Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that you guys can reply in this thread now. Since I need my regular ego boosting and since people didn't send me many tells saying how awesome I am, I figured it'd happen more often if you guys could just do a reply.
^_________________^
Next chapter should be up today, btw.
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.
I like. :0
And next time I'll be around to proofread. Sorry about making you wait before.
Why is it always the Circle of Thorns? Toy Dispenser asked rhetorically as he blasted a green-robed cultist into the wall with a force bolt.
Combat Toy moved forward and viciously punched the cultist in the stomach, folding the man around Combat Toys plasma cannon blast shield. The assault bot jerked its arm to one side and the man slumped off, unconscious. Behind them, a Behemoth cursed in some demonic tongue as Mini Bot and Small Toy ganged up on it, shooting the demon in the back whenever it turned to reach for one of the drones. But they could keep up this bait and switch routine for hours without doing any significant damage to the Behemoth, so Large Toy and Block Bot chose that moment to fire twin photon grenades. The explosions of buffeting force and light disoriented the demon long enough for Toy Bot to come up from behind and stab the demon in the back of its head. Pulling its claws out with a wet sound, Toy Bot backed away and let the demon hit the ground, dead.
I mean, I can forgive the Circle for being the only major magic-based group but the fact that we seem to fight them every other day? Kind of annoying, Toy continued as he started walking down the narrow passageway past the side corridor from whence the cultist and demon had attacked from. At least good old laser fire is quite capable of killing demons and ghosts. If it wasnt, wed all be up the river without a paddle.
Found one of Sciroccos men, boss, said Mini Bot as the group rounded another corner and came up to a doorway that led into a giant room whose exact dimensions faded into the darkness above.
Just across a rickety looking bridge that led from the doorway to a massive stone outcropping that stood in the center of the room was a prone Mu mystic. He appeared to be wounded, several parts of his red armor torn or burned. But when they neared the body, Toys sensors told him that the man was dead, killed by the Circle of Thorns mages.
Dont look special when theyre just laying there, huh boss, grunted Combat Toy as it nudged the body with its foot. Guess they should rethink the whole tied up and floating thing.
He certainly looks like he wouldnt have died if he had been able to drag himself, Toy said as he cast one more glance at the body and then shifted his attention to the ground around them.
Even if one didnt have access to highly sophisticated sensors, one would have been able to tell that the top of this stone spire was witness to a brutal battle between metahumans. Parts of the ground were still covered in ice and shiny ectoplasmic residue covered most of the ground that wasnt frozen. It looked as though the Circle had thrown its more expendable members, demons and ghosts, at Ice Mistral and her group first. They probably hoped to whittle down the Arachnos numbers to something more manageable, which wouldnt have been very hard as the e-mail Scirocco had sent Toy indicated that Ice Mistral went off with only a very light bodyguard.
Little more than a bratty teenager with superpowers, Toy sighed as he thought about Ice Mistral. Thinks she can handle anything that gets thrown at her and come out on top every single time.
Dont we kind of think that too, boss? Mini Bot asked, tilting its head to one side. I mean, we never go and fight expecting to lose, and weve lost sometimes.
Toy shot Mini Bot an annoyed look and turned back to inspecting the battlefield. It looked like the battle had devolved into a running engagement, possibly as Ice Mistral realized that she was a bit outnumbered. The fight seemed to have moved on out of the room and through some more corridors.
Come on then, Toy said as he hoisted his pulse rifle and started running, following the signs of battle. The sooner we find Ice Mistral, the sooner we can get the hell out of here.
When running at full speed all of Toys robots made an ungodly racquet, the echoes of their metallic tread spread far and wide through the underground labyrinth that was a massive guard post from ancient times when magic still ruled the earth. Several cultists were caught by surprise this way, the echoes making it hard to tell from where the original sounds had come and confusing some of the Circle into turning their backs to where Toy was actually coming from. The first several cultists caught this way were just bowled over, knocked flat by Combat Toy and then trampled under six other pairs of feet, leaving them in no condition to get back up and fight. The robots charged through the corridors in this manner until they came across open room, this one full of miniature ziggurats and dominated by a giant green crystal that hung from the ceiling in the exact center of the room.
