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+--- Thread: Shadows on the Green [Dark Data] (/showthread.php?tid=5935)
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Shadows on the Green [Dark Data] - Kelly MacAryn - 04-27-2017
Kelly's first impression of the Green was dominated by the sharp, soft scent of wet vegetation. The quiet, insistent patter of water dripping from one leaf to another, and from there to the sodden earth, was the only sound int he world. It had rained recently, probably quite hard, and the sky remained bruised and angry, threatening at any moment to launch a fresh meteorological tantrum.
The gate opened onto a broad clearing furnished with a dense carpet of ankle-high ferns. Fluffy fronds and little spiral shoots presenting every shade of verdant hue lay beaten down by the recent storm, flexible and unbroken, but momentarily subdued.
Beyond the ferns lay the forest, a wall of tangled trunks and creeping ivy, brown and black and gray among the omnipresent green. Oaks stood shoulder-to-shoulder with walnuts and elms, and even a few maple trees, battling the green stems and choking grasp of lesser flora. It crowded around the edges of the clearing, younger, smaller growth filling the gaps between the mighty, gnarled trunks of the older trees, sending probing limbs out into the overcast clearing as though eager to see what fresh fool had emerged from the Nexus gate.
The Tangled Green, more than any other 'verse Kelly had been to so far, was alive. For the moment it was quiet, stunned in the wake of the storm, but it didn't feel empty; It felt patient - as though at any moment it could rise to sudden action. Standing before the gate, the psychic's higher senses only reached to the edge of the clearing, but even in that limited sphere there hid an entire ecosystem. Leaving aside the abundance of ferns, already beginning to stir as their springy stems recovered from the battering rain, there were snakes, insects, small mammals huddled beneath the soil. He could see their thermal signatures, taste their kirlian glow, feel the subtle radio-spectrum pressures of the their simple neurology. They were like little stars, surprisingly complex, shining softly among the fractal fronds of their tiny, fern-based cosmos.
Kelly increased his neural clock-speed and spared a long moment to appreciate them. The denizens that lurked within the woods wouldn't be nearly so benign.
And that's without even accounting for whatever defenses Nebula may have prepared...
Snapping back into a the normal flow of events, Kelly walked the perimeter of the clearing, plucking leafy sticks and stems from the brush, weaving them into his hair and looping them through his belt. Dirt and plant-matter stained his fingers, and the smell of sap and fresh chlorophyll wafted from the organic elements of his disguise.
In most places, the undergrowth was so dense as to be impenetrable without a machete, and even then progress would be laughably slow. Even at the edge of his extrasensory perceptions, few clear inroads presented themselves. There was a single well-worn hiking trail - probably the main route to the verse's interior - and a few smaller footpaths paths, nearly entirely eclipsed by the encroaching vegetation.
The traveler considered the treetops, but even a cursory examination, in any spectrum, showed the canopy wasn't dense enough here to make a viable alternative route. He'd have to wait to make use of it until he was further into the forest, where the trees were older, and the perpetual arboreal twilight for which the Tangled Green was known set in in earnest.
But which way to go? I can't just wander at random.
Kelly checked his liberator aide, fiddling with the settings and studying the hi-tech guantlet's little display for any sign of Nebula activity, any indication of the direction in which their stronghold might lie.
... Hn. Nothing. Well, I was told that the range was a little short. I guess I'll just have to head for the center of the 'verse and work outward from there.
The psychic recalled the database entry on the Green he'd memorized all those months ago, at Fort AMBR.
If nothing else, I'll eventually run into the Ninjas or the Elves. If I haven't found anything by then, they might be able to point me in the right direction. All else failing, I'll call Doctor Regal and ask him exactly where he's been sending his scouts - but I don't think that will be necessary.
He chose one of the lesser paths, wending off through the trees towards the west. Every step of the way branches clawed at his arms and clothing, though a cursory psychokinetic effort kept them from his face. He parted the green just enough - like a prophet's understudy. Still, it was tough going, even for someone with a frame as lean and wiry as his - his height, combined with the simple rules of physical proportion, meant that his broad, angular shoulders presented a prime target for grasping greenery. The psychic soon accumulated an impressive collection of scrapes. He held his quarterstaff close, and keeping it from getting tangled was a minor nuisance.
Kelly grimaced, the predatory slopes of his face reduced to stark suggestions by camouflage and the deepening gloom.
I've got the feeling this is the kind of problem that's likely to come to me.
RE: [Dark Data} Shadows on the Green - Nebula - 05-13-2017
The Liberator slowly wanders through the dense forest, meandering and weaving through the underbrush as he struggles to stay on the quickly fading path. His hobnailed boots find it challenging to find purchase amongst the damp moss cloaked roots and fallen trunks of ancient giants. Thick shafts of green tinted light filter down through the oppressive canopy, catching the cross sections of steam motes. The vapor rises lazily through the heavy air, wafting with it reflective bits of pollen and dust.
The sounds of cicadas buzz in the air, giving a steady backing choir for the chirping birds and screeching, unknown beasts. The predatory prime slinks through the undergrowth, his camouflage allowing the alien blues of his clothes and the warm tones of his skin to melt backwards into his environment. The various leaves and hanging vines brush past his arms, caressing him with gentle fingers and smearing the small bits of blood from his scrapes across his shoulders.
Without much standing in his way aside from painfully slow progress, the Liberator finds himself treading down a seemingly carved pathway. Bits of the stone walkway could be seen peering out from under the algae build up and mud. Out of curiosity Kelly uses his telekinetic gift- a slight movement of his right ring finger was all that was used to express it- and shifts a larger clump of debris out of the way. Stooping down to look closer he notices eroded runes and symbols adorn the path, telling some sort of epic legend about a long forgotten people. The extinct language of hieroglyphs feels distantly familiar to the Old Mind, though in what sense he'd never figure out.
He is, however, compelled to explore the area more thoroughly. As he stood he felt a sharp twinge in his chest that could only be described as an intense nostalgia and paranoia. It surprises him to a small degree but the emotion is quickly discarded as he takes in the sight.
A tall but slumped structure lays half-buried beneath the blanket of decomposing plant matter. It's slouched form is swaddled in various twisting vines and gnarled roots seeking to conquer the unnatural architecture. A massive moss-draped tree perches atop the ancient edifice, it's mighty roots penetrating the rotting stonework - and cradled within them lies a tunnel, its crumbling masonry held together only by the binding tendrils of those selfsame arboreal destroyers. The green light leaves a sharp contrast against the dark bark, filtering down though the broad yellow leaves. At first the building is nothing but a silhouette, then it's features come into focus.
The heavy stone is chiseled in the same language as the pathway, only this time bearing frightful images of war and disease. The pathway leading up to the door of this slumbering temple is disturbed. There was obvious signs of activity, from how the debris was moved to how several roots oozed sap from a violent slash.
The Liberator-Aide sounds up, its shrill urgency cutting through the muggy air. A red dot flashes on the screen, hostile no more than one hundred feet away. Expanding his mind, he feels nothing of a higher consciousness, just the forest creatures and a dark squirming pressure.
Suddenly the ground begins to rumble. A huge root ruptures from the earth no more than ten feet from the Prime. It sweeps towards him, aiming to strike him across the gut. The damp dirt began to churn, appearing to bubble as a network of roots shifted. The decaying stone path is torn apart as the temple itself straightens its crooked spine. A sub-bass groan sounded out as the ancient tree gnashed it's roots together, turning the entrance into a desperately hungry maw. From out of it's mouth belched swarms of spiders intent on encasing their target.
It flung another large root out at its foe; the giant wanted blood.
Quote: Encounter!
Kelly has encountered a 15 meter tall Corrupted Tree Giant with stats of 3/4/0/1 and several means of horribly flagellating things with thorny vines and tendrils to grab you with.
The horrible swarms of spiders have stats of 1/1/3/0
The tree possesses Physical Strength, Ranged, Remote Control, Ranged Materialize, Survival and Regeneration (Advanced)
You have one post, which may be up to 1500 words, to contend with this abomination unto nature. You have five days to make said post. Best of luck!
RE: [Dark Data} Shadows on the Green - Kelly MacAryn - 05-15-2017
Kelly dove into a forward-roll across the shifting stones of the ancient road, and the flailing, gnarled tree-root swept harmlessly over his head, trailing damp soil and the smell of living rot. With his haunt painting a clear picture of the additional incoming dangers, he transitioned seamlessly into a crouch, then leapt, springing immediately into the air, tucking his legs to avoid the second wildly questing wooden tendril as it swept through the space formerly occupied by his head.
The traveler landed in a shallow stance, just in time for the first wave of spiders to close in, swarming through the undergrowth with frightening speed. He broke left, momentarily increasing his neural clock-speed in order to stay ahead of the chittering arachnid mass, using his enhanced senses to pick his footing as more tree-roots, some of them truly massive, tore themselves from the ground and joined the attack. Tangled ivy and the knobby roots of less violent flora crowded his feet, threatened to trip him as he ran.
It's big, but its slow - too slow to use its mass effectively. I could probably take a couple of hits, but how am I going to stop it? It's a tree. I could blow it apart if I powered up, but this probably isn't the worst thing that's going to happen to me today. I'd rather save the vector-sketch for when I need it.
The air was full of flying soil, the moaning roar of timber under strain, and angry wooden tentacles. As the momentary cerebral boost wore off, Kelly dodged another mighty glacial swing, feeling the putrid wind as it swept past his face, sidestepped a follow-up blow descending from above, and ducked behind a much less aggressive oak tree, which shuddered from the impact of yet another of its corrupted cousin's warlike roots.
There's a smarter way to do this anyway. It's uprooting itself to attack me, and a tree that size has to weigh at least seventy tons. If I can get it angry enough, get it to compromise its anchorage, it'll be more or less just balanced on top of that temple - and the way its breaking the stonework by pretending to have a mouth isn't doing it any favors. Then its just a matter of shifting it... dropping another tree or two on top of it should do for that, and I can leave the rest to gravity.
... of course, that means I'm going to have to let it swing at me for a few minutes.
The spiders were closing in again. The traveler could feel them with his higher perceptions, barely make out the clicking of their mandibles beneath the swoop and rumble of the more obvious threat. He darted from his momentary shelter with his staff held in one hand, the other outstretched, firing force-bolts into the swarm. The impacts churned the earth, sending ichor, fuzzy black bodies and chitinous hairy legs fountaining into the air. Kelly was pleased to see the swarm disperse after only a few hits - just in time for the corrupted temple to vomit forth another raft of spiders.
He frowned, taking note, but there were other things demanding his attention. A root as big around as his arm descended from above, lashing like the tentacle of some mighty filth-encrusted kraken. The ground roiled as another mighty limb tore itself from the soggy earth, trailing thorny protuberances.
Kelly dove between them, their lesser tendrils clawing at his clothing and cutting his face, but he avoided the brunt of the attack, and the two limbs collided with a resounding crack. The corrupted tree-creature's temple-mouth gnashed, adding the rumble of grinding stone to the ongoing cacophony. The traveler turned, charging a force-bolt in the palm of his hand, and fired at the thing's trunk, splintering bark and splitting wood - only for the damage to repair itself as he watched.
Well. That complicates things.
The trunk shifted, shaking with something too primitive to be called anger. The psychic's haunt shouted a warning - and vines dropped from the canopy, algae-stained bark streaked with black, twisting like snakes. The two damaged tree-roots flailed limply - but those too were beginning to knit themselves back together, and even more were tearing themselves from their anchorage in the soft black soil, uprooting the undergrowth. They were converging on him, sweeping towards him.
Also, he was surrounded by spiders.
One thing at a time.
First, the vines. Kelly couldn't allow himself to be immobilized - speed was his main advantage in this fight. He reached out with his psychokinesis, levitating a swarm of stony debris from the shattered path, and sent the shards sailing into the descending mass of grasping vegetation, shredding it. He ducked and weaved, deflecting with his staff, feeling the shock of impact running up his arms, numbing his shoulders when a root made solid contact.
The spiders were crawling up his legs.
Kelly could feel the bites, a running tally of tiny bites and stings, individually negligible, but they would add up quickly. He concentrated on the soil, sending a wave of black earth sweeping across his shins, burying the swarm.
After that, things got frantic. Kelly wove back and forth before the eastern face of the tree-topped-temple, evading manically as his feet threatened to sink into the wet soil. The undergrowth provided less of a hindrance, having been largely destroyed by the fury of the corrupted titan's lashing roots, but there was so much to keep track and the loose ground was so uneven, that it was hardly an advantage. The rumble and groan of moving wood was omnipresent; The scent of soil and mold and chlorophyll: overpowering. Roots of all sizes thrust and flailed at him from every side, tearing his clothing. Questing vines descended from above, and ever more spiders emerged from the depths of temple maw.
