Somebody's gonna come undone (Ch. 4: Day 3, pt. II)

psikeout · Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 10:00 pm

Rock raised his brows at Caz's rising drama, but didn't really do or say anything. He just... scratched idly once or twice at an itch under his eye and glanced at Jam.

...

"I'll just let you two sort this out," he mumbled, then turned and meandered off. As he did, he brushed very close by Jam, and whispered something discreetly in her ear. Then, more audibly, he declared: "Let's clean this place up."

His focus landed first on Rodolf, who was nearest, and he began to slowly approach. His stun baton flickered in one hand while the other pulled a zip tie from his pocket.

NPC · Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 10:22 pm

The whining sirens of Eggman's Cop Speeders started to seep in from outside. The first wave of "cavalry" was about to show up.

Mie · Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 10:44 pm

The situation quickly turned from the the good kind of dramatic (excitement! fisticuffs!) to the awkward kind ("I really shouldn't be here"). That easily surmised both the pink primate and the sandy cat's sentiments on the situation.

Only, one of the two was visibly much less perturbed by it. With little more than a mildly uncomfortable fake cough, Jam strolled away from Rodolf's little mess, only too happy to oblige Rock's suggestion. Nodding succinctly to whatever sweet nothing her ring leader conveyed, the red-garbed girl moved quickly away from the unfolding scene, brows raised high, with her lips held firmly between her teeth.

Tabitha, on the other hand, was all stammers and stutters, and every imaginable kind of uncomfortable, as the nature of Ace's relationship with this... increasingly agitated other person became rather embarrassingly clear. This was starkly contrasted to her relation to Ace, however, which looked rather obvious, itself, but couldn't really be any farther from the mark. Tabby could only groan inwardly, while inching away from the other feline as inconspicuously as she could manage, and wondering how it was she got into these misunderstandings...

"Um," interrupted the creamy orange cat, meekly, while tepidly raising a hand. "Excuse me, but this -- I-- Ace and me, we're -- I mean, don't even." It was only around this point that the poor, flustered girl realized she had no earthly idea what to say, and looked pleadingly to the serval for help.

Kazz · Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 11:06 pm

Rodolf tensed, and for a second, he seemed to all but dig his heels into the floor. His long ears perked up at the sound of sirens; his eye flicked to the stun baton in the monkey's hand for just a fraction of a second.

The reasonable explanations for his behavior were as followed: a) he was simply far past pissed off; b) he had anger management issues (and was simply moderately angry); or c) he had completely lost it.
Though the case was likely the first, all things considered, the unicorn seemed dead-set on proving that C was the correct answer, because one corner of his mouth tugged up a little bit into a lopsided smile that didn't exactly reach the eyes.

He lunged at Rock again.
There existed the incredibly distinct possibility that he had no illusions of success whatsoever, but simply that he preferred to go out with a blaze of glory. (... or possibly a blaze of stun-baton electricity. Take your pick.)
And yet, this time, he did change it up the slightest bit. The second after began moving forward, he dropped to the ground with foot outstretched, that burst inertia carrying him like a baseball player sliding into base.

psikeout · Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 12:01 am

A guy named "Rock" better have a good guard. That said, Rock did; as the battered attacker came sliding in, the baton-wielding monkey dropped to a knee and presented both forearms and elbows willingly to to his foe's boots.

*Tunp.*

Dead stop. He didn't budge. Short distance, wobbly legs, and slow acceleration did Rodolf no favors in making a slide attack effective.

That said, Rock was either toying with the unicorn or taking genuine pity on him, because he didn't really do anything to counterattack, but merely sprang back a long step, wielding his baton defensively in front of himself.

"Why'd you never fight this hard when you were on my side?" he huffed with a laugh.

Kazz · Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 12:14 am

"Go figure," the unicorn replied as he got (or, whipped himself around and onto) to his feet with surprising efficiency. He spoke with the air of someone who was having a pleasant conversation over coffee, not one throwing himself haphazardly in a horrifically lop-sided battle. That said, he stood on the defensive, as though waiting for someone -- Rock, or the figurative cavalry, whichever came sooner -- to take action first.