About time you showed up! shouted Ice Mistral from where she struggled against the magical bindings placed on her by a Circle Archmage. The villainess was surrounded by dead and unconscious bodies of both her own entourage and unlucky cultists and demons.
Im always on time to rescue the damsel in distress! Toy shouted back as he skidded to a halt and shouldered his pulse rifle, taking aim at the Archmage of Agony. Now then, how about we let the ice queen go and you can walk out of here with both legs still working?
The Archmage grinned, showing yellowing teeth, and gestured to his sides. As if summoned, a small host of demons, cultists, and lesser mages appeared out of nowhere; some of them springing into existence out of thin air while others merely walked out from behind some of the ziggurats. The air was suddenly filled with demonic howls, ancient curses, and sibilant chanting as the Circle revved themselves up to attack.
Well this is a bit more of a welcome than I expected, Toy said as he fired at the Archmage. A shimmering shield sprung into place in front of the Archmages body and would have deflected the laser blast if Toy had been aiming for anything vital. Rather, the blast cut a neat swatch through the large, ceremonial hat the Archmage wore, causing it to drop down and obscure the mans vision. Cursing, he tore his hat off and lifted up one hand to incase Toy Dispenser in a shifting gravimetric field that would slowly crush him into the size of a soda can.
A light tap on his shoulder reminded the infuriated Archmage that the distraction caused by his hat had broken his concentration on holding the bindings trapping Ice Mistral together. His head slowly turned to face the blue-haired villainess. Ice Mistral had a wide, shark-like grin on her face as she leaned forward and kissed the Archmage on his nose. The Archmages eyes crossed as he struggled to see what she had done to him and saw a thin coating of ice spreading from his nose up his face. Within seconds the Archmage was covered in ice and shattered as Ice Mistral pushed him over.
Think you can make me a snow cone after we clean up this trash? Toy Dispenser asked as his robots moved up, confronting the suddenly nervous Circle group.
Screw you, Ice Mistral said with a frown as she jumped through the air and landed lightly at Toys side.
So soon? Toy asked incredulously. But were only on our second date!
A crossbow bolt whizzing past Ice Mistrals face put paid to any further bantering. The crossbow bolt was answered by several dozen laser blasts, two plasma beams, and a bolt of ice. The fight really didnt last that long.
************************************************** *
I guess I should be thanking you for the rescue, pouted Ice Mistral as she led Toy Dispenser toward where she thought the Malleus Mundi was being kept. But Im not. As far as Im concerned, I could have gotten out of there just fine on my own.
Whatever the lady wants, the lady gets, Toy Dispenser said with a shrug. Although I must say, those glowing runes of binding looked particularly fetching next to that horrified look on your face.
Ice Mistral shot Toy a glare that made it look like she wanted to dismantle him right then and there, but she managed to restrain herself and settled on staring straight ahead as she walked.
You and Scirocco are all the same, you know that? Ice Mistral said. Both of you are caught up in this whole You dont need to be a bad guy to be evil thing. Its a load of crap is what it is. Why the hell do you take contracts and stuff and work for other people instead of just taking what you want? And Scirocco, god, he can be so goody-two-shoes some times I wish I had been apprenticed to the fish man.
Just because you two draw your powers from the same source doesnt mean you have to like each other, remarked Toy sagely a he lifted up one finger. Confucius say not all bad people need to be evil.
What the hell does that mean? asked Mistral as she shot Toy an annoyed glance. But whatever, doesnt matter. Has he ever given you his speech about how he used to be a freedom fighter and fought for noble ideals or whatever? I mean seriously, what the hell is up with that? Im a villain! Im in this to take what I want and not take any [censored] from people, why wont he get that?
