Attitude is prohibited
[Main Street]
"Gods are the products of religions." Hana explained. "And religions are opiates for the weak-minded masses, born from the fanciful imaginings of the ignorant and fearful, and perpetuated by greedy, delusional, power-hungry manipulators." She said, simply. "Thus, if religions are products of the human imagination, then it stands to reason that gods, as products of religion, must also be imagined. Thus, you cannot possibly be a god." She shrugged. "Besides, unlike the sciences, religions do not even try to be verifiable, to have clear and repeatable results. Religion is about faith, the belief in something without requiring any evidence." She took a moment to adjust her glasses. "I rather prefer having evidence, myself."
[The Plains >>> Edge of the Forest]
One moment, Cyrus was reporting creaking noises and rotting flesh, and then the next, half the convoy was charging into battle. Miyuki and Hoshi lingered for a moment, watching the others run off. "Huh. That Azuhl guy's pretty fast." Hoshi commented. "Not as fast as us, of course... And that thing he shouted; do you suppose that was a magic spell?"
"I suppose it was." Said Miyuki. Her visor rematerialized, and Hoshi's did the same a moment later. The metal plates on the backs of their arms, lower legs and lower back all projected a similar holographic outline, within which their Directed Antigravity Thrusters materialized. "Those appear to be walking skeletons..." Miyuki continued, watching the edge of the forest. She frowned slightly. "I guess magic is real here..." She turned to her compatriot. "Be careful out there."
"You worry too much!" Said Hoshi, grinning. "But all the same..." She gave friend a casual, two-fingered salute. "Ryōkai!" She said, and lifted a few feet off the ground, her thrusters emitting a faint, blue glow but no noise.
Miyuki did the same a moment later. "You know the drill." She said. Hoshi, still grinning, nodded. And with that, they rocketed up, high into the sky, leaving behind only a powerful gust of wind. Each with a hand on their respective hats, their trajectory put them high above the edge of the forest, where all the fighting was currently taking place. And with their speed, they reached it in seconds.
Hoshi dove into the action, free-falling fully thirty feet and aiming to land, feet first, right on top of the nearest reanimated skeleton. Either way, even without cushioning her fall, she would be ready for action the moment she landed. In one hand, she unsheathed her rapier, a fine piece of excellent craftsmanship whose strange, dark metal gleamed brightly in the sun. And, intent on showing off, she pulled out on of the revolvers she'd bought earlier and held it in her other hand. The Smith & Wesson Model 1 was a fine gun, but she didn't have much ammo for it...
Miyuki stayed in the sky, using the sensors in her visor to get a feel for how many enemies there were and where they were. She used infrared vision, but even if that didn't work, with a bit of effort on her part her visor could identify moving, humanoid shapes and would mark them for her Heads-Up Display.
Not entirely dead.
(Edge of the forest)
"Oh, fuck!" Anne whirled around, all planning of the investigation forgotten. It seemed the problem had found them, and it was of the undead variety. She raced forward, yanking out her wand as she did so. Lucky followed behind, but he was no fighter.
Anne pointed her wand at a skeleton and yelled out, "Friome meira!" A beam of light came out of her wand and slammed into the skeleton's clavicle, annihilating everything north of the hips. It wasn't without cost, though. A grey-green smoke drifted off her body. This wasn't good. She hadn't fought since her death, and only now did she realize just what a spiritual toll combat magic took on her.
Forward, boys! For God's sake, forward!
[SOUTHERN DESERT]
As Samuel ordered, Tana piloted the vehicle behind the large rock.
Turning off the ignition, she flipped the switch again to lower the door in the back. A second afterwards, she could hear feet shuffling in the back, which she assumed was Christopher, who had stayed in the back the entire ride, getting to his feet.
"Don't go around the rock." She called over to him while trying to keep a moderately low voice, being mindful of their nearby soon-to-be opponents "The nuts we're after are nearby and we're taking cover."
A few seconds later, she added, "While you're there, turn the clunkers on."
Fortunately, Christopher seemed to have heard her, as the sounds soon ceased. Instead, familiar sounds of robots activating could be heard in the back.
[Desert ~ Near Railroad](Joe, John)
Joe studied John's face carefully as he explained himself. His expression remained fairly passive, though peculiar-looking as always. When John finished, Joe's eyes lowered as he thought to himself for a few moments. He considered what the man had just said, how that effected his current plan, and what their other options were. Finally, he looked back up at the man and shrugged.