Sheff · Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 12:25 am

He should have already been making the logical retreat. There was a parade of sirens outside, the bomb-happy eagle was probably off to find materials, and they were in the presence of two people who were very well aware of their fighting capabilities and were now working for the enemy. It was an explosive filled with potential destruction and havoc just ticking to explode in a matter of moments.

Yet Geoff stepped before Rodolph, his stance stiff and urgent.

However, instead of facing Rock in some sort of defensive measure, he was turned to Rodolph, his face cross.

"Are you trying to get the worst out of this?" he queried harshly. "You've got what sounds like half of the city's police out there and you want to get caught up in a fight? Unless you want to be in a cell with half of your face beaten in, I suggest you move."

He moved his hand as though to grab the unicorn's arm and promptly drag him out of there before things became worse.

Kazz · Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 1:59 am

Were Mako around, he might have said something regarding 'stop being idiots and run' to both hedgehog and unicorn. ... as it was, the shark had long since skittered away to try and find another way out, or at the very least least, somewhere to hide. Could anyone blame him?

Rodolf, meanwhile, took a half-step back, still in a defensive stance, and looked Geoff straight in the eye, completely unwavering despite heavy breathing and... well, everything going on around him.
"Thanks, but I think I'll manage," he said coolly, clenching and un-clenching his hands just once.

With the same even expression, he took a step closer to Geoff. (He wasn't going to risk putting lip-reading past the monkey.) He barely breathed the words:
"Don't you know an attempt at a distraction when you see it? Get out of here, you idiot."

Well, that made some sense, at least, and perhaps shed a little light on the equine's sudden apparent death wish. Perfect? Not at all, but there had to be something to be said for keeping Rock occupied for at least a moment.
With that he simply took a sidestep, keeping an eye trained carefully on Rock, and an eye out for anything that could conceivably further crash the party.

Greens · Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 2:53 am

It was only polite of Ace to step in on Tabby's behalf, at this point, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Caz," he began with an almost uncharacteristically stern, deeply serious tone coating his voice. He didn't ease up on a single syllable, and did his best to look the mole girl straight in the eyes-- resisting the urge to snatch glances on the unicorn's condition. No, they weren't very close at all, but Ace wasn't the type of guy to have any of his allies get the snot beaten out of them right in front of him. "Listen. Listen to me. She's just somebody I met. You know I want to catch up with you, and I've got a few questions of my own. But this, is a very bad time." The last words were emphasized above all the others.

She answered just as frustrated as she was understanding, still struggling to figure out which cat to look back to. "I, know that... But..." Her voice hit some kind of an emotional peak, as if speaking took all the effort of lifting a small car. "I missed you...!"

Even expecting it, the words hit him like a truck, and he grit his teeth behind his mouth. He took as long a pause to let it sink in as he possibly could with the given situation, but with the sirens growing ever louder, that ultimately meant no more than two seconds. Ace had to make a choice. Could he trust her? Was she the girl he'd escaped from the underworld, and into a new life with? Or was she the one tailing the defectors causing mayhem in an Eggman uniform? It took every ounce of will he had to look her in the eyes when he told her:

"...I miss you too."

His grip on her shoulders slid down to her arms, then to her wrists, and finally her hands before he stepped back, and let her go.

"I'll keep an eye out for you. I promise." He spoke in Tabby's direction. "We gotta, go." And suddenly, he didn't want to be in this room anymore. Suddenly, he ran away, as fast as he could.

"Wait!" She raised an arm in protest, but it didn't take long before it sunk limply to her side. "...Please... Wait..."

Adversely, Caz had a great difficulty doing anything beyond standing in place.

Sheff · Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 6:28 pm

Geoff blinked. Rodolph's actual concern for their getaway was unexpected, and it left him staring at empty air as the unicorn shuffled around him.

"...good luck then," he muttered under his breath as he stood there. "And... thanks."

With a new, slight appreciation for the unicorn, he dashed off, leaving the two dance-floor-fighters to partake in whatever violent groove they would soon be returning to. The hedgehog wasn't all too thrilled to leave Rodolph behind, but he was right in one thing; a distraction was the only way they could get out of there without a violent encounter.

He managed to see Ace running off as well and he quickly kicked it into gear to stay close to the feline. There was power in numbers, and they may just need that to get the hell out of dodge.

