Descent [Dark Data]

[Lord Zedd]

The hustle and bustle of the upper Coruscant tiers never seemed to stop. Whatever was hidden chaos was occurring, the people of the techno-universe always trusted that some unseen power would be protecting them, regardless of whether or not it was Imperial. Unknown to the general public, their newest protectors were just exiting Doctor Regal’s Tier Two laboratory. It might have been a moment where the phrase “ignorance is bliss” took proper meaning.

Zedd looked down at his Liberator Aid only after looking amongst the common rabble with disgust. He had to keep reminding himself that Coruscant’s safety was his own future, as pathetic as it might be. Like always, he just needed to focus on the current recipient of his wrath.

“Odd wristband,” Zedd demanded of the inanimate object strapped to his wrist. “Show us the way to the Nebula lair, so that we might slaughter them with extreme prejudice.”

There was predictably no response from his construct.

“I gave you an order,” Zedd loudly barked.

“I don’t think it works that way,” Jak Mar interrupted Zedd’s chastising.

“Then tell me, wood elf, what is it supposed to do?” Zedd demanded of his new companion. “I don’t need a pedometer.”

“Probably need to get a little closer to the source before it picks up on anything,” Desman suggested.

Zedd gazed at the red machine. He was on edge regarding it, as it’s tone earlier had suggested potential treachery, but then again, Zedd tended to see that in all actions. This was already over his head, so he felt safe in trusting the robot’s judgement on robotic things.

“Then I would suggest we descend to the lower tiers of Coruscant.” Zedd reasoned aloud. “The closer we get to hell that is the seventh level, the more likely we are to see something trying to stay hidden. I wouldn’t give them a strong chance of survival in the Emperor’s plaza.”

Jak found himself glancing to Desman and nodding. At least Zedd was on the ball when he wasn’t weakly hiding his megalomania. Maybe they did have a chance, after all. Neither of them waited for things to go south, and began to make their way through the crowded streets.

“Great work, Zedd,” Morene suddenly chimed in, surprising the dark lord. “Way to learn and adapt.”

Zedd watched the woman follow their other companions. He couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or genuinely encouraging. It didn’t matter, because either scenario disgusted him just the same. He let out a sigh as he trailed after them. This was going to be another long adventure.

[Morene Fellon]

Admittedly, Morene knew she was... a bit too excited at the moment. In her defense, it was the first time in years she had ever been on a hunting trip in such a scale with multiple people by her side. The huntress could feel Zedd's near gut-wrenching disapproval at her behavior, and the only consequence for that was that Morene's very sly grin widened even further as he gave her rather sudden glances from time to time as they walked.

Of course, despite the insatiable urge Morene had to poke fun at this skinless dark lord of the cosmos, the huntress knew there were lives at stake, and Nebula's forces were still wreaking havoc and destruction upon innocent lives. This concept of irrational, objectively barbaric evil almost intrigued Morene, had she not have already dealt with such a thing so many times back in her home world. The woman vividly remembered spending nights upon nights endlessly goring mindless, terrorizing creatures under the moonlit swamps of Creedmoor, writing theory after theory as to how they came to be, and... more importantly, ways to clean them up.

Almost immediately after thinking of her penmanship, Morene gasped! Her journal, how ever could she forget about it?

Reaching back, the huntress closed her eyes, hoping perhaps Omni hadn't have taken such a mundane thing away from her. Feeling one of her back pockets, the woman sighed in relief upon feeling the spine of the less than averagely sized book still secured in one of her numerous pouches.

Unstrapping the journal from it's locked position, Morene held the book close to her heavily armored chest, flipping through the pages from first to last. Jak, close by the woman, watched as she did so, letting her have her moment with slight interest. Eventually, Morene saw numerous blank pages still readily available to be filled later on, and... She hesitated, reaching for her pen, stopping herself beforehand as she noticed a few of the other Primes glancing at her again.

No, she thought, later.

Sighing, Morene put the precious book back where it was beforehand, realizing how... awkwardly silent it was for a short while, especially in contrast to how loud the bustling city is. The woman remembered first coming to Coruscant, and this area was definitely a tier lower than where she started off at. The atmosphere itself seemed to get darker, closer, and less comforting in comparison to where the group of Primes were at only minutes ago. In all honesty, Morene had lost track of the time, figuring Desman and Zedd knew how to get around this place easier than she did at least, seeing as how they were always in front of her. If that wasn't the case, Morene had to make sure of it.

"I can feel we're getting closer to something," Morene commented, her eyes widening as she recognized that familiar feeling in her gut, "it's been far too quiet."

"Of course we're getting close! I was the one who formed this foolproof plan for the likes of you," Zedd snarled, clenching his fists as he looked back at Morene.

In which case, the conqueror met with disappointment as he realized the woman was intensely focused on looking at every dark crevice and rooftop they came across. Her steel-clad fingers ran through the walls of each and every building the group turned passed, almost as if she was quite literally feeling the place out. Jak, listening to Zedd lowly growl at the woman, could barely hold back a chuckle.

"Ah," Desman couldn't help but notice, "Morene, is it? I have a feeling you're right. I haven't picked up anything on my Liberator Aide yet, but--"

Whirr...

Suddenly as ever, all four of the Primes heard the ominously low sounds being emitted from their weighty wristbands, it's monitor flashing slowly in the rhythm of the constant whirring coming from the device. Morene chuckled, and Zedd looked similarly appeased.

"I think we're getting somewhere," Jak idly stated, peering into the dusty alleyway in which his Liberator Aide seemed to be directing them towards.

The group took a moment to look at each other once again, a few of them nodding their heads in agreement as to what they all were thinking. Zedd, almost stomping forwards, gestured at all three of his loosely formed allies before him.

"Well?!" Zedd demanded, continuing, "At haste, it's time we crush these lowly Darkling zombies!"

Of course, Morene knew it wasn't going to be that simple. Still, she smiled all the same at the sentiment, before looking onward and walking into the cold, polluted and littered trash-dump in between the two large and dirty buildings the four Primes stood in front of.

It was then, she no longer smiled, grasping at the short-sword at her side, the Liberator Aide on her hand only furthering the intensity of the moment.

Whirr... Whirr... Whirr...

[Desman Black]

As Desman moved though the streets, he really started to doubt  Zedd's leadership,  especially with the city's and nebula's technological advancement, and the skinned man's lack thereof. Of course, the robot only spoke of it to his implant; he wouldn't want to add to the disjunction of the group. The werid thing was, except for a few loud comments from Zedd, and the deafening silence for most of the time, it hadn't really shown since they left the lab.

After a while the group soon made it back to the elevator, Des catching a glimpse of a holographic map before entering, indicating that Zedd's plan was correct... this time. The elevator ride down made the akward silence even more noticeable, having grown tired of it, Des summoned a couple pieces of paper with a pen and started writing. "That fox lady didn't have such a bad idea. desman said, half wishing the group to hear, half wishing they didn't. We should make sure to be able to communicate even if we are separated. The robot stopped writing, handing out one piece of paper to each of his comrades. "On there is my connact details, hopefully we won't need them.