Toy settled for rolling his head in a sarcastic gesture and let Mistral continue her rant.
And thats not even the worst of it! Mistral shouted. Now hes falling in love with that dead witch. Talk about necrophilia, ugh. And he never seems to actually teach me how to use my powers better. Its always Respect your enemy this and Honor your foe that. Who has time for that kind of [censored]? Just teach me how to freeze an entire bank so we can steal all the money from it or something. Hes just so frustrating! Worse than you, sometimes.
This last sentence was finished with Mistral glaring at Toy with a look that made Toy think she was trying to figure out exactly how much energy it would take to just freeze the whole corridor and not have to deal with him again.
Now now, my little ice dove, Toy said as he laid a reconciliating arm over Mistrals shoulders. Do not let your obvious love for me get in the way of your relationship with good master Scirocco! Instead try to channel your feelings and use them to power your way to a new and better tomorrow.
Mistral just looked at Toy and then let out a breath all at once.
You are the weirdest damn robot I have ever heard of, she said.
I try, Toy said as he removed his arm and pointed forward. But if youll shift your attention to our destination
?
In front of the group of villains stood a slightly larger group of Longbow operatives surrounding a slight looking woman of Asian descent. They all appeared to have seen the villains coming and already had their weapons out, prepared to fire on command.
Well isnt this a surprise, Toy Dispenser said as he lowered his pulse rifle into a non-threatening position. And who might you be, little lady?
My name is Mirror Spirit, the hero said and as she named herself what appeared to be several mirrors sprang up into existence around her. I believe that you and I are searching for the same artifact.
Probably, Toy said as he gestured for Combat Toy to back off and let Block Bot and Large Toy move up. And Im sure youre well aware that we villains dont like to share.
Indeed I am, though I had hoped there might be a peaceful way to end this encounter, replied Mirror Spirit as her Longbow bodyguards shifted uncomfortably.
We dont deal with heroes, Mistral sneered as glittering motes of ice started circling her form.
Indeed, Toy added. Though we generally do like to keep talking until weve got things set-up the way we want them.
Before Mirror Spirit could reply, Toy stepped to one side, shoving Mistral up against the wall and clearing the way for the two protector bots to fire their photon grenades a the group of heroes. Then, while they were stunned, Combat Toy shoved between the protector bots and charged the heroes, spreading out its arms to gather them all up and shove them down the corridor and out into the open room that Toy had spotted behind them. The Longbow operatives sprawled every which way as they struggled to pull themselves back together, their confusion giving Ice Mistral enough time to freeze them or run them through with ice spears. Meanwhile, Mirror Spirit had unleashed an energy blast from one of her mirrors, knocking Combat Toy off her and staggering the massive assault bot. She didnt get much of a chance to capitalize on this advantage as the other robots swept in, bathing her in laser fire and a blast of red lightning.
Hit her with all youve got! Toy said as his lightning aura began crackling heavily. Shes a spirit or ghost of some sort and can take the hits!
That I am, Mirror Spirit replied calmly as she absorbed most of the fire with her mirrors. How astute of you to notice.
Astute this, [censored]! Ice Mistral shouted as she charged forward and slammed into Mirror Spirit, forming ice blocks around her hands with which to beat the hero.
Caught by surprise, Mirror Spirit was quickly overwhelmed by the combined forces of Toy Dispenser and Ice Mistral and rendered unconscious. Toy also took the opportunity to activate an experimental teleport blocker he had on him and due to the fact that Mirror Spirit didnt instantly fade away from a mediport, it must have worked.
Seal her up, Toy ordered Ice Mistral. If the heroes are looking for the Malleus Mundi as well, then I think it would be in our best interests to interrogate one of them to find out what they know.
Sounds good to me, Mistral said with a sadistic grin as she went about sealing Mirror Spirits limbs in ice.
