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Post by Resonance on Oct 19, 2022 16:52:28 GMT
Reson took advantage of the momentary recalibration of the Purple Bomber. She flicked her wrist, causing the remaining circlet of Light around the spear she threw to stop... and spin around a diameter of the circlet. This caused her spear to spin with it like a rotating blade, which she directed back towards her and consequently into the Bomber's back. As stepped back into the movement she felt Aidan's surge of panic... shit, they had to finish this fight fast.
Mei continued her hanging and spinning, keeping the Blue Bomber from firing on anyone until she finally decided to end it. With a sudden shift, Shadows once again formed around her. Her hands turned into Shadow Claws that dug further into the Bomber and her long tail become a harpoon that she used to launch the tip of into the Bomber's back.
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Post by Uberwulf X on Oct 19, 2022 20:25:59 GMT
There could have been a serious discussion about the use of firearms when the people in the room had the ability to cut people in half and roast their nerves if they wanted to. Together, the Raiders and Argus could could pen The Moral Truths of Using Guns Against Teenagers When Those Teenagers Each Have the Potential Magical Yield of a Tactical Nuclear Weapon. All of Metzli's real thoughts and feelings, her questioning the philosophical ins and outs of natural powers versus machines, willingness to agree with any points or subpoints Demandred had regarding his goals, and other well thought-out mental discussions coalesced into a loud, all-encompassing Roar as she dropped low into a sprint, only to bound as her armor started turning to mist, because he was an asshole who was going to just keep shooting her friends.
Metzli stopped short in her pounce, however-- she ran forward and leapt to the space beside Demandred, jaws snapping shut because she was well aware that his bullets were faster than her own body. She was also the diversion for the fact that simultaneous to her run and pounce and shedding of Iron Maiden, the shadows below Demandred coalesced and leapt upward. Even as Metzli's jaws tightened over air, Demandred would have what was most easily described as a more muscular shadow copy of feral Metzli in Iron Maiden armor, biting down on his entire gun-toting shoulder and upper arm.
Damien cursed silently-- the Big Eye was too smart to just point at Demandred, and it had lost interest in him for the now. But he'd exposed it, he'd torn away its shielding, so maybe something was to be done there? It'd have to wait, as Damien dropped out of the sky, and ran to Yuki, going around the beam clash.
"Let me get you somewhere safe to patch up!" He looked between Yuki and Elyas; they seemed to be in the middle of something, so he didn't want to just yank Yuki away, but he was certainly ready to do so if he had a nod from them.
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Post by Kyt on Oct 21, 2022 8:16:24 GMT
Yuki looked understandably shaken as she rose from her sudden dodge roll. Wounded and about to be fired upon again, it took effort to trust Elyas and not move or react. At least, until he packed the wound. She flinched hard, using all her might not to just yank her arm away from Elyas, and a brief rime of frost flashed over her shoulder, although it would quickly melt back wherever he touched. She managed to keep her yell short, not wanting to draw further attention, especially as it was starting to feel as if Demandred had it out for her.
Damien landed and approached, the harried fox shaking her head at his request. She took the flashlight out of her mouth, hand shaking. "I...I cannot heal. Not if he's copying magic." She spared a glance at Demandred, anger and fear warring on her expression. "I just....need a moment to recover. We need to keep going at him; he can't take all of us!"
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Post by Uberwulf X on Oct 21, 2022 16:41:01 GMT
((Reaction))
Damien shook his head. "He hasn't been hurt enough for it to matter if he heals, and whatever magic he's copying, he drops for the next one. Otherwise, he'd still have what I'm sure was his lame-ass version of Venom. Please use your magic if you have it; worry about him healing once we start actually doing damage."
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Post by Kokinyu on Oct 24, 2022 21:50:50 GMT
Whether Eggtech or Nocurntech would overcome one another was not a bet Grenadine would willingly take. Demandred ducked out of the fight, hiding behind the pillar that made up the ascension engine. She'd have to wait on that- it was more important to ensure Elyas' barrier didn't give out.
