View source for 5000/The Other Battle On Big Bridge

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2017/01/08
|Location=Core Tellus <CT>
|Synopsis=An attempt at pilfering experimental weapons from a convoy in Iskandria does not go as planned. A giant robot is involved, Mel is called an old hag, and Vatol is the only one to survive completely unscathed. Also, Scene 5000 GET.
|Cast of Characters=934, 941, 961, 1051, 1081, 604, 7, 894, 215, 994, 1096, 1003, 1094, 1088
|Tinyplot=CODE Chaser: Shattered Judgement
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:'''<br><span class="bold_fg_c bg_n ++ hc">LAST WEEK</span>, the League brokered an alliance with the Empire of Iskandria, offering their support in a war gripping the backwater world of Tellus in exchange for material support, access to the world's many ruins and a number of other juicy concessions. To this end, a shipment of the League's weapons is now making its way along one of the Expanse's major aqueduct-roads. The swamps that blanket the region are far below, and a mis-step or unexpected tumble could lead to a perilous fall. But the sheer size of the bridge-- approximately the width of a modern six-lane highway-- is a reassuring safety feature in and of itself.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The convoy is a dozen carts long, each driven by what is basically an armored, battle-ready semi, and is accompanied by a number of Iskandrian infantrymen-- and of course, by members of the League who have an interest in seeing the very first shipment of the war go through successfully. Everything seems quiet so far.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="bold_fg_c bg_n ++ hc">BUT ALSO LAST WEEK</span>, the Watch made contact with a mysterious man with a bevy of ancient relics and a grudge against the empire and its expansionistic ways. In exchange for one of the relics, he has requested that a certain shipment find itself derailed, and a number of officers wind up falling into his hands.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The convoy putters along, spewing clouds of smoke as powerful engines carry their cargo along to its destination. Up ahead is what looks to be something of a checkpoint: a concrete structure not unlike a rest stop or service-station on a modern highway, where an elevator leads down to the swamps below to allow easy access to low-lying roads-- Or in this case, easy access to the highway above. Normally there'd be guards posted along this route, but... Something seems off.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Will is pressed against the back side of the elevator chamber, his hand hovering precariously over his weapon. He tugs a little communicator bead down towards his face- "Y'all in position? I can see somethin' coming down our way."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:941|Mel Brock (941)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There is at least one person fighting on the side of the Watch who has never actually heard the term 'Watch'. To the best of her knowledge, it's just a ragtag group of Will's friends and acquaintances here to help him get a piece of his gun.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Technically, that includes her too.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But more strictly speaking, Mel Brock has other reasons for being here. She is, strictly speaking, here as a Paladin, chiefly to investigate exactly what types of weapons are being shipped, to confiscate whatever she can, and to make sure this doesn't turn into some kind of horrible war crime.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Which explains why she's nestled in under the bridge, where she doesn't have to constantly hold herself up telekinetically. This way she can quite literally lie in wait until the convoy is in place.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:961|Victor Xix (961)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Victor Xix is here because it was requested of him - not by the Empire, whose opinion he couldn't possibly care less about, but by the Pope of the Iron Church, whose opinion he at least occasionally listens to for his own reasons. This is one of those occasions. The weapons are not the only thing being carried with the convoy. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Steel Messiah stands atop the semi at the front of the convoy. He's as much a symbol as he is a guard - a warning to the bandits, thieves, and ragamuffins that usually dot the landscape of the Expanse, a ten-foot-tall warning clad in a red tattered flag. No sane individuals in the Expanse would challenge the Original Greaver, but then, there are plenty of crazy people - and plenty of people off-world who can challenge him, too. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Greaver's eyes are shut, but that means very little. Eyes are easy to deceive. Any fool can throw sand in someone's eyes to blind them. The Creators were prescient enough to establish some...*other* precautions in their highest Greavers. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; His nostrils flare. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; His foot slams down on the semi. One of the guards in the cockpit fell asleep; that guard is now jolted awake by the ringing sound of the Greaver's massive foot. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Pay attention," Victor growls, "This is where they will attack." <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "H-how do you know, Lord Messiah?" The guard asks out the window. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Because a bridge is an artery. If you wish to kill your opponent quickly..." Victor's clawed fingers flex, "You stab them in the artery."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1051|Millium Argent (1051)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Millium is really not here to fight. As least much as she can humanly manage. Fighting's a thing she can do, yeah. Helps against monsters and killer robots. But against people? ........... Well. Anyway. She's just gonna focus on derailing the convoy and not actually harming anyone if she can help it. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; To that end, she's hidden under the bridge, SERAPH currently powered off. Hey, that thing eats up energy quickly. Sure, it can recharge but that takes time! She remembers what happened the last time she had to let her Code recharge in the middle of a fight. ....Yeaaaaaaaah. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Claire is nowhere to be seen. Which makes perfect sense. She's not going to fight your battles. Idiots. But she does have a direct line to communications in a remote location. ...That remote location being the bar they stopped in last time. What? It makes sense. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Now.... what are they gonna do about that big lion of a man standing so obviously atop the semi in plain sight? Like an invitation. A dare to do something. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Crap.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1081|Celes Chere (1081)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Yes," Celes answers Will over radio, as she... more or less stands by the road, awaiting the convoy's arrival. She's invisible! As can be anyone else who wants to be and is on her side. Truth is, she is not a stealth specialist, but she's fairly certain if someone can see through the invisibility spell then there wasn't going to be any hiding from them to begin with. Also, the League was basically warned a group (and a Paladin) was investigating the delivery of the weapon. There wasn't much reason to think this would be decided by one's ability to sneak and ambush.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The convoy comes into view. Armored trucks, several of them. Celes reaches for Save the Queen, which cracks with lightning. Her shape is barely visible as magic makes her invisibility spell half-falter, sword pointed towards the convoy's leading truck.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Lightning bolts lance out, bright yellow and purple, streaking forward with all of Celes' firepower. If they can stop the first of the transports the others are going to have to stop too. Remains to have people go the long way around and catch the convoy from behind too, but that'll be in someone else's hands.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:604|Raine Arland (604)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Raine is here simply as an extra hand. League people were handling some business on this 'Tellus' and so he figured why the hell not? He sits inside one of those carts lazily. A wicked looking black blade resting against a shoulder and one eye closed. The red one is open and gazing out at the landscape vaguely. "Heh... Here, huh?" There's a glance about. And then a chuckle. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Well, it's a prime strategic location. No doubt they'll try and bring this whole thing down if they can't stop us." He smirks then and opens his other eye. "We'll just have to see how determined they actually are." A shake of the head follows, and then a glance aside himself at the empty air. "Keep ready. We're probably gonna be doing some high flying shit if my hunch is right." <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There's a flicker of movement in that space, the figure of a white clad entity shimmering for a moment, before it fades again. A voice responds. "Of course. Just try not to get yourself killed so easily, hm? I still need your body." Raine rolls his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Sure. Whatever." He looks on ahead and smirks again, watching as bolts of lighting streak across the sky. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; He stands up then, watching as the first semi. "Time to work."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:'''<br>After the foul taste in her mouth after the starting of the Foodbringer case, Kotone was quite happy to help out MEl with this. She knows not about the Watch yet herself and she's more just heere to help and also aid Mel Brock nthe objectives they have along side helping out Will with this. <br><br> Kotone has several small flying drones in the air for recon and to see just what she can gather on the convoy before they move to hit it. She's full up cloaked at the moment keeping a low profile and is up with MEl holding herself in place using her own cyborg strength to do so.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:'''<br>At the elevator, August is doing something weird with the clothing they stole off some soldiers. Specifically, he's tying all of it together in a long line, and then pouring gasoline onto it carefully. The Tin Soldier hovers over him as he finishes up his sort of insane plan.<br><br>As the convoy approaches, August spots Victor. He frowns tightly, and then tosses the clothing line into the Tin Soldier's arms. After a moment of checking over the radio, he moves forward, while the Tin Soldier diverts towards Mel's position, still carrying the gasoline soaked clothing line. August is going to try and get as close as possible to be in range of the Tin Soldier for this crazy plan, as the Tin Soldier moves to climb onto Mel's coat. This won't go wrong at all.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:215|Iria (215)}} has posed:'''<br>She's a bounty hunter, she's beautiful, and she fights for what she believes in.<br><br>Her name is Iria.<br><br>And she's here with other members of the Watch to find that convoy and stop it so that the Watch can get what they need. Specifically, hidden in a vantage spot on top of the structure waiting for the convoy to show up so that they can get things. At first, there's nothing, meaning Iria's starting to get a bit annoyed. "What, did they run out of fuel already or something?" Iria mutters with a scowl. But then she hears something, and she looks into the distance to see the convoy approaching, and she smirks a little. "Looks like they're on time after all! They better be ready, though..."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:994|Athela Valemore (994)}} has posed:'''<br>Coming in from the low access point had been perfect for Athela Valemore, she was well accustomed to wet and swampy environments. From there, once the guards were disabled, she had done much the same as others and made her way up into the structure of the aquaduct bridge itself. It wasn't that much different from climbing the masts and rigging of a ship, just less rocking back and forth. With darker cloak wrapped around her and hood pulled up to conceal her otherwise rather blantant red hair, the young knight waits on her perch.<br><br>War was a way of life in many worlds. Empires tried to expand, swaying people beneath their rule, or forcing them under with their military. Such was how things go. That was not why Athela was here as part of this mission.<br><br>It was the fact that outside forces were trying to tip the local balance through illicit advancement of one side that she was taking offense with. It was an unfair and dishonorable tactic, artificially inflating one side's strength over the other rather than armies fighting on their own merits.