DeviousMe

Lieutenant Scott almost smiled when the car took off down the street. Almost. Instead, he rushed to the aid of his burning comrades, employing his removed overcoat as an impromptu extinguisher. The fire-resistant material performed well, the Lieutenant snuffing the flames by quickly cutting off their oxygen.

Burns to the faces of his fellow officers would be inevitable, this he knew, but the priority right now was stopping a petrol fire, which sadly rolling on the ground simply didn't do. This he knew as well. In fact, it was the only reason he hadn't shot Axel and Syxx anyway. Pistols? Please. The ballistic armor he wore beneath that coat could stop a Dragunov round cold. No, he hadn't fired because he knew it would've taken more time than letting them go - time he could use to minimize fire damage here.

Besides, it wasn't as if he really needed to do anything. The Lieutenant had a cybernetic eye, after all. Through his SLI, he could just upload what it had seen to the VB network, and that was that. In fact, by the time the thugs sped away, they already had very nice 'wanted' profiles, with neat little photographs, and the car was of course being tracked via satellite. Furthermore, though it was a hybrid and could run half an eternity on one tank of gas, once the thieves turned the engine off, they'd quickly find that a fingerprint scanner was a very nasty obstacle to getting it started again. Idiots indeed. Scott didn't know who these guys were, but they were behaving way too careless to survive long here.

Indeed, this stood doubly so - they really should've checked the car's back before throwing their stuff in, for the fourth member of the VB squad did not appreciate all this commotion one bit. It had been extremely content under its tarp, where things were nice and quiet, and thus was even more content when it received permission to finally do something about the noise.

Less than two seconds after Ash had floored it, a half-meter-long silver spike burst from the back of his seat, seeking to sever the man's spine and kill him then and there. Regardless of success, however, what said spike belonged to didn't stop there as it threw off the tarp and deployed such a spike from its right 'hand' as well, which in turn sought the next-most-convenient throat. The car's former fourth passenger - the Certified Autonomous Nanobase Infiltration Networker and Eliminator - didn't really need to care about the potential consequences of a crash caused by its first stab, more than fast enough to jump off the car at any given time if it liked.

Of course, unless it liked, CANINE had a respectable grip, and a heckuvalot more in its arsenal than kitchenware gone awry...

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"I don't care." the cyborg remained steadfast, "You're not just CoLeader here. You can't just weasel out of this by pushing it off on the others anymore."

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The present VB officers couldn't help but snicker at this. This time, Wolfgang had the Sovereign cornered, no doubt about it. Well, unless...wait, alert? Why alert?

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"Hmf." Teivos grunted with a glare and crossed arms, defeated...for now...maybe just until he could find someone else to push it on, "We'll see about that. But fine. War, Famine, you need transportation? And would you like SLIs implanted when you get back?"

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Even as Vlasta still spoke, the VB about became talkative, Lieutenant Scott's access of their network more than disturbing. Unknown attackers? What was that all about? A few looked at the Horsemen. More people from another world? Yeah, that was probably it.

"Hm?" the officer who'd walked up and whispered something in Teivos' ear had gotten his attention, the Sovereign smirking diabolically as his eyes glanced back to the mercenaries, "You don't say."

"On second thought, change of plans." he told the two, indicating the officer now at his side with a motion of his hand, "The Captain tells me someone attacked a patrol over in the northern Citizen's District. Says the suspects might be from another world, possibly yours. Pursuit's been ordered, but I'd like you to show me what you can do by reigning them in..."

He considered his next few words a moment, then went on in a casual, and with that frighteningly cold manner, "...alive, if reasonably possible. And if you do happen to kill them, try and bring back as many intact heads as you can. I'm told mindripping is a hard enough procedure without having to do it from multiple pieces."

The VB officer then informed the mercenaries of the coordinates, and with great enough real-time accuracy that War could probably teleport right onto the hood of the car and stab his swords through the windshield. Of course, no one but the Horsemen knew this just yet, and so he would naturally offer transportation in the form of another car...

((Oh, okay. I thought there were more, huh. King of raises the question of that the other 80% of the train was doing, but okay, not that important. Now then...hm...I can't seem to recall if Toy's shields transfer impact force, so I'm just going to wait for Khell in reaction to the energy blast. Oh and Crimson, since I don't know what's happening where right now, I'm going to drop your guys into the Promenade in Atlas Park. Hopefully they can run into Solid and Rezyin there. ))

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Axel, Syxx, and Ash may have been quite surprised when they found the staircase didn't quite look like the one they remembered. Then again, this may just as well have seemed perfectly logical to them, but one way or another what they found in the parking lot next to the multi-story, Victorian-styled apartment building didn't change.

