12-09-2017, 12:39 PM
While Revan handled the exodus of Psyche’s ‘patients’, Ash and Celestia struggled to contend with the recently-buffed doctor. Any semblance of the Darkling commander’s calculating antics had been spirited away upon shifting to the Mad Nautilus. Contrary to the hopes of the Liberators, this made the mechanized madman much more erratic and dangerous.
“This is your end!” the distorted screams of the augmented automaton boomed in the confines of the small storage room as tentacles lashed out at the slayer and the Princess. They found themselves steadily being backed into a corner as they scrambled to dodge the laser blasts and plumes of toxic smog venting from his ‘shell’.
“It’s no use,” Celestia choked out, heaving heavy breaths from her strong equine lungs. “We were barely handling him when he was just a crazy old robot.”
“Yeah,” Ash replied, tumbling backward sloppily to avoid being bludgeoned by the fat end of a tentacle. “I know what you mean. We’ve barely had a minute to rest since we started.”
“Less incessant jabbering!” Psyche screeched, his front-facing spike beginning to thrum with energy once more as he took aim at the large crate behind which his foes had sheltered. “DIE!”
Celestia threw up a hasty Sunwall as the duo scrambled to find another cover, though the spell seemed to be less effective on this cast. It splintered and shattered in a shower of sparks almost immediately on contact with Psyche’s assault, the force tossing the two painfully into the opposite wall. How much did they have left in them?
“I think we need to just get the hell out of here and find Revan,” Ash muttered with pained urgency. From the sound of it, the impact of the blast had knocked the wind out of him. “We’re both running on fumes here and this guy seems thrilled to just bring down the house on us.”
“You think the prisoners are safe?” Celestia implored, pointing her horn toward the approaching bulk of their foe and firing off a spell with whatever power she could muster. “If so, I agree.”
“Hell if I know,” the chainsaw-wielder replied. “We’ll just have to help him if not. We’re running out of options.”
“Worthless FILTH!” the Nautilus raged, again causing the castle to quake as he lurched toward his enemies. “You cannot hope to escape my wrath! You brought this on yourselves in opposing Nebula!”
“Now!”
On Ash’s mark, he and the princess darted from behind their cover and made for the large entryway that Psyche had created. No sooner had they ran out into the open than the transformed doctor released a spray of caustic slime from the tip of one of his many tentacles, causing the duo to cry out through gritted teeth as they ran frantically through the excruciating mist. With all the speed granted to them by sheer desperation, the duo managed to leap through the opening and find themselves back in the remnants of Psyche’s lab. Unfortunately for the Liberators they were not granted a single second of respite, as not a moment later, the madman himself came barreling through a new second doorway, slamming his armored bulk through the brickwork and making chase with sinister glee. A symphony of shattering glass told Ash and Celestia that the doctor’s hasty exit had likely been through a wall of crates, releasing the contents of his bottled substances to pour freely from the opening like a putrid waterfall and cover Psyche’s carapace with a sickly sheen.
“I’ll lay down some covering fire, just head toward the cells!” Celestia took aim as she issued her command, plying the doctor with a few noticeably small meteors. She hoped that her weakened spellwork could keep her pursuer at bay, at least long enough to get them some breathing room.
“GAH!” Psyche cried out, stopping suddenly to flail a now flaming tentacle. Despite the alicorn’s ebbing witchcraft, it seemed to be somehow strengthened. “CRETINS!” the frothing madman screeched, tearing forward once more with renewed vigor. “You will be eradicated!”
Celestia rounded on the spot and galloped toward her companion. “Ash! I think I have an idea of how we can put this villain down for good. Or, at least even the odds significantly.”
“You’ve got my attention,” the slayer responded, glancing warily over his shoulder at the still-aflame Nautilus as he stuffed a pair of shells into the breach of his boomstick.
“Whatever he crashed through and drenched the lab floor in seems to be flammable,” the Princess quickly explained. “My meteor set his whole limb on fire. I think maybe we can use his own power against him.”
