It's the dawn, you'll see (Ch. 3b: Day 2, pt. II) [Finale]

Seafarinhare · Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 9:12 pm

Light wasn't the only thing that could pass through the skyline above. No sooner had the mad gizoid master finished offering his ultimatum, did the scarfed Superhero of sorts drop through one of those holes in the ceiling.

"I'd sooner be trapped here then allow you passage to Earth!" He shouted as he plummeted toward monstrous foe with reckless abandon, as if to illustrate what Geoff was saying about not even considering such a ludicrous offer . He performed a forward flip on his way down and threw out a Chaos Energy infused kick at what he perceived to be the thing's face.

Wild Badge is usually the last one to cut dialogue short, but hey. Everyone knew how this had to go down, didn't they?

Mie · Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 9:25 pm

It didn't take long for Jam to sorely miss her helmet; the luminescence of the penthouse suite left her momentarily blinded by the light, but though her blurry periphery, she could make out enough to follow everyone to the hot spot, where she could squint unimpressively until adequately adjusted.

So it was in that bleary-eyed fashion that she sat through yet more melodrama and bargaining from the self-professed echidna. Visibly stiffening as the thing named its price for theirs and everyone else's emancipation, the brazen primate stepped forward along with her jutting jaw, and, as was always the case with Jam, there would oh, of course,, be words, too. Unfortunately, she was slow on the draw today, for she'd barely gotten out a haughty, "I gotta better idea -- " before warnings and discussion and speculation, and dynamic window-originating, flying kicks to the face(?) finished the sentence for her.

For a blink's span, she stood there somewhat lamely, mumbled a dry, "Yeah, I guess that works," and then dropped her shield with a shower of sparks that seemed to localize exclusively around both fists and forearms, before charging headlong into the fray.

Sheff · Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 10:42 pm

Geoff couldn't help but smirk at Badge's extravagant (and almost expected) entrance into the tower. He didn't bother commenting on the raccoon's arrival and exclamation towards the robot overlord, but he could still feel the flaring drive of wanting to put out his own offensive. All too willing to give into the urge, he burst forward right behind Jam, now full of intention to cause as much damage as possible.

NPC · Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 10:42 pm

As the group more or less descended onto the black figure that was their foe, a pair of glowing blue eyes lit up through the light that surrounded it. Just as Wild Badge made his appearance from the ceiling, it was now steadily standing without support, its head jerking around to examine the exuberant thing that was trying to get the drop on it.

With a buzz similarly issued from the hundreds of Gizoids they had encountered before, except now sounding like a low bass thrum, it jerked forward with surprising agility. The curving-back triangular horn that graced its forehead did not escape the assault, the metal breaking away instantly from Badge's kick and nearly shattering in the process, but this did not hinder it from sprinting forward.

Now emerging farther away from the intense light, it was now clear that it was merely an over sized version of the numerous robots on the planet. Yet, this one appeared incomplete. Despite much of its metal covering, there were exposed areas, revealing circuitry, moving machinery, and joints that otherwise, for its own safety, should have been hidden away in its inner workings. The largest one, by far, was in the center of its chest. Upon closer inspection, it just seemed like an open cavity in its body, as if something were to be put there. Appendages that were like jointed limbs clawed in the air inside of the opening, as if waiting to grasp something.

It continued its rush forward, the size of it (which could easily range up to fifteen feet or higher) making the air feel like it was shaking.

Greens · Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2011 2:21 pm

Ace was shielding his eyes from the light with a sneer on his face as he listened to the voice's words. At first it just seemed like more badguy psychobabble, but by the end he'd made the one offer the serval could have a tough time refusing from him. A way back home... He valued that prospect deeply, and actually gave the curious looking vessel a fair number of glances from over his shoulder, but a great conflict stood that its seller had tried to snuff them all a few seconds ago. His nose wrinkled, and a long, steady growl rippled through his gullet as he heard the words from the almost similarly distrusted Gizoid on their own team. In all actuality, it was likely nothing more than a cruel tease... And Ace hated him for that.

Like any bargaining was going to happen when it charged at them.

He wasn't about to stand around and let the thing squash him, obviously. It was startlingly brisk for something so big, but one mighty dive roll to its side and there was at least a satisfactory distance put between it and Ace. He knew the plan already-- give it multiple, moving targets, and aim for the weak spots. Ace had that last part down, natch.

He didn't stop moving, 'running and gunning' behind the small colossus. His overall card output was much slower like this, concentrating first and foremost on putting distance between him and the iron giant. Even if his backside didn't have any glaring Achilles heels, he wasn't about to stop chipping away regardless-- there were still plenty of cards of spare.

Seafarinhare · Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2011 3:19 pm

Badge didn't expect to do a whole lot of damage, but he also didn't expect the thing to charge through his kick, either. His foot planted firmly on it's head after the kick, having planned to rebound off of it, but this plan was cut short by the charge.

He found himself instead clawing at it's scalp for something to hold onto. As the humungous gizoid rampaged, he stayed low and held on for dear life.

