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+--- Thread: Dark on the Waters [Dark Data] (/showthread.php?tid=3009)
RE: Dark on the Waters [Dark Data] - The Vision - 08-04-2017
The Vision glanced at the Terminator as he tended to Moon Knight's wounds.
"Request: Mr. Wright, please watch the Tower. I will depart and investigate the situation."
And with that, the Vision's body became a fraction of its weight, its molecules passing unhindered through the glass walls of Avengers Tower. He soared over the waters, his island disappearing behind him. The air which would normally provide resistance instead passed through his body. But this did little to increase his speed. He needed to move faster.
Thankfully, he did not require further research to deduce any locations of interest when it came to these "Darklings." At this time, he could visually confirm the raging battle that was taking place. The island was being ravaged by all manners of Vasty Deep denizens. A ship fired artillery after artillery at the cornered Primes on the island. A red disc zipped around in the sky, blasting its weapons at airborne monsters.
The Vision grit his teeth and pushed harder. He zipped forward, approaching the aircraft. He quickly scanned the situation and calculated the best course of action. There were three purple and blue pelican-like animals if pelicans’ beaks could be as large as their entire body. These three pelicans were hot on the aircraft’s tail, propelling large bubbles from their mouths. To the android’s surprise, these bubbles seemed to be doing substantial damage to the aircraft.
> set.selfvalue density zone[11051335] 231.3415%
Shifting...
The Vision threw a punch at one of the pelicans, landing the hyper-dense fist in its beak. The bird shrieked as it started to fall out of the sky.
> set.selfvalue density zone[11051335] $reset
Shifting...
> run “gazerbeam.exe”
Running...
The Vision glared and seared the other two birds, setting them back slightly. The pelicans furiously shrieked. The Vision responded by burning their wings. The birds all descended slowly.
The aircraft’s pilot watched the Vision curiously. The android nodded.
“Hello!” the pilot shouted.
“Hello.”
“Who are you?”
“I am the Vision. I am here to help.”
A loud crack resounded across the island. The pilot clicked his tongue in frustration.
“Blast those shells!”
The aircraft zoomed forward in response. The Vision scanned his surroundings to better understand his surroundings.
The red ship spun in the air as it shot some artillery shells out of the sky. It zipped around, and from the cloud of smoke that remained, a swarm of burning monsters like the ones on the island fell to the ground. Five more pelicans appeared from the trees below, holding cannons that appeared to originate from 18th century privateers. The Vision promptly consolidated the anachronistic and physics-defying aspect of these birds and shot himself forward at the birds.
> run “unibeam.exe”
Running...
The center of the Vision’s chest opened, revealing a glowing glass cylinder. It hummed as the energy charged within it. The Vision grunted, and the arc reactor suddenly burst, releasing an explosion of white-hot energy. Three of the pelicans screeched, horribly burnt from the attack. The blast had knocked the cannons out of their claws. The Vision plummeted a short distance to avoid being crushed by a cannonball, disintegrating it with his optical heat generators as it fell to the ground.
> run “mjolnir.exe”
Running...
Thor’s legendary hammer tessellated in the Vision’s hand. The android swung upwards with the weapon, smacking one of the birds. Lightning coursed through the bird’s body, and its feathers stood on end. The blow seemed to kill it instantly, and it fell to the ground.
“That,” the Vision muttered, “was incredibly effective.”
The Vision leapt forward and slammed the hammer into another bird, killing it almost immediately as well. Another series of resounding booms announced the cannon balls from the attacking ship.
The Vision scowled and shot forward.
> run “gazerbeam.exe”
Running...
Red-hot beams of energy cut into one of the cannon balls, carving it into pieces. The monsters inside seemed to shout in fear as they fell to the ground. The Vision aimed it at another cannonball, shredding it into superheated shards of shrapnel. He flew sharply to the right, knocking a third cannonball out of the sky with Mjolnir. The hammer crumbled into pixels. The android did not notice a fourth artillery shell nearly hitting him.
But it simply passed through the Vision’s body harmlessly. The android blinked, then blasted it into pieces again.
The red aircraft had shot most of the other shells before it reached the ground. The Vision looked down and noticed the other fighters on the jungle island below. There was a red humanoid with some sort of technologically advanced weaponry, a blond man with an unnecessarily large sword, and...
“Ms. Ferguson,” Vision exclaimed quietly.
A wave of bubbles hit him from behind, catching him by surprise. Enraged, the Vision spun around mid-air and stuck out both of his palms.
> run “webshooters.exe”
Running...
Two nets of spider-web shot forward from the Vision’s wrists and entangled the two pelicans on his tail. As they fell, unable to flap their webbed wings, the Vision increased his body weight tenfold and tackled one of the birds in mid-air.
He landed heavily through some trees next to the fighters, his red eyes glowing.
> shut_down “gazerbeam.exe”
Cooling optical heat generators...
The eyes stopped glowing, and the Vision nodded to the fighters.
“Hello. I am the Vision. I am here to help. How may I assist?”
Quote:I'm told it's 893 words. tl;dr, I helped Jaco with his task, shooting shells and Pelippers out of the sky, and landed next to the other doods.
RE: Dark on the Waters [Dark Data] - Koehler - 08-05-2017
“Keep moving inland and stay low!” Cole could hear Protoman shouting over the fierce bombardment that tore the land asunder, splintering and disintegrating trees and corrupted wildlife in booming brilliant explosions, leaving little but craters of mud and unfortunate corpses of the corrupted, caught within the indiscriminate fire of their own ships from far away.
To the group, it seemed as if the very skies above were crashing down around them, and while the hordes had receded, they were swiftly replaced by a cornucopia of pirates wielding flintlocks and steel, beasts of seemingly endless variety, and the corrupted citizenry that some might have even known before their futures turned so sour.
“Happy trails,” Cole started, sardonically mocking the man who so recklessly warned them of the incoming bombardment mere moments before it began. Hearing one of the cannonballs screaming towards where he was standing and not waiting for it to slam into the ground, Cole dodged and rolled out of the way. Where he once stood, an explosion and shrapnel quickly occupied it and shredded the nearby beasts and pirates, while Cole simply watched on as they were cut down by unforgiving friendly fire, “these guys are insane!”
“Let’s clear them a path!” Blink shouted towards Cole as she flew along the treetops in a blaze, cutting her way through the pirates ahead and nimbly dodging the larger opponents for the preteen robot and the trained soldier to handle.
Without a word in reply, the blonde gunman flew in behind her, as they darted from shattered trees to crevices and craters, weaving through the falling ordinance, in most cases narrowly dodging an explosive death. This left the red robot and the valiant blonde to cut through the devastation and falling foes, as the group collectively pushed towards their objective in the hopes of relief.
Though relief from the raining ordinance came in a way they didn’t readily expect.
Up above them, the red disk that Jaco piloted was flittering about as a blur, lancing down enemies and bombs alike in an effort to shield the advancing heroes as best he could muster, driven onward by his motivation to protect his idol. He was accompanied by a flying humanoid that shot lasers out of his eyes and torso, or so Cole could make out in the chaotic battlefield they were in. They managed to lighten the barrage and cut down a majority of the immediately threatening aerial assailants, before the flying superhero landed with a resounding thud nearby the group of beleaguered primes.
The green and yellow android introduced himself, with quite the thunderous and explosive entrance, as Vision. That now made two robots with lasers, and at this point, Cole gave up trying to hold on to his grip with reality as he understood it.
“We’re making our way to the center of the island, where the enemy is coming from.” Protoman explained, seemingly not batting an eyelash that yet another strange hero just dropped from the sky.
Cole and Blink were too preoccupied attempting to clear a path ahead for the now three comrades that they were attempting to support. Blink herself seemed too engrossed in the battle to take note of the newcomer immediately.
“Watch out!” She exclaimed, and Cole reactively tried to flip out of the way of an incoming cannon shot that tore into the ground where he stood, but the explosion caught him off guard, knocking him aside in a flurry of shrapnel. He quickly recovered from the shockwave, managing to be distant enough to avoid most of the shrapnel, though some heated shards of metal had embedded into his arms and legs.
A deafening blast from behind him rung out as he landed and he could feel superheated metal sear through his shoulder. He screamed in pain before quickly turning around and lancing the crafty pirate through with one of his beams, leaving a gaping hole in the corrupted man’s head as he slumped to the ground.
Behind him, yet more enemies were charging headlong after him, pirates, strange yellow and black rats made sickly pale from corruption, and a larger, worm-like one made of what appeared to be an obsidian-black stone that tunneled out from below ground.
“Oh give me a break…” The Quincy grimaced, taking aim at the oncoming assailants. Another beam surged from the barrel of his gun, and was quickly joined by twin red ones that tore through the first three combatants, causing them to erupt into a blaze of fire and smoke that threw the others away. The android that so heroically appeared before was now standing beside him.
“Are you alright?” The alien robot inquired of the injured Quincy.
“It’s nothing I haven’t dealt with before. Just keep going.” He replied with a forced grin. In truth, his shoulder was aflame with pain with the shrapnel and the bullet still lodged in his shoulder. There wasn’t much to be done about it in the current situation though, Cole knew, so he would have to manage with just one arm for some time.
The robot nodded before continuing his flight forward, cutting a swath through the enemies ahead with a mixture of fiery beams and a hammer that, while seeming small for its size, hit surprisingly hard, enough to knock enemies clear off their feet. Protoman and Cloud weren’t far behind, fortunately, as Cole regrouped with them and continued onward. The wounds stung and ached, but didn’t slow him down much, as he continued to provide ranged support for the duo.
RE: Dark on the Waters [Dark Data] - Proto Man - 08-06-2017
The preteen machine held out a hand and summoned his shield at the first mention on the oncoming explosive salvos. With a grunt, he slung it up over his body and crouched as low to the ground as he could make himself. Clenching the handle with one hand, he used the other to start tearing apart the think, peaty ‘soil’ that lay between him and the oceans underneath Sabaody. Scans told him he had a few feet to go before he’d start swimming, so he could afford to tear out a small fox hole in lieu of a properly sandbagged trench system.
