Open Season: St John ((Big ***** warning inside))

Schmitt grunted and vanished in a flash, appearing barely a few feet from where he was, landing awkwardly, and hitting the mediporter as he hits the ground, appearing in the hospital and being carted off to Intensive Care

Solemn and overcome with guilt, Pious had watched on with mild disregard as fire rained from the heavens to scorch the earth, only barely aware of his friend Schmitt shielding him from the plasma burst and the hurled metal limb. Awoken by the German's sacrifice, he looked around and noted others who were setting aside their own safety to save the battle-torn suburbs and put a stop to the metallic monstrosity before them.

"One act of evil..." he muttered to himself, slowly stirring back alive. "...And a dozen acts of good. Perhaps there is hope for us yet."

"Reverend Pious Hunter...." said a familiar voice, approaching through the rubble. "Its time you got your wish"

Pious jerked his head left, then right as though he had just received some private message.

"You are the one called Erez'Zul" said the Priest, with new vigour and heightened spirits. "You were party to the torture of my wife while she was held in the dungeons of Castle Bathory. You were also responsible for the shadowy abominations now called the Darkhunters. That makes it twice that you have been bested by the Nighthunters alone. You are far too outnumbered to threaten me here Erez. Just look around you."

And as though on cue, the glorious rays of sunshine burst from beyond a distant cloud, flooding the battlefield with blinding light. The silhouette of a small army could just be made out marching forth from across the charred school grounds.

"Dunelm Group! What is your profession?" came a loud commanding voice from deep within the fast approaching army. The response was so loud and mighty it shook the very dirt beneath their feet. "OOOOORRRAAAAH!" they yelled and within seconds they had began their onslaught on the giant killer robot.

As the thuds and clang of battle echoed through the school, five military parachutes descended from the skies using the blinding sunlight rays for cover. "Mission Control this is Crusader, Captain Harlem, Sentinel, Officer and Dante Hunter, we are now on location and ready to engage. Permission to open fire!"

With a flash of steel and fire, two long range missiles had been propelled towards the great machine. The Crusader unsheathed a large gunblade and began a multitude of sharp strikes at the monsters one remaining leg. Dante flitted about trying to collect the crucified bodies on the machine's armour while both the Sentinel and the Officer continued their barrage of well-placed missiles and gunfire.

"The trouble with you villains are, Erez'Zul" Pious began, just as the obscenity-spouting hero Captain Harlem arrived to support him. "You all stand alone."

Erez'Zul looked around as members of the Dunelm group started to attack the robot, the two vampires continueing their attack with the delusional Leon surely joining the battle once again.
Lucard had chosen the cowards way out and vanished without a trace, Pious was right, at this point he was alone.
Erez'Zul stood silent for a moment before smiling, his smile turned to laughter, an insane laughter that echoed around him.
The second he stopped laughing a portal ripped open behind him, darkness swirling around it as three pairs of glowing eyes could be seen through it, one red, one green and the last blue, sounds of roaring, snarling demons could be heard as well through the portal.

"I...am never alone Pious Hunter, the Darkhunters were merely a test, or perhaps a simply greeting? yes...i am here, and unlike some others i will destroy you, every single one of you..."

Erez'Zul turned and stepped through the portal, his last words could be heard as it closed with a small pop.
"Say hello to your wife for me...wont you?"
With that he was gone from the battlefield.

Lucard smiled from his hiding place close to Pious' back. A cruel smile twisted his lips at Erez's departure. Hidden in the rubble, Lucard decided that, if he did attempt to claim Pious' head, it would be for naught. He was not an idiot as Leon had suggested and knew when a battle was lost. Even so there was still one possible victory he could gleam from this minor defeat. He aimed his shot carefully at the damaged blood line in the machine and fired, his amour penetrating shot aimed right for the heart of the beast, the most likely spot for its power core. Hoping to cause a davastating explosion, Lucard flew way from the battle field, phased and invisible.