Her palms still alight with the channeled transmutative power, she clasped several small canisters from her hip and clutched them together, fusing portions of their casing into one large, amalgamated semi-sphere shape. She hurled it toward the lowered Big Eye, attempting to hit the seam where the eye affixed itself to the engine pillar. As the grenades struck and detonated, the contents mixed with the air- a collection of metal powders, metal oxides, and the chemical concoction needed to perpetuate a thermite-like reaction. Maybe it wouldn't be enough to cut through the eye, but she waswilling to bet on those gouges Damien put in.
------
Kapp furrowed his brows as he spotted Demandred, who noticed him a second later. Fancy meeting you here. For a moment he was lost, eyes widening as a familiar panic touched his heart. But then the shadow that crept behind Demandred pulled him free. Demandred pulled the trigger twice, but as frigid as the air was that slight delay from mechanism to bullet bought him just enough time. He braced for the blows and froze- literally- as plates of ice and rime built up along his shoulders, neck, chest and hips. Fresh ice- tough, flexible, and refractive. The first shot shattered through the plates on his shoulder, a glancing blow that sent him twisting to the side as he fell. "Guahgh-!"
He scrambled and moved, shoulder throbbing, arm nearly useless from the bullet's impact. But he had to push- keep Demandred on his toes. Like some wounded animal he charged from that low the ground position, knowing if he could hold Demandred's attention for just a second longer... Metzli would create an opening for both of them to finish him off.
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Post by Kokinyu on Oct 24, 2022 22:21:05 GMT
Mike sighed and unfolded his arms. "I appreciate your gumption, kid, I really do. Givin' people a chance to stand down an' avoid a fight- it's a real good-guy quality." He shifted his stance slightly, hands raising as he prepared for a fist fight with the sword-wielder. His muscles flexed, his unassuming middle aged body revealing the definition and stature of a man who chose a lifetime of work. Hard work.
"An' I wish I could accept. It's real unfortunate, but it is what it is. You came for the guy downstairs- fine, I got no skin in that race. But you come any closer and we're gonna have a problem."
________
Bomber blue spun and twisted against it's rider- struggling as it's thrusters faded and glowed. Eggtech was a keen system- adhoc information parsing, real time learning algorithms. A network of drones could automate the process of conquering entire countries, learning the strengths and weaknesses of their targets.
Given time and number.
Unfortunately there were only four in this cluster. They were learning a lot about these meta mobians, and indeed had algorithms for hunting and neutralizing the most prolific Raiders. But these weren't Raiders. Not ones they knew.
Mei, Shadow Beast-like in her appearance and tactics, was an unknown entity with unknown mannerisms. She took risks and fought aggressively. As Bomber Blue logged this information, her tail pierced through it's body- neatly thought the abdomen and into the logic unit of it's head.
It's eyes went dark as it fell to the ground, Mei still riding it as it plummeted the ten or so feet.
(Bomber Blue has left the chat)
Bomber Purple received packets of data and adjusted it's tactics again and again. It received warning about the big one, the shadows one, the lighting wielder and the one with the magical bolts. It couldn't prepare for every contingency, and found itself only narrowly dodging Resonance - who up until now had traded long range blows.
This... Moment to choose targets, to flush and ignore data that was sent it's way, took cycles within it's task scheduler. For Resonance, this was akin to hesitation. Or maybe even panic.
The spinning blade careened through the air and struck it along it's plasma blaster and thorax, reaching the buzz bomber just as it opened fire. It's lower half exploded in a flash of light and heat. A moment later, the rest of it's body crashed to the floor. Bomber Purple's eyes flickered and went dark. The data was logged, though the battle, it seemed, was lost.
For the Hive.
(Bomber Purple has left the Chat. )
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Post by Aidan on Oct 25, 2022 23:49:51 GMT
The power erupting from the Big Eye faded, and with a last flash of conflicting energies, the light show ended and Elyas’ belt buckle hissed sparks, the energy field generator burnt out. It had been meant to disrupt small arms fire, but large, concentrated beams… well. For what it was worth, the echidnas knew how to build their tech.
The Eye stared in almost incomprehension for a moment, then began to power up for another attack.
Plonk.
A small blob struck the side of the eye and suddenly detonated into a sizzling white light. Something on the machine cracked and sparked and it turned first to one side (toward Resonance) and then wheeled back around, unleashing a beam of energy that swept across the floor in an unsteady arc, through the space where Elyas, Damien, Yuki, Grenadine, and Mei were gathered. Sparks and fire grew as it moved, the Eye reacting almost uncontrollably.