In a handwriting just recognizable as english was the email address of the robot:
DangerousD@ycmail.com

Exiting the can was a sudden relief towards the robot as the group continued, Morene was the first to express herself, followed quickly by Zedd (Ithink), Desman, and lastly Jak. Following their aids the group found themselves in a trash filled allyway. Desman, sensing something, quickly readied his arm-cannon, whatever this was it was bad news.

[Jak Mar]

Jak’s frequent nightmares seemed like a cakewalk compared to what the ever expanding parts of Couruscant seemed to be in this very moment. The walking skinless villain Lord Zedd did not start out the greatest of ways when the “Lord of Darkness” started to yell at his own liberation device, hoping it would do something for him.

The elven warrior pointed out that the device worked like a electronic compass as Zedd seemingly pointed out the hero in a generally insulting tone. Great way to start a relationship.

Desmond, the reddish robot seemed to be following quietly, quickly observing calculations on where they should go next. In the years Jak had been around, he had only been in Tier 1, and seen the various high class shops and restaurants and the annoyance of stormtroopers with their guns, sometimes just as bad as Krimzon guards who didn’t trust him back home.

Jak, had his morph gun slung behind his back as he looked at Morene, the woman who stepped up and shook his hand right away. It was good to have a backup ally just in case the group ever got broken… apart.

..”Heh, the skinless man thinks he can treat us like underlings?.. Not while I’m here“

Dark Jak pondered inside Jak’s brain as the hero wasn’t letting him get one word in, edgewise.

Light Jak instead eyed Jak’s id form and closed his eyes. The “angel” wasn’t hearing it and placed a hand on the dark hero’s elbow “Perhaps this… Zedd is a good leader after all, let’s just listen to see where things go. Jak knows who to trust.”

“Trust is for fools… “ Dark Jak dusted off the angel’s touch on him.

Fine…

On the outside, Jak and the other liberators had made it closer to the strange ally when a loud, and getting louder “WHIRR” sound grabbed their attention.

Jak braced himself, pulling the morph gun down and ready in his arms.

[Nebula]

The group of liberators slowly advanced down the trash-strewn alley. Their Liberator Aides crackled with static, and a low, mechanical whirring noise. The sleek, advanced architecture of the city seemed to be throwing them into momentary chaos, trying to pinpoint the exact location of the thread it was picking up.

Finally, they managed it, resolving from blank static to a basic radar. A single, bright red symbol blipped on the screen. Slowly, steadily, it advanced forward, from down the alley, around a corner. Listening intently, the entire group could eventually hear it. Steady, mechanical, plodding, and heavy. Footsteps. Just one set of them, but with a measured rhythm, and unnaturally heavy clang to each stride.

An acrid smell of smoke and burning metal filtered down the alley, as an eerie purple glow started to suffuse everything. And then, slowly, more signatures started to crop up on the radar. First just one more, then two more, then three more...until there were six more, scrambling over hell and bywater to catch up to the one slowly advancing on the liberators.

And with an echoing, stomping stride, it came around the corner. Towering in at nearly seven feet, composed entirely of shining, silver metal, dripping with viscous black ooze from every joint, surrounded by a flickering glow of purple flame. Red light burned in empty eye sockets, and a stark, harsh red glare shone from, presumably, a power core in the chest. Wordlessly, one arm raised, a blue glow shining from a small cannon barrel atop the wrist, and it continued its slow, steady advance. "DE-LETE." A bolt of energy erupted from the cannon, streaking down the alleyway and missing the group, tearing into the wall behind them and producing a shower of dust and pebble-like shards of rubble. "DE-LETE." Another shot, this one scoring much closer to impact. Several more creatures poured around the corner, a motley crew of various aliens and citizens of Coruscant, all of them openly and clearly corrupted, eyes blazing red, black clouds of mist surging out with every ragged breath.

"DE-LETE!" the lead darkling intoned again, continuing his advance.

Encounter!

Darkling Assault Squad
-- Group of seven darklings in total. Six underlings, and one Cyberman serving as a sergeant.
-- Underlings have stats of 2/1/1/1, the Cyberman has stats of 4/4/0/1.
-- Every one of them has the Survival power, along with the Physical Strength proficiency. The Cyberman also has the Ranged proficiency.
-- Underlings are armed with knives, swords, and various improvised melee tools. Some of them may have claws or fangs, as well.

Everyone will have one post to contend with the threat, of no more than 1,000 words. You have three days to make this post.

[Jak Mar]

The alleyway sounded like something straight out of a terminator movie, full of rampaging robots and unruly citizens all willing to fight off the liberators.

A puzzle awaited the ragtag group.  Society acted according to values set within Coruscant but the citizens were blissfully unaware of the status quo within the chaos spreading like wildfire throughout the city.

However, the city had no clue who was really saving their asses.

Jak felt the stress of days past as he carried the weight of Haven City and Spargus on his shoulders.

He remembered everything, to the time he was banished to when one of them wanted him to come back.

It felt like the same loop to him except this time there were different faces.  Would he let down his group just because of some past events that bothered him?

He forced the events in the dark depths of his mind to rest with Dark Jak and Light Jak.

Morene blinked “Jak, …. What’s going on? You thinking?!”

Jak blinked “I’m fine.. Just… things on my mind.”

While the group was mostly silent, Desman passed out the emails as Jak nodded at his other partner in crime.

“Thanks, Desman, but… now’s .. not the time for sharing… when there’s a fight about to happen..”

Jak took the paper and sighed. He’d have to remember to put it in his dataverse communicator later when he had time after the fight.

After the brief discussion, the skinless man barked out commands to the group while they stayed silent.

The alleyways always seemed to have  something creepy down them, why was this one any different?

Zedd has lead them in the right direction so far but should they really keep trusting him as a leader? Would he stay with them and fight to the end or leave them to fight amongst themselves?”

Jak wasn’t sure on who exactly to trust in this big group. He followed along as much as he could.

Zedd made his first move. He  focused on the big prize, the dangerous robot in the back of the group.

“Listen here, weaklings, you will fall to the might of Lord Zedd or I will make you!” Zedd chastised the darklings.

But in order to get to the big prize, you had to climb up the little runes to the top of the ladder or in this case, corrupted citizens.

Jak frowned “Uh, pal… I think they don’t take orders.”

Zedd ignored Jak and walked closer trying to get some breathing room between the group.

The dark leader frowned “If you beasts won’t listen to my commands, maybe beating you in a fight will make you see my way”

Zedd smirked “That prize is mine, fools. Just don’t try to get in my way.”

Jak shook his head “Morene, go with him…”

Morene winked at the skinless leader  for a second and ran after Zedd as he rushed toward the prize.

