A Game of Gods: A Multiversal Challenge

Zod followed, flying higher in an attempt to rise above the storm.

Bolas' bulk became a featureless shadowed blob due to the reduced visibility of the sandstorm, but unlike Zod he used this to his advantage. His leathery wings were tough enough to withstand the blowing sand, and he gently placed an awareness of his presence into the minds of all challengers, so if they looked upon his obscured form they would know it was him.

edited 29th May '11 3:40:09 PM by SOCR

"What kind of goggles are those?" Spriggan asked Kimimaro, thanking himself that he had his balaclava on.

"Standard sandstorm goggles made by the shinobi from Sunagakure. Since their country, the Land of Wind, is pretty much one big desert, they make a not-insignificant amount of money selling these goggles to visitors from other nations, especially since there are some magnificent old caves that are a beautiful tourist attraction about six and a half kilometers from their village, on the other side of a well-known sandstorm area."

edited 29th May '11 3:46:26 PM by DKN117

Raz slipped his goggles over his eyes and followed the others into the sandstorm.

"Interesting. I may have to get one of them goggles and skip the cloth with it since I'm wearing a balaclava."

Once the group had made all their preparations, Dr. Langley set out after Ravage; in an effort to reduce her exposure to the elements—a necessity, given that a labcoat over work clothes did not exactly offer one the same degree of protection against sand-filled winds as heavy clothes and the like—she moved herself into Bolas' shadow, allowing the large dragon to soak up the brunt of the sand with his bulk and spare the group from getting scoured by the howling desert winds. As they pressed on across the undulating dunes, the group would notice that they were being watched; morlocks and ophidians could be seen atop the crests of distant hills and in the valleys between dunes, observing the challengers' progress and yet making no effort to impede their progress.

It was disconcerting, to say the least; why had these nightmarish entities, who had spent the las several hours attempting to kill the group in horrific ways, abruptly decided to leave them alone and to permit the group to pass unscathed? Neither Ravage nor Dr. Langley knew the answer, and neither could say whether this ignorance was a boon or a curse.

Putting such questions to the backs of their minds, the pressed on; and ten long, dusty minutes later they crested a fairly large dune and came upon the digsite. It was a massive installation, a deep, conical pit which had been dug around a set of sprawling ruins which resembled a bizarre mixture of the temples of Ankor Wat and a termite mound; the main entrance was a yawning, circular chasm which looked as though it had been bored into the face of the sandstone temple by the burrowing actions of some giant worm, and a pair of massive stone karkarlikarrh stood on either side of the entrance, large blades resembling tulwars clutched in each of the great idols' four hands as they maintained a silent vigil over the expansive desert with their intricately-carved, multifaceted compound eyes.

Scaffolding covered the walls of the temple like ivy, covered in sand and long-since abandoned, and a towering barricade had been built in front of the entrance to keep out the sand—or, if Dr. Ikari's earlier report had been accurate, to keep the archaeologists trapped within. Two sentry towers swepped the air around the temple with powerful spotlights, and a pair of boxy, turreted vehicles which could only be twenty-ninth century tanks hovered twenty feet up in the air, circling the digsite with a speed and agility which belied their bulk.

Soldiers stood within the barricade, manning numerous gun emplacements; outside, a vast horde of the creatures clawed at the door, jostling one another and milling about in an effort to get inside.

Rey studied the circumstances in silence, then looked to Langley, simply offering, "Worms."

"So..." Kimimaro spoke, just loud enough to be heard. "Are we going in noisy and chaotic, carving through them, or are we stealthing our way in?"

A sly smile crossed Raz's face. "Maybe a little bit of both. I have an idea."

Spriggan eyed the soldiers and drew out his karambit without the blade.

"Let me know if we sneak in as part of the plan..."

Flandre brought her hands up to keep her hat on her head and to block the sand from getting in her eyes. She frowned and said "They look weaker then the monsters. I bet we could beat them all up."