Demandred, meanwhile, fired upon Kapp and let out a snarl of anger as something clamped down onto his shoulder, throwing off the aim of his subsequent shots. The shadow’s teeth sliced through the cloth and mesh of his flak vest, but upon hitting his flash, seemed to stall, pressing without puncturing.
Even as the monster Metzli called Iron Maiden bit down on him, Demandred swept his left hand under his raised arm, palm toward Metzli, and released a cold blast of energy, the power freezing into ice the moment it came in contact with her body.
“You’re still children, barely able to use your powers to their full potential. I would have unlocked that potential, pushed you toward the power you were always meant to have!”
Elyas winced in the aftermath of the blast and glanced over his shoulder at the Eye - and caught sight of Grenadine winding up and pitching her bomb.
“Take her to safety!” he shouted, practically shoving Yuki into Damien. “Get her into a sniping position!” Turning, he dashed toward the Ascension Engine, dropping into a slide as the bomb detonated and the eye wen wild, taking cover against the machine as the energy beam bobbed through the room.
Aidan tucked his wings in close and sheathed his sword, raising his hands in a similar boxing- like stance. “You made your choice. I made mine. Got to admit, though - I’ve learned something from fighting the lot of you.”
Aidan kicked forward, sprinting toward Mike, but just before they were about to engage, there was a flash of light and a crack of thunder - and Aidan was gone.
Only… he reappeared in almost the same instant, flash-stepping behind Mike in a low crouch almost before the light of his flash faded, then sprang forward to wrap his arms around Mike’s knees to lift him up and over the railing beside them, choosing to simply get rid of the bulldog rather than face him directly.
“How not to fight fair!” He growled.
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Post by Kyt on Oct 25, 2022 23:55:31 GMT
((Reaction)) Well, with Elyas that insistent, Yuki wouldn't hesitate any longer, allowing Damien to grab her without resistance.
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Post by Resonance on Oct 27, 2022 20:32:57 GMT
Mei leapt from the Bomber as it crashed, thankfully in the nick of time as the Eye's laser swept past her, cleanly slicing off part of her trailing Shadow tail. When she landed she ran to the wall, her tail reforming behind her as she caught her breath and glanced across the battlefield to check on her friends... seeing both Yuki and Kapp shot. Mei's Shadow thickened...
The Bomber was down, and Reson recalled her spear. She snatched it from the air and replaced the second Light circlet around the shaft as she turned and closed the distance to Demandred, coming up behind Kapp. She saw him take a bullet and shouted, "Kapp!" She was too far away to immediately assist, but she formed several large Blades to hover beside her so she was ready to strike as soon as she had a clear shot.
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Post by Uberwulf X on Oct 28, 2022 6:25:52 GMT
Damien nodded and after lifting Yuki in a bridal carry, took off to the second floor, just past the staircase-- it wasn't somewhere the Big Eye had been firing (until it started getting erratic), was still in vantage of the fight when she was ready to start sniping, but not somewhere Demandred should immediately be attacking, what with the others constantly assaulting him. It also meant that if she stayed just out of sight, perhaps Demandred wouldn't be aware of the magic she was using, and couldn't immediately copy it. He knelt down, but still held onto Yuki; if the Big Eye decided to swing their way, he'd have to move them.
After a quick once-over at the blood she'd spilled, he tightened his jaw-- there was an idea that almost formed, but since she'd never go for it, he simply turned his eyes to the battlefield. "Do what you have to do, you have my protection."
"Ngh--" Metzli instinctively put up her arms, and it was like that, that she was trapped as her shoulders were trapped. She'd managed to step beside to make sure that her whole body wouldn't be trapped, but that was a very small grace. Even then, Metzli began flexing her muscles, tensing and pulling at the ice that wasn't going to hold her for long, if she had anything to say about it.
Demandred would find that trapping Metzli thus didn't stop the assault of the clone. In fact, after realizing its teeth wouldn't penetrate his flesh, it leaned away to start a rapid fire punch assault on his head.
Demandred's words were ignored, he wouldn't have the luxury of a response from her. Instead Metzli called out, "his body is too hard to bite! Either he has a new ability or he's using someone else's!"