It was exhausting, and the psychic was beginning to flag. His arms were getting sluggish from the shock of repeated defensive impact, he'd already taken several glancing blows, and he was discovering, to his dismay, that parts of his neuromuscular physiology were still sluggish: some of the traveler's more artful dodges were taking a considerable toll on his stamina.
Fortunately, it didn't look like he'd have to keep it up much longer. According to his higher perceptions, very nearly the entire root-system on this side of the temple was currently trying to kill him.
Here we go.
Taking advantage of a momentary lull, Kelly dropped his staff, flexed his knees until he was very nearly crouching, and jumped as high as he could, sailing almost thirty feet towards the canopy, kicking off the trunk of the same tree he'd hidden behind earlier in order to reach a high branch. It was an ability he'd begun to suspect had returned over the course of the fight, the nimbleness of his footwork and the ease with which he leapt over flailing tree-roots speaking of vastly increased capacities, and he was glad to see that his hunch was correct.
There was no time for self-congratulation though. As the traveler grabbed hold and hung on with one hand, fingernails digging into the algae-slick surface, he could sense the canopy shifting, vines beginning to slither in his direction. He could see spiders swarming up the trunk.
That was okay. He only need about ten seconds.
Kelly selected two likely looking trees, near the edge of the combat zone. Their trunks were only slightly thicker than his waist, maybe twenty meters tall, Hardwood - they likely weighed in the neighborhood of ten tons each. With the momentum of a fall behind them, and the still-underground root system on the opposite side of the temple acting as a fulcrum, he figured they'd be more than enough to unseat his mutated tormentor from its ancient perch. It was highly unlikely that it would have the strength to right itself, and the shock might even kill it.
At five-second intervals and precisely calculated angles, two highly-concentrated psychic force-bolts flew from his hand. Wood shattered, blown apart by the sheer impact of carefully focused power. The two mighty titans of the forest creaked, no longer able to support their own weight, and began to fall. The creaking became a groan, eclipsing that of their unnaturally mobile cousins flexing fibers, and they tilted, plunging toward the tree atop the temple, their trunks tearing through the canopy, hissing and crashing as they gained speed, two arboreal freight-trains rushing towards the psychic's chosen target.
Timber.
Quote:1414 words according to wordcounter.net
RE: [Dark Data} Shadows on the Green - Nebula - 05-25-2017
The ancient tree let loose an utter worldly scream as the two smaller hardwoods slammed into it. Its bark and flesh was shorn off from the sheer friction. As it fell to the ground it threw out its tendrils, roots and vines in a vain attempt to hold itself up- yet the mass of the tree worked against it. Vines gave off high pitched whines before snapping and the roots failed to find a sufficient purchase in the soft freshly churned soil.
As if having a tantrum the goliath flailed its massive roots with whatever the primal equivalent to indignity was- aiming to cause as much destruction as possible before it gave up on the fight. While it held no higher thought process, if one were to become the tree they would feel nothing but it’s discomfort about having almost the entire extent of its underground network either twisted up or completely naked to the world.
One could almost say that the spider vomiting tree monster felt a semblance of embarrassment from being so exposed in front of a foe.
How positively rude of the man to be so inconsiderate.
The tree found it even more unbearable when the strange pink fleshed creature diverted its attention away in order to investigate other more important things. With its infantile and primitive grasping of reality it took utmost offense- and who could really blame the poor thing? It wasn’t born wishing that it could drool chitinous bodies or move around. All it had ever dreamed of was existing as a normal tree and yet it found itself at horrible situation after horrible situation. No one had ever asked the tree how it felt.
But just moments ago, about half a kilometer away a patrol of Darklings had found themselves shivering at the wretched screams that echoed in the damp midday air. Their leader had decided that it would be a pretty smart decision to go and investigate the tormented screams of a carpentry class gone wrong and no one could convince him otherwise.
The ragtag gang was made up of six Darklings and their brash and overly masculine captain. Four were male, and the other two appeared female. The newest members was a pair a twins, one named Steve and the other one named Steven.
They were young- in their earlier twenties at the most- and wild. Leaving their homes for adventure they had found themselves wandering through the jungle searching for ancient lost treasure. Their lovely mother had sent them off each with a bag full of supplies and several containers of her homemade bug repellent, as well as her motherly love and blessings that their travels fared well.
One could say that these two young whelps were the least corrupted with only a week or so spent amongst the ranks. They were still green when it came to using their swords as they had been trained with the bow- yet when push came to shove Nebula apparently had the archery section covered and a shortage on normal infantry.
As they came up on the area their eyes collectively widened at the site of the thrashing tree.
“Is that thing... pinned to the ground with more trees?” Steve managed to quietly ask as they all stared.
It was only then that they noticed the scraggly looking dirt covered prime standing in the now-clearing. And of course, their commander did the only thing he thought acceptable for such an occasion:
"FOR NEBULA! FOR THE DARKNESS OF CORRUPTION!"
Then he charged forward towards the unknown man. In the back, a regular dude named Steven picked up his sword, taking it in both hands as he readied himself to charge into battle. To his left, a tree explodes and the prime came leaping out, a muddy staff in hand and ready to smash the poor boy’s face in.
For a moment the world seemed to freeze as Steven, the most average and normal of humans - even more so than his brother Steve- attempted to block the attacker’s rush.
You're probably wondering how I got here... You see, it all started six months ago when my brother and I started adventuring. We only ended up here after a series of very unfortunate events in which we were sent running from a brothel- no no, I won’t get into the details of that one right now, but let’s just say it was due to a certain misunderstanding between us and a nobleman’s favorite mistress. Actually, it was more a disagreement with the noble over said mistress.
Aaah, details details. Such tricky little things. Didn’t I say we weren’t going to get too into those? My bad.
I grew up in a family where I had eight siblings, five brothers- four if you excluded my twin brother- and three sisters. As the two middle children, I guess you could say that my twin and I bonded over our mutual invisibility in a household so big. And while I would never insinuate that our mother ignored us or didn’t love us, I can’t blame her for being busy all the time.
After our oldest three brothers left the nest, she just.. Got sick one day while out in the garden. None of our village’s doctors could figure out the issue, and so Steve and I decided that we’d go out and adventure for treasure so we could afford to bring our mom to the hospital in Ambrosia.
And now I’m here, in the middle of a god forsaken jungle, staring up wide-eyed and ready to ruin my pants because some half-tree ponytailed dirt-monster has launched himself at me.
I hope he has mercy.
Quote:Encounter!
While the tree is knocked down and less of a threat, it’s still a threat. Same stats and powers.
Kelly has encountered: Darkling patrol squad.
-- Six regular underlings, considered to have 1 in ever stat.
-- One Darkling sergeant, with stats of 2/1/1/2
-- Every one of them has the Survival power, along with Physical Strength and Ranged Proficiency.
-- They wield various weaponry, as well as anything natural (fangs, claws, etc.)
You have one post, which may be up to 1200 words, to contend with this abomination unto nature. You have five days to make said post. Good luck! (and be nice to Steven D:< )
RE: [Dark Data] Shadows on the Green - Mega Man X - 05-26-2017
Quote:Takes place outside of the current encounter. Word limit will be applied in the next post within the fight proper.
A brief sense of vertigo overcame the android's center of gravity as he passed through the portal. Although X managed to avoid falling over, he nonetheless lamented his lack of gyro stabilizers. Another feature worth adding to the growing list that the Mega Man found himself deprived of.
Upright and focused, X performed a visual scan over the immediate area. The obelisk he had been traveling towards had turned out to be a portal of some kind, no doubt leading to one of the many worlds that comprised the Omniverse. Thankfully, if the mottled picture beyond the shimmering gate hadn't given any indication, the arch itself built from weathered bark and choking vines gave an accurate expectation.
Above all that, however, X found himself surprised at how genuine all this life appeared to be. The plants grew without restriction or bidding, and the sounds of animals chirping and skittering about pervaded the atmosphere. Even the air and sky held little trace of anything but the natural ecosystem of a pure planet. X had not seen many true, live jungles in his time, but this place could not be anything else but the prime example of one.
To think, however, that there lived here something dark and cunning- an invasive species, as it were. That is why X was here: to dispose of that evil force. But first, he needed that device that the doctor had been talking about...
Seeing nothing humanoid so far, X decided to take his chances and start walking. The forest had carved itself a natural footpath, in the form of beaten earth with the occasional root or brush. If Regal's message proved true, then surely the aide would stumble upon the new Liberator in due time. For the sake of ease, however, X made slower strides with his clomping boots, trying to stay within the realm of "easily found" for the moment.
The only issue with that is if something else found the android, while he remained so weak.
As the thought came into his head, X's hand morphed away to be replaced with the muzzle of his X-Buster. No trouble had come yet, but it would be amiss of the Mega Man to walk into a potential danger unprepared. This too came with the reminder that he could not see danger coming without his improved vision. He could hardly hear his own servos over the fine ambient noise of the forest, however pleasing it was to the receptors.
So the android plodded along, X-Buster aloft at the ready, carefully stepping over dips and roots in the beaten dirt path. The going was slow, yet steady, and he promised himself that he would more more deftly when he had that Liberator Aide.
Soon enough, he came along a split in the path. One side curved off further into the twisting woodlands. The other seemed to move on in a relatively straight-forward road, and pointing it out was a basic wooden sign that read: "City of Ambrosia, Haven to all Unusual".
How curious- and yet, there seemed something oddly innocent about it. X studied the sign for a short while, before hearing something odd that droned out all the other chirps and rustles of the area. It sounded like a sharp droning, almost like some sort of insect- no, the tone was too choppy for that. Maybe some sort of motor...?
The puzzle solved itself quickly, as the sight of something barreling down the path became all too apparent. X's cameras zeroed in as best as they could afford, and determined the shape of a human riding a vehicle. Some stark white single-person machine, both it and the rider's own larger coat stained with waves of dust and grime. The machine seemed just like those old-fashioned electric scooters from the former times before X's awakening- it would explain why the motor sounded so fuzzy and grating.
In expectation, X lowered his Buster, and in turn the incoming ride began to slow down. The droning electric engine petered out to a low droll as the bouncing wheels rolled out to a near stop. This must be the assistant Dr. Regal was talking about, the android decided, watching how the lab-coated figure steered the scooter aside the road near where X stood. The man spared one more glance at something strapped to his wrist before hopping off the bike.
"You're the new Liberator I was informed about, right?" The human said, adjusting the bulky chrome biker's helmet on his head.
Mega Man X nodded in affirmation, stepping forward and holding out his free hand. "I believe so. You can call me X," the android introduced himself, solid but warm.
"Perfect." Without skipping a beat, the lab assistant pulled off the glove from his left hand and moved to dress the metallic left hand offered to him. Very curious at this gesture, X pulled away briefly as the device fastened itself, molding around the shape of the Mega Man's open hand to fit him comfortably. He overturned the gauntlet to examine it, and as his eyes locked onto the wrist-mounted readout, it suddenly lit up.
"That, my friend, is your Liberator Aide," The assistant announced, as the device's energy patterns began to coalesce around the humanoid machine's form. X began to fiddle with the invention, which prompted the human to explain, "It has shielding and healing functions, a built-in radar for tracking both Nebula and fellow Liberators, and a lot of installing Battle Chips, should you ever find any." Though his advice didn't seem to be regarded by the robot, Regal's aid thought it polite to explain anyway- that is, until the Mega Man's eyes began to light up with that same readout of the Aide itself.
"Of course," the human quickly added, "You may be experienced with this kind of device already."
X looked up as his eye-cameras took focus, the connected readout of the Liberator Aide shrinking to a corner of his receptors. "Well, not this sort of device exactly. You say Dr. Regal invented this?"
The assistant's expression beamed, taking a bit of pride for the appreciation. "That he did. He's had experience with Nebula before, in case you didn't know," he rattled out, taking a certain pride in his association with the inventor. "I hope you don't mind me saying this, but you look an awful lot like the Navis he frequently works with."
X raised an eyebow, a common expression of curiosity or confusion. "What are Navis?"
"They're uh, well-" The intern stumbled over the words for a moment. "They're like digital programs, but in a physical sort of form. The simple ones are basic machines, while the complex ones are more humanoid, like yourself." The android nodded once again, quickly understanding the idea. The assistant took it as an indication that the concept needed no further explanation.