NPC · Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2011 4:06 pm

"I was being reasonable."

The echidna's voice, forcibly steady, permeated the chamber again. It was much more short-spoken this time, though.

"It was a good offer and I would have honored it. Now? Now I'll just take it." m!

psikeout · Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2011 4:23 pm

A little late to the party, Juke flew up out of the hole (he had failed to catch up with the elevator platforms while they were still in motion), soared overhead, and... sort of half-stopped in midair, flapping his wings, completely uncertain of what to do. He couldn't just attack a giant robot head on like everybody else, and he was down-to-earth enough to realize that, despite his puffery and cockiness.

He furrowed his brows behind his sunglasses, conflicted and pained by his own inability to help, but launched toward the fray anyway. "Just gotta watch," he thought privately. "Some kind of opportunity... Some kind of open...ing... Geez Louise, that's big. That mother could pull an Ozzy on my tiny ass."

Meanwhile, in an odd turn, Rock was the only remaining party member who didn't approach. He instead stared past the robot, to the brightly-lit machine some distance behind it.

He didn't subscribe to the baseball philosophy of "keep your eye on the ball"—not in this case. No, the only thing he wanted to take a bat to was the pitcher: the one sending the robot after them. So, when he finally set into motion, he did so wordlessly, and in a direction away from the fight, taking a wide berth around the robot as he sprinted toward the hulking, stationary mess of tubes, glass, and bizarre equipment. He had some distance to go, though. The room was massive, and he was hurt, overexerted, and sleep-deprived. Even still, the notion that they were so close to being finished pushed him to go just a little faster.

Sheff · Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 3:40 pm

Ace's cards hit true to their target, and suddenly, the group would find the towering robot staggering forward a few steps. Its limbs jerked once or twice and bits of metal flew outward from the impacts before it just... fell forward. Just like that, it was down, sliding across the floor as the front of its body ground across the mix of stone and metal. Finally, it came to a silent rest, its once glowing eyes now darkened.

As the colossus met its end, Geoff was force to skid to a halt only a couple of yards away. He looked at the thing with shocked disbelief and maybe some surprise, rapidly glancing between it and the cat that had finished it. Taking a couple of steps forward to peer at the downed enemy a bit closer, he began to throw a comment toward their card-throwing member.

"Well, guess we owe you one A-"

BRRRRRRRRRVVVVVVVVVVVVV

The robot suddenly jerked, its eyes flashing with rekindled light, as if it were waking up with a jolt. Geoff wasn't even given a second's chance as a steel hand swiped forward, fingers about the width of his body wrapping around him. As this happened, the giant Gizoid was proceeding to push itself onto a knee, sparks flashing from the spots where it'd been recently hit.

"Oh $%@&!!!"

The hedgehog's first thought was how idiotic he had been not to be more cautious. This thing was huge, the final defense for echidna, not some run of the mill robot. Of course it'd probably try something to take out one of its numerous attackers. And now, here he was, being painfully crushed within the cold metal of its hand. He, as would anyone, tried to resist, but he found he couldn't move a limb in its strong grip.

The robot, meanwhile, gave another of its low buzzes, standing straighter now. The cavity within its chest opened up more then, the hand that held the hedgehog thrusting into the opening. Suddenly, Geoff would find himself being released, only to be locked in, held tight between a multitude of smaller "limbs" that clamped down and surrounded his body. He was now barely visible within the Gizoid, appearing as if he were trapped in a constricted ribcage.

Geoff, already on the verge of some slight panic, soon learned the only thing that he was capable of moving was his head. It swiveled left and right, finding himself encased by the inner mechanics of the robot and the opening before him. He tried with as much strength as he could to break free, but his new prison was too strong.

To make things worse, a jolt of what felt like electricity shot through the "ribs" holding him inside, giving him a shock that made him grunt in slight pain. It wasn't all that bad, to be honest, but they soon were coming in periodic bursts, as though the robot had something to gain from the light torture. Geoff barely noticed the strange glow now starting to emanate from within the Gizoid.

"Someone get me-" There was a slight pause as he was shocked again. "OUT OF HERE!"

NPC · Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 4:15 pm

"I've already studied what you're all capable of," said the disembodied voice coolly. "Everything. The artificial mind can see and consider all things. This situation? It was improbable, but the machine saw it—told me—and I told it what it should do."

A thick, glowing line suddenly shot along the floor from the gigantic machine in the background, past the approaching primate, straight to the robot that had just seized Geoff. Seemingly by no compulsion of its own, the giant gizoid, momentarily directly hijacked by its creator, whipped around, jolted, and unleashed... crystal?

A jagged trail of Geoff's trademark crystal suddenly appeared all along the line. A pointed, spiny wall of green crystal spiraled up from the floor, forming like some sort of still-standing, frozen cyclone around the huge machine that apparently contained the echidna. Their foe had just utilized the gizoid's stolen power to erect a physical barrier around itself before Rock could get to it. m!