Ravage's tail swished back and forth as the Predacon swept his gaze across the digsite, considering what would be the best course of action. The tanks would be a problem, to be sure, and the gun emplacements which had been set up along the barricade looked as though they could tear him to shreds in a nanoklik; furthermore, if there were any soldiers stationed inside, they might pose a threat to Dr. Ikari and what remained of his crew. In fact, were Ravage in Washington's place, he would have ordered some of his men to keep their guns trained on Dr. Ikari at all times so that they could have a bargaining chip to field against Dr. Langley; if the Predacon's estimates were correct, she would not be able to act if her actions would put her husband in danger.

As he pondered these things, a surge of motion drew his attention to the barricade. One of the creatures had broken from the rest of the pack and had begun to scale the wall, carving handholds into the metal with its thick claws. The soldiers above reacted with alarm, and several troops wasted no time in taking aim at the spelunking morlock and hitting it with a few quick bursts from their assault rifles; their shots shredded the creature's body, but did not destroy the core, and it tumbled from the wall as it began to regenerate.

Dr. Langley had noticed this as well, and she brought a hand up to grasp her chin through the fabric of her mouth cloth. "So the soldiers aren't merely keeping Shin in, but also keeping the monsters out? Interesting..."

"Are any of you skilled in the crafting of illusions?" Kimimaro asked the other Challengers and Overlords. "We could use them as decoys to draw the guards' attention."

"I could do so, illusions real enough to cause harm at that. What do you need?"

"Personally, I have no need for illusions," Ravage remarked idly, engaging his cloaking device and vanishing from sight; only the faint impressions of his feet in the sand betrayed the presence of the transmetal panther. "That said, if you have a plan I am all audioreceptors."

"I can help distract them." Flandre said happily. She pulled out a card and got ready to use it.

Spriggan got out his suppressor and began to insert it on the barrel of his G36C.

"Hmm... Perhaps an illusory wave of Morlocks attacking the ruins... enough that most of the soldiers will head over to 'fight' them, while we sneak in through the gaps in their defenses left by that. Or does anyone have any other plans to get us in there?"

Narumi got out of the ruined bus, now even more injured. His walks now turn into stumbles. Anyone who looks at him will know that he does not have that much time left before he kicks it.

Link trudged alongside Kimimaro. He had not been that much affected by the heat on the bus – he had had his Goron Tunic on, which allowed him to survive inside volcanoes. Now he walked along the sandy desert with a look of boredom on his face.

“Deserts… again.”

He covered his mouth to protect him from the blowing sands. Then he noticed Narumi.

“You’re… not ok, are you?” He walked over, an expression of concern on his face. “Heal.”

Narumi would feel a surge of strength as his wounds and injuries faded away.

Link stepped back, visibly more tired. “That should do it.” Healing so many injuries at one time had taken quite a lot out of him.

He resumed his position beside Kimimaro. He turned to Doctor Langely.

“Doctor…I apologize for my wanton behaviour. It was completely uncalled for. I was far too emotional then….”

The look on his face was earnest.

“It may be too much to ask… but will you forgive me?”

"Thanks, Rin-kun." Narumi said as his stumble digressed into a limp.

Though her face could not be seen behind her goggles and mouthcloth, Dr. Langley bore a faint scowl for a few moments. Then she sighed and turned to face Link. "Alright. Appology accepted."

Ravage, meanwhile, shrugged as best he was able from his feline form. "If these soldiers were particularly disciplined, I doubt that such a tactic would work...but as it stands, I see little alternative if we wish to get inside without risking the lives of Dr. Ikari and his crew."

"Having had little time to actually study these creatures I doubt I could replicate them, but I could do something more generic, if you wish."

edited 29th May '11 7:01:52 PM by SOCR

—Megatron snapped his fingers, tapping at his processor.

A memory of a battle long past appeared in his mindscape, showing the holoclonic army of Reflectors on the march, screening the much larger 'Cons.—

edited 29th May '11 7:06:19 PM by Colonial1.1