No bikes - well, at least not their own. But of course, that wasn't exactly the most noticeable aspect of their new surroundings. No, that dubious honor naturally belonged to the fact that the Promenade had assumed a respectably more gray look than what they stood used to, as well as the distinct absence of people on the streets. True, it was night, but back in the Paragon City of their world, there were always people out and about.

The reason, however, may have been blatantly obvious, for across the street stood a trio of officers from Verejna Bezpechnost - Public Security - and neither their ensembles of long, black overcoats and armored helms of the same hue (which to someone who equated the 5th Column logo with Nazis of course gave them the image of stereotypical Gestapo) nor the pitch-black vehicle that strongly resembled a Renegade did anything to deny this theory. The only things that might've done so were the snow-white letters on coats and car that proudly proclaimed 'VB' into the night muggily lit by yellow streetlamps, as well as the fact that the three conversed in English, but by and large that wasn't all that much.

Especially considering each of the three carried a prominently visible Steyr AUG...

((Note: Toy and his henchmen are robotic, not cyborgs. ))

It was a good plan. It really was. Against normal people. But not against these guys. Cold, wind, darkness, healing - the SSR military hadn't liked people conjuring these things out of thin air. But unlike other organizations, such as Arachnos, who employed their own mystics to counter such, these guys had gone the route of the lazy. Not wanting to actually deal with it, they just did away with it. Their means? The Odcarovat. The Magic Away.

Since the rebels had stolen the idea to make their own, and the Molvia's pilot had passed on the information about a great deal of magic in the tunnel below, it was only logical the deployment team would bring some along. Moreover, since Toy Dispenser had effectively shanghaied the Sovereign's personal guard here, theirs were integrated into their Kazbeks, and nipped things in the bud.

Fortunately for Zeo, the automatics hadn't yet tagged what he employed as hostile, and thus left their grubby little fingers off him, but seeing the CPSR's spells fizzle out probably gave him a good idea of what was going on. If the Chinese hadn't thought ahead and brought along something else - or if they hadn't and no one intervened here - this would end up simply as a slaughter. Hopefully, this was not the case.

Either way, now that the news had made its way up the train, Kruger wouldn't hesitate to give Legion the go once the thing could move again, all ghosts gone or not. The CPSR may have had something up their sleeves for the new arrivals, but his troops certainly didn't - at least not for long, as Legion had prognosed. There was a reason he'd ordered the base abandoned with haste...

((Just so you know this, Cham - since you have the ghosts, it's your call when the train is clear to move.))

The Unteroffizier hesitated a moment as well, though used this time to absorb what had just happened more than anything else. Think before you act, that's what they said. So she did - and hoped dearly that not turning the Odcarovat back on was the right decision here.

Seeing Valerie's pause, however, she gave the other woman an understanding nod, then began to position the troops in cover as best she could, having heard the sniper's transmission and expecting imminent attack on the train by the Dark Sovereign's troops. If by some chance they didn't get through right away though, she'd of course order support for those who'd jumped out the rear door, since it probably meant that contrary to expectations they were still alive...

--------------------

Vlasta glanced to Wolfgang for a moment, the cyborg giving but a shrug to convey this opinion of indifference. Both knew the portals probably wouldn't be working right for at least the next few days even if the engineers got back at it first thing in the morning, so Famine's suggestion was probably a decent idea.

"Sure." Teivos thus replied with an accepting nod, then closed his eyes, "Let's see...I don't believe we currently have a-no, seems I'm wrong."

The Tsaigon's eyes snapped back open, "Toy just started breaking necks less than sixty kilometers west. Now...normally I'd say someone's already taking care of it here, but I do think I'd like to see what you can do. Let me get my Kazbek, and I'll be..."

"Ohhhh no you don't!" Wolfgang was up and had a hand on Vlasta's shoulder in a heartbeat, "I get that you're worried, and now that you remembered you don't like beer want to fight instead, but first you're not going into a hot zone without your guard, and second you have a parade to conduct tomorrow morning. You're not going anywhere."

"But I don't want to conduct the parade." Vlasta protested with a despondent expression to his bodyguard, "I don't even get to march. Just stand there and smile and wave. Makes me feel like pompous idiot..."

"I don't care." the cyborg remained steadfast, "You're not just CoLeader here. You can't just weasel out of this by pushing it off on the others anymore."

"Hmf." Teivos grunted with a glare and crossed arms, defeated...for now...maybe just until he could find someone else to push it on, "We'll see about that. But fine. War, Famine, you need transportation? And would you like SLIs implanted when you get back?"

