Invaders Must Die (Ch. 3b: Day 1, pt. VI)

Kazz · Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2011 5:52 pm

Rodolf, almost uncharacteristically, stayed back-- he was ill-suited to fight off huge swarms of enemies, as it was, and wasn't about to waste the precious few bullets in his pilfered firearm. As such, he merely stared after the bat's little vehicle escapade. He didn't have time to remark, mind, as Geoff cut a green and glittery swath through the crowd. He breathed out and shook his head.

"This can only end poorly," he said to nobody in particular, before he ducked his head and took off after the hedgehog, only hoping that no other robots chose to get in his way. In this case, his horn-first charge was a safety precaution, you see, but not one he hoped to employ-- mainly for the simple fact that having a robot impaled on a horn on one's forehead significantly reduces visibility.

At any rate, whether any robots decided that they really wanted to become speared on a unicorn's forehead, off he went, following Geoff's lead.

Seafarinhare · Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2011 10:15 pm

Wild Badge came to a halt as he heard a crash behind him. Geoff was attacking the robots, and while it didn't come as a surprise that he managed to topple a robot, he was a bit surprised that he was bothering. It was a veritable wall of robots, and simple efforts to push through did not seem like a good use of energy.

That is, until Juke brought the battering ram. ...Of sorts. He heard it come from behind and simply stepped out of the way as the slow moving vehicle paved a path through the doorway as robots either moved out of the way or were crushed in his wake.

"Alright, then... That works." He said to himself as he ran back toward the group, and hopped on the trailer. As robots attempted to climb on, a swift kick in the face sufficiently stopped most of them.

psikeout · Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 2:12 am

The hallway was wide, and it was a straight shot. Yes, even Juke had this one under control.

"Leave it to me," he hissed to Geoff like some action movie star. He pushed his sunglasses up just a little farther, sat a little lower, gripped the steering wheel a little tighter, and...

*Bzzzzzzrrrrrrrmmmm...*

Continued right along at the exact same pace he was going before. (He couldn't really go any faster.)

Whoosh. They passed through the first hall intersection on their way toward the cafeteria and offices. Juke didn't really know where he was going, but it wasn't really on his mind, anyway. He was very much distracted by the joy of running over robots and occasionally watching Wild Badge through the rear view mirror as he booted enemies around on the trailer like some sort of oldschool sidescrolling beat'em-up fighter.

This was probably a bad thing. Why? In exactly five seconds, he was going to steer directly into the administrative wing and proceed to bulldoze through about a hundred abandoned cubicles—desks, filing cabinets, and all, in a torrential storm of flying paperwork, office chairs, computers, keyboards, and monitors. Absolute carnage.

Sheff · Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 7:26 pm

Noting where the bat was aiming to go, Geoff strove ahead, crystal fists a-flyin'. The things were dropping like flies, but being surrounded at all times by the swarm wasn't easy on him. He'd kick, punch, and even spin off some of the enemies, a combination of rock and speed being switched constantly as he fought them off. He was panting steadily as he twisted and turned to try to take care of every foe, and by the time the Juke-mobile reached the doorway of the office area, he was needing a breather.

The hedgehog barely even glanced into the room before he was turning back, leaping onto the tractor and climbing around the bat to get to the trailer, joining Hoji and his defensive measures.

"Give me a sec..." he grunted as he took a moment to breath deeply, knowing he wasn't out for the count. Just some recovery time was needed, that's all.

NPC · Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 7:31 pm

Fortunately for the fighters and driver, the wing they were about to enter was mostly bare of the persistent robots. Well, except for the six legged, looming spider-bots that were crawling about, their eyes locking onto the unknown intruders. Circular weapons began to glow on their chests as they quickly scurried across office walls and desks, some even stumbling on their way to the tractor-riding group. Overall, there appeared to be about five of the things heading their way.

Meanwhile, the robots started to crowd the door Juke was entering, trying to follow the tractor inside. They were soon finding themselves between a rock and a hard place (as if they weren't before).

Greens · Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 10:25 pm

Far be it from Ace the alley cat to turn down the concept of higher ground in a sea of hostile machinery. Likewise to Badge and the others, he scrambled to the bed of Juke's truck (and frankly amazed that the bat was doing something pretty useful after initially fleeing the scene like he was caught spraying graffiti.) It even seemed the lot of them were having some success keeping the mob off of their ride. All the same, he felt the need to add his thoughts aloud. "This is the most pathetic getaway car I've ever ridden in," he huffed, punting another would-be passenger in it's robot mouth and off the side of the vehicle. "And I've seen my share!" As they rode, what robot-mouths he couldn't stuff with his boots or the boots of others, were stuffed instead with his trademark chaos cards.