<br><br>And there's the sound of the trucks passing over the bridge. Ugh, those things are somehow louder than AND more smelly that using a herd of Tauros to pull wagons. A hand grips the hilt of her sword, ready to drop in and strike as soon as the convoy is slowed by the others...<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:941|Mel Brock (941)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So they have a plan. It's batshit insane. But it's a plan. And it's something Mel can help with easily.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;By now August must be used to seeing Mel ride her longcoat like a platform. She's doing that now, picking up the Tin Soldier to give it a steady ride below the bridge, until they can get /behind/ the convoy. She's careful not to outpace August, though.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1096|Orta (1096)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Orta is here because, honestly, everyone else is. Especially Victor. Since leaving her world for the first time, she has spent the past few days with the hospitality of the Iron Church, not quite certain why she has it, but all too glad to enjoy hot baths every day and meals without going looking for them. If the Church wants these weapons delivered, and the League does, then both of her new groups, as her only current friends and allies in this new and confusing environment, would appreciate her help. Giving something back for hospitality is how it works.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So the white-haired girl dressed in odd reds and blacks sits on top of one of the trundling armoured trucks, kicking her feet absently against the side as she watches the swamp go by, intermittently looking up the sky for some reason. She remains only a short distance from Victor, despite the amount of fuel smog coming her way, which doesn't seem to particularly bother her. She looks totally out of place with the assortment of League bouncers, like she'd wandered in by accident and they'd stopped for a minute to give her a ride.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then someone fires lightning at the lead truck, pretty dangerously close to where she is. Having been staring distractedly up at the sky, the girl shrieks at the clap of thunder, going tumbling off the side from the truck's inevitable sudden motion. Thankfully, the bridge is pretty wide, so she only faceplants on the hard road rather than falling into the swamp. After a second where it looks like she might have knocked herself out, she rolls over and climbs up to her feet, turning away from the truck, standing on her toes and waving her arms up at the air, yelling at the top of her lungs.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Said yelling sounds like some ethnic mishmash of greek, latin, indonesian, sino-english nonsense that the player still hasn't gotten tired of reading through the dictionary, sounding like "Ecce! Acell! Ecsia festina deeah!" which is then understood as "Hey! Help! Come quickly!" Why she is yelling up at what looks pretty much like empty air is a mystery, but she proceeds to cast a fearful glance over her shoulder and then hide behind the next truck.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1003|Sephiroth (1003)}} has posed:'''<br>Sephiroth is here to ensure the convoy makes it. He cares not for the Empire or their wants. The Company does. What the Company wants, the Great Sephiroth makes happen. It's his job. It's what he knows. <br><br>Like Victor, Sephiroth stands atop one of the vehicles. He, however, is bringing up the middle. This ensures he can get to either end of the convoy that needs his presence fairly quickly. <br><br>He is a sight to see, black coat and silver hair billowing majesticly behind him, the gleaming length of the Masamune held before him. Green glowing eyes are watchful for shenanigans. Shenanigans which have now begun. Lightning roars at the front of the convoy, chaos erupts, and the SOLDIER doesn't even wait for the trucks to stop. He races /away/ from the lightning. There are two reasons for this. One: Victor's up there. He can handle that area. Two: Clearly others will be coming from the rear to mess things up.<br><br>Not on Sephiroth's watch.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Agent Parsons is interested and curious about what's happening here. The young Psychonaut follows along with the convoy in his own car, a black van with a windowless rear section and hevily tinted windows at the front and a conspicuous scanning apparatus on the top. It pretty much looks exactly like something that should park outside someone's house and figure out what television shows they like, unmarked and all.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He drives alongside the convoy, a small dot against the heavy machines. Soon, though, comes a forewarning over radio. He shifts back in the convoy, letting some others take point here, into rear areas. Thank god, that lightning might have blown his van out. When it comes, whatever happens next, he can deal with it the right way for a secret agent: Jumping his car through the explosion. Specifically, his levitation and psychokinetic abilities go off, and whatever happens to the forward truck, Agent Parsons goes pedal to the metal and charges his now-floating van up and over the explosive results of the spell, slamming to the ground ahead and charging towards the checkpoint, intent on closing the distance FAST and getting into an engagement immediately.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Any chance for subterfuge at all virtually bottomed out the moment Victor 'I can smell your blood' Xix turned his nose into the wind. But if there was still any opportunity, still any infinitesimal chance at all that an ambush would work out, they quickly vanished when Celes Chere turned her considerable magical might into a bolt straight out of the blue.<br><br>Or maybe she just /seized/ on what little sliver of a window the Watch may have still had.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Thundaga spell smashes into the lead truck like the fist of an angry god. Iskandria builds its vehicles to take a lot of punishment; any electronics they may use are rugged and rudimentary, secondary to mechanical controls. But that doesn't mean that what's under the hood isn't still a mess of power cords, and it certainly doesn't stop a veritable column of lightning from blasting straight through /all/ of it.