Desman looked at Jak “After you, let’s go find the underlings.”

“If you are up to the challenge” Jak smirked.

Desman looked at him back and said “Let’s do it.”

Jak nodded “No harm done.”

The robot moved next to Jak as the anti-hero rushed off with his new partner in crime.

Meanwhile, Morene and Zedd rushed to find the giant robot Sergeant. The aides would aid them in their quest.  “Heh, so you robots think you can stand in my way of ruling this world?!!”

Morene growled at Zedd, turning at him  “Stop taunting and let’s fight this thing..”

Zedd growled back “I thought I said  to stay out of my way. Wouldn’t you understand a simple command such as that?”

Morene eyed Zedd “As long as you can help me out, we can take out this bad excuse for a robot”

Zedd turned as he eyed the creature “And why should I let you help me?!”

Morene grumbled “I am just as strong as you are.”

He summoned forth his magic stick with the Z detailed on it and stomped it into the ground “Show me and then we’ll talk.”

Morene smirked “I’m ready”

Zedd’s intense Volt at the metal armor and Morene’s summoning of her Temperance Sniper gun worked surprisingly well as a pair. The dark lord of the cosmos took the close up while Morene pot shotted the shiny metal robot from a distance. Meanwhile in another area,  The anti-hero loaded up his morph gun and lifted out his blue mod, fitting it on. Then as soon as the red laser aimed at his target, Jak let loose on the dark citizens, who didn’t even scream as they were gunned down as they muttered “Delete” like zombies.

Jak kept pacing and turning, picking off underlings, Desman trying to help Jak as much as possible.

Desman said “I think it’s smart if we try to save resources as much as we can. We don’t have a fresh stop for OM.”

“But I’m not sure about these creatures. If we touch them, do we get corrupted?”

Jak nodded, trying to conserve the gun’s precious materials.

“Thanks. I owe you one someday.”

“Sure, let’s just stay alive first.”

Desman dodged a few stabs by a darkling, but as he avoided it, Jak shot at it, making the creature scream and fall dropping its weapon.

Desman nodded and picked the sword up “I’ll be taking that for a spin.”

Jak smirked “Nice weapon, Des.”

In a gun and sword combo, Jak and Desman managed to clear about 3 of 6 underlings.

Jak uses Vulcan Fury [1 SP]
Desman acquires a sword

Morene uses Temperance Sniper Gun [1 SP]
Zedd uses Volt [1 SP]


(Jak and Desmond take on Underlings)
(Morene and Zedd take on Cyberman)

[Simon]

One of the Nebula-corrupted citizens shambled forth, brandishing a short sword with a finely-tapered point. In his spare time before being dragged into the influence of Nebula, the humanoid had taken up swordplay from a local gang leader, who had formerly served as some brutal warrior from another age. The idea behind it rooted in the thought that most thugs would be rightfully intimidated by someone who could actually use a blade like a killer.

Of course, intimidation didn't mean much when your opponent happened to be a soulless, hell-driven machine bent on consuming the world in dark data.

The gangster followed behind his allies, now setting upon another ram-shackle group of people wandering down the wrong alley. The scent of decay and evil hung in the air, breathed from the mouths of the turned, including the swordsman. These fools might think they stood a chance, that perhaps skill would suffuse whatever numbers they lacked.

What would these middling drones know about skill, though? In one hunter's experience, not a damn thing in comparison.

A bullet nailed the swordsman in the back of the head, making him stumble forward from the impact. He recovered his footing and whirled around, earning two more shots in the torso for his retaliation. One of his allies held him upright when he lurched back, as another turned too to face this new adversary.

A single individual made himself known, having just rounded the bend and stepping forward one slow clomp at a time. Two handguns of polar colorations shone in his hands both pointed forward. A long-tailed red coat billowed behind him to the tune of a shallow breeze wafting past the corner. Under a smoothed cut of long pearl hair, two blue eyes glared in the most faint shine towards the dark-infused aliens.

Any normal military teams might show signs of confusion or alert that an enemy managed to approach them from behind. Ultimately, to the Darklings, such concern was absent. This new figure could only be another target, not a danger.

Dante looked forward to proving them wrong.

The swordsman charged toward the devil hunter, blade raised over his own shoulder to prepare a diagonal strike- a rookie mistake that exposed his chest. Unflinching, Dante's trigger fingers poured into his pistols, rattling off a dozen or so shots into the corrupt citizen's ribs. The foe coughed, spattered out blood, and made a finishing lunge in spite of the damage. That momentary delay was just enough for Dante to side-step the incoming sword, shoving the barrel of Ivory into his temple as a riposte.

However, the other Darkling that had held up the first one came out swinging, and Dante was forced to relent before he could put a bullet into the swordsman's head. Channeling his defensive powers, the son of Sparda managed to narrowly block the incoming lead pipe with his right forearm, the impact deflecting the blow with a burst of light. The first Darkling attacked again in kind, keeping up the pressure and forcing Dante to maintain his Royalguard stance. Between the two minions, they managed to keep the devil hunter locked down sufficiently for a moment, his arms gradually tearing with each successive blow.

Not one to be outwitted, the red-coat seized a gap of opportunity and thrust himself out of the way, dashing to the side. He met the wall with his feet, inhuman speed carrying him three steps vertically before kicking off in a spectacular flourish. Headfirst to the ground, pistols crossed, Dante rained hell onto the hapless dark drones.

Unable to shield their skulls effectively from a dozen bullets, they reeled over in shock, absorbing every blow with their head and shoulders. As gravity finally seized claim on Dante's flying form, he twisted from his downright position and landed feet-first - right onto the Darklings. Their faces crashed into the dirty pavement, soaking the ground with blood and spit as they were brutally pinned under the devil hunter's boots.

One step at a time, Dante peeled himself from the broken skulls of the corrupt Coruscant citizens. A twinge of regret seeped up his spine as he considered that, how these devilish creatures were at one point actual people. An all too-familiar voice echoed out in response:

Why do you care!? It's not like you've never had to kill people before. How many demons have you killed that were once human, huh?

I don't keep count.

Exactly. You think too much! They're just targets to be slain, so get slaying!

So he stepped forward again, approaching the rest of the Darklings, embroiled in a conflict with some other people he couldn't quite make out yet. The humanizing of these infested people hadn't been what stopped Dante in the first place. No, it was the fact that the Hollow's arguments were becoming more compelling with every offer.

The idea that, above all, Dante was submitting to the Hollow's commands - that was most frightening. The Darklings were a pittance in comparison.

866 words, 2 kills.

[Morene Fellon]

Licking at her cold, scarred lips, Morene gazed upon the hulking golem holding it's ground in front of her. 

She wanted this one. Though...

Sighing, Morene looked to her side as the chaos ensued, watching as Zedd took all of the glory for himself. The huntress expected this, but by no means did she think it would hurt as much as it did!

Though, it was more accurate to say Morene had the slightest ping of jealousy that he got the first move rather than "hurt."

Still, how cruel... She couldn't help but think, shaking her head as her thoughts were soon washed out by the endless snarling and clashing of metal against concrete, signalling that the Darklings were soon approaching.

Well, actually, Morene would have slapped herself on the wrists for such a gross understatement; they were here. Very much so, she noted. Biting at her lip, the woman immediately pulled her stub of a rifle and began shooting at whatever devilish creature crossed her sightlines.

Except of course for Zedd; though in comparison, even he was in a brighter mood than these creatures. The huntress giggled at the thought as she burst-fired into a few of the Nebula zombies, watching as Jak and Des made quicker work of them than she did. Noticing this, Morene clicked her tongue, looking ever so slightly to the left as the graceful sight of Lord Zedd taking a single step back as the Cyberman in front of him prepared another charged shot; Zedd being arrogant enough to wait until the last second to move.

In a split second, Morene looked back, watching as what she believed to be the last Darkling approaching the Primes once again behind what looked to be a dumpster off in the distance. Something was... off, here. There's no way that was the last one. Either way...

Mar and Black were busy, she realized, and... Smirking, Morene turned around to raise her gun at the Cyberman occupied with the task of assaulting her ally by the name of Zedd. Squeezing the trigger, the huntress watched as a constant stream of lead rammed right into the Cyberman's head, most of the bullets being deflected. To compensate however, Morene's plan was put into motion; the knightly soldier of Nebula turned to face Morene, groaning in livid frustration before raising his gauntlet. The woman's muscles tensed as she quickly looked behind her, lining her back perfectly towards the approaching Darklings.

The Cyberman raised it's clenched, metallic fist, and so, it fired.

Immediately rolling out of the way, Morene watched as the two Darklings approaching were immediately eviscerated by the blue beam of energy as caused by the Cyberman itself.

"Hahaa~" Morene wheezed out, picking herself up from the horribly dirty concrete floor beneath her as the rubble cleared to reveal the melting corpses of the Darklings.

"Why..." Zedd mumbled, tilting his head in very slight curiosity. Was this woman truly a fool, or actually worth having by his side? Listening to the painfully monotone chuckle from this woman, Zedd decided he'd tell himself the former.

Though, it mattered not.

As the noise lessened, all that could be heard was the slow creaking of the Cyberman as it's heavy plate armor turned; it's red eyes moving in an almost mesmerizing fashion, locking back onto the cosmic marauder. Clenching at his fists, Lord Zedd felt the need to scream. Alas, a moment of silence!...

...

"...FELLON!"  Zedd snapped, screaming at the top of his lungs (if he had any to speak of,) as the Cyberman began to open fire on him. Morene's mouth twitched.

"Of course, my good dear!" the huntress exclaimed in response, holding her rifle in one hand, placing it on her hip. Immediately returning fire, Morene knew this time, the Cyberman would not stop this time, despite noticeably flinching ever so slightly as the lead pounded against it's armor filled to the brim with dark energy. Sweat formed at her brow watching as another shot from the Nebula knight's gauntlet charged up.

Lord Zedd paid no mind; the rest of the Primes did however. Morene's gun was eventually spent of all the bullets she had at that current moment. That dreadful click was the absolute worst to hear when somebody's life depended on it. Though... in this case, Morene did have to remind herself, watching as Lord Zedd prepared another beam of high voltage lightning from his staff. A very maniacal laugh followed from the man, and... Morene smiled, looking behind her, watching as Jak and Desman rushed forward with their weapons readily available.

Nebula had truly made a mistake if this was the standard of quality expected in his forces, Morene thought to herself, chuckling as she instinctively ran forward alongside the wood elf and robot, brandishing her shortsword. Raising her arm upwards, Morene fired off one of her grappling hooks in the general direction of the Cyberman as a beam fired off.

All that could be seen was smoke.

830 words, last Darkling eliminated, only the Cyberman remains. 

[Desman Black]

"Nice wepon, Des"

"I don't mind it." The short Sword, which had a blade made of some sort of plasma, was quickly raised to block a darkling's attack. "I still prefer my old cutlass though." With their enemy holding their weapon with both hands, the robot was able to fire a blast at them, the darkly getting pused by into two more. "Now."

With a thumbs up the anti-hero barraged Nebula's minions with a hell fire of bullets. Looking around the duo couldn't see any other darklings, what they did see however was that the other two needed help. Neither needed the other to say something before rushing towards the back of the cyberman. The paled-skin women joined them before a haze of smoke sorrounded the small area.

Did this mean the cyberman was destroyed, no Des could still "see" that it was still standing; and judging by the others reactions, they didn't have this power. The short robot moved as fast as he could to catch the other off guard, permanently wedging the sword into their back. Nebula's minion swag around in response to try and shock what he thought to be a nuisance. Des was , of course, still not done with the cyberman, opting to fire there shots close range, all of them hitting.

"D-D-D-DE-LETE!"

"How are you not dead yet!" It was at this moment Des went into a sudden freeze. 'D-Dead.' Des thought about the last few minutes of battle more, he, he had killed people, actual people, with family and freinds. Des hold on to himself tight, what seemed like tears coming from the visor. 'Des! Snap out of it. Des... des...' The cyberman finaly found Des, and now was it's change to strike.

320 words, cyberman still standing

[Lord Zedd]

The Cyberman rushed at Desman abruptly, sensing the opportunity to take a free strike. In it’s rush to get an easy strike in, it didn’t see the others in the thick smoke cover. It was utterly surprised when the powerful foot of Lord Zedd emerged from the smokescreen and struck it in the side. The minion of Nebula was thrown off course and rolled across the ground.

The smokey haze still covered the entire arena, preventing any sort of vision and effectively pausing the fight momentarily once the Cyberman was out of sight. Even with the limited visibility, there was no doubt about where Lord Zedd stood. His maniacal laughter permeated the area, even still. The Cyberman looked straight ahead as the smoke was washed away by wind, and saw the dark lord emerging with a slow, yet purposeful walk.

“Oh, Nebula...thing...ling,” Lord Zedd sarcastically beckoned his remaining foe after a moment of hesitation. He realized that by splitting his attention between theoretical methods of exterminating the inhabitants of the lab and also the nearest reflective surface, he’d missed some of the finer details of his adversaries. It was no matter, because it wouldn’t change what he would do. “Will you be telling us where to find your superiors meekly before fleeing into the shadows, or will it be between your screams for mercy?”

The Cyberman, to its credit, stood ready to fight. Zedd only found it to be an annoyance, at this point. It was hopelessly outnumbered by the remaining primes, who Zedd did feel something similar to pride regarding. At least he had a competent team, unlike the stormtroopers he’d been burdened with before. The five of them might have a chance after all.

Wait, five? Zedd did a double take, and spotted the man in a red trench coat standing amongst them like he belonged. Where the hell had he come from?