If the phrase 'implanted' didn't turn the mercenaries off to this immediately and they inquired what an SLI, or Standard Life Implantate, actually was, the answer would come quickly and casually - basically no more than a body-intern form of ID, which could be used not only at physical checkpoints, but on communications channels and the global network, essentially the native equivalent of Primal Earth's internet, as well. At the very least, it saved people a good amount of time spent typing in passwords to read their email.

Expanded versions also existed, allowing their users direct wireless access, and thus enabling them to find virtually any information they desired (and were cleared for) just by that: mere desire. That's how Teivos had just found out about Toy's operation, for instance. Still, the basic forms were much more common, especially among the humans. Cyberization as a whole was still quite new to them, after all...

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Chiron Medical Research Center
Citizen's District

Dark. It was dark. But then, he'd expected that. Wait...why had he expected that again? He couldn't...hey. He could think. Hadn't expected that. And he could hear. That he'd expected even less.

But what did he hear? Voices...but what were they saying? He couldn't make it out. They seemed to be nothing more than distant mumbles. Three distant mumbles. Two male...one female. That made him feel better for some reason. Wait, feel? He could feel? He could feel! There was something soft under him, around him. It felt so warm...and cozy...a bed! He wasn't dead! That's why he hadn't expected...expected...whatever! He could work on remembering later. Right now, right now...right now...

Seeing! He wanted to see! He wanted to open his eyes. Wait, did he have eyes? Oh Lord, he sure hoped so. He remembered having eyes...or at least, he thought he remembered. On second thought, maybe he should work on this remembering thing now after all. Might be useful. Yeah, that was probably a good idea. So he tried.

And got pain.

Wait, what? That couldn't be right! No, no, where did...how did...who did...?

"...dddoooocccttttoooorrrr..."

The voice came like in slow motion. But he didn't even notice. He didn't care. He remembered pain. He didn't like pain. Pain was bad. So bad. Alive meant pain. That's why! That's why he'd wanted to be dead! And now he wasn't! The pain would come back!

"...hhhhhheeeeessss aaawwake..."

And not just awake. Panicked. So very panicked.! And in his panic, as he jolted up from the soft bed, his eyes opened with his mouth. The same instant blinding white light entered his body, a cry of terror left it...

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OOC to Khell and Sovs:

Since Solid Shot and Operative Rezyin were last seen together before being tossed into limbo, I submit to you that they probably still are and could have ended up in a lot of places. Since they're both astute observers and the Molvia is one big-boned chopper, I also submit that it would've been easy for them to track it to the Chiron Medical Research Center in this world's version of Atlas Park.

If you choose to accept this as having happened, know that the place is guarded, but not heavily so - mostly by VB officers; while there are ZUB-equipped soldiers around due to the recent attack a district over, there still aren't enough to be considered more than one platoon - and that there is talk on the ground of a traveler from another world having been brought in with some mighty nasty damage, and that the Sovereign is extremely interested in this person...

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Not sure if you want anybody commenting, so here goes.

Great piece. I like the characters and the dialogue so far. Great job trying to explain things without getting uber-nerdy. Keep up the good work.

Now, Warface, Dark Respite, and Blue Battler. Can't forget Grey and Riptide. My list of favorite authors is expanding!!

[/ QUOTE ]You will have to add Incognito as we are a writing team, and she is the real "Brains" of the outfit---not to mention she is a slave driver when it comes to writing.

Thanks for the comment, I welcome them and hope to leave you guys wanting more with each chapter.

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Aww, I didn't make the list.

It's cool seeing collaborative work outside my own little circle though, that's for sure - especially when it comes out to be such a high-quality piece as this. There are a few errors, but none that detract from the story, and I'm very much in suspense as to what happens next.

Unwell the rebels may have felt, but if they did, it didn't show. There were real, thinking, battle-hardened soldiers, not just some manner of armed minions only good for cannon fodder - and the Chinese would learn this very quickly.

Or so Kruger thought.

As the Kommandant and those up the train gradually rid it of its ghastly infestation with the ghost traps (they may have been able to absorb multiple specters at a time, but the train was still fairly long and couldn't be cleared just in a snap of one's fingers), the rearward personnel of course found themselves initially horrified by what Isabel had done. Once they saw what effect it had on the burning man, however, they understood.

And switched strategies.

A pair of sharpshooters broke out their sniper rifles and headed up to the roof, under escort of course, and went prone as best they could, then targeted down the tunnel to coincidentally do exactly what Toy Dispenser had just confirmed a certain Družstevník should do.