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The driver yelps and then chokes as the accompanying blast of thunder hammers his eardrums and turns his world into a spinning, dizzy mess. Something under the hood sparks, flashes, and then catches fire, billowing very unhealthy smoke into the air. The engine whines and wheezes like an asthmatic lung before sputtering out.<br><br>It may not be going anywhere anytime soon.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Well damn, that worked," Will says with a grin. "Alright y'all! Let's get this thing going! You know the plan!" 'Plan' here being a loose set of ideas that will hopefully result in the retrieval of several trucks and their contents. He dives out of cover, the Solano's blue-white light surging to life in his hands. "Let's go!" Will yells, depressing the trigger and unleashing a burst of plasma fire /right/ for the Original Greaver on the top of the first transport.<br><br>The boy knows how to pick a fight.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:994|Athela Valemore (994)}} has posed:'''<br>Lightning flashes at the front of the convoy, and Athela is quite glad she's not up there. Electricity is not a fondness of hers, even if she is not as super-effectively weak to it as her Water pokemon are. The powerful bolt is a good signal to move all the same though. Time to make this ambush happen.<br><br>With a grunt she leaps to the edge of the bridge, drawing her gleaming blade as she does. At this point there are no extravegant dramatic speeches, not when timing is so crucial. Just a sound not unlike the rising current of a river as elemental energy churns around the magic blade, and the sound of armored boots on pavement as Athela rushes one of the middle semis.<br><br>The magic blade arcs out, if only to slice the door off the cab. "Now!" The little pink blob of her Goomy pokes out of her cloak, spewing adhesive slime into the cab to disable the drivers without actually harming them.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:961|Victor Xix (961)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Lightning crackles in front of the truck. Somebody goes over the truck - the boy with the strange burning thing who hated Lezard Valeth, and the woman with the strange flying machine who saved them at the fortress. Then, the boy emerges, the Solano's blue light blasting right for the Greaver's face. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There is no hesitation. The Greaver rips open the top of the truck; the plasma fire burns through it, smashing against his chest, but at that point it's already had to eat through the metal, so it's at best 'weak', a small little sizzle against his bared skin. With his feet, he hurls the two men in the truck backwards onto the truck behind him, and roars instructions to the driver. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "DON'T STOP! THEY WOULD PLUNDER YOUR HOME AND KILL YOUR FAMILIES! THEY WOULD SMASH YOUR COUNTRY TO RUIN FOR THE SIN OF DESIRING GREATNESS! STOP - AND YOU WILL ASSUREDLY BE KILLED!" <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Victor flips over the makeshift bulwark, landing in front of the truck. His horrible eyes lock onto Will. The best way to deal with the Terminal was simple. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Don't give him a chance to attack from range. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; With all the delicacy due a ten-foot tall murder engine, Victor turns. His claws dig into the truck. The machine groans as physics struggles against strength, as it rises off the ground into Victor's hands, then rises above Victor's head. Pieces of the back end are already crumbling. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Greaver roars, a deep, bellowing, animalistic roar that echoes across the canyon, as he swings the truck around for William like a baseball bat - with frightening precision and speed for something so heavy. As usual, it's as Victor has trained his entire life in 'swinging a truck' as a weapon style. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Unfortunately for Will, 'a truck' is much, much bigger than he is.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:'''<br>Everything's already going insane. But August has his heart set on this plan. He moves to the side, trying to avoid sight of the enemy, while Mel carries the Tin Soldier over to the rear line. August has his laser pistol in hand, exhaling heavily. He changes focus, from his own perceptions to the Soldier's.<br><br>When Mel gets close to the last truck, the Tin Soldier begins moving, signalling that it's about to jump. It turns its body towards the truck below them, and then proceeds to toss the line of clothing down. As soon as the line of clothing is away from Mel, the Tin Soldier leaps off of her, pointing its gun leg straight down and shooting out a massive jet of fire, aiming to ignite the clothing as well as the truck if it doesn't pull forward fast enough. The fire jet is also pointed slightly back to discourage a rear escape.<br><br>The clothing will ignite rapidly, creating a painful, flaming obstacle falling directly on and below the convoy. The Tin Soldier, meanwhile, falls onto the wagon itself, slamming onto the roof. Sephiroth could easily notice it, the silent robot soldier with the flaming gun-leg grappling tightly onto the roof, waiting to see what happens. It's showtime.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1051|Millium Argent (1051)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Uh. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Okay. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; So they need to divert all of these vehicles away, /and/ capture the officers. All with Mr. Imma Claw Your Stomach out, along with a bonus addition of Dude In Black With A Huge Sword, and Dude In Black With A Less Huge Sword. Plus Mysterious White Haired Chick and Psychic Sekrit Agent. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "...Maaaaaybe we should just- Oh. Oh okay, he fired his gun." Well, a bit late, considering the LIGHTNING that was already fired off. Crap. What should she do here? The plan sounded nuts! That dude just picked up a truck! That other dude has a huge sword! Did she mention how that dude just picked up a truck? Ugh. Why did she always feel so out of her league recently? <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Millium finished grumbling internally to herself and powered on SERAPH, taking flight as the orbitals came to life. "Ooooookaaaaaay, what to do, what to do..." She mumbles, rising further up into the air. "Alright, okay. I think I'll just..." Yeah, not fight. The blonde girl spreads her arms, the blue orbitals around her wrists breaking up and forming into several floating funnels. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There's a thrum and glow of energy, and then with a flash of light, several rays of hot plasma are fired, arcing through the air and hurtling down towards one of the middle trucks, aiming too the strike the compartments that likely hold the cargo. Try to scatter all that good stuff.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:215|Iria (215)}} has posed:'''<br>While the others are going ahead, Iria hasn't moved just yet. Instead, she's got her rifle loaded and aimed. "So you finally decided to show yourselves, did you?" That evil smirk turns into a grin. "Too bad I have to stop you!" She taps at the laser sighting on her rifle and aims for the engine of the truck. "And it looks like this is the end of the line for you!" Iria adds as she fires off a three-round burst of gunfire at the engine. Her grin turns into a frown however, as she realizes that might not be enough.<br><br>"Better not take chances," Iria comments again as she opens fire on the tires of the truck, hoping to at least slow it down by shooting out the rubber. "If the engine won't be shut down so easily, I'll slow them down the old-fashioned way!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1081|Celes Chere (1081)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;One truck stopped. Chaos deployed.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Celes then watches a very large man scream, pick up a truck, and swing it towards William with very obvious intent to kill. There is also a floating van.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;This got crazy unusually fast, even by her standards.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Still flickering in and out, her invisibility quickly fading, Celes decides to make the best of it by going straight for Victor, even as he swings that truck around like a very dangerous blunt weapon. But she pulls out. At the last second, it's not him she's going for. He has no trouble seeing this, what with his unusual sight.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In an absurdly well timed jump, Celes tries to intercept the rear of the truck and slice the cargo doors wide open with Save the Queen, so that the contents of that particular piece of the convoy goes flying all over the highway as Victor keeps trying to crush William.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Here's hoping William can last long enough for her to have that opening, though. She'll lend him a hand once they've figured out what's inside that truck.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:941|Mel Brock (941)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And there's Kohler's... rather fiery solution. "Cripes, Kohler. I mean, it works, but..."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Back down and around goes Mel, riding atop her coat until she can come back up around the middle of the convoy. First order of business - she hardens the air around herself with a telekinetic barrier, with /almost/ all the strength she can muster. It should cover her from small arms fire, at the very least. Second order is to get closer to one of the cargo trucks - and to reach out with her mind to tear off the side, and see what's inside.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:604|Raine Arland (604)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Raine just stands there, sword hefted onto a shoulder as he watches this fresh hell take place all around him. "Wow. They did /not/ disappoint." He mumbles, tapping his blade against his shoulder once again as he takes casual steps forward. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. ...His steps get faster and faster, and then he's running. He's already got his eyes on someone. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; He grins and with the last step onto the edge, a green magic glyph forms, then sends him bursting into the air. He soars, adopting a freefall position as he begins to descend... right for August, or more specifically, right for that tin man doing dangerous things to the last truck. He doesn't say anything, he just flips in the air, blade gripped back and ready to swing. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ...And then he strikes. With a fierce downward slash aimed right at that Persona with nothing but sheer falling momentum. No elemental energy. Nothing. Just a plain ol slash. Sometimes simple is best.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Parsons slips out of the van he's driving into a sustained, skidding hover, before planting two fingers on each side of his head. The van he's in is immediately launched up into the air by no visible force at all, in a high arc, meant to interpose itself between Millium's plasma strikes and the middle truck. Unfortunately, this is a bit of a one-use trick, since that means his van is blown to pieces, utterly annihilated by the bolts. The shockwaves of its explosive loss can be felt everywhere, and its parts rain down violently.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The man himself, floating in all his telekinetic glory, presses along on the path here, keeping pace, he hopes, with the trucks that Victor has ideally gotten to stay working. Closing the distance isn't drawing their fire, that's okay. He keeps those fingers planted on his head, and without even a moment of charging, fires off a massive psychic beam at the elevated Watch position on the checkpoint. He's avoiding hitting the elevators, but a searingly precise laserbeam-like effect with all the power of an artillery cannon begins to lance its way all around the checkpoint's ambush points and airspace. He's trying to prevent sniping and artillery-style fire from being a viable tactic here. The wide stream of brilliant orange energy makes a distinctly human-like noise of strained aggression whenever it meets and melts through terrain.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1003|Sephiroth (1003)}} has posed:'''<br>Sephiroth eyeballs the Tin Soldier. The Masamune flashes so quicly it doesn't even appear that Sephiroth's arm has moved. Even so, the curtain of fire parts into quarters from what can only be compressed air slung from the cutting edge of the blade. The SOLDIER regards the Persona...but Raine has it covered. Instead, Sephiroth retreats back towards the middle of the convoywhere Mel and others have decided to try and cut things open.<br><br>The SOLDIER's voice carries somehow, but he doesn't appear to be yelling. His tone is calm and almost conversational.<br><br>"Cease this foolishness. I'm giving you this chance to flee, or I will b forced to cut you down. Decide."