"Well, if you don't mind, I need to get going," he quickly dismissed himself, stepping back to the scooter and mounting it. "I gotta go keep lookout on the Gate, and you've gotta go help take down Nebula. That one guy's all by himself out there!" Without a further word, the assistant kick-started his ride again, quickly bumping back up the trail where X came from.
X found his emotion replaced with concern again at those parting words. As the droning engine started fading away, the android diverted his attention to the radar of the Aide. A glowing yellow blip was showing up on one of the far edges, along with several red blips. That could only mean one thing.
If there was any time to move quick, it would be now.
RE: [Dark Data} Shadows on the Green - Kelly MacAryn - 05-29-2017
The rationale behind Kelly's choice of targets was threefold: Steven was the most nervous-looking, he was standing slightly further from the core of his unit than the others, and the sandy-haired darkling had exactly the kind of prominent, bandy knees that made easy targets for a man with a quarterstaff.
Sloughing the sudden burst of neurophysical acceleration that he'd used to position himself, Kelly struck high, drawing a sloppy parry from his opponent. The staff whispered and the traveler struck the other man on the inside of the knee with the nimble weapon's opposite end, noting the crisp-vegetable crunch of breaking tendons with grim satisfaction. Steven yelped, one hand leaving his sword, and began to fall, his left leg suddenly useless. Kelly brushed his sword aside, shoulder-checked him, and the darkling went sprawling.
Steven's companions had already begun to reposition, moving to surround the psychic. He glided past his fallen opponent, stepping lightly over the churned earth as he closed on the next-nearest enemies - a pair of young women wearing halter-tops with their fatigue-pants. Their faces were pale, and something about them put the psychic in mind of beach volleyball. Each one had a machete and an assortment of sheathed knives strapped to their bodies in unlikely places.
The psychic focused on the ground under their feet, his psychokinetic abilities shifting the loose soil beneath their boots, and their legs went out from under them. Two more darklings approached him from behind with police-batons in hand, vividly obvious to his inhuman senses. The traveler pulled the exact same trick, upsetting their footing and sending them face first into the forest floor, then fired off a pair of force-bolts directly into the faces of the two blade enthusiasts as they began to pick themselves up. Cartilage and bone popped and crackled like fireworks in milk. The pale women fell back, sputtering wetly, as though they'd run head-first into a stop-sign made of granite.
Suddenly, Kelly's haunt painted him an urgent picture. He backstepped just in time to avoid the distressed flailing of a particularly long tree-root. Soil and the smell of rot exploded outward, and he heard the chittering of yet another swarm of spiders.
I'm really starting to hate that thing...
The leader of the darkling unit closed in, a wickedly curved battle-axe in his hands. He was heavyset, and dressed in full combat fatigues with seargant's stripes, camouflaged in shades of black, purple, and extremely dark green. His face was covered in bony protrusions, and to Kelly's higher senses he radiated a foul miasma, glowing in some nameless spectrum.
"YOU DARE TO RESIST?! DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND WHO WE ARE?!"
The traveler didn't answer, more concerned about what was going on behind him. Instead, he took a long step back, pivoted, and dropped to one knee. He drove his staff into the stomach of one of the two men who'd tried to flank him earlier, interrupting a second attempt. Kelly heaved, using the darkling's own momentum to catapult him into his commanding officer, then rose and descended on the man's companion like a vengeful storm.
Knee, temple, groin, floating-rib, kick the face as he falls... and done.
There was a brief lull, and Kelly took stock of his surroundings. The man he'd just deconstructed wasn't going anywhere. The two machete-wielders were stirring, but probably not going to get up for at least another minute, provided they didn't suffocate on the ruins of their own sinuses. The guy he'd attacked first was still on the ground, and was probably going to stay there for the foreseeable future. Another darkling, who looked almost exactly like the one with the blown-out knee - he had slightly longer hair - was kneeling over him, radiating a mild sort of arm-flapping panic at the state of his comrade's ruined leg.
That leaves the sargeant, and the guy I threw at him. And also the spiders.
The chittering was almost on top of him already - the swarm rushing heedlessly over the uneven earth, flowing around the fallen forms of the darklings Kelly had defeated. The psychic concentrated, pushing through the haze of fatigue that was beginning to cloud his mind. He latched on to a significant chunk of the eight-legged masses with his psychokinesis, hurling them at the darkling commander and his underling, who were only just now disentangling themselves.
The underling and the spiders both panicked. The man ran, screaming his head off, tripping over broken paving-stones and swatting wildly at his body.
Kelly frowned, ducking another wild swing by an errant tree-root. The sargeant didn't seem bothered by his new coat coating of arachnids - and they didn't seem bothered by him. They simply milled, crawling over him while he regained his footing, and eventually scurried off to try and rejoin their fellows.
"STEVE!" yelled the darkling leader, hefting his axe in one beefy hand and producing a throwing knife from somewhere behind his back. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! KILLLL HIM!"
Steve didn't move.
The monstrous soldier didn't wait for his one remaining subordinate to respond. He simply threw his knife at Kelly and charged.
What came next was short and brutal. Instead of deflecting the knife, Kelly tried to sidestep, but didn't quite make it. The knife bit into his collarbone, but there was no time to give it any more than simple acknowledgement. The sargeant swung his axe, and Kelly deflected it, striking the man in the outside of the knee. The darkling dropped, and drove the haft of his weapon into the psychic's ribs, but Kelly shifted just enough that the blow skittered off to one side instead of striking deep. The quarterstaff came down, and the darkling caught it on his weapon, surging to his feet - just in time for Kelly to blast him in the chest.
The man staggered back. Kelly grit his teeth, and did it again.
"The others don't seem too far gone," he said, feeling a need to explain as he struck the sargeant repeatedly about the face and neck. "They get a pass - or something like it. You, on the other hand, seem practically rabid. I hope you understand."
With that, he stepped close and swept his opponent's legs, hooking him behind the knee with his staff and yanking upward so abruptly that the soldier kicked himself in the face.
The sargeant came down hard, confused by the repeated blows and the sudden fall - and where was his axe? He'd dropped it...
"STEEEEEVVV-"
The scream was cut off by the meaty thunk of a descending blade.
***
Kelly heaved, pulling the axe free. As much as he liked his staff, there was something satisfying about a really hefty blade. He turned to Steve, who was standing, mouth agape, between the Prime and his fallen brother.
"Are we going to have a problem?" the psychic asked, "or are you going to be reasonable?"
Steve looked at the carnage all around him, then back at its source. Somewhere, yet more spiders surged forth, chittering. The darkling gulped and nodded.
"Good," said the traveler, hefting the sargeant's axe and looking meaningfully at the fallen, flailing tree-monster. "Then stay there. If you'll excuse me for a minute, I've got some lumber-jacking to do."
Quote:1200 words exactly according to wordcounter.net
RE: [Dark Data] Shadows on the Green - Mega Man X - 05-30-2017
As X traveled, the forest quickly grew dense, and the beaten path in kind became more sparse. Branches of all varieties jabbed and clawed against the machine's armored hide, scuffing the material considerably and yet doing nothing more. Though his persistence made the android's going undeterred, it remained slow due to his current lack of boosters. He had considered manifesting them like he did his Dataverse connection, but the thick jungle would likely put a dent in how quickly he could move regardless. So, for the meantime, X pushed on manually, shoving through the sticks and brush and stepping over many sorts of snags and roots.
Birds scattered off in the distance, distorting the spotted canopy of light with brief small shadows. A terribly earthly crackling sounded out, one that could be deduced to the splintering and falling of leaf-covered wood. A crash more violent than any natural event ought to be shook the mile around the point of impact, scattering animal life away. X pushed on.
Gradually, the blips on the radar grew more apparent, indicating the ex-Maverick Hunter was getting close to his potential ally. The red indicators did not seem as fortunate, as one by one they faded from the readout. That Liberator, whoever they may be, certainly fought the good fight. However, one especially pressing indicator remained strong, as large as the others combined. Something would have to be done about that, and X bore no certainty that such a feat could be done alone.
The near-suffocating presence of trees soon gave way to some ancient stone path, where the sounds of shuddering plant-life resounded. This had to be the place. The blue bomber forced his way through the threshold and charged down the path, quick as his servos could carry him.
Some ancient cobbled temple lay toppled under three different trees, the lower-most one brandishing flailing roots like disgusting tentacles. As the android vaulted over one of the fallen trunks, he witnessed a scene of several beaten or otherwise debilitated people, where the Aide indicated these were enemies. All seemed taken down non-lethally by the only one left standing, a tall long-haired human brandishing a body-length staff. Though X did not make it apparent, he was thankful that the site of the battle did not appear nearly as gruesome as he imagined.
Then the man tore a battle axe from the bloodied corpse of some buff soldier, and X immediately rescinded the thought. Right. Darklings.
It proved a momentary enough distraction for the disgruntled tree-monster to smack the android over the helm with a whipping root. Much like the many other branches X had forced through before, it didn't do much besides knock him forward a step. The sharp metallic clunk the blow produced, however, alerted the present Liberator to the new arrival. Still brandishing the blood-lined axe, he glanced over the newcomer warily.
"Wait-" X's voice came out, stealing Kelly's opportunity to talk. The robot held up his left hand in what the Old Mind first interpreted as a gesture of peace; he quickly realized that the odd gauntlet worn over the hand looked identical to his own. "I've come to help," the android elaborated, trying to standing up tall and instead forcing himself to dodge another flailing root.
The tall man acknowledged this positively and nodded his confirmation. "Well, you're certainly welcome to help chop up that tree right there," he said matter-of-factually, regarding the evil trunk with a cold glance. "It's been a real pain, between the roots and the spiders."
Spiders?
X looked down, beholding a large cluster of spiders pooling around and up his boots. Several dozen tiny fangs tried to punch through the alloy shell, and failed miserably, but not without annoyance to the blue bomber. He shook and kicked out with his legs before the arachnids could make any more purchase on his form, and then resorted to just diving out of the way clumsily to dodge another swinging appendage.
Spiders. Great.
The android turned back and took reckless aim with his X-Buster, firing several blasts into the swarm. Bits of cobble and bug guts flew with every bolt, smearing the environment with further scars. Shooting a glance towards the human, X found him winding up a woodcutter's hack of the axe against the trunk of that corrupted wood. The robot jumps high into the air to avoid another swinging root, dispelling the last few spiders clinging to his titanium hide.
Smashing up the tree was all well and good, but something had to be done about those roots and the spiders coming from under them.
Caught in hang-time for a brief instant, X primed his weapon and began to charge it. Surges of solar and plasma energy coursed through his body, pooling most prominently in the X-Buster. He hit the ground with a heavy clunk, a few feet away from his starting position, then threw all his weight into another jump, leaping up and forward. As the ex-Hunter reached the apex of his jump, he took aim with the powered Buster, an indicator flashing green in his cameras as he zeroed in on the intended target: the mass of roots and rubble composing the base of the haunted tree.
"Incoming!" X cried out, warning Kelly of his attack. A large blast of violent plasma erupted from the X-Buster, sailing like a deadly missile towards the base. Hopefully that would slow it down, if nothing more.
RE: [Dark Data} Shadows on the Green - Nebula - 06-11-2017
With the sargent’s bloody execution, the remaining Darklings were more than happy to play dead, leaving Kelly and the robotic newcomer to deal with the more persistent menace.
By this point, the tree was dead on its roots. The outer bark was shattered and ripped up, and pieces of itself fell away with every shot from X’s arm cannon.
Kelly frowned. Then he gripped the axe and flew forward, neural throttle activating as he did so.
The tree made a half-hearted attempt to swipe at Kelly, but it had no true sentience and its target was too quick; the psychic hopped up on the branch and, utilising it as a springboard, leapt for the tree’s face.
The axe sunk deep into the tree’s already-wounded face, and it was enough to tip it backwards. Kelly hung on for dear life as it toppled, writhing.
“Finish it!” he cried.
Though the tree was disabled, it was still uncomfortably tenacious. It took several minutes of awkward hacking and blasting before its movements finally stopped. Even then, the duo kept their distance from the pile of dead wood before turning their attentions back to the darklings.
Though broken, the rest of the darklings were more-or-less alive. They watched Kelly and X with trepidation. Would it be a truce, or a fight?
Quote:Kelly takes 1 damage.
X takes 1 damage.
The six remaining darklings, not as fully-gone as most darklings, seem scared enough of you to listen. Do you trust them, or send them packing, or kill them? It’s your choice.
You have five days to post. No word count limit. Should you choose to ally with the Darklings, they will be able to lead you to the base where the portal to Nebula Space awaits.