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Post by Kyt on Oct 28, 2022 19:16:49 GMT
Yuki winced, gritting her teeth as she was carried away from the main part of the fight. While the compound might have stopped the bleeding, she still had a hole in her shoulder. She really, really hoped that Demandred couldn't just pick up on energies being thrown around, that he had to be aware of and focus on them. And that he couldn't recall. Too little time. Too many possibilities.
"I'll try to make it quick, just enough that I'm not....ggh... tearing more when I move. Almost feel sorry for anyone.....I've shot before." She summoned a small ball of water, floating it near her arm. "Can't see or hear anything while I'm doing this. I trust you, Damien." With that, her eyes went unfocused, staring off with a small frown of concentration.
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Post by Kokinyu on Oct 30, 2022 16:54:05 GMT
Big Eye was Big Mad. Seeing her work take effect, Grenadine resisted the urge to hoot and holler in excitement. The fight wasn't over. Seeing Damien grab Yuki and Elyas leap away followed by Mei's narrow escape meant it was time for her to run as well. Leaping and tumbling out of the way, lest her tail be severed... Again... Grenadine repositioned herself around the back of the machine, closer to Metzli- who seemed busy at work!
She clapped her palms together and touched the ground, taking advantage of the cat's girth and the cover it offered. A brief high pitched hum thrummed and resonated as she sent the spark of transmutation between Metzli's legs and toward Demandred- lighting up his feet. The floor rippled, glass losing its molecular cohesion momentarily- taking on a consistency somewhere between honey and ooblek. Moments later, that same patch of floor solidified- hopefully locking Demandred's feet in place... What with those nice shin high combat boots he wore.
______
Kapp saw as Metzli was struck and was immediately torn. His own powers were turned onto a friend, and he was forced to make a choice - keep arming Demandred, or disarm and hope the guy couldn't hold onto it. His brows furrowed. He recalled the event that had wounded his arms- one thing becoming two, the split focus. Alar, Hardrive had called it... "You're really gonna talk about potential- the only use for power you have is war. You don't create- you don't build, you don't teach- you don't lead! Everything here is borrowed stolen or bought. Same with your followers." He stood his ground, one hand on his chest, the other reaching out to Demandred- grasping for... Something unseen.
Power. His power. Kapp attempted to exert control over the cold itself- not just his own, but all of it. To lock it down, center it on a point. He imagined a cage in which Demandred and himself were contained.
The air became painfully frigid as the chill was drawn toward him. Ice spread across his chest and shoulders, translucent and glossy. where his feet touched the ground, ice spread across the floor- centered on himself and Demandred. Borrowing from Kapp, Demandred wouldn't feel the sting of the cold, but what he wore, his gear, the machinery nearby, would feel the effects as the temperature plummeted well below safe tolerances.
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Post by Kokinyu on Oct 30, 2022 17:16:34 GMT
Mike's eyes brows furrowed as Aidan disappeared from his view. He swung his head left and right to try and find him, expecting a sucker punch."... Ain't a fan of speedsters. They don't take the time to thi-"
He was abruptly hefted from the knees, and Aidan found the guy was heavy. Not too heavy to move, however, and not quite quick enough to catch himself. He didn't so much as Hollar as he crashed into the ground below with a mighty THUD maybe ten feet away from Resonance.
it didn't seem to harm the canine. He pushed off the ground, onto his knees, and just... Kind of crouched there for a moment. Resonance heard a sigh briefly as he stared upward at the railing he'd been dropped from- as though taking a moment to aim.
"Alright smartass, that one was clever." Mike grumbled, "What other tricks you learned this year?"
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Post by Aidan on Nov 6, 2022 14:10:12 GMT
The Raiders swarmed Demandred, fending off his gun shots and icy aura to keep pressuring him, keep him in place, wear him down under a press of abilities. Metzli’s shadow stand drew back and began to pummel his head, forcing Demandred to crouch and raise one arm in a boxer’s defense, taking the blows on his arm instead. While he shook with the impacts, he held firm, the blows not seeming to punish him as much as another opponent.
Nearby, Mike, Anastasia’s nigh-indestructible bodyguard, fell to the ground from the gantry above. Demandred’s eyes flicked to him briefly as Kapp pressed in, but then the glass beneath his feet began to swirl and liquefy.