He'd seen a stray few mimicking Jam's lightning shield with varying degrees of effectiveness, but wasn't sure what to make of it. Granted, the effect was easily recognizable for Ace, but there didn't seem like a connection to be made between the two... and the thought made him realize the importance of his crew-mates' well being. With that thought in mind, he looked to the newer, spider-y-er 'bots among the crowd and asked nobody in particular: "The hell's goin' on out here!?"

Ace saw the glowing things embedded into their chest, but he didn't even need to know they were weapons to know that glowing things on ill-mannered robotics were bad, and set a new priority to destroy them as quickly as he could, card after card.

psikeout · Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 12:40 am

If Juke heard Ace's complaints about their ride, he apparently ignored them in favor of driving faster.

... No, really, he couldn't, no matter how much he clenched the wheel or smooshed his foot into the floor. It was pretty much topped out, and all the debris was only slowing it down more.

This didn't deter him, anyway. He was a man on a mission. People were counting on him. And he had no idea which way to go. This didn't deter him, anyway. With no idea what he was doing, but a keen awareness that there were bad, glowing things about to open fire on them, he shouted a bumpy, wavery, "HaAaAng oN!" and swerved hard to port.

The little electric tractor-trailer very nearly capsized as he attempted to steer between rows of cubicles, but instead knocked them down wholesale. Eventually, he gave up on trying to dodge things at all, and opted to try for the straightest path he could take to the most direct door ahead.

This was purely his intention, however. In reality, it was a little dim in there, and his eyesight was kinda bad, and he was wearing sunglasses. They ended up rampaging out another door, straight back into the hall they had entered from. Maybe this wasn't such a bad thing; their pursuers were likely as confused as they were, or so he could only hope. With open corridors ahead, they were at least able to pick up speed again.

"Aaaaaaahh dead end DEAD END."

... Except, the hall ended abruptly ahead in a sturdy, armored door. Juke had no idea what to do, and barreled straight at it in a complete inversion of the typical deer-in-the-headlights scenario. Maybe he thought he could smash through the door? Yeah, fat chance.

He shielded his face with his arms and screamed his manliest scream.

It was actually a pretty good scream.

NPC · Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 12:47 am

*Whhsh!*

The heavily secured, armored door clanked, unbolted noisily, then whizzed open at the last possible second.

For some unknown reason, some unseen, benevolent influence had cleared the way for them. It also snapped it shut behind them, but it seemed it was unable to do so without letting in a good number of the pursuing robots, too. (It was either that, or take off the rear half of their trailer, and with it an Ace or a Wild Badge, and that would have just been mean.)

The mechanized forces that followed them in were still just as tireless in their pursuit of skull-pounding and face-blasting, but the flow had been momentarily stymied. That much was in their favor, at least.

psikeout · Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 12:53 am

Though, it would have been better if Juke hadn't been so disoriented by their good fortune that he crashed them all directly into the next available wall ahead.

Not wearing his safety belt, he of course ragdolled all over the cab, and straight out the open, doorless side with a thump and some more grunting and shouting.

Kazz · Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 10:03 pm

At some point Rodolf had decided to simply follow behind Juke's little... getaway vehicle... on foot, taking care of what he could. (He was in no particular rush to hop in alongside everyone else as though they were all in some mediocre theme-park ride. With robots trying to kill them.)

He turned around, and... cast a very quick sideways glance at Juke as he learned the importance of seatbelts, looked vaguely unimpressed. "Who wants to take bets on how long it is before they open the door?" he remarked, but wasted no time almost jumping forward towards the robots that leaked into the room. For once, he seemed to be forgoing the battering ram strategy.

This here meant 'lunging at the closest robot, regardless of the imminent danger of leaping at a robot out to kill them all, complete with weapons on its chest glowing ominously, to F its S up in any available manner'.

He may or may not have been losing his patience with the whole issue.

Sheff · Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2011 2:21 am

In the midst of fighting off the endless spawning robots, it was almost a shock when Geoff found themselves in a cleared out hall. The door closing was a godsend, looking sturdy to hold off whatever forces that would try to break through in the next few minutes, and he allowed a grateful sigh.

Until he found his balance thrown off by the sudden force of a moving object meeting an unmovable one.