Another bombardment fell upon the island as the group continued to press into the interior of the archipelago. With any luck, they would find the source of the monsters who sought to burn the place to the ground. Behind them, the constant threat of the troopers loomed. From the occasional sounds in the sky above, Proto Man knew that they had at least some form of aerial support. Even better than the intermittent support from beyond the canopy was the entrance of another prime. Whatever ‘the Vision’ was supposed to be, he knew how to carry himself as the controlled withdrawal continued to verge on becoming a rout.
Hadn’t Proto Man come from a giant party filled with primes near Costa del Sol? Was it better to get drunk and play volleyball in the sand than save people’s lives? The thought brought a frown to the young machine’s visage as a chunk of shrapnel skittered across the surface of his shield. He knew by now that he shouldn’t be surprised with other people. More often than not, people were selfish and cowardly. Those people probably wouldn’t bother to react to the horrors unfolding here until they knocked down their Ferris Wheel or interrupted their surfing experience.
The bombardment subsided, and Proto Man dismissed his bulwark and pulled himself up out of the little fox hole. Once again, the darklings had shattered another few acres of the island in their failed efforts to smash the group of warriors. Although a few of them were sporting some cuts and bruises, adrenaline and determination blurred any feelings of impending mortality as the group verified everyone’s survival and press forward. They had barely any time, as the skittering of wings and the droning of jetpack engines could already be heard massing in the shattered words behind them.
Rising into the skies above them, the Vision’s eyes burned red once more as he laid down suppressing fire into the burning trees. For his part, Proto Man planted himself beneath the hovering machine and added to the general conflagration with a rapid succession of uncharged bursts. Despite notifications from targeting reticles and updates from his extra-sensory apparatuses, the small robot knew they had to keep up their withdrawal/push to the center of the island. There had to be a focal point for their attackers or someplace where they were being beamed in or manufactured or outfitted. Whatever it may be, it had to be destroyed.
“Let’s go!” Proto Man shouted up to the Vision, who glanced down and nodded before discharging a final laser burst into the trees. After that, he pivoted and moved to rejoin the rest of the group.
The preteen machine kept the Proto Buster primed as he jogged forward to the quickly moving train of primes. Cloud had dropped back, so the soldier was within ten yards of the red robot as they press on through a patch of undefiled trees. Attempts to triangulate positioning using GPS and some online layout data on Sabaody had yet to progress to the point where it would be worthwhile to Proto Man. Whether that was due to some lack in his firmware or the darklings managing to somehow clutter the data waves would be a mystery he would have to solve after the fact.
Gathering their wits once again, the column pushed on to the interior. Even with just rudimentary maps of the region, Proto Man knew they were close to the epicenter of Sabaody. With the arrival of the Vision, they had enough long-distance firepower to prevent the troopers from closing around them en masse, even if the forest continued to scream and seethe with bolts of energy and occasional bursts of fire or electricity.
What awaited them at the focal point of the attacks? More hornets? Legions of jetpacked troopers? More bombardment from improvised explosives and erupting cannonballs? Whatever their odds may be, the primes knew that they had to press forward. Unlike their peers, they had already bid farewell to the dream of a world of isolation. They would have to make a stand against whatever sought to destroy them and this archipelago. The Empire wouldn’t keep fighting forever, especially this distance from Costa. Eventually, they’d reach a point where they were expending too much on too little, and they would shorten their fronts to more economically and commercially salient defensive points.
This collection of primes would have to be the difference makers. If they failed out here in the Vasty Deep, they wouldn’t just fail themselves but all the countless people spread out across the oceans of the tropical verse. Should he call Mickey and Minnie? The question was instantly shaken out of the robot’s head—the two had already gone through enough. While he had phantoms of human emotion, Proto Man was made of steel. The two mice, more wonderful than anyone else he had met, were too emotionally broken. They needed the tranquility of the Hawaiian seaside community, lest they be broken any further
Proto Man had forsaken his summertime dream of pina coladas and beach volleyball to stand up for something bigger than himself. Even if the vast majority of people didn’t care, he would try his hardest to make up for their selfishness. It was the least he could do for the verse that had served as his home for the last many months.
RE: Dark on the Waters [Dark Data] - Cloud Strife - 08-07-2017
Spare time was not something that the group had at this very second. With the threat of enemy troops and artillery crashing down from above coupled with the the enemies that seemed to be popping out of the woodwork, the group didn’t exactly have the time for introductions. Cloud had no time to introduce himself to the group’s new arrival, he had to worry about finding a way out of this shrapnel filled shitstorm. The only way of doing so seemed to lie within heading further into the archipelago. The cavalcade of primes heading deeper into the charred island as the torrential downpour of explosives seemed to be endless.
‘How many explosives could they possibly have?’ Cloud thought to himself as he and his robot companion vaulted over a large, uprooted, mangrove trunk. They were only twenty or so metres behind the rest of the group, but it seemed so much farther than it really was under these conditions.
‘Do you know how far we have to go?’ the blond mercenary questioned, looking at Proto Man. A couple of seconds passed by as he waited for a response, but the robot only responded with a shake of his head. They’d just have to keep moving for the time being.
‘Watch out.’ An oddly familiar voice warned, causing Cloud to stop dead in his tracks. Proto stopping just a few feet ahead of him with a puzzled look on his face.
‘What’s wrong?’ the robot questioned.
‘You didn’t say anything just now?’
The robot replied with a swift shake of his head and a look of confusion. At that moment, a hulking figure burst through one of the barely held together mangrove trees and towards the duo. The oversized darkling charged towards Proto and Cloud, letting out a loud growl as it stomped over the broken trees. The duo halted it’s assault, the blond with his massive grey blade, and the robot with his shield. With nothing else to do, the three of them stood there, locked in place.
‘Well, this is bad.’ Proto Man stated matter-of-factly as the beast, like a broken record, let out another growl. It was accurate to say that this one was much stronger than the last one, though maybe that was because last time the duo weren’t both being engaged at once. They had no time for this, the longer they stood in one spot, the closer one of the many explosions came to ending their lives.
‘We don’t have time for this!’ Cloud exclaimed. To his surprise, his cry was answered by three, perfectly aimed, shots from Cole’s weapons. They struck the creature in the back of the head, breaking it’s focus long enough for Proto and Cloud to throw it off balance. Blink, with her teleportation, landed on the darkling’s backside, plunging her dagger into its flesh several times over before being shaken off. Now angrier than before, the corrupted being grabbed at the purple skinned woman. Proto had other plans in mind though and, with one swing of his energy blade, cleaved off both of the ogre’s forearms. Cloud followed Blues’ lead the mercenary lopped off it’s head, watching as it’s lifeless body dropped to the ground. It was done, and they could finally continue their escape.
‘Let’s go.’ Cloud spoke as he joined Proto Man and Blink, the three of them rejoining the larger group.
Though one thing had bothered the mercenary. He’d clearly heard a voice warn him before, and Blues definitely didn’t hear anything. Had he heard the darkling earlier and just subconsciously reminded himself? No, that couldn’t be it. He’d definitely heard a voice or, at least, thought he had. Either way, he didn’t have the time to split his focus right now. He’d just have to focus on the task at hand.
Escaping this bombing zone.
RE: Dark on the Waters [Dark Data] - Belle - 08-07-2017
It was mid-day, and Hell had come to Sabaody.
Crouching in the brush, Belle motioned for quiet from the child behind her. One second, maybe two, and then the snarling of the dark creatures reached a fever pitch. They stumped, raced, and trampled past her hiding spot in a mad rush, their eyes fixated straight ahead and boiling with anger. All shapes and sizes, all with one singular purpose – to attack.
The ground shook underneath Belle's sandal clad feet as the remains of Sabaody's zoo stampeded past her, only now inky black and riddled with glowing veins. Stampy, the zoo's prized elephant, lumbered with frightening speed through the center of it, his trumpeting cry garbled - deep and thick and undulating.
Muffled noise behind her. Belle put out an arm to wrap it around the small girl that shared her hiding spot, using her other hand to stroke the child's hair. The girl trembled, hands clasped over her mouth to try and stifle her noises.
Belle had found her soon after the onset of the madness, crying in the middle of a field of carnage as black shapes began to pour through. Belle herself had been taking a break from swimming, enjoying the fruits of a popsicle stand when the screams had started to rise. No one had been expecting it.
Belle shifted her weight, leaning a little further forward, sweeping the area through a small crack in the foliage. The sounds of the corrupted animals were fading into the distance. If she didn't take her chance now, she might not get another one.
Grasping the child, Belle swept her up into her arms, and ran, cutting across the debris-laden path the dark ones had cut through the forest undergrowth. Sounds of battle rose to join the howling – the military was fighting back, what small pieces of it were left stationed on the island. Belle quickened her pace, telling the little girl to hold tighter to her as she reached inside of herself.
She willed her soul to move, and the flesh obliged in turn. The forest became a blur as Belle accelerated. She felt the girl's nails biting against her, clutching for dear life. Belle felt a twinge of guilt that momentarily overshadowed everything else – but the military would only hold out for so long, and the evacuation that had been announced over the island-wide PA had a deadline.
With a burst of speed, Belle launched herself free of the forest, undappled sunlight momentarily blinding her. She tucked the girl close to her chest as she skidded, sandals trailing twin tails of spraying grass.
The small clearing at the edge of the island may have been a quiet retreat at one point in time. Now it was home to thousands of beleaguered residents. More than she thought, but less than she hoped. They were all packed to the shoreline, fighting among themselves to be the first aboard the limited number of pleasure boats.
Belle's heart sank. Sabaody was a small island, with little need for mass transport of tourists from place to place. There simply wasn't enough deck space to house the entirety of the island's population. She was about to ask one of the nearby soldiers why the navy ships weren't being used, but then a double boom of cannon-fire from off-shore answered her question. The ships were being sacrificed to clear the path.
Someone screeched. Belle turned, only to nearly be bowled over as a woman ran up to her, arms outstretched, tears streaming from already puffy, red eyes. “Sammy...!”
Belle let go, releasing the child to her mother. No sign of the father. Belle reminded herself that she couldn't be sure if there even was one. Or maybe he was simply out searching, and would be back soon.
