Seriously, why doesn't this ever happen?
By
Acanous_Quietus,
Posted on: 2007-10-07 05:57 in Roleplaying
((apologies for the slowdown- it's been a totally crazy couple of weeks, trying to get ready to go to Brazil, and then actually going... and this country is WAY too hot >.< ))
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
((Ack... okay, tonight I'm going to get a bit more done on this))
Energon X looked askance at his captive(?) as he flew them down to a rooftop that hadn't yet been engulfed in the three-way battle over Atlas Park. He set K'ss'ndreh down gently and touched down lightly next to her, noting that she had stumbled a bit before regaining her balance. Odd... guess the Rikti, for all their fearsome psionic ability, haven't raised up a lot of flyers
He pondered for a moment, trying to figure out the Rikti-speak phrasing of his answer- while he was aware it wasn't strictly necessary, it was an interesting mental excercise and helped make communication with the 'aliens' clearer. Finally, he said "Accusations: Lord Nemesis: Truth. War basis: false." "Then: War Lineage: Insane." K'ss'ndreh said flatly.
The two gazed silently over the battlefield. "Larger problems: apparently: we have." the Rikti Comms Officer added drily. The Blaster just nodded, too distracted to formulate a reply. Abruptly, he roused. "Query: psionic training: posessed of?" It was the Rikti's turn to look at him askance, but she nodded and replied "Posession: psionic training: acknowledged. Promotion: seeking." she added with a hint of dark humour.
Energon X nodded sharply. "Preparations: begin." he said simply. Scanning the skies, he spotted a lone Overseer and casually raised an arm, pegging it with a Sniper Blast. The eyeball wobbled, dropping sharply before recovering control and shooting towards the pair, toothed eyelid agape in a fearsome stare. "Hunt. Kill. Roo..." it bellowed before Energon X interrupted it with a "Yaaaaah, SHADDAP!" and a double-fisted Total Focus that made... well, it only had one eye, so they couldn't cross, but it gave the distinct impression that it would have liked to have been able to go crosseyed. It wobbled at an angle, and E-X snapped "Intentions: read. Quickly!" to his Rikti cohort.
K'ss'ndreh's eyes went a bit unfocussed as she concentrated, then the colour drained from her skin as she blanched with shock. "Lateness: excessive..." she whispered as a bellow was heard from the centre of the city...
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
((nicely done with the Yaaaaaah Shaddap!....you channeled bugs bunny perfectly...and rularuu is freaking crazy....even though the sound clip was taken from one piece....he is supposed to be bigger than Hamidon even....there was a monster lineup somewhere at one point.))
"You, dear sir, are a legend. "- nelly. "PIE DOESN'T HAVE TENTACLES!"
Bladewing Draconian lvl 30 KAT/SR scrapper
DarkNinjutsu lvl 50 DM/REG scrapper
Dajoji Hino lvl 50 elm/ela scrapper
Bloody Byakko lvl 20 claws/sr scrapper
(Yeah, when ARE they gonna impliment Rularuu? I mean, there's pics of him, so they HAVE him built [at least graphically] and I'd like to raid him >.>
You can't spell Slaughter without laughter
All your gonna do is just farm behemoths anyways.
My thoughts on November 30.
((ummm dude go to the shadow shard zone blue side...thats where the rularuu are...as for Rularuu himself, thats the model of the Aspect of Rularuu..used in the two years broken Cathedral of Pain trial.))
"You, dear sir, are a legend. "- nelly. "PIE DOESN'T HAVE TENTACLES!"
Bladewing Draconian lvl 30 KAT/SR scrapper
DarkNinjutsu lvl 50 DM/REG scrapper
Dajoji Hino lvl 50 elm/ela scrapper
Bloody Byakko lvl 20 claws/sr scrapper
Energon X stared at the giant apparition, then shuddered. "As frightening as this sounds, that's not our biggest problem." He pointed, and a section of the city shimmered and vanished, replaced by a section of unearthly ground, blood-red water flowing eternally from a spring to vanish in some unimaginable dimensional transference. City Hall went next, this time fading in a slow ripple beginning at Rularuu's feet.
The Blaster stared, momentarily forgetting his Rikti compatriot. "It's slow... Portal Corp is undoubtedly turning their full resources to jamming him... but he's reassembling his own world... here." Another section of city faded gently away, unleashing still more minions of Rularuu as the titan bellowed again.
Below, the Soldiers of Rularuu were prevailing as first the Rikti, then the heroes, succumbed to disorientation and panic. Heroes fell and vanished in wild distortions as the mediporters fought the raw dimensional energies being pumped into Atlas Park. The Blaster turned away for a moment, subvocalizing, then turned again. "Concurrence: War Walls: barrier: Rularuu: temporary solution?" he asked his Rikti companion. She stared at him, great black eyes reflecting hard blue radiance. The blaster was glowing blindingly, even in the brilliant combined light of the sun and the strange, directionless light of the Shadow Shard. Then K'ss'ndreh nodded, slowly. "Rikti Technology: superiour." she acknowledged. "Human modifications... adequate." the Communications Officer added grudgingly. Energon X made a strange vocoder noise that could have been an amused snort, then glared. Some bright soul had managed to implement a flying wedge of heroes, dozens of brilliantly-spandexed forms hurtling at the towering form of Rularuu.
"Option: untenable." K'ss'ndreh commented as the Blaster winced. A soundless flash, and the entire lot of heroes, many wielding vast power, simply vanished.
The Freedom Phalanx was next- joined quickly by Energon X, who simply flashed his reserve membership at Statesman and joined their formation. Other heroes... the upper echelons of a dozen dozen supergroups, an assemblage of power that could shatter worlds... joined in, each one flashing the badge briefly, soaring the strangely-hued skies or blurring along beneath... then paused.