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1088|Vatol Halftail (1088)}} has posed:'''<br>Ambushing caravans is a very Skaven tactic. Vatol only knows about this one because he was seriously considering robbing it himself, and then blaming it on the dissidents and getting to double-dip in the profits. Something about this rubbed him the wrong way, though...<br><br>...so he sent someone to check it out.<br><br>Mel rips open a cargo truck. It's dark inside. Very dark. Dark enough that the glittering little malevolent eyes inside the truck stand out in terrible, terrifying fashion.<br><br>Rat-men pour out with an awful scrabbling. It's like a clown car full of carnage, each one armed with short swords, a spear, some kind of primitive firearm of a combination of the same. Some wear leather armor; some wear scraps of plate and chain; others, pushed out in front, barely wear scraps to cover themselves. The cry goes up, taken by the spreading swarm of Skaven. "KILL-KILL!" "KILL-KILL MAN-THINGS!"<br><br>Amidst the swarm, moving fluidly through the press of bodies, a black-cloaked figure slinks out into the darkness...<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1096|Orta (1096)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then people start attacking. Someone shoots Victor, who is giving Orta a place to stay. Someone else captures the crew of the truck she had just been on. Someone throws a flaming clothesline nearly on top of her. Not one, but two people are shooting at the trucks she'd just hidden behind! Victor starts yelling something about how these highway robbers are going to kill people's families and burn their homes. She is inclined to believe him at the moment, caught up in the crossfire.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Orta makes a break for it. She runs out from behind the mid truck once Mel rips the lid off with her mind like a tin can, fleeing the woman and bolting for the edge of the bridge, and leaping straight off. She barely gets her hang time before echoing wingbeats pound down on the aqueduct, and a spear of white shell and yellow wings drops from the sky at high velocity, swooping directly under her and catching her on top of it, before swerving back up into the air.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She winds up riding the shoulders of some kind of armoured, white and red wyvern . . . creature. It looks something like a bipedal dragon, but also like one of those toothy, bone-plated, primeval murder fish that were around before legs were a thing. It's not very big though, not especially taller at the shoulder than a large horse, but when it opens its mouth, what comes out is a piercing, electric-sounding screech that sings like a blown microphone.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The two of them don't come near the ground again. The girl atop the Dragon has had all the fear leave her eyes the moment she made contact with it, having only something hard and calm remaining in them. Her mount swerves to the forefront of the convoy without any visible prompting, where Victor is assaulted by two enemies at once. The girl reaches to the small of her back, and draws out something like a disproportionately oversized handgun, built of fused plates of white carapace.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She points it directly at Will, like she's done it a million times before. The thing has no trigger, no sights, no magazine, --no instrumentation at all-- but she holds it like it's dangerous. "It's you! Just like he said!" she yells from the back of the Dragon, stopping on a dime with a blast of air and taking a near-perfect hover. "Thieves aren't welcome here! Go away! Leave him alone!" The gun-looking thing in her hand goes off. The report is surprisingly quiet, sounding like someone pulsing a laser through a waterfall. It is not, however, subtle, because a quintuple burst of blinding green energy bolts flash out of it and zip straight at William with unerring accuracy.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:'''<br>There things go from tense to very bad. With Victor the blood hound on the job they are not hiding but they might be able to salvage things until Celes let lose with the magic but really there wasn't any really left she'll do her best to follow MEl's lead on thing but there is some good news the truck is stopped na dhonestly she was wrong it seems Celes plan worked the turck is stopped and now it's time to deal with this as the clash begins. <br><br> she'llmove to drop down and do what she can to help Meln as she moves while cloaked, still there are ripples in the air as she moves keeping pace the cams only give her an idea of how much heat they are facing this is going toi be nuts.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:994|Athela Valemore (994)}} has posed:'''<br>Well, they succeeded in disabling a few of the trucks... or blowing them up. These more modern warriors seem to have a perchant for doing that sort of thing. That was part of the plan, right? Honestly by this point she is not certain.<br><br>The cloaked knight turns her attention for a moment when Sephiroth makes his demands to stop and flee. "I think you know as well as I that is not likely to happe--"<br><br>Mel ripping open a truck only for OHMYGODRATMEN to poor out of it briefly vies for her attention as well, and Athela holds a gauntlet up towards Sephiroth. "Hold that thought a moment..." Turns to her pokemon. "Slurry, if you would please."<br><br>The blob of pink bobs as if nodding, they slorps off her shoulder to the bridge below. Fortunately he absorbed a lot of moisture while they were below the bridge. The Goomy swells briefly as it churns it up from within, then expels it out like squeezing a sponge. This causes a good sized wave of Muddy Water to surge away from the pokemon, aimed at sweeping up several of the rats and washing them off the side of the bridge.<br><br>With the rat pack being dealt with Athela turns and jumps atop the same truck as Sephiroth is calling from. As she lands she crouchs forward a bit, Resolute Blade gripped tightly in both hands as she braces herself. "If one wishes to try and stop us, do so!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1051|Millium Argent (1051)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Suddenly something interposes itself between Millium's beamfire and her target. ... floating van. "Seriously!?" She whines, immediately shielding herself when the thing naturally blows the heck up from those laser bursts likely striking something important. That tends to be a thing. Maybe not tends to, but whatever. The important things to take away from all of this is that A) Her shots were intercepted. And B) She's gonna have a much harder time getting off a second barrage. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Chiefly because- "-ACK!" Yes, there's that whole searing wave of laserbeam-like energy cutting through the air and cutting off aerial tactics. Mostly because Millium has to cancel funnel mode and turn her orbital armlets into a barrier to protect her precious body from getting shorn in half. Getting cleaved in half is pretty bad news, according to six out of ten doctors! The force is enough to blow her back, spinning through the air a bit before she rights herself. "-Ergh..." <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Okay... what now? Ranged options are limited. She reaaaaaaaaally doesn't want to fight. But that person is blocking the way to the goods! Hmmhmmhmmmm.... Millium wracks her brain a bit, staring severely at Flamel for a few moments. Then she cancels her barrier and reforms it into two glow, blue, ornate twin blades. But she doesn't attack just yet. She smiles sweetly, and asks. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Saaaaaaay, if I asked nicely, would you move out of the way and let me stop that truck? Pleaaaaaaase?" <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Because that always works.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:215|Iria (215)}} has posed:'''<br>One thing about being a good sniper is that you have to know how to keep yourself concealed, but another means knowing how to move when things are getting dangerous. And with Flamel Parsons trying to take out any potential snipers in the area, Iria knows it's time to move fast. She drops from her vantage spot, rolling quickly and switching her rifle from semi-automatic to full automatic mode. She spins her rifle towards Flamel Parsons and scowls. "You made a foolish mistake targeting me!" She yells.<br><br>Flamel probably doesn't realize this, but Iria's not afraid of someone who uses powers like his. In fact, the bounty hunter views it as a challenge to herself. "Let me show you a thing or two!" She yells while opening fire.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:941|Mel Brock (941)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Suddenly, rats. Rats everywhere. "What the f-!" Mel stumbles back several paces, startled - and incredibly glad that she had the forethought to wrap herself in a telekinetic barrier. It stops her from being swarmed by the mean rodent bastards, from being shot or stabbed and generally regretting every decision. And that's good. It buys her the moment she needs to compose herself... and to push her barrier further outward, effectively 'parting the rat sea' to give herself some breathing room.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She spots one in particular bearing a weapon that catches her eye; this rat is immediately subject to a telekinetic punch that probably carries about as much force as the ratman has mass. In the next instant, there's a less-potent pull on the weapon itself, the Marshal intending to yank it to her hand so that she can examine it more carefully.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1003|Sephiroth (1003)}} has posed:'''<br>Sephiroth tilts his head slightly, silver hair sliding to the side in a rippling wave. He smirks. It's not an arrogant expression. It's not bombastic o belittling. It's absolute confidence. "As you wish, ma'am." <br><br>The Masamune is lifted in a salute before he lowers it again. He pauses a beat, taking measure of the woman before him before he bursts into motion without warning. His coat billows behind him as he streaks across the top of the vehicle, swinging the nearly seven foot blade in an overhead arc. One handed.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:'''<br>The Tin Soldier is about to try and pry into the back of the truck, when Raine appears, freefalling sword first. The Tin Soldier glances up, threat coming straight at it, and moves to deflect most of the damage. It roars silently, body miming, as an arm flies up to deflect that sword away, gashing into the metal of the Persona. The Persona proceeds to try and push Raine back with its bodyweight, before aiming its gun leg up, shooting a stream of bullets straight for the swordsman, rapidly attempting to pin him down.<br><br>Meanwhile, August clutches his arm as the pain from the blade transfers over. He's about to move to take cover, when he spots /rats/. Oh no. Laser pistol drawn up, he begins firing at them repeatedly, aiming for center of mass. He's a pretty accurate shot, especially when he's not moving. The problem is, now he's an obvious target...<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A lot of things happen in very short order. Victor's yell reverberates out over the caravan of trucks. The soldiers within seem to stiffen and go pale. "I-is he serious?" One of them asks, looking like the bottom's dropped out from under him. "Does it matter?" another answers, "These bastards are serious one way or another. But we can't let them take this stuff-- the guys out in front are waiting for this shipment!" Similar conversations play out through the other trucks, and as a unit they begin plowing foward around the Original Greaver.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But that doesn't mean they're out of the woods. A great big pink *SPLORT* of goo fills one of the truck cabs, causing the vehicle to swerve and screech to a stop. The vehicles behind it struggle to get by, which isn't at all helped by the fact that they're being /set on fire/ too. This just helps to send the drivers into a frenzy of furious driving. "Go, go, go!" One of them yells, flooring his accelerator! <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Will's not doing to well either, though, because that Greaver we mentioned, the one swinging that truck-- is swinging it at HIM. Will yelps as he ducks back, narrowly limboing right underneath a wide swing before a driving thrust hurls him back, tumbling across the ground. "H-how am I supposed to keep him SWINGING?" Will groans, spitting out a splattering of blood from where his teeth cut his lip. A thick welt is beginning to bloom on his brow. "I want him to STOP swinging--"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Victor swings again, and Will does his best to twist out of the way. But that's just enough of an opening for Celes to get atop the truck and slice down into the locking mechanisms at its back end. Victor's swing reaches its zenith, and...<br><br>A fist pops out?<br><br>A /FIST/ pops out!?