It was those kinds of thoughts that she had to cling to in the madness.
Another cry, but this one not human. A low, deep, undulating cry. Belle turned just in time to see the line of the forest before her explode into splinters. Stampy half sloughed, half charged through, his tusks dripping with the black fluid that covered his body. The elephant was drowning in his own discharge, spitting and heaving.
Screams from behind, screams from ahead. Mad pressing of bodies towards the boats as the mad animal approached, shrugging off machine gun fire, the omnilium infused rounds pockmarking the bubbling surface.
Bikini and sandals wasn't exactly warrior attire, but Belle's fists clenched all the same, her pale blue eyes flashing as she surged in the opposite direction of the crowd, towards the oncoming behemoth.
The machine gun fire silenced as she broke through the crowd. Someone was yelling at her to get down, but she didn't listen. The damn beast must have followed her there. Had she not been quiet enough? Had it heard the little girl? Either way... It was her fault. Just like it always seemed to be.
Only this time, she could do something about it.
Racing at the mutated titan, Belle felt the power inside her surge through her body, infusing her muscles. The feeling was delirious, freeing.
Stampy lowered its head, tusks pointed towards her, trunk coiled into a battering ram. At the last instant, Belle slipped her left leg out, sliding low, juking her head to the side. She felt the tusk against her cheek – if it hadn't been coated in the ooze, she was sure she would have been burned. She reached up, grabbing hold, and yanked.
Her momentum carried her forward, through the elephant's legs, as the elephant's head came down, tusks slamming tip first into the earth, its body lifting, almost flipping over, before its own momentum faded, and it rediscovered terra firma with a slam. A groan, more frustrated than hurt, as it struggled to find its footing.
“Hey, big guy,” Belle crooned, hoping she didn't sound as scared as she felt. “I'm over here!”
RE: Dark on the Waters [Dark Data] - Belle - 08-07-2017
Stampy's once friendly eyes turned towards her. Baleful, they scorched with hatred.
Good. That would make her stupid plan a little easier.
Taking her time, Belle turned, bent over, and slapped her bottom. “Missed me~.”
The gasping thrum of the elephant's cry curdled the air, the sound of it like a blast wave, flattening the grass nearby. Belle's hands went to her ears, eyes squinting. Come on, you big bastard, she thought. In the seething crowd, through the pile of pressing bodies, she saw the mother of the child and a small hand that was reached up, clutching at the back of her neck. Come on, you tub of lard! Let's fucking do this!
Stampy took the bait. Pulling its whole body around, it leveled itself at Belle, and charged.
Fast!
Whether or not the beast's power was fueled by its anger or not, Belle didn't know. She just knew she had to move, and quickly. With a brief crouch, filling her legs with energy, she sprinted in the opposite direction of the boats, pausing occasionally to make sure that the crazed animal was following her.
It was. The smaller of Sabaody's trees were exploding, collapsing before the enraged elephant's stampede. But as long as she could stay ahead of him, she would be fine.
As if on queue, the ground suddenly lurched. A deafening explosion assaulted her eardrums as her feet faltered, a root that she had been intending to hop over catching the tips of her toes. She sprawled, rolled, her earns ringing and vision swimming. Had it been the right? The left?
A dark shape bore down on her. Stampy's humongous frame reared in her vision, blocking out the treetops and sky above, front hooves in the air prepared to earn his namesake. Belle pushed off with her hands, but came to a sharp halt, her ankle entangled in roots.
At least she had led it a good distance away, she thought, as the elephant's frame paused in its rearing, ready to descend.
A sharp whistle pierced through the ringing in her ears, and BOOM. The elephant sharply lurched to the side, screaming as black goo showered off its smoking, flaming back. It landed on its side, flailing legs fighting to find purchase.
Belle didn't question it. She sat up, pulled her foot free after a few seconds struggle, and continued running. Whether or not the elephant would get up, it was too far from the clearing to make its way back now.
She hoped.
The island's green colors were mottled into a swirling shade as she moved, favoring her foot until she was sure it hadn't been injured. All she could think of in that moment was putting as much distance between herself and the monster as possible.
Fire continued to rain down – shells, she guessed – shaking the island. More of those things were pouring out of some of the craters left behind, but she was fast enough to leave them in her dust.
Was there anyone else on the island? Should she search for them? She considered doubling back, making for the evacuation zone. A poor chance, but it might be her only one.
Through another set of bushes, putting her arms up. Instead of going through, however, she slammed headlong into something solid, sending it sprawling, herself on top of it.
Shit...!
Panic rose in her throat as she pulled up, raising a fist as she pressed down with her other hand, ready to deliver a quick blow before it could sink its teeth into her.
She froze. Eyes widened. It wasn't a darkling. It was...
“B....Blues?” she asked, looking down at the preteen machine.
There were others around, some weapons being pointed towards her. Mouths opened to answer, to ask questions... But there wasn't any time to answer before the next explosion rocked the ground.
RE: Dark on the Waters [Dark Data] - Nebula - 09-10-2017
The moment of recognition passed quickly, and with no further comment - there was no time.
The sharp, descending whistle of incoming shells filled the air as the bombardment intensified. The stalwart Primes who had battled their way across the floating forest of titan mangroves now scrambled for cover, sheltering within the increasingly shattered foundations of the Sabaody Amusement Park. The scent of sap, seawater, cordite and pulverized peat hung heavy in the air as they huddled beneath the twisted steel skeleton of a roller-coaster, its cars spilled across the cratered paving-stones outside a ruined pavilion. The tent loomed beside them clad in merry bunting, pink and purple and gold lying lopsided and torn, like a murdered Sunday.
"We cannot stay here," observed the Vision, increasing the volume of his synthesized voice in order to be heard over the pounding of the falling shells."This land is composed of compacted peat-moss, barnacle skeletons and other assorted organic debris that has accumulated around the roots of these mangroves. If current stresses-per-square-meter do not abate, I estimate it will begin to break apart within the next one-hundred and seventy-nine seconds."
Amid the shadows and the dust, the device on Proto-Man's wrist, nearly forgotten in the rush of combat and carnage, began to flash a message, relayed automatically through his internal imaging systems.
Nebula Activity Detected - Possible Gate Activity
A shell fell almost directly on top of them, sending a burst of dust and shrapnel, and an absurd rush of merrily colored bubbles washing over the group.
In the ensuing confusion, it took a moment to gather everyone's attention, but soon they were charging over the grassy loam, between the trunks of the lesser mangroves, towards a bridge leading deeper into sabaody, to a different 'island', and away from the park.
What followed was nothing less than a mad dash. As artillery-shells descended like rain and the mighty mangroves were blown apart, beautiful bubbles rose from their shattered roots, drifting up through the cracks as the insubstantial ground began to shift. Darkspawn skittered and leapt over the sandy heaving peat, pursuing the beleaguered squadron of would-be Liberator's without concern for safety or sense. Cole, Vision and Protoman held them off as best they could, taking potshots as they ducked, stumbled and rolled, fleeing towards the bridge. Shadows and fire and chaos drifted across a blur of dream-like green beauty - a vision of flora, bubbles and death.
The Primes were half-way across the bridge when the island they had just left gave a mighty hissing heave, it's enormous central mangrove toppling into the sea with an apocalyptic groan. A ferris-wheel, miraculously still standing but too heavy for the destabilized foundations beneath it, broke through the thin crust of land on which it stood and sank beneath the waves. The discordant death-knell of a calliope rang on the breeze as the deceptively flimsy layer of firmament split, and was rapidly swallowed by the waves.
Beneath the group's fleeing - or in the case of the Vision, flying - feet, the bridge lurched, cracking, but held, and soon they found themselves on more even footing.
Whistling explosive shells still filled the sky, but they weren't falling as densely in this area, mostly arcing above the heroes heads or detonating higher among the canopy. A path extended between the trees, a ribbon of white sand on mossy green, winding under massive arching roots and between the shells of recently-abandoned limestone buildings until it disappeared behind a palisade-wall of freshly-cut tree-branches and loosely-piled sandstone blocks.
Cloud leaned heavily on his buster-sword, taking a moment to catch his breath. Belle sat down hard.
"So what now?" the S.O.L.D.I.E.R asked.
As if in response, his Liberator Aide beeped. All the rest of Regal's bracers started beeping too - and upon checking their displays, they all read the same thing.
Dead Ahead: Nebula Activity Confirmed - beta-level Gate (Portal).
- Likelihood of Primary Stronghold: 2%
- Likelihood of intraversal bulk-transport functions - 97%
- Na@utical re#$ona@nce - 8&%. Sh1p Ah@y.
Quote:Well, that was bracing!
Our heroes have located a portal connected to the ship that's been barraging the hell out of them, secreted within Nebula's Sabaody local command-post. However, in order to breach the perimeter they're going to have to deal with a whole bunch of corrupted pirates. Be aware, these are more than just unpleasant men with guns - some of them doubtless have gimmicks all their own.
You have nine days and up to 1200 words spread over up to two posts to deal with these scalliwags. Just remember - time is of the essence. It's only a matter of minutes before Nebula's battleship receives an updated firing-solution.
RE: Dark on the Waters [Dark Data] - Blink - 09-12-2017
Now this was a ragtag bunch if Blink had ever seen one, and she was what one would call an expert at ragtag groups. The five all moved in close to each other, their backs to the center of the make-shift circle as shadowy figures moved around them. Blink was next to Vision, the cybernetic Avenger she had previously met. Around them were others she had found temporary companionship in: Cole the acrobatic gunslinger, Proto Man the robot boy and Cloud the spikey-haired swordsman. Above them somewhere was a pilot that Blink hated to admit had saved their lives more then once so far. There had been no warming up period to this fight. They had all found each other in the midst of trying to find the source of the darkness, and it was non-stop action every since.
"Are you freakin' kiddin' me?" Blink asked, but did not expect an answer. She had already summoned two pink knives in her hands, moving into a defensive stance. Around the fighters, the shadowy figures moved in closer to reveal a sinister looking bunch surrounding them. They were pirates, in about as classic a sense as you can get, but something was off about them. They all looked glowed a strange black-purple hue, which somehow made them look more pirate-y then they already were. "Pirates, now? We're gonna fight pirates?"