The Heavy Troopship Energon X had noticed earlier moved into position, flanked by twenty-four of its brethren, nearly a hundred Heavy Assault Suits, and more Drones than could easily be counted, even by the lightning-fast Blaster using the computer assistance in his suit. The air was so thick with plasma bursts that even the limitless hordes of Rularuu were being driven back, blasted back to their own weird netherworld or simply slain outright. Rularuu himself ignored them utterly, apparently husbanding his energies to finish the transferral of worlds. The Heavy Assault Ships moved into position, jealously guarded by their escort of Heavies and Drones.. and, with an amplified roar of "This prey: MINE!", commenced a bombardment that had liquified the rock beneath Rularuu's feet within seconds.
In the meantime, both the Rikti homeworld and the technicians aboard the ships themselves worked feverishly, and Rularuu's barrier shimmered, shuddered... and shattered, causing the titan to take notice of his alien attackers for the first time... just in time to catch The Honoree's unstoppable fist with the point of his chin. Rularuu staggered back... into a terrible slash by U'kon G'rai's fearsome sword, the massive Rikti so huge he nearly reached Rularuu's waist. Rularuu staggered again, as H'ro'dotz himself entered the fray, the Four Riders at his side.
The Honoree and U'kon G'rai struck as one, driving Rularuu to one knee, as the stunned heroes shook off their shock and roared in, an unstoppable tidal wave of brilliant colour, the very fabric of time and space warping with the sheer volume of power on display. Energon X himself was a newborn star, his powers reacting to the horrific dimension-altering energies of Rularuu, a beam of energy so intense that building faces twenty yards away were slagging linking him with his titanic foe as the Ravager sank further.
Then... over the thunder of combat, a greater thunder. Rularuu was on his knees, his shoulders heaving, as he... laughed?
The aspects of Rularuu... Ruladak the Strong, Chularn the Slave Lord, Kuularth the Scavenger, Aloore the Watcher, and Uuralur the Mirror stepped out from behind nothingness, a single stride spanning dimensions as the barriers, weakened by the fathomless power wielded against Rularuu the Ravager, gave way before them. A blurred instant, and Rularuu was whole again; missing only were Faathim the Kind and Lanaru the Mad, Faathim for his own reasons and Lanaru lost in his own derangement.
Another rumbling laugh, and the Ravager completed the transformation with a wave of his arm, banishing hero, civilian, villain and Rikti alike as the reborn Shadow Shard swept out like a wave... to crash against the War Walls with a thunderous clap of white noise and a blaze of random energies. Temporarily stymied, Rularuu turned his attentions to Atlas Park, forming it into a suitable throne for himself while he regathered his energies after the beating he had sustained at the combined hands of the Rikti and the Heroes.
Energon X awoke on a rooftop and stared around, baffled. Atlas Park seemed to be all there... floating on Earth-ified Shadow Shard stones. "Sensations: present: improved?" a sarcastic Rikti voice asked, and he rolled his eyes back, not bothering to move his head, to glare upside down at K'ssn'dreh. "Oh yes. I feel much better now." he sniped back at her.
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
[ QUOTE ]
((...he is supposed to be bigger than Hamidon even....there was a monster lineup somewhere at one point.))
[/ QUOTE ]
((finded it 
And great story you got here Chameleon! 'Specilly the Rikti Forces laying the short but oh so awesome beat down on Rularuu 
))
Global - @El D
Servers - Protector
Energon X bulled through the doors of the Freedom Phalanx' temporary headquarters in the administrative offices of the Shadow Shard-banished City Hall, cutting off Positron in the middle of his saying "... and the Clockwork have gone quiescent." Statesman started to put up a hand to chastise the Blaster, but E-X cut him off with an abrupt wave. "You need to hear this."
Lady Grey, standing next to the patriotically-clad Incarnate, raised an eyebrow and stilled the gathering hubbub with a single authoritative gesture, which turned into a wave for him to continue. Silently, the Blaster stepped aside, making way for K'ssn'dreh. The Freedom Phalanx and Vanguard leaders froze in shock, some half-getting out of their seats to raise weapons or paranormal fists. When the Rikti Communications Officer made no aggressive moves, Lady Grey raised her other eyebrow. "You have our attention, at least, dear." was her only comment.
"Conveyance: emotion: gratitude." K'ssn'dreh commented drily. "Desperation: experiencing: War Lineage." She waved an arm, and the assembled heroes twitched slightly. "Forces: massing. Homeworld: supporters: materiel: emptying of." She touched a control on her wrist, and another twitch ran through the several dozen SuperGroup leaders.
A hologram sprang to life, important points picked out in Rikti pictograms... a portrait of what used to be the Chantry. Energon X spoke for just about everyone when he mumbled "Who knew the Rikti had seen Star Wars?"
K'ssn'dreh gave him an odd look, then shrugged. "Mobile Superfortress: dimensional staging: six hours." Manticore, who had been silent until now, leaning all cynical-like against the wall, shoved his way to the table, nearly elbowing the shorter Lady Grey in the face. "Then we need to hit them now." he snapped. Levantaera gave him a level look and said "If you say that a small force would be able to strike at its weak point, succeeding where a larger force would fail, I will slap you."
Manticore glared at her for a second, then everyone began talking at once, a heated argument erupting. Statesman took Energon X by the shoulder and said quietly "I think you'd better leave now, son, and take your alien accomplice with you."
Gently but firmly hustled outside, Energon X stared first at the door, then at K'ssn'dreh. "Well, that went well. Didn't even get to tell them why we thought that was important." K'ssn'dreh shrugged. "Ignored: state of: being in: used to." she said.