RE: [Dark Data} Shadows on the Green - Mega Man X - 06-13-2017
The two Liberators stood still for a moment, in determination and awe. By now, the corrupted tree hardly looked like a plant anymore, the once-vintage trunks now shredded and scorched halfway. With X Buster and poleaxe at the ready, they waited for any last moments from the persistent creature. Several silent seconds came and went, with not even the tiniest hint of movement save for a few stray spiders escaping from the wreckage.
Finally, X relaxed. The battle had stretched on for a persistent amount of time, and the android lamented his relative lack of power. Bug guts and earthy grime were spattered all over his greaves, and his Buster still remained hot and smoking from the sheer amount of shots he had put out so far. Though breathing was just an auxiliary feature for the machine, he found himself doing it rather notably at the moment, as if his reserves of power were momentarily exhausted.
Time had no been so kind to the Mega Man.
"Well. I think that's everything so far," X remarked, removing his aim from the battered tree, "Unless those other people there have something to say." He turned aside, looking over the scattered Nebula soldiers with leering cameras. Some of them shrunk back slightly, in anticipation of the worst.
"I don't think they'll be a problem," the taller of the Liberators decided, lowering his stolen axe. He glanced between X and the grounded Darklings, and the robot made eye contact with the human for a brief moment. "What about yourself?"
Not having the opportunity to introduce himself during the battle, X did so now. The new Maverick Hunter snapped up straight, clapping his fist over his chestplate in salute, and announced, "Mega Man X. I'm a recent Prime, charged by Dr. Regal to liberate the area of Nebula influence." This seemed to earn a satisfactory response from the man, and the android mentally thanked himself for not having lost his sense of militia-grade respect.
The human turned to face X fully, offering his own name. "Kelly MacAryn. I appreciate the help."
The blue bomber nodded, glancing back to the Nebula agents. "What should we do with them? We can't just let them go- they're criminals, after all," X wondered aloud, welcome for suggestions. It's possible they knew the location of whatever encampment the dark organization held here, but what would it take to get that info out of them? Would a compromise or ultimatum be worth it?
"I think I have a plan," Kelly responded, eyeing a particularly nervous Darkling among the bunch.
RE: [Dark Data} Shadows on the Green - Kelly MacAryn - 06-13-2017
Kelly retrieved the darkling sergeant's body, tendrils of invisible force dragging it over to rest beside his boots. The dead man's uniform slithered and hissed as it slid over the soft, lumpy soil.
Satisfied with the set-dressing, the traveler turned to face his audience, gripping his staff in his left hand and resting it squarely against his shoulder while he gestured with the axe, leveling the double-blade squarely at the lone uninjured Nebula soldier.
"You. You're name is Steve?"
Steve nodded, swallowing nervously. "Uh - yes. Yes, sir."
A thin, humorless smile crept across Kelly's face. "Hello Steve. Can I assume by the resemblance that the fellow whose health you've been so preoccupied by is your twin brother? A simple yes or no will be fine."
The blond young darkling was silent for a moment, looking around at his fellows. A faint smell of buster-shot ozone cut through the wet air, clashing with the wet, healthy scents of the forests. The two sporty machete-wielders sat in the dirt, and did their best to give him dirty looks as they burbled and gasped through the ruins of their sinuses. One lay motionless, whimpering, and another was still slapping at spiders, delirious from venom and babbling under his breath.
And, of course, there was the late sergeant.
"Quite so- uh, that is, yes."
The traveler let the axe fall prone, holding the weapon casually at his side. He tightened his grip slightly, forcing the muscles in his forearm prominence, and narrowed his eyes in a way that he knew made them seem to sink deeper into his face - two little blue pools, alien and distant within their shelters, studying their subject like a bug on a slide.
He stopped fighting out of concern for his sibling , even ignored his commanding officer. There's probably a very strong bond there: typical for twins, highly exploitable.
"Excellent. It speaks well of your faculties that you've held on to that connection. Keep it in mind - a man should always value his relationships, especially here. I'm going to ask you some questions now, Steve - but before I do, there are some things you should know about me. First, I'm a very potent psychic, and I've been doing this kind of thing for a very long time: Lying will get you nowhere fast. Second, I don't enjoy killing, so if its at all possible I'd prefer you and your unit survive this little encounter. Cooperate, and you'll all get out of this alive. Third, while I'm not a bloodthirsty monster, I am a very practical man, and time is a factor - so if you hesitate, or try to dissemble, or absent gods forbid actually lie to me, I'm going to break your brother's arms. Do you understand?"
"What?" squeaked Steven, lying where he'd fallen. "What did he say about my arms?"
Kelly watched Steve carefully, observing the fluctuations in his body temperature, the dilation of his pupils, the play of tension, anger and fear across his sallow face. The man twitched, tensed - and relaxed.
"Yes," he sighed.
You're mine, kid. For what it's worth, I'm sorry I had to be a jerk about it.
The strategist sensed his android ally moving behind him, advancing to stand near his shoulder. The machine's mood was hard to read, the radio-spectrum glow of a power-core and energy-distribution systems frustratingly opaque. It made Kelly very aware that although his extrasensory perceptions had returned, much of his high-resolution processing capacity was still limited.
Water pattered on leaves. Somewhere in the near distance, a bird departed the soggy canopy, squawking loudly amid the rustle of disrupted foliage.
"Let's begin then," Kelly said. "First, tell me about Nebula's stronghold in the Green. Where is it located?
***
The interrogation took almost an hour. Kelly coaxed, intimidated and cajoled, cueing off a combination of invisible biophysical tells, facial expressions, and vast, hazy experience to squeeze every drop of information from his darkling prisoner. All the while the azure android watched, wondering about his fellow liberator. If it came to it, would the man make good on his threats? Some of what they learned was old news, but much of it was fresh intelligence. Nebula's local base was located several kilometers further into the 'verse, among the stone ruins of an ancient jungle civilization, and included some kind of portal to a pocket-dimension, which was their actual stronghold. The outer defenses were, as Regal had led him to expect, relatively light - a small garrison of fairly mundane troops supplemented by a perimeter made of tiger-traps, deadfalls, net and noose traps, jungle beasts, and other assorted unpleasantness.
Steve had never been inside the portal.
The prisoner hesitated only once, when one of the other darklings interrupted him, snuffling through her broken face to tell him he should stop talking or he was going to get them all poisoned and left to rot.
Kelly allowed himself to look mildly surprised. "Really? Poisoned? Is that a typical punishment, or somebody's favorite? No, don't strain yourself miss. I want to hear it from Steve."
As it turned out, she was afraid of the garrison-commander. Steve didn't know his name, but he was supposedly viciously fast, and liked to use poisons.
Finally satisfied that he'd get nothing more out of the bony young Nebula trooper, the psychic turned his attention to X.
"Well. That was productive. Thank you for being so patient."
"No problem," responded the reploid, "but we still have the same issue we did before. What are we going to do with them? We certainly can't trust them. Were you lying when you said you were going to let them live? "
Kelly smiled, though it didn't quite reach his eyes, and knelt down, beginning to strip something off the darkling sergeant's corpse - a harness for the battle-axe, slung across the fallen soldier's back. The psychic had decided to take the blade with him.
"Oh. That. A simple solution - Steve is going to help us tie up his brother, and his friends, using some of those sturdy vines that were giving me trouble right before you showed up. We'll leave them in the hollow left by that horrible tree's root-system, at the top of the crumbling temple over there - it should keep them safe from any prowling tyrannosaurs until our business here is finished, though I imagine they'll have to deal with the occasional spider."
X looked puzzled, and an ancient servo whirred and clicked as he tilted his head to one side in confusion. "So what about Steve, then?"
Kelly stood, his new weapons stowed across his back, and blew a stray strand of dark, wet hair out of his face. "He's coming with us. After all - he knows where all the traps are."
Quote:I am, in fact, buying the axe as a move.
RE: [Dark Data} Shadows on the Green - Nebula - 06-25-2017
Kelly and X prodding their captive Steve forward, his arms bound with vine, trudged through the jungles. The darkling had directed them on a path that made little sense; there were no markings or way posts to inform them they were on the right track. The going had been tough, requiring them to tear through thick foliage and funnel through tall, spindly grass, hoping all the while that they weren't being led into a trap.
They pushed through a dense curtain of vines covering a small gap between two rock faces, and they shimmied through. On the other side, it was clear that Steve was being true to his word.
Several stone, square buildings rested in the middle of a clearing. Vines and brave trees crept along their surfaces, criss-crossing the deep grey masonry with streaks of verdant plant life. A barren path had been beaten between these ancient structures, two buildings on either side, with the smallest one at the end. There were no signs of any traps or wild beasts; instead, only the chirping of insects, screeching of monkeys and the cawing of birds reaching them from all corners of the Tangled Green.
"It's really quiet here," X said, a hand on his buster.
Kelly poked Steve in the back with a stiff finger. "I thought you said there were traps. Soliders. Where's the danger?"
"I-I don't understand it," Steve said, eyes wild as he glanced feverishly from side to side. "Where is everyone ...?"
A long, silver cone whistled through the air and sank into Steve's neck.
"Quick! Behind one of this buildings!" X said.
The duo grabbed hold of the darkling as he fell to his knees and dragged him into the safety of cover. Another half dozen pointed projectiles thrummed into the building and the soil all around them.
"Steve, this better not be a trap," Kelly warned, but he knew by the unnatural violet colour that spread from the neck wound that it may have been the darkling who was ambushed as well.
Steve tried to move his lips, his face bright red. Foam bubbled from his lips as he choked and spluttered. His head sagged onto the ground, eyes staring into nothing.
"Poison," X said.
"This must be courtesy of the garrison commander," Kelly said, yanking the silver cone from Steve's neck. He manoeuvred it in his hand, causing some of the thin purple toxin to leak from the sharp tip. "And fast-acting, too."
X peered around the corner of the moss eaten stone. A lithe humanoid bee floated on the air before the small stone structure at the end of the path, pointing its clenched fist at their location as another stinger loaded into the launcher affixed to its forearm. It fired, and X ducked behind the building. He felt the wind of the projectile as it whistled past his cheek.
"A bee!" X said, pointing.
Kelly left the darkling corpse and probed beyond their cover with his psychic power. He sensed the bee-man dash into the end building. "He's escaping. The portal must be inside."
Kelly and X sprinted down the path, the psychic all the while spreading out his senses to ensure they didn't run afoul of a trap. They passed through the threshold just as the buzz of the bee-man's wings vanished behind a veil of black.
"What is that?" X asked.
A tangle of vines coiled around themselves to form an arc, beneath which a pulsing oval of black space hummed and vibrated, lightning crackling over its surface.
"That must be the portal that Steve talked about," Kelly said. "Well, we can't let that guy get away."
The world around them shimmered as they slipped through dimensions, chasing their darkling quarry.
The duo choked on the heavy, pungent air as they slipped through the veil. An eerie red light suffused the sky, visible only between the small gaps between the leafy canopy, such a dark green that it almost appeared black. A gossamer-thin layer of fog wafted on the air, manifesting in tiny white wisps that floated and vanished among the breeze. Monstrous trees, some thick and as tall as skyscrapers, held creatures cawing and screeching high in their boughs, though the sound was strangled, deepened and savage.
A wide path had been carved through the untamed wilderness. On either side, exotic plants and vibrant flowers bloomed, though there was something insidious about them; how they swayed in the wind, and how they snapped to Kelly and X as they strode in as if they were being watched.
Kelly held his temples. "Something ... doesn't feel right. I can't ... I can't sense things."
Shadows darted from the undergrowth down the path and sprinted towards the duo.
"Looks like we've got company," X said, raising his arm cannon.
The crimson light peeled the shadows away. A horde of midget humanoids skittered about, wearing blocky wooden masks painted with fierce, grimacing visages. Feathers sprouted from their heads and shoulders, and their grass skirts swayed with their quick movements. Some gripped tubes of bamboo and bags filled with darts, others held onto long machetes crusted with old, dried blood.
"Something tells me they don't want to talk," Kelly said.
A buzzing strangled the air, as if a helicopter was coming in to land. From the apex of the canopy, the bee-man descended, his translucent wings beating feverishly. His silver compound eyes glinted a confronting blood red in the light.
"How perceptive of you," the insect humanoid murmured. "The fetishes usually like talking with their weapons." He clicked his fingers and a low rumbling sounded from behind. They turned, seeing the energies of the portal they just came through thin and dissipate.
"There is no escape from this place. Welcome to your tomb."
Quote:Congrats, you've made it into Nebula Space! Pity about Steve, though ...
