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

NPC · Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 2:35 am

As its master's control faded away, the Gizoid began to focus once more on the group, but perhaps a second too late.

In the flurry of aggressive maneuvers from its enemy, the robot found itself a bit caught off guard and incapable of reacting in time. Jam's downward smash of her fists hit true on its cranium just as it turned to face her, creating a sizable dent on its metal paneling and a blast of electricity that jolted down its body like a wave in mere seconds (there may have been a cry of disapproval from within its chest). As it sat there momentarily paralyzed, a few of Ace's cards slammed explosively onto numerous points of its body. Gaping holes were now starting to show on its outer covering, its eyes, now a solid green, flashing rapidly.

As Badge managed to get access to its knee and began his surgery that lacked good intentions, the Gizoid seemed finally capable of reacting.

Unexpectedly, something akin to a explosion of crystal erupted from its body. With the way it suddenly formed and how most of it was shaped into spiked sections, it would be presumed anybody too close to the robot's body could be flung back by the utter force of it all. Within a mere moment, the entirety of the machine was layered in the green rock, its eyes glowing through the mask of crystal. Geoff was now hidden from view.

Now setting its priorities (and gifted with the advantage of defense), the Gizoid set its sights on the nearest dangerous target. Jam, having moments ago been the up-and-front attacker, would soon find the robot charging straight towards her, outward splashes of rock occurring each time it took a step, outlining its feet. Giant, pillared fists of hardened crystal descended down in an attempt to squash her like an annoying bug.

Mie · Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 2:16 pm

There was a certain self-satisfaction evident in the grin that stretched across Jam's face, as she landed not too far away, and observed her handiwork. Sure, a caved-in giant robot skull may have been nothing to write home about, electric shocks or not, but it was the aftermath that the monkey seemed so very pleased to pieces with; her cranium smashing had indeed opened the floodgates on a reservoir of whoop-ass, and for one horribly corny moment, the punch colored primate was swept up in the camaraderie of battle.

Thankfully, that moment exploded in a shower of green crystal, as their upper hand was abruptly obstructed by a wall of the same, and its source turned on Jam. The smile vanished from her face, and her pupils shrank to dots in one fell swoop, accompanied by a muttered, "Oooooh, s**t," before she turned tail and bolted. Literally.

psikeout · Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 2:49 pm

It was running after Jam, covered in stone. Rock had nothing capable of easily getting through that much material while it was moving around and fighting, and he didn't have enough strength to stop it, even if Gizoids were lighter than normal robots. Again, it was very large, and covered in stone.

But, if there was a physical way to do something with the resources available, Rock was the kind of guy to be able to figure it out, instantly, and carry it out. In the blink of an eye, while sprinting at the robot at highway speeds, he had analyzed it: its gait, acceleration, apparent top speed, and path of travel. Knowing that it was chasing Jam (if only for a few seconds), and observing its movements, he could figure accurately where its feet would fall, and on which exact stride that would coincide with the steely rims of the huge, hexagonal floor segments.

Thus, no sooner than the machine had gone traipsing off after Jam, within its first few steps, Rock dove, rolled right into its path, and snapped to a stand with his magboots firmly attached to the floor, positioned right in front of one of the thing's feet in mid-stride, his right palm rigidly firing out to nail the thing right in the shin in the split-second moment when it tried to pick its foot up for its next step in its sprint. (He also managed to pick the one that Badge had already damaged moments before.)

To an onlooker, it'd basically look like blue-clad primate had just dove, rolled, and stood right in the robot's way almost as soon as it took off. In the simplest terms... the Gizoid was about to trip over a Rock.

NPC · Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 3:24 pm

And trip it did.

With the momentum it was using to pursue the pink primate and the solid stance of her white partner, the Gizoid was thrown forward with a satisfying crash of rock and metal. Crystal burst outwards from the impact, showering the room with tiny green shards.

Successful as the movement may have been, the robot was already rolling back onto its feet. Its lightning-infused target had managed to get away, and now it was free to choose its objective once more. Turning to the rest of the room, it made its decision on whom to pick. Everyone.

Two outstretched hands descended with a destructiveness that matched Jam's previous attack, slamming into the floor. With this action alone, it materialized a literal shock wave of crystal that rose nearly to the robot's own height. It formed with such great rapidity that, despite the fact that whatever was left in its wake crumbled nearly immediately, the wave of rock crashed across the room at sprinting speeds.

Tau · Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 6:32 pm

Tau had his own reasons for sticking to the sidelines for the current fight up until now,though it was safe to assume the A.I. had been analyzing their newfound enemies and their surroundings during that time. Regardless of the A.I's reasons for staying on the sidelines up until now, Tau found the Gizoid's crystal tidalwave more then enough of a reason to resume combat duties.

