09-17-2017, 11:04 AM
Even for a machine, it was becoming increasingly difficult to process the sheer scale of what was unfolding around the group of primes.
Proto Man had barely made it through the portal when it snapped shut, and even after he stumbled onto the other side, he saw the explosion a few seconds too late to dodge effectively.
It was a few seconds more before he shook away the haze and was able to recalibrate his visual display. As he sat up off the ground, he found himself being encircled by a group of scimitar-swinging pirates sneering down at him.
“Look, a little fish come to play with us!” One of the pirates exclaimed as he drew a flintlock pistol and aimed it at the preteen machine’s visored visage. “Any last words, little fish?”
“Yes,” Proto Man muttered as he lifted a hand and smiled. “You’re out-gunned.”
In a flash, the red robot’s hand converted into a Proto Buster and belched a shotgun-shaped burst of heated energy at the snarling pirate. The swashbuckler’s face and a chunk of his torso melted away as the rest of his compatriots, after an initial moment of confusion and mild horror, braced themselves and lunged.
Hot air vented from the Proto Buster as the machine swung and fired a second cruel cone to his right. As those pirates crumpled, Proto Man kicked up from his seated position and jumped as swords ate into his former resting place. Landing upright a few feet from his assailants, the robot shifted firing modes and laid into the remaining pirates with a barrage of energized pellets. When the last blighted swashbuckler collapsed beneath the onslaught, the preteen machine dropped his weapon down to his side and took a fleeting moment to glance at their newest battlefield.
Although they couldn’t be terribly farm removed from their previous location, Proto Man could only see Vision and Blink fighting nearby. Belle, who had just recently arrived, and the others who had joined them earlier were nowhere to be seen. Where was Cloud, the soldier with the oversized sword? Where did the gunslinger go?
The questions deserved answers, but Proto Man had little time to dwell on the missing primes. Despite his intentions to join the remaining primes, he found himself once more the focus of a group of blighted pirates. At the helm of this group was a particularly imposing individual with a briny beard and eyes that burned like smoldering coal.
“I know you,” the pirate spoke in gravely tones as he drew a curved blade and pointed it at the robotic youth. “The Little Red Destroyer. You may have conquered the sands, but the sea is a far more terrifying lady.”
Proto Man held out a hand and summoned a weapon recognizable to anyone who knew the history of the Endless Dunes. The rune-coated ‘sword’, with its gilded hilt and dull, spiraled cap, exuded a light glow as the machine let it rest over his shoulder.
At the sight of the weapon, the pirate captain flashed a smile that was missing a few teeth. “Yes, that will make an excellent decoration for my fireplace.”
“Come and take it,” Proto Man whispered as a pair of goons rushed from the sides of their leader. Without missing a beat, the preteen machine stepped back and swung Ea. Although called a sword by nearly everyone, the weapon’s unique shape made it something unique. Even so, its dealt destruction just as effectively as any blade. The first pirate crumpled as the shaft of the weapon crashed into the side of his skull.
The other goon pirate stabbed forward, but Proto Man sidestepped and thrust Ea’s capped tip through his foe’s throat.
With his assistants dead, the pirate captain smiled and charged into combat.
Proto Man had barely made it through the portal when it snapped shut, and even after he stumbled onto the other side, he saw the explosion a few seconds too late to dodge effectively.
It was a few seconds more before he shook away the haze and was able to recalibrate his visual display. As he sat up off the ground, he found himself being encircled by a group of scimitar-swinging pirates sneering down at him.
“Look, a little fish come to play with us!” One of the pirates exclaimed as he drew a flintlock pistol and aimed it at the preteen machine’s visored visage. “Any last words, little fish?”
“Yes,” Proto Man muttered as he lifted a hand and smiled. “You’re out-gunned.”
In a flash, the red robot’s hand converted into a Proto Buster and belched a shotgun-shaped burst of heated energy at the snarling pirate. The swashbuckler’s face and a chunk of his torso melted away as the rest of his compatriots, after an initial moment of confusion and mild horror, braced themselves and lunged.
Hot air vented from the Proto Buster as the machine swung and fired a second cruel cone to his right. As those pirates crumpled, Proto Man kicked up from his seated position and jumped as swords ate into his former resting place. Landing upright a few feet from his assailants, the robot shifted firing modes and laid into the remaining pirates with a barrage of energized pellets. When the last blighted swashbuckler collapsed beneath the onslaught, the preteen machine dropped his weapon down to his side and took a fleeting moment to glance at their newest battlefield.
Although they couldn’t be terribly farm removed from their previous location, Proto Man could only see Vision and Blink fighting nearby. Belle, who had just recently arrived, and the others who had joined them earlier were nowhere to be seen. Where was Cloud, the soldier with the oversized sword? Where did the gunslinger go?
The questions deserved answers, but Proto Man had little time to dwell on the missing primes. Despite his intentions to join the remaining primes, he found himself once more the focus of a group of blighted pirates. At the helm of this group was a particularly imposing individual with a briny beard and eyes that burned like smoldering coal.
“I know you,” the pirate spoke in gravely tones as he drew a curved blade and pointed it at the robotic youth. “The Little Red Destroyer. You may have conquered the sands, but the sea is a far more terrifying lady.”
Proto Man held out a hand and summoned a weapon recognizable to anyone who knew the history of the Endless Dunes. The rune-coated ‘sword’, with its gilded hilt and dull, spiraled cap, exuded a light glow as the machine let it rest over his shoulder.
At the sight of the weapon, the pirate captain flashed a smile that was missing a few teeth. “Yes, that will make an excellent decoration for my fireplace.”
“Come and take it,” Proto Man whispered as a pair of goons rushed from the sides of their leader. Without missing a beat, the preteen machine stepped back and swung Ea. Although called a sword by nearly everyone, the weapon’s unique shape made it something unique. Even so, its dealt destruction just as effectively as any blade. The first pirate crumpled as the shaft of the weapon crashed into the side of his skull.
The other goon pirate stabbed forward, but Proto Man sidestepped and thrust Ea’s capped tip through his foe’s throat.
With his assistants dead, the pirate captain smiled and charged into combat.
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