The Nebula Space of the green is a place of nightmares, taking every horrid legend about the worst, darkest parts of jungles and forests and making them real. All manner of creatures lurk among the trees and plants, corrupted by the dark powers Nebula offers. The forces of Nebula make their lairs and produce their corruptive ‘gifts’ in massive treetop fortresses and great temples carved out of huge trees and built from stone. Due to the claustrophobic, living environs, the following changes are in effect:
-- Enhanced Senses ceases to function at all
-- Anyone with the Regeneration power will find its use restored
-- Anyone who does not have the Regeneration power will gain it at the Basic level
Meet the darkling commander:
Hornet Man.EXE
Hornet Man is a vicious and swift opponent who delights in poisoning his foes and making them suffer. He prefers to attack from a distance, so maybe getting in close would put him at a disadvantage. He is heavily reliant on his wings, but it'll be a cold day in hell before he lets you touch them. He has switched off the only way out of Nebula Space and the portal won't return until he's dealt with.
Proficiencies: Physical Strength, Ranged Proficiency, Debuff Proficency
Powers: Flight, Burst Movement, Super Speed, Basic Regen
Moves: Stingers, Venom, Buzz Wave
Stingers - Hornet Man loads two silver, cone shaped projectiles from compartments on his forearm and fires them with like arrows. Their tips are extremely sharp and will puncture anything they hit.
Venom - Each of Hornet Man's stingers are slathered in venom. This poison is extremely deadly to secondaries but those with at least Basic Regeneration (which is both Kelly and X for the moment) can survive it. However the venom will numb and immobilise the part of the body it hits for around ten to fifteen seconds. Extra applications of venom will increase the numbing time by the same amount.
Buzz Wave - Hornet Man flaps his wings until they blur and fires a crescent-shaped wave of sound energy. This creates an ear-splitting buzz upon impact and can tear chunks of bark from the thick trees nearby.
ATK: 3
DEF: 2
SPD: 6
TEC: 2
Hornet Man is supported by an entourage of fetishes; small tribal-like demons who can stand on each others' shoulders to form a totem. They aren't very powerful or resilient but they're speedy and irritating. Their weapons include machetes, spears and blow-darts.
ATK: 1
DEF: 0
SPD: 3
TEC: 1
You guys have six days to post, with a maximum of 1600 words each across as many posts as you want. Do it for Steve!
![[Image: hornetman_exe_by_higure_san-d2h9t82.jpg]](http://img05.deviantart.net/13a9/i/2010/279/4/8/hornetman_exe_by_higure_san-d2h9t82.jpg)
![[Image: 4wyQK2D.png]](https://www.diabloii.net/gallery/data/620/medium/4wyQK2D.png)
RE: [Dark Data} Shadows on the Green - Kelly MacAryn - 06-27-2017
Kelly's head ached, an ocean of scrambled recollection roiling in the depths of his mind. The scar on his arm burned, and a sense of deja-vu overtook him so profound that even with the corrupted atmosphere of this twisted jungle dampening his powers and casting a pall over his psychic senses he almost felt as though he knew what was going to happen next.
Not that it would have been hard to figure out regardless. The winged darkling's intent was abundantly clear.
No sooner had the human hornet made his grim pronouncement than his wings blurred, their buzzsaw whine increasing in pitch. The sound ripped across the foliage-sky of the sinister forest's gloomy understories as he strafed overhead, too fast to see. The fetishes rushed forward in his wake, shrieking and waving their horrible weapons.
The psychic's overclocked brain and the reploid's tactical subroutines reached exactly the same conclusion - he's behind us, move! - at exactly the same time. Kelly clocked upward, pushing his thoughts into a higher time-base, and dashed to the side, turning and stepping just in time to see a venomous silver stinger whispering past him in leisurely slow motion - and the darkling commander attentively following his every move. X spun on his heels, dropping into a low crouch - but his ancient servo's weren't quite fast enough. A stinger embedded itself in his shoulder, piercing the android's weathered titanium armor and coating his internal circuitry with venom. His right arm jerked and went limp as damage reports flashed across his optics - as well as an unexpected progress bar, counting backwards from ten: auxiliary self-repair patch (TMP).
Both liberators returned fire, pellets of yellow plasma shining in the dark and fish-eye globes of psychic force bending the ambient crimson light, but the darkling just laughed and vanished in a blur of motion and another burst of high-pitched noise. The psychic and the android ducked in opposite directions, and this time it was Kelly who caught a stinger, instantly losing feeling in his left flank. The traveler nearly toppled, bracing himself on his staff - but the effect was far less dramatic than he'd expected based on what had happened to Steve.
No time to dwell on it.
Fetishes swarmed around them, giggling madly from behind grinning wooden masks, hacking with serrated machetes and poking at them with little spears. Kelly's durable choice of trousers and X's armored exoskeleton meant that not much damage was actually being done - yet - but it wasn't something they could allow to continue. Even worse, both warriors realized that if they paused for long to deal with the fetishes, then the darkling commander would get a free shot with his venomous barbs.
"Suppressing fire." Kelly wheezed, kicking and stomping while he charged a force-bolt.
"I'm not quick enough to follow his movements," said X.
A hail of tiny blow-darts emerged from the stygian undergrowth, and it was all Kelly could do to dive and roll across the hard-packed soil. Several spots on his back tingled, renewing the horrible numbness, which had begun to fade. They clanged off X's armored carapace, mostly harmless to his titanium hide.
"Follow the sound," Kelly hissed, his face sinister in a pool of ruby light.
The traveler forced himself to one knee and swept his staff low to the ground in a wide arc, smashing multiple fetishes, and knocking over a stack of them that had begun to stand on each other's shoulders. It bought him several seconds. He panned his gaze methodically across the path, and the unknown jungle beyond, listening carefully for the buzzing roar of his enemy's wings.
Behind him, a high frequency whine begin to build in intensity from a roar to a rumble.
Kelly didn't bother to look - he just dove, the fading numbness in his back robbing him of his usual grace. Where the psychic had crouched a moment before, a sonic shockwave crashed into the path, sending a fountain of soil and shattered fetishes into the air.
Just as the darkling unleashed its onslaught, X's arm came back online, and the android formed buster-canons with both hands, staggering his shots in a complex pattern, leading his target. The human hornet howled as he dodged three globes of yellow energy only to be struck by three more, disrupting his equilibrium. He strafed in a wide circle, but X's targeting algorithms were beginning to compensate for the creatures speed. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Kelly made another sweep with his staff, sowing further injury and confusion among the fetishes, and scanned the treeline. In the shadows, threatening shapes moved. He was starting to get an idea.
This aeronautical asshole is tremendously fast, but he seems to rely exclusively on his wings to maintain his advantage. If I can just find some way of immobilizing or damaging them...
I wonder if there are any snakes up there?
RE: [Dark Data} Shadows on the Green - Mega Man X - 06-27-2017
This battle would be troublesome. X's armored shell could only withstand so much punishment, and though the fetishes weren't doing much even when working together, they were still altogether much faster than the android.
That was to say nothing of Hornet Man, which was near-impossible to track conventionally and almost impossible to hit without firing randomly. The X-Buster's meager bolts wouldn't do much individually, even assuming he could hit more than a couple at a time. The other creeping shapes lurking in the brush may also turn out to be an issue, but they were not as immediate as the Darkling before them.
Kelly seemed to have some sort of plan forming, but it still demanded that X provide cover in the meantime. Hornet Man was already wising up to the splaying volleys of Buster shots, moving vertically and erratically in response. The trees and foliage proved ample cover to dart between as well, quickly making X's macabre strategy a wash. The android needed something new, something to distract the maverick sufficiently. His processors began to add up all the variables around him, and started to piece something together.
Ignoring the dents and scrapes amassing on his titanium armor, the blue bomber began to shove his way through the dancing totems. They were helpless to stop his movements, weapons clunking uselessly off the futuristic armor. The tiny bodies of the fetishes tried to bar the sole death-carved path, even tripling up into totems, but X merely knocked them aside with large swipes of his heavy limbs. Two more whistling sounds cut through the evil cacophony, and the bulky robot earned two violent scars up his shoulder blades in an attempt to dodge.
Vulnerable, but for the moment clear of danger, the android whirred about for a sign of Kelly. There was a humanoid shape slipping between the titanic trunks of the corrupt hemlocks, but there was no telling if that was the psychic or something completely different. X trusted that the human could handle himself temporarily, and began to charge both X-Busters in engagement of his own plan.
"Hey- Blast Hornet!" Mega Man X called out, choosing a familiar name on a whim, "Why are you doing this? Why would support an organization like Nebula?!"
"You know nothing of this world," retorted the buzzing voice of the Darkling, barely audible over the drone of its wings. The voice seemed to come from everywhere, a sign that the maverick was constantly on the move, not letting anyone get a lock on. "Omni, the Smiling One, is a foolish tyrant. The worlds he links together are in constant war. Nebula shall unite everything, and remake the Omniverse in our image!"
X had briefly considered such thoughts about the apparent god before, but gave them no heed now- not compared to the nonsense Honest Man spouted. The fetishes began to gather around the Maverick Hunter, eager for an easy target. X only spoke with more volume, hoping to drown out the hum of his charging weapons, "And you think a world ruled by sheer darkness is perfection?! You are wrong! You are just being used!"
The droning of wings intensified, and Hornet Man's voice with them, "You do not need to understand! You shall be destroyed, and remade in our likeness!" The whistle of the stingers rung out again, and the fetishes threatened to swallow X under their numbers.
Now-!
The android ducked and pointed his X-Buster ahead into the ground. A mass of plasma erupted from the arm cannon and promptly slammed into the tainted earth, creating an explosion of light and dirt. Fetishes were scattered into the air, one of them sniped backward by the flying silver cone.
But X saw no second cone. Following that hunch, he immediately whirled around with a sweep of his servos, not even focusing with his camera crosshair before releasing the second blast.
Too late, Hornet Man appeared in the path of the destructive plasma missile. The Darkling managed to fire his own remaining stinger just before the charged shot made contact, throwing his insectoid body into a tree. X mechanically grit his steel jaw as the venom-tipped projectile struck true, piecing the android straight in the chestplate. Numbness crippled X's center of mass, and he failed to keep himself standing. The machine toppled backward, automated systems desperately working to counter-act the toxin.
What was left of the fetishes quickly got to work, rapidly hacking and pecking away at the downed Liberator. X could only wait momentarily with the resolve that Kelly's own intentions could be fulfilled with this suitable distraction.
Quote:766 words, according to Wordcounter.net
RE: [Dark Data} Shadows on the Green - Kelly MacAryn - 06-29-2017
With his android ally momentarily holding the human hornet's attention, Kelly made and discarded half a dozen plans in rapid succession, deeming them either unworkable or foolish. They did, however, all have one thing in common - the high ground. As risky a maneuver as it might be, forcing Hornetman to divide his attention between two different planes would largely negate his advantage in maneuverability. The traveler fired off several psychokinetic force-bolts, holding the fetishes at bay as he squinted into the verdant crimson gloom above him, searching for a likely-looking perch.
There.
Just beyond the treeline, about three stories up, right at the edge of his prodigious vertical leap, there was a thick branch draped in moss and glistening purple algae. The only issue was that he'd have to step off the path to reach it. This jungle didn't look nearly so forgiving as the one on the other side of the portal, and with his higher senses blinded he'd have only his reflexes to defend himself against whatever might be lurking in the brush.
High risk, high reward... It's certainly a gamble - but if we try to fight guy according to his rules he's going to wear us down. Even if we win, we'll be in poor shape for whatever comes next.
The psychic's scarred knuckles creaked as he tightened his grip on his staff. He took two running steps, vaulted over a totem-stack of squealing fetishes, and vanished into the gloom of the undergrowth. The mud, sweat and broken foliage that matted his hair and soiled his clothes rendered his camouflage very nearly perfect.
He was immediately attacked.
Something - he couldn't see what - lunged out of the darkness, knocking him off his feet. He felt claws dig into the lean muscle of his shoulders. Kelly curled his spine and rolled as he went down. The sour smell of poisonous sap assaulted his nostrils as ferns and ivy crumbled beneath his weight. As his weight shifted back, he bunched his powerful legs and kicking blindly upwards into the center-mass of the thing that had jumped him. The claws ripped free as the creature flipped over him and slammed into a tree.
The traveler braced one hand against the ground and tried to pull his feet under him, only to discover that the foliage had begun to wrap around his legs, trapping him in place. He tensed, and with a burst of strength tore free, uprooting sinister saplings as he surged to his feet. All around him, the jungle breathed in the dark. He could hear X saying something to Hornet Man, and the buzz of their enemy's wings, but it seemed muffled and far away.
