[video]

[neverfeltthatway]

I've heard some people talking about it on the network, but I figure it makes sense to make it an open question, so we can all think about it and coordinate.

Who all wants to be de-infiltrated when we go back? I can restore three more people myself, and I know we have a lot of people with that ability.

Comments

[scarsolderthanyou]

Me. Absolutely me. I am useless as a very old man, in this fight, and I can't let the person I am in there die. I need my wings back.

[thornsofmalkav]

I can totes pull you out and put you in your real body, dude. Do not worry.

[neverfeltthatway]

You're on the list.

[thornsofmalkav]

... I can pull him all the way out in an emergency, but I think he prefers to be just woke up if possible.

[neverfeltthatway]

Okay. I'll ask him.

[neverfeltthatway]

Would you find it easier to protect him if we just bring you back to yourself so you're in control? Or would you prefer to be entirely separated from your overlay, so if you die fighting that thing he can still get to safety?

[scarsolderthanyou]

I'm pretty sure if I die fighting, there won't be much hope for Samel. Even if the rest of you win without me, the mess it's gonna make would probably kill him in a few days, anyway. He's worse off than the old naga from a couple Jaunts back.

I think I'd rather take my chances having my winged shape and Raksura strength while still being a little bit him.

[neverfeltthatway]

All right. I'll pull your mind to the front of the infiltration, then, and Charlene can save her skills for someone else.

[scarsolderthanyou]

Thanks, kid, I appreciate it.

[neverfeltthatway]

Of course. If we don't look out for each other, who will?

[scarsolderthanyou]

I like the way you think.

[neverfeltthatway]

Thank you.

Will you be joining the fight against the nation eater, then?

[scarsolderthanyou]

Absolutely. I may not be quite as big as that thing, but I'm pretty big, and I'm used to fighting bigger things than me. At the very least I'll make a good distraction while you all zap the thing, swatting around its face with wings and tail.

[neverfeltthatway]

I believe I'll be the primary distraction - the Colossal Titan is the largest Traveler form I'm aware of, and probably the most likely to be considered a direct threat. But I'll be glad to have you there as well - I'm sure the two of us can hold its attention better than I could alone. And I'm not sure how long my regeneration will last against the attacks that thing is likely to throw at me anyway.

[scarsolderthanyou]

Well, I can fly, too. Dive-bombing is usually pretty distracting. So, wait, how big is the... colossal titan?

[He hasn't been paying a ton of attention to the other plans, and really he's never heard of this skill otherwise. Some kind of shapeshift that Armin can do, he's guessing.]

[neverfeltthatway]

I'm about 60 meters tall in that form - ah, about 200 feet, I think?

And I might be able to fly too - but I'm not sure if the spell is able to hold something that massive. I haven't had much practice - we don't go a lot of places big enough for me to transform where that wouldn't be terribly disruptive.

[scarsolderthanyou]

... huh. That's pretty big, all right.

I'd say don't bother to try flying. Stay on the ground and grapple with the damn thing. We'll be more effective coming from different angles, I think.

[neverfeltthatway]

I'll probably have to come from above initially, anyway, at least if we go back to the point we left off from - the transformation itself is incredibly destructive, and I don't want to hurt anyone. But that's the general plan, to see if I'm strong enough to grapple with it.

I don't think I'd be very good in the air like that, anyway - I'm much too slow in that form.

[scarsolderthanyou]

Destructive? How is turning into something destructive?

[He's not disbelieving, he's just curious. This is the weirdest shapeshifting he's ever heard of.]

[neverfeltthatway]

To be honest, I'm not entirely sure - we don't understand the basis of titan abilities or transformations very well, back home. We only recently got access to a couple of them.

I've read since becoming a Traveler that there's energy bound up in the structure of matter - that splitting or combining it can cause the release of tremendous amounts of energy. I didn't totally understand, but maybe it has something to do with that?

However it works, my transformation can level a small city - so I'll need to transform a mile or so away from everyone else, if possible. Or simply be the first through the portal.

[scarsolderthanyou]

[There's a pause, and then:]

Maybe you should drop out of the sky and transform right on top of the thing. If it can level a small city, bet it can do some damage to that.

[neverfeltthatway]

The explosion is a powerful weapon in itself, it's true. But... it's hard to avoid collateral damage. If it can do some damage to that, imagine what it'll do to everyone fighting that.

Maybe if everyone else is protected somehow, for a short time? But I worry about transforming too close, if there's anyone else around.

...And on the other hand, Liara said something about heat and pressure attacks making them stronger instead of harming them. So I'm not sure I want to risk it.

[scarsolderthanyou]

[Well, it was a thought. Weird that turning into something else, big or not, makes heat damage. He makes an annoyed sort of noise.]

Claws and teeth don't make them stronger, do they?