Mie · Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 10:45 pm

Perhaps it was just the kind of day she was having, but Jam wasn't ready to walk up and nudge their newly fallen foe the moment Ace had figuratively shouted "timber." She hung back, still sparking sparingly, and not yet relaxed. She watched the Gigantizoid through narrowed, deeply suspicious eyes, but made no move to stop Geoff's approach, save for a much too late "Wait," that came just in time to be drowned out by the gargantuan robot's encore.

The monkey ground her teeth as the thing took hold of an ally, and though in a flinch reaction, she'd lunged forward in initial pursuit, guns (or, lightning, more accurately) a-blazing, but stopped short. There was little she could do at range that wouldn't also flow through the great, metal conduit constricting the hedgehog, and straight into him. But as the Gizoid jammed its captive into its chest cavity like a living battery, subsequently jolting the daylights out of him, Jam's reservations were officially rendered moot.

In the moments that the mechanical menace seemed occupied with protecting its nest, the redder, brasher primate charged forward with a burst of momentum, leaping off the floor, and into the air with nary a sound, arms raised over her head, ready to smash down savagely into the Gizoid's; with her fists together, and arms gloved from fingers to elbow in nearly opaque, concentrated lightning shield, she closed in on her target in a total elapsed time of less than two seconds.

Greens · Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 11:15 pm

Ace's feet awkwardly stumbled from something of a sprint into more of a half-jog before finally slowing to a halt. He didn't ever expect the thing to go down that easily, and he eyed the colossal contraption with almost as much confusion as he did suspicion. He still tensed up when their spiney-headed friend when to examine its 'body', but...

He had no idea the lunatic behind it would be smart enough to play possum.

It didn't seem like he could think of anything to say aside from an instinctive "No!" before retracing the steps he'd taken running away from the beast in the opposite direction. There was a time and a place for circle-strafing, and even though he might not've known the guy that well, he wasn't about to prance around while Geoff had his soul sucked out, or whatever it was was happening to him. (And besides that, it was giving Rock a hard time with the machine in the back.)

So in hardly any time, Ace planted his feet rather stubbornly behind the robot's, whipped his arms back hard enough for the end of his jacket to crack out like a whip, and started hurling out a devastating series of singular cards into the thing's back like vicious hooks on a school bully.

Seafarinhare · Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 1:11 am

As his perch was toppled, Wild Badge had little alternative but to jump ship. He jumped from the falling giant, and tucked into a roll as he hit the ground, stopping on a knee a mere several feet from the behemoth's head when it landed.

He stood up and jumped back when it's eyes lit up once again. But the real surprise came moments afterward when it grabbed Geoff and stuck him in it's chest. Add to that, it's newfound ability to generate crystals.

Just great.

Well, he wasn't about to be left out of the action just yet. But with Jam doing the facepunching this time, and Ace attacking it from behind, that left Badge to either attempt to rip their friend from his prison... Or attack some of the robots exposed joints and see what happens.

Guess which one he was going to try.

"Rock! Throw me something sharp!" He yelled across the battlefield, sadly not owning anything sharp of his own... Something he'd have to bug Dr. Henshin about later.

psikeout · Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 1:25 am

Rock had (obviously) been stopped cold at the new obstacle between him and their actual enemy. It was too thick to break through or cut through—believe it, he tried and gave it a full-on punch at ramming speed just on the off chance that the larger field of crystal was more fragile. All he got was a big, glassy spray of glittering stone, a twinge of "ouch" in his knuckle, and only a meager three-foot-deep measure of progress in the otherwise impenetrable-looking wall.

He was already on his way back to the fray when Badge made his request for something sharp.

Something sharp? What, he just assumed Rock would have a shiv? Was that the kind of guy Badge thought Rock was? Yeah, okay, he was right.

For reasons unknown, Rock didn't even consider the plasma knife an option. However, he dug into his duffel and produced an alternative post-haste: A device, vaguely pistol-shaped, black and grey, covered in warning labels and banded with yellow-black caution coloration. He jammed an orange gas-cylinder of some kind in front of the trigger guard, gave it a solid, clicking twist, flicked a switch, dialed a knob, and chucked the fully-readied device Badge's way with a "Heads up—plasma cutter!"

It was the same one he had used to breach the "Mad Space" shield equipment. A pull of the trigger would produce a several-inch-long, straight beam of glowing, ionized gas, containing a precisely-directed spurt of 40,000°F hellfire.

Meanwhile, the primate produced his plasma knife for himself, and prepared to get to a little metalwork of his own.

Seafarinhare · Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 2:02 am

"Thanks!"

He caught the device, and examined it for a moment. It was not a knife, but it should do nicely. With the intent of helping take down the giant gizoid, he leaped toward it, grabbing onto some metal plating around it's knee area.

It was time to see what this thing was really made of, as he squeezed the trigger of the plasma cutter and began laying into the exposed inner working of the knee joint with a focused stream of 40,000°F gas.

Should the gizoid attempt to shake him off, it would probably succeed. He didn't have a very firm grip where he was, with only some unfinished plating as his support.

It's the dawn, you'll see (Ch. 3b: Day 2, pt. II) [Finale]

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