Needless to say, the sudden replacement of a certain magus' head in one's scope's crosshairs with the frightening metallic visage of Combat Toy was more than unexpected, and the man fired in all but reflex; unfortunate, because the assault bot's shield easily deflected the round, meaning all he'd done was give away his position.

A sun-hot beam quickly found its target.

The other sniper had remained outwardly calm, though on the inside he was just about ready to freak out at the sight of a squad of the Pozemna Armada's - wearing Kazbeks, and with robots to boot. Special forces, had to be. He wasted no time transmitting, informing Kruger and all others as quickly as he could.

The Dark Sovereign's force had come for them - with no less than the Iron Fist of the Overmagus...

"Superior?!" Kruger harrumphed haughtily back at Legion, picking up the fallen crate and its spilled contents, "If these hedge wizards are so superior, let them face us instead of-!"

He didn't get any further than that. But for once, it wasn't outside influence that stopped a sentence.

"You...are right." the Krieger's words came out in a forced manner, the Kommandant very visibly holding his own pride in a monumental stranglehold as he spoke through clenched teeth, "This is no longer war. This is survival. What is necessary must be done."

With that, he dug one of the devices the crate held from its confines, then depressed the small black button atop the equal-hued gadget that resembled an oversized keychain LED flashlight, and tossed the thing toward the front of the engine car. No sooner had it hit the ground than it seemed to explode in a flash of pale-green luminance, and not two instants later the duo of Infiltrator Spirits clinging to the train's exterior very rudely and very forcefully found themselves sucked into the interior as long, streamlike noodles of ghastly energies.

And straight into the ghost trap.

With a click and a hiss, the innocuous little device locked and sealed after consuming the spaghettified specters, the formerly black button now a dull red to signify the trap to be currently occupied.

"Wait for my signal." Kruger instructed the little drone while he set a walkie-talkie onto the train's controls, clipping the second of that pair to his belt before he turned to head back down the train again, "We will not leave anyone behind."

With that, the Krieger rolled the cabin door shut and threw out another ghost trap, sadly this time catching only one of the merged spirits. Still, at least now the engine car was clear, and they had a means to rid themselves of these specters to boot. Escape they could not, and being thus trapped was to the Kommandant just as good as being dissipated - and on top of that, it required a whole lot less effort.

Heck, if the rest of the CPSR force didn't kick their speed up a notch and get here soon, chances were the train would be long gone...

((Waiting for more to respond on train before taking an action with Kruger.))

"Yes, about that..." Vlasta was visibly taken aback by all this, tossing a glance at Wolfgang, who merely shrugged and gave a shake of his head, causing Teivos to assume a thoughtful expression.

"Waaait..." he bobbed a finger toward the mercenary duo, "You've been talking to Mark, haven't you? Yes, you did, I saw you. What did that maniac tell you?"

A moment later, he thought better of that one and instead waved it off, "You know what? Nevermind. Let me set things straight: I'm not out to conquer another world. I didn't even want this one, but those Nazi morons just had to make trouble at every turn back when I just wanted to go home."

The cyborg cleared his throat.

"Fine, so at the time it may have been the 'world full of humans' concept too." Vlasta admitted, taking a look around the bar, "I've learned since then. Humans here are not like they were on Esertos. I see that. I appreciate that. They've helped me, so I want to help them. The only reason I'm invading the world you come from is because I want to kill the one they call Reichsmann. From what I've heard, he isn't a nice person, and probably a worse ruler, so I would be doing you guys a favor there anyway, right?"

Right about now, it probably dawned on the mercenaries - like almost everyone here, Teivos believed that when the Reichsman had left for Primal Earth, he'd gone of a rampage of victorious conquest. While the Nazis had finished their great war here, he'd taken the other place over as well, finishing at roughly the same time. The reason no one had heard of him was believed to be due to the anomalies that cut the two worlds off from one another in the recent past.

Of course, the Horsemen knew this wasn't true. But would they tell him this?

"Moreover, I have to be honest with you here." Vlasta went on before they could vocalize such a decision, not really expecting a response to the contrary; or any, for that matter. After all, in his view he'd just recounted common knowledge, "We probably won't be going anywhere for at least the next few days. The rebels crashed my entire gateway facility. It was pure luck that at least some of the experiments still went off...well, not good, but at least result-bringing."

"Like that one portal spitting out Poseidon." Wolfgang added, finally settling on a drink and downing the sizeable glass in one chug, "We were just tying to make a phonecall."