“Zedd!” a voice he recognized as Morene’s shouted from the other side of him, with something of a sense of urgency in it.

The dark lord turned his attention back towards the darkling, frustrated that he needed to correct his allies once more. “Lord Ze-”

A blast from the darkling’s arm cannon struck him in the chest and hurled the enraged dictator from his feet. After a full backflip, Zedd slammed face first to the pavement. He heard shots and movement, and looked up to see the Cyberman firing wildly, and the others moving as quickly as they could to avoid the onslaught of energy from the desperate monster. It was backed into a metaphorical corner, so it was lashing out with all it had. Zedd liked it when his foes reached that state of mind.

“Causing involuntary acrobatics are bad for your health,” Zedd announced as he stood back up. “They take seconds off your life. I know it might not seem like a lot, but given the time you have left, it’s proportionally quite significant.”

The Cyberman turned and fired another blast at Zedd. This time he was ready, and the warlord raised his staff and released a bolt of lightning from the ‘Z’ at the top of it. The two attacks collided in midair and caused a tremendous explosion, which left Zedd and the darkling temporarily stunned and blinded, but the others did not suffer from such setbacks.

Desman arrived first and slammed into the Cyberman and knocked it back a step, just to keep it disabled. From there, the recoiling cybernetic creature was bombarded by gunfire from the other three members of the team. There was a break in the assault once they saw Zedd charging in. With the robot still defenseless, Zedd drove his staff through its chestplate with little trouble.

The Cyberman stumbled back, but remained on its feet, even with the Z Staff piercing it. It swung at Zedd with its arm cannon and connected with his faceplate, almost succeeding in knocking him away. The man in the red trenchcoat quickly arrived and slashed at the robot with his sword, causing it to spin around. Zedd caught the bladed end of his staff still protruding from the darkling, and then violently yanked it forward. The ‘Z’ on the other side preventing the staff from sliding through, so the darkling was yanked right off its feet.

As the monster his the ground, Zedd ripped the staff out finally, and towered over the wounded darkling. He stepped on the arm with the energy launcher attached to it and held it down firmly. It was with another sinister laugh that Zedd loomed over the darkling, with his staff held ready to continue.

“Screaming it is.”

788 words

[Nebula]

The sinister laugh of the dark lord echoed around the alleyway. Slowly, the last of the dust and rubble kicked up by the fight settled, clearing the scene for all to see clearly. Everyone had weapons readied and trained on the downed Cyberman, even as it struggled to throw off the conqueror pinning it down. The power core in its chest sputtered, flickering weakly as it tried to cope with the damage it had sustained thus far.

After a few moments, it slowly went still, lowering its struggles to naught and going flat against the grimy, dusty ground. Slowly, the flickering, unsteady glow of the power core in its chest stabilized. Then it started to grow brighter, and a loud, metallic whining noise kicked in, the glare in its eyes brightening in turn. Sparks and angry, violet fire roiled within its frame, visible through the damage done to its exterior plating. It finally spoke again, voice mangled and distorted, much deeper and more garbled than before, but the message clear: "UP-GRADE IN PRO-GRESS."

Lord Zedd was confused, if only for a moment. "Upgrade? Ii think no--" But his retort was cut short, as the Cyberman's left arm swept up, in a blur of silver and latched onto the dark lord's ankle. The skinless being staggered at the sudden impact, and then let out a mangled yell of pain as a powerful electrical current tore through his body, leaving him paralyzed and twitching in the cybernetic sergeant's grasp. The remainder of the group did their best to retaliate, but at the risk of hitting their 'leader' their assault was halfhearted at est. And then Zedd was flung off, nearly straight upward into the air. Twenty feet, maybe more, he went sailing, flipping end over end, before crashing down, mirroring the Cyberman's own prone position, and smoking heavily.

"UP-GRADE COM-PLETE." The Cyberman intoned, voice much more clear now. And with a heavy, mechanical whirring, its massive boots rotated sharply at the ankles, planting the soles firmly on the ground, levering the rest of its bulk upright once more. The damage to its frame was still there, and the smoking, sparking and flames still visibly apparent. But it appeared not hindered in the slightest by the destruction. The glare in its power core, shining like a floodlamp, and from its eyes, blazed a deep, sinister purple now. Its right arm raised, the barrel of its cannon glowing with that same hue, crackling with sparks and venting bolts of plasma. Lines and arcs of electricity crackled over its left hand, flexing into a fist and back into an open hand.

"DE-LETE. DE-LETE. DE-LETE."

Encounter: Round Two!

Damage Log:
-- Jak,, Morene and Dante suffer 1 damage, from superficial injuries
-- Desman suffers 2 damage from general combat wear and tear, mostly superficial injuries
-- Zedd suffers 3 damage from close contact with an upgrading Cyberman, and a minor injury: Electrical Burns, on his left shin

The Cyberman has upgraded, gaining the following changes:
-- +1 to all stats (5/5/1/2)
-- New Power: Regeneration (Advanced)
-- A new move: the electrical aspect of its left hand
-- New Move: Adaptive Defense (all moves used against it thus far will be less effective)

Everyone will have another post to contend with their upgraded foe, up to 800 words. You have 72 hours to make this post.

[Lord Zedd]

For ten thousand years, Lord Zedd had been the terror of the known universe. He conquered and enslaved many worlds all across multiple galaxies, and waged war against countless armies. Despite what image he currently portrayed, completely out of his element and at the edge of desperation, he was actually quite brilliant. To rule over these worlds he learned about them, studied them thoroughly, and mastered their customs. Sometimes it paid off in the form of utilizing a unique military strategy, other times it allowed him to properly anticipate what a society might do against him.

This time, however, his deep knowledge of countless cultures allowed him to hurl expletives in dozens of languages during his short, spiraling trip away from the upgraded Cyberman. He crashed down in a smoking heap beside his allies, lying still only long enough to process the situation. After that, he defaulted to his neutral emotion: unbridled rage.

“Uh,” Morene stuttered for a second as she watched Jak reach a helping hand down to Zedd. “Are you okay?”

“Insolent maggot!” Zedd roared as he climbed to his feet, brushing aside Jak’s assistance.

“DE-LETE,” the Cyberman repeated as its arm raised once more.

“If you must beg for your end…!” Zedd screamed back at it, snapping his staff upwards.

The two released their attacks at the same time, and they yet again exploded on contact. The shockwave was thrown entirely in Zedd’s direction, forcing him to brace himself to prevent being ripped off his feet. He was loathe to admit that repeated instances of that exchange would not bode well for him.

“Dispatch this pile of scrap!” Zedd bellowed to his teammates as the rush of energy died down, only to look around and see that they had already departed from his side. Good.

He marched forward with a brisk and deliberate pace, watching as the Cyberman fielded attacks from all sides. He studied its motions carefully, as well it its reactions to the primes’ attacks. The upgraded darkling was monstrously powerful, but the previous exchange had already told Zedd that. Just the same, it was taking blows quite well. The one thing Zedd spotted was its slower and sloppier technique. That was what enabled his allies to run literal circles around it during their assault. That was how Zedd would contribute.