Now split up and look for the book, Toy ordered of his bots. I want to get out of here before any more heroes show up to crash the party.
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.
[ QUOTE ]
Why is it always the Circle of Thorns?
[/ QUOTE ]
QFT. <_<
Great chapter. :3 Poor Mirror Spirit... D:
Japancakes.
Art - Theme 005 - Seeking Solace
Hehe. XD I like. And yeah, remember kids, your connection problems are all the fault of the Circle of Thorns! Go beat them up wherever souls are sold.
. . . What? XD;;
OOC: LET THE SEQUENCAL ORDER BEGIN.
BIC: [u]All Good Things[u]
It was a bright, sunny day, the air tinged with just a hint of sweetness, heralding the arrival of spring. Though the trees were still naked of their leaves they somehow managed to look less gnarled, as though releasing their tension with the end of winter. A flock of geese flew by overhead, their honking just adding to the overall feeling of newness. It was indeed a beautiful day.
Which makes it a real pity that the southern end of the Vagabond Hills in Cap au Diable was engulfed in a war between the Luddites, anti-technology activists and overall crazy nutballs, and the Circle of Thorns, mages possessed by ancient ghosts and allied with various demons. Both the Luddites and the Circle used the forest to their own ends, the radicals owning a small farm that was their base of operations in the Rogue Isles and the cultists of the Circle of Thorns using the forest as a secret place to train their followers, sacrifice civilians, and generally plan nefarious misdeeds. The two groups had been at odds ever since they had run into each other, the Luddites hating the Circle mages because they were essentially all evil ghosts and demons and the Circle resenting the Luddites intrusion into their plans for Cap au Diable. Suffice to say the two groups wouldnt be sitting down and smoking the peace pipe any time soon.
This is where Toy Dispenser came in.
Marshal Brass, commander of Cap au Diables military affairs, which included the task of keeping the various factions under control, had learned of a planned assault on the Luddite farm by the Circle of Thorns. Apparently the mystics had finally tired of the interference of the foolish fundamentalists and wished to eradicate them. Although the Luddites were annoying, what with their endless protesting and pamphleteering, they represented a major force in Cap au Diables power structure and to lose them would destabilize the entire island. Thus it was with great reluctance that the Marshal contacted his various assets and tried to find someone who would take the task of stopping the Circle.
Once he received confirmation that Marshal Brass was hiring for a job, Toy Dispenser jumped at the opportunity. Truth to tell, the Luddites and Circle stationed in Cap au Diable were a little beneath the robotic mastermind but he really needed a break from the cut-throat ambiance of Grandville. Marshal Brass seemed willing enough to let Toy take the job and headed over to the Vagabond Hills as soon as the dollars landed in one of his checking accounts.
************************************************** *
So why are we hacking at these small fries? rumbled Combat Toy as it ducked its shoulder and then dashed forward a couple of feet, ramming into a massive Behemoth Overlord.
The winged demon, flames spewing from its vaguely wolf-like jaws, toppled backwards, its cloven feet incapable of keeping purchase on the ground under the assault bots charge. The demon slammed into the ground with a loud crash and flailed its arms around, trying to find something to grab to haul itself back to its feet. But Combat Toy didnt give the Behemoth that chance, instead planting a steel foot in the middle of the things chest, holding the demon down while the blast shields on Combat Toys twin plasma cannons flipped back and unloaded their payload in the prone demons face. Leaving nothing but a charred stump of a neck, Combat Toy pivoted on its waist and unleashed a rippling barrage of missiles that blew a small clump of Circle Guardians and Luddites sky high.
Try to keep from blowing up our allies, Combat Toy, Toy Dispenser sighed as he kicked a Circle mage in the groin, causing the mage to crumple up on the ground, and then knocked him out with another swift boot to the head. Saving the Luddites from the Circle of Thorns wont mean much if we kill them all in the process.
Hnhf, grunted the assault bot as several energy blasts ricocheted off of the shield around it. You always gotta stop my fun.