"Okay." he said. "Apology accepted. So, you wanna help me find your car now or what?"
Joe pointed at the ground again and explained, "I think I found some of your shoe-prints over here. 'Least I think they're yours." He stepped a little closer to the spot he'd indicated and dropped carefully into a crouch, hands on his knees, peering closely at one of the footprints as though studying the minutiae of the dirt would honestly help in making a better determination. "And I'm thinking," he continued, "that we can at least use them to get some kind of an idea of where you were before, right? And hey," he turned his head and smiled, one eye pointed up at the man, "maybe seeing tumbleweed number 34 will jog your memory a bit. I mean, it would help if you could try and remember where you were coming from step by step. Did you wander around a whole lot, or was it mostly a straight line?"
He paused, looking back down at the ground, clawing at it with one finger. "I mean, unless you've got any ideas that are more solid than this... it could take a while, but I think it beats drying out in the desert doing nothing and getting nowhere. And we could always... I dunno, chat, or whatever."
Joe glanced up at John once more, waiting patiently for a response.
every little word and every little step
[Main Street]
Kyle giggled. "Yuh're assumin' stuff. An', an' you know wha' they say 'bout 'ssumin': it only makes an ass outta you an'..." He paused and frowned. "Well, I ain't assumin'. So I ain't the ass."
He took a long pull from his bottle. "So lessay you're right. That gods come fr'm religions. Well, yuh're wrong, 'cause I was 'ere way 'fore Tenrasm was. But lessay you're right. 'Ow d'you know it's tha' way, and not th'other? 'Ow d'you know tha' religions dinn't come fr'm gods? 'Cause yer kinda beggin' the question, ain'tcha? Sayin' that 'gods came fr'm religion, religion's bunk, ergo, gods don' exist' jus' kinda 'ssumes religion's bunk t'begin wiff. But if gods exist, religion can't be th'operate of th'masses ur wha'ever. 'Cause it's true."
He grinned. "You like ev'dence? Gimme some fer that when yer done quotin' Karl Mark." He hiccuped. "Y'also left out 'the heart'a the heartless world, th'soul'a soulless conditions', by th'way."
Drummer Boy
[The Plains —> Edge of the Forest]
Cyrus's head struggled to wrap itself around the chaos unfolding before him. Finally, he was able to focus on Kito yelling at him to hop onto his back. He quickly adjusted the position of the satchel strapped to Kito's back so he could get on. The wolf headed toward the forest as fast as he could. Neither Cyrus nor his weapons were especially heavy on their own, but it all added up. Despite that, Kito was still faster than Cyrus would be if he tried to run on his own, and Kito wasn't the one who would inevitably collapse into a coughing, wheezing mess.
Kito, what just—
Moving skeletons and something else that seems large and nasty. Get your drill going.
Got it.
The machinery didn't whir as loudly as one might expect, especially considering its high power. If Cyrus squeezed the trigger as tightly as possible, it would reach full power in less than five seconds, but he chose to warm it up steadily as he and Kito approached the scene. The drill was by no means delicate, but being more gentle would reduce the amount of maintenance required in the long run.
When they finally got to the forest, Cyrus jumped off of Kito. How are you feeling?
Don't worry about me, that was nothing. What the hell is the ugly thing over there?
Cyrus only had enough time to glance at the krogan before he was forced to turn his attention to a skeleton that was far too close for comfort. After pressing a button on the drill's wide base that caused serrated teeth to pop out of the metal ridges spiraling up the drill's sides, he swung at the pelvis, hoping to stop the skeleton from running around. Kito stayed near him, ready to pounce on skeletons and knock them to the ground if they got too close to him or Cyrus. He was also doing his best to keep track of the krogan, as well as their own allies.
If you let me borrow your body after this, I'm going to have a nice chat with Azuhl.
Save being pissed off for later or you won't even get to live long enough to yell at him.
I said "nice chat."
We both know that's not what's going to happen.
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
Crazy Kiwi
Southern Desert
Once the truck came to a halt behind the rock, Karl, Peggy, Kris, James, Teri and Wolfe made their way down from the top and stretched their legs and arms.James turned to Samuel. "Are we going to advance on them or make our presence known and entice them to come to us? It seems we have the advantage of greater range than them." Wolfe had already passed on what he had learned about the opposition as well as the capabilities of Samuel's pistol.
"Most of our weapons should be accurate out to about half a kilometre," said Wolfe, "though we seldom get the opportunity to shoot at that range. Within 400 metres would be better, which is still a lot better than the hundred or so metres for their pistols. What range does their magic have?"
Karl looked thoughtful. "It would take us a long time to get within range of them if we are having to stay low and out of sight."
Peggy nodded. "They may kill your friend before we even get close."
"There's no guarantee they won't do that once the fight starts," said Teri.
[Edge of the Forest]
After an impotent swipe at Azhul, Moreg correctly guessed he wouldn't be easily dealt with and put some distance between himself and Azhul. Then, he turned took note of Hoshi and Cyrus. Impressed by the display of power the former had entered with, he decided that he'd found a worthy challenge and prepared appropriately. With a gesture, a shield of energy coated his armor. Then, leaving Cyrus aside for the moment, he lobbed a frag grenade between the two of them, knowing from experience that the fragments were no threat to his barriers or armor but would hopefully do terrible things to the both of them.
There weren't many skeletons remaining; they'd soon have to contend with the battlemaster... and his coming reinforcements.
Miyuki's infrared scans would detect Moreg first and foremost, but four other signatures came up, a good distance away, closing into firing range by rapid dashes from cover to cover. A much more experienced, military approach. Two were unremarkable humanoid shapes. A third was unusually large humanoid, nearly as much cyberware than meat. The fourth was a tall humanoid, shrouded in a cold aura.
The large cyborg seemed to spot Miyuki. She turned to the cold one, who in turn conjured a spirit. The wraith was a hideous creature, entirely wreathed in black cloth save for its rotten face and claws. As commanded, it immediately flew towards Miyuki, read to rip and shred. Miyuki could try and attack it, but this would be to no avail: it was immune to all non-magical attacks.
"They're powerful individually," the cyborg commented as she watched the feeds coming in from Moreg's helmet on her visor, "but they don't work together. No synergy. As long as that doesn't change, and we combine our own advantages, we've won."
"Wish you'd tell Moreg that," the necromancer muttered. (Although the cyborg had. Frequently.)
[Plains]
Suela watched in utter consternation, then shook her head. "Dead Gods," she muttered, finally realizing what she'd gotten herself into.
Brin, meanwhile, had stopped halfway to the forest. "Wait," she said. "I've got a better idea." She turned back to Suela and immediately raised the earth to form several barriers for Suela, and anyone else who didn't want to charge into battle to take cover behind. The largest was eight feet tall, enough to shield Cloudsplitter's massive size, the others were either six feet tall, or four-foot barriers perfect for taking potshots from behind. Only then did she turn to join the fray.
Suela, at least, nodded gratefully, taking cover with Cloudsplitter behind the largest barrier.
edited 15th Sep '15 6:10:57 PM by KillerClowns
Temple
Chloe whirled around and grinned when the man caught up with her. "Ah, I just wanted to see your reaction. And to see if you would still follow me even when told about the dangers. Glad to see you still around." she replied in a teasing tone as she turned back around and continued to walk down the stone corridors of the temple. The air was cool and it was starting to get dark. The young girl took out a torch and a match and lit it for light and was gazing at the walls. Etched in them were the same types of runes that were on her sword. "Wish I could read these." she mumbled to herself.
"Can you imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie?"
Just flowing with it.
[Edge of the Forest]
The skeletons were on par with moderately trained warriors, in terms of ability. Of course, mere bones proved insufficient against flesh, as Krul surely took one down; a straight slash at the shoulder joints in response to an overextended stabbing maneuver, then moving to another, powerfully parrying away its incoming slash, severely disrupting its balance. He did so purely with his skill with the sword, aiming at glaring defensive gaps and abusing the rigid mannequin-like movements of the skeletons that made them easy to read.
With Azuhl as the spearhead in the skeleton-clearing group, Krul cleared out the less crowded flank, preventing any stray skeletons from possibly stabbing Azuhl in the back. Cyrus and Kito, as well as Miyuki seemed to joined in the melee as well (Krul was particularly impressed with the latter's capability of flight, but that was for another time). Assuming that Crowe didn't have any particular difficulties against the skeletons, the encounter should be over quickly.
However, the situation changed with the arrival of the brute. His speed, his sheer posture; it would be suicidal to even approach the juggernaut with Krul as he was then. No fortifications from Lia, no magic, save for an enchanted dagger. "It has been quite a while since I saw a man so similar to a monster." Krul thought. Despite the danger, his continued assault on what remained of the skeletons carried a calm and orderly rhythm.
The monster seemed to be locked in battle with Azuhl. Krul kept his distance, ensuring that even with the krogan's overwhelming speed, Krul would at least have the time to react.
[Livery Stable -> The Desert]
Father Kiyoshi seemed to have diverted the threat out of town, as Lia could no longer felt the demon's presence. By this point, she could only hope that he managed to fend it off. A slight pang of guilt remained in her chest as Lia recalled how she ran away from the confrontation.
"Other's problems seem to come and go rapidly in this mysterious intersection of worlds. But ours won't, unless we do something about it." Alba said, riding the front of the carriage. He looked a bit too old to be driving the carriage, but his sure grip on the saddle betrayed that. "Lia, the absence of the threat does not defer our aim. Get on." he said.
Lia was too tired from walking to reply to Alba's ramblings, "We should we go, professor?" she said, her tone almost mockingly flat. As soon as she was in the carriage, she made a small sigh as the horse's smell entered her nose. "I thought restoring my power is as simple as moving somewhere not as crowded as the town."
"I just finished mapping the town's surrounding Field. There's a river to the west, there lies a spot close to the World's node. There you should be able to re-establish your power." he said. Not waiting for a reply from Lia, he tugged the saddle, commanding the two horses to start walking.
The future of warfare in UC.
[Main Street]
"A theological conversation," the woman observed about the ongoing discussion down the street. "Not my favorite topic."
"Never pegged you for an atheist, Cap," the taller man raised an eyebrow. "How'd that happen?"
"She's a hunter." That was the shorter man. "Hunts armor, yes, but there are men inside the armor, and...it's awkward when your life is based around breaking a Commandment."
The woman shook her head a little. "You're both speculating wildly, but you're right, Rich. And Mikey, you've got a point. Won't rule it out as a factor. Faith's something you feel, though. You can't argue rationally for or against the existence of an omnipotent deity. If they were omnipotent they could hide themselves as easily as they do anything else." She shrugged. "No right answer. You feel them or you don't. I don't." She paused briefly and then peered at the man she'd called Mikey. "I'll let it go you're assuming about Commandments though. It's a reasonable one."
Nous restons ici.
Laugh and grow dank!
[The Plains]
"DOWN!" Crowe burst from the scrub, grabbed Cyrus by his collar and pitched him into a nearby ditch. The frag grenade detonated a moment later, sending hot shrapnel spraying in every direction. A piece of metal pinged off of Crowe's pauldron, another lodged in the back of his helmet. He stumbled, sent toppling off balance by the shock of the blast, and rolled into the ditch next to Cyrus.
An instant later he had his weapon out, hammer pulled back and up by his head. He lay low with his back pressed to the side of the ditch.
His head turned fractionally in Cyrus' direction, though he still has his sight directed downrange towards the treeline where a melee between skeletal undead, a raging Krogan and a fair few of their own mixed company was raging intensely. To the young engineer, Crowe snapped, "Hell're you thinking?! That would have shredded you!"
yey
The Desert
Father Kiyoshi looked at the man. "You want me...to hang a sign?" He shrugged. "Okay. Works for me."
PAINKILLER
[Southern Desert]
Samuel hopped out of the vehicle, and landed all right. His leg felt much better. He left his equipment inside, as it would weigh him down. The ex-colonel only brought his weapon.
He peered from the edge of the rock. He listened in to the concerns. "Their magic has long range, though accuracy and strength makes it less a problem." He then faced them, and said, "You all have a point. Give me a sec."
Samuel only had to think for a few seconds. "You know what? I'll turn myself in. That way, I can get closer to Todd. It should buy you enough time to get closer. Even then, you can start shooting the second they turn their backs." He glanced back at the occultists. The more they debate, the more time is lost, and the more Todd was in danger. He then said in a low growl, "I don't want questions on this. You want range? I'll get you range."
The man took his gun out of his holster, and slipped it in his pants of his behind. Magic pistols never risked going off by themselves. He removed his helmet and tossed it to the dirt. Underneath was a bald head, and forehead wrinkles. He put on his aviators. And like that, he walked around the rock so he would meet his targets facing away from the rock.
Samuel walked like usual. As he approached, and put his hands behind his head.
One of the Occultists pointed him out. Vargas whipped his head around and smiled. By himself. Puny.
They grouped up, though let their leader step up. Samuel stood a couple meters back, staring solemnly at the man who probably tried to kill them. He showed the enemy no emotion, no weakness.
"I am Vargas Xenas. I know from my minister that you are the insubordinate Colonel, Samuel Kahler," he said. Vargas himself was 6 feet tall, and seemed to have more weight under his cloak. It was a deep purple, and featured designs alike to those found on runes. He pulled his hood back. He had mangled dark hair, and a muddled tan complexion. Only then did Samuel see enigmatic green eyes. They were alien and bright.
The bald man's heart beat faster. "Where's Todd?"
The occultist leader looked puzzled. "We don't have a Todd. We have Commander Corbin Krieser. He is alive, and among us. But first, I must ask you," he stepped forward, "where are the Gardens of Eden?" In his closer proximity, Samuel felt it right to drop his hands.
The other six Occultists stared on, tense. Perfectly distracted, thought the Colonel.
Samuel swallowed. He then smiled and whispered, "Up yours." His left hand took the gun and pointed forward.
Life is hard, that's why no one survives.
(Plains)
This was going to take some improvising, then. Anne let herself sink into the ground, up to her shoulders. She wanted to just bury herself in the earth and wait the whole mess out, but the skeletons had to be dealt with one way or another.
Reaching into her bag of runes, she pulled one out and cracked it. A spear of rocks erupted from the soil and impaled a skeleton, leaving it a sitting duck for someone else to finish off. A quick rifling through her bag revealed that she didn't have much to work with before she'd have to go back to incantations.
Forward, boys! For God's sake, forward!
Drummer Boy
[Edge of the Forest]
One moment, he was trying to smash a skeleton's ribcage, the next, someone was yelling at him and pitching him into a ditch. What the—
Then the blast.
Oh.
Kito had leaped for the ditch as Cyrus landed into it, fearing that Crowe had turned hostile, but he sorted out the situation at the same time as Cyrus. Fortunately, Cyrus didn't land directly on his already somewhat sore chest or upper back but the impact shook him quite a bit. Struggling to catch his breath, he barely managed to choke out an answer to Crowe. "I-I didn't see it. Wasn't looking that way. Sorry." Kito, you can stop hovering over me now...
Fine. I'll keep this area free of skeletons while you catch your breath and Crowe takes care of the shrapnel sticking out of his armor. Kito climbed out of the ditch. And let's keep an eye out for more grenades. If you see them coming, deflecting them with magic won't be hard at all.
All right. He took a deep breath. "Crowe, it looks like you got hit..." Another deep breath, a few coughs. "You okay?"
edited 14th Sep '15 9:39:56 PM by SnowyFoxes
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
Crazy Kiwi
Southern Desert
James wasn't particularly thrilled with the plan, but it showed bravery and commitment on Samuel's part and he could respect a leader that actually led. He was determined to have Samuel's back and prevent the enemy from killing him.It was humbling to watch Samuel cast off his helmet and set off out into the the desert with nothing but his pistol.
James, Teri, Kris, Peggy, Karl and Wolfe slipped out from behind the rock after Samuel, keeping low to conceal themselves behind the desert flora - mostly sage, creosote and indigo with a few agave and tall cactuses scattered about.
Despite being used to a great deal of walking, Wolfe found the heat tiring. He was glad that his polypropylene t-shirt wicked the water away from his chest but there were uncomfortable rivers of sweat trickling down his calves and thighs as he walked, hunched over.
Thankfully, Samuel wasn't walking fast and keeping pace with him wasn't too difficult, even in the heat and with the necessity of moving around the concealing bushes.
For Peggy, this felt more like hunting than going to fight - stalking a canny prey through the wilderness, trying not to alert it until within firing range. At least this time she didn't have to worry about the wind carrying her scent and alerting the game. Probably.
Teri kept as close to Wolfe as she could, ready to cover for him with the superior magazine capacity and rate of fire of her ASh-78. She could see that Kris was sticking close to James, undoubtedly for the same reason.
Ahead, the cover became more sparse but they were now within quarter of a mile of their target. Four hundred metres and every metre closer improved accuracy.
James came to a stop behind a large sage bush that afforded a good view of the enemy emplacement. He could clearly see the cultists, their strange wheeless vehicles and their captive so he settled himself prone on the ground and adjusted the sights on his rifle to compensate for the range.
Kris took the other side of the bush lying as flat as she could while still holding the rifle.
Karl and Peggy settled into position with a good view of the cultists and disengaged the safeties of their rifles.
Peggy's mouth was dry from sheer nervousness and the heat and dryness of the desert did nothing to help. What was she doing here? She was no fighter! Doubt flooded her mind about whether or not she would have the courage to fight - then she saw the captive, bound and on his knees and anger wiped her doubts away. It was all she could do not to start shooting the bastards immediately.
She tightened her grip on the rifle and trained the sights on one of the cultists. A small lizard scurried past and she jolted, clenching her hands even tighter. And that's why we keep our finger off the trigger until we're ready to commit. She waited until her rapidly beating heart calmed down and stopped the rifle from shaking.
Teri settled herself down on the ground beside Wolfe and slid the selector switch from safe to semiautomatic, the two clicks sounding far too loud for her liking.
Wolfe thumbed the flip-up covers of his scope and surveyed the group. Seven robed figures, one of which in the purple that Samuel said designated the leader. He picked one of the of the other figures and centred the crosshairs on the hood. At this range, the round would strike in the upper chest cavity around the heat and lungs.
James watched as Samuel approached the group and the leader stepped forward. The other six in the group seemed to be intent on Samuel - helmetless and with an empty holster - and not paying attention to anything else. Idiots. He took up the slack of his trigger in readiness for the fight to come.
He saw Samuel lower his hands and then suddenly go for his gun.
James' finger tightened on the trigger and the rifle slammed hard into his shoulder. Wolfe had once said "Never fire a Mosin-Nagant prone" and he could now understand the sentiment. He quickly cycled the action ready for a follow-up shot.
At the sight of Samuel going for his gun and the sound of James' shot, Karl and Peggy both dropped their fingers onto their triggers and squeezed. Peggy didn't even realise she had fired until the rifle kicked back against her shoulder.
Teri, Kris and Wolfe also fired, the sound of their shots merging into a thunder.
you decide who was targeted and who was hit - some may have been targeted by more than one person, some may not have been targeted at all - D6, anyone?. The Terra Novans are firing hunting ammunition, designed for rapid expansion and the rapid despatch of game (none of them signed the Hague Convention)
edited 14th Sep '15 11:15:27 PM by Wolf1066
Laugh and grow dank!
[The Plains]
Crowe made a show of pulling the shard of shrapnel out of the back of his head. It unstuck with an audible rasp of metal on metal. He looked at it, turned it over in his hand for a moment, then tossed it away.
Gruffly, he muttered to Cyrus, "I'm fine. More worried about how we're gonna deal with that thing, personally." He jerked his head to indicate the Krogan that was busy laying about their comrades. "Please tell me you have some kind of firearm, and not just that ridiculous handheld drill."
Crowe popped the cylinder on his weapon, checked the battery, then closed it back up. He rose in a half-crouch over the ditch's embankment, aimed briefly, and squeezed the trigger. A marble-sized orb of dense green plasma exploded from the weapon's muzzle and streaked towards the Krogan battlemaster.
yey
Drummer Boy
[Edge of the Forest]
"The armor... the damn armor!" he muttered.
Cyrus got his hand out of the drill and transferred the fire and lightning rifle hanging on his back to his hands. It would be fantastic if he could just electrocute the damn brute. His rifle could handle almost enough power to fry a regular human in one go (though he'd have to let it cool down for quite a while afterward). But this wasn't a human, and the armor designers had to know that conductive full-body armor was less than optimal, right?
A seed of an idea formed in his mind. He had no idea if it would work, or if it was even feasible, but if the armor could stop lightning, he wouldn't have many options.
"Crowe. Keep it from looking down," Cyrus said quietly as he aimed just below the face part of the krogan's helmet and slowly moved the rifle's muzzle upward, hoping Crowe would get the hint if he didn't hear him. He didn't know how good the krogan's hearing was, but he didn't want to take any risks.
He aimed at the face and squeezed the rifle's trigger several times in quick succession. His goal was to keep the krogan facing forward or upward or better yet, make it pause its movement for even half a moment as it turned to see where the plasma and lightning were coming from or pull out another grenade or something. If Cyrus felt that he had a decent enough opening, step one of his plan would go forward. But he was getting desperate enough to go ahead even if the krogan's behavior made it more difficult. In that case, he'd possibly have to draw on Kito's energy reserves and risk accidentally switching bodies in the middle of a fight. Fenrirs and Wolfram always trained themselves to fight in their partner's bodies just in case this happened, but the moment of the switch would be disorienting.
edited 15th Sep '15 3:27:34 AM by SnowyFoxes
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
[Desert]
Oh phew. John thought, He isn't pissed.