"Sounds fine to me," Cloud said matter-of-factly. It did not sound like he was kidding.
"Ms. Ferguson," Blink heared next to him. She looked up at him, as he towered above her even just standing (and now he was floating). "The portal is that way." He pointed down the sandy path in front of them, which was currently blocked off a line of shady individuals.
Blink looked in the direction of his hand and immediately understood his meaning. She smirked at him. "My name is Claire." She said, giving him the softest of smiles she could. It was the first hint of friendliness she had given in a long while.
"No, it is not," Vision told her.
Without bothering to argue the point, Blink disappeared into one of her signature pink portals. She came out on the other side further down the path, where she could actually see the portal that their bracelets had told them about. It was a dark blue color, almost the complete opposite of her warm, feel-good fuschia gateways. It was surrounded by branches and leaves, suggesting it was created from corrupted the island itself. Unfortunately, that was not the only thing she found. She found herself standing face-to-face with a handful (five? six?) pirate goons. The woman in front was bigger then you'd expect from a sword-wielding scallywag, but she none the less still looked threatening.
"There's one of them now!" The woman bellowed. She pointed her scimitar at the teleporter. "Cut her down, in the name of Tilda Jolly!"
Before Blink could ask what kind of name that was, her posse of pirates rushed forward. As was her trademark move, Blink disappeared again into one of her little rifts. She appeared behind the woman who declared herself Tilda, but instead was greeted with the wrong end of a flintlock pistol.
"It isn't going to be that easy, lassy!"
The pistol's muzzle exploded in a bright white blast of gunpowder. Blink had only a split second to concentrate the teleportation energy, making her glow emerald for a short time as the pistol phased right through her. She blinked her eyes. Tilda did too. Both were confused.
Before Tilda could question what happened, Blink back-flipped to kick the pistol from out of her hand.
Quote:606/1200 words.
Blink has teleported closer to the portal and run into another group of pirates. Her portal will stay active about a dozen seconds if anyone chooses to follow. She is now fighting the notorious overweight pirate, Tilda Jolly, in front of the big portal!
RE: Dark on the Waters [Dark Data] - The Vision - 09-15-2017
If the Vision had a quarter for every time Ms. Ferguson did something brash that made things more difficult for the Vision, he calculated that by now he would have seventy-five cents, and in one year's time, perhaps another fifty. A currency that is frankly meaningless in the Omniverse.
The android rolled his eyes (an undetectable motion, as the Vision had no irises) and flew through the purple portal after the mutant. When he appeared on the other side, his first priority was to chide Ms. Ferguson. He quickly estimated this was to be a low, low priority.
His brain took three milliseconds to notice the pirates, and to decide accordingly as he recorded frame-by-frame Ms. Ferguson's admittedly well-performed flip kick. Still flying, the Vision hardened his body and tackled into a nearby pirate, knocking the dastardly vagabond off his feet.
> run "gazerbeam.exe"
Running...
Charging optical heat engines...
Completed!
The Vision's eyes flared and two hot beams of energy seared the torso of another pirate, dribbles of dark purple matter spilling out of his mouth. Another tried to skewer the Vision with a sword, but the android found it a simple matter to step to the side. His hand was outreached the whole time, as he had seen Thor do when summoning Mjolnir.
Clearly, it worked, the Vision thought, as he smashed the newly formed hammer into the skull of the pirate that tried to attack him.
Ms. Ferguson paused her own beatdown of the rogues to glance at the Vision's hand.
"You're Thor now?" she asked.
"Negative," the Vision said, his voice calm despite the physical exertion of lifting this heavy hammer, "I am the Adaptoid."
"Really?" the mutant said, smacking Tilda's chin with her elbow. A different pirate approached from behind, lifting her cutlass.
The Vision responded by forming a small pink portal around hip height, then swung his hammer through it. The legendary weapon warped through the wormhole and collided with the stomach of the pirate. She went flying, causing Ms. Ferguson to glance in confusion at the Vision. The android dismissed the portal. It was quite draining to maintain, after all.
"Affirmative," the Vision said.
"Kill them!" Tilda bellowed as she brandished her cutlass at Ms. Ferguson, and another swarm of pirates jumped from the bushes.
"Query: were you always able to reduce your body's density?"
"You're not the only one with new tricks," she replied, "And seriously. You can call me Claire."
"But your name is Clarice...?" the Vision asked, burning down a swath of pirates
The Vision swung one last time at one of the newly arrived rogues, and sent him flying into his shipmate. The hammer disintegrated and the Vision scanned his databases for the next optimal move. He found some new Adaptoid files.
> open "iceman.zip"
Opening...
: Iceman.exe
: ReadMe.txt
> run "iceman.exe"
Running...
His hands crystallized, ice crawling between his fingers. Then the Vision instinctively pointed his palms at the hostiles, as he had done for nearly 50 years. A wave of chilled water vapor expelled from his hands, coating the pirates in a layer of frost. They reacted with surprise, yelping and moving back as they felt their muscles slowed by the ice.
As Tilda charged at Ms. Ferguson, the Vision finally realized a profound understanding of Ms. Ferguson. He blasted Tilda with the frost, then punched her in the face.
The android, with no small amount of pride, looked at Ms. Ferguson with his realization, his fists still swinging at the pirates.
"Alert!" the Vision reported, "I have understood your wish for me to call you Claire. It is your middle name! Clarice Claire Ferguson!"
Ms. Ferguson, whose middle name was not Claire, sighed and kicked another pirate into a tree. "No, Vision. Listen, we'll talk about this in a second, okay?"
Quote:635 words, according to MS Word. I dunno if you guys wanna follow through that portal and fight with us?
RE: Dark on the Waters [Dark Data] - Proto Man - 09-17-2017
Even for a machine, it was becoming increasingly difficult to process the sheer scale of what was unfolding around the group of primes.
Proto Man had barely made it through the portal when it snapped shut, and even after he stumbled onto the other side, he saw the explosion a few seconds too late to dodge effectively.
It was a few seconds more before he shook away the haze and was able to recalibrate his visual display. As he sat up off the ground, he found himself being encircled by a group of scimitar-swinging pirates sneering down at him.
“Look, a little fish come to play with us!” One of the pirates exclaimed as he drew a flintlock pistol and aimed it at the preteen machine’s visored visage. “Any last words, little fish?”
“Yes,” Proto Man muttered as he lifted a hand and smiled. “You’re out-gunned.”
In a flash, the red robot’s hand converted into a Proto Buster and belched a shotgun-shaped burst of heated energy at the snarling pirate. The swashbuckler’s face and a chunk of his torso melted away as the rest of his compatriots, after an initial moment of confusion and mild horror, braced themselves and lunged.
Hot air vented from the Proto Buster as the machine swung and fired a second cruel cone to his right. As those pirates crumpled, Proto Man kicked up from his seated position and jumped as swords ate into his former resting place. Landing upright a few feet from his assailants, the robot shifted firing modes and laid into the remaining pirates with a barrage of energized pellets. When the last blighted swashbuckler collapsed beneath the onslaught, the preteen machine dropped his weapon down to his side and took a fleeting moment to glance at their newest battlefield.
Although they couldn’t be terribly farm removed from their previous location, Proto Man could only see Vision and Blink fighting nearby. Belle, who had just recently arrived, and the others who had joined them earlier were nowhere to be seen. Where was Cloud, the soldier with the oversized sword? Where did the gunslinger go?
The questions deserved answers, but Proto Man had little time to dwell on the missing primes. Despite his intentions to join the remaining primes, he found himself once more the focus of a group of blighted pirates. At the helm of this group was a particularly imposing individual with a briny beard and eyes that burned like smoldering coal.
“I know you,” the pirate spoke in gravely tones as he drew a curved blade and pointed it at the robotic youth. “The Little Red Destroyer. You may have conquered the sands, but the sea is a far more terrifying lady.”
Proto Man held out a hand and summoned a weapon recognizable to anyone who knew the history of the Endless Dunes. The rune-coated ‘sword’, with its gilded hilt and dull, spiraled cap, exuded a light glow as the machine let it rest over his shoulder.
At the sight of the weapon, the pirate captain flashed a smile that was missing a few teeth. “Yes, that will make an excellent decoration for my fireplace.”
“Come and take it,” Proto Man whispered as a pair of goons rushed from the sides of their leader. Without missing a beat, the preteen machine stepped back and swung Ea. Although called a sword by nearly everyone, the weapon’s unique shape made it something unique. Even so, its dealt destruction just as effectively as any blade. The first pirate crumpled as the shaft of the weapon crashed into the side of his skull.
The other goon pirate stabbed forward, but Proto Man sidestepped and thrust Ea’s capped tip through his foe’s throat.
With his assistants dead, the pirate captain smiled and charged into combat.
Quote:629/1200
RE: Dark on the Waters [Dark Data] - Koehler - 09-19-2017
The shimmer of steel flashed by Cole’s eyes, narrowly avoiding his skull, as he rolled with one of the pirate’s reckless swings. He unloaded a flurry of fire from his handgun into the corsairs unguarded torso as he swung around him and flipped over the next that tried to advance on his flank. These Darklings were unrelenting, vicious, and even more ragtag than the Hollows of his world, which was certainly a surprise given their animalistic nature.
To his surprise, as he landed, the pirate that seemed to easily cut down simple got back up, his side charred and oozing some black, viscous blood as the corsair let out a boisterous, if not bone-chilling laugh that the other pirates around him joined in.
“Oh, I’m sorry, did I miss the joke?” Cole retorted, standing up and, using the momentary pause to reconjure his other pistol. Taking aim on either side, he ignoring the protest and stabbing pain emanating from his wounded shoulder, with the bullet still lodged in it.
He was surrounded and cut off now, stuck somewhere in the forest, hopefully not far from the others but the only evidence for that were the non-too distant sounds of battle. The teleporter and Vision advanced for the portal in a haste to cut through the swarm, and he didn’t know where the red, preteen robot and Cloud, with his oversized sword, had gotten to. He only hoped that the alien that so cheekily abducted him and speeded him to this hellish warzone was still buzzing around, clearing the skies of tainted abominations.
Memories of his last life flooded him, of fighting alone and standing defiant against steep odds despite an unrelenting swarm opposing his every move. It was almost nostalgic.
Pushing the thoughts away, he returned to the battle at hand as the pirates seemed to focus more intently on cutting their perhaps least favorite gunslinger into finely sliced ribbons. They cautiously advanced, eyes alight with a predatorial flame, steel shimmering against the darker energy they emitted and the orange glow of Cole’s firearms. Their smiles were twisted and cruel, but it didn’t faze the Quincy in the slightest. Flames erupted around his guns as Cole prepared for the oncoming blitz.
The first two charged with a flurry of wild swings, to which the Quincy nimbly wove through and leapt over the lead attacker, landing behind one of the further back ones. As the assailant went to swing behind him, Cole ducked under, the blade harrowingly close as it sliced by, and unleashed a screeching beam of fiery power into the pirate’s already injured side, quickly followed by a volley fire to his face via the other gun as he flipped backwards in a stylish fashion. The corsair fell, squealing in pain, but it was simply one of many more.
Bullets whizzed by, as three more of the corsairs easily caught up with the acrobat, one going for a swing on his flank with the shimmering blade. Rolling over the low-aiming strike, Cole went to fire at the other assailant, but missed wildly as the assailant dove underneath his volley and struck back up. Landing, he was sent faltering back with a swift kick to his injured shoulder, casting him back down to the muddy ground, rolling and slamming into a nearby tree as a sharp, burning pain radiated from his arm from the impact.
As Cole rose back up with a grunt, two more assailants came in swinging and stabbing forth, and on reflex, he rolled under the first lunge, and leapt past the second, rolling to a crouch and unleashing a barrage into their backs. Though the opportune assault seemed to do little in the way of dissuading the corsairs, as they turned back on their agile target. More of the blood-thirsty pirates emerged around the thinly-forested and burning wasteland around Cole, blades and flintlocks at the ready.
“Oh… you brought more friends. That’s great…” Cole sighed,
“Just can’t catch a break today.”
The Quincy still stood undaunted by the challenge. They were tougher than their previous counterparts, but still couldn’t quite match his speed, so he figured he’d press that advantage as much as he could.
As he went to surge forth, hot plasma and energy surged forth from the skies above, raining down on the battlefield in the distance and raking up across the landscape, illuminating the dark, withered and charred landscape with an extra helping of destructive might.
The empowered marauders, once so bold, scrambled for cover, but the implacable stream was not so easily evaded, and all Cole could manage was to barely evade the pale cerulean retribution that rained down upon them, leaping into the sky as high as he could manage while the fires rose up and swallowed the buccaneers whole.
Quote:799/800
Mostly about Cole being separated.
Jaco showed up at the end to solve that problem though.
RE: Dark on the Waters [Dark Data] - Cloud Strife - 09-19-2017
Well this sucks.
The only thought that was currently going through the Ex-SOLDIER’s head as he used his blade as makeshift cover. Blink’s portal had disappeared before he had reached it, and a small group of pirates had pushed him away from Cole. It wasn’t a situation that he enjoyed, to say the very least.
‘Maybe I can use my Materia.’ Cloud spoke to himself, the sound of bullets slamming into thhe blade filled his ears. He looked down at the gauntlet on his left arm, two green orbs sat comfortable in it. ‘If I can take out two, the third would be no problem.’ He finished as he listened, bullets still pelting his buster sword. Then the firing squad stopped.
‘Now!’ Cloud thought to himself as he rolled to the left, coming to a stop about a foot away from his previous location. He threw his arms forward, and activated his materia. A bolt of lightning engulfing one of the corrupted men, while a pillar of flame engulfed another. Cloud, without leaving time for the third to finish reloading his weapon, dashed over to his blade and ripped it from the ground. He then, with all his strength, tossed the blade at the pirate, penetrating the former-human’s stomach and pinning him to the ground.
Cloud sighed, wiping sweat away from his forehead, as he retrieved his blade. The body fell to the ground, lifeless. Though he’d imagined that whatever poor soul used to inhabit this body had moved on a long time ago. Either way, he was alive and this, thing, was dead. Now he just needed to find a way to meet up with the others.
Cloud spun around, narrowly blocking the strike of another - fourth - enemy. This one was larger, and wielded a cutlass. The being leapt backwards with a surprising amount of acrobatics, for such a large humanoid, before charging the blond again. Cloud swung his blade, clashing with the pirate several more times before they came to a blade lock. Even with his flimsy looking blade, he was keeping up with the strength and weight behind the mercenary’s attacks. He really didn’t have time for this whole extended fight kind of deal. He’d been separated from his group, and just when they were so close to their goal. He’d been lucky enough that the explosions hadn’t reached him yet, but he could only assume that his luck would have to run out at some point.
Cloud pushed against the man, staggering him a little bit, before leaping backwards. While still holding his blade, Cloud threw his hands out in front of himself. The corrupted Pirate had been watching his previous fight, and leapt to the side, dodging both attacks. But he wasn’t done yet, without hesitation, he hurled his blade straight at the man. Cloud watched with anticipation as his blade sliced through the air. But not this time, the swashbuckler pulled the blade from mid-air. Now he had two weapons and cloud only had his materia, and even then, he was feeling the fatigue from overusing the magic. The creature laughed, proud of its accomplishment, as he dashed towards Cloud.
Cloud weaved to the side as his own blade came inches from his body. He was close enough that he could see his own reflection in the bloodied blade. The creature growled as it pulled the blade from the roots of the beaten and broken mangrove island. Cloud dashed behind it and leapt up onto its neck, forcing it to drop his and its own weapon. It grasped at his thighs as he began to squeeze and lean backwards. Cloud transitioned into a back handspring and slammed his opponent’s head into the ground.
‘That’s my blade.’ Cloud spoke as he lifted it from its debris filled resting place and headed back to the unconscious darkling.
‘Better make sure.’ He spoke as he raised the blade high into the air. He swung the buster sword downwards and, much like a guillotine, cleaved it’s head off. A safety precaution, he wouldn’t want it getting up after he turned his back on it. Cloud clipped the blade to his back, he’d have time to clean it later, and then looked at the nifty little wristband that Blues had given him. A little arrow was pointing further into the mangroves.
‘They pushed me quite far.’ He sighed as he began sprinting in the direction the arrow pointed. ‘I’ll need to move as fast as I can to meet up with everyone.’
RE: Dark on the Waters [Dark Data] - Freeza - 09-19-2017
Jaco’s analytical eye spied the intricacies of the field. The team was faltering on a united front, drowning in the darkling masses, not utilizing their skills to maximize their fighting output. Meanwhile the corrupted seemed to all have a similar sway on how they confronted their strike. Both methods had their flaws but Jaco knew the Defenders of the Deep couldn’t hold out on merely strength alone. Eventually they would get tired, one would lose a leg and further still, their forces would come, inevitably putting an end to this verse.
But not while the Super-elite Galactic Patrolman was on duty!
He’d just swooped in to save the day, helping Koehler escape with the merciless pelting of glistening azure lasers. Jaco was whizzing around in the sky, piloting his little craft and delivering Darklings to their graves. However, he was not rampaging unopposed.
A deep voice growled, “Why hello there, little guy.”
“LITTLE?! Who are you calling little?!” Jaco’s eye twitched and his face cascaded into a frown. So far he’d had to do a bunch of mopping on the battlefield, yet now, he had to take crap from some guy? The alien turned to see just who, or what, had spoken to him in such a demeaning way.
It was an eight foot tall humanoid creature with muscles of pure, beefy sinew, also wielding a sword. Its eyes were vicious and had veins of glowing red. Corrupted by whatever haunted the murky waters here.
“You are. I am going to break you like I break all my other toys. You’re so nice and secure in that little pod, a little too safe compared to all your friends, wouldn’t you say?” The umbral creature spoke with a deep grit.
Jaco had worried his teammates would lose a leg, he never imagined it would be him being ripped from his own ship. He could see it now, feel the fear for his life. The alien narrowed his eyes to the monster, tilting his head curiously.
“What, aren’t you going to run? I like good chase, mouse.” the bear’s smile grew, waiting to see how the pipsqueak would respond to the challenge, “Or maybe you’ll try to blast me out of the sky with one of tho-”
Jaco rolled his eyes and pressed a button, “Let me just make sure you can hear me better. First. I am not tiny. Next, you’re wasting my time, this conversation isn’t even pleasant I’d rather be watching Protoman beast that pirate.” The glass hatched lid on his ship opened like a clam, “Anyway, first rule of battle, never underestimate your opponent.”
Jaco pulled out his blaster and aimed it at his forehead, carefully, pensively. Eight feet apart. Zero gusts. Big forehead, hard to miss.
“So tiny! What’s that little thing? A BB gun? What’s it going to do, flick me?” the ogre taunted.
“End you, actually.” Jaco said to the burly man as a single powerful ray exploded from his blaster and shot straight through the creature’s head.
“Oh, and I am NOT TINY!” he called after the falling body with a vengeance. It nearly fell on Protoman’s pirate foe and Jaco saw that the team had nearly finished their appetizers. Jaco checked the schematics of the field cross referencing the computer’s diagram with an actual visual. They were slacking, again, and once again, valuable time had been wasted where he hadn’t yet conquered the attacker-sourced portal.
Now that no other flying pirates were in sight, Jaco had a spare moment. The portal was a twist in reality, it was strong, transport-based. “Invading and breaking galactic laws, eh? Tsk. No sense of civility.”
Jaco wondered if he could somehow get the defenders to infiltrate the portal, closing it behind them in need be as well. A tsunami of decent proportion could likely break the portal’s balance.. It was an option, but a slim one. A better one would be blast through it and then daringly go through the- yeah, that was likely not happening for the runty alien.
Searching around for backup, Jaco beckoned the others with his hand, then noticed their numbers were depleted. “Where’s the blond one?” he said to himself. This would be an all or nothing effort. They needed everyone, if, everyone was still living.
There.
Jaco swooped in, “Where have you been?” it wasn’t an accusatory tone, but more playful despite this dire situation.
“Uh, I got a little held up.” Strife said inspecting the back of the alien’s head with pensive curiosity. They started to descend to the ground, “Where are you taking us?”
“Big scary ball of doom, after we pick him up though,” Jaco said proudly, now that he had a meat shield, or uh, reinforcements, he was much more confident that the others around would follow the pilot’s leading charge. Despite the extra weight on the ship and its now sluggish pace due to not just one Primes but two, Koehler had been beckoned to hop on and Jaco felt more like a slow floating target, granted he could annex them any time to do any maneuvers if necessary to save his ship. That would only end in two likely painful splashes though, and it would result in the avoidance of death for the super elite. The others, as far as Jaco could tell, could fly. Plus, two passengers was definitely the max, especially with that massive buster sword sticking out like a thorn in the side of Jaco’s metal bucket making it appear as though they were flying with one wing.
Flying slow and steady, Jaco shot down at some pirates who were aiming their molten lead upward. They grew near the black mass of portal and the tension filled the choppy waves splashing in the wind. Suspense was brimming as Jaco stared through the keyhole, there was no telling what would pop out of there next yet they continued growing closer.
It was time for their assault to begin.
RE: Dark on the Waters [Dark Data] - The Vision - 09-27-2017
The Vision glanced at the soaring aircraft overhead. As the pilot in the red disc came in for one more strafe, a handful of pirates started scrambling away from where the aircraft seemed to go.
> run "webshooters.exe"
Running...
The android launched into the air and fired two nets of web at the escaping pirates, then seared a line of heat into the ground to deter the rest. The pilot razed the line of pirates that the Vision had trapped. The android nodded approvingly and floated towards the other android.
"Query," the Vision asked, "What is your name?"
"Proto Man," the red robot replied, "And you're Vision, I know."
"Affirmative."
The Vision glanced at the portal. Most of the pirates were dead.
"Alert!" he said, volume increased largely to announce to all of his allies, "Hostiles largely defeated. Proceed to the portal before reinforcements-"
THUM
The Vision sighed incredibly loudly, having forgotten to lower his volume.
THUM
The android looked up. There were two seven-foot-tall humanoids each carrying a cannon and a sword. They snarled and roared at the Liberators.
"YOOOUUU KIIIILLED BIIIIG BROOOTHERRRRRR"
The giant on the left swung his sword down.
> self.setvalue density 0.1053%
Shifting...
The sword passed harmlessly through the Vision's body and landed in the ground, triggering a small explosion of sand and moss. The Vision flew up straight to the giant's face.
> set.selfvalue density zone[11051335] 436.7823%
Shifting...
The Vision's fist hardened and super-densified. He felt his body start to sink under the new weight. The Vision promptly threw the punch, landing a solid blow on the left giant's cheekbone. The giant flinched, but the Vision couldn't even turn the hostile's head.
The other titan gripped his cannon with hairy fingers, firing a cluster of hot metal at the floating android.
> self.setvalue density zone[11051335] 0.1053%
Shifting...
ERROR
It was too late. The projectiles couldn't harm the Vision's body, but it washed over his hand, singing it and snapping off his ring finger. The Vision scowled as he examined his hand.
> run mjolnir.exe
Running...
The Vision sunk down, avoiding another hot cluster, as he felt Mjolnir form in his hand. It was hard to grip it without one of his fingers, but nonetheless he knew he could swing it. Using the weight of Mjolnir to generate momentum, the Vision shot forward like a supercomputer cannonball, landing the hammer straight in the chest of the cannon-firing giant.
WARNING
[4] projectiles incoming
The Vision shot upwards, swinging it once more like an uppercut under the giant's chin. Just in time. The four projectiles he detected was a barrage of energy bullets from Proto Man's blaster. They all hit their target, striking the giant hard. The Vision spun in mid-air, slamming the legendary hammer one last time on the giant's lip. The electricity coursed through its skin, clambering across the giant's saliva in branches of static energy.
But the huge man was still awake, if in great pain.
"IIII KIIIIL YOOOOU"
The Vision shrugged. "You cannot kill what you cannot touch."
As the giant tried to reach for the android, the red aircraft flew by, firing a barrage of lasers. The two Primes perched on the exterior jumped off and slashed at the giant's throat. The giant roared one last time as it fell to the ground, dead.
"Addendum," the amused Vision noted, "You also cannot kill if you are dead."
Quote:565 words, which brings me exactly to 1200 words.
RE: Dark on the Waters [Dark Data] - Nebula - 09-28-2017
No sooner had the Primes fought their way to the swirling portal than a familiar descending shriek split the ravaged canopy. Mangroves, masonry, peat and palisades erupted in thunderous blossoms of bright orange flame as the latest barrage of explosive shells descended from on high. The Liberators charged and dove, dashed, blinked, and flew, sparing neither ability nor effort in their rush to escape the incoming bombardment.
Upon crossing the threshold, all were struck by a feeling of being briefly submerged in very warm water - and then a miasma of fresh paint, salt, sour sweat, engine-grease and gunsmoke barged its way into their sinuses.
This side of the portal was set into the wall of a moderately sized room with laminated concrete floors. Pipes, consoles and conduits crisscrossed the walls, feeding a ring of glowing purple circuitry surrounding the aperture through which the Primes had arrived. Unadorned steel crossbeams holding up a similarly cluttered ceiling. The only exit was a bulkhead door on the opposite wall, sealed tight, the locking-wheel in the center screwed firmly down. With the singular exception of the portal, and a set of flourescent iodine bulbs affixed to the ceiling, everything was painted black.
Below the floor, something mechanical was humming loudly.
"Where are we?" asked Cole. "I don't think this is their headquarters...?"
Blink, more experienced with spacial displacement, shook her violet head. "No. The shift was too smooth. We're still in the primary 'verse."
A resounding BOOM shook the floor, which tilted precariously for a moment before canting in the other direction, upsetting their footing. The room wobbled back and forth several times, eventually righting itself with a metallic groan undercut by a distant sloshing hiss .
"We are on a boat," observed the Vision, correctly identifying the sounds of moving water and the characteristic sinusoidal motion of the deck beneath his feet. He dialed up the volume on his vocal synthesizer in order to overcome what he calculated was his team-mates' growing tinnitus. "likely a dedicated artillery platform, judging by the report of the cannons. I would hypothesize it is the very same naval battleship which has been firing upon Sabaody Archipelago."
Cloud picked himself up off the deck and looked around.
"Wait a minute - where's that girl with the sweatshirt?"
The other Primes took a head-count and found that the spiky-haired swordsman was right. They were down by one Liberator - but her fate didn't remain a mystery for long.
The portal flared, its swirling surface bowing violently outward, and Belle came sailing through it amidst a rain of debris, trailing smoke as she bounced once on the floor and skidded against the far wall with a sturdy thud.
There was flash, a hiss, and the smell of burning silicon, and the spacial aperture collapsed, leaving only a scorched patch of wall behind.
Every liberator Aid beeped at once, and an icon pointing towards the door appeared on the display. The signal was faint, but it was there:
Another portal.
Quote:Welcome to Nebula's flagship! It's a WWII-era battleship, with all the bristling armaments and over-wrought corrupte crewman that implies. Are you going to sink this sonnuvabitch, and/or attempt to loot whatever treasures it may hide, or simply attempt to leave as quickly as possible? The choice is yours!
You are currently in a locked room near the stern. Everyone has fourteen days and 900-1500 words each to escape the room and explore the vessel. Be aware, it is fully manned, so expect someone to come and investigate the sudden failure of the portal you just used. Also expect to meet resistance if you are less than stealthy.
Should you make it to the next portal, be aware, it will be guarded...
Everyone takes 1 damage from sundry flying debris and general tussling, except vision who takes 3, and Belle, who takes 7.
RE: Dark on the Waters [Dark Data] - Blink - 09-30-2017
Blink didn't completely realize it until just now, but she did not like enclosed spaces. She wouldn't classify herself as a claustrophobic or anything, but having gone from an open beach area to this small compartment on an old ship made some panic go through her mind. Her violet head turned from person to person in the room. Her fellow liberators all seemed to be thinking about a way out of this room too. For her, it was less about finding the next portal and more about just getting the hell out of wherever they were trapped.
Before she thought about whether or not to look for hatches or water-tight doors, she poured some of her teleportation energy over her body and phased through the door. It was sudden, quiet and nobody would notice that she just randomly disappeared.
Underneath the room she was just in, she dropped down into what must have been an engineering space. She landed on a walkway, right next to a big mechanical system pumping away to keep the ship moving. She could go one of two ways: further down into the main space, or up a ladder-well leading back out to the same deck she was just on, but presumably in a different room. She chose the latter and hurried her way out of the loud, open room and into a new passage-way.
"H-hey! Who're you?!" She heard as soon as she stepped into the corridor. She had been hoping to find a new room where she could sit down and just process the events in silence and solitude. Instead, she found three men in dark coveralls rushing towards her inside a skinny hallway. "You can't be in here!"
"Don't try to get away!" The one in the middle hollered. She didn't.
It was too tiny of a space to properly teleport, so she opted to meet the goons head on. Thanks to the fact the passage-way was so small, she was able to face them one by one. She dodged a punch from the one in the middle and used his momentum to send him head-first into a pipe that ran along the wall next to them. She then jumped up to swing on a large valve above her to kick the second guy into the third, barreling them both backwards. Before any of them could get up, she spun around and ran down the ship's dimly lit corridor. "Hey! Get back here!" One of the ones who got kicked yelled, but she didn't listen. The first time she found a scuttle, she immediately jumped down it and shut the hatch behind her.
She dropped into another passage-way, but this time she took a look down it to see if anyone was there. When no one appeared, she disappeared into the closest room she could and slammed the door.
This room was large, but had a bunch of crates filling it up. She flopped down to the right of the door and just let out a big sigh. Possibly the biggest in her life. This day had been nothing but fighting after running after jumping after portal-hopping. Her cardio had never been tested more. To say she was exhausted was an understatement. She felt like at any point, even in this life or death situation on a strange battleship, she could just sleep for hours.