Kelly looked up, focusing on his goal, kicked his formidable footwear free of the leafy black tendrils that were once again trying to ensnare him, crouched, and jumped, erupting from the forest floor like a rocket. He managed just enough height to hook both arms and one of his legs over the edge of the moss-draped tree-limb, though it took him a couple of seconds to pull himself up, even supporting his staff telekineticaly in order to spare his hands. The slime-coated wood was slippery under his arms, and smelled like snails.
Once he was firmly in place, the psychic reclaimed his weapon - then he took one look at the scene down below and immediately began to charge a force-bolt in his free hand. Just one more threatening shape in the trees, from this vantage point he had a wide enough view that it was easier to follow the darkling commander's movements.
Other possibilities aside, my best bet might be to trust that X can hold out a little longer and wait for an opportunity...
No sooner had he formed the thought than the battle shifted. X's buster-cannons fired once, scattering fetishes and spraying soil into the air, then again, anticipating their foe's reaction. The darkling was blown backward, slamming into a tree not ten yards from where Kelly crouched, even as X went down. The traveler spared one more second to focus his power, sighted between his fingers, and fired. The potent blast of raw inertia streaked across the distance to where Hornet Man hovered, momentarily stunned by X's attack. It smashed into him like a tiny wrecking ball, landing just between his shoulder-blades with a horrible crunch.
He plummeted from the sky with an indignant scream.
The psychic cleared his feet of moss - which had begun to dissolve his boots - and leapt after his fallen enemy.
The idea that a hand-to-hand matchup was more of a fair fight flickered across his brain, but he dismissed it out of hand.
Kelly was a tactician - he had no intention of making this fair.
Quote:789 words according to wordcounter.net for a total of 1600 exactly. Kelly shot that buzzing bastard with a soliton blast (5 second charge). Bring us home X!
RE: [Dark Data} Shadows on the Green - Mega Man X - 07-01-2017
From the corner of his optics, Mega Man X saw Hornet Man release a cry of frustration as a psychic bolt struck him right between the wings.
The Maverick Hunter couldn't help but smirk for the merest moment, right before a cruddy machete hacked at his cheek. X's armor held fast against the onslaught of fetish armaments, but it could not hold forever. Persistent chops and stabs began to gradually punch through the titanium plating. Every new hole creating a startling crackle of electric sparks, combined with a new warning on the machine's heads-up display.
Still limited in movement by the venom, the android started to flail about with his limbs like an upturned turtle. The more clever of the fetishes thought to get out of the way first, zipping from the clumsy retorts as X swatted the rest away like flies. When most of them were dispelled from close range, the Mega Man lifted his head with an ancient lurch, pulling both arms to his chest. He needed to remove the poisoned spike, or else it would just interfere with his processes in other ways besides the toxin.
As the android gripped around the silver stinger, the crowd of fetishes around him began to rear an execution squad of blowdarts. They were faltered, however, by a crack of wood and grunt of pain. The noise emitted from their mechanic master as he hastily blocked the incoming wooden staff to avoid damage to his wings. This proved an ample distraction for all the Darklings; it allowed X to tear the stinger from his chest with a creaking yank, and for Kelly to send a disgusting mass of lichen and foliage to come crashing down onto the flying robot.
X tossed away the spike, and with a great whir from his shoulders, threw himself into a sideways position. Assuming an attempt to escape, an armload of the fetishes unleashed a dozen darts and javelins at the robot. A couple of the pointed tips made purchase where his outer plating had already been scuffed, provoking another warning that the android ignored. The fetishes currently not deciding to occupy themselves with X instead rushed to the aid of their leader, leaping and skittering through the corrosive undergrowth.
The blue bomber had mere seconds to go before the venom disappeared, and he needed to make the most of them. The centuries-old intelligence core of X ran through a multitude of potential strategies as he held a charging X-Buster close. Hornet Man had temporarily retracted his wings to avoid damage from the sprung trap, but it was doubtful he would stay that way. His incredible speed and reflex remained active, easily able to keep Kelly at bay even with the psychic's accelerated movements.
X could see Kelly skipping around wildly himself, intending to not be caught in one place for too long. The psychic had since retrieved his staff, keeping Hornet Man occupied for the meantime. It occurred to the machine that he could not account for whatever Kelly might be fully capable of in terms of telekinetic ability, as whatever upper limits he bore seemed to be drastically reduced by the distortions in Nebula Space.
Limited psychic ability, a pair of Buster cannons, and a dark jungle versus a blindingly-fast Maverick. What a challenge to start off his career in the Omniverse.
A pleasant beeping tone announced the completion of the venom purge. In a single swoop, the Maverick Hunter ducked from the swipe of another machete, hoisting himself to his feet. The blue bomber tore himself from the ground, a thrust-assisted jump carrying him into the air and above the lowest branches on the surrounding trees. Once again in hang-time, X gripped his charged Buster and swung its aim to meet the yellow Darkling.
Hornet Man heard and saw the blast coming, the destructive energy wave crashing through the branches. When he attempted to avoid it, however, an unseen forced snagged around the Navi's legs like an invisible bola. The maverick's arms raised to desperately shield himself, and the high-level plasma impact sent him grinding a new path through the underbrush and into another tree.
The Maverick Hunter seized a branch with his arm before he fell, the grip of a steeled machine holding fast. Kelly and X glanced at each other for a scant moment, appreciative of each other's unspoken teamwork, before locking onto their enemy again.
Hornet Man picked himself up and roared, though it came more as a particularly upset buzz. He violently unsheathed his wings, scattering earth and plant matter as they vibrated intensely. Both Liberators knew what was coming, but what they could not anticipate was the sudden launch into the air from the Navi. He disappeared with a blur into the upper reaches of the forest, and moments later unleashed a crescent-shaped sound wave - then another, and yet another. The trees and the forest floor tore apart in destructive buzzes as Hornet Man went all-out, trying to finish off the intruders.
Quote:834 words, according to Wordcounter.net, for a total of 1600 words exactly. With less than three hours before the deadline, too!
RE: [Dark Data} Shadows on the Green - Nebula - 07-18-2017
Hornet Man was pissed. Volleys of sound waves peppered the ground, sending mushrooming spurts of grass and soil upwards. His wings whined until they felt like they would fall off, and only then did the insectoid halt his barrage. A blanket of smoke covered the earth below, and he waited impatiently for it to clear.
As it thinned out, Hornet Man spotted his fetishes laying on the ground, unmoving except for the odd leg twitch or two. Head darting from side to side, he couldn't locate the two interlopers. It was as if they disappeared. Surely they hadn't been so stupid as to enter the untamed forests on either side of the path?
Hornet Man snapped his head to the left as a crescendoing hum climbed over the high pitch of his own beating wings. His eyes locked on to a sizzling ball of energy that burst hungrily from the boughs of the feral trees. Inwardly smiling, Hornet Man arched his back and dodged the attack by the slimmest of margins, feeling the blazing heat bathe over his wings as it zipped past.
The missed energy ball vanished into the branches of the trees on the right just as something else surged from within. Kelly, staff primed over his head, leapt with tremendous effort and swung his weapon down hard into Hornet Man's skull. A loud crack echoed in the clearing as the two tumbled to the ground.
Hornet Man's world spun as he tried to sit up. A boot slammed into his chest, pinning him down. His impressive speed couldn't help him.
The barrel of an arm cannon shadowed the red light trickling through the canopy high above. A bright white light replaced it, combined with the familiar heat of the energy ball he evaded moments earlier. The heat soon grew unbearable, and a loud pop sent everything into darkness.
With their foe defeated permanently, Kelly and X checked behind them. The portal home had not reactivated, which meant their mission here was not through. They examined their liberator aides. Both devices signalled to move ahead, through the cleared lane of manicured grass, thankfully avoiding the harsh jungles on either side of the path.
Eventually they came upon a large field, still bordered by dark and ominous forest. In the centre of the field stood the largest tree either of them had ever seen, its trunk looming like a skyscraper over them, its boughs stretching for miles in either direction, thick with an unimaginable mass of crimson-purple leaves. If the tree had shed all of them at once, it would have buried them several times over. Fat, rounded roots burst out of the ground and arched like spider legs. Specks in the trees moved about, scampering over branches and down magenta vines that draped and wrapped about the tree. Neither of them could tell what they were looking at. Maybe they didn't want to know.
A chill in the wind bristled the jungle as it swayed unnaturally, carrying the sound of rustling all around them. Creatures howled and bayed out of eye shot, cloaked by the thick and shadowy foliage. A single magenta vine slithered from the crown of the tree, its tip curled about something. As it reached the field floor, they realised it clutched a humanoid figure, but couldn't make out its details until it touched down.
The vine unfurled and out stepped a bizarre figure. Its long, stilt-like legs started a deep green at its toeless feet and gradually lightened in sections, reaching its svelte chest as white. Its bulbous forearms and barb-adorned shoulders were a deep green, its hands a dark grape, matching the shade of its torso and inner thighs. A pair of coiled, thorned vines attached to its back hung in a quiet threat. Strange of all was its head; white and pink with an elongated, trumpet-like end, or perhaps an outward-facing flower. Its emerald eyes twinkled in the ruby light, and a small smirk played on its violet face.
"Hornet Man couldn't finish you two off?" it murmured, its voice like the crunching of dry leaves. "Disappointing. But not set in stone."
Creatures slinked down from the massive tree, some faster than others.
The rustling of the jungles on the edges of the clearing grew more distinct, the growling close enough to raise the hairs on Kelly's neck, and X's if he had any.
"This time, you won't be facing a bee and some midgets. This time, you face the might of the forest!"
Quote:Kelly and X take 2 points of damage each from their last battle.
You've stumbled upon the fortress of the Darkloid of the Tangled Green!
Plant Man.EXE
The head of the Nebula attack in the Tangled Green. Strong, swift and dangerously intelligent, Plant Man has the full assent of the vegetation around him and all the twisted beasts that dwell therein. An expert with poisons and immune to all of them, Plant Man also bends plant life to his ruthless will, capable of conjuring vines and uprooting trees to do his bidding. He draws power from his environment, and he is in his element. Beware.
Proficiencies: Physical Strength, Ranged Proficiency, Area Attack Proficiency, Area Shield Proficiency, Ranged Materialise Proficiency, Remote Control Proficiency, Debuff Proficency
Powers: Advanced Regeneration, Super Jumping (Advanced), Elasticity, Survival
Moves: Rose Needles, Vine Slash, Vine Whip, Plant Shield, Flower Pollen Spray, Regrowth
Rose Needles - Plant Man fires thorns from his shoulders and vines in a shotgun-like spray.
Vine Slash - Plant Man lashes out with the two coiled, thorn-studded vines on his back, capable of extending them a surprising distance.
Vine Whip - Plant Man summons vines that breach from anywhere below the ground and attempt to ensnare and strangle their targets.
Plant Shield - Using whatever vegetation is available, Plant Man forms a temporary shield to absorb damage.
Flower Pollen Spray - Plant Man accelerates the growth of flowers that sprout from the grass and project dangerous pollen at their foes. These flowers are different colours and produce pollen possessing different effects aligning with their colour. For example, yellow flowers spray yellow pollen capable of temporary paralysis. Feel free to make up other effects, but Plant Man is immune to them (but maybe not the wildlife?).
Regrowth - losing limbs and vines is no big deal to Plant Man. With a few seconds of focusing, Plant Man can consume the life force of the grass or plants directly around him in a small diameter to completely regrow a severed limb or heal a major injury. This will weaken his stamina if done too many times.
Feel free to make up any other moves you'd like as well.
ATK: 7
DEF: 1
SPD: 7
TEC: 5
The corruption of the forest has also infected the creatures that live there, and they also come baying for your blood. They are of different shapes, sizes and threats, but I won't outline a particular type; use this as an opportunity to be creative. Maybe there's mutated wolves, or three-headed snakes! Whatever takes your fancy.
You have nine days to make three posts each of any length (though I would appreciate posts in the region of 800-1200 words).
![[Image: 381?cb=20080630003200]](http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/megaman/images/d/de/PlantEXE.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/381?cb=20080630003200)
RE: [Dark Data} Shadows on the Green - Kelly MacAryn - 07-19-2017
The air grew thick with the scent of sap, pollen, and the musk of imminent violence.
Standing beside his android ally half-way between the entrance to the clearing and the trunk of the titanic tree that ruled it, Kelly gripped his quarterstaff and set his stance. The black grasses and crimson undergrowth of the clearing rustled around his ankles. His lacerated shoulders twinged, an itch he dimly recognized as the telltale tingle of vastly accelerated healing - but there was no time to dwell on it. X leveled his buster-cannon, and together they watched with growing trepidation as the darkloid emerged and made its decree.