NPC · Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 9:36 pm

No sooner than Ace, Tabitha, and Geoff were out the nearest emergency exit door, the source of the screaming sirens came into view. While a few of the Cop Speeders would surely split off to chase them, most went plowing straight through the metal doors they had just escaped from, smashing their way chaotically into the club.

The little hovering bumper-car-like racers zoomed haphazardly through the inside of the establishment, obliterating tables, swirling in circles, and ramming at any patrons who remained. Only those in Eggman Army uniforms were spared the onslaught, and even then, only barely. (With that kind of conduct, there were going to be accidents.)

psikeout · Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 9:46 pm

Outside, the retreating group would find their escape route blocked suddenly by a hovering Eggman Army transport at the end of the alleyway, much like the one they had seen Rock and Jam driving the previous day.

The monkeys' backup? Nope. It was Midian.

When had he even gotten loose? Sometime during the first wave of evacuees, probably. He was a slippery jackal, alright, but it worked to their advantage.

The side panel door slid open and clunked.

"Get in!"

Inside, Rock just regarded Geoff's back kind of boredly, and then Rodolf's, too, as soon as the hedgehog was gone. The fact that he even allowed their little exchange to take place uninterrupted, and that he hadn't been lunging all over them with his normal intensity may have hinted to some apathy toward his job, or... other plans, depending on how one looked at it.

When the Cop Speeders came in, though, all bets were off. The primate backpedaled a few steps, turned, took one great stride, then sprang agilely up and over a railing onto a higher terrace of the dining area, narrowly away from the ridiculous machines' dance floor rampage.

Mie · Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 10:57 pm

Red. Evidently, that's the spectrum meant when "coloring one surprised," as Jam was nothing but it when she looked on the remarkable tenacity of the equestrian bull with raised brows and a sort of, "how you do like that" frown. It was rather telling of the threat she inferred from the unicorn, however, that she merely stood back and watched Rodolf vs. Rock 3 with her hands in her pockets. She only could have looked more blase had she been chewing bubblegum, but apparently, they were all out.

The monkey did, however, spare a shake of her head and belabored roll of her eyes at the interstitial exchange between hedgehog and horse. She muttered something under her breath pertaining to extents of density, and, with the sound of the sirens growing progressively louder, sauntered back up the stairs at a pace suitable for escorting geriatrics through crosswalks.

Kazz · Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2011 1:45 am

Mako (who had, it seemed, made his way out with minimal scathing) scrambled immediately into the jackal's fancy new transport almost as soon as the door had slid open. This entire affair simply feeding his conviction that the world had something against either him or everyone he got caught up with, the fish blinked a couple times, and said, matter-of-factly, to nobody in particular:

"... this is what I get for hiding in the oasis for so long, isn't it? Everyone I know going nuts?"

Meanwhile, back ~~on the farm~~ on the dancefloor...
Rodolf cast a look at the monkey's course of action. He narrowed his eyes, a bit suspicious, and then... ... he turned and ran. The equine individual made absolutely no effort to go around the robotic party-crashers, so much as he simply plowed, in a straight line, for the exit through which his compatriots had made their escape. (He may have been of extraordinarily hard head both literally and figuratively, but he didn't fancy himself so metaphorically thick-skulled as to try and continue once the cavalry joined in.)
One got the very distinct feeling that the second he came to a less-hostile environment he was going to be out like a light.

Still, though, he didn't yet run for it entirely; he stood just barely inside of the door, one foot outside, entire body still tensed-- in case there was anything left to be done, any last evacuees to get out before he made the mad dash for Midian's purloined vehicle.
Whatta hero.

Sheff · Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2011 1:32 pm

Geoff had nearly been prepared to haul it in the other direction upon seeing the vehicle at the end of the alley. It was only fortunate Midian made his timely exclamation, causing the hedgehog to just keep his momentum going.

He jumped right in after Mako.

"Thought you'd be used to this by now," he huffed as he looked back out in the alley, his hand resting on the sliding door in preparation to slam it shut once everyone was deemed safely secure inside. They probably didn't have much time before the Cop Speeders ventured outside to find more of the club-dwellers.

Somebody's gonna come undone (Ch. 4: Day 3, pt. II)

Who is online