"Right." Teivos gave a brief nod to the cyborg, his mood sinking visibly at this mention, "The rebels are [censored]tards. I should've nuked them when I had the chance..."

Eh, I'd like to, but my characters' holiday times are no good without other peoples' around - and every time we start a Christmas party thread, it dies before we can even eat dinner. I think I'll keep my claw off this for a season, see what happens.

The soldier closest to Isabel looked at her with a confused expression, not quite sure what she wanted of him. Luckily, at about the same time a certain Unteroffizier returned from the car ahead, though her visage wore much the same sensation in response.


"Turn it off?" she questioned incredulously, making a sweeping gesture toward the rear door, unable to look directly into the brightness that had become of Flashpoint Zeo, "We turn it off, and the mages turn us into popsicles. No, it will not be turned off."

Of course, if Isabel was determined enough, chances were the Unteroffizier could do little to actually prevent her from pushing a certain button marked with a circle broken at the top by a short, vertical line - the same symbol on the 'power' buttons for PCs and many other electronics on Primal Earth...

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The Krieger wasted no time, calling for a medic and ordering these to from the engine car and replaced. Then he advanced on the controls.

"Moving?" Kruger spat (figuratively) in disgust in response to Legion, "Absurd. We are not afraid of traitors. They want to be the dogs of the Sovereign, then they will die like dogs."

In the Kommandant's mind, there was no other explanation. Somehow, the Overmagus had taken control of the CPSR and was now using them as a forward assault force. This implied that the Chinese had become weak enough to be subverted - and such weakness was one thing Kruger could not stand.

After shouting a warning back down the train, he stopped the slipping wheels with a set of sure grips, then turned his sights on the closest forward door, tensing the fists within his anti-spectral gauntlets. The traitors would pay. Oh, how they'd pay. He'd...what was that?

A box that had fallen from an overhead bin during the last jolt caught the Krieger's attention and spilled its contents on the floor. Kruger couldn't help but grin. He'd forgotten they'd had those...

"Dragons?" Sombal raised an eyebrow, "I thought it was griffins? Or do you mean Z-?"

Too late. The android was already gone. The Družstevník scratched his bald head, looking to his troop. The pat on the shoulder had indeed done nothing to reassure as it should. Anti-spirit combat? As in ghosts? They weren't equipped for that. Lord Teivos had left Štátna Zbrojovka on basically a whim and in haste - they'd barely had time to grab their guns when Wolfgang had ordered them to move out.

"Hey, don't worry." one of his unit told him, her tone carrying a light, but distinct eastern-European accent, which made it stand in stark contrast to his north-African one. Sitting in the harnessed bench along the helo's side, she held up her LEFPR, the high-tech-looking weapon bearing some resemblance to a Vanguard 'Redding' Rail fused with a phasor rifle, "We still have these - and I haven't met the spirit that did well with a plasma beam up its nose."

Sombal couldn't help but smile at this, then put the helmet of his ZUB back on. She was right. They may not have been specifically equipped for this, but standard issue was standard issue for a reason: it generally worked...or it was cheap. But the Sovereign wasn't one for cheap.

In the cockpit, the pilot listened closely as Toy guided his understanding to where the rebels were while the copilot informed the 34th of the mechanoid's new orders.

"Not a problem, Sir." the helmeted aviator nodded to Toy Dispenser, reaching for a touchscreen keypad on the center console, then linked his helmet with the intercom again, "Coordinates locked. Standby for jump. Hit it, Burt."

The copilot tapped the contact plate, and with the characteristic sound of air rushing into a suddenly appeared vacuum, the Molvia disappeared from the skies over Independence Port...

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Some distance further, on the old outskirts of western Paragon, the command tank of the 34th Panzers received an incoming transmission. The commanding Oberst turned his attention to it, choosing to activate his SLI's communications suite and linking directly to the vehicle instead of answering manually. Heck, in the tight jumble of red-lit metal that was the inside of the APTH-1, he imagined he wouldn't be able to find anything anyway. They'd just gotten these things.

It didn't take him long to pass on the orders to his division. While he didn't really agree with Toy Dispenser and would've rather just shelled the base with bunker busters, the mechanoid was still an Armádny Generál of the Pozemna Armada. What he wanted, he got, and if he wanted an untouched rebel base, well then he'd get one.

The Oberst quickly commanded a perimeter be formed, then split off a few of his fastest tanks - ULA FTBs - to head over to the position the Molvia had sent and had likely already teleported to. Capable of well over 100 km/h, the Forward Battle Tanks would be there in less than thirty minutes...

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((*points this out explicitly to TeChameleon* ))

Kruger had entered the engine car, trying to find the people that should've been running the train.