He stumbled backwards a bit, his head snapping around to watch their driver fall without any sort of grace from his seat. Already, a retort to the abrupt tractor-ride's end was forming on his lips, but, surprisingly enough (especially for him) he held it back. Instead, he hopped down, flicked some leftover crystal that was lingering on his arm, and then hefted up the bat to his feet with a solid tug on Juke's shirt.

There was a moment's pause as he studied the shades-wearing kamikaze-driver.

"...ya did good."

This shockingly complimentary comment was unexpected by even himself. It was upon realization that, despite all his injury and the momentary fleeing only a few minutes before, Juke had pulled through to be useful. It appeared Geoff could dig out some respect when respect was due, it seems.

psikeout · Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2011 3:53 am

Juke wobbled after being set right on his feet, and seemed to take a couple seconds to realize he was in fact all right, and that he... received a compliment?

His sunglasses were all twisted at an angle, yet even still, his eyes were too beady and narrow-set to be seen behind them. He must have been blinking, though.

"... Well," he grunted, as if completely uncertain of how to accept. "Thanks."

...

Insert realization that they were still in a warzone (most likely thanks to one of the tag-along 'bots leaping at them). "Aah, watchit!"

Back to the scurrying and fighting.

Mie · Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2011 5:22 pm

As the throng of the surviving recon team congratulated and collected themselves, only to be suddenly reminded of their sizable collection of hitchhiking hangers-on, a pink addition to the fray blurred into view, somersaulting over one foe to land on and suddenly spring off another, with a heavy shove of both booted feet.

Anyone who'd ever seen her in action prior may have noticed something different about her combat tactics, as she whipped furiously about, sweeping her tail beneath the spindly little legs of a bug-ish looking robot. She dropped low to the ground, and pulled the combat knife from her boot shaft, holding it in reverse grip as she raked it across what one could only presume was the thing's face in a crisp right hook, before plunging the four-inch blade into what remained of the optical sensor, and shoving it off with her foot.

As the monkey continued her assault, the missing x-factor became more evident when a small orb of lightning hurtled at her backside, only to collide with a sudden but brief flare of her shield as she turned to locate its origin, then charge at it with head down, shoulders squared, knife out, and no shield to speak of.

psikeout · Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2011 5:32 pm

Backup was in full swing; not only did they get Jam, but Rock, too.

He was still in pretty sad shape, but the will to fight was there and strong, as always. As he rounded the corner, he leveled a pump shotgun (the one Jam had been using, which he had been forced to borrow after ditching his rifle) and let spew a fiery blast of 00 buckshot at the first vaguely humanoid thing that wasn't an ally.

Recocking it and chambering the next cartridge was an interesting process with only one fully-functioning arm. The primate pitched the gun up a little, grabbed it by its forestock, braced the rear stock against his hip (stabilized with his tail), quickly racked it, tossed it again, regrabbed it by its grip, and repeated, walking, firing, and cocking in an almost leisurely-looking manner as he helped clean out the remaining (now outnumbered) machines that had successfully followed them in.

Greens · Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2011 10:58 pm

Fortunately for Ace, his reflexes were better right then than they were if he were just waking up, so he didn't have much of a problem (physically, or morally) ditching his short-lived ride out of there once he'd heard Juke's cries of a dead end. He hit the ground, not running, but with a quick little shoulder roll that helped him steady his momentum before springing to his feet once more. No, really-- he was literally bouncing on his toes like a boxer might before the gong was rung. Was this how he pumped himself up for action? It seemed likely, judging by the sweet little nothings ("Okay, come on,") he breathed hoarsely to himself as whatever bots were left rapidly approached.

For whatever reason, it seemed like Ace had flipped his battle-mode switch to 'Melee' as well, despite not seeing any of the copycats (Heh, 'cats') that Jam did. Perhaps expending all that chaos energy was just that tiring?

Either way, the cat meant business. One of the robots sought to throw a simple straight to his head-- slapped down by Ace's front hand with bizarre speed and immediately countered with his own cross from his other hand. Solid, frank, and brutal, it nailed the right between its eyes. The very same hand slid to the side of its temple and grabbed it fiercely while his leg hurled a swooping kick at its shin, and Ace growled viscerally as he simply threw the stunned robot to the ground by its very head. It seemed to be out of commission after that.

But as into the fight as he was, he could still be caught off guard by Jam's fanciful flight. In fact, he actually took a moment to cock his neck and just watch her work for a moment. "...Dayum," he finally mouthed. Rock's introduction was more than welcome as well. It finally seemed like they were whittling down the threats to their last.

Invaders Must Die (Ch. 3b: Day 1, pt. VI)

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