees.

Legion with the full power of his personal summons was in all probability the most concentrated force of personal Dreamer power that Aranth had ever known. Even the Emperor of Haptarus might not have compared.

Legion on his own? He was still a grade-A threat, a combatant with sufficient raw combat ability to take on a battlemech solo and comfortably come out on top. I do not want to in any way diminish the sheer power he represents.

But let's be clear: he had nothing on the Heroes of Time.

Forced immediately on the defensive, Legion had tried to recover his footing, but there was just no opportunity to do it. With precision telekinetic force, flawless personal skill, and augmented dominion over the earth, Simon, Sheema, and Summon hammered his defenses, his armor buckling under the assault. Josh not only made Judy's infused nanite dust vanish like a magician, but he also provided the perfect distraction for Mandragora to lay in with the finishing blow. The phytomorph's crushing vines smashed through the nanotech armor and wrapped around Legion like a family of anacondas. And as powerful as Legion's spiritual energy was, he was at the end of the day still a summoner, his power wasn't physical in nature the way Mandragora's was. The crushing vines pushed past even his significant physical resilience, leaving him unconscious in a matter of seconds.

Lorelei gasped in shock.

Darryll Harrens stared blankly.

And Tara Ellens herself, midway through her next appeal to Judy, fell abruptly, completely, and uncharacteristically silent.

Without any help from even one of your more experienced, more powerful future selves and in a comfortable ten seconds, you had utterly trounced the most powerful villain in this entire timeline. The sum total damage Legion managed to inflict upon you was that Aquila got kinda shocked a little bit. Aquila and Gestalt aren't even breathing hard.

Everybody take a bonus Power Point for overcoming Legion in personal combat. Then take another, because seriously that was nuts.

Into the sudden utter silence that had descended over the room, Judy Kavanaugh said, pointing an accusatory finger at Tara, "I'm not listening to you anymore!"

Spoiler: OOC

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Battle over! Everybody take a Hero Point.

This is pretty much it for this adventure. We are heading into the final adventure of the game next. In addition to the two bonus Power Points above, everybody take 5 Power Points for completing the adventure. As always, you may edit your sheets to your heart's content at this time.

I'll be kinda moving us through the portals with my next post unless anyone has any objections, but take this opportunity for any final bits you might want to do here. To make up for my lagging so bad this round I'm probably going to post in the next few days unless anyone requests otherwise, since I'm not sure how many if any of you will indeed have much you want to do.
But I wanted to make sure you had the chance just in case.

As the final adventure of the game, all downtime action awards for this next adventure will be doubled. Although the next episode will begin immediately after you come out of the portal so there's no actual downtime, you may each take 5 10 Downtime Actions to reflect the results of temporal ripples for actions you've taken in the past. Sheema and Summit, you two will be returned to your original timeline and reaching the time period of the next adventure the long way, giving you much more time to do things actively. As such, you may each instead take 15 30 Downtime Actions. If you want to let me know some things about what your characters are doing in the intervening five years I'd love to hear it.

In addition, you all have a pretty tidy Hero Point total since you somehow managed to take freakin' Legion down in two flip turns. Those are resetting, but as always, you may spend those for setting Edits (which may reflect temporal ripples) or Inspiration, or for more Downtime Actions (it's 2:1 now, but it likewise costs 4 to get a Hero Point). However...

Bringing Tara and Darryll back with you...I'll be honest, it could come back to bite the NoS team in a big way. It might now, since you guys did take some solid precautions, but it's not impossible. If you wish, you may invest some or all of your remaining Hero Points in a fund for them. If this decision does come back to bite them, they will receive however many Hero Points you invest in a floating pool as if from a Complication. Who knows, if you invest enough, maybe it would even wind up as a net positive for them. Or you can spend your remaining HP on your own stuff and the NoS team can deal with whatever mess they get into. Totally up to you.

For the record, after the above reward, the remaining available Hero Points stand at:
Mandragora: 5.
Gestalt: 5.
Simon: 4.
Josh: 4.
Sheema: 6.
Summit: 4.

And last but not least, as always, while I'm always open to it now is an especially convenient time to give me any thoughts, critiques, feedback, requests, ideas, criticism, whatever! (Although I'm aware I've been lagging lately.
I mean, you're still welcome to yell at me for it, but yeah. ) In addition, if there's anything of particular note or significance you'd like to see resolved in terms of like loose ends, character arcs, etc in the final adventure, let me know!
I shall do my best to fit it in!

[manwithaplan]

"Boom, roasted!" Josh pointed at Tara, encouraging Judy for her outburst. The defeat of Legion was spectacular, but to the world he knew, this woman was a much more tangible threat.

"But also, yeah, she's too right. I don't think any of us should be listening to you. We were in danger for, what, five seconds before you convinced Judy to give you all your power back. Didn't ask Simon to consider your tactical value. Didn't politely remind the team of your willingness to aid them. No, you forgot all of us were here and went straight for a woman who doesn't know how to say 'no'. It's getting a lot harder to put faith in your noble intentions."