What had happened? Why hadn't they answered...?

Next thing he knew, War felt an impact, and then found himself on the ground with a faceful of cyborg, who of course remarked, "Wait a minute - you're not Vlasta."

"No [censored], Sherlock." came the voice of the person in question from behind (or more correctly, underneath) War's back, having not stopped running at the mercenary's arrival, who thus had ended up just behind him and just between the cyborg and him when the former had pounced, "Now get off me. You two are heavy."

"Serves you right." the metal Caldok bantered before he rose, pulling War up with him by a hand and apologizing to him, "Sorry about that. You just appeared so suddenly I couldn't stop."

"Oh, to him you apologize, hm?" Vlasta complained groggily while he was picked up next, the cyborg knowing full well not to let go of his shoulder now, "And since when do you toss flashbangs anyway?"

"Wasn't me." he cyborg chuckled with an innocent shrug, causing Vlasta to take a look about. He didn't find Small Toy of course, for though the flashbang had ended up behind him, and his implant compensated well, he still saw more than a few spots. Thankfully, the ringing in his ears had stopped more quickly. Eventually, the cyborg had mercy and pointed out the mechanoid upon the roof.

"Traitor." Vlasta shot the drone a grumble and a glare, which caused the cyborg to chuckle yet again.

"You have your allies, I have mine." he merely remarked in an artless manner.

"Fine." a sigh passed over Vlasta's lips, "You got me. This time. Now let go, I have business to discuss..."

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"Oh, nothing much." the VB officer replied casually, "Wolfgang's attention slipped again is all, so now he's on the chase again."

Nothing the confused look he got from the mercenary in return, the man's eyes widened and he tapped his forehead forcefully, "Oh, my bad. You're one of the three...right...uhh...well, you see...oh wait, here they come. He caught him. Rats, there goes my bet."

Several more of the bar's patrons seemed to have the same reaction, though a few had apparently bet on the cyborg, and were thus rather glad to seem him victorious. Vlasta was of course not one of those, though he took it in stride, and seeing both War and Famine rather lost opted to explain to them, motioning the latter to join the trio that the former was already part of while he leaned his back against the bar.

"This is Wolfgang Wolf." he indicated the cyborg, who had by now sat down on a stool and was in the process of looking over the selection, "My bodyguard."

"A thankless job." the metal Caldok somewhat pouted for a moment, then went back to finding a drink.

"Eh, he's right." Vlasta crossed his arms with a shrug, "But sometimes I just need my space. Anyway, before we were so rudely interrupted..."

Wolfgang glared over, but remained quiet.

"...I was about to say: allow me to help with that. You see, I kind of run this place. As much as my staff lets me, anyway. What were the terms of your contract that you had in mind...?"

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Needless to say, Kruger was baffled - nay, horrified - by this upon his journey up the train. Against all logic and expectations, weapons specifically designed to eliminate spectral entities such as these weren't doing exactly what they'd been built to do!

The Kommandant of course didn't understand. From his vantage, this just wasn't making any sense. What the hell was going on here? He knew for a fact he'd seen Flashpoint Zeo dissipate one of the smaller ghosts with one stab of his fire sword - and yet the their anti-spectral rounds, which should've been more effective against the thing they'd been designed to target, were practically useless? Moreover, if the shells weren't a threat to the ghosts because they could just split and re-merge ad infinitum - even shooting both splits at once didn't get the soldiers even a single victory - why had they even carried those shields in the first place?

Either way, however, he did not return to the rear car. He'd left Valerie in command there, and he believed in her competence. Whatever happened back there now with him not around, he trusted her to make the right decision. He entered the engine car, looking around, trying to find the people that should've been running the train.

What had happened? Why hadn't they answered...?

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"The cyborg is equipped with Ghostslayer bombs. These cause some physical impact damage, but we have released the module from his body to be used at your convenience."

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"Danke*." the Kommandant returned with a wry smile, breaking open a crate and sliding the high-tech-looking metal gauntlets inside over his gloves, "But I prefer these."

The Krieger pumped his fists and the gloves crackled with neon-green energies. Moments later, he was already at one of the split-off ghosts and gripped the thing with fervor, tearing it to shreds with his not-so-bare hands.

"Waschlappen**." he remarked disgustedly, spitting on the remains. He didn't even seem to have broken a sweat, exuding calm and confidence as any good leader should.

However, in reality Kruger was much less composed than he let on. The lack of response from the locomotive crew (not to mention that no one had stopped the train; something common sense said one should do on an iced-over track) probably meant that everybody at the front of the train was already dead.