<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"N-no way," Will gawps as a LITERAL GIANT ROBOT PUNCH hurtles right at him, along with a whole host of black cases filled with all manner of weapons. "WAUGH!" He drops to the ground! The fist sails right overhead and smashes, knuckle-first, into the highway behind him. "That's... That's from the Sepulchre--" He'd recognize it anywhere, that /machine!/<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But he has other things to worry about. Other, dragon-shaped things. Or rather, the girl riding the dragon-shaped thing. "Wh--" Will chokes as bolts of green energy sail right at him! He screams, rolling away from the first through the fourth, but the fifth smashes into his chest and...<br><br>Hits a distinctly black breastplate. One that immediately begins to sizzle.<br><br>"Ow, ow, ow!" Will hisses, pushing to his feet and bringing up his OWN hand-cannon. "What're you talking about?! You saw him /swing a truck/ at me, right!? I wouldn't shoot that guy if I didn't know he'd be able to walk it off!" And THIS is just in self-defense. Will grits his teeth as he opens fire, bolts of blue-white plasma sailing up at... the dragon? He's pointedly NOT targeting Orta for... some reason. "Besides, I ain't a thief! I'm a /TREASURE HUNTER!/"<br><br>Kotone and Mel would find more of those weapon cases in some of the other trucks... along with other, very /large/ pieces of robot. The weapons are definitely of League-make, but... What the heck is THIS thing?<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:961|Victor Xix (961)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Orta takes William's attention, which frees up Victor to deal with Celes. The knight's blade carves through the truck's back end, and... <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ...and /that/ falls out of the truck. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Victor lunges to grab the huge robot arm in one meaty claw. He hefts the fist like a club, bringing the thing up against his shoulder as he shouts orders over Tactical. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; He knows what this is. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Now the parameters have changed. Now the mission objective has changed. The soldiers, they are no longer important. The convoy, it is no longer important. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Victor does not bare his teeth in a smile. He does, however, now hold the weapon - nearly as long as the actual truck - like a greatsword. With speed that really shouldn't be possible holding something that heavy, the Original Greaver lunges towards Celes's landing place, bringing the massive arm down to smash her. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The truck has been utterly discarded. Celes's plan is going to need some modification.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:994|Athela Valemore (994)}} has posed:'''<br>Holy Xerneas is he swinging that sword with -one hand-? It's a good thing her cloak hood is still up, so the brief moment of surprise on Athela's face can't be clearly seen.<br><br>However she quickly shoves the astonishment back down to focus on the fact that he's doing so rushing towards her like a Golbat out of hell. Athela braces herself and brings up her own sword, holding it crosswise to intercept the downward slash. A deafening ring rattles out as the much large Masamune collides with Resolute Blade. It saves her from being bisected in two but the force of the impact is enough to force Athela down as he grunts and struggles to keep from buckling to her knees entirely. After some struggling she manages to push back and angle her divine blade to briefly push the much larger sword aside.<br><br>Then lets go of her sword with one hand to thrust it in Sephiroth's direction, a surge of water erupting from her outstretched hand. The bolt of elemental force aimed at the swordman's midsection carries the same concussive force as a small cannonball.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:604|Raine Arland (604)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Raine impacts with the Tin Soldier, blade striking against arm, and ten he's deflected sailing away a short distance before righting himself and skidding across the ground. But he's not got time to dawdle. That thing is firing /bullets for it's leg/. Okay. The swordsman raises the flat of his blade, guarding himself from the brunt of it as several others graze dangerously close past his sides and legs. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Tch-!" <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It tears through his outfit, but he's not worried too much about that. He retreats around the other side of the truck and waits for a moment. In that moment, there's a change of orders across the tactical band. "...Huh. CODE, he says..." Welp. Job's a job. ...But something's odd. That thing's been firing at irregular intervals. Something up out there? The black haired man peers out to look, spying as the Tin Man seems to pause periodically. ".......Heeeeeeh....." Grinning as his mind works, Raine grips his sword and steps out. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; He breaks off into a run, sword glowing with shimmering red energy. It's nothing elemental. Just pure magic power. It roils across the blade as he steels himself in his run... Then he leaps to the side a bit, and upon landing, a green glyph forms at the ground. A burst of wind launches him forward. "Isn't it a little too dicey to be getting distracted now!?" He roars aiming to cleave into the seemingly distracted Persona with a non-elemental slash. And if not that, at least bat it away to create distance. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Apparently Victor needs whatever the hell's in these trucks. Fun.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Agent Parsons isn't actually that focused on violence. Psychonauts use violence pretty suddenly and ruthlessly, but not exactly without respect for principles of pacifism. So when the foe backs down, he does as well. He puts a finger up to his ear. "Unknown opposition. Some sort of magical girl. Currently possessing deadly cufflings, I repeat, extremely deadly cufflinks." What. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Official Psychonauts business, miss." He flashes his badge, speaking like his man-in-black aesthetic suggests, but in a surprisingly friendly sort of vaguely menacing government monotone. "Agent Parsons, Psychonauts Multiversal Operations Bureau. This is a restricted area and you are firing on League property. Please immediately--"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Several bullets strike him, provoking powerful sparks of bright orange light spