Target: South Africa
Gathering Room - Skull Fortress
The northern quarter of Skull Fortress's round sublevel is fairly spartan. A stage juts out of the rounded northern wall, usually sporting a podium for briefings but also used for recreational performances. A giant Wily sigil is painted on the otherwise white wall behind it. Wheeled tables and chairs are scattered about the room so as to allow the Masters to watch whatever's happening on the stage, gather around the tables only as relative equals, or simply sit around and chat. Wide automatic doors allow for quick deployment once a briefing is done.
[Radio: (B) Secure] Gamma CO Gemini Man transmits, "All right....Gammas and Masters and anyone who's with us, we're getting set up in the Gathering Room. If you're 'in' tonight, be there."
[Radio: (B) Secure] Centaur Man transmits, "On my way brother. I'll be there imediately."
[Radio: (B) Secure] Shhh! Sword Man transmits, ".....I shall be there shortly, /Sir/ Gemini."
[Radio: (B) Secure] Freeze Man transmits, "Have fun storming the castle!" *someone else* "Think it'll work?" *Freeze Man* "It'll take a miracle.""
Gemini Man is sitting on the edge of the stage, danging feet over the edge, as the other Masters filter in. Meanwhile, he's also standing on the stage, behind the podium, making a good show of shuffling papers around that he doesn't intend on using.
Shadow Man arrives in short order, footsteps silences as always. He glances to the Gemini Men in turn, first to the one on the stage, then to the one at the podium. Without so much as a word or a nod to either, he proceeds to a random chair at a random table, which he sets himself down on slowly, leaning over the back.
He said he'd be there, and he had arrived to aid the herd, it's the green horseman, whom arrives via teleportation. He shows the same serious face, and high level of cleanliness as always. "Good day brother. I'm here to assist the herd with the attack." He says calmly. He eyes Gem, as he takes out a comb to comb his tail, hoping his hologram making brother has no pranks planned this time.
He may not like the Twin Master, but it's not Sword Man's place to bow out on a potentially important attack such as this one. After all, he still needs to make up for his draw with the Musica back in Cape Town. Either way, the self-proclaimed White Knight is here, glaring at Gemini and the hologram....whichever is which, and simply gives a silent bow, before taking a seat himself.
Gemini Man isn't saying anything right now. The one of him standing on the stage shuffles around papers again, then just sets them down on the podium. The one sitting on the edge of the stage watches quietly as other Masters arrive. oO(... Yay, everyone who loves us tons and bunches is here.)Oo oO(Well, that's just about everyone in GENERAL right now.)Oo oO(Eh...screw 'em.)Oo. The seated twin kicks his legs a few times.
Snake Man wanders into the room, looking rather bored with the whole proceedure. He takes a seat at the far end of the table, resting his gun arm on it and planting his chin in is palm. Then he yawns. Yup, intrest level is real high here.
Metal Man has been waiting here in the gathering room for sometime. He has a datapad out and is looking over its contents as he waits for Gemini Man to start speaking up about the mission to night.
There is a final, late arrival. As smooth and calm as ever, Ballade steps through the doors into the gathering room. Arms folded across his chest, the violet armored Elite takes up station next to the door leading into the Vehicle bay. He says nothing, just watches the pair up on the stage... waiting.
Both of the twins look to eachother and blink. ...Plus Ballade? Hooboy. "Ummm...okay," says the seated twin. "I guess we're ready."
The standing twin looks suddenly nervous, his confident leadership being whittled at by the presence of the Bodyguard. True, he's not usually happy to see Snake, either, but...he was EXPECTING him. He was part of the operation. "Well, okay." He clears his throat. "As I said in my report, we, through Shadow Man, made some threats on the government of South Africa. Specifically, the president, one Pascal... who is our immediate target tonight."
"Basically, the plan is simple," says the seated Gemini. "Shadow, and Snake, and myselves, take the first offense. We use our skills to sneak into the capitol building in Pretoria. Quietly secure from the inside out. Pull off the assassination...then hold the rest of the building hostage in exchange for a full surrender to the Wily Empire."
"Of course there will be token opposition, the moment we announce our intent. That's why we need the rest of you.... who will be waiting outside, in the cloaked Stealth. Since we'll already have the hostages and the building secured, you can unleash on any 'authorities' that happen to try to stop us from the outside."
"Easy, right?" both twins ask.
Shadow Man glances around to the new arrival, his eyes falling on Ballade for a moment, before returning to the Gemini at the podium. "No problem."
Ballade doesn't make any sort of comment, he simply nods in apparent acceptance of the plan, and turns to open the door leading into the Vehicle Bay. The doors slowly roll open in front of him as he folds his arms behind his back.
Metal Man nods to the Gemini Men. "Sounds like it should work Gemini, at least in my oppinion.
Snake Man likewise just nods. His demeanor changes from one of bordom to one of slightly more intrest. He sits back in his chair, straightening up a bit and eyeing Gemini (the original). "Ssso when do we ssstart?"
Freeze Man strides in, fashionably late. "Here I am, you may all relax. Everything will work out now that I have decided to assist."
Sword Man only nods in agreement. All he's here for is to do his part in battle. He doesn't really care for the messy political repercussions of Gem's plans, though he hopes that the Holo-Master knows his stuff. He may be on the verge of really disliking Gemini, but he's not gonna let that get in the way of the cause.
The original Gemini Man happens to be the seated one, who hops off the edge of the stage, allowing the twin to fade away. "We start now," he says to Snake. And he begins to walk toward the vehicle bay.
Ballade steps through the now open doors of the Vehicle bay.
Centaur Man merely nods. He still combs his tail, but keeps a weary eye on Gem, for he may try to do another prank at any time. He follows his brother, and sighs, with a determined look on his face. The brave, and tidy horseman trots off, behind his brother. He doubts his brother's ideas, but follows anyway.
Snake Man pointedly ignores Freeze Man as he climbs out of his chair and pads silently after Gemini.
Sword Man gets up silently and stalks off toward the Vehicle Bay, having been too idle as of late. This will be a good time to temper his skills again. And this time, he will NOT lose. Not if he can help it.
Freeze Man follows behind Sword.
Metal Man nods to Gemini. "Let's get this show on the road." He sets the datapad down and follows after the others.
Charge Man jumps up and down as he steps down. "SMASH BASH!" as he follows the others. "Who's going SMASH BASH? I AM!" his body paces closer towards the door.
You enter the Vehicle Docking - Skull Fortress.
Stealth Transport
The inside of the transport is extremely roomy, with a large crew compartment seperated from the cockpit by a sliding mini blast door. The cockpit's instrumentation looks extremely complex and difficult to operate, although the entire control system is computerized to allow even an idiot (or the typical Robot Master) to pilot it with ease. The spacious interior has enough seats to hold 20 people easily, with room to spare for weapons and equipment.
Contents: Green Devil suddenly comes to life the monocular eye opening to sweep a baleful glare around the Vehicle Bay. The glob slowly unfolds its limbs and gloops towards the stealth transport.
Gemini Man settles into the drivers' seat, wary of the Green Devil... wow. Undue honor.
Charge Man mutters "Charge Man need no others! Charge man SMASH! Charge Man BASH! Charge Man strong as twenty locomotives chugging along the grand trucks! hurtling at breakneck speeds towards me! FEAR AND TREMBLE FOR I AM CHARGE MAN!"
Charge Man trudges squeezeing into the cabin
Centaur Man enters the transport with blinking abilities. He smiles as he enters, he can't really sit down, so he grasps what he can to keep from falling. It's no easy being equine.
You enter the Sky Above South Africa.
Stealth Transport activates its stealth mode.
You enter South Africa.
Green Devil sits in the back corner of the Stealth Transport silent and lurking.
Gemini Man pulls the stealth down in the center of a city park, not far from the capitol grounds. Putting it in 'neutral' hover, he stands up from his seat. "All right...first wave. Gamma squad prepare to enter. The rest will know the signal." He starts to leave... "By which I mean, 'go when things show up that need smashed.'" Then, he assumes a human hologram disguise, checks to avoid the glances of passersby, and hops out of the transport.
Charge Man says, "What about us?! Your not oging to get the glory! MY arms will personally bring this country to it's knees! It's not fiar!!!"
Green Devil hums to life and Ballade's voice emits from the general vicinity of the thing's eye. "Charge Man. You will follow orders or know the displeasure of the Elite. You will wait and allow Gamma squad to complete their mission." Slowly the shape rises to it's feet constrained by the confines of the transport. "Is that understood?"
Snake Man grits his teeth at Charge's statement. He suddenly has a headache. He starts to open his mouth to say something, but shuts it again with Ballade's scolding. Then he follows Gemini outside the shuttle without waiting for the reply.
Charge Man grunts. "I still say it's not fair!" as he leans his massive fream against the wall of the plain waiting with impatience for the moment he can demolish a wall or a face.
South Africa
In centuries past, South Africa stood for all that was bad about human nature. British colonists made the native Africans of this region all but slaves. But now, South Africa is a haven for equality on Earth. Plains and light forests make this area a natural tourist destination, and some of Earth's rarest tropical animals still live here. Played out gold mines dot the region, scars on the natural beauty, and in some places, people still live in hovels and shantytowns. But overall, this place is a monument to the possibilities when mankind casts aside hate and works for the betterment of all.
[Stealthed] Stealth Transport [RM]
Obvious exits: Shadow Man has arrived.
Snake Man slips into the shadows after climbing down from the transport. He looks around carefully, and then heads off to do his part of the dirty deed.
Gemini Man begins to set a pace toward the building, walking as if he actually belongs there. Unable to become invisible like the others, he has to rely on the impermiability of his disguise. Luckily, his disguise is mutable, and as he passes toward the gates, he shifts the face slightly to avoid any general detection. Not entirely sure of the location of the invisible Gammas, he quickly tightbeams them the same information: --Snake, we need you to get inside and find security stations. Disable them and give me a signal when you think we can lock down the buliding. Shadow, stay with me, and give me a clear path to the office. Quiet kills only for now.-- Then, he steps up to the gate. Taking a very good look at the armed gaurds at the outside, he then shifts image again...speaks with them momentarily, and enters.
Snake Man skitters around the side of the building, slinking in the shadows. around the back, he finds an unguarded security door. The large electronic lock is the only bar to the door, and Snake sits down for a moment to pick it.
Shadow Man likewise is not immediately visible, presumably somewhere around Gemini Man, although he makes no reply to the transmission. Once Gemini Man enters the building proper, something unidentifiable flies past his left ear from behind him and strikes the first patrol, who then blinks and, evidently, decides that right now would be a good time to take a nap, and right here would be a good place to do it.
Working his way quickly through the halls of the building, Gemini burns another quick holoscan to change his demeanor once more...to that of one of the President's guards. Now moving unabated and unquestioned through the hallways, it's simplicity itself to enter the office. He pushes the door slightly, then sends another quick beam to Shadow Man. --Watch the halls. This is mine.-- Then, he steps inside...
Snake Man works on the lock for a few moments, and then with a soft click, it springs. He opens the door silently, and closes it behind him. The hallway inside is empty, so he simply sits down and leans against the door, releasing a Search Snake. The small reptile drone slithers up the hallway.
Shadow Man stops in his tracks, or rather lack thereof, watching his brother pass through unqestioned. He reaches into his belt, grabbing a fist tight around something and bringing it just under his chin, while hanging on with the other hand.
Shadow Man sends a radio transmission.
Shadow Man receives a radio transmission from Gemini Man.
There is the sudden, loud burst of laughter from within the office of the President... An obvious cry of... "What the HELL?" And Gemini, still holocloaked, steps out again. To the nothingness where he hopes the assassin is lurking, he flashes a piece of paper. Which reads: It's been taken care of. Enjoy. --V--
Then, gesturing to the open office, Gemini shrugs. ...Not a person inside, not the president, nor a guard....and the Maverick symbol burned into the desk.
Shadow Man drops, resheathing the object in his belt, and crosses his arms. He glances around the hallway, narrowing his eyes. "I knew it was too easy," he says, shooting a supsicious glance to Gemini Man.
There's a dull, muted roar from down the hallway, the sound of the security station going up in an explosion. The cameras on and inside the building abruptly stop turning their watchful eyes. Apparently Snakey's mission was successful.
Gemini Man looks down at the note, back into the office, and sighs. "Yeah. I guess I'm not THAT good, after all." He laughs again as the explosion rips through the building, and two human-looking guards round the corner toward his position. He drops his holodisguise, startling them slightly, then shouts to Shadow: "Get ready and secure the building!"
[Global News Network] This is an emergency newsflash coming to you from Pretoria, South Africa. The Robot Masters have invaded the office of the President, and claim that he has been assassinated this evening. The capitol building here has been locked down and invaded by members of Wily's army, including known robot terrorist Gemini Man, who is making demands from directly inside the president's office. South Africa is currently the only African country remaining compltely outside of Robot Master rule. GNN can neither confirm nor deny reports that the president is in fact deseaced; however, the fact remains that these Robot Masters have invaded the building and are holding it, and approximately a hundred civilians and government employees, hostage until they recieve a surrender from the government. More reports as this scenario unfolds...
Gemini Man now walks into the empty office and sits himself at the desk, kicking up his legs over the engraved image. "All right. Now that we are inside, we simply wait out the victory from here. We only have ONE thing to worry about, Shadow..."
"And that is?" says Shadow Man, leaning against the doorway. Periodically people come running by as they hear the news to find out if the president is already, and these people are backhanded most righteously.
Snake Man hurries from his spot to where the President's room is at, going to meet Gemini and Shadow at the pre-arranged spot.
Gemini Man appears next to himself, and ruffles through the desk until he finds a big, red, marker. Then, the twin wanders over to the floor, and draws a BIG X on the carpet. "You two stand there. When he shows up, knives and stuff through the back, right away."
"Who's going to show up, exactly?" says Shadow Man, tossing up a small gray sphere and catching it in the same hand, leaning against a wall of the office. "It looks like things have been... taken care of."
Snake Man enters the room through the door, "Well, what'sss the newsss?"
The twin scouts the room, hums a little to himself, and then draws a circle on the floor. "It'll be...right about... THERE."
Shadow Man shrugs. A flick of the wrist vanishes the ball, and in the same hand with a flash of light and a horrendous sound that makes one yearn for nails against a chalkboard, he creates a Shadow Blade... He holds it above his opposite shoulder, facing the area indicated, adopting a mock-ready stance.
[Radio: (B) Secure] Snake Man transmits, "Ssso hasss the opposssition shown up yet?"
Blues has arrived.
[While, outside...]
The outside of the building seems quiet, devoid, in fact, of Master activity...which, for the moment, is all going on INSIDE. The local authorities arrive, beginning to surround the building, trying to get inside without hurting any civilians.
The Vanguard descends from the sky, landing across the street from the building as Iris scans the area for other signs of trouble-activity. (Looks like the worst of it's inside. Unfortunately. Working in close quarters is tough on innocents -- makes it much tougher to get them out safely,) Iris thinks worriedly.
Slash Beast had wasted little time. At the scene on GNN, he had a small transport prepped for launch from Kuwait. Even taking alternative routes southward to avoid Master sensors, it still takes relatively little time for the transport to reach Pretoria. Touching down on the outskirts of the city, the doors open to allow Major Slash Beast to exit. Other Repliforcers may be along soon; but it has been far too long since Slash attempted an infiltration mission by himself. Settling into his camoflague systems, the shimmering air denoting his presence darts off through the city towards the capitol, where the hostages would be kept.
Jet Stingray follows soon after Iris, his foot jets smoking as he lands beside her. "That was cutting it close. Hope I get some time for them to them them cool down... Iris, remember to stay back. We don't want to have anyone hurt because we wanted to kick some aft."
The Vorpal doesn't make many waves as it comes through--in fact, it lands some distance from the Capitol building, on the opposite side of enemy forces. A knife in the back is more efficient than one in the front, and when one is dealing with Robot Masters, well, one wishes to have all advantages one may. It touches down in a park, of all places, though luckily the field is abandoned because of the hostage scare. It powers down--a curious thing, if anyone bothered to discover such a fact during the course of the incursion.
A few moments later the Falconis comes in low and under the radar, dodging among the treetops as it approaches the capital building. Instead of approaching at any signifigant distance it instead sets down slightly outside of the city, nearby to the area where the Vorpal has set down, before it comes into visible sight of the target area. The doors to the Dropship fall open and several small squads of Gumbies emerge, to help support the local forces and retrieve any hostages if needed. Chi emerges at the very last, his Masamune in one hand as he looks around the area and speaks over his radio.
The Vanguard turns toward Jet as he shows up, and Iris' voice comes from the speakers. "It's going to be tricky to get those hostages out of that building -- with all the firepower in the area. But it isn't impossible! Let's keep that positive attitude going..."
Skyblade Eagle is flying along fairly low, and a lot slower than she normally would be flying in a situation like this. But she's trying to keep from being spotted so she won't put any of the hostages at risk just for her own self glory..
Green Devil seems to quiver for a moment. Apparently there's someone new at the helm now.. but that hardly matters in the grand scheme of things. Or in the long run for that matter. The single eye rotates in the jello-like interior as the surroundings are taken in.
Varia Beetle exits the Vorpal, and has decided to wear her snazzy yellow and black armor for this mission. And she hopes the valiant efforts of the Repliforce and Maverick Hunters will save the hostages from harm.
Mac plods out, his armor clanking as he exits the Vorpal behind Signas. His left arm has already been transformed into the Mac Buster; his armor is his regular form, though his alternate armor remains on standby should the need arise. He seems... different, somehow. Somewhat more grim... at least, to those who know him.
Solar Draco shoots out of the back of the vorpal, wings wide and the engines in them send him up and up and up some more. There would be masters to take care of tonight. The dragon's armor shimmers a bit with the light available, expression looking firm and determined as those spiked gauntlets start to glow a dim red...
Inverse seems surprisingly relaxed while stepping out of the Vorpal, likewise armored and armed with a small armory's worth of guns. Looking up, waaay up to Signas, she remarks, "Nice idea, but I won't envy you the choosing on this one."
Sparing no time, Protoman trains the thick barrel of the prototype Buster onto the Gemini Man clone, clearly cautious of /which/ of the twins this one is. His ultimatum is brief and cold: "You don't want to /move/."
[Radio: (B) Secure] Gamma CO Gemini Man transmits, "All right, Masters, don't waste time...they're HERE, so hammer them!"
Iris turns the Vanguard toward Jet. "I'm with you, too," she mentions. "Slash says it's quiet, but...I really doubt it's going to -stay- this way." She begins powering up the Vanguard's weaons array as she waits.
[Within...]
Within the office of the former, now completely vanished, president, Gemini Man, Snake Man, and Shadow Man, are simply lounging about. Gemini has his legs kicked up on the desk...which...oddly enough, seems to be decorated with a hasty burn-in of the Maverick symbol. Shadow and Snake are arranged in a loose gathering in front of the desk, and the door to the office is open. Anyone that dares try enter is summarily blasted. The hall outside of the office contains the second, holographic Gemini twin, only recently emerged, who is checking on the status of 'his' hostages.
As the forces of good push nearer to the captured Capitol Building, only one unit is capable of leaping right into the heart of the problem - Ronin Squadron. And, for better or for worse, Ronin Squadron officially consists of only one man - Protoman, first born among robots. Audible out into the surrounding area but most piercing within the hostage room is the familiar five-note whistle concert of the red warrior, a dead giveaway to what's going to happen. Namely, the arrival of Blues Light. With a blink of red light in the center of the room, Protoman instantly materializes inside. His right-arm has already shifted into the Proto Buster; And, in instant after his arrival, his scarf flutters down a few inches, as if it had been elevated instants ago. Coming from somewhere windy?
Gemini Man looks down at the floor from his position on the desk. "Hm. Damn." ...We'll get him yet. He snaps his fingers. And, from his position in the hall, FLASH--the holotwin vanishes, with a quick subtilty only Blues' blink-out can manage. "Get ready," says the Gemini in the office.
Snake Man doesn't look surprised at the sudden entry of the red Hunter. He doesn't move, but he doesn't appear afraid, either. He's simply waiting for a signal.
Shadow Man, like his elder brothers, remains mostly motionless, and does nothing of note, as if a mere statue... or perhaps anamatron. In his right arm, he holds a Shadow Blade over his left shoulder, a pisition ready to strike... His other hand moves slightly, passing flatly over his belt.
As 'Gemini Man' flickers out of existence as if he was never there, Protoman holds his fire, lifting the Proto Buster to the ceiling in a neutral position. Great. Face contorting into a scowl from beneath his visor, Protoman scans the room with his eyes, dubious of all possibilities. Couldn't just start shooting; Not with the hostages here, anyways. But he wasn't stupid. This was why he had a friend. Pausing, Protoman whistles once again - But this time, the whistle comes from his mouth.
And upon the signal, a second flash of light materializes inside the room... This one in the form of the robot dog, Rhythm. He would not be taken by surprise. And so, Rhythm begins to sniff out with ultra-sharpened senses, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
Rhythm has arrived.
"Damn!" The sound of Gemini Man dropping his casual stance to pound on the desktop is clear. He looks down at the marks on the floor... so much for his Protoman-trap? "Right target, wrong spot." He stands up from his seat... "Get out there and get him!"
[Outside...]
As the command is given, albeit not that the driver is LISTENING to someone else's commands, the mighty form of the Green Devil seeps out of the Stealth Transport, a rather disgusting surge of green jello driven from the comfort of the transport and out into the open. Green Devil is mighty. Green Devil is big. Green Devil tastes surprisingly good. It is not long in reforming, well away from the transport that brought it to this place, yet it reforms in such a manner as to draw attention, a spiral of greenness that rapidly escalates to heights few are able to reach whilst keeping feet upon the ground. Of course, the fact that there's a spotlight shining through its quasi-transparent body probably helps with the 'Look at me! Look at me!' factor.
From seemingly out of nowhere, a mass of Masters files out, out of view from most of the good guys.. Leading them out, for no reason other than enthusiasm, is Sword Man, looking determined and ready to beat the living crap out of someone. Not that he'd word it that way, but the sentiments are the same. "It's is time." he says silently to himself, looking on toward the unsuspecting forces.
Metal Man leaps out of the Stealth Transport and drops to the ground, fracturing the pavement from his impact. The Master rises back up to his full height and has a sawblade in hand. Metal Man smirks. "Hello, so glad you could join out little party. Too bad the cover charge will cost you your lives!!!"
Centaur Man teleports into the battle, eager to serve the herd, his blaster is ready, eager to blast his enemies. Putting his helmet on his head, he smiles slightly.
Freeze Man leaps out of seemingly nowhere. Rarr.
And Signas, awaiting outside the general region of the capitol building, yet far enough away so as to only see its uppermost floors above the buildings in the area. "Spread out slightly. Take cover behind buildings. Famine, set up your gun so that you can see the front door of the capitol building. I will--" He cuts himself off as, with a great splort, the Green Devil simply seems to /materialize/ several dozen meters ahead of him. "--take that one, it appears."
Inverse looks up to the ceiling of the government building, and disappears only to reappear on the roof of said location. A rather blatant choice, but it does offer a nice view of the 'materializing' RMs.
Mac grunts, following Signas. "Yes sir, I shall do my bes--" Of course... the sudden appearance of Freeze Man cuts him off.
Skyblade Eagle continues to fly closer as all the Masters make their appearances known, "Figures." She mutters softly. No such thing as a quiet night around here any more. Shaking her head, she floats down a little lower as she moves in.
Jet Stingray nods to Iris, about to say something, when he notices the Green Devil and the company of Children of Wily following suit. "Alright... Let's get this party started," he offers as he gets into a battle stance, narrowing his optics as he stands beside Iris. "You forgot the magic rule, Iris... Always remark how quiet it is when you can to draw them out like flies."
And, of course, following in the Masters wake comes - Death himself. Just 'materializing' out of thin air, as it were, where the rest of the Master force poured out. Though he does not do any fancy jumps, speaks no bold words of a braggart's nature. No, he does nothing of the sort. Merely plants his bone armored legs into the sand, hefts his wicked sharp scythe across his overly large shoulders... and turns his cowled head towards where the rest of the heavenly host went. Unconcerned. Emerald optics flaring, quietly, in the shadow of his tattered cowl...
Iris smirks, as the Masters arrive. Well, she's -ready-. The Vanguard is, too -- all systems are a go. Angling the ride armor so stray shots have less of a chance of actually hitting the nearby buildings, Iris lines up the smug Metal Man in her sights, and begins tracking him. "I think that's all too true, Jet..."
Famine 'salutes' Signas again. "I vhill avhait rhadio khommand to vhire, zhir." With that, he gives the emerging Masters a side glance, mostly apathetically, and then turns again and begins limping off towards a building in which he can take position. Of course, the noisy and inefficient construct is by no means stealthy or quick enough to reach it promptly, leaving him in the line of fire for the moment as he trudges.
Solar Draco swoops in, and as he had offered on the Radio, the dragon lands firmly not to far from Jet and Iris, "Mind a hand Repliforcers?" he offers to them both in general before turning his attention to the masters and their Jello Monster. "Time for a little fun..." he growls, gauntlets growing brighter.
Chi walks through the length of the park, his eyes narrowed as he approaches the objective - the capital building, where the Masters are holding a large number of government personnel hostage. As he moves through now empty streets and across roadways, he speaks over his radio several times... and a smile crosses his face. A few more yards and the Green Devil comes into sight in the distance. "Please hurry, sis..." he says quietly.
Sword Man grunts displeasedly as his brothers opt for the more "in-your-face" approach. He shrugs. Stealth and sneak attacks were never his deal, anyways. He steps out from the shadows into clear view. He looks on toward the gathered 'heroes'. "This building is under the control of the Knights of the Order Of Wily now. If you choose to oppose us...we shall be more than obliged to show our power." He narrows his eyes in determined anticipation and focused determiniation.
Ports open up on the Vanguard's shoulders, and laser-turrets come out of these ports, slowly moving to track and then fire a barrage of bright laser-fire in Metal Man's direction.
Approaching the capitol building from the north side--hopefully that's the opposite side to which the others have arrived--Slash Beast slows his run to a trot, eyeing the building suspiciously. There must be a way to get in from this side...he begins walking along, hunting for an entrance.
Silent for now, the Green Devil raises both of its arms to the heavens, the light shining through him as if it were indeed a celestial being come to visit. Only, we all know that's not the case, and that Wily was just high when he made this thing. Time is not long in passing, as the silence is broken, a speaker crackling in to deliver the voice of Bass. "Well well, if it isn't the witty banter portion of the fight." The arms move, as the Devil begins to go through several poses, the jelly-like arms actually bulging with what would appear to be muscles. A third arm abruptly breaks through the front of the Devil, obscuring the singular eye momentarily, the fingers rapidly descending as it delivers the one-finger salute to Signas.
Varia Beetle sighs as the Robot Masters seem to be coming out of the woodwork. As the Green Devil appears and Signas announces he'll handle the walking jello, Varia Beetle begins to run off, looking for Robot Masters who need to be taught a painful lesson. Electrical energy begins to flicker around her body, a visible display of the power of her generator in this mode. (Attack_Ok, just page :))
Freeze Man's gaze sweeps the area, then locks onto Mac. His eyes narrow, and he creats a ball of white cryo-energy in his hand. The sphere hardens into a softball-sized block of ice, which he hurls at Mac's head with deadly force.
"Right," says Shadow Man, turning to the entrance. But before he heads out, he pauses, and hurls the blade down at the dog... And then tosses the little gray ball from his left hand to his right, looking for Protoman himself.
Metal Man stares down the Vanguard and chcukles. "Oh look its the Vangard." He gets cut off as the laser blast nails him in the chest and sends him staggering back a few paces with a smoking hole in his his torso armor as a after effect. Metal Man growls. "So I guess Iris I'm going to have to rip that beer can you call a ride armor and ship ya back to Colonel in little one cm by one cm CUBES!" Metal Man takes that blade he had ready and flings it at Iris.
The Malakim just.. remains where he is. Seeming to have no real obligation to join in the forefront of the fight. After all, he is Death. Death is the universal janitor, in this. A hot wind quietly flutters his tattered cowl, and he at last moves - stepping quietly away from the invisible transport at last, but still as apathetic as ever. Emerald optics just quietly glowing beneath that cowl... waiting... for what is anyone's guess.
The giant finger remains in the eye, waving for a good while at Signas, as the pilot's voice breaks back in. "You know, I'd stop that finger, but.. it's just way. Too. Amusing. But you know what they say, Hunter.. Easily amused, easily distracted." The finger abruptly changes position, instead pointing behind Signas. Yes, look over there, look over there! Green Devil's right arm stops posing, taking up the salute as well, as the Cyclops literally begins to fire parts of its own body at Signas. "Bwahahahahahahahahahahahaha!"
Crash Man is actually in a lethargic mood today it would seem, as he's allowing the others to go ahead and do their thing. He just lingers in the back to prepare to play backup when he's needed.
Centaur Man straightens himself up, and straightens out his helm. He must look neat, so he takes his time.
The Vanguard falters as Metal's blade lodges into the ride armor's leg, blowing out a few circuits as it lodges in there. "You really think so?" asks Iris, reaching down toward the leg to pull out the metal wedge. As she does, she powers up the crystal weaponry with a low hum. "Well, listen. I'm on a schedule this evening. So don't take it personally, but I might just have to bump you out of this time slot because...well, to be honest, you're really not all that important in the scheme of things." The crystal weaponry powers up just as Vanguard's regular laser ports close, and crystal lasers scream out towards Metal Man's direction.
Inverse looks down from her capitol building's rooftop vantage-point at Sword Man, and sighs. "Yeah yeah whatever...knights my ass. Every single 'chivalrous' person I've met's a real jerk. I hereby dub thee...Sir Hypocritesalot." With that, she grabs a small rocket off of her armor. Taking a sort of defensive posture with her axe in one hand, she presses a button on the rocket's tail with the other, priming it and firing it at Sword Man.
Chi readies his weapon, looking about for an opponent to fight - if no one else appears to take the fight to him, he prepares to charge the Green Devil and enter combat with it. (Is Attack_OK, page if you want a round)
Ten is flying in as fast as she can. Her naginata is drawn in anticipation. "I'm in the mood for some gelatin, and I'm prepared to cook it myself! Of course, I'm always loooking for a 'Masterfully' prepared dish!" Ten searches for her brother, while radioing to him and asking exactly where he is.
Mac is smashed in the face, caught off guard by Frost Man's sudden appearance. He staggers backwards, mechfluid and synthskin flying in a snowy burst. "Robot Master!" he yells. "Your reign of terror is at its end!" He raises up his weapon, a *whirrrrr* sound audible in the barrel. "Your treachery and evil comes back to you today!" He releases a green globule of plasma at his opponent.
Varia Beetle sees an odd-looking, olive green... Horse? No, on closer examination it looks to be a centaur robot. Who must be the fabled Centaur Man of the Robot Masters. Varia sees his straightening out his helmet, and decides now would be a good time to launch an attack. Her flickers of electricity build, and she peers at the hoofed one through her visor. "Gravity Bolt!" She cries, and fires a compact flickering bolt of gravitic energy.
As Slash Beast sidles around the capitol, his camoflague protecting him from all but the keenest sensors, he grumbles inaudibly. All the possible entrances were blocked quite efficiently. Reaching the east side, he comes into view of the -real- fight. That was very fast. Slash Beast slows his pace, hugging the side of the building as he makes his way toward the main entrance.
Skyblade Eagle spots Sword Man down below her. Hmm. Such a tempting target. Now, what to...Oh, yes. She floats overhead, and takes aim with one of her launchers, and fires, sending a pair of ion disks down towards the Robot Master, hoping he's not paying any attention to her.
Famine continues his trudging, now on the farthest fringe of the battleground, and at the base of a book depository. He enters and begins limping up the stairs of the building. Although by now he is a bit out of the way of the fray, it still will take awhile for him to set himself up.
Jet Stingray merely watches as Iris get stuck in her battle, and decides he wants someone to 'play' with too. "Stay cool, Iris... If you need help, just ring," Jet offers coolily, merely making his way toward the rash of Robot Masters. One of them will want to throw down the 'glove'. As he heads toward them, he thinks aloud. "Stinks that Ballade ain't here... No rematch for the stingray." He's cool under the sounds and sights of war, but hey, it's what the stingray is used to.
Inverse puts her guard up.
Solar Draco vaults back up into the air, off and away from the Repliforcer's. It's target finding Time. The dragon's Head's up Dispaly comes into being in his optics, scanning the various things in the vicinity, "Lets see.." Master, master, rf, hunter, pidgeon, master- Ah that one will work. The dragon locks in on the form of Skull Man from above, up in the air. The dragon pulls out his shield and dives toward Skully, no witty remarks this time, just business, the business of the pointed end of that shield trying to find Skull's body.
And in the first five seconds of the battle, as he rushes at the head of the charge, Signas goes down. How demoralizing for the man and his squad--the glob of gook catches him clear in the face, and he skids, collapsing flat onto his back from the force of the acid. He beats about his face and torso, scraping the gunk off and flinging it to the ground before he staggers back to his feet, very visibly wounded. Not a pretty sight, that.
Freeze Man is hit by the blob of green energy, which sparks along his chestplate and leaves a small indentation where the plating was burned away. He doesn't feel a thing. But that's how Freeze Man keeps going. He doesn't feel anything. His combat computer does register damage, however, and he looks down at his scarred armor, then back at Mac. "I do hope that isn't your best," he says to Mac. "Or you aren't going to last very long. He glances at the rest of the battlefield, then charges forward, raising his hands over his head, and clasping them together. "GIVE ME A GOOD FIGHT," he shouts. "I NEED TO WORK OUT MY AGRESSION!" With that said, he swings his fists downwards toward Mac's head.
Centaur Man readies himself, only to feel a slight tug of gravity to bring him back. He readies his energy bow, as he finds the attacker. It's a beetle. He fires... nobody disturbs the green horseman's cleaning rituals.
Metal Man scores a hit on Iris' armor and is about to ready his next attack when the Crystal laser blast catches him in the right leg. The damage is fair but then Iris does something that hits Metal Man's big red do not push button. She went after his ego and his own self worth. "What! How dare you! You little reploid slut, it is you who is nothing and I'm going to send you to the scrap heap!" Yup Metal Man is pissed off all right now and he pulls a pair of blades which he throws at the Vanguard, after which he goes into an evasive pattern hopping to make it harder for her to get a lock on him.
*CRUNCH!!*
When you play with Greenzo, you're playing with history! The supercooled blast is met and neutralized as the Devil sends out additional spheres of its very being, those being frozen and shattered upon meeting the pavement. Again the speaker cuts in, even as the pilot works the controllers back at Skull Fortress to keep the giant Devil moving. "Now, now, Hunter, if you're going to prove your pedigree I'd suggest you try harder.." Bass must be busy watching TV in the booth, 'cause the witty banter isn't coming from his side of the yard here. The panoramic view of the single eye pulls out something new and different, a certain, how does one say.. je nais se Chi. Green Devil surges past Signas, intent on the new target, wanting to make an impression as it breaks down into its more liquidy form, and attempts to invade the Repliforcer's every orifice.
Sword Man is attacked from two sides, a rocket and an energy disc both coming mere inches from his person. However, he chooses to turn his attention to the closer assailant, one Skyblade Eagle. "Hrmph...so you wish to do battle with me then? Fine." He then runs underneath Skyblade position and simply waits for the right moment to strike, unable to reach the 'Forcer at the moment. "Nothing personal, but duty remains static."
The Vanguard is rocked back unsteadily as Metal's blades hit home -- one in the original leg injury, and the other one slicing into the torso section. "OW! Why, you little...alright, that's -it-. You might think you're Punk, but if he's the real deal then you're more like, umm...Vanilla Ice, or something." (Vanilla Ice?) she thinks. (Now how did I know THAT name? Strange.) Iris moves the Vanguard quickly forward, and it lurches toward Metal Man, swinging one massive first in a huge haymaker toward the brash Master.
Well it certainly isn't a very nice Hello, but coming from Wily's form of death, he isn't surprised. Solar had just landed, and it's when he does that he gets that blast to his chest. It gets him staggering backward a bit, but not much more, no black scorch mark to be seen since the armor there is black anyway. Death wants to play like that then hmm? Solar can play that way too. The shield gets jammed into the ground and he kneels behind it. On either side of his body, a chain gun slips out, just getting past the shield. They whirr up and start pouring out the bullets towards Skull. He doesn't need to see him, his HUD knows where he is... hopefully.
Mac is smashed in the face. His optics rove the battlefield - having one's head smacked about 90 degrees in one direction does that... and they settle on a familiar sight not too far away... Inverse. Popping into radio, he staggers back... and grates... "...very well... since you Robot Masters thrive on duplicity and violence... you shall be so oblidged!" With that, he runs towards Freeze Man, attempting to knock him right into Inverse's line of fire.
Varia Beetle ducks and rolls to the ground, leaving the energy arrows to slice through the air above her. Varia Beetle rise to her feet, and peers at Centaur through her visor, energy still flickering around her. "Well, that was effective. You'll have to try harder." She says, and begins to charge up another blast of gravity, only this time in the form of a narrow wave, which ripples the air as it moves towards Centaur Man.
Reaching the corner of the capitol, Slash Beast pauses to watch the fracas. Excellent. All the Masters are fully occupied save Crash Man, and he hardly looks like he's paying attention. Rather than take out the Master, Slash Beast instead slinks toward the front door's steps. He had more pressing matters...moving like a cat that -isn't- 12 feet tall, he sidles up to the front door. Hopefully there are no gumbies to impede his entrance.
Jet Stingray just continues to stand amist the choas, his optics searching for a friend to help or a foe to fight. He shakes his head. "Come on... Come on... Someone needs a break soon and wants me to take over, I just know it."
The attack by the Green Devil does not go unnoticed as it rushes towards Chi - and it is probably the most obvious, telegraphed attack in the world that the Minotaur wonders why its pilot even bothered. While his sister may be one of the Masters of the sky, Chi is can certainly get up there - and the Mobian launches himself into the air, flying above the devil as it pours underneath him in a vain effort to engulf him. Not even hesitating, Chi lets gravity do the work as he descends down on the orb that is the core of the Green Devil, intending to smash it apart with a powerful stomp from one armored hoof.
Inverse remains on the edge of the capitol rooftop; it's a handy place for support fire. Her annoyance at Sword Man's existence vented, she looks over towards Mac's fight and draws her gun into her free hand. Pulling the trigger causes several thin yellow beams to shoot out of it at Freeze Man, though none are amazingly precisely aimed; it's a snapped shot.
[Within...]
Rhythm points plainly down the corridor, towards the room, the scent of Robot Masters wafting through the chamber. Protoman nods faintly, having used to full capacity the Rhythmn Search. And with that, he once more lift the Proto Buster into the air, leveling it with the door... Before he charges forward and through the door at full speed, looking to burst through instantly, weapons blazing. Releasing his boost jets to maximum power, the wooden portal shatters into a million pieces, leaving Protoman open for attack for a moment before his counterstrike.
Well, there was no need to shoot the door...it was wide open. Still, it splinters nicely. Gemini Man hops up on top of the desk as Blues charges in. "You shoot the door..." He points to the ground... "And NOW you stand in the circle?" Indeed, there is a circle drawn on the ground: the intended 'Protoman entry point.' Protoman's current position is just a little short and a little to the side of it, but, close enough. "Whatever. Seriously...kill him," he instructs the others.
Snake Man is standing by the doorway, just on the inside. The door splinters pelt him as it shatters into hundreds of pieces. But as Blues comes through it, his tail whips around, aiming to lock around his leg and trip him up as he enters.
As Protoman charges in, Snake Man's tail wraps about his ankle, sending him straight to the ground as half of his body begins to move quite a bit faster than the lower half. But, knowing him, he's probably not going to be there by the time his head gets within of the ground. Someone better shoot him, before he does that.
When Blues is knocked to the floor, Shadow Man proceeds to chuck a knife... Right behind Snake Man, for no apparent reason, his eyes darting around the room instead of bothering to follow the path of the blade.
Shadow may not have any vested interest in the blade he lets fly, but Gemini is certainly a good deal more careful about his own shot. Doing his best to avoid hitting Snake Man as he plants the fire, Gemini puts the white blast off on the ceiling of the room, so that it flies up, then down, at the tripped-up hunter.
Snake Man's tail uncurls the moment that he sees that Blues is in for an inevitable fall. He steps back just in time to avoid getting nailed by Shadow and Gemini's wild shots. "HEY! Watch it!"
As he plummets, Protoman's arm snaps backwards, pure instinct guiding his shot as he lines it up with the tail that grasped him. Golden plasma pours out of the barrel instantly, racing towards Snake Man's tail in an effort to release himself. He'll either connect, or Snake will pull the tail away in time. Wrenching around in mid-air, Protoman's free palm wraps around his back, palm planting onto the floor as he finds himself on the wrong end of two other Robot Masters simultaneously. Ripping his foot away from whatever may remain holding it, Blues pushes off of the ground, soaring backwards as he evades the Ricochet Laser as well as Shadow Man's blade, towards the opposite end of the room from the door.
Shadow Man's eyes follow Protoman's dash, as he shortly recipreciates, drawing his blade... He leaps over toward Protoman, stopping about a meter away, and raises the blade above his head - but for whatever reason, doesn't bring it down yet. His eyes flick to Gemini Man, as the shining blade is tilted on a diagonal facing down and out...
"Kill some of the hostages," Gemini Man says, pointing at Shadow Man, who seemed to be waiting for an order. ...Sure, Gemini will leave himself in a combat with Snake Man...why not? Maybe he can keep ignoring him... He does throw a sort of fleeting glance at Snake as the other Master's hit...it's either worry for a comrade, or the usual fear; even he isn't sure. Then, Gemini Man leaps off the desk. "We'll keep him busy." What 'we' he means isn't clear, as he hasn't duplicated yet. On his way down out of the leap, he turns his leg around, aiming a kick for Protoman's head.
All priorities are forgotten as Gemini Man's foot connects with his face. Leaving a clean wound on his facial synthetic tissue, Protoman registers the main, cringing slightly - But he isn't reacting to it. Instead, his free arm grasps at Gemini Man's ankle, tugging on him as he lifts the Proto Buster hard into the air, whipping it up towards Gemini's own face. With the combined momentum of the pull and the smash, it should amount to a fairly painful blow... Whatever the outcome, Protoman's attention is drifting towards Shadow Man, out to kill the hostages. But Shadow Man will have one obstacle in his path: Rhythm.
Snake Man steps back, but not quite in time. The hot plasma bolt sears over his tail, catching it on the thick part and leaving a hole in the metal surface behind his head, beneath the bubbling green synthskin cover. Snake hisses in pain, "You'll pay for that one, Hunter..." As Gemini's kick connects, he crouches low on all fours, tracking Blues's trajectory across the room. After a moment's calculation, he spits...
Slash Beast has arrived.
Shadow Man nods, and ducks out of the room, glancing down the corridor. No hostages in line of sight... Just some mutt. Well, no matter. Kicking on his main powerslide drive unit, Shadow Man drops to the floor, and slides past it. Past or through. Either one works.
Gemini Man reacts to the grab with lightning quickness, allowing Blues to make the snag, but using the momentum of his attack to turn in midair. Rather than Protoman pulling Gemini into his fist, Gemini tries to kick Protoman toward his...which meets with mixed results. Gemini is tripped up, but manages to drop clear of the smash, kneeling at Protoman's feet. Trying to make the most of his current position, he drives his head toward the Hunter's midsection.
The front door opens and closes as smoothly as possible. And yet, there was nobody touching it. The hidden intruder peers around the lobby- they must be holding the hostages upstairs. Elevators would be too obvious- instead he makes for the stairs, his large feet surprisingly quiet as he hurries.
Snake Man skitters around the room on all fours as Blues is concentrating on fending off Gemini's attacks. Seems he's forgotten or too distracted to notice the OTHER Master in the room. As he moves to deflect Gemini's headbutt with the shield, Snake slides in behind and makes an attempt to sink his poionous fangs into his leg.
Rhythm growls at Shadow Man angrily... And makes a noble effort to stand in his way. That, and no more. Not fast enough to evade, Rhythm is caught by the slide, yelping as it is whipped straight backwards from the force of the impact. Sliding on the ground and struggling to it's paws, the mechadog snarls, staring at Shadow Man. He couldn't let him pass...
Meanwhile, Gemini Man's face impacts hard with the Proto Shield. Simultaneously, two sounds resound. The first is the sound of the shield being released from his back and slammed hard onto the floor; The second is Gemini Man striking it, and hard. Throughout, Protoman begins to charge the Proto Buster, which whines with energy. Neither Robot Master was leaving here in any fewer than a dozen pieces. Though Gemini Man's impact is probably dull and harmless, Snake Man's charge provides no risk to it's maker whatsoever - Protoman instead leaps backwards, aiming straight down and releasing the energy in one focused lance of golden plasma.
[Outside...]
Freeze Man can't leave now, even if he's not feeling up to it. "I have to make up for my stupidity."
Skyblade Eagle grunts, and shakes her head as she misses Sword Man, "Mrph." She pulls out one of her berettas, and then takes aim towards Sword Man again as she passes by, opening fire with a few rounds towards him.
Ten follows the directions her brother gave her, and quickly spots the mean, green evil desert machine. As she sees her brother deflect the blast, she grins and calls out, "Haven't you heard, beef and gelatin don't go well together!" Suddenly looking embarrassed, she adds, "Sorry Chi, I got carried away!" Giggling slightly, Ten points her polearm at the squishy green behemoth, channels energy into the polearm, and fires a small blast of energy.
And with the Green Devil distracted, Signas ignites his beam glaive and takes off running at the monstrosity at full tilt. He'll show that--was it Bass whose voice he heard, or was he mistaken?--controller not to underestimate the mettle of the Hunters or the Repliforce, and he'll show it by eliminating this devil. As he approaches, he spins his glaive above him and catches it in a horizontal position above his head moments before leaping at the Devil's side and bringing the weapon down in a vertical slam.
Famine's trudging up the building from afar completes, as the commie now kneels at a window in one of the depository's upper floors. He swings the satchel on his back over himself to land an end of it out the windowsill, and, putting his rifle away within the side of the satchel, snaps buckles open across it, revealing a metal energy cannon within the end hanging out of the window, barrel bared and readouts on the sides. His now-free arm swings below the satchel, towards a hook-in, and physically bonds with the cannon. His system begins callibrating, setting sights for the Green Devil from the window, as energy begins to concentrate itself within the cannon, according to the side-mounted readouts.
Mac's charge doesn't really phase him, but he does take a step back.
Right into Inverse's line of fire. The beam scores a hole in his boot, which starts leaking mech-fluid. He snarls, and sticks one hand towards Mac, the other one aimed at Inverse. No witty comments this time, as his cryo-emitters fire two pulses of white freezing energy at his assailants.
Ah. Death is a tad more... difficult.. than that. Possessing no 'dash jets' for quick manuevers, The Father Who Art On Earth had given his Malakim, instead, a far more vicious ability. A frightening burst of speed. As the chain guns begin to whirr to life, The Electronic Angel of Death becomes... a blurr. A sudden upward splash of sand marks his circular path - towards Solar's side. A blurr of black and white. The soft, dry rustling of a tattered cowl flapping in the breeze generated by that massive speed burst. And a sound..
A soft, delicate, beautiful sound. Like an angelic choir softly humming a tune. Or a wicked blade, far more than razor sharp, splitting the air like silk. Shame's Lament. A flash of light off the edge marking it's path as the Reaper attempts to partake the Infidel's flesh with a quick cut. Miss or hit, Skull Man skids to a stop but a few moments later. Digging up twin lines in the earth.
Sword Man grunts as the bullets pierce directly into his chest, leaving several bleeding holes in the armor. However, he sucks this up and takes one of the few chances of taking the flying foe down and quickly aims a swipe at her stomach, hoping to ground her quick enough to take the attack.
As the huge warfare, slaughter, battle and devastation rocks the area, a sound that's likely droned out by the sounds of destruction appears from the distance. As an explosion tears apart the various mechs within the skirmish, the curious sound continues to exist, seemingly out of place considering the activity that all others are doing (killing, maiming, destroying, etc). This sound is... gut wrenching. It's terrifying. It's... Twinkle Twinkle Little Star?! Bright Man, the sultan of smiling, arrives on the scene, whistling to himself a cheerful little ditty he heard a while back. Observing the death and destruction in the battle around him, he smiles gratefully at the chance to do some damage, "Who to kill... who to kill," he chuckles. His right hand is gone, and in its place is his plasma cannon. He points it towards various Reploids. Skyblade Eagle... too bitchy; Famine... too communist; Jet Stingray... too fast; Varia Beetle... freakish; Inverse... hmm... perfect. Bright Man grins at the mech who seems to be blasting at people while perched on the roof. He starts making his way over towards her. He watches Freeze Man get shot, "Ahhh, Freeze! They let you out of the medical bay. We just can't force you to go back in so soon, can we? Not if I have something to say about it." he lets off a few minor shots towards Inverse, trying to get her attention.
Metal Man is shot yet again as the ride armor blast him again. oO(Great Wily? How the heck is that tin can's targeting comp being so accurate. I normally run circules about these things!) Metal Man flips back wards several times and then falls back into a combat stance and pulls yet another blade out of subspace and yells in anime style. "METAL BLADE!" Ya he looks dumb but it seems to work. A second later he lets the razor of death fly at Iris.
[Radio: (B) Secure] Gut's Lacky Dust Man transmits, "Am I going to be recieving any casualties soon?"
From all sides the Devil is struck, and yet by the majority the attacks pass harmlessly through liquid as the powerful stomp of Chi keeps the Green Devil in its liquidy form. Slithering away, it reforms, the singular eye swirling about for a moment before it comes to concentrate on all three. Signas, Ten and Chi. "Huh." Bass quips. "If it isn't the Partridge Family, here to sing me a merry song before my slumber. OUT OF THE WAY, KIDS!" As the shout rings out, the Devil surges forward, letting loose a literal tonne of its own girth at the trio, blobs of itself being shot towards them as it attempts to run past them all and, no doubt, onto other things.
After some time of watching the battle with a bored expression Crash decides to do something. This whole hostage idea stank to high heaven to him but... A fight's a fight. Strolling away from the transport with a growing grin his eyes scan about for a good target to harass. Naturally when he spots the self-proclaimed Stingray of Love, he simply can't resist. "Yo, fish-boy! I got some pictures of Iris' panties I'd be willing to sell ya! Here's my card, gimme a call!" With that he lifts his arm to fire off a drillbit towards the aquatic Repliforcer.
Centaur Man looks all around, only to be hit byu Varia's attack. Owww, that hurt, but what's thaat. Looks like devil's getting a beating. Better help him. He turns, and shoots, knowing he'll hit the devil but will hurt enemies too. He will defend the herd as always, and spread shots will help.
Though the dragon behind the shield can't see Skull, he can hear, and he doesn't hear any bullets connecting. That's a bad thing. The two weapons retract back into Solar's side as he gets up, an arm slipping into the shield's grips. That HUD of his points him toward the Deathbringer, and the incoming Scythe. No time to dodge, instead the shield is put directly into the path of that vicious scythe. When the two collide, the grinding of metal against metal is heard, the dragon takes a step back before pushing forward against the scythe, trying to throw the master off balance. The shield is pulled back to him as the dragon takes a deep breath, everyone should know what comes next. The dragon exhales rather forcefully towards Skully and sends a blazing river of fire towards Skull.
Inverse holds her ground when attacked by Freeze's ice shards, and begins swinging her axe at them to knock them away. That's successful. When Bright Man fires at her, she steps off of the rooftop and falls, then disappears. Emerging back into view just in front of Bright Man, she looks pretty relaxed. "That was stupid of you, ya know." Her axe's heat-field projector turns on, surrounding the blade in an orangish glow as she arcs a very light chop at Bright's left arm.
The metal blade thrown by Metal Man comes dangerously close to slicing the Vanguard's left arm clean off. The arm hangs in there, but sparks fly from it and she can't get it to work properly. Suddenly, she begins backing off from Metal -- is Iris in trouble? Actually, she has something else in mind entirely. Ports begin opening on the Vanguard's torso, and a bevy of little frisbee-like explosives come flying out in Metal's direction. No witty retorts...however, she is grumbling a lot of things that shouldn't be put into print here.
Iris strikes Metal Man with her Minefield attack.
Skyblade Eagle twists in midair, the sword missing her, "Hah!" She seems to be using her speed to her advantage. She rockets off away from Sword Man, then turns around and flies right back towards him, nice and fast, as she lowers her head and raises her shoulder..
Jet Stingray turns as he hears a familar voice. Someone is getting their aft kick... Problem is that it isn't who Jet wants it to be. Turning to face Crash, he is in the right drection to get a drill from Crash Man planted in his chest. Glowing faintly in pain, the young reploid narrows his optics at the red bomber. Iris might not be his girl, but he still defends her honor. This is no expection. Jet charges right for Crash Man over the raging battlefield, pulling back his fist as he closes the gap. "I've been waiting to kick your aft since you and Guts Man had me trapped in Cairo that one time! No one puts the bra on my head and sticks me in a mumu and gets away with it!" Once again, Jet tries to lash out with his famed haymaker... Hoping it hits.
Mac grunts, jumping to the side as the blast flies past him. "Evil and injustice shall never prevail!" he roars, his Mac Buster materializing a weapon... a smallish energy blade. An energy knife, to be exact. With that, he lunges, attempting to thrust it past Frost Man's defenses, and into Frost Man. "RAAAAAAAA!"
Varia Beetle fins herself unscathed as Centaur Man opens fire towards the walking jello monster, and the good guys tryin to take a bite. Varia uses this time to get a little closer, and powers up her generators for a stronger attack. She takes her whip from her hip, and cracks it outward. The flciekrin bolts of enetgy around her body converge on her hand, and the long whip begins to crackle, and it looks as if Varia is wielding a bolt of lightening in her hand. She snaps the whip out towards Centaur Man, and the crackleing energy flies off towards the animalistic Robot Master.
Signas rolls to the side, hitting the ground and coming back up again less than a foot from the edge of the blob of acidic gelatin--or /whatever/ it is. Well, at least that time he managed to scrape by out of the range of the Green Devil's attack. The acid was strong, and he'd need to spend some time in the repair bay getting the eroded plates repaired.
Chi takes a hit directly on the chest from one of the massive slime balls as the entire mass of the Green Devil rushes through the area - but he simply growls and tears the puddle of gunk off of him, his armor pitted but by no means damaged by the attack. "Attack the eye at its core - see if you can keep it from reforming!" he roars out, and raises one foot into the air for a moment. There is stillness, energy crackling around the extended hoof as Chi charges up his attack. And then he slams it home, once, twice, thrice - each blow sending out a massive shockwave through the pavement towards the Devil - and at the far end a slab of concrete leaps from the ground, plunging down on Centaur Man.
Famine's expression changes from his grimace to a neutral expression, almost glazed over, as his systems begin to devote all of their time to directing the St. Petersburg's Pride cannon. The readouts reach critical capacity, and some begin to spill over, as the cannon begins to hum and come to life. Shortly afterward, the readouts drop abruptly, rapidly hitting zero, and the barrel of the cannon emits a calming, otherworldly glow for a moment. Soon, however, the energy stored within the cannon erupts, blasting out and climbing towards the Green Devil from the windowsill in segmented leaps and bounds, a chain reaction firing each burst from the last, aim calibrated for the mechanical 'eye' floating within the gelatinous mass of the Devil. As the energy is discharged, Famine jolts back to reality with a fierce expression on his face, managing to remain silent though the firing seems to have charged him quite a bit.
Ten fires her flight jets, and flies upward quickly to avoid the incoming green glob. When the scattered plasma shots come at her, she teleports a few yards downward to avoid that attack, disappearing in a fiery flash, then reappearing just as dramatically. She considers going for Centaur Man, but she sees that the others have that well in hand. "Looks like Chi and Signas have the glue making under control. I'll get back to dessert!" She lines up for a shot at the green devil, but when Famine's attack hits, Ten reconsiders. "Hmmm, looks like the devil is under heavy attack. Better take a quick look around and see what else is going on." Ten takes a quick look around to see what else is going on.
And thus does Death straighten up - even as the Dragon rears back to unleash hell on earth. In the form of fire, of course. And the fire flies, engulfing Death in it's wake... or so it seems, at first. For, even as the roar of fire burns to a dull crackle... the air is filled with a strange buzzing sound. As if a thousand locusts had just suddenly decided to swarm in over the area, and cover it with their noisy bodies. But, nothing can be seen! At least, till one looks into the inferno itself. There, a dark round shape sits... the flames flickering across it's surface. A multifaceted, white.. ball? No. The indestructable CyberSkulls! Forming a near impenetrable wall in front of Death, moments before they break rank.
The Malakim merely standing, the fire quietly flickering around him. His tattered cowl wafted and wavering from the hot air lifting up. Emerald optics FLARE from inside his torn hood, his fearsome features outlined by the fire's glow. The CyberSkulls begin their whirring, chaotic dance for a moment - before SNAPPING forward. Alone, the small, thick discs were an annoyance. In such a massive swarm as this.. they were the promise of intense pain. Making a bee line straight for the Dragon!
Sword Man may have left himself open after the swipe, but luckily, he has just enough time to slide out of the way of the diving shoulder ram, swiveling to the side. Seeing the opening, he quickly rears back and slams the blade down as he returns face forward, hoping to clip this little bird's wings for the time being. Sword may not admit it, but he knows this is necessary if he doesn't want to be battered without a chance.
Freeze Man gets a knife in the gut, and barely notices. His opponent is in close range, and that is where he excels. His numerous black belts in over a dozen martials arts come into play as his fists lash out at Mac, hoping to break a few parts of him. Like his face.
Crash Man was a hothead most of the time to say the least. He was aware of it, and knew he often rushed into things without thinking. Who says he can't use that against his enemies, too? As Jet charges for him he waits till just the right moment to dodge to the side with a bark of laughter. "Oh come on, that was hilarious and you know it. Just to make it up to you though," he begins while drawing his hand back. An object is thrust at Jet as he takes another bounding leap away. "Have a beer!"
Once more, the combined forces of the collective 'good guys' do their work on both the Devil, albeit half of them seem to concentrate on Centaur Man as well. Back at home, Bass idly plots out a way to hurt Centaur Man, for interfering with the second test run of the Devil. Then again, Ballade objected as well, but he's off sweeping the garden paths now. Probably. Dissolving yet again into its liquid state, it's jostled about as the earthquake takes place, only to merge together once more to take the strike from the hidden sniper. The blast itself impacts with the hide, causing it to cave inwards, yet it does not reach the eye. "Employing snipers now. At least you're using your brains for a change." Quip aside, the Devil ignores Signas and goes after the earthquake-causing Chi, seeing the bigger threat in the Repliforcer than in the one with the overly starched dress. Approaching rapidly, the Devil swings its arms, attempting to clobber Chi.
Metal Man is wary as the Vanguard is backing off. It still appears to be in rather good shape at the moment, save for its arm. Its a good thing he was backing up as he sees the swarm of bomblets comming towards him and he is able to avoid most of them. Those that explode on contact scar his armor slight and he lands a little ways from the Ride Armor. He growls but says nothing as he snaps his fingers causing a swarm of his dagger drones to dig up from the ground under the Vanguard and attempt to impale it. "Fools, the more you fight the more hostages die, so if you want them to live it be wise to pull back. Unless you don't care abour those whome you claim to protect?"
[While inside...]
Gemini Man steps back, dizzied, and puts his hand to his head... He has a momentary surge of panic as he feels the crystals on his helmet are slightly fractured. oO(I hope my hologram doesn't end up looking like a Picasso!!)Oo ...He reaches out his left hand, and the second Gemini appears, standing up on the desk. Twins both look at eachother, relieved: nope, looks okay. Trying to take the heat off Snake Man, (uncharacteristc of them?) the Geminis pop a series of quick-burst shots at Protoman.
Shadow Man passes by the dog, despite its objections, although it can follow as it may please. He himself takes the stairs - although not the stairs which Slash Beast is taking. The first 'hostage' he comes across - kicking down a door, and locking his eyes on the reploid at the desk behind it - is dealt with as ordered. Not that there's much of a point, but orders are orders.
Slash Beast stops at the second floor, sliding through as quietly as possible. He was no ninja, but his blunt camoflague more than makes up for it, nothing visible of him but a distortion in the air. He quickly makes a sweep of the floor, searching for any Masters or hostages.
Shadow Man considers bringing the next one back down first. Well. No harm done.
Snake Man's teeth nearly close, but just barely short of his target. He's knocked backwards slightly by Proto's sudden movement. Then shot from above as he leaps over him. The reptile tumbles, slamming into the desk and knocking it over, scattering papers all over the floor. The snake lies stunned for a second, then bristles into activity, sparks jumping from the hole in his shoulder where the plasma blast tore through it. He gives the Hunter a hissing snarl, "That doesss it, no more fooling around." Then he levels his gun arm at the red and grey form, and fires...
For the second time, the Gemini Men manage to strike Protoman, once more dealing light, but nonetheless considerable, damage. With his shield free from the burden of Gemini Man's head, Blues can manage some sort of defense, lifting it into place between himself and the enemy guns as he backs off... As three barks come from the other end of the room, Rhythm using Scooby-esque dog speak to communicate a message. He got past. Snarling, Protoman lunges forward, slamming his shield forward to force the Gemini Men apart and run through. Lifting the device in front to deflect the Search Snake in turn, Protoman dashes forward after Shadow Man, as fast as he can - Leaving his rear wide open.
Blues puts his guard up.
The Gemini on the ground, the original, is struck with the shield as Protoman charges through, and it sends him back and onto the floor. The hologram, still elevated slightly and out of the range of the charge, takes the opening Protoman leaves behind, aiming and firing his primary weapon. The fallen twin in turn sends off a shot from his seated position. Both of them simply want to take the hunter down before he can let the other forces into the building.
That done, Shadow Man leaves the office and proceeds down the hallway. The next door he kicks down opens on an empty office. Moving on, the one following that does indeed have an employee, this time a human. With a grin, Shadow Man picks up the human by his neck, and about-faces, proceeding back down the hall and stairs, while the hostage beats incessently but equally futally on his robotic arm. "Oh stop that. You're going to make yourself useful. Or /I'm/ going to make you useful."
At the other end of the floor, Slash Beast finds another staircase- the one Shadow Man used not long ago. He thuds up the stairs, heading up until he finds a door that's ajar. Ah-hah...sliding it open, he stalks the android on this floor. A slam of a door being knocked open attracts his attention, and he starts that way, only to find Shadow Man leaving the office with a human.
Twisting around in mid-air, Protoman tries to deflect Gemini Man's laser, with limited effectiveness. Namely, one laser is stopped, and the other strikes him squarely in the chest, adding to other existing burnt marks on his body. Had to take care of thing after another. Besides. Landing hard on his back and sliding backwards, Protoman lifts the Proto Buster down towards the door where he just came from -- and Gemini Man -- and fires off one charged shot. This one forces it's way out of the Proto Buster, streaking through the air towards either twin, more formidable than anything that's come out of his weapon up until now. the gloves were now officially off.
Shadow Man turns around, blinking in confusion at Slash Beast. "Drop who?" he says, tilting his head to side and furrowing his brow.
Slash Beast twitches. He retains just enough common sense not to fire a Slasher at the Master--though the great deal of sense he usually has when calm is slipping away in a red haze. "Let him go NOW, or I swear you will not leave this place." The leonine reploid halts in the middle of the hallway, his claws outstretched and grasping.
The blast from the Protobuster streaks out toward the elevated twin, up on the desk, and strikes him just as squarely as his shot did Protoman. The original shouts out a burst of profanity in despair as his clone is blown off the desk, snapping out of existance with a cold white flash. Gemini Man snaps a glare over at Protoman... no one...does that to his 'brother...' "That hurt," he says. He brings up his arm and fires a powerful blast, aiming to catch Protoman in the wake of a large white burst.
Snake Man is slightly disappointed that his attack did not connect. However, he takes heart at Gemini's recent success in attacks, and takes the opportunity of the distraction to move in close. As the cannon blast rips through the Hunter, the serpent jumps on his exposed back, trying to get his tail around his head or chest...
Shadow Man says, "...As you wish. Get out, and I'll let you take him with you."
Slash Beast's mouth curls into a snarl. Fighting that red rage all the way, he points to the human. "Let him go first. I will not trust you while you hold a gun to his head."
Another blast rends through Protoman's body. Gemini was on a streak, tonight, it seemed. Time to end it. A hole cleanly visible in his body - small, nonetheless, but with light shining through - Protoman wrestles to his feet, charging forward as his entire body changes colors, to shades of black and white. Forcing his shield forward towards the tail that aims to wrap around him, Protoman jabs at it with the tip, pinning it against the floor as he takes aim with the Proto Buster before letting loose... With something. The beam stretches from the Buster towards Gemini Man, a black cylinder which hums like a massive engine... And, strangely, everything around the beam seems to pulled into it -- Even light, as the image takes on a convex-lens type of effect... What could this be?
The enormous burst strikes home on the terror Master, draining the last of his remaining energy into Protoman's buster. When the burst clears out of the empty office, Gemini Man is still on his feet, mouth and eyes open... Then, his whole body shudders, and he passes out onto the ground.
"Understandable," says Shadow Man, heading back down the stairs, leaving the cannon at the human's head. He turns at the hall, headed back in the direction of the confrontation between Protoman and his elder brothers.
"Kill him!" shouts the human desperately to Slash, "Don't let them get away with this! Don't worry about me!"
[Radio: (B) Secure] Snake Man transmits, "Get sssomeone in here, now! Gemini isss down and I'm fighting Protoman alone."
[But outside...]
Centaur Man looks around. He manages to blink out of the way of Varia's whip... only to be pummeled by a fist of flame, and a mega trample which leaves him weak. He knows he can't hold out much longer, so focusing his power, he charges up his time stopping, powerful centaur flash, with hopes to leave a few enemies stunned, though he feels too reluctant to hurt his brothers, he does what he must.
Sword Man may have left himself open after the swipe, but luckily, he has just enough time to slide out of the way of the diving shoulder ram, swiveling to the side. Seeing the opening, he quickly rears back and slams the blade down as he returns face forward, hoping to clip this little bird's wings for the time being. Sword may not admit it, but he knows this is necessary if he doesn't want to be battered without a chance.
[Radio: (B) Secure] Snake Man transmits, "We need help from the outssside, guysss. There'sss no way I can beat him alone."
Up raises the shield, trying to deflect as many of those small skulls as it can, but there are far to many. The dragon starts getting knicked here and there, then a few that forcefully slam against that shield manage to get it pushed to the dragon's one side, leaving him wide open. A pained roar escapes the dragon in the torrent of skulls, leaving a high number of marks across his armor, and a nice number of marks along his synthskin and scales as well. He fell over too under the assault, but he's getting up, some fluids slipping out of the many knicks and cuts. Lots of knicks and cuts. .. That hurt!!! Solar's quick to reply, but he charges toward Skull this time, making things upclose and personal. There's a pause in his attack, Centaur's timestopper rips across the field. The dragon grunts for a few moments, fighting the stopper before he breaks loose. Darn thing. His charge toward Skull continues, the shield is aimed for the master's body, turned over and then rushed upward as it hopefully collides, meaning to just cleave the master's chest... or what body he does have, wide open with it's sharp lower edge.
Mac is smashed in the face. Hard. ANd then, abruptly... timestopped. It's a comical look - a chunk of his face going flying off, caught in time. Almost comical, really.
[Radio: (B) Secure] Freeze Man transmits, "Whooptyshi-*TIME FREEZE!*"
Jet Stingray leaps into the air, his foot jets having cooled enough to keep him aloft as the beer bomb explodes where he once was. "Sorry, Crash, I'm not a fan of drinking on the job. Hey, if it works for you though, I won't stop you!" He launches a torpedo from his arm canon into the air, catching it with his left hand. "Me, I prefer to not drink. Hitting little jerks like you is hard enough as it is!" With that, he prepares to lop his torpedo like a football as if a pro football player. Jet is USA all the way. Why wouldn't he know the skills of American Football? Of course, as Jet gets hit by the timefreze, all he thinks as he sees it coming is, .oO(Bright Man is /dead/.)
The Vanguard suddenly moves off from Metal, as damage begins to overtake the ride armor -- Metal must have nabbed her in a particularly sensitive area on the ride armor. She begins moving off, getting ready to leave the area, and then just...freezes in her tracks. Bling!
Oh no. This will NOT be pleasant... The wave of temporal distortion smacks into Varia Beetle. At first, nothing happens; She simply freezes in place. But then, bright points of light begin to appear between the cracks and joints in her armor, and deep inside, her Shift Generator's own temporal energy mixing with that of Centaur Man's own, resulting in a massive overload that floods her systems, sending off sparks and flashes of light.
Inverse is recovering from being a rather big flurry of activity, and Bright's headbutt puts an end to it by knocking her to the floor. Springing back to her feet, she looks a little hurt from it, but also VERY furious. "Shut /up/!" No longer calm enough to be defensive, she shifts her axe into a two-handed grip and makes an overhead chop followed with a horizontal spin-cut.
Ten is trying to decide what to do next. Looks like she'll have some extra time to decide, because she just got frozen in time! Ten is just hovering in the air, all the while not flapping her wings, or firing her flight jets. How does she do it?
Skyblade Eagle gets timestopped in midair! Ack! But that allows Sword Man to smack her with his blade, thus untimestopping her. Snapping back into reality, Skyblade glares at Sword Man, "I'll be right back." She rockets off into the air, and stops, hovering there, as her body gets a glowing green aura, "This...Will hurt you a lot." She turns, and falls down through the air, angling towards Centaur Man, aiming to crash right into his horse half..
Chi goes flying through the air as he is struck by the Green Devil - and his response is to go flying up into the air and onto the top of a small building. It is at this point, of course that the Timestopper goes off - and Chi simply struggles to move. No luck there - but he does still have his weapon in hand - and the Minotaur begins to build up power, preparing to fire off a energy shield that will hopefully break off the time effect around him.
And Signas, midway through his follow-up blow, suddenly... stops. Fierce concentration is evident on his face, hanging there in a moment between moments; one foot slightly off the ground, and yet he does not topple, the very air around him frozen, as well. He's a sitting duck...
Famine grunts in his windowsill, about to cool down the St. Petersburg's Pride, before the temporal distortion washes over the area. As he sees the wave approaching, he begins to belt out a very graphic suggestion on exactly what whoever that was can do in Russian before he and his cannon are both chronologically frozen, a sculpture in Russian mob technology and obsolete, underfunded android construction.
Centaur Man goes down really badly. "AHHHH" The hooved one faught to his end. There's always repairs, and a minor case of honor. He falls, he's still in one piece, but he's one limp, lifeless piece. The hooved one doesn't know what to feel, for he doesn't have any life left, the poor horse.
[Inside...]
Fight it as he would, the Robot Master's actions boil Slash Beast's blood. The admittedly thick layer of civilization Slash holds on to melts away, revealing the primitive beast within. And that beast says...kill.
Shadow Man spins around at the roar, just in time to notice an incoming Slash Beast. The ninja attempts to use the human as a human shield, but to no avail; the reploid's claws slice through him like a knife through butter, further slashing into the android's own armor. Since his blaster was evidently not necessary for the purpose of disposing of the hostage, he turns it on Slash, firing off a quick and poorly aimed burst.
Snake Man is left alone to face the Hunter. He's worried, and a bit afraid, but the fight must go on. Since he's still on Proto's back, he decides it might be a good idea to stay there where the risk of getting hit by his buster is perhaps a bit less. Opening wide, he tries to sink his teeth into his shoulder, just as a reminder.
Protoman whips around rather violently, trying to free himself from Snake Man's grip. To this extend, his armor phases back into it's typical red and grey, Buster charging up... No room for a true attack; He would use the next best thing. With a whine of energy from the Proto Buster, the lone wolf unleashes the force of the weapon into a blade. The Protoblade manifests instantly from the barrel as he stabs towards his back, trying carefully to avoid himself in the effort. After a single slash, the blade dissipates... Hopefully, what he did was enough.
Rage clouds Slash Beast's eyes. Killing Shadow Man is the only thing on his mind, so much so that it barely registers when his razor sharp claws meet Shadow's impromptu 'shield'. The bit of composure that Slash still holds on to registers the hit, and that small knowledge is enough.
Snake Man unengages his teeth from Proto's shoulder as the blade rakes across his helmet and down his face, narrowly missing his eye. Mechfluid spurts from the wound, running down to mix with the fluid leaking from the bite wound. Letting go of his enemy, he drops and rolls to the floor. Staying low and taking cover behind the desk, he draws a bead on his adversary from around the opposite corner of the upended piece of furnature...
Shadow Man drops, and slides right past Slash Beast. Since he's now heading in the opposite direction, chances are, he won't end up encountering Protoman after all. No matter. The Master reaches back over his shoulder, and when he whirls around, it's with katana in hand...
Protoman charges forward angrily, rolling to the side to get out of the way of the Snake Cutter as he presses forward. His response to the attack? To raise his shield forward and trigger his boost engines, sending himself towards the desk like a rocket. His impact is instant - The desk never felt a thing. Whether or not Snake Man does as well is a different story. The drawback? The impact upon the shield, from desk or Robot Master, sends the shield off balance, leaving him without it's defensive abilities - Odds are he won't have time to readjust. Hopefully, Blues wouldn't need it.
[Radio: (B) Secure] Snake Man transmits, "Isss there anyone coming?"
Slash Beast barely notices as his palm strikes the wall instead of Shadow, leaving a huge hole in the wall. He spins around to face Shadow, his paw whipping out as he turns. *ching!* The katana's blade catches on his claws, the hardened alloy metal turning aside the sword easily. As he comes around, his other arm swipes out, claws flashing, seeking to tear into the Master viciously.
Shadow Man is simply not there for the claws to turn into - he's dashing at top speed back towards the president's room. On the way, he quickly passes both hands over his utility belt, grasping something in each. He stops short just as he reaches the hall where Gemini Man fell... And he throws the object in his right hand to the ground. "Time to go!"
Snake Man is of course, hit, like every other time he's been shot at today. But as smoke fills the room, he switches on his heat sense and heads for the door. On the way out, he stops to wrap his tail around Gemini's arm, and drag him after on the floor.
Protoman is about to finish off Snake Man - it can be seen in his visor, his eye barely visible. This was over. The dull whine of the Proto Buster's power filling the weapon. He's not goign to hold back any longer... But Protoman is robbed of his chance at closure by the cloud of smoke that feels the room about him, as he scrambles for his aim amidst the blinding cloud.
"RUNNING?!" The word is barely audible, buried beneath the animalistic howls Slash Beast is putting out. Shadow gets -just- enough lead time to do his thing- but perhaps Shadow might have preferred Slash following him. With a crackle, Slash's claws flare with energy, the shining metal glowing purple. Bracing his elbows at his sides, Slash Beast opens his mouth and roars, a challenge to all. As the deep noise shakes the building, Slash swipes his arm in Shadow's direction, a wave of hot energy flying down the corridor.
[Outside...]
It was something that the Grim Skull expected, of course. His legs already flexing as he prepares to simply slip around his large and rather vicious dragon foe. At least, that was the idea, before he - too - is caught in the wave of a timestopper. Unfortunatly, Solar's wears off a half a second before Death's does. And he is SLAMMED by the razored edge, a large laceration shorn across his decorative rib armor. Black mech blood splattering the sand, moments before he finally lands with a *CLUNK*.
Bright Man feels a wave of timestopping energy wash over him, "Ooooooh... Ahhhhh..." he murmers, glancing over at Centaur Man. Using his own TimeStopping abilities, he negates the effect near and around him - also saving Inverse from the effects as well. Completely ignoring the Hunter for a moment, he salutes to Centaur Man, "Wooo! That was a /good/ one, Centaur Man! Wow, impressive really." Suddenly he whirls back into action and slides to the right to avoid the chop, then ducks down low to avoid the horizontal slash - and when you have a huge head, you gotta duck down reeeaaal low. "Shut up? Shut up? The suggestion is noted, hun, but no offence or anything but I kinda /like/ talking. It's one of the joys in life, really. One can't truly appreciate what goes on without talking about it in a calm, civilized discussion. You should try it. It'll clear your mind." he raises his plasma cannon and points it at Inverse's face, "So will this." He fires.
Crash Man blinks in surprise as the timestopper wave rolls over and.. Misses him through some odd stroke of luck? He just looks at Jet in the air, attack in hand, with a growing grin. Begining to whistle a cheery tune he walks around behind the frozen Repliforcer before looking up at him. "Mm. This should hurt." A flash of light grows atop his helmet only to lance out in a laser beam at the frozen Forcer.
Metal Man is well about to go after the Vanguard to try and deal it smore more damage but then he is caught mid stride in the time stopper effect. oO(Blasted time Stopper! I sware only Flash Man should be premitted to keep his. At least he can aim it so it does not effect frendlies!)
Having layed waste to poor little Centaur Man, Skyblade takes back off into the sky, tapping her radio as she flies off. She only wishes she could have made him e-ring when she hit..
Solar Draco lands after a few moments, spinning about as he surges upward from the uppercut like attack with his shield. When he does, he's facing Skull again, getting to watch all the skulls surge back to him. He hrms a little, watching him rise, mouth open, no words? Uhoh! Maybe he has an attack like he does. As such the dragon bolts upward, engines flaring to get him into the air and away. When he does hear the mighty blast of sound, he gets a little surprised. He was expecting a breath attack of sorts after all. No loss, the dragon remains high in the air. The shield is put onto his back as he pulls out his hand guns. Lovely little high caliber Desert Eagle customs. Yeah. Those are the tickets. Both clips are emptied as the guns are pointed toward Skull Man.
And suddenly, Signas stumbles forward, left fist reaching.. nothing? He nearly trips over the smoldering corpse of Centaur Man, but blinks out of the way and back into visibility some meters away. He pauses, hanging back, one hand moving to his ear.
Chi stands to his feet as the Timestopper effect ends - he would have to comment Skyblade for her quick thinking in eliminated Centaur Man when she had the chance. The Minotaur looks about, searching for his target - the battlefield seems to have changed somewhat, and he needed to restablish whom he was to fight before he leapt back into the fray. No good in flailing about blindly - and so the Minotaur holds his position for the time being.
Jet Stingray gets sent out of the Timestopper by a blast in his side. "Just like before, Crash Man, waiting for another pansy to get me from behind then attack. This time... I'm fighting with all I got!" With that said, he lops his torpedo still in his hand at Crash. Hopefully it's still good.
Inverse jukes her head aside as Bright levels the armcannon at her face, just in time to avoid the volley. At this point, she's no longer a good conversational partner, just shrieking out "SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!" over and over, still going nuts with her axe and trying to ventilate Bright's body with said weapon.
Ten suddenly comes out of the timestop. As soon as she doesm she falls to the ground with a thud. "Oof!" Ten stands back up, confused. "What the heck just happened?" Ten tries to focus and figure out what to do next. For the moment, she simply goes on her guard.
[On the retreat...]
Snake Man comes outside the door, running on all fours and dragging Gemini behind him. Gemini's in bad shape, and Snake isn't much better off, leaking fluid in a trail as he runs rather jerkily across the grass, giving his brother a faceful of mud along the way. He doesn't stop until he gets to the shuttle, which lowers a ramp for him to climb up. Then he drags both of them into the ship, and collapses on the floor.
Gemini Man lays on the ground in an unconcious mess. Most of his damage seems to be internal, so it looks like he's quietly sleeping.
[While, outside of the shuttle...]
Famine awakens after a duration from the Timestop, and finishes belting out his obscenity. Noticing the return of his faculties, he turns and spits to the side before returning his attention to the St. Petersburg's Pride. The readouts, after the sharp drop they had enacted for the firing, seem to have begun oscillating since then; as Famine redirects his attention to the Pride, they begin to stabilize, cooling down the weapon. An explosion would be counterproductive.
Solar Draco puts his guard down.
Bright Man sighs audibly as Inverse reverts to saying the same thing over and over again, "Look... miss... whatever-your-name-is..." he says, backing away hastily from the blurr of attacks, "This'd be a lot more enjoyable if we could just talk it over." He stumbles backwards over a rock and nearly trips, "Or we can just speak jibberish... I suppose that's ok. It'd give us more time to concentrate on our attempts to end the life of each other." He smiles, "Good idea!" His bulb suddenly flashes... once... twice... and a beam of light slashes out from the centre of it, streaking towards Inverse.
Inverse can answer basic questions it seems, and tells Bright her name. "Inverse, damnit! That's my name!" She manages to spin and pivot between the laser's courses just fine, a wonder given she looks ready to burst a fluid line. Coiling back for a moment, she begins a series of rapid, repeating thrusts with the axe's thrusting-tip, all aimed at Bright's stomach area.
Inverse strikes Bright Man with her Heat Thrust attack.
Those hidden shoulder skulls close up with a faint *click*, Death straightening up once again as he watches the Dragon raise towards the sky.. and draw guns. For a moment, a small inquiry is sent deep into the Grim Reaper's processor. He is prepped. Thus, there really is nothing else to describe it but.. frightening. Death.. moves. A literal skeleton, using that horrendus burst of speed to simply slip AROUND the automatic pistol fire. Another spray of sand marking his path as he slips under the rising Dragon.. and behind. And, there, the Electronic Angel of Death pauses.
[Radio: (A) Masters] Beta XO Metal Man transmits, "Who needs support in the Capitol builing?"
Bright Man smiles, "Ahhh, 'Inverse'. That's a nice name. Thanks for-" There's a sickening screeching sound as Bright Man's gut is torn by the axe's tip, "Ahhhhhhh!" Bright Man screams from the pain. The axe dips in and out of his armour, taking out pieces of mechanical organs each time. Falling to the ground, a freakish look of happiness and pain crosses his face. "My coolant unit... you've destroyed my coolant un- urk... Fusion Phoenix arcs in out of the sky, looking for one of the fallen.
[Radio: (A) Masters] Beta XO Metal Man transmits, "I'm pretty much toast and with the Vanguard running I think I'm going to pull back to the transport unless someone is in dire need of backup."
Inverse juts the blunt tip of her axe's handle at Bright's foot while he charges, unbalancing him enough to sidestep the attack without outright tripping him. "It's a good thing you like pain! I like dishing it out!" That might just sound wrong. The heat-field on her axe dissipates as she swings a diagonal slash for Bright's nearest shoulder however; it's a wonder she hasn't aimed for his bulb-head yet.
[Radio: (A) Masters] Centaur Man there's nothing but static
As the timestopper wears off.. Green Devil simply stands there for a time, before turning away from all of those who would attack it. In silence, the Devil heads back towards the Building, since its defenders are more or less gone.
Solar Draco certainly got caught off guard by that! The dragon is holstering his Eagles when the master is prepping. When he gets a good look at the master's position, he wonders if something happened to him to put him in such a painful appearing position. It's when the ribs start firing that he realizes, he must have been built for that. Great. A number of those bullets connect, ripping across his surface, piercing here and there. The dragon comes down and lands hard on all his limbs. Okay. Play time is OVER!!! Those gauntlets on both his arms are glowing a hellish crimson. The dragon rises, glaring toward Skull, "That's enough.." he says, first words of the night. Both arms are risen and pointed at Skull, the spike shafts within glowing even brighter as they heat up. A bright orange now as the air ripples around them. Those spikes are fired, and forcefully, slinging through the air to hopefully collide, pierce, and melt some vitals on their way through before they return to Solar's Gauntlets.
Bright Man's foot gets stabbed painfully, and the very tip of the axe buries itself deep enough into Bright Man's limb that it renches out the other side. But alas, that's not all that Inverse apparently had in store for our happy diversionary tactician. Gasping and wheezing from the pain, he tries to say something to Inverse. Alas, all that comes out is a gurgle as mechanical blood flows up into his voice-box, interfering with its design. He raises his hand in protest of the next slash, but unfortunately that turns out to be a bad idea. His left shoulder is torn off at the shoulder and falls limp to the ground. Bright Man slumps to the ground, wheezing painfully. He tries to use his other arm to support himself, but it's apparently too weak and he twitches. The smile is, of course, still there.
Inverse seems about done with her outburst of violence when Bright falls. Well...mostly done. She backflips away from him, and then pulls a grenade off of her outfit. Priming it, she flings it in Bright's general direction. At least she's not yelling right now.
It was an extremely impressive attack. One that would have likely caused Death a great pain. and rendered him into little slagged bits and pieces. One that was designed for doom. But, how does one bring doom... to The End? There is, in the air, that locust buzzing once again - and the cyberskulls once more do their chaotic dance. EXPLODING outwards, a swarm of blunt paint to greet those powerful sun crushers - and deflect them away. Even as the CyberSkulls begin their chaotic, whirling decent BACK towards The Electronic Angel of Death... a flash of light whistles through the air. A bone dagger. With it's wicked curved blade, and the spinal hilt, thrown to follow those infernic spikes back towards the floating Dragon. To pierce him DIRECTLY through the throat is the intent. Thrown, of course... by the Malakim himself.
The Green Devil, left alone, draws the attention of a certain Maverick Hunter left slightly off his balance following the confusing aftermath of the Timestopper. Signas, determined to get some positive use out of this, disappears from his location. Yes, another blink--and when he reappears behind and above the monster, energy glaive at the ready, it is with a faint frown on his burned face that he drops toward it. The Robot Masters must learn a lesson. They must.
Crash Man only deepens his grin as Jet whirls about to retaliate for his attack. Expecting the attack as it had already been set up, he manages to leap aside out of harm's way once more. Eyes twinkling with obvious enjoyment, he lifts a hand to make a curt gesture. "Come on, come on! You've got to have something better than that! Lemme show you how it's done!" The hand changes into another drill rocket which fires off at Jet quickly.
Bright Man is blown backwards from the grenade, but the jolt seems to be enough to get his system back into gear. Bloodied and cracked from the damage, the one-armed-wonder staggers to his feet. His grin grows wider, causing a bit of black fluid to drip down the sides. Bright Man gurgles something to Inverse in a calm manner and fires a plasma bolt towards her with his only arm remaining.
Well, it appears that the Devil is off to do its work - but Chi is not sit by idly and let it finish whatever work that its cohorts had decided to start within the building. The minotaur leaps off the top of the building, covering a tremendous amount of ground in that single motion. And as he strikes, the ground cracks under his hooves - and the sound of a jackhammer going off echoes across the street as Chi pounds up the road, moving in for another attack on the green pile of goo.\
Solar Draco snarls, that hadn't ever failed him! EVER! It wreaked havoc on the monsters during the pendant crisis!! How could it fail!! ... Now Solar is quite determined, and he's not about to stop until Skull is broken! The shafts slip into their holsters even as he's preparing. The Shield is slipped off his back, only to make way for his next attack. Two rather sizable energy cannons slip up from between the wings. The drake is on all four limbs so he can aim it. He takes his time this time, letting his HUD get a solid lock. Once the quick triple beep is in his ear both of the cannons fire with a resounding *krack-thwoom!* The twin pillars of golden energy surge through the air toward Skull...
Inverse now takes a rather telling hit, stopping to 'catch her breath' despite the misnomer. It results in Bright's plasma beam striking right into her, and piercing most of the armor. Definately a solid hit, and the pained hiss from her confirms it even if it wasn't crippling. Grabbing a small rocket now, she presses the firing button on its tail and it splits off, then launches. After travelling several yards, it explodes prematurely, unleashing a shower of pellets at Bright Man.
Ten spots the green devil going after the building. "Oh yeah, now I remember! We were trying t stop the big gelatin-like thingy from getting any further!" Now that Ten remembers what she was trying to do, she points her naginata at the squishy behemoth, and fires another blast of energy, this one more powerful than the previous one by a little bit.
Fusion Phoenix dives towards the Green Devil, prepairing an attack on the jello beast that laid a telling blow on him once.
It seems nobody's done with the Green Devil yet. From his window vantagepoint, Famine's expression begins to glaze over as he takes aim again at the hulking corrosion. This time, however, it goes much more quickly. The meters on the sides of the cannon charge only halfway, and do so more quickly, and almost momentarily, the energy is discharged. Rather than burst begetting burst, this time the Pride fires one continuous ray, thin though dense, and when Famine's senses return to him, his expression is its usual stressed apathy rather than a momentary fervor.
Bright Man isn't going to be stopped by one sawed off limb, and in this case he isn't going to be stopped by /two/. The rocket explodes, completely annihilating Bright Man's lower half. All that remains of his legs are two thin skeletal structures that somehow manage to support him. Smiling, he gurgles something that actually can be understood, despite how much he's been bleeding. "T... this has been fun... we... Inverse shakes a fist at Bright when he starts talking, and gets off a "Shut the..." before the timestopper effect hits. She stops in mid yell, posture showing her free hand was already going for her gun...
And misses, entirely. The Grim Reaper kneels, for a moment - his boney knees bending, before he SHOVES off the ground with a strength one simply wouldn't expect from his waif form. Sending himself WAAAAAY up into the air, and over the beam. The Cyberskulls, having been unable to return to him in time, simply homming in on his signal and buzzing up after him. He is Death. The Warrior Angel. He has no other purpose but to kill.. and to kill effectively. As he nears critical height, were gravity begins to overcome momentum, there is a brief pause. His tattered cowl flapping about his form like the torn wings of the Malakim... and his emerald optics flare their bright glow.
Jet Stingray winces in pain as his right arm gets blown up to to itty bitty bit... Far from a delightful way to lose it. Jet is still planning to fight though. He growls as he just fires up his foot jets and comes right for Crash Man, charging for him with the intent to plow right into him, hopefully nailing him rather hard.
Strike high, low and far too often, the slow-moving Green Devil is not swayed from its path. The glaive slices clean into the beast, severing an arm, only to have the limb dissolve into liquid and return to the body. Another is generated. The blasts, large and small, cause ripples across the hulking green body of the Devil, yet true damage is not truly seen, although.. is the Devil starting to quake just a bit? Yet once more, it does not strike. It simply dissolves into its liquid form, and surges forward and around those who would stand in its path, intent on entering the building now.
Bright Man quirks a brow, idly wondering what it was that Inverse was going to say. Probably Shut the Hell Up or something similarly inane. "Mmm... I enjoy this position." he says to his frozen foe as his voice modulator starts to clear itself up a bit, "Helpless... vulnerable... worthless..." He looks Inverse up and down, smiling to nobody in particular. Clearly Bright Man is enjoying this very much. "I could do anything to you, and there's nothing you could do about it." he cackles a shrill cackle at the thought. He points the plasma cannon towards her, toying with the idea of taking a shot at her head. Bright Man thinks better of it, however, and leaps into the air on his two shattered legs, trying to smash into her head in his classic move.
Fusion Phoenix draws close to the jello blob, and begins his assult on the Devil as he does many of his attacks. He goes into a strafing run, firing off firy plasma from above in support of his comrads and alies as the sphere melts to a discus shape.
Desperately intent on stopping the Devil from entering the building and making short work of those civilians left inside, Signas disengages his glaive and presses his palms together. It looks wonky, to tell the truth, as he dashes forward with his palms pressed like a monk; but the glow that begins to exude from them does not look humorous at all. There is nothing amusing in the next three seconds, when Signas pulls his hands apart, to reveal a crackling arc of plasma between them, or when he swings both hands forward, disengaging the plasma and sending it rippling along the ground in a self-contained burst.
And as the skulls come rushing down, the dragon's cannons are quickly retreating into his back. He can see those infinite skulls surging toward him, coming for him and his life, he'd not allow it! No way in hell! The shield is scooped up from it's resting place right beside him. The dragon gets up, throws the shield infront of himself and kneels.... This will be one hell of a ride. Solar holds his place, pushing his shoulder up against the shield as the massive weight comes down. This will be nasty either way
Bright Man has a wild glint in his eyes as Inverse vanishes beneath him, "Nice trick!" he grins, staggering away. As he does so, one of his legs cracks and buckles, almost sending him down for the count. The axe passes by his bulb, missing by sheer inches, "But it's... Ten shakes her head. "You won't go any further, you expired cold treat!" Ten channels all the energy she can into her naginata, causing it to glow brightly. When Ten feels it is bright enough, she aims for the moving green puddle of goo, trying to figure out where the weak spot is, and fires a bright, powerful beam of energy.
F
Vehicle Docking - Skull Fortress
Shadow Man
Your desc has been changed to 'human'.
Silph Co Research Facility
Submerge leads to Underneath Southern Atlantic.
West leads to Southeastern Atlantic Ocean.
East leads to Madagascar.
South leads to Cape of Good Hope.
North leads to Savanna.
Up leads to Sky Above South Africa.
Snake Man has arrived.
Snake Man activates his stealth mode.
Shadow Man activates his stealth mode.
Shadow Man sends you a tightbeam radio transmission: "Hardly needed us at all, did you, commander."
[Radio] You send Shadow Man a direct message: "But the--what the--- Well, NO WONDER this was so damn easy."
Slash Beast activates his stealth mode.
Iris strikes Metal Man with her Laser Ports attack.
Freeze Man strikes Mac with his Ice Ball attack.
Metal Man strikes Iris with his Sawblade attack.
Green Devil strikes Signas with its Slime Fling attack.
Iris strikes Metal Man with her Crystal Lasers attack.
Inverse misses Sword Man with her Mini-rocket attack.
Mac strikes Freeze Man with his Mac Buster attack.
Varia Beetle misses Centaur Man with her Gravity Bolt attack.
Skyblade Eagle misses Sword Man with her Ion Disk attack.
Solar Draco strikes Skull Man with his Descending Pounce attack.
He doesn't bother saying anything as his right hand snaps out toward the Green Devil. You can't taunt a monstrosity, and there's no use negotiating with a Wilydrone--so Signas negotiates with his own form of assault--the first thought that comes to his mind is to freeze some of the gelatin that makes up that monster, and so with a blast of supercooled air generated by his palm-emitter, he tries to crystalize some of its body.
Signas misses Green Devil with his Ice Crystal Crush attack.
Freeze Man strikes Mac with his Smash attack.
Centaur Man misses Varia Beetle with his Energy Arrows attack.
Metal Man strikes Iris with his Twin Blades attack.
Not really expecting an attack from ABOVE, the Grim Reaper is nicely nailed by a descending spiked sword. Unfortunatly... he's pretty much a skeleton. He doesn't HAVE vitals to pierce with the front spike, save those that are tightly tucked into his 'rib' area. Under the heavy black under armor. But the very momentum does send him skidding along the hot sand, for a moment, before his own momentum catches critical. And he digs his feet in, pulling up dredges in the ground even as he raises his arm from that tattered cowl. His boney hand curling into a fist, the weapon tube atop beginning to glow as it charges.
No words are given to the Infidel, of course. None are needed. Rather, with a mighty *THUMP*, a white hot ball of plasma is sent spinning for the Dragon. Death's method of saying 'Hello!'.
Skull Man strikes Solar Draco with his Plasma Cannon attack.
Green Devil misses Chi with its There's Always Room For Jello attack.
Chi deflects There's Always Room For Jello from Green Devil.
Iris strikes Metal Man with her Smash attack.
Solar Draco misses Skull Man with his Dual Chain Guns attack.
Varia Beetle strikes Centaur Man with her Distortion Wave attack.
Chi strikes Green Devil with his Stomp attack.
Inverse strikes Freeze Man with her Beam Volley attack.
Snake Man strikes Blues with his Grasp attack.
Shadow Man misses Blues with his Throwing Knives attack.
You miss Blues with your Ricochet Blast attack.
Blues strikes Snake Man with his Proto Buster attack.
You strike Blues with your Roundhouse attack.
Blues misses you with his Smash attack.
Snake Man misses Blues with his Venom Spit attack.
Blues successfully deflects an attack randomly.
You miss Blues with your Headbutt attack.
Snake Man misses Blues with his Poison Bite attack.
Blues strikes Snake Man with his Proto Buster 2 attack.
Skyblade Eagle strikes Sword Man with her Single Beretta 9mm attack.
Ten misses Green Devil with her Generic Ranged attack.
Signas misses Green Devil with his Overhead Vertical Strike attack.
Sword Man misses Skyblade Eagle with his Flatside Swipe attack.
Metal Man strikes Iris with his Metal Blade attack.
[Radio: (B) Secure] Snake Man transmits, "Probably"
[Radio: (B) Secure] Medic Dust Man transmits, "Affirmative, Snake."
Green Devil misses Signas with its Slime Rush attack.
Green Devil misses Ten with its Slime Rush attack.
Green Devil strikes Chi with its Slime Rush attack.
Crash Man strikes Jet Stingray with his Arm Drill attack.
Centaur Man misses Ten with his Plasma Scatter attack.
Centaur Man strikes Chi with his Plasma Scatter attack.
Centaur Man strikes Signas with his Plasma Scatter attack.
Centaur Man strikes Green Devil with his Plasma Scatter attack.
Solar Draco misses Skull Man with his Dragonfire attack.
Inverse misses Bright Man with her Burn Slice attack.
Skyblade Eagle misses Sword Man with her Dive Bomb attack.
Jet Stingray misses Crash Man with his Smash attack.
Varia Beetle misses Centaur Man with her Shock Whip attack.
Mac strikes Freeze Man with his Mac Knife attack.
As he staggers to his feet, and turns back toward the Devil, a plasma shot catches him directly in the face. Again. He flies back a foot or two, but never hits the ground; he disappears before he ever reaches it, remaining out of sight for three full seconds. He saw who managed to strike him when he was down, and so he's going to give Mister Centaur Man a little taste of his own techniques. Wordlessly he materializes beside the centaur, right fist swinging out in an under-arc to catch the Master square on the side.
The only thing out of place? His fist seems to be on fire.
Signas strikes Centaur Man with his Burning Knuckle attack.
Chi misses Green Devil with his Stampede Earthquake attack.
Chi strikes Centaur Man with his Stampede Earthquake attack.
Famine strikes Green Devil with his Magic Bullet Theory attack.
Sword Man misses Skyblade Eagle with his Overhead Slice attack.
Freeze Man strikes Mac with his Pummel attack.
Crash Man misses Jet Stingray with his Beer Bomb attack.
Green Devil strikes Chi with its Smash attack.
Metal Man strikes Iris with his Explosive Drone attack.
You strike Blues with your Laser Barrage attack.
Snake Man misses Blues with his Search Snake attack.
Blues successfully deflects an attack randomly.
Blues strikes you with his Shield Bash for 10 units of damage.
You strike Blues with your Double Shot attack.
Snarl.
The beast breaks into a run, his camoflage dropping as he soars through the air towards the Robot Master. "Drop him!" His voice is a roar, a snarl, as he reaches for Shadow with outstretched claws.
Blues strikes you with his Proto Buster 3 for 21 units of damage.
"...OH!" he responds with a grin as realization dawns, "this guy. Very well..." The ninja's left hand is morphed into a standard Robot Master arm cannon, and placed at the side of the human's head. "You said to drop him, right?"
You strike Blues with your Gemini Cannon attack.
Snake Man misses Blues with his Constriction attack.
Blues deflects Constriction from Snake Man.
Blues strikes you with his Distortion Cannon for 32 units of damage.
Blues drains energy from Gemini Man with his Distortion Cannon attack.
You fall to the ground, unconscious, due to massive systems damage.
Centaur Man strikes Chi with his Centaur Flash attack.
Chi is temporarily disoriented by Centaur Man's Centaur Flash attack.
Centaur Man strikes Ten with his Centaur Flash attack.
Ten is temporarily disoriented by Centaur Man's Centaur Flash attack.
Centaur Man strikes Signas with his Centaur Flash attack.
Signas is temporarily disoriented by Centaur Man's Centaur Flash attack.
Centaur Man strikes Green Devil with his Centaur Flash attack.
Green Devil is temporarily disoriented by Centaur Man's Centaur Flash attack.
Centaur Man misses Sword Man with his Centaur Flash attack.
Centaur Man strikes Skyblade Eagle with his Centaur Flash attack.
Skyblade Eagle is temporarily disoriented by Centaur Man's Centaur Flash attack.
Centaur Man misses Crash Man with his Centaur Flash attack.
Centaur Man strikes Metal Man with his Centaur Flash attack.
Metal Man is temporarily disoriented by Centaur Man's Centaur Flash attack.
Centaur Man strikes Famine with his Centaur Flash attack.
Famine is temporarily disoriented by Centaur Man's Centaur Flash attack.
Centaur Man strikes Varia Beetle with his Centaur Flash attack.
Varia Beetle is temporarily disoriented by Centaur Man's Centaur Flash attack.
Centaur Man strikes Iris with his Centaur Flash attack.
Iris is temporarily disoriented by Centaur Man's Centaur Flash attack.
Centaur Man strikes Skull Man with his Centaur Flash attack.
Skull Man is temporarily disoriented by Centaur Man's Centaur Flash attack.
Centaur Man strikes Jet Stingray with his Centaur Flash attack.
Jet Stingray is temporarily disoriented by Centaur Man's Centaur Flash attack.
Centaur Man strikes Solar Draco with his Centaur Flash attack.
Solar Draco is temporarily disoriented by Centaur Man's Centaur Flash attack.
Centaur Man strikes Mac with his Centaur Flash attack.
Mac is temporarily disoriented by Centaur Man's Centaur Flash attack.
Centaur Man strikes Freeze Man with his Centaur Flash attack.
Freeze Man is temporarily disoriented by Centaur Man's Centaur Flash attack.
Centaur Man misses Bright Man with his Centaur Flash attack.
Centaur Man strikes Inverse with his Centaur Flash attack.
Inverse is temporarily disoriented by Centaur Man's Centaur Flash attack.
Sword Man strikes Skyblade Eagle with his Overhead Slice attack.
[Radio: (B) Secure] Bright Man transmits, "I'll head on over there if Snake Man needs some help. If someone can get this pesky Maverick Hunter off me."
[Radio: (B) Secure] King transmits, "The Royalty shall arrive soon, we suggest you shoulder your burden as best you can until then."
[Radio: (B) Secure] Bright Man transmits, "Oh thank goodness. King is coming to save us all!"
Solar Draco strikes Skull Man with his Battle Shield Cleave attack.
Inverse puts her guard down.
Skyblade Eagle strikes Centaur Man with her Burning Comet Crash attack.
Centaur Man falls to the ground, unconscious, due to massive systems damage.
Bursting into a -fast- run, with all the speed of a bullet train with a hundred times faster acceleration, Beast launches himself at the ninja, soaring through the air with his hands reaching for Shadow. This time, no ultimatum, no words, only a roar. And this time, Slash Beast doesn't stop.
Shadow Man misses Slash Beast with his Shadow Blaster attack.
Snake Man strikes Blues with his Bite attack.
Blues strikes Snake Man with his Protoblade attack.
With a roar that reverberates through the floor and possibly most of the building, Slash crashes into Shadow. The blaster that had been used to taunt the Repliforcer is disdainfully pushed aside by one huge claw, the blast firing harmlessly into the wall. His other paw reaches back...and with all the force of the primal lion, slams forward toward Shadow Man's face.
Shadow Man dodges Slash Beast's Smash attack.
Snake Man misses Blues with his Snake Cutter attack.
Shadow Man misses Slash Beast with his Katana attack.
Slash Beast successfully deflects an attack randomly.
Blues puts his guard down.
Blues strikes Snake Man with his Shield Dash attack.
[Radio: (B) Secure] Bright Man transmits, "Nope, sorry Snake Man. I think you're on your own."
Shadow Man dodges Slash Beast's Maul attack.
Shadow Man strikes Blues with his Shadow Smoke attack.
Blues is temporarily disoriented by Shadow Man's Shadow Smoke attack.
Slash Beast strikes Shadow Man with his Twin Slasher attack.
Death quietly sits up, cyberskulls immidiatly rushing to him.. and.. into him? Swirling in their swarmed forms, BACK up his tattered cowl. Back into their resting places, within those shoulder mounted skulls. Whose jaws, oddly enough - remain open. Death's emerald optics flare, briefly, before dulling slowly. As if power were being drawn elsewhere. Moments before... a massive pipe organ chord EXPLODES outwards with heavy sonic force. His skull shoulders acting as speakers, hammering the air outwards in a rendition of St. Dante's Peak at levels that could actually begin crushing armor. If Solar were silly enough to remain close, that is. Even the sand is blasted away in a radius around the kneeling Reaper.
Skull Man misses Solar Draco with his Funeral Dirge attack.
Bright Man misses Inverse with his Plasma Cannon attack.
Crash Man strikes Jet Stingray with his Head Laser attack.
Solar Draco misses Skull Man with his Dual Desert Eagles attack.
Jet Stingray misses Crash Man with his Torpedo attack.
Inverse misses Bright Man with her Burn Slash attack.
Bright Man misses Inverse with his Reflective Laser attack.
And begins to pull his wide shoulders back. Back more. As if he were trying to stretch his arms... to the point where his elbows and shoulder skulls touch behind his back. What is he doing?! That, dear friends, is quickly answered.. as his 'decorative' ribs unlatch from his sternum. And spread wide, each tipped with a muzzle. There is a brief pause to line up the Dragon... and those ribs begin spitting out bullets at a machine gun pace. Empty cartridges already bouncing off the sand around Skull Man. Appears that he has more than a few hidden surprises...
Skull Man strikes Solar Draco with his Rib Guns attack.
Bright Man misses Inverse with his Pounce attack.
Inverse successfully deflects an attack randomly.
Inverse strikes Bright Man with her Cut attack.
Solar Draco misses Skull Man with his Sun Crusher attack.
His voice floating up, the first words he has ever said for this particular rendevous. Hollow, disembodied, the sound is of lead slabs being dropped in an empty warehouse. Rather disheartening, to say the least!
.... SHHHH... BE SILENT.. LITTLE LAMB...
Inverse strikes Bright Man with her Grenade attack.
Skull Man misses Solar Draco with his Bone Daggers attack.
Signas strikes Green Devil with his Overhead Vertical Strike attack.
Crash Man strikes Jet Stingray with his Drill Rocket attack.
Bright Man strikes Inverse with his Plasma Cannon attack.
Solar Draco misses Skull Man with his Dual Energy Cannons attack.
Inverse strikes Bright Man with her Scattershot Rocket attack.
Ten strikes Green Devil with her Low Level Charge attack.
Famine strikes Green Devil with his St. Petersburg's Pride attack.
Bright Man strikes Inverse with his Flash Stopper attack.
Inverse is temporarily disoriented by Bright Man's Flash Stopper attack.
The Cyberskulls suddenly deviate from their return flight. Buzzing and realigning as they hurl downwards - towards Solar. Gathering up, forming a massive ball even as they go. Localizing the pain they can inflict... dropping like a wrecking ball. LOOK OUT!
Skull Man misses Solar Draco with his Skull Barrier attack.
Solar Draco successfully deflects an attack randomly.
Jet Stingray misses Crash Man with his Torpedo Slam attack.
Bright Man strikes Inverse with his Pounce attack.
Fusion Phoenix strikes Green Devil with his Plasma Blaster attack.
Did someone say, there in the background... 'Reppuken?'
Signas misses Green Devil with his Signas Wave attack.
*CRASH*
That's the sound of that massive ball of skulls connecting with Solar's shield. Solar winces a bit under it. The attack may have been deflected, but it was a hard attack to defend against. With every bit of strength he stands up against the skulls, pushes the ball away a bit, then swings the Shield incredibly hard, batting the ball away from his body with a second resounding crash as the two forces meet again. What to do now? The dragon takes off into the air, that might shield before him as he surges upward. Best to hit Skull while his defenses are gone. Solar surges up up, and then tries to slam into him, shield first, blunt side forward.
Ten strikes Green Devil with her Murasame Charge attack.