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"Giant ghosts least of problems." the tanker said after a moment. "If train not moving again soon, are completely screwed."

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"Ja." the Kommandant growled grimly after the roars had subsided and he'd picked himself up for the second time, then bent down to open another crate, "They will be."

He wasn't really worried about whatever came their way. From the sound of it, the source was just outside the blast zone of the ruined station - and they'd put nearly 50 kilometers between the train and that by now. Even though the second one had been closer, chances were it would still be a good while before it got here.

"Valerie, I am going to the engine!" he shouted to the woman who'd already guessed what the Krieger would order next while he rooted through the box's innards, "You are in charge!"

Apparently, he'd finished with the crate now, for the man rose again while the box began to hum a quiet resonance. Almost immediately, the temperature returned to normal, the chilling spell that had caused it no longer getting through. Unfortunately, all other spells in the area now broke down as well, the rebels' version of the Odcarovat they'd copied from Teivos' forces unable to differentiate between which magic it should do away with and which it shouldn't.

Kruger didn't let him bother this though, heading up the train and seeing with satisfaction that his soldiers had by now figured out that energy broke the attackers' shields, a number of soldiers having armed themselves with LEFPRs to crush the ghosts' protections while the ones with anti-spectral projectile weaponry took out the ones that had been unshielded.

The Kommandant himself didn't need to do much, though he did get the opportunity to splat another spirit when one got too close to him before the soldiers could take that one out. With grim determination, he made his way up the train and entered the engine car.

What had happened? Why hadn't they answered...?

((*Thank you. **Wash rag.))

--------------------

"We'll see who has to keep up with whom." the Družstevník's pearl-white teeth grinned at Combat Toy while he held on for takeoff, then turned back to the red-and-black android to update him on the situation, just in case he didn't already know the details.

For instance, the explosion he'd been told of hadn't been the first indication of the rebel base - that had been a teleportation the 34th had traced to the western outskirts of the city, on the other side of Independence Port - but was rather believed to be the result of the division's assault thereupon, since it had occurred at about the same time.

"Whatever they exposed that base for, it's probably important." Sombal went on, "Should I have the 34th informed that they should not destroy it before we arrive?"

Of course, in this the Družstevník was mistaken, for he did no yet know that Toy Dispenser probably didn't want to head to that base after all. If the Overmagus had informed him of this, the assault of the CPSR upon the train was taking place almost fifty kilometers from there, in one of the old high-speed supply tunnels the Americans had dug back during the war...

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((Can't really post a reply for Vlasta until Khell edits and Soviet posts. So until then, yay for Teivos, who let me add his borrowed cast to my whitwiki page. ))

((Edit: freakin' English and its lack of letters.))

You activate the self destruction power.

Wow.

Well I'm still impressed and giddy every day when I open a new door on my advent calendar here. Loving the bot-gunship, by the way.

[ QUOTE ]
... well I just got my new pens and paper at the store so I could fit you in if you want.. just tell me the character name and bio..

[/ QUOTE ]
I think I'll take you up on that offer. Let's see...I never did get an accurate picture for my friend Ken's character, the Dark Dragon; at least not one since he had his wings ripped off. Marvin gave me a very nice sketch of before, but something current would be nice. Lower body structure is just digitigrade feet, like the game's monstrous legs -> reptilian option.

Also, since he's got a lot of scars now, he usually wears a slate-gray robe akin to one of these, tied with a cloth belt at the waist to hide the largest ones (especially of course those where his wings used to be ). Also serves as a good hiding place for a large, high-tech shotgun.

Oh, and if you work in color, those plates on his front (throat, chest, abdomen, and ventral tail) are a very dark cobalt blue while the rest of him is, of course, black.

[ QUOTE ]
"Why are we slowing down?", she asked with a small hint of alarm. "We're not there yet are we?"

[/ QUOTE ]
Kruger raised an eyebrow at this, taking a solemn glance outside as he rose and headed toward the nearest intercom, mumbling in response, "No...no, we are not."

Of course, he never quite made it there.

[ QUOTE ]
"To be holding on to something." he snapped. Then the train jerked as if it had just been derailed...

[/ QUOTE ]
The Krieger tumbled just as many other things and people that hadn't been secured at the impact, and thus spent the time it took the spirit to claw its way into the car to get back to his feet. Once there, however, he regarded the unwelcome intruder with a distinctly sour visage.

"Geisterjägerprotokoll*!" he barked into the air even whilst he jammed a fist against the intercom and called the locomotive, wanting to know of the crew there what was happening there. He didn't ask why the train had stopped, the reason painfully obvious - what he wanted to know was what would be needed to get it moving again, and his soldiers were more than competent enough to puzzle that one out.