Then Energon X' shadow moved. Reflexes honed by half a decade of constant combat kicked in long before thought did, a sun-bright lance of energy shuddering off... the Dark Watcher's shields? A suspicion of being rather nonplussed flashed across the normally imperturbable Watcher's face, then vanished as he said "With the Lady Grey's compliments..." before taking Energon X' arm in one hand and K'ssn'dreh's in the other.
He prodded several controls on the Communications Officer's battle armour, who blinked and tried to jerk away with a bark of "Exclamation: that: touching: cessation!", the irritation giving way to puzzlement as the Dark Watcher expertly enabled the 'sleep' mode of her portal generator. Then puzzlement became full blown shock as he pulled the pair forwards a step... a step that took them into the basement lab of D.A.T.A..
There, a Dark Servant waited next to the portal to Recluse' Victory. It spoke in Lady Grey's smooth, cultured tones. "As you may have guessed, darling, the argument above is taking fairly predictable lines, and doesn't really require my full attention." The apparition sighed, an odd sound. "However, the likely consensus is that we need to hitch a ride aboard the Rikti Weapons Platform, allow it to be used against the Ravager, then destroy it." Energon X shrugged. "I've heard worse plans." "Information: sum: lacking." K'ssn'dreh said urgently. E-X nodded. "But K'ssn'dreh is right. Too much Rikti portal-use, and Rularuu gets fully loose. Right now, he's still partially bound to the Shard. Moving that much mass trans-dimensionally, though... Rularuu the Ravager would take Earth and the Rikti homeworld almost overnight, thanks to the 'pathways' it would open to him."
The Dark Servant nodded. "You've done your homework." Lady Grey's channeled voice said, sounding amused. "But you don't have all the information, either." the Dark Watcher interjected. "I brought you down here for a reason. Please follow me through this portal." At the cusp of the portal, the Watcher hesitated. "You've no doubt heard all manner of people say the world's going to hell?"
The Blaster and the Watcher stepped through the portal and into a whirlwind of fire and brimstone, K'ssn'dreh trailing behind. "They've never been more right."
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
((... no comments?
*cries*
... yes, I am a comment-[censored].
So comment, dangit! Let me know someone's still reading this thing!))
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
((*Comment*))
You can't spell Slaughter without laughter
All your gonna do is just farm behemoths anyways.
My thoughts on November 30.
(( I'm reading it! I'm also loving it! When do we get more!? ))
((well, given that I tend to pause like this when I don't know what's going to happen next...
As I said at the start, this began as little more than the literary equivalent of idle doodling. And like so many idle doodles, it's grown ridiculously complex in a very short time...))
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
((Nice TeCh. . .maybe this will turn into a future RP???? PWEEEZE!))
I do not know my reasons for posting, but post I must. ~~Build
"We can't stop here, this is bat country."
--Johnny Depp
"I ain't bi-curious, I'm a man. Why do you think I'm wearing this tight spandex and got all these muscles?" Meatwad
((Up from the depths! IT RETURNS!))
Energon X made a brief, choked noise, then whirled as every combat-tuned sense he posessed started screaming. A Behemoth, bigger than any he'd ever seen and carrying a giant chain, stomped past, leaving flaming hoofprints like small canyons as he walked. The Blaster's fists were up and glowing, but the Dark Watcher knocked his hands down with a sharp, almost desperate, "No!".
More calmly, the trenchcoated man continued "You're not here to fight, but to see. That was a Behemoth Pitlord; be thankful that they've never found their way into our home dimension." He took a deep breath and continued. "As you have probably guessed, this is the work of the Circle. This was once Recluse' Victory; and, in fact, Recluse did claim his victory in this world. However, in this timeline, it is because the population of Paragon City had been decimated in Rularuu's attack. For some time, none knew what had happened; Rularuu, at the height of his power, simply disappeared."
The Dark Watcher paused as an eddy in the smoke revealed the ruined Atlas Park; it appeared that some rebuilding from the Ravager's attack had happened, although the fountains ran blood red and the strange Shard plants still grew here and there amidst the ash. Stretching into the distance, hundreds... thousands... tens of thousands of Circle of Thorns Mages and servitors bowed endlessly towards a titanic demon lord. The smoke mercifully closed in again, and the Watcher continued.
"It took some time, but it was eventually revealed. Lord Recluse attacked, and conquered; but his triumph was shortlived. The Circle rose from Orabenga at the head of a demon army, billions strong. They had taken Rularuu, ensorcelled him, and drained him of his dimension-shattering power. Then, they were wise; they lay low while hero and villain destroyed one another, and struck while we were weakest."
Another swirl of smoke, this one stirred by a flight of ghosts screaming through the sky. "Even then, it was a battle to be remembered to the ages. Lord Recluse' inner circle, for all their faults, are beings of vast power; they fought shoulder-by-shoulder with the surviving heroes... in the end, humanity was unified as never before, even the Fifth Column coming out of hiding to take up arms against the demons. But it was too little; Rulaaru the Ravager's power, combined with that of their demonic masters, allowed the Circle of Thorns to take this world as their own."
K'ssn'dreh, who had been silent up until then, spoke up. "Query: destruction: Orabenga?" The Dark Watcher shook his head. "We have significant reason to believe that wouldn't work. Not only would bringing enough power to bear on Orabenga to obliterate it blow Paragon City off the map, this is actually the result of a time shift. Originally, this was a fog-shrouded haven of the undead; the Banished Pantheon were the ones to capture him in that future."