((The defence rolls went badly 1, 4 and 2))

The combined assault of the heroes on the machine were simply too much. It fell as its remain leg was severed, dragging itself forward by its arms, single minded in its purpose to gain ground and reach Pious. The missiles hit as raised on arm in a final attempt to kill the hero.
The machines optics burned, the entire world was in flames, it had succeeded.
It wasn’t notified of the shot piecing its power core, the damage readings had long since overloaded.
"MATRIS DID EGO OPEROR PUTEUS?"

<Mother did I do well?>

The core overload, flashing white hot as the machine exploded.

.
.
.
.
.
..
...
While a lot of the machines coding was in fact standard Malta stuff, several sections such as the machines lexicon had been written by another programmer. They leave a message in the final piece of coding.

//While no doubt you view my actions today as monstrous, they were ethically sound, something I have no doubt history will agree with//

As the explosion consumed the machine, this too vanished on the wind.

Blade's Corrander suit took the full blast of the detonation, sending him flying into the rubble. His armour cracked and dented by the explosion, Blade got to his feet and looked around at the devastation. There would be a high price to pay for this, for all involved, and all that was left was the message.

The suits electronics and AI systems EVA and MARTHA had recorded the message and played it back to Blade as he stood. He could not decern who its maker was, only that they seemedto believe they were in the right. Blade couldnt see any good coming from the machines actions, but if it had truely worked for the Countess as was suggested, then he would make sure that She paid for it.

Three figures stood atop a building nearby.
"So...what do you reckon?"
"I reckon we need to sort this mess out. And fast," Leon muttured, leaning on the katana. "Blood crazed, know-it-all vampires, demon-things, monologuing priests and giant robots... This is getting out of hand."
"You and your 'balance', father," Marie said, sitting back on her haunches and brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes. "You monologue nearly as much as that idiot priest, at times."
"The difference being I don't claim to be some messenger of some 'higher power', some 'divine grace'," Leon snapped, "I just want to see the wolrd a stable place where tommorow can happen, we can live and life and death can have their cycle. Would either of you rather trade what is for what either of these groups would have it be?"

The two younger vampires had to admit, they wouldn't. They shook their heads in unison.
"So...either we combat the threars as they arrise and escalate...or we find the origin, the head of the snake...and cut it off. And then we need to find someone way to make these 'Nighthunters' realise that even they have limits they should not push," Leon stated, shouldering his blade and turning away, the others falling into step behind him.
"You realise they won't thank us for that," Lawrence pointed out.
Leon smirked faintly.
"Ours is a thankless existence, lad. But it has it's perks. Your science and mind-games. Marie's man-killing-"
"What?!" his daughter almost yelped, glaring as he turned to grin at her.
"Well, you do seem to have a new one every other-"
"Dad. Shush. Now. None of your business."
"Yes dear," he chuckled. "I never said it was a bad thing. After all, one of my vices is in the same, pardon the pun, vein. Anyway...we have work to do."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zwillinger GG, I would tell you that "I am killing you with my mind", but I couldn't find an emoticon to properly express my sentiment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain_Photon NOTE: The Incarnate System is basically farming for IOs on a larger scale, and with more obtrusive lore.

7am Thursday 2nd September


Dogs Body sniffed the floor, a mutant since he hit puberty, the now forty something man had gotten used to having a canine like head. With his advanced sense of smell he could of been an elite tracker, but he lacked the knack for combat and had instead joined the SRS (Search and Rescue Society), he sniffed the floor, even going down on all fours and scampering as he frowned.

“This isn’t right...” his nose had lead him to a large section of rubble “Hey Sub can you clear this?”

Subsoil was an earth controller and like Dogs Body, a member of the SRS. She concentrated eyes narrowing as she stared at the rubble, with her fingers extended claw like she moved her hands to the right, the rubble lurched with the gesture, being dragged clear.

“Hey we’ve got something!” Dogs Body called out.

Workers both human and meta-human gathered around what appeared to be a vast vault door laying on the floor, several of the stronger workers began to turn the large wheel at the centre of the door...