Those in the last car meanwhile drew their sidearms and discharged their magazines, jamming clips of ammunition comparable to ghostslayer rounds into their chambers instead of the normal armor-piercing bullets. Naturally, this meant that these sidearms were now less effective against armored physical targets, but the gray-garbed soldiers were more than willing to sacrifice that for the capability to deal a good deal more damage to these ethereal beings, even if they tried to avoid the fire by phasing out of the physical realm. Moreover, the rounds themselves were still just as deadly as normal gunfire, something the soldiers noted to make due point of once they got their sights on the people doing the chanting.

For now, however, they satisfied themselves by just opening fire on the intruder already in the car...

((*Germ.: 'ghost hunter protocol'))

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[ QUOTE ]
"Jesus I hate his stupid Bloodport. Hey gents, how can I help you...?"

[/ QUOTE ]
"Grab him!" the cyborg's eastern-European-sounding tone declared as he threw an arm in Vlasta's direction, getting into gear only instants after the orange being with intent to pursue with all due fervor. He didn't even seem to note than none of the VB officers followed.

In fact, they'd spread out a bit from the entrance and joined the bar guests here and there. A few even seemed to be making bets with the patrons. It seemed that this scene had taken place here more than once already.

In the kitchen, a cook hastily cleared the running Vlasta's way, smiling benevolently while he pulled a watch from his coat...

--------------------

The Molvia was indeed ready and waiting by the time Toy Dispenser made his way outside. The regional Commander's aide may not have been the most courageous man, but he was one heck of an organizer; something his boss somewhat lacked, and thus needed a capable administrator for.

"Družstevník Sombal, reporting DS Wolf's unit at your command..." the bald man of African descent that the Horsemen of the Apocalypse had seen earlier with the cyborg gave the android a firm salute, helmet off and in his other arm so he could be more easily understood. He motioned to the armored soldiers behind him and the helicopter, "...and ready for departure. We apologize for the mess on board, but the quick recall from the hospital allowed us no time to clean up the blood."

Toy would quickly see what the man meant upon taking a look inside the helo. The paramedics had made a mess alright, though the trail of partially coagulated blood wasn't really so obscenely huge as the Družstevník had implied. In any case, it did not impede the aircraft's function.

"Wolfgang will not be joining us." the man added to explain the missing cyborg, "He's off with a pack of VB chasing you-know-who again..."

Rarr! Too late again...well, you might've gotten away, but I'll get you next time. Yeees, I'll get you next time...

((Aye, we know. And speaking of reminders; Rebel, you do recall me saying this thread would depend on people being proactive? Well, that doesn't mean just your characters. Want an attack on the train to happen? Write one. I'll run with it. Want it to arrive somewhere? Same idea. Come to a stop, mysterious blockage of tracks? All plausible. I'm more than willing to share control here, as the only thing specified is actually Teivos and the original ŠZBV cyborgs. Any number of other things can happen here. ))

--------------------

Those in the car of course retorted with various declarations of English and German, though some other nationalities had been thrown in as well. In any case, Zeo's point was very much proven by example.

"You say his...audio sensors perceived the correct fashion to be spoken?" the Kommandant meanwhile queried of the floating drone, "Is there any chance they could be damaged? If not, could we add a pass?"

Legion would of course know that Kruger meant by pass: a filter program or band-pass subset function that differentiated between the true source code and things that just seemed very close to it, but were in fact simple coincidence. Such a filter could then establish whether an exact match was given or not, depending on the variation of its residual...

Oh wow, I got a comment. Yay. From what appears to be a lurker, no less. And yes, speculation. Not telling. Well, not yet. May come in the future.

Heh, okay, this is kind of amusing. Just one of those little quirks someone noticed.

"I did not mean killing him, but I see your point." the Kommandant nodded with understanding, wondering briefly if everyone from Primal Earth was this violent.

And they say they haven't been conquered by the Reichsman? Hard to believe.

Then again, the one who had introduced himself as Flashpoint Zeo had pointed out that they had rather easily defeated the Amerika Korps, and didn't really seem to consider anything a threat. Kruger had to admit, a philosophy of resorting to immediate force would produce highly skilled warriors, no doubt about it. He would have to inquire further about this later.

"In any case, you say this exterior source can control him?" the Krieger queried, wanting to know, "Can we cut it off from him? Jam its signal somehow? If so, what effect would this have...?"

Post deleted by DeviousMe

Slick.