The Dark Watcher made a noise that could almost have been a chuckle. "Less than an hour ago, when we first discovered this, Ms. Liberty and Lady Grey put aside their differences; the Banished Pantheon were hit by a combined force of Longbow and Vanguard. I doubt there's a single zombie left in less than a dozen pieces the length and breadth of Paragon City; the Zig is overflowing with Shaman." He shook his head. "They'll rebuild; they always do. But for right now, they don't have enough firepower to catch a civilian, much less Rularuu. When that resulted in the all-but immediate change to this hellhole, several of D.A.T.A. and S.E.R.A.P.H.'s best ultra-techs got together with the seers from Magi, precogs from G.I.F.T., and the best probability math prodigies that E.L.I.T.E. had to offer; the results were... disturbing, to say the least. Assuming we were able to take out the Circle without destroying Paragon, the Malta Group would take Rularuu; if we took them down first, the Rikti would capture him. If we were to weaken the Rikti enough, Arachnos would simply destroy us and him both. If we were to pre-emptively strike at Arachnos (after taking down the other villain groups), there wouldn't be enough firepower left on the planet to stop Rularuu, and he would continue his multidimensional path of destruction."
He shook his head. "Unfortunately, the Freedom Phalanx thinks we'll be able to prevent the wave effect that would let Rularuu completely free when the Rikti transport their battlestation. However, independent testing tends to indicate that Positron has a decimal in the wrong spot... we'd lose a significant chunk of the city to the Shard, with no guarantee of ever getting it back, if that decimal is wrong. And, of course, no-one with the qualifications wants to say anything because... well, it's Positron, no?"
Energon X spoke for the first time. "... how significant?" he asked. The Dark Watcher shrugged. "Founders Falls, Talos Island, and Skyway, most likely. Yes, I know that's unacceptable." he said, holding up a hand to forestall the Blaster's angry retort. "That's why we brought you and your friend here. We need you to get on board that battlestation with a select team and sabotage it. We'll have to manage the Ravager without it somehow."
Energon X raised an eyebrow. "This could get... interesting." he commented. "Agreement: expressed." was the Comm Officer's only reply.
((Whew... glad I got it moving again, the story nearly stalled out. Of course, you just know it's not going to be as simple as all that...))
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
The oddly-matched trio crossed back into the transplanted City Hall in sombre silence, broken only by Lady Grey's voice speaking through her Dark Servant once again. "So you can see why we're under rather a bit of time pressure." she commented drily. Energon X gave her a look, then shrugged. "I'll have names and locations to you as soon as I have terminal access." he called over the incessant roaring of the portal.
"Can you get K'ssn'dreh a suit of Rikti armour from the Traditionalists? Preferably Mentalist?" the Blaster asked next, startling all three of his listeners. The Dark Servant went quiescent for a long while, then stirred. "You really must warn me before you say things like that." Lady Grey commented reprovingly. "I actually gasped audibly; dear Marcus spent five minutes demanding to know if I was alright, as I am not given to allowing signs of stress to show." the Dark Servant commented acerbically.
Energon X made a wry noise as he typed away at one of D.A.T.A.'s control consoles. The Dark Watcher had been able to boot up one of their terminals and load an ordinary word processor. The Blaster figured it was best not to speculate how, exactly. "Glad to see I haven't lost my touch for shocking people... but the question remains. I can't read Rikti, and I need someone who can keep up with me; this one's going to be all about stealth and speed, not just raw power. And that portal generator could be useful."
The Dark Servant shrugged, and E-X marvelled at just how tight Lady Grey's control had to be... either she was shrugging in her own body upstairs at that moment for whatever reason, or else she had phenomenal self- (and servant-) control. "The meeting is sojourning for a few moments; I believe I'll be coming down to join you momentarily. I've caught glimpses of some of your choices, and am having a hard time believing who I think you have picked." The servant inclined its head to the Watcher. "Devon, dear, if you would be so kind as to teleport me down as soon as I am out of the doors, claiming urgent Vanguard business?"
The Dark Watcher nodded, and faded from sight. Energon X finished typing, and then he too disappeared, wreathed in cloaking energies. K'ssn'dreh gave the spot he had disappeared in a dirty look, then hid behind a pipe, muttering under her breath.
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
((Nuh-uh. Not dropping off the first page with two updates and not even one comment!
As I said before, I am a comment-[censored]. Gimme!))
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
(( hehehe, I'm loving where this is going. You've got Lady Grey and DW spot on! ))
ABOARD THE RIKTI CHANTRY BATTLESTATION, ROUGHLY ONE HOUR LATER-
K'ssn'dreh ducked as the Rikti Infantry Energon X had belted sailed overhead to bounce, ragdoll-like, off a modified bulkhead. She gave him a reproving look, but refrained from comment, simply melting a Guardian's brain. Behind (and below) the Blaster, a complaining, youthful voice sounded. "Why am I here, again?" E-X' nephew, Target Lad demanded, shocking a Rikti Monkey senseless before putting an arrow into another Infantry's kneecap. A fiery blur whiffled past him, taking the Infantry into the wall and leaving it skewered on a fiery sword, like some kind of huge, unpleasant pinned butterfly.
"Pay attention. Less complain, more fight." the huge, flame-wreathed form of Flashpoint Zeo reproved the young archer, before vanishing in another streak of fire. "Yeh, yeh..." Target Lad grumbled, putting a Talsorian arrow through an importunate Chief Mentalist, to a yelp from... no-one?
Sergeant Allerdyced (esq.) faded into view, waving a clawed fist furiously at Target Lad. "Watch where ye're pointin' those things, y'little git!" he yelled, turning slightly to stab the Chief Mentalist, who was raising an arm threateningly (although its other arm was clenched to its gut, where Target Lad's arrow had punched through), in the side of the head. "I did... y'were invisible, stupid sod!" the boy snapped back. "Er... right." the ex-SpecOps mumbled, deflated. He disappeared again, although the sounds of stabbing and the occasional high-pitched noise that passed for a Rikti scream could be heard from various points in the melee.