Tau was in the air in within seconds of the Gizoid's crystal wave attack by means of a thruster-assisted jump, and hovered safely above what the A.I. had calculated as the presumed maximum reach of the crystal's growth, and had already begun to prime his plasma cannon. Several seconds after calculating and prepping his plasma cannon's charge for desired effect (so as not to inadvertently tag the robots hedgehog-flavored rock-candy center ), the A.I. fired off several shots (roughly 3-6) every few seconds at the Gizoid's torso.

Greens · Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 1:11 am

Far be it from Ace to give up an advantageous position. When the giant Gizoid turned its blindside to him and ran off, he followed, pelting it with if nothing else, surely an annoying stream of projectiles on its tail. But so in the moment was he, even after pausing for realization to take in when Rock tripped it over, he spent a split-second with a look like he'd been caught in the headlights... when he realized he was directly in the line of fire of the machine's crystal spread.

He was too close to move even if he tried-- green stalagmites erupted from the ground like geysers, and it nailed him but good, launching the serval several feet into the air after one crystal was rammed full force into his gut, and another particularly sharp one slashed at his left arm, even cutting through his jacket.

The airtime was impressive, and when he finally fell, he fell on his back, clutching at his abdomen in a wide-eyed look of anguish, clenching his throat so that no sounds of pain came out. Ace writhed, and his back arced forward violently, while his other arm struggled to push himself up. He was still very much in the fight, but at the same time, rather out of it for the time being.

Mie · Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 1:39 am

At the sound of the heavy crash and accompanying chorus of what sounded like shattering glass, curiosity ground Jam to stop a considerable (yet still not great enough) distance away, flashing a cautiously relieved grin at her rescuer from across the room, in silent, quickly interrupted thanks.

With a less than dignified squeak of alarm (replete with spooked, five-foot vertical hop into the air) as the behemoth stirred and righted itself, the redder simian threw out her electric barrier to a generous circumference so as to give her room to run, and booked it, speeding away from the Gizoid in a wide, arcing path. Nimble, though she was, however, there was just no escaping an attack of that magnitude; the ground rumbled ominously beneath her pounding feet moments before violently erupting with fast-moving crystalline constructs that, were it not for her shield, would have quickly resulted in skewered monkey kebabs.

Instead, the blindsided, disoriented, and momentarily numb simian sailed though the air, limbs flapping inertly behind her before hitting the floor (face first), and rolling to a flopping stop some two or three yards away. Jam was nothing if not tenacious, though, and wasn't even down for a full second before shoving at the floor, and rising almost indignantly to her feet. Sniffing dismissively at the trail of blood running from her nose, she wiped it on her forearm, drew up her shield once more, and charged back into the mosh pit with little more than a growl.

psikeout · Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 1:43 am

Rock couldn't really do anything about that one except take it like a man. In a flinch reaction, he tried to out-jump it (never mind the physical impossibility), springing up with knees tucked under him, but he only got a load of mixed blunt-and-sharp crystal absolutely nailing into his legs first, then his back second, as he buckled under the sudden, forceful upward acceleration.

He flipped through the air gracelessly, and landed unevenly—only one side of one bootsole managed to hit the ground before the rest of his body followed in a solid smack and tumble. When it was all said and done, though, he looked no worse for wear. His boots were practically bulletproof, his inner and outer suit was puncture-resistant and unscathed, and the kneepads under his trousers did their job. He only limped for two or three of his steps before cramming back the pain and steadying himself.

Meanwhile, Juke was the only one completely clear of the assault. Unfortunately, the bat wasn't really the best, uh, airlifter (he couldn't use his hands to grab people while flying), and it all happened so fast, there was nothing he could do to help anybody. When he saw what became of Ace, though, he streaked down and landed by the cat's side with unusual responsiveness.

"Bro!" he blurted, crouching and immediately (albeit gingerly) trying to aid Ace's efforts to stand. "I know that hurts," he said from experience, "butchu gotta get up!"

Too bad he didn't have any of that gel they sprayed into his big crystal-spike-wound.

Sheff · Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 12:20 pm

As Juke tried to tend to Ace, something fell with a painful sounding crash only a few feet away from them.

It was Omnis, having been thrown high into the air from the avoidable attack. Although the impact was incredibly solid, he was managing to push himself back onto his feet. There was one visible dent on his front, perhaps where a crystal spire had slammed into him, forcing him air born.

His focus was soon on the bat and cat, and he quickly jogged over, peering down at the injured one.

"It appears he is capable of continuing," he mentioned. The Gizoid's head suddenly swiveled to stare back across the room. "But we must make haste in moving. Immediately."

Omnis was now hastily helping the cat stand as well, his source of urgency gained from one glance to their enemy.