The traveler's mind was racing, latching onto every pertinent detail: every rustle of the forest, every twitch and tell. He sorely missed his higher senses.
This one moves very precisely, but it doesn't look terribly sturdy - of course, that doesn't necessarily mean it isn't... And the way that vine lowered it to the ground is more than a little worrying. Assuming those thorny tentacles on its back are weapons, that would seem to suggest a reason why it hasn't approached any closer - I certainly hope so. A preference for ranged combat is something we've already turned in our favor once today.
Still, unless they've suddenly gotten a lot more subtle, this is clearly the center of their operation - which means this is probably the most dangerous opponent we're going to face.
Also, we're surrounded by what I'd guess are probably terrifying mutant forest-creatures. If I keep holding back, one of us is going to get killed.
Kelly synced his physical awareness of his tall, wiry body more deeply with the power burning in his mind, complementing his mental map of himself with a force-vector sketch. A whispering wave of psychic enhancement rippled through his form like a soft tide of potent tension; Stray force-harmonics blew twigs and soil from the traveler's matted hair and clothes in a brief moment of swirling debris, setting the remaining leaves and the fabric of his camouflaged shirt flapping as though he were standing in his own personal hurricane. The grasses, ferns and creeping ivy that crowded his boots shuddered and swayed, lashed by an invisible storm. The psychic's hair tore free of its tie and streamed sideways, twisting and writhing.
Plant Man attacked!
It happened so fast, both Liberator's were caught completely off-gaurd. The thorny vines emerging from the darkloids shoulders uncoiled with lightning speed and shocking force, shrieking as they tore through the air. Even with his enhanced speed, Kelly managed only the slightest sideways flinch, the slightest motion of his weapon, and in spite of his best efforts the psychic's side was ripped open, baring his ribs to the crimson air and sending an arc of purple ichor spraying across the dusky weeds. Off to his left, sparks flew as a section of X's armored chassis buckled with a hideous clang, knocking the reploid to the ground.
As though the sudden assault had been a signal, the scuttling creatures creeping down the trunk of the veritable world-tree which dominated the enormous clearing leaped to the ground and charged forward - ape-like knuckle-walkers with the bodies of African gorillas, brilliant rainbow plumage adorning their shoulders, and the heads of snarling black panthers.
Kelly didn't allow himself to be shocked, either by the injury or the spectacle. He couldn't spare the time - vines had suddenly erupted from the ground, growing explosively in an instant.
The psychic flexed his legs and leaped, tearing free before the grasping black tendrils could tighten their hold. Hanging in the air for a moment, twenty feet off the floor of the clearing as he reached the apex of his leap, Kelly clocked upward, increasing his cerebral processing speed in order to take stock of his rapidly deteriorating situation.
X was kneeling, firing his buster-cannon at Plant-man, who was in the process of sidestepping, one of his thorn-laden whips coming around for a vicious counter. The darkloid was so fast that to Kelly he appeared to be moving normally, even while everything else slowed to a crawl.
The tree-dwelling panthropoids charge had nearly reached him, seven of the beasts circling wide around their boss to close in and encircle the liberators.
From the forest, other creatures were emerging. Three-headed frogs the with vicious fangs, the size of labrador retrievers; Wild boars with enormous ridges of bone spikes on their shoulders and scorpion-tail stingers. There was even an extremely sinister-looking moose, mostly normal save for its glowing red eyes, but plenty worrying. The hideous zoological vanguard advanced from behind with a grim sense of evil purpose.
Kelly frowned.
I think I can take those panther-headed mutants, and X could probably handle the rest - but their leader is lethal. As if his strength and speed weren't enough, if that attempted snare just now is any indication then he can probably control plants at a cellular level.
If we can't put him off his game, he's going to murder us. It won't even be a fight.
As the flow of events caught up with him and Kelly arced towards the ground, several possibilities flickered in rapid succession through his mind. Hoping that X would hear him over the building din, he bellowed "X -CHARGE A SHOT!"
Plant Man looked up at him, and suddenly the hazy air was filled by a shotgun-blast of ivory-yellow razor-sharp thorns, streaking toward the traveler's face and chest. His quarterstaff whirled and rang as he deflected frantically, but he could barely protect his eyes. Several of the thorns bit into him, lodging deep in his hardened flesh and tearing violet furrows in his face and neck. The traveler took note, but focused on other things. He hit the ground and rolled, feeling slimy vegetation crunch beneath his body, scraping at his bare arms. The scent of soil and sap was practically overpowering.
As he came up, he reached out with his telekinesis; it was weak, in this dark and twisted place, and the range was limited, but his jump had carried him closer to the enemy, and with the resonant properties of his vector-sketch amplifying his power, it was enough for what he had in mind.
The psychic struck with his thoughts, grabbing hold of the weeds, grasses and flowering plants that surrounded Plant Man's feet, and violently uprooting them. The sudden burst of flying plant matter, sap and soil blinded the Nebula general, obscuring his vision and disrupting his balance.
Kelly raised his hand, and snapped off a psychic force-bolt, even as X came through. A charged buster-shot pierced the cloud of now-falling debris at the exact same time.
Even with the distraction, Plant Man was fast and skilled enough to dodge the psychic force-bolt - but the buster shot caught him off guard, eliciting a scream of shock and pain as it tore and burned at his fragile body.
Kelly smiled thinly- then dove out of the way as a panther-headed mutant brought both of its fists crashing down where he'd been just a moment before. A whisper of flower-scented musk rankled his nose as the psychic burst to his feet. X joined him, walking backwards as he fired his buster at the advancing wall of hopping, stomping, squealing monsters. He barely sidestepped the charge of a bony-shouldered boar, its stinger skittering off his damaged armor as it passed.
Plant man scowled. The darkloid's right side was a mass of burned flesh and sparking wires where the androids blast had struck. His arm had been completely destroyed, ending in a ragged stump just below the shoulder.
All around his, feet, with a hiss and a sigh plants withered and died, turning brown and brittle. In a burst of amber sap, a new arm erupted from the wound.
The liberators had scored a solid blow, but the fight was still stacked against them.
Quote:Kelly used T1 powerup - Somatic Vector Sketch (2 order points for this post and X's)
1290 words.
RE: [Dark Data] Shadows on the Green - Mega Man X - 07-20-2017
It didn't take long for X to draw a decisive conclusion about this encounter. Plant Man was without a doubt very much like Spike Rosered, down even to the literal flowery head. Although the veteran Maverick Hunter was certain this couldn't be the same maverick he had fought so long ago, the similarities were clear, almost uncannily so. How strange...
"What?" Kelly asked, presuming some answer along the lines of the grotesque creatures before them both. X didn't realized he had spoken aloud- perhaps a malfunction caused by Nebula Space.
"This Darkloid- he resembles an old foe of mine," the android explained quickly. As far as his processors could calculate, there was no harm in letting the psychic know his thoughts. Putting aside any strange suspicions, X finished off two of the grotesque Cerberus-frogs and allowed a third to leap at him with fangs bared. With just a slight aim adjustment, the android's Buster cannon shot a blast down the exposed gullet. The disgusting chimera flopped at the bomber's feet, the impact spattering discolored blood onto his boots.
Meanwhile, Kelly saw one of the panther-apes close in, rearing up from its knuckles to wind up a swing of the fist. The wanderer held the arm fast with an application of telekinetic force, and the creature snagged on his arm arm as if he were clothes-lined. Seizing the moment of exposure, Kelly jabbed his staff into the beast's throat, crushing its larynx decisively. "You think you can apply a similar strategy to this foe, as well?" the fellow liberator replied without looking as the monster fell.
Could he? X considered this, but realized that he would have to re-locate his combat records of Rosered to make a precise statement on the matter. Considering Plant Man was recovering right now, this could not be an option. "No," X responded finally, "We'll think of something else."
With Plant Man having recovered from his previously-grievous wound, the Darkloid returned to the fray. X turned to face the enemy, leveling the X-Buster on the maverick program's head. The floral commander's set his own sights up the armament, keeping a careful watch of it.
Plant Man was eager to enact a vendetta against the inferior machine, and what more fitting than an eye for an eye- or more precisely, an arm for an arm. Perhaps the archaic weapon would make for a nice trophy.
X took the first shot, and paid for it dearly. In a mockery of Kelly's uprooting attack, a barrier of vegetation suddenly burst from the ground with a wave of his hand, absorbing the blast. The earth churned below X, and a series of spiked vines shooting from the ground like striking serpents. The blue bomber pushed his servos as hard as he could to compete with the agility of the Darkloid, releasing his blast early to dissuade the attacking plant-fibers. Though the explosion of dirt managed to dissuade some of the vines, two longer strands managed to ensnare the Mega Man's feet.
The android's backpedaling made him topple over, back hitting the earth with the thunk of heavy metal. X rolled over to his front, picking himself up as rapidly as a clunky robot could. He was just in time to spy that chimera-boar gunning for him again- but not in time to dodge the attack.
The liberator was forced to take the charging horns dead in the chest, having to use his hand to catch the imposing scorpion tail. Tackled to the ground, X had to hold off a dripping singer with one hand and a gnashing maw with the other. The machine began charging his weapon again, gnashing his own teeth from the combined physical strain and energy drain. With a great heave, the Mega Man flung away the boars head- only for a moment, but long enough to shove the X-Buster in its face and release the amassed plasma.
With the chimera successfully relieved of its head, a gore-soaked X tossed away the dying stinger tail. He was about to shove away the body with his feet when he found their movement restrained- and not by weight. The returning vines rapidly coiled up and seized the android's lower limbs, dragging him away from the fresh corpse. X's best efforts to slow the progress fell flat, the soft earth easily giving way under his clawing digits. In the process, even more of the twisting vines were exposed, immediately lashing out and seizing the liberator's arms as well.
The vines tangled around the Mega Man did not stop dragging, however. The Maverick Hunter quickly found himself strung up taut, pulled between his halves like some macabre torture device. He looked up, witnessing Plant Man approach with a wicked smile.
"Such an old-looking machine," the Darkloid mocked, "With those joints and rotors... it's a wonder how you even work. I would be happy to give you a form more befitting to the cause of Nebula, of course-"
"No," X retorted, not skipping a beat, "I won't submit to you!" X's energy core was being strained from all the charged shots he had fired already, but the blue bomber couldn't let up; if the Liberators wanted to win this battle, they would have to give everything. Slowy, he began charging again...
"That's what they all say," Plant Man dismissed, tightening the hold of his vines. Violent thorns scratched and pierced the titanium shell of his victim, as the restraints pulled harder. X could feel his limbs about to be stretched beyond their limits; every ounce of restraint caused a guttural wheezing from his servos, a sound no machine should ever make.
Warning: Integrity compromised in armor sections ALF, ARF, ALU...
Warning: Integrity compromised in joints ASL, ASR, AEL...
Aside X, a ring of flowers began to bud, revealing sickly-green petals that nearly blended in with the general foliage. As the flowers opened, they ejected sprays of caustic spores, trying to coat the robot's torso in the stuff. Acid began to eat away at his armor, digging holes out of his existing wounds and thinning his metal skin. Plant Man only watched sadistically at his handiwork as X suffered.
Warning: Integrity compromised in armor sections TUR, TUL, TLL...
"Kelly-!" The android cried, desperately trying to get his ally to act. And so he did- as one of the plumed gorillas lunged forth, the psychic punched it in the gut with his staff. But instead of stopping the momentum, Kelly added to it, using the stick as leverage and his own telekinetic force to move the weight. Swinging the reeling beat overhead, he flung the entire chimera at Plant Man.
This most definitely divided the Darkloid's priorities. The plantoid program uprooted himself, releasing the battered liberator from the hold of his vines as he dove away from the weaponized creature. X's entire body was practically screaming in protest, but his arms finally sparked back to life. With an agonizing whir of his damaged internals, the android sat up and took aim with his charged Buster. "Catch!" X yelled, firing the blast.
As the plasma projectile went wide, Plant Man smiled in satisfaction- only to rescind it as Kelly poured all his psychic power into the bolt, steering it into his left side.
The ensuing scream of agony and frustration brought a faint smirk to the wounded android in kind.
Quote:1225 words, according to Wordcounter.net.
Plant Man uses Plant Shield, Vine Whip, and Flower Pollen Spray. The flowers are a green version that uses acid. X's defenses will be debuffed until his Regeneration can heal it.
RE: [Dark Data} Shadows on the Green - Kelly MacAryn - 07-21-2017
Plant Man was staggered, off-balance and - at least for the moment - severely damaged. Rapidly shrinking tongues of blue fire licked at a sparking, smoking crater in the Darkloid's flank. The horrible wound was slowly filling with viscous amber sap. Now would have been an ideal time to press the attack.