The swirl of battle brought K'ssn'dreh and Energon X together again, and the Communications Officer commented "Functionality: failure." "I know this isn't working!" the Blaster snapped back. Target Lad, who had been sticking to his mentor like a small, cranky shadow, piped up "Coulda fooled me, Uncle E. Thought you lot were just having fun." A blue-white bolt howled past his head, clearing nearly a dozen Rikti with one shot. "Well... maybe a little." the older blaster riposted, sounding amused. "I'm glad you're enjoying yourselves, dear, but time really is rather pressing..." Lady Grey's dry voice came over the team channel. "I know!" Energon X yelled. "Oh, for the love of... just get clear." he growled. His nephew's eyes went wide, and he dove for safety, which was about all the warning the others needed- even the tank, Flashpoint Zeo, was flat on the deck around a corner when the world went white with a noise like somebody ripping a planetoid in half.
The team cautiously edged out into the smouldering wreckage, to find Energon X down on one knee, breathing hard. Sergeant Allerdyced stabbed one of the still-twitching Rikti in a disgruntled sort of way, muttering something about "Bloody glory-hounding Yanks...", which Energon X twitched at, but otherwise ignored. "Overkill for one job, underkill for other..." Flashpoint Zeo commented succinctly. "Repeat seven hundred... sixty... eight... times?" The Blaster just glared at him for a long moment, before rolling his eyes (at least, that's probably what the weird stroboscopic flicker was). "Very funny. No, that was just to buy us some time. We need something more destructive than us." "Oy! I resemble that r'mark!" came a yell from wherever the Sergeant was.
"Like... the Freedom Phalanx?" Target Lad mused. "Could be, I guess... they are on board, after all... but they don't want to destroy this thing until after it's too late." A strangled noise; the Blaster glanced at K'ssn'dreh, concerned. The Rikti Comm Officer was shaking, her Mentalist armour clinking faintly. "Terrorists: fear: hatred: irrational..." The blaster reached out a hand, then let it drop. "Oh, yeah... the Phalanx are really a pack of boogeymen for you guys, aren't they? I'm amazed you held it together as well as you did, when we were face-to-face with them." The Comm Officer shook her head. "Beings: legend: unequal." she said, then both Rikti and Blaster jumped violently as arms were draped across their shoulders.
Sergeant Allerdyced faded into view, a nasty grin so broad it was visible under his heavy ninja facemask creasing his face. "Ye wanted something e'en more destructive th'n us, aye? An' what d'ye think happens when a shipful of heavily armed, keyed-up battle-ready soldiers finds out that th'boogeyman ha' come t'eat them... and th'boogeyman's already on board?" Energon X stared at him for a moment, then barked a short laugh. "K'ssn'dreh, can you plug into the network and start that rumour without blowing our cover?" The Comm Officer just nodded and brought her fingertips to her temples, concentrating. Everybody tactfully (or irritably) tried to ignore a boyish mumble of "So th'ninja-wannabe's good for summat other th'n stabbing people? Who knew?"
In a startlingly short length of time, the entire battlestation was in utter pandemonium, explosions and plasma fire filling every corridor and conduit. The Freedom Phalanx was good... very, very good... but that only made things worse for them, as the rare, fleeting glimpses that the various Rikti caught of them (on those occasions when Synapse' superfast scouting, Sister Psyche's immense psi-talents, and Positron's hacking into their computers failed for a split-second) only served to accelerate the spread of the rumours. Soon, the Rikti were shooting each other, and all the blame falling on the mythic monsters the Phalanx was considered to be.
Energon X and his group contributed what they could to the chaos before making a strategic retreat back to the displaced City Hall. From there, they enjoyed the lightshow as bits of the Chantry Battlestation exploded or fell off. Eventually, it went quiescent... it was fairly clear that it wasn't going anywhere, as the last few bits of Rikti modifications crumbled away. The Freedom Phalanx, furious and embarassed, stomped back into City Hall a short while later. "There goes our best hope for stuffing Rularuu back where he belongs." Manticore growled. "Can't believe you clowns got spotted so easily." He shoved Danny aside as the younger archer, starstruck, tried to get him to sign an autograph. Sister Psyche slowed her stormy stalk as she passed the team, staring suspiciously at them... and then her eyes went wide and she slapped Sergeant Allerdyced so hard that he was carried off his feet. "[u]PIG[u]!" she snapped, storming into the conference room and slamming the doors so fast that she caught Statesman's nose in them. He wrenched it free with a splintering noise, tossed a reproving glare at Energon X, and went in, also slamming the doors.
Once the Freedom Phalanx was safely occupied and out of earshot, Energon X heaved a sigh. "Well, we saved half the city from being sucked into the Shard and Rularuu's 'tether' from being cut, but now we need a new plan for getting Rularuu back in here... or else he's going to be totally free and it's all going to end up in here anyways."
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
((It returns! I haven't worked on this story for a few months, mostly out of a combintation of writer's block and forgetting about it entirely, but... well, let's see if I can regain some momentum here))
Energon X leaned his head on his forearm, staring out the window of City Hall. The Freedom Phalanx was still closeted away, although the occasional muffled yelling could be heard from the conference room. His impromptu superteam (with the exceptions of Target Lad and K'ssn'dreh) had scattered, rejoining the fight to contain Rularuu's forces and prevent chaos from consuming the city while so many of its defenders were occupied with the larger crisis.