A smile crossed Ash’s lips. “I like your style. I know just the thing that could ruin this freak’s day.” Gesturing toward the far end of the room, the Evil Dead slayer lead the pair deeper into the lab, Psyche hot on their tails.
“Draw his attention!” Celestia advised, eyes scanning the lab for a proper vantage point. If their plan was to work, they’d need to time it just right, lest they find themselves entombed.
“Being bait is something of a specialty of mine,” Ash quipped, sprinting forward as he fired buckshot blindly behind him. “Come and get me, poindexter!”
The equine princess leapt nimbly to the side as the fuming Nautilus charged toward his new target, spewing a constant slew of insults and guttural cries. She watched as the chainsaw-wielder sprinted full-tilt into the corner of the room, diving behind a rack of gas storage tanks. Perfect.
“FOOLS!” Psyche taunted, crawling toward Ash’s makeshift bunker until the tip of his laser-horn was a mere few meters from the man. “You cannot run now!”
Before the doctor could begin to charge his cannon, Ash’s hand appeared from behind the rack, flinging an unused shotgun shell toward the pulsing appendage. Psyche barely seemed to notice the cartridge; that was, until an expertly aimed ray of heat from somewhere behind him caused it to explode violently, setting Psyche’s carapace ablaze.
An agonizing scream echoed through the lab as the flames raced across the chemical-drenched surface, entirely engulfing the doctor in a coat of immolation. Tentacles lashed out at random as Ash ducked and dived past, only narrowly avoiding capture before meeting Celestia. “Do it now!” he cried, turning toward the door.
With a nod the princess held her horn high and charged a Meteor spell, pouring the rest of her energy into the blast. A second later she let the modest spell fly, immediately afterward turning to sprint after Ash as the ball of magical plasma impacted the nearest gas tank, causing it to detonate in a violent explosion. The liberators found themselves flung through the doorway of the lab as Psyche roared in anguish and the floor beneath their feet began to quake.
“RUN!”
“This is your end!” the distorted screams of the augmented automaton boomed in the confines of the small storage room as tentacles lashed out at the slayer and the Princess. They found themselves steadily being backed into a corner as they scrambled to dodge the laser blasts and plumes of toxic smog venting from his ‘shell’.
“It’s no use,” Celestia choked out, heaving heavy breaths from her strong equine lungs. “We were barely handling him when he was just a crazy old robot.”
“Yeah,” Ash replied, tumbling backward sloppily to avoid being bludgeoned by the fat end of a tentacle. “I know what you mean. We’ve barely had a minute to rest since we started.”
“Less incessant jabbering!” Psyche screeched, his front-facing spike beginning to thrum with energy once more as he took aim at the large crate behind which his foes had sheltered. “DIE!”
Celestia threw up a hasty Sunwall as the duo scrambled to find another cover, though the spell seemed to be less effective on this cast. It splintered and shattered in a shower of sparks almost immediately on contact with Psyche’s assault, the force tossing the two painfully into the opposite wall. How much did they have left in them?
“I think we need to just get the hell out of here and find Revan,” Ash muttered with pained urgency. From the sound of it, the impact of the blast had knocked the wind out of him. “We’re both running on fumes here and this guy seems thrilled to just bring down the house on us.”
“You think the prisoners are safe?” Celestia implored, pointing her horn toward the approaching bulk of their foe and firing off a spell with whatever power she could muster. “If so, I agree.”
“Hell if I know,” the chainsaw-wielder replied. “We’ll just have to help him if not. We’re running out of options.”
“Worthless FILTH!” the Nautilus raged, again causing the castle to quake as he lurched toward his enemies. “You cannot hope to escape my wrath! You brought this on yourselves in opposing Nebula!”
“Now!”