Immediately Tara was accosted by several lengths of chain, but Josh didn't move when it happened - evidently that speed-flicker thing was just a way of letting people know that he was doing something, and he was far too serious right then to bother with it.

"Who was it that insisted on bringing her back, again?"

Spoiler

Show

This time I will actually attack Tara with Hogtie, Power Attack 5, All-Out Attack 2. Attack (1d20+13)[28] for DC 21+Multiattack Prowess or Dazed+Vulnerable/Stunned+Defenseless.

Edit: Oh, right...Selectively excluding everybody!

[Starsign]

It had taken all of two strikes before it ended. Not that she could've done it on her own; in fact she questioned whether Galadhil had even pierced Legion's nanite armor. Yet all she got in was a slash of her blade and a stab from her spear before the great, big bad foe had fallen from the onslaught of the time travelers.

...Or maybe that was Mandagora's vines doing all the work. Even Makhana winced at just how easily those vines ruined Legion.

"Whew, that went well," Sheema says with a sigh as the dark-skinned princess places Galadhil back on her back. Her hand briefly reaches over to rub Makhana's forehead, only to stop before touching her silver hide. It... doesn't feel right to touch Makhana like just a pet anymore, does it? She's Sheema's mom, even if only in spirit. So instead the Perallan princess wraps her arms around Makhana's head and huge the matriarch of the rhinos.

...Much to Makhana's dismay. Seriously, she's a dire rhino; she should be treated with more respect.

Sheema's head had turned at just the right angle to see the local speedster try wrapping chains all around Tara. Were this done before the battle happened, Sheema would be rather disapproving of Josh's actions. Alas, he made a good point when Tara tried breaking out of the deal right when they didn't need it. Even Sheema had to note that there was something off about it.

Slowly, Sheema approaches Tara with a worried look. "Tara, why? You couldn't even just ask us first?" Sheema gives the augmenter a chance to explain herself. The princess, however, isn't as charitable as she was a minute ago.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Josh had very little trouble wrapping Tara in chains.

She eyed him flatly for a moment, and with a single sudden movement, shattered them into their constituent links. While Tara was no powerhouse, she was still one of the most powerful Dreamers on the planet. Even with her Spiritual Energy pathways disrupted, she still had massive amounts of Spiritual Energy in her body. It allowed her to exert tremendous amounts of physical force, albeit only in short bursts. Such as, you know, to punch someone. Or shatter chains.

Evidently the affront was sufficient for Tara to collect herself. She looked to Sheema and answered calmly, "What are you talking about? I did ask you. I mean, I asked Judy. She seemed uncertain of how best to act, I knew she possessed the capability to restore my powers, and the rest of you were, it seemed to me, rather busy at the moment. I legitimately believed that my powers would be required to overcome the threat. Just because I was wrong does not mean I was trying to circumvent you. I assumed, rather logically I felt, that neutralizing Legion was more important than keeping my powers tamped down, especially considering there is no reason that you could not have renewed the suppression after the fight in any event." She sounds...honestly kinda befuddled here. Like she can't quite understand what the big deal is.

[Starsign]

Sheema is taken rather aback by Tara's defense. It wasn't that Tara was lying in what she said... But Sheema knew that Judy was a rather shy individual. Forget that everyone else bravely fought Legion, people have a right to be scared and prefer to stay out of combat. You can't just yell at someone to do something that they may not be sure of.

It was Judy's reaction, right at the end, yelling at Tara, which threw Sheema off from her trust with Tara.

"Tara, look, I understand you want to help," the princess begins. Her voice is sterner than usual. "And I want to believe you're everything you've said to me. But people don't scream in rejection after you ask them. I've never heard Judy raise her voice like that before." Sheema frowns. She wants to trust Tara, so, so badly.

Makhana walks over to check on Judy as Sheema kindly asks the quiet gadgeteer, "Judy? Was she just asking?" There's nothing like learning from the witness to understand what's missing. Sheema just hopes she's not putting Judy on the spot...

[Quellian-dyrae]

Tara opened her mouth to reply, but closed it when Sheema spoke to Judy, letting the artificer answer first without attempting to prejudice her.

Judy...kinda shrank in on herself a bit. Yeah, she couldn't help feeling a bit on the spot here. She just didn't have the mental and emotional tools to really deal with conflict. "She...um...I mean, she said you wouldn't be able to win without her help. And...Bad Gestalt was really scary and I thought she was right. But Josh said-! I mean, um. I...I guess she was just asking. But...but Ollie always asked too." That last she said with a tiny flinch.

The look she gave Sheema was more like that of a young child expecting to be punished than a magitech master who could comfortably solo 95% of the Heroes in the Corps. "I'm sorry I let her tell me what to do..."

Tara and Darryll exchanged one of those communicating-a-lot-without-a-single-word looks of theirs, and Tara said gently, "I'm sorry, Judy. I'm sorry I scared you and made you feel pressured.
I was scared too. I should have trusted your friends."

Judy didn't reply, her eyes kinda darting between Josh and Sheema, as if looking for direction.

Tara gave a little sigh and stepped closer to Sheema, saying softly, "I swear, Sheema...I knew she was scared, but I didn't realize she was so...broken."