“Do not take his strikes!” Zedd ordered, raising his staff in both hands as he closed the gap completely. “Stay mobile!”

Zedd swung at the darkling with his staff, catching it on the side of the head and causing it to turn ever so slightly. The robot seemed almost annoyed at Zedd’s return to the battle, but the dark lord merely swung another blow, knocking its head the other way this time. The Nebula minion had enough by then, and struck at Zedd with its arm cannon. Zedd blocked it with his staff, but was unable to stop a second strike from connecting with his face from its other hand. He stepped back and gave a hard glare at the infected machine.

Too angry to even muster up a taunt this time, Zedd swung straight downwards with his staff, catching the arm cannon inside the ‘Z’ shape at the top. With the darkling’s arm caught, Zedd pinned it to the ground and held its greatest weapon out of play. The darkling tried to pull against it, but Zedd’s leverage kept it stuck in place, if only for a moment. But that was a long time in a fight like this.

“Kill it!” Zedd roared to his companions, only hoping they would appreciate and utilize this moment of opportunity.

612 words. Zedd used his staff and Volt.

[Simon]

Suddenly aware of the two pistols having been rattled off moments earlier, Jak suddenly turned to his side to discover the certain red-coat flanking him. "Wha- Dante?" He almost yelled out in a mix of surprise and relief. The neon-colored droid and the armored lady shot their own glances towards the incredulous response.

"You know him?" The bright robot asked hopefully. That question must have been stolen from the woman's mouth, considering her breath of pause. Before Jak could provide an answer, Dante interjected with his own.

"Let's just say I'm a friend," The devil hunter spoke up in a hardy tone. When the robo-sergeant's counterattack came suddenly, tossing the alien overlord into the air like garbage, he started talking business. "We'll save the rest for later." Jak and his new allies appeared to acknowledge this in silent agreement, turning to the matter at hand.

Glows of violent light and dark alike shone from the battered monster as it swiveled upright, the sparks and streaks of stray current nothing more than a side effect. At the behest of their screaming so-called lord, the firing squad unloaded their firearms in quick succession. The Nebula agent took aim with its plasma-spewing cannon, forcing the party to scatter.

Each of the liberators were left to divide and conquer as they dove away from the shattering bolt, eviscerating the area where they were standing previously. The arcs of lightning shrouding the machine's gauntlet made a compelling case against melee combat, so each of them turned to their respective ranged weapons. Between many shots of various caliber, they did an admirable job at scarring the Cyberman's exterior further.

Unfortunately, they made little other progress besides. The corrupt machine didn't boast significant agility in the first place, but it also wasn't slowed by the hail of projectiles from all sides. In fact, the electricity arching off the shuddering hull seemed to be absorbing the impact of their projectiles, mitigating the damage to mere dents.

So the machine's upgrade hadn't simply made it more powerful, but bolstered its resilience as well. Everything they had attempted so far now bore negligible effect on the monstrous automation. Dante paused, pursing through his options. This was turning into a chore.

The overlord barked some unnecessary orders, insisting everyone keep moving and avoid contact. In the following moment, the angry conqueror engaged the Darkling himself, smacking it over the head with his staff.

Dante scoffed at the sight. Some people just wanted to do everything themselves. The hunter's fingers twirled Ebony and Ivory, shoving the handguns back into their holsters. His right hand flew up to the hilt of Rebellion and drew it. Maybe an up-close approach really would fare better.

With a twist and a stab, the overlord ensnared the Nebula agent's firing arm, creating an opportunity for his supposed allies to strike. And so they did- the rest of the team took their own shots at the Darkling, who tried everything in its power to defend with its one available arm. The valiant effort only exposed it further to a clean sting from Dante's blade, a high-speed stab driving into the automation's skull.

The grinding and shredding of medal resounded, the force of Rebellion's pierce threatening to punch off the Cyberman's head and dislocate its pinned arm. Sadly, neither event occurred, and it was simply torn free from the Z-staff's hold and flung back a few feet.

It felt like all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't keep this damned war machine down. Mechanical joints pulled back upright, servos stalling for mere moments as the Cyber-Darkling's neck popped back into place. Showers of sparks rained from the holes in its hull, only to cease as abruptly as they began. The robot was pulling itself together again, against all odds.

"DE-LETE. DE-LETE."

Against the better judgement of his allies, Dante rushed forth to meet the adversary. It raised the plasma cannon to fire, but the son of Sparda moved more swiftly, batting the nozzle away with a swipe of the sword. The ensuing discharge obliterated the pavement beside them, throwing up a column of smoke and debris that obscured the liberators' view. Rebellion's follow-up drew a diagonal line across the corrupt robot's chest, but the wound didn't cut deep- or more accurately, it simply couldn't.

"Out of the way, stranger!" The conqueror demanded, and Dante complied, diving away from a wide swing of the Darkling's lightning gauntlet. So close combat worked only slightly better.

Now, what about a bigger gun...?

"DE-LEEETE!"

794 words (according to the site's word counter.)

Dante used Rebellion and Stinger.

[Morene Fellon]

The huntress growled, crouching down and observing the struggle in front of her. Admittedly, Morene was addled of any and all solutions to this Cyberman problem currently unfolding within this crowded alleyway now full of molten Darkling oozes from all sides. It was quite uncomfortable, she might've added, but there were more pressing matters to attend to.

As for the sudden arrival of this "Dante" character, Morene took a bit of pleasure knowing at the very least another Prime was to arrive in their general vicinity. Even if it was a wild guess, Morene was amused at the redcoat himself, finding him and his flashy moves a much better pick for the job than any form of Prime she had in her head for a split second she wondered who it was about to come around the alley's corner.

He reminded her of herself, just a lot more showy, and... slightly less intimidating, if she was honest. As opinionated as that is, she thought, he's as slippery as a snake.

In which case, fighting a monster like that Cyberman? Morene could definitely respect that quality.

Meanwhile, Zedd attempted vigorously to take the Cyberman's life for himself. It began to catch on within the group of Liberators that, a slow hulking beast that could snipe you with a high-powered energy blast was not to be taken out from a distance. Though Zedd took quite a punch or so in the few minutes this encounter took place, Morene wasn't worried in the slightest; the skinless man took them like a tank would bullets.

Mostly, anyways. Morene's envy for the man's unbreakable defense went away noticing still, he was beginning to struggle. As for the rest? Again, struggle.

Forsooth, the huntress fancied, it's time to end this stalemate.

Steadying her breathing patterns, Morene slowly crept behind the Cyberman's view, at a reasonable distance away. Jak and Des observed her, about to dash in by themselves to assist both the demon killer and the conqueror's fight. Another energy blast fired off, and an ear-piercing roar came from the armored tank flooding with abyssal, toxic liquids and gaseous fumes.

Morene smirked, dashing forward as fast as she could, hoping those horrible, distorted screams would get louder.

She watched, and the world seemed to slow down as she sped up. Zedd, in the middle of deflecting a slow flail coming from the Cyberman, retaliated by raising his staff upwards to parry; Dante, being observant, began to take a stance in preparation to thrust the blade of Rebellion into the general direction of the armpit of the Nebula soldier. Jak and Des were side-to-side, stopping to find a moment to strike as the thing was distracted.

Fortunately for them, that chance was coming soon.

Calling out with a violent war cry, Morene's tendons almost ripped as consequence for how fast she was pumping her legs from the ground. Gaining the momentum comparable to a falling log, the woman's arms stretched outwards as she lowered herself, tackling the Cyberman under it's waist. The girl really had to thank her shoulder plates existing at the moment.

"GRAAH!"  The huntress cried out, a loud thunk following her sudden contact with the corrupted monster.

Intending to pick the beast up from the ground it was so firmly camped out on, Morene instead pushed the Cyberman a good three feet, the Cyberman's sabatons now dug into the concrete like support beams.

This was a problem.

A short moment of confusion ensued between the other Liberators in the group, wondering the purpose of this reckless move. Dante and Des saw, though; the wall was right behind the beastly creature of Nebula, and Morene was attempting to push him into it. The woman made sure to give both Zedd and Jak an idea as to what she was doing as well;

"ASSIST me, I beg!" Morene exclaimed desperately, looking on at the four Primes now very close behind her.

The Cyberman's meaty free hand grasped around Morene's skull, but she did not worry, watching as all of her allies dashed forward. Closing her eyes, Morene kept pushing, grappling onto any and all of the points the Cyberman wanted to move, despite having her head in the equivalent of a vice in terms of power. The pressure kept building on her temples, and she swore she could feel a static-like feeling surging a spike of pain into her brain, but... after a short second, it subsided.

Opening her eyes, despite the  blinding headache, Morene was delighted to see the familiar faces of her Liberator allies next to her, and the Cyberman right against the wall.

"DIE, FOOL!" Zedd shouted, raising his palm immediately following the Cyberman's collision. Even Zedd knew this more than likely wasn't the end of this creature's lowly lifespan, but all of the Primes could agree this was a better chance than any to do so. Both Zedd's staff and Dante's sword pierced into the Cyberman's stomach, hoping to do some deal of damage.

All that could be heard after that was the terrible and distorted scream of the knightly figure. 

Louder, she thought. Definitely louder.

854 words.

Zedd used his staff, Dante used Rebellion.

[Jak Mar]

Zedd was tossed down by the irritating robot who just kept repairing itself.Jak found himself helping lift up his ungrateful teammate by being simply brushed off by the evil overlord. Talk about a cold shoulder. Another resourceful reunion happened and a old friend had made himself known. The eco warrior found a smirk coming to his face. Dante had returned.

Lord zedd screamed orders to get the man at the others. Jak winced at the orders and looked at the others. The stubborn robot really was grating the hero’s nerves. Dante looked to rush and get in close to the creature but the response didn't work as the son of Sparda barely cut the surface. He flipped away.The mercenary kept gunning from a distance. He needed something big. The squad lined up to fire, averted the robot's attention and then Dante and the familiar sound of his sword slashed against cold metal. As for the skinless man, he punished the robot just as hard.

Desman and Jak were studying for the perfect moment when Morene did something gutsy: she gave everyone time to attack. The group of liberators knew what to do.

Jak eyed everyone, a rather strange oddity happened: Jak’s hand switched into a claw with long, ghastly fingernails. Lovely time for a old “friend” to show his face.

As Jak saw zedd being attacked and morene being squeezed, he’d rip this beast apart piece by metal piece. Only Dante knew what he hid in plain sight. Flashback to the colosseum: Jak’s claws grew and almost attacked Dante
Becoming something very fierce. He only wondered the impact on the others if he didn't.

De-lete
delete
Fuck you robot….
……
ROooooooar!

This captured attention of almost everyone.

The superego tried to hold off the eventual storm that was going to be but nothing.

Dark Jak had arrived in an ironic fashion.
A dance of the fates balanced between the dark hero and the worked up robot as he and Dante worked together to slash the beast. Zedd partied any attacks so that desman and morene could get in strikes of their own.
The robot started to feel the burn as the group had finally figured out the robots weakness.

The screaming only encouraged the dark beast.

Dante said holding back the robot “ Jak what are you…. doing?!


The ego Jak breathed inside. He let him out. He wouldn't let him hurt the others.

“ dark Jak roared his own language to the others. “Now!!!”

The robot tried to blast the dark beast but he was too fast. Morene followed suit by keeping the robot open.

Desman slashed against the robot over and over once a opening was spotted.

Zedd gritted his teeth “WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!”

In a dizzying display of grit and determination, perhaps this “terminator” would breath its last soon enough.

Morene blasted the strange silver toned robot “Die Fucker.”

BOOOOOOOM!

Perfect for the ragtag heroes, bad for the villian.

Jak used dark Jak, zedd used staff, Desmond used sword Dante used resistance

[Desman Black]

Desman fired there more shots at the silver man, he was still holding back. The only thing that kept him fighting was zedd's constant shouting which,  while effective, didn't realyy help his mood, nor did his slight fatigue. It wasn't enough for him to have the need to rest, he just wished he hadn't got rid of that sword. But the sword wouldn't help anyway, he knew he would never use it, not if it meant someone dying.

'Desman, that's what I've been tryibg to talk to you about. I've seen no signs of life in nebula's forces, no breath, no blood...

Des thought this new info over, soon coming to a sense of dread. 'You mean...'

'Yes, I'm afraid I do.'

Des began laughing as if he was going insane, the only problem there was that, in his own way, he already was, no one could look at the fabric of the universe that many times and not be. "Well then, I guess," Des took his equivalent of a breath as he spoke softly, before yelling something that could be confused as coming from Zedd. "IT'S TIME TO MAKE NEBULA PAY!" Des now had a sudden and indescribable bloodlust for the man made of sliver and, more importantly, their leader. 

The rest of the team seemed to feed of the bloodlust and insanity, taking gutsier moves to try and take down their shared opponent, Jak even ripping the sword out of the robot's back, after changing appearence mind you.


Des rushed in, not at all fearing for his own life, the fates of so many people, were in his hands once again. Soon Des picked up the sword, swinging at the first opening he could find, with all these attacks nebula's knight had a hard time both defending and retaliating. It was only at a shout form zedd that Desman finished his attack, retreating as fast as he could before the final blow came from Morene, of course, the universe hopper wasn't going to let her have all the fun. In one final ditch move, Des threw the sword at the cyberman's head, soon followed by a shot, a couple of secounds later. When all three attacks bombarded the foe, it lead to a large explosion, hopefully leaving them where they should have been a little while ago, dead.

words:421

[Nebula]

The combined assault of the cyborg’s foes culminated in a violent blowout, the heroes immediately flung backward by the fallout of their formidable combo. For a long moment, naught was visible but a plume of smoke and flame, what remained of their foe obscured from view by a veil of airborne particulate. The combatants attempted to see through the haze as they climbed to their feet, straining their senses to make out any sign of their target. To their ire, it was not long before a familiar battlecry rang out.