Thats cause youre fun is always stupid, taunted a bright red battle drone as it grabbed a sword from the hand of an attacking cultist and snapped the poorly forged blade with ease. All you ever wanna do is shoot people and blow stuff up.
I like to do it cause its fun! Combat Toy shot back as it stepped to one side and clotheslined a charging Behemoth, a smaller cousin of the deceased Overlord minus the wings. Who wouldnt like to blow [censored] up and shoot people?
I suggest you all cease your conversation and focus on eliminating the opposition, muttered a bright green battle drone from its position next to Toy Dispenser, guarding its master from rear attacks. Cease your childish prattling, Mini Bot, and you, Combat Toy, control your aggression and focus on the assigned targets.
Calm down, Toy Bot, said Toy as he fired a blast from his pulse rifle at a mage. The blast missed and the mage ducked behind a tree to escape a follow up shot.
Toy cursed and paused for a moment, looking over the battle. When he and his robots had burst onto the scene, the Luddites had fallen all the way back to their main barn and barracks, trying to fight for their lives against the swarms of Circle cultists and demons. His teams alpha strike had put down almost a third of attacking villains, their defenses woefully inadequate to let them survive a heavy barrage of incendiary missiles, heavy laser fire, and photon grenades. The Circle had split their attention, sending fully half of their remaining number to hold off Toy while the others desperately tried to finish off the Luddites. But the well-armed protesters managed to punch their way out of the buildings and took the fight back to the enemy. Since then, the Circle of Thorns had just about been defeated and friendly fire from the Luddites was becoming increasingly common.
Toy seriously considered bailing out and letting the Luddites clean up the rest and the sight of the lead Circle mage vanishing in the bright light of a teleport spell solidified this decision in his mind.
Pack it up, boys! Toy shouted out as he blasted a particularly unintelligent Luddite with a bolt of lightning. The man slumped to the ground with a groan, charred and battered but alive.
Weve overstayed out welcome, the mastermind added as his wrist flanges whirred loudly, the force field generators contained within throwing up a strong field around Toy that repelled anything that didnt give off a specific harmonic frequency. Corpses and unconscious bodies as well as still fighting Luddites and cultists were pushed away, clearing a large space around Toy Dispenser and his bots.
Good idea, sir, Large Toy said as it drifted back toward Toy. It certainly looks like weve fulfilled our mission objectives.
Wed better get going before the Circle does something really nasty to kill us all, whined Block Bot as it fell back, its dark blue paint job marred somewhat by acid scars from Circle mages. Id hate to get killed. Again.
True enough, Toy said as he activated his anti-gravity system, floating gently up into the air until he was above the trees. You guys are dismissed. Ill call you back down when I need you.
Initializing homing beacon, Toy Bot said as jet thrusters in its feet sparked to life.
All six robots compromising Toy Dispensers little army rocketed up and out of the forest, accelerating toward the sky and then vanishing in a synchronous teleport as their onboard systems synced with the teleporters on Toys manufactory satellite and teleported them onboard. With the battle safely behind him and his bots tucked away, Toy cut power to his force bubble and shut down his more sophisticated droid control algorithms. With no droids to control at the moment and no enemies to push away, both systems just cut into valuable processing speed and power.
It was a simple matter to call up Marshal Brass on the mans private comm. line and inform him that the Luddites were saved. Brass made sure that the last half of the payment was delivered to Toys account and then cut the transmission. The Marshal of Cap au Diable was a very busy man. With nothing else to do for the day, Toy directed his flight toward Aeon City, the shining jewel of Cap au Diable and seat of power to who some said was the most intelligent man in the world, Dr. Aeon. Aeon City was a perfect example of advanced technology enabling a better tomorrow and not even the constant Arachnos patrols could dim its brilliance. But in the case of Dr. Aeon and his creations, for every beautiful thing were another dozen or so deadly and dangerous ones lurking in the shadows. This was evident in the true purpose of the Power Transfer System, the real reason Aeon City was around, but Toy didnt really want to reminisce about the battles that lead to that revelation.