He was surprised to see more footprints. Jesus, how much did he walk? How many more footprints did he have? Either way, it was their best chance at finding a town.
"I'm pretty stumped." John said, "So we should probably keep following those footsteps." He then chuckled, "And the best part about a trip is getting to know one another." He pointed to the path ahead. "Let's get a move on."
[SOUTHERN DESERT]
Christopher blinked at Samuel's judgment that he would effectively use himself as bait. He would've objected had Samuel not also ordered that no-one ask questions. He waited until the Terra Nova to make their move.
"Approach quietly... Shoot to kill. Not the one in purple or black." Christopher commanded the APO's, while handing Tana her .45 Colt revolver. In the meantime, he had taken out his own .38 Glock pistol. He would've settled on a .22, but Tana insisted on something that would do more efficient damage if needed.
By now, the robots, their arms already morphing into the weapons seen before, were a bit behind the Terra Nova, but still close by, closely accompanied by Tana, with Christopher in last.
True, Samuel had walked up to the occultists with just his pistol, but compared to almost everyone else, she felt somewhat embarrassed for bringing one of the smallest weapons.
While the Terra Nova group took cover behind a bush, the others took cover behind a rock that was about half the size of the one that Tana had parked behind.
Finally, Samuel gave the signal. First, the APO's opened fire, with a rate comparable to machine-guns. Tana was next, followed by Christopher, who was displaying doubt and nervousness not unlike Peggy's. Possibly even more so.
edited 15th Sep '15 2:11:57 PM by TroPartner
They/Them
[Edge of the Forest]
Azuhl had become one with the physical world again, his ethereal form having expired its duration and he knew that now was the time to act.
Noticing that a few skeletons remained, as well as considering that there might be more, he quickly shifted his bag to allow him to take out three items. Two were potions, a faint bubbling sound coming from within the bottles. The other, was a bowl, which had a white fondue substance that smelled heavily of sugar, and a small plate held to it with a pair of leather strips.
Gulping down the fondue and washing it down with both the potions, Azuhl could feel the magic well up within him, his reserves of magicka expanding. He dropped his shield as he readied a spell within both his hands, which shone a dazzling blue and white light as Azuhl motioned himself to cast, his arms by his side before seeming to strike the ground itself as an all consuming wave of purifying magical energy turned any undead that didn't survive into ashes.
He took a breather before picking up his shield and unsheathing his scimitar and charged after Moreg, hoping the beasts shield would break soon.
Note to self: Pick less edgy username next time.
PAINKILLER
[Southern Desert]
Samuel fired a quick shot of light at Vargas. It hit him in the shoulder, and it ripped the tendons and muscles involved. He fell back and yelled out. It was lost in the unison of resulting gunshots.
The occultists barely had time to react. Two who were nearest to the underbrush were ripped apart by the AP Os and another shot from James. Another two were injured, but still active. Two were unscathed, and reasonably pissed. Stray fire damaged the side of one of the hovercraft, making it topple over.
One turned to where the others were. She felt doubt and fear in that direction. She ran towards the underbrush and created red runes at her fingertips. She threw them in one direction, and sliced down a certain piece of foliage— the ones hiding Karl and Peggy. An injured male followed behind her, though slower as his leg was shot. He had a regular pistol in hand.
Another stood within the encampment and shouted, "Tenebreaum, come," as he created a mass of inky shadow wisps on the ground around him. The wisps formed into pillars and fired off like tendrils, towards the others. They sliced through the air quickly, though becoming thinner the farther they went. One struck near Christopher and Tana, but the others dissipated.
Samuel waited for a pause in firing to run after Todd. He stopped, and found trouble.
An occultist, with hood thrown back, held up the captive under his arm. He held a magical pistol to the Commander's head. A bullet had hit him in the cheek, and the tissue was torn up. He shouted through bloodied teeth, "Sha-al tenbran, hamabuh qual desraya!"
Samuel fired. The occultist fell back without firing a shot.
Todd dropped with him, but stumbled out of his grasp. Samuel ran to him and held him up. The blond man looked up at him, and smiled in relief. "Thank God you came."
"I'm getting you out," the Colonel said, and reached around his back to undo the cloth binding. It was in a tight knot. Samuel's fingers shook from adrenaline but still managed to get his friend free. Immediately, Todd threw his arms around him and kissed him.
Samuel shoved him back. He snapped, "What the hell you doing? Now? When there's—"
Vargas came from behind and created a slash of darkness. It tore through Samuel's back, piercing through skin and jacket. He let out a cry.
Todd stared up into the piercing eyes. Vargas made a wicked smile, though he was unaware that he was in an open space.
The injured cultist said something along the lines of: "I can kill, for those you have!" which means he will kill for revenge. Also, the plot thickens.
Life is hard, that's why no one survives.
Attitude is prohibited
[Edge of the Forest]
Miyuki had never seen a wraith before. She was entirely unsure of what to make of it. Nevertheless, she had yet to meet anything that could legitimately outmaneuver her in the air. This thing, whatever it was, would learn that soon enough. She charged at it, sword at the ready, moving at a tremendous speed and rapidly gaining more. She neared it, waited for the right moment, and unleashed a powerful swing at its cloaked torso.
Nothing.
Miyuki didn't stop, but her mind raced. She was sure she hadn't missed, and yet, her strike had been totally ineffectual. Could this be magic? She thought. Whatever it was, she'd never seen anything like it, and charging at the source all alone seemed unwise given all the surprises the battle had already produced. She needed help; someone who was more familiar with these kinds of things... But who?
Although confident that she was faster than her pursuer, she knew she couldn't run forever. Cyrus, that large dog that travelled with him, and Crowe were the closest, and although she didn't trust the latter, she needed that wraith dealt with. She dove into the ditch they were taking cover in, a black-clad blur rushing out of the sky, decelerating in time to avoid kicking up much dust when she landed. "HEY!" She shouted, over the din of battle, and then simply pointed to the hideous, cloaked spirit that had been summoned to attack her.
Meanwhile, Hoshi was more than fast enough to easily escape the grenade's blast radius and hide behind a tree to avoid any rogue bits of shrapnel. She was planning on teaching the bulky jerkass who'd just tried to kill her a very painful lesson about underestimating her, but saw that he was currently occupied, what with his being shot at by at least two people and rushed by a scimitar-wielding third. The brief pause let her observe the krogan's shields, and she was grateful she hadn't had to find out about them the hard way. Like slamming into them, for instance.
Even so, she wasn't about to let everyone else have all the "fun." She had been planing on holding back - if only to avoid annoying Brin - but that notion was quickly abandoned. When she got the chance, she'd start hitting that man-beast-thing as hard as she could. And if he died, well, that was his fault. He picked the wrong day to sic a skeleton army on a bunch of loosely-affiliated mercenaries. Still hiding behind a tree, she'd wait until Azuhl had the krogan's attention, and then she'd charge at his back...
[Main Street]
"Carol... Who?" Said Hana. "Regardless, maybe it's all the slurring, but I'm not quite sure I've parsed your argument correctly." Her brow furrowed slightly. "If there is at least one all-powerful deity figure out there, and it is not malicious, and indeed, it cares for humanity at least some amount and desires an overall positive relationship with humanity, why would it permit the existence of evil? Why would there be suffering and hardship? Why do all things not live in harmony?" She considered. "And if it is ambivalent, then there is little point in worshipping it, and thus, even if there is a god, there might as well not be, and religion remains a construction of the human imagination." She said, partially continuing the conversation and partially just thinking aloud.
She paused, briefly, took stock of what she was doing, and sighed. "Of course, if there is no supernatural power reigning over all of reality, then I have no-one but myself to blame for trying to have such a discussion with a thoroughly drunk man making ridiculous claims in the middle of this rather anachronistic town." She shook her head. "Let's pretend I believe you, for a moment." She continued. "You said something about a 'Tenrasm' a minute ago? What's that?"
Not entirely dead.
[Edge of the Forest]
It was easy to see that Azuhl was pretty much cornered against this thing. He had a short time to consider his options and he figured now, more than ever, was the time to start thinking tactically. Of course, he had the advantage of being Dragonborn.
"Feim Zii Gron!"
Again, he shouted and his form became one with the ether. He merely had to stand in place, unyielding and without action.
Of course, he couldn't help but taunt the Krogan, "You look like a Paatru's uglier cousin!"
Note to self: Pick less edgy username next time.