What was she even doing here? She could barely retrace her steps to how she arrived here. Someone told her something bad was happening and then she was running across an island dodging artillery strikes. She leaned back against the bulkhead and sighed again. This wasn't something she wanted to get wrapped up. But the threat was real. Not just for herself, which was obvious, but for the entire Vasty Deep. For all she knew, it could have leaked into other verses as well. If this much power had already been consumed by darkness, why couldn't everything else? What if the Empire was attacked directly and corrupted? Could anyone fight it? Could Omni?
Her thoughts were interupted by the door opening. She quicky teleported herself further to the right, now squatting away from the entrance by a large opened box. "You sure she came in here?" One of the voices asked. Two goons walked in, looking around the dark compartment for her. She assumed the third never woke up. "Seems like a long shot."
"If I was stowing away on an enemy ship, the armory storehouse would be the first place I'd go!" The second man said. He was larger and had a deeper voice.
Blink's emerald eyes grew wide. Armory? Her gaze turned to the box she had taken to hiding next to. She raised up off of her haunches to look into it, finding a handful of strange looking computer chip-like devices. Her hand came out to touch them. "Hey!" She heard. Her hand flinched and instead of a handful, she only snagged one. "Hey, get away from that!" The sailor shouted at her. She looked up. Both of the men she had kicked to the ground earlier was rushing towards her. "Don't touch those Darkchips!"
Her violet palm wrapped around the chip and squeezed tight. The power that enveloped her right hand was alarming and painful. It shot up her nerves through her veins, until nothing in her right arm existed except excruciating pain. She let out a grunt, followed by a squeal. "Ahhhhhhh!" She shrieked as she stumbled backwards against the bulkhead. Her eyes shut briefly. When they opened, the two goons were staring at her in disbelief. "Don't - don't come any closer!" She warned. The two just gawked at her. She went to move her right arm and found it extremely heavy. She looked down.
What used to be her right arm was now a thick, massive weapon. It was wider then her own torso was, and opened out into a scary maw-like barrel. She looked up at the two, who seemed genuinely fearful of what her limb had become. She felt a twitch of pain, followed by a strange sensation. A feeling of excitement. Her purple lips curled into a grin.
"Lady, just put down the-" one of them began.
Without hesitating any longer, she lifted the large canon in front of her with the help of her left arm. She braced up against the wall she was leaning on, took a deep breath and let the weapon build up for a couple moments. "Fuck you, and fuck off!" She screamed at them. All of her frustration at her sudden Darkspawn-infested situation blasted outwards from that cannon and completely destroyed everything in it's path, including the two corrupted sailors. The hull of the ship blasted open, leaving her staring at the water-line in front of her. She dropped backwards again, onto her butt, and sighed for the third time.
Quote:Blink phased through the floor of the room we were trapped in, and then found her way to the armory, where she found some fun stuff.
Blink uses DARK CANNON: UNLEASH MASSIVE SHOT.
When used, the user's arm (left or right, at your discretion) will be replaced with a heavy, bulky cannon. It is unwieldy, but durable and can be used as a relatively strong bludgeoning weapon at need. Its primary function is as a ranged weapon. By taking two seconds to brace and aim, you can unleash a burst of energy, with an effective range of 30 meters, which explodes in a 3-meter radius blast. It is fairly powerful, and the shot moves at speeds comparable to a bullet, but also quite linear and easy to predict. It has enough charge for five shots, before it runs out of power and becomes useless, at which point you can remove it from your arm.
She has four shots remaining.
She has blown a hole in the side of the ship. It's above the water-line, so it won't flood, but it'll catch attention. Should be easy for anyone in the group to find her though.
1150 out of a max 1500 words.
RE: Dark on the Waters [Dark Data] - The Vision - 10-03-2017
As Ms. Ferguson flashed away, the Vision noted that he was now entitled to another "Blink-does-whatever-she-wants" quarter.
"My apologies," Vision sighed, "But I should look after Ms. Ferguson."
The android kicked off from the floor and phased through the floor, trying to catch up with Ms. Ferguson. The others could handle themselves, but last time Ms. Ferguson charged in alone in a WWII-era military construction, she compromised the whole mission. As if to answer his suspicions, a loud explosion rattled the whole ship. The Vision grit his teeth and rushed to the source of the noise. Ms. Ferguson had moved far faster than he had expected. When the android found her, she was not as she was moments before.
"Ms. Ferguson," the Vision said, "Your arm is a cannon."
"Yeah, so?" the mutant replied, fury burning in her eyes.
"My scanners indicate that your adrenaline levels are alarmingly high."
Ms. Ferguson walked over to the hole in the ship and peered out. "We are in the middle of a fight."
"And your cortisol levels are alarmingly low."
"What are you, my doctor?" Ms. Ferguson snapped.
"If I were, I would recommend you take relaxation exercises. Common relaxation exercises include deep breathing exercises, meditation, counting or naming an otherwise simple list slowly-"
"Fuck off," Ms. Ferguson snarled.
The Vision blinked. "I believe your intentions to be hostile."
Ms. Ferguson lifted the cannon wrapped around her arm. It seemed to pump veins of a fluid even deeper shades of purple than the mutant's already purple skin.
> scan(#med, "Clarice_Claire_Ferguson")
WARNING
Alien substances discovered
> scan(#med, "last_scan")
Error (5101123): Unknown substance
The Vision scowled and looked around to see where Ms. Ferguson could have found that. As he tried to think of what happened, reinforcements arrived to investigate the explosion, scrambling down the steps and screaming unintelligibly.
WARNING
(9) hostile entities detected
"Query: is this one of your quote, new tricks, end quote?"
"Now it is," Ms. Ferguson said with great satisfaction, smacking a pirate with the massive cannon, breaking his chin and sending it flying.
The android punched one pirate, then kicked another in the head.
> run "mjolnir.exe"
Running...
Using the hammer, the Vision threw a sailor into three of her shipmates. The Vision then swung down on the head of a particularly large pirate, swinging once more to the right and knocking out two more. It was too late when he realized that the particularly large pirate was still conscious.
The goliath scoundrel grabbed the Vision, and with a speed faster than the Vision predicted, threw him back into a wall. Fortunately, the Vision was able to lower his density in time to phase through the wall. He soared back into the room, fists-first, colliding into the pirate back onto the steep iron steps. Before he could get up, the Vision fired a pair of hot lasers at the pirate's legs.
The Vision looked to the right to see if there were any more reinforcements. Instead, he noticed a crate full of unknown substances.
> scan(#id, 11012410)
Error (103342): Insufficient light emissions (is 0 watts; should be >1 watt)
The Vision raised an eyebrow. There was no light emitting from whatever was in these crates. He reached inside and picked one of the objects up. It was an absence of light, in the shape of a small computer chip.
"Query: Ms. Ferguson, are you currently using a Dark Chip?"
The mutant did not answer. She just warped through a wall, provoking a series of screams that Vision could only assume were those of the rogues that filled the ship.
Vision scowled once more, then turned to the crates full of Dark Chips. He gingerly picked up seven of them and stuffed them in a small, synthesized pouch on his hip for further analysis.
> run "gazerbeam.exe"
Engaging optical heat engines...
With a surprisingly loud noise, the crates exploded, hopefully destroying the computer chips. He never found out, as another loud explosion rocked the whole ship.
The Vision snarled, then launched himself forward.
> scan(#id, $CurrentLocation)
Scanning...
He flew back to the others. They were already fighting off several members of the crew. Cloud used his sword as a shield once more, stepping forward to close the distance between himself and the gunslingers.
"Query," the Vision asked, "How do we shut down these Dark Chips?"
"You weren't there for the meeting?" Proto Man asked.
"Negative."
The Vision interrupted a pirate's sprint by using a hyper-densified arm as a clothesline. Proto Man somersaulted in the air, firing a barrage of energy bolts from his arm. The Vision was briefly reminded of Ms. Ferguson's condition.
"The Darkling that's causing all of this is inside Nebula's domain," Proto Man explained, "And this thing is telling us that the way into that dimension is over there.
> run "AdaptoidScanner.exe"
Running...
(14) compatible elements discovered
ProtoBuster.exe
ProtoSword.exe
...
The Vision rubbed his temple.
> run "Liberator.exe"
Running...
The monitor tessellated into existence over Vision's wrist, along with the rest of the gear. The Vision stared at it, perplexed.
"This device requires an update."
"It's what we got," Cole said, firing his pistols rapidly. They were starting to drive the horde back.
"Action required," the Vision said, raising his vocal volume, "This battleship continues to assault Saobady Island. We must deactivate all weapons systems prior to engaging the portal."
Cloud spun in the air, slashing his unreasonably large weapon. He cut three pirates down where they stood. The rest fled. "Agreed," the blonde replied.
Proto Man nodded. "You have a plan?"
"My scanners are not functioning properly at this time. However, I did detect some anachronistic elements to the ship. The artillery is generally of the same era, but their use of cannons indicates that certain elements of the ship use construction from the Golden Age of Sailing. Furthermore, when the hull was breached, I was able to see its design. It correlates with modern boat construction, according to my database."
"Get to the point," Cloud said.
"If there are any systems on-board that are electronics-based, I believe I can access and override certain systems. I detected a fairly sophisticated navigations system earlier..."
"I don't see how that helps us. The key here is taking out the weapons," Proto Man interrupted, "So we get on deck, we destroy the- Where's Blink?"
The Liberators looked at Vision expectantly. The android's lip twitched.
"The hull was breached because of Ms. Ferguson's actions," the Vision replied, "She is currently using a Dark Chip to wreak havoc in the ship."
"She's using a Dark Chip?" Cole smirked, "That’s… a little on-the-nose."
“What is she thinking?” Proto Man exclaimed.
"I find that she usually doesn't," the Vision said, his voice betraying a shade of anger, "I recommended that she relinquish the dangerous element, but she seems emotionally compromised. Her arm has become artillery. Much like your gun, Proto Man. I've destroyed the other Dark Chips I could find, save for a few, which are in my possession."
Cloud grimaced. "We need to retrieve her."
"Vision, you seem to know her," Proto Man said, "What's she going to do?"