Rather, he really just wanted to perch on top of the giant atom globe in the center of Aeon City and watch people go about their daily lives. Even as a sentient robot, Toy still didnt understand some of the fundamental things that made people people and he always tried to take some time every now and then to watch humans in their natural environment. It was during this period of observation that Toys high priority channel switched on and informed him of an incoming call. Wondering briefly who was calling him on such a frequency, Toy activated his comm. unit and took the call.
The glowing-eyed and goateed face of Toy Dispensers patron, Scirocco, popped into existence on Toys HUD. One corner of the mystics mouth twitched as he undoubtedly looked at a holographic representation of Toys head in his office in Grandvilles Watchtower.
Well whatdya know, Toy said jovially. My favorite two-bit finger wiggler.
Greetings my rusty, obsolete friend, Scirocco replied, his grin fully formed now. As glad as ever to observe the formalities, arent you?
Robot see, robot do, Toy said as he poked fun at Scirocco. But anyway, whats up? Got another genie problem?
Thankfully no, replied the patron as he looked off to the side for a moment. But I do have something that I could use your aid with.
Does it involve shooting things? Toy asked. Im pretty good at those sorts of things.
Indeed it shall, Scirocco said as he nodded, his grin fading, though not completely. Your opponents in this case would be the Circle of Thorns.
Oh great, more of them, Toy said in exasperation. I just cleaned up a whole warehouse full a little while ago. But I can handle my crushing boredom. Whats the objective?
Sciroccos face became grim and his head shifted a bit as he crossed his arms.
I need to you to rescue my apprentice, Ice Mistral, and then aid her in obtaining a certain book called the Malleus Mundi from the hands of the Circle.
You need me to rescue the annoying bratty chick? asked Toy with a forlorn tone to his voice. Dont you remember what happened last time we had to spend an hour in each others company?
You thaw out very well, Scirocco said, his earlier levity returning. But rest assured that she is much easier to deal with when she isnt bored out of her mind waiting for me to finish a meeting with Ghost Widow and her Fortunatas.
For the sake of my continued ease of movement, I hope youre right, Toy said with a loud sigh. You have the coordinates of the section of Oranbega that shes in?
Theyve already been loaded for your perusal, Scirocco said. As has an electronic check payable to your account for a suitable sum to take this mission.
Naw, Toy said with a toss of his head. You can keep the money this time. Since Im rescuing a friends friend, I can afford to make this a freebie.
How magnanimous of you, Scirocco said, his mouth twitching again.
Yeah, Im so nice sometimes, Toy replied seriously as he downloaded the coordinates from his e-mail. Alright, the place is just over in Nerva. Ill have her royal Pain in the [censored]-ness rescued from the scary demon people within the hour. Wish me luck.
Good luck, Scirocco said, sounding very amused. And do try to avoid provoking her. I would hate to have to get a new apprentice.
Lay your fears to rest, good sir, Toy said, striking a gallant pose. For I, Sir Masterheromind, shall save yon damsel or die trying!
Scirocco barely managed to keep his chuckles restrained as he nodded goodbye and severed the connection. As soon as it was gone, Toy dropped his pose and looked around. He saw a lone Goldbricker, his jetpack gently wafting flames to keep him aloft, staring at him with an expression of shock on his face. Toy stared at the man so long that the thief eventually snapped out of it and hastily flew away, unnerved by the sheer blankness of Toys faceplate. Sighing and shaking out his cape, Toy jumped off the globe and shot through the air toward the ferry. He had a date with a certain ice queen and it always hurt to be late to the party.
Statesman said let there be heroes, and there were heroes.
Lord Recluse said let there be villains, and there were villains.
NCsoft said let there be nothing, and there was nothing.