NPC · Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 12:34 pm

The whole floor was covered in random pillars of crystal, the Gizoid still standing at their start.

Tau's plasma shots were hitting their mark well, crystal blasting outward from the robot's chest upon contact. The machine jerked back with the first few, but soon enough it was holding its ground without a flinch. As useful as the air support was, every time a gaping hole appeared in its defenses (sometime showing a brief glimpse of a certain hedgehog's strained face), the crystal would regenerate in nearly a blink of an eye.

The pestering fly that was Tau would soon find a ten foot long spear of crystal thrown straight towards him, intending to pierce the opposing robot.

Whether it was avoided or accurate, the towering robot took whatever time it had afterward. It faced the nearest cluster of people, that being Juke, Ace, and Omnis. A few spikes of crystal erupted from its back then, forming the appearance of... quills?

Its next movement would be eerily familiar, yet put to a much grander scale.

The thing started a spindash. A fifteen-foot-tall mechanical being covered in rock was doing a spindash. The whole floor almost shook as the robot spun in place, sparks flying profusely from around it. They could even hear a sort of high pitched whine coming from the whole maneuver, yet probably at a lower tone.

Then it blasted forward, bearing down onto the trio of bat, cat, and Gizoid in a blur of crystal. They would only be given the minimal amount of time to react. At the speed it was already going, it could probably cover the distance of the massive room in mere seconds.

Greens · Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 3:30 pm

Despite an obvious struggle, ol' alleycat eventually rose to his feet with a little help from his friends. "Mm'okay-- mm'okay," he insisted, never taking his eyes off the proverbial ball. Of course, a palpable expression of dread crawled over his face where their foe actually became a ball. He almost lost his balance scrambling to avoid the attack before it ever even came close. "Uh'm fine," he blurted hastily, shoving away the help he was offered for all their sakes. "Move, go!"

And move he did, launching himself to the side a good three yards-- probably inches away from his feet getting torn off at the ankles-- and tumble/rolling back on one knee. As the ball of spiky death flew past him, his good hand tossed a trio of debatably futile chaos cards at its backside with a grunt of strain.

He grit his teeth and kept his eyes on the battlefield, panting slowly. Even with his injured arm held over the wound on his stomach, one might see that the red Bolt Boar figure on his shirt seemed to be ever so slowly expanding... except, it wasn't Bolt Boar.

Seafarinhare · Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 6:00 pm

Things were not looking up for our heroes. Much like Rock, Badge had futilely attempted to outjump the pillars of crystal as they shot up out of the ground.

He was hit, and was sent spiraling out of control and hit the ground.

Add to their bad luck, the enemy was now displaying the ability to spindash.. He got to his feet, holding his ribs. All he could do was hope that those in it's wake would be able to avoid the attack.

psikeout · Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 6:10 pm

"Hhhoooo shhhhhhhhhhiii—!"

Juke, eyes wide, arms out, fingers gnarled, and body leaned back as if to withdraw from a puff of fire, did not need to be told. As soon as it was clear Ace could move his own butt, the bat bolted straight up with a leap and a flap of his arms, and just narrowly made it clear of the launch zone before the revving mass of crystal-encased metal went on its rampage. The gust of its passing sent him for an aerial twirl, but, honestly, he was getting pretty dang used to being jostled in flight by this point.

"This's too much!"

NPC · Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 9:48 pm

The whirling mass of crystal and metal buzzed past with a racket of noise, blasting across the room without restraints. The Gizoid kept going, its velocity too great to come to a jolted stop. Eventually, it reached one of the far walls, and it was obvious it was to make an impact on the curving dome of the roof.

Metal was slammed outward as the robot came to a harsh stop, crumbling a substantial amount of wall before it. It would have been most ideal if the Gizoid managed to keep going and simply fall to its demise, but this would only be a wishful hope. The contact with the wall forced it to a stop, allowing it to uncurl from its tight ball.

With the gaping hole exposing the room to the outside world, a blast of wind rushed in, being a bit chilly from the early morning altitude. Orange sunlight poured in as well, giving the Gizoid and strange glow as the light seeped through its crystal protection, playing beams of yellow-green across the floor as it moved.

For now, the group was given a moment to breathe as the thing gathered itself.

Tau · Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 11:33 pm

While Tau was capable of quick forward and upward movement, there wasn't a whole lot the the A.I. could do to strafe in mid-hover quickly enough to avoid the oncoming projectile. To make up for this, Tau simply... shut off his thruster in an attempt to avoid the crystal projectile. While the idea had worked, more or less, as the heavy robot dropped to the ground, the projectile had managed to carve away several inches of armor along Tau's right shoulder rather than impale the machine.

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

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