"There is an 81.34% chance that she will attempt to detain all hostiles on-board, and enter the portal herself. When I last met her, she seemed particularly eager to work quite alone. If I am to stop her, I would require assistance."
The team stood huddled in a circle, all thinking about their next step.
Quote:1243 words. Anyone wants a Dark Chip, hmu.
RE: Dark on the Waters [Dark Data] - Proto Man - 10-05-2017
Vision was talking—the android with the red skin was trying to formulate some sort of plan for disabling the ship’s ‘combat functionality.’ While Proto Man understood and could follow along with everything that his new companion was talking about, there was something… exhausting about all of it.
Exhaustion is a human emotion?
“Yea, I know.” Proto Man mumbled.
“What do you understand, Proto Man?” Vision inquired, his head tilted as he turned to look down at the smaller machine.
“Oh, nothing.” The robot muttered. “Just some thoughts.”
“Have you run diagnostics as well? Could you determine any additional sequences that might achieve our objective with a higher rate of success?”
“Uhh.”
Proto Man had no blood, bones, or internal organs. His brain was little more than a network of processors and chips concealed within a metal chassis and a synthetic flesh exoskeleton. Do I sound like that when I talk? Shaking his head to answer the question, the Vision’s eyes lingered for a few moments before he turned to the other two members of the group for answers to his queries.
With his focus shifting to the far wall, Proto Man scowled as his sensor started to work away at the landscape. Something was scrambling a few of his applications, and with the wifi down, he could only rely on his eyes to map the terrain around him.
“Is this ship stolen?” Proto Man asked without looking to his companions. “From the Empire, maybe?”
“Unlikely,” Vision replied promptly. “The unique design of the vessel and its armaments seems to suggest an 84.3 percent probability that this ship is not Imperial in origin.”
The preteen machine activated his Proto Buster and started toward the hatch at the far end of the room. They were somewhere near the back of the ship. Stern. The word popped up on the righthand corner of the robot’s visual display. “I mean, we’re gonna have to find your friend.”
“Ms. Ferguson.”
“Yes,” Proto Man muttered as he hoisted up the barrel of the weapon and charged a burst. A moment later, a few dozen charred shards of the metal door exploded outward into the corridor. Without waiting for a response from his companions, the preteen machine jogged out into the hallway and braced himself for the assault. Somewhere far in the distance, his synthetically augmented hearing picked up the sound of gunshots. With the Proto Buster leading the way, Proto Man fired a steady stream of fist-sized energy bursts down the hallway.
By the time he reached the midpoint, the situation went south.
The two dozen blighted marines concealed in the adjacent rooms stormed out and opened fire in both directions. By the time he knew what had happened, Proto Man was split off from the other members of his group by a double-wall of armed sailors.
Half a dozen bolts of energy crashed into the preteen machine’s chest, stomach, and shoulders. Teeth clenched, he threw himself backwards through the nearest doorway.
Down the other end of the hallway, he heard a cacophony of clanging steel and crackling energy blasts. By the time he made it too his feet, Proto Man already had a group of marines closing in on his position. Dressed as sailors, the blighted warriors toted heavy rifles in their hands that started to stich their way across the floor toward the preteen machine. Dropping back, the machine angled his weapon at the ground and fired a shotgun blast through the plated floor. As the steel buckled, he dove forward into the breech and rolled when he hit the bottom of the deck beneath.
Although inhibited by something, his sensors still had enough kick in them to highlight danger signatures approaching from adjacent chambers.
Move. Rendezvous later. Forward.
Calibrating his compass, Proto Man shifted and broke into a sprint.
Quote:639 words
RE: Dark on the Waters [Dark Data] - Blink - 10-09-2017
Blink, normally, liked to fight from a distance. She never had formal martial arts training and frankly wasn't particularly strong. But right now, with her current mood and the fact she had a giant powerful cannon attached to her arm made her want to up close and personal. So as she barrelled down the passageway of this older ship, she would slam that weapon into every sailor and pirate she came across.
By the time she stumbled into the hangar bay, though, she was really feeling the true effects of the Darkchip she had activated. It was overloading that arm, causing it to twitch and spark. The bloodlust in her head was at a maximum. When she found the big portal sitting at the bay doors, which was her overall goal, she found herself instead drawn to the enemies in front of her. She raised her cannon again, propped with her free arm, and let it blast once. Twice. The eruption of energy sent massive shots towards the left and right, causing the sailors to jump and roll to avoid her weapon. There was one larger pirate in front of her, dead center. He lunged towards her but she swung her big arm behind her and then straight down, slamming him to the ground under it's weight.
She dropped onto his chest and hit him again. Again. Again.
His face was a bloody pulp. She paused and looked up at the mayhem in the hangar bay. There were still enemies there, but they were more observing her to see what she would do with that big gun on her arm. They were scared of her.
"You have to stop." She heard. Over her shoulder, she saw The Vision. He was standing with his arms crossed. She hesitated and he intensified his glare. "You must, Claire."
The use of her preferred name, despite the directives in his programmed mind, were an immediate trigger on her. The cannon wrapped around her arm fell to the ground, and she let the darkness leave her body.
Quote:342 words. My total word count for this round is 1492.
Blink brute-forced her way to the hangar bay where the portal is, and blasted as many of the bad guys there as she could. I had Vision show up in the end but he (or anyone else) can elaborate how he got there or if anyone joined him. Blink has given up her Dark Cannon.
RE: Dark on the Waters [Dark Data] - Cloud Strife - 10-11-2017
First Blink and now Blues. They’d lost three of their six liberators. Though, with a rag tag team, this was bound to happen eventually. Cloud paused for a moment, taking time to hide behind his weapon and catch his breath, as a volley of bullet ricocheted off the steel mass. With those two gone, the enemy’s attention would be split up, they’d have an easier time making it to the other end of the ship this way. Though he wasn’t sure they could afford the time if one of them got left behind.
‘There’s no time for this.’ Cloud breathed as he hoisted his blade and dashed down the corridor. Three corrupted marines stood in his way, reloading their weapons. The mercenary dropped to his knees, transitioning into a power slide. With one sweep of his blade the blond sliced clean through all three marines and then continued in the direction his armband indicated. Towards the front end of the ship. Whether or not that was the actual destination, however, was yet to be decided. But it was a direction for the trio. And besides, if Blues, Blink, and Vision were enough of a distraction, the three of them would be coming up against a less organised enemy.
Cloud and Cole dashed towards their objective, Jaco giving them air support. It hadn’t been an easy day, but he was making due. They were all making due. The duo cut down marine after marine, the poor corrupted souls, as they began to make good time. The other’s must have been a better distraction than he’d hoped. But things didn’t last long. Suddenly, a door burst open and a brute of a soldier slammed its shoulder into the blonde. Cloud slammed into a metal bar and fell to the ground.
‘Mother F-’ Cloud mouthed before Cole interrupted with a volley of energy projectiles. Each of which pierced the oversized darkling’s flesh. Cloud stumbled to his feet, still dazed, as he noticed the rifle in their new opponents grasp. A menacing looking bayonet attached to the underside of the weapon’s barrel. It growled and charged Cole, who dodge rolled out of the way. It turned, slashing at the man. Sparks flew as the darkling’s blade collided with the mercenary’s buster sword.
‘I’ve got this.’ the ex-SOLDIER spoke as he looked at his companion. ‘I’ll catch up.’
The Quincy nodded, got to his feet, and then launched himself into a furious dash, Jaco following him in his ship. Cloud lifted his blade and threw the corrupted marine’s arms into the air. Then, with one swing of his massive grey blade, knocked the marine down. The thing snarled at him and, with a surprising display of flexibility and agility, leapt up and onto his feet. Cloud moved quickly, blocking a barrage of strikes before coming to a deadlock. The hulking thing grinned, angled his weapon down, and pulled the trigger. A loud bang filled his ears, throwing him off balance, as a bullet tore right through his left shoulder. The blonde stumbled backwards, ears ringing, as a fist rocketed towards his face. He haphazardly pulled his weapon in front of himself, successfully blocking the darkling’s punch. It cried out in pain as it did the work for him. It had cleaved off half of its own hand.
Cloud put a little more distance between himself and his opponent and threw his hands up in front of him. The brute looked at him, confused, and laughed. He had gotten over his slight moment of pain. Its amusement was cut short as a pillar of flame erupted from beneath him. Now enraged, and slightly singed, the corrupted stepped out of the flames and began lining up another shot. Cloud plunged his blade into the metal floor and sat behind it. Another loud bang, followed by the sound of a bullet bouncing off his blade.
‘Damn. That thing sliced off part of its own hand.’ He thought, as another shot went off. ‘It must be the corruption. A normal person would have been incapacitated.’ Cloud took a deep breath. Cole had to have made it by now. He and Jaco, together, should have been able to take down the regular marines.
‘But this guy…’ Cloud panted as he peaked around his blade, flinching back behind it as a rifle bullet tore through one of his spiky bangs. A close one. Cloud took another deep breath as he listened to his enemy reload his weapon.
‘It takes him a total of four seconds to load and aim the rifle.’ He deduced. ‘Not much time to work with.’ He finished as he baited the marine with his hand. Cloud pulled his hand back as a loud bang sounded. The bullet just barely grazing his wrist. Cloud, without hesitation, pulled his blade from the floor and broke into a sprint down the hallway. The corrupted marine, realizing this, stopped reloading, brought his weapon up into the air, and let it drop like a guillotine. The mercenary slipped his blade past the creature’s attack and divided his opponent, up the middle, into two equal parts.
Cloud puffed and panted as blood trickled from his left shoulder. Luckily the bullet had gone right through and the wound had already begun to close. Thank-you weird arm band thing. A thick, black, ooze dripped from his blade as he hoisted it into the air and spun it in a circle. Partly because he wanted to give it a quick clean, but also because he wanted to show off a little. Though no one was around to see him gloat. After a moment of twirling his blade, the mercenary brought it down behind himself and clipped it to his back.
‘Right,’ he breathed as he glanced down at the armband, the indicator still pointing in the same direction as it had been prior to his fight. ‘Time to catch up with the rest of the group.’
Quote:1010 Words according to the Omniverse counter