The wolf’s eyes almost seemed to glaze over as he looked down at his feet. “...Yes,” he growled, “yes, I… see. I understand.” Bearing his teeth in display of strong emotion that was strange on the dead-eyed commander’s face, he abruptly dropped to one knee and plunged his free hand into the hardening metal, discarding his frozen gun in the process.
The ice encasing Metzli stopped spreading and became brittle. The aura of freezing air around the fighters seemed to shrink, focusing in around Demandred.
Grenadine felt a shift in her alchemy - not in the molecular structure of her target, but the way her alchemy was changing matter - it was as though the chaos energy she was drawing on to fuel her change was being… pulled… toward Demandred.
The solidifying pool of liquid glass at his feet abruptly spread outward, encasing all the Raiders around the wolf. Sparks and jagged twists of chaos energy sparked to life around them, and the glass beneath Demandred began to solidify and lift, keeping his feet free.
With a snarl, Demandred pushed his hand deeper into the destabilized glass, and spikes erupted from the ground around him, expanding outward toward Metzli and Kapp. Mike was caught in the area of effect, but Demandred knew the old dog would be unharmed.
Metal grinded against metal as the Big Eye rotated around the pylon to gaze down on the fighters behind it, the red light behind the lens pulsing. Smoke rose from between the sliding joints as it sought out its next target…
The ship shuddered again, forcing everyone still standing to stagger or fall with the violent upheaval. Red light poured up through the reinforced glass surrounding the central pylon - the parts not disrupted by alchemy or Chaotic manipulation - as power was released in a beam of energy that flashed down from the ship and into the lava below. Smoke swirled up around the energy beam as it continued to pulse down into the pool of molten rock, pushing deeper, until it hit its intended target and began to drill through it.
In the caldera between the ship and the lava, ribbons of light began to manifest, visible distortions of chaos energy. Argus was disrupting the transportation magics to Sanctuary, even as they brute forced their way into the chamber of the Twilight Crystal.
With Resonance circling from one side of the Big Eye, Elyas moved along the other, rifle in hand. He was getting closer to Demandred - almost in range to use his ability. The deeper Demandred drew upon his newly enhanced powers, the more Elyas could feel the disruption in the air, his quills stiffening in subconscious reaction. They needed to find a way to take him down before -
The ship shivered violently and Elyas fell against the pylon, grabbing hold to stabilize himself as spikes of glass erupted from the ground in front of him. He spared a glance downwards and saw the beam piecing the volcano.
“Aidan,” he said into his communicator, taking a moment to regain his balance, “the ship is firing into the volcano - steady blast, like they’re trying to… pierce something. What happens if they keep it up?”
After tossing Mike over the railing, Aidan turned toward the closed doors ahead of him, the place Mike had been guardian. He sar Damien bring Yuki to safety and gave him a quick salute before turning back to the door and the control panel beside it.
The ship abruptly lurched, and he instinctively jumped and beat the air with his wings to keep from being knocked around. He turned to look back down into the chamber as light spilled up through the glass, then back toward the control panel as Elyas’ voice came through their communicator.
“Bad stuff,” he said quickly, dropping back down onto the gantry and lurching toward the panel. “Sanctuary is directly beneath the lava pool - if they pierce it, they destroy it, and have clear access to the Twilight Crystal!”
He jabbed a few keys, realized the pointlessness of it, and with a growl of frustration, slammed his fist into the panel to release a surge of electricity into the system.
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Post by Resonance on Nov 13, 2022 16:19:21 GMT
Reson closed the distance between her and Kapp right as the spikes of glass errupted from the floor towards him and Metzli, stopping short of being stuck in the same shifting floor. With a quick flick or her hand, she peppered the spikes with Light Blades, hoping to shatter them before they could reach their targets. Then the ship shook and she landed, rather ungracefully, on all fours, one hand slipping forward towards the pool of glass. She snarled loudly as she attempted to keep herself free and regain her stance.
The end result of Mei's solidification resulted in wings errupting from her Shadow Body that looked like a cross between a bat and a manta ray: obvious bone structure but short in wingspan with a long membrane that ran the length of her body and part of her Shadow Tail and tappered rappidly to the wing tips. A great flap sent her up towards the ceiling just before the ship shuddered, where she disappeared into the shadows...
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