On Ash’s mark, he and the princess darted from behind their cover and made for the large entryway that Psyche had created. No sooner had they ran out into the open than the transformed doctor released a spray of caustic slime from the tip of one of his many tentacles, causing the duo to cry out through gritted teeth as they ran frantically through the excruciating mist. With all the speed granted to them by sheer desperation, the duo managed to leap through the opening and find themselves back in the remnants of Psyche’s lab. Unfortunately for the Liberators they were not granted a single second of respite, as not a moment later, the madman himself came barreling through a new second doorway, slamming his armored bulk through the brickwork and making chase with sinister glee. A symphony of shattering glass told Ash and Celestia that the doctor’s hasty exit had likely been through a wall of crates, releasing the contents of his bottled substances to pour freely from the opening like a putrid waterfall and cover Psyche’s carapace with a sickly sheen.
“I’ll lay down some covering fire, just head toward the cells!” Celestia took aim as she issued her command, plying the doctor with a few noticeably small meteors. She hoped that her weakened spellwork could keep her pursuer at bay, at least long enough to get them some breathing room.
“GAH!” Psyche cried out, stopping suddenly to flail a now flaming tentacle. Despite the alicorn’s ebbing witchcraft, it seemed to be somehow strengthened. “CRETINS!” the frothing madman screeched, tearing forward once more with renewed vigor. “You will be eradicated!”
Celestia rounded on the spot and galloped toward her companion. “Ash! I think I have an idea of how we can put this villain down for good. Or, at least even the odds significantly.”
“You’ve got my attention,” the slayer responded, glancing warily over his shoulder at the still-aflame Nautilus as he stuffed a pair of shells into the breach of his boomstick.
“Whatever he crashed through and drenched the lab floor in seems to be flammable,” the Princess quickly explained. “My meteor set his whole limb on fire. I think maybe we can use his own power against him.”
A smile crossed Ash’s lips. “I like your style. I know just the thing that could ruin this freak’s day.” Gesturing toward the far end of the room, the Evil Dead slayer lead the pair deeper into the lab, Psyche hot on their tails.
“Draw his attention!” Celestia advised, eyes scanning the lab for a proper vantage point. If their plan was to work, they’d need to time it just right, lest they find themselves entombed.
“Being bait is something of a specialty of mine,” Ash quipped, sprinting forward as he fired buckshot blindly behind him. “Come and get me, poindexter!”
The equine princess leapt nimbly to the side as the fuming Nautilus charged toward his new target, spewing a constant slew of insults and guttural cries. She watched as the chainsaw-wielder sprinted full-tilt into the corner of the room, diving behind a rack of gas storage tanks. Perfect.
“FOOLS!” Psyche taunted, crawling toward Ash’s makeshift bunker until the tip of his laser-horn was a mere few meters from the man. “You cannot run now!”
Before the doctor could begin to charge his cannon, Ash’s hand appeared from behind the rack, flinging an unused shotgun shell toward the pulsing appendage. Psyche barely seemed to notice the cartridge; that was, until an expertly aimed ray of heat from somewhere behind him caused it to explode violently, setting Psyche’s carapace ablaze.
An agonizing scream echoed through the lab as the flames raced across the chemical-drenched surface, entirely engulfing the doctor in a coat of immolation. Tentacles lashed out at random as Ash ducked and dived past, only narrowly avoiding capture before meeting Celestia. “Do it now!” he cried, turning toward the door.
With a nod the princess held her horn high and charged a Meteor spell, pouring the rest of her energy into the blast. A second later she let the modest spell fly, immediately afterward turning to sprint after Ash as the ball of magical plasma impacted the nearest gas tank, causing it to detonate in a violent explosion. The liberators found themselves flung through the doorway of the lab as Psyche roared in anguish and the floor beneath their feet began to quake.
“RUN!”
Quote:Congratulations! You've managed to escape the lab of the insane doctor. Now you just need to get out of the rest of the castle while it's falling to pieces around you. Make a run for it, and escape the collapsing structure! One post from each of you, up to 800 words total. You have one week.