A sharp intake of breath behind him caused him to turn his head, very slightly, and interrupt. "No, Danny, that wasn't a waste of time." the blaster said flatly. "If we hadn't gone, this war would already be over. And as to me putting you in danger, it was really no worse than what you go through regularly on your own, it just seemed that way because we're so far from home. For that matter, it might not be any more dangerous than you simply staying home, on a day like this."
Target Lad simply stood there for a long moment, has dramatic finger-jabbing-towards-Energon-X pose somewhat ruined by his frozenness. Then he shook his head irritably and demanded "Aw... son of a... how'd y'know wha' I was gonna say, Uncle E?" The older Blaster turned around fully and raised an eyebrow. "Because you've been ranting at me about it for the last half-hour. What, did you think I really wasn't listening?" He shrugged, shoulder plates shifting briefly. "Unfortunately, nothing you said really triggered any ideas. So either find a new rant-topic, try to think, or shush."
Target Lad glared for a moment, then shrugged, leaning against the wall to stare at the ceiling. K'ssn'dreh, who had been observing all this, shook her head and muttered "Familial interactions: bizarre." Then she stiffened for a long moment.
The paralysis broke as abruptly as it arrived, and she lunged forwards, grabbing Energon X by... well, what would be his lapels, if his body armour actually had such a thing. E-X jumped visibly, the bloody glow of his powers snapping on and off it was like a lightning flash as he almost visibly grabbed ahold of his self-control. Target Lad was less controlled, but also slower, so his uncle managed to snag him in mid swing. The Rikti (ex)Comms-Officer ignored the byplay, simply snapping "The Lady: Grey. Neccesity: urgent. Immediate."
Energon X stared for a moment, then jumped sideways so violently that he cracked the window when Lady Grey's voice said, right by his ear, "Glad to oblige, dear. As I was looking for you in any case." Following her own voice, Lady Grey stepped out of a pool of shadow that was much to small to have contained her. K'ssn'dreh turned, blinking violently. "Contact: Homeworld: concepts." she blurted. Lady Grey nodded. "Exactly why I was seeking you out. Their transmission was short and somewhat garbled, but they did manage to convey that their spies within the Restructurists had passed on the situation to them, and also that you had been trying to warn them of danger, but were ignored." K'ssn'dreh simply nodded unhappily. "However, dear, they also noted that they had been in contact with you, to share their idea more quickly and easily."
K'ssn'dreh nodded again, mumbling something that Energon X caught as "Mannerisms: human: imitation: annoying/necessary..." Louder, she said "Rularuu: gestalt-mind: reformed." Lady Grey and Energon X both nodded, while Target Lad sat on the floor, leaning against the wall, bored and fiddling with his bow. "Rikti: hivemind: common knowledge..." the Ex-Communications Officer continued, then paused. "Madness: link: shatters. Damage: minds of: all involved: potential." Lady Grey and Energon X glanced at one another, while Target Lad, his attention drawn by the sudden shift in mood, glanced up. His mind replayed the conversation he had been half-listening too, and his shoulders slumped.
"Bloody wonderful. We're off to the Storm Palace, innit?" he groaned.
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
Energon X thought for a moment, then gave a tired chuckle. "You think we're just going to march in there, grab Lanaru by the scruff of the neck and haul him off to Atlas Park? Even with the Freedom Phalanx and all the other heroes here, I don't think we have enough firepower to pull that off... and even if we did, I'm not sure dragging him up to the Ravager and trying to stuff his unconscious body into Rularuu's earhole would work all that well." Target Lad made an odd noise, midway between an indignant snort at being made fun of and a snicker at the weird mental image that his uncle had succesfully conjured up.
"Oddly enough, that was one of the first things dear Marcus suggested." Lady Grey commented offhandedly. "Unfortunately, it's unlikely to be that simple." the Dark Watcher commented from directly behind Energon X' left ear. The Blaster, already keyed up from the ongoing tension, ended up thirty yards down the hallway, one glowing fist levelled at the trench-coated teleporter. After a second of fighting to get his internal energies back under control, E-X snapped "You people just live for that sort of thing, don't you?" calming a bit, he waved a gauntleted hand at Lady Grey. "And yes, I'm sure you don't have any idea what I'm talking about. Bah."
The Dark Watcher shrugged very faintly, calmly ignoring the fact that not only was Energon X drawing a bead on him, but Target Lad was airborne with an arrow nocked, and K'ssn'dreh had her hands to her temples, obviously readying a psychic attack. "If you're finished?" he asked acidly, and with what Energon X would swear was a slight smirk in his voice. "Unfortunately, mere touch is unlikely to reintegrate one of Rularuu's aspects into the gestalt, particularly an aspect as unwelcome as Lanaru the Mad. And no, high-speed impact won't work either." the Watcher continued, holding up a finger to forestall Target Lad's question. When the little archer subsided, grumbling to himself, the Dark Watcher continued. "We do, however, have one idea; the Rikti hive-mind should theoretically have enough power to force the two together, once they're in the same dimension."
Energon X nodded slowly (while Target Lad grumbled to himself from floor level), but K'ssn'dreh shook her head flatly. "Function: impossible. Restructurists: untrusting: war: consumed by. Traditionalists: power: will: lacking: alone." Both blasters glanced sidelong at her, but Lady Grey made a tutting noise and forestalled any further comment. "Now, dear- I know why you feel that way, but the will of the Traditionalists just might surprise you. Besides, at the moment, it's the best plan we have. Diplomats and a handful of Vanguard representatives are already meeting with Traditionalist representatives; we should have the Mentalists and Priests we need to spearhead the psionic assault within the hour. In the meantime, Levantaera, Borea, Serpent Drummer, and Gaussian have taken a unit to corral Lanaru and prep him for transit." Lady Grey paused, and glanced across at Energon X. "Hush, darling... you've done more than enough to help with this little crisis; I've already put you and your team's names up for at least five medals apiece... although you won't be able to show anyone the second and fifth ones for about forty years, if they're awarded..." She trailed off, looking thoughtful, then jumped slightly, responding to an unheard summons. "Ah, there's the call I've been waiting for." She waved a hand. "Come along, Devon- we must be going."