Unfortunately, Kelly only had the time to fire off a single additional psychokinetic blast before he was forced to focus his attention on other things. X was in bad shape, billowing tendrils of foul green smoke rising from the acid-scored surface of the Mega Man's battered azure armor. Kelly didn't need ESP to realize that X's titanium shell would be far more vulnerable after being drenched in solvent, and the machine's rate of fire had noticeably decreased; his ally had become much less effective as a deterrent to the corrupted denizens of Nebula's forest, and the psychic was quickly surrounded.
He derailed a charging boar with a psychically-prompted eruption of earth and plant matter. His boots whispered through the carpet of increasingly-broken vegetation as he ducked inside the arc of a pair of grasping simian arms, drove his bony shoulder into their feline owner's xyphoid and hooked his staff between the creature's knees, flipping it onto its back as he straightened, stomping one of its ankle's into paste. A horrible bellow filled the world. Without missing a beat, Kelly leapt straight up, over the sharpened antlers of a charging, red-eyed moose, its sable coat steaming, its tongue lolling madly.
The traveler alighted in a crouch upon the massive creature's broad back, his hob-nailed footwear finding a firm purchase in its thick hide. He allowed himself a deep, steadying breath. For just a moment, he had the advantage of the high-ground.
The view was informative, but far from encouraging. The two liberators had thinned the ranks of the first wave of darkspawn considerably, but even so X was in danger of being over-run; his weakened armor had begun to resemble the aftermath of a major car-crash. The Mega Man fired his buster-cannon selectively and defensively, nursing his diminished energy reserves as he did his best to keep the legions of Nebula at bay.
Plant Man had healed himself again, creating another patch of dead, brittle vegetation - and no sooner had Kelly absorbed that fact than the Darkloid general was right in his face, completing the tail-end of a split-second leap, streaking through the crimson haze like a rocket. The psychic began to raise his staff, but it was already too late; The botanical menace plowed into him, a scowling emerald countenance mere inches from his own as his enemy shoulder-checked him right off the back of the back of the moose. Kelly released his weapon, grappling with his foe as they tumbled to the ground.
The two of them skidded and bounced across the overgrown earth, a rolling tangle of limbs and thorny vines dogged by the rustle of rustle of snapping stems and torn leaves, propelled by raw momentum. The psychic and the navi pushed and pulled, a contest of redirected force and instantaneous intuition, struggling moment by moment for the upper hand as they slid to a halt.
Suspicion flashed through Kelly's mind.
Why is it doing this? It's seen how strong I am, and in terms of mundane damage-resistance this thing isn't any tougher than a normal person. Even if it is more powerful than me, getting this close is a risk.
As they rolled over one final time, eliciting one last squelching thud, the strategist got his answer. He appeared to have the advantage: halfway through their tumble he'd managed to put the darkloid on the defensive with an opportunistic elbow across the face. Over the course of the struggle he had leveraged that distraction into a dominant position of control, wrapping one of Plant Man's vine-whips (which the psychic held securely in a trembling two-handed grip) around the darkloid's body and arms, binding him just above the elbows. The traveler's knee dug into the the trumpet-headed monsters stomach, and he'd planted his boot atop the remaining vine-whip, pinning it.
Kelly was about to risk releasing his grip long enough to blow Plant Man's head off when heard a faint sigh, and suddenly the air was full of yellow pollen. They were surrounded by flowering plants, and prone, motionless monsters.
"Oh," he said, comprehension dawning instantly as the numbness set in. "You brffrd. D-."
The psychic went limp, flopping face into the soil, shoulder-to-shoulder with is foe. Plant Man sat up, pushing the liberator off of him and rising imperiously as he turned to regard his helpless foe, who lay on his back, staring intently at the distant burgundy-leafed limbs of the world-tree far above. With a single gesture from the villain, vines erupted from the ground, binding Kelly's arms and legs to the earth. All around him, little yellow flowers winked and spurted pollen, bright against the darker mass of this expansive evil garden, like toxic, impudent stars.
Kelly fumed silently. He could feel his body starting to fight off the paralytic poison, but he doubted he'd be able to move in time to save himself from serious harm.
Sure enough, one of Plant Man's thorny vine-whips shrieked through the air and pierced his gut, pinning him like a butterfly in a collector's display. Purple gore bubbled for a moment around the wound, but other than that, the result was remarkably subdued. The psychic partition within the traveler's mind which handled things like pain, reducing them to a simple running tally of damage, began to complain loudly.
Plant Man frowned, evidently disappointed that his victim hadn't vomited blood, or something equally dramatic. "You," said the darkloid, grinding its heel into the liberator's wounded side with enough force to elicit merry popping noises from his exposed ribs, "Are powerful and skilled - but you're still no match for Nebula. Your mechanical ally will join our ranks and your head will adorn the gate to our stronghold as a warning to oth-"
A single tree-root burst from the ground, intercepting a solitary shot from X's buster-cannon. Out of the corner of his eye, Kelly saw his ally borne to the ground by a three-headed frog.
"to others." the botanical bastard finished.
The pause cost him dearly. Four jagged yellow thorns, the very same thorns which Plant Man had fired at the traveler earlier in the fight, burst from where they had lodged in Kelly's chest and arms with a shower of violet blood. They tore into the darkloid in a viscious buzzing ballet, whirling and darting through the ruddy air like a small swarm of rocket propelled piranhas, severing his whips and punching fist-sized holes in his torso. The arboreal android stumbled and fell. The vines binding Kelly to the earth slackened, and he tore free in a spray of sap, rising shakily to one knee, allowing the psychokineticaly-motivated thorns to tumble to the ground, where they disappeared among the green with barely a whisper.
Kelly grit his teeth and gathered his will. His body was beginning to lodge new protests with the part of his brain that kept his physical accounts, straining under the combined stresses of his injuries and the vector-sketch. He let it go, for now, the tides of power subsiding, and turned his attention once more towards his beleaguered blue ally.
It was time for a little fire-support.
Quote:1233 words.
1 order point used to maintain the powerup through this post (2/5 remaining for the group), but its deactivated now. Kelly's stats are back to 3/2/2/5.
RE: [Dark Data] Shadows on the Green - Mega Man X - 07-23-2017
Though X was battered, debilitated, and currently being chomped on ravenously, a plan had begun to take shape.
The centuries-old android found himself quite regretful that he hadn't restored more function to himself before undertaking this mission, but such was a gripe that could not be helped currently. X had no choice but to use the resources available to himself- which, unfortunately, requires a lot of improvisation.
As he poured three Buster shots into the mutant frog's chest, the blue bomber craned and twisted his neck with a whirr to spy Plant Man. A series of holes in the dark plantoid's body made him retreat again to rejuvenate himself- no doubt creating another dead patch to recover his severed vines. The facts and weaknesses were coming together in X's computational mind. Though Plant Man held a certain instinctual control over the forest and everything in it, he needed to remain rooted to use his most powerful abilities. Furthermore, the regeneration he boasted proved only a temporary fix, requiring sacrifice from the very environment he harnessed to fuel it.
The liberators just needed to take advantage of this in some way. They could destroy the surrounding plants enough to where their Darkloid enemy could use them, or simply blast him enough that he would exhaust the environment himself.
Think smarter, not harder.
Completing his analysis in under a second of real time, the android booted away the dying frog and spun over to his feet. The surrounding gale of trees began to shiver and dance, releasing a new platoon of foes. Large birds of prey, wearing plumage like wicked blades and bearing grotesque batty faces. Oversized insects with the horns of imposing beetles and venomous stingers instead of feet. X did not waste a second marveling over these creatures, and opened fire.
As expected, many of the shots missed, merely blasting the foliage instead of the flying fiends. One of the birds attempted to swoop for X immediately, but obtained a blast in the wind for his efforts, flopping to the ground like a dying insect. The Maverick Hunter stayed on the move, firing bolt after bolt of plasma into the trees, even as his internal core beeped in protest-
Core Power Status... 40% charge
Power to MBuster-XVII: 46% use
Power to Nano-Regen: 29% use
Power to...
A siege engine of a bug rammed into X at full speed, spiting his efforts to avoid it. The single studded horn tore through his weakened titanium shell as if it were instead aluminum. As the android attempted to brace himself on the fleeting earth and clench one hand around the intrusion, the insect immediately shifted its center of gravity and flung its victim into the air. Sparks and coolant spewed from the new wound, where it had pierced just under his heart and dangerously close to his core. This opportunity was perfect for the raptors, as a squadron of the flying beasts swooped in to slash at the vulnerable X while in hang-time.
The blue bomber flopped to the ground with a dirt-scattering thunk. For a moment beyond that, X couldn't muster the ability to even move from the sheer shock of what just transpired. One fact stood with certainty: Plant Man intended to take this battle to the next level. If X was to get any sort of plan cooking, it had to be now, before the full brunt of Plant Man's redoubled assault.
The liberators spied their enemy finally regenerating his lost personal vines with another heaving sigh. The dark Navi's face scrunched with the effort, as if it pained him to drain the life from the plants yet again. His eyes opened, flaring with bloody murder as he prepared to unleash tropical hell.
That demonic moose suddenly loomed over X in an imposing shadow, rearing up with hammer-like foreshores. With a heave of mechanical shoulders, the android tumbled out of the way as two horseshoe imprints were mashed violently into the dirt. He picked himself up, boots thumping heavily as he scrambled away from the animals. X jumped over a charging bony boar, waved past an angry panther-gorilla, and ducked under a swooping eagle-bat before his goal was in sight. Running aside a mighty root growing as tall as X himself was, the android raised his cannon again.
Several shots blasted aimlessly up into Plant Man's grand tree. Leaves, petals, bark, and branches scattered with every impact, falling to the earth. As expected, the dark plantoid gazed upon this sight with anger, making it his personal priority. Leaving the other liberator in the company of the forest's unholy creations, Plant Man surged towards X with alarming speed.
Part of the Mega Man hadn't quite been anticipating the Darkloid to catch up so fast. As a vine lashed out and tore a new vent in his right-hand Buster, he realized that he probably should've expected this to happen at any point.
ALERT: Major damage to right cannon
Automatic safety lock engaged, seek repair
Without a moment to lose, X somersaulted forward with all the agility he could yet muster. As the last bits of foliage fluttered to the ground, the blue bomber slapped his left hand over the lens of his damaged weapon, and began to twist. Even as thorned vines spiked from the earth and stabbed into his open wound, curling around his vital components, X himself remained composed...
ALERT: Critical damage alert!
Intrusive breach detected in lower torso-
Energy core compromised!
FATAL ERROR
>disable safelock mbuster /r
Warning: Use of the Mega Buster Mark VII in a damaged state may result in further component damage. Are you sure you want to terminate this safety process?
>y
Disabling lock... ... done.
"How dare you try and defile my creation!" Plant Man roared out in graceful wrath, as if the dozens of chimeras already slain meant nothing. "I will make your death agonizing, you pile of scrap!"
X did not respond- not with words. He yanked with his right arm, separating the X-Buster from its lens, and fired. Quite literally, as the unfocused burst of plasma energy scorched the earth and all the stray plant-life on it. The plantoid Nebula agent practically screamed at the sight, granting the liberator enough time to twist around and raze two more spots. Every shot caused stray plasma and an a shower of sparks to erupt from the wound on his buster, sputtering onto the foliage at his feet with smoldering sizzles.
Fire. They needed fire, and lots of it. Already, the tinder X had shot down was starting to flare up from his macabre effort, but this fire needed to be stoked before it would seriously debilitate anything.
ALERT: Right cannon critically damaged
Arm switch operation failed - right arm status fatal
Seek repair immediately
Before Plant Man could act upon tearing out the insolent android's core, X dropped the broken lens from his left hand and snared his own grip around the vines.
>set regen power 100 /c
[2] Critical wounds present, [5] Large wounds present, [9] Minor wounds present
Nano-Regeneration yield increasing...
Power to Nano-Regen: 46% use
Power to Nano-Regen: 71% use
Power to Nano-Regen: 97% use
He tore out the intruding appendages with reckless abandon, trusting his temporary regeneration system to at least seal the wounds. With little options left currently, Plant Man fell back in a panic, presumably to call over some sort of animal that could put out the flames.
"Kelly! Burn as much as possible! Destroy the environment so he can't use it!"
Quote:1254 words, according to Wordcounter.net
Using 1 Order Point to regenerate 3 HP [1/5 remaining]
X has effectively sacrificed his right-hand X-Buster to set the ground near the great tree on fire. It will remain useless for the rest of the battle.