”DE-LETE.”

From behind the mask of smog the Cyberman emerged, heavy footsteps slowly dragging the remains of its battered chassis along the concrete. The mechanized horror’s visage had been cleaved in twain by Desman’s desperate fling, violet flames erupting from the resultant cranial chasm. Comparable embers also spurted arbitrarily from an empty shoulder socket, the explosion having separated the automaton from its right arm. Now short one arm-cannon, the Cyberman continued its threatening mantra as it shambled toward the group, electrically charged fingers instead extended toward them like a motorized Frankenstein’s monster.

“I will not suffer this indignation any further!” Zedd snarled, boundless rage emboldening him to stride forward before the rest of his allies could take stock. He raised his chrome staff, sparks dancing along the surface of the jagged symbol of his namesake for an instant before discharging in an arc toward the Cyberman’s outstretched limb.

”De-” The cybernetic terror stood stock still as the attack came, scarcely able to choke out its own threat as the words became quieter and more distorted by the second.

“NOW, YOU FOOLS!” The group’s flayed commander snarled, maintaining his assault. He hoped that this time his allies could finish the job properly.

As if on cue the group raised their respective firearms and leveled them on the now immobilized machine, pelting it with various forms of gunfire. Their shots hit home, scoring direct damage to the cyberman’s power core. Just as Zedd let up on his Volt, panting and seething in equal amounts, the robotic assailant finally fell lifeless to the ground with a dull clang.

Encounter complete!

Everyone sustains an additional 1 point of damage from general scuffing and battle wear and tear.

Among the cyberman's remains, there is one dark chip to be found, lodged in what's left of its power core, for anyone who wants it to take it or destroy it.

Everyone has one post to make, to decide that and move on. This post may be up to 500 words. You have four days to make it. Happy hunting.

[Desman Black]

The clang of nebula's knight made Desman look up, huffing and puffing. The silver robot's chest still seemed to glow that blackish-purple color that signified the poor souls whose body were taken control of by Nebula. As the little red robot moved closer to the light source voices of memories rushed to the surface of his mind, threatening to drive the poor guy mad.

"Is this how you treat all your freinds? This is who You made me, a murderer, a freak! ...You did this on purpose. Take the artifact, and you can get rid of this pain forever. Des, why would you do this? And to think I believed in you. I can help you, just let me try. There is no coming back for you now. Desman!!!"

Crrsh, the Datachip suttered into several pieces as an orangeish sword that was moments earlier went though it at full force, it's bearer a Desman who needed 7no face for the others tell he was angry.

"Are you alright?" The robotic being ignored the questioned asked by jak, and instead started walking towards where the darklings originally came form.

"And where are you going?" The Dark lord demanded, clearly showing that being the leader of the group made him superior.

"That group had to came from somewhere." Desman replied, seeming almost as angry as Zedd himself, if that was even possible. "We find their base, we find find more of them to exterminate, or even Nebula himself. Isn't that what the Doctor told us to do."

Zedd went to agrue with the robot, only to realize he was right, and with a grunt, started leading everone else in that direction too.

Word count: 295

[Lord Zedd]

Zedd cast one last, longing look at the destroyed dark chip. Unbridled power could have been at their disposal, had the robot not destroyed it. Or, at the very least, some level of understanding of what the darklings drew their power from. It was all for naught, now.

“It’s better that we don’t use those things, Zedd,” Morene said, having observed the warlord staring at the destroyed chip and having a good grasp of his thoughts from how little she knew him. “There’s no telling what they would do to one of us.”

“They were weak secondaries. I am mighty. As are the rest of you, somewhat. We have a robot amongst us in the technological capital of this realm. We could have used it on him and provided immediate support from the best mechanics to prevent him from falling to the darkness, while also learning much about these powers,” Zedd lamented his master plan aloud, before gesturing to Dante. “Or on him.”

Dante looked between the group with a bit of concern when Zedd didn’t elaborate on a plan to protect him from any fallout.

“I guess we’ll never know,” Morene dismissed the plan.

“I suppose not,” Zedd looked at the departing Desman and scoffed.

Zedd shook his head one more time and made his way after the fired up little machine. Perhaps it would prove its worth, anyway.

[Simon]

There was indeed something still functional of that machine sergeant, based on the glow from its sundered chest plate. The robot tore the part loose - a computer chip about the size of a dollar coin - and without a word to anyone, promptly crushed it with a blade of power. Each of the other members displayed different levels of shock at the sudden ferocity and bluntness their steely companion exhibited just then. While Dante himself couldn't say much about that matter (other than the idea that the robot's behavior must have been unusual somehow), he got the impression that destroying the dark-infused chip was probably for the better.

The flesh-and-bones overlord, whom the lady referred to as "Zedd", didn't seem to agree. If Dante needed any more evidence that this figure had obviously spent some past life as a villain, the ensuing rant from the overlord provided a gold mine. The casual afterthought of using the chip on the devil hunter was the crown jewel, and in fact a little concerning for Dante - if only for the impression of being singled out among them.

Right, then.

"So," the son of Sparda piped up again, now that none of the warriors present were in immediate danger. "Hunting Nebula, huh? Glad we're on the same page." Jak and the militant woman, not currently occupied with their own anger, glanced at Dante as he continued, "How'd you find out about that, anyway?"

The eco warrior was first to respond, quietly eager for the opportunity to reconnect with an old ally for once. "We met someone named Dr. Regal. He was looking for people to help him get rid of Nebula," Jak explained, flashing a special sort of band worn on his wrist. "A lot of people showed up, so we decided to split into teams. Funny I should meet you here."

"No kidding," Dante mumbled, casting a wary glance at the device on Jak's wrist, "And he gave you those, I assume?" The elf-eared gunner nodded, then quickly realized that Dante could probably use of these as well. He started fiddling with the band, testing out the different functions with some confusion as how to active the one he wanted.

In the meantime, the otherwise stock-silent woman spoke up with a question, "So you two have met before?"

The devil hunter crossed his arms, giving a hum of confirmation. "We beat the crap out of each other. It was kinda fun," Dante elaborated vaguely, earning an odd glance from Jak. He took that "fun" probably wasn't the word the eco warrior would've used.

"Right," the lady gave a curious droll, but didn't attempt to get any more out of the answer. Instead, she went into a much more relevant question: "What's your name, again?" He paused a moment, then smirked.

Before Jak could repeat his answer, the son of Sparda said it for him:

"Just call me Dante."

499 words