With that, the two Vanguard leaders vanished in a swirl of darkness. Energon X, K'ssn'dreh and Target Lad exchanged glances, eyes blazing with purple energy meeting inscrutable alien black pits and irritable blue teenaged eyes. Target Lad spoke for them all- "I've got a bad feeling about this..."
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
A short while later, Target Lad, Energon X, and K'ssn'dreh were sprawled about in the employee lounge at City Hall (well, E-X and his nephew were sprawled... K'ssn'dreh was standing kind of stiffly in a corner), watching the news with some interest (for whatever reason, the Cable still worked). The 'top story' had changed from Rularuu building his palace where City Hall used to be, to Lanaru the Mad rampaging through Independence Port, surrounded by a mighty cloud of Storm Elementals. The Blaster greeted the Dark Watcher cheerfully as he teleported in, his face thunderous. "Welcome back. Things went well, I take it?" The trenchcoated teleporter glared at him for a moment, then shook his head. "K'ssn'dreh is proving to be aptly named. The War Lineage didn't even pretend to go along with the plan, instead simply attacking us outright. We managed to fight them off, and went ahead using only the Traditionalist Mentalists."
A pause, and a heavy sigh. "Things seemed to be going fine, at first... then, the instant we opened the cross-dimensional portal, Lanaru went insane." Another pause. "More insane." the Watcher corrected himself. "Our troops were decimated- we barely got out alive when he started pulling in Storm Elementals. We were forced to retreat, and Lanaru seized control of the portal." The Dark Watcher shook his head. "Our Rikti allies have retreated back to their homeworld as fast as they can portal; they said something about 'coming onslaught: preparations for'." he finished sourly.
This litany of doom was interrupted by a whoop of laughter from Target Lad. On the television screen, Lanaru had just vanished in a column of spray half a mile high, a miniature tsunami dousing his retinue of elementals in a cloud of steam and sparks. The mad aspect surfaced, fighting wildly with a maelstrom of tentacles. "Huh. What do you know? Looks as though Lusca doesn't like him either. Only problem is, those elementals are as big a threat as he is, if not biggerrrrr..." the synthesized voice trailed off as the camera shifted jerkily, live audio feed tinny and far off. "Hold on... something's coming in..." the announcer intoned breathlessly. A faint cry that Energon X could have sworn sounded like "Smoooooorrrrrg Niiiiiiight..." sounded from high above, and a cloud of darkly-glowing squid forms spiralled out of the sky.
The violently purple cloud of Storm Elementals took on a sharply darker hue for a moment, then started to thin visibly. In the lounge, to Energon X' dark delight, Target Lad demanded "Wha' kind o' daft battle cry is 'smorg night', anyhow?" The older blaster's synthesized voice was laced with black humour as he explained "Warshades eat energy. Storm Elementals are energy. You do the math. Looks like Shadowstar is still firmly on top of things, anyways... I'm pretty sure that was her yelling."
"Hmm... so, not the unmitigated disaster it first appeared, at least for the moment." Lady Grey commented from right behind Target Lad's ear. The little archer jumped so violently that he dropped his bow, but contented himself with glaring when the Vanguard Leader merely raised an eyebrow at him. "Still, we need to find some way to reunite Lanaru with the other aspects; that should stun them long enough for Portal Corps dimensional engines to shunt them back here." "Sounds t'me like y'just want t'make clappin' the great sod back t'gether as someone else' problem while y'sit around and talk in circles." Target Lad grumbled, still peeved at being startled. Energon X froze for a moment, staring at the younger Blaster. "Somebody else' problem... back together... circles... Danny, I do believe you've just given me an idea. Azuria is still around here someplace, right? I've got a few history questions... and then, methinks, it's time for a Xanatos Gambit."
Lady Grey started to nod, then paused. "Xanatos..? But he was never incarnated..." she murmured, more to herself than anyone in the room. Energon X just shook his head. "Figure of speech, milady. In whatever case, could you recall Sergeant Allerdyced and Flashpoint Zeo for me? Time... is a-wasting."
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
A scream like a man having his soul pulled out his ears scraped across the musty walls of Orabenga as Energon X forcibly banished yet another ghost in a torrent of blue-white fire. "Bloody things don't 'alf scream, do they?" Sergeant Allerdyced commented as he pulled his fury claws out of a yowling Behemoth with a *glitch* noise. The fiery blur that was all that could normally be seen of Flashpoint Zeo in combat paused momentarily, a struggling Agony Mage suspended from one shovel-sized, burning hand, writhing in... well, agony. "Banishment unpleasant?" the huge tanker suggested drily. "Oh aye... y'think?" Target Lad commented, putting an arrow into a threatening Thorn Wielder, who collapsed with a bubbling noise. "I can think o' summat worse than bein' banished, though..." the little archer continued. "Notice tha' th'ones tha' ha' been listening to th'limey ninja wannabe flap his gums do na' scream when they go?" "Oh, ha-bloody-ha." the Sergeant responded irritably, stabbing a Behemoth Lord and twisting his claws viciously. The giant demon bellowed, but no more Circle emerged... the quartet of heroes (and one tagalong Rikti) had cleared the area quite thoroughly.
"Alright, knock it off, you two. We have to work fast." Energon X said hurriedly as Target Lad helped Allerdyced dispatch the Behemoth Lord. "Flashpoint, find me one of the larger crystals that could be easily carved by either you or me, and that has a natural crack about 5/6ths of the way down- these things have been soaking ambient magic for millennia, they'll light up like they're going nova when we get where we're going. K'ssn'dreh, portal Akarist in, we'll need his help inscribing the runes; Target, Sarge, start laying out the runic barrier that Azuria built for us. We don't want any of the incorporeal Orabengans to get too close." the Blaster said, barking out orders rapid fire.
The team exploded into action, peeling off in different directions while Energon X fiddled with an ornate crystal he had slotted into a control panel in his armour. When Akarist arrived, fretting at the time he was losing that could be devoted to helping MAGI mystically augment the city's defenses and buffer Portal Corps' efforts to... 'deport'... Rularuu, the Blaster quickly explained what he had in mind. Akarist stared at him for a moment, then gave a single bark of laughter. "Aye, it could work... work well, too. Let me give you the phrasing..." Working quickly, Energon X inscribed the ancient runes with a hair-thin beam of energy. Then, with a sharp, precise blow from the huge tanker, the crystal was split into two uneven pieces, the smaller of the two being handed off to Sergeant Allerdyced while Flashpoint Zeo held the larger. "Alright, children... it's time to take a look behind the curtain. Next stop, Eleven Thousand, Nine Hundred and Eighty-Seven B.C., the height of Mu'Rhakmet's rebellion." Energon X commented once Akarist was once again safely portalled back to MAGI's temporary headquarters. He touched a control next to the shimmering crystal at his wrist, and a golden portal opened on the floor.
Sergeant Allerdyced faded from view and hopped through, clutching the smaller crystal fragment, quickly followed by Flashpoint Zeo, then Target Lad, then K'ssn'dreh, and finally Energon X himself, the portal closing quietly after that, leaving Orabenga, once more, to the ghosts.
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
((May I please have some more?))
The small superteam materialized on a windswept plain near the sea. Sergeant Allerdyced and Target Lad both reacted with conscernation as they realized that they were 'off the grid'- no City teleportation backup, no database access, no GPS... until Energon X poked his nephew sharply. "You sure you're related to me? I'm positive I spoke... well, vocoded... clearly when I said '11,987 B.C.'- there's not going to be a whole lot of that around, neh?" The little archer flushed faintly and subsided, muttering. "Worries, historical contamination?" Flashpoint questioned. "Unlikely: massive buildup: magical energies." K'ssn'dreh retorted, sounding shaky.
"K'ssn'dreh's got the right of it. This whole place is going to be spell-nuked to glass and slide into the sea within a few days. We just need to make certain that the right people see the right things before that happens." Energon X said. "Those of you without invisibility or cloaking devices, switch on the hyperphase units we picked up from S.E.R.A.P.H. before we left. We don't want anyone seeing anything they shouldn't. Then split up and find the point directly between the two high commands." The blaster paused. "And be careful- this is the era of magic at its peak. Don't get any closer than you absolutely have to to anyone or anything more exotic than dirt. K'ssn'dreh, you're with Flashpoint Zeo, Danny, you're with me, and, of course, the Sarge is solo." With that, the team split apart, zipping across the barren landscape in search of the warring armies that would shatter this continent in a matter of days.
Less than twenty minutes later, Sergeant Allerdyced signalled the group that he had found their targets. "Great. Th'git's gonna be insufferable aft' this..." Target Lad mumbled as the team closed on Allerdyced's position. "Knowledge acquired how?" the big Tanker wondered, to a bark of laughter from the not-quite-ninja. "Hah... s'easy. Wi' th'Orabengans, just look f'r the biggest hats. Wi' the Mu-twits, look f'r the ones wi' the most belts." Energon X just snorted in amusement briefly, then judged the distance between the two factions.
"A'right... we need to make sure it's closer to the Orabengans, but not so close that the Muvians are too far away to snag the last bit, which, terrain allowing, they'll see and the Orabengans won't..." The blaster mumbled, mostly to himself as he shifted position, sighting with a surveyor's precision as he moved invisibly between the armies. "Alright... perfect." he murmured, planting the small device. "Flashpoint, Sarge... plant your bits of crystal on top here. Then we have to bail, if my understanding of how all this works is correct..." Energon X stepped back to allow his compatriots to do exactly that, then the team cleared out at speed.
A flare of gold, and the empty strand they had entered on was, somehow, emptier still.
The quintet appeared back in the Shadow Shard, and Energon X, once again, started barking orders. "Unfortunately, the crystal either can't microjump in time, or else I haven't figured out how to do it. Meet back here in a three hours; we need to return to that time period. K'ssn'dreh, I need you keeping a mental eye on the War Lineage. Keep it as passive as you can manage and still stay in contact- we can't afford to have you 'made' quite yet. Target Lad? Get back to City Hall and keep pestering Manticore for an autograph. If anything changes with the Phalanx, we need to know. Flashpoint, you stay on point here- you're our 'starter's gun' if things go wahoonie-shaped. Allerdyced, with me. We need to pay a visit to a certain mystic in the Isles."
"A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head." Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates
MA Arcs: #12285, "Small Fears", #106553, "Trollbane", #12669, "How to Survive a Robot Uprising"
((Gotcha, this sounds awesome anyways
))
I do not know my reasons for posting, but post I must. ~~Build
"We can't stop here, this is bat country."
--Johnny Depp
"I ain't bi-curious, I'm a man. Why do you think I'm wearing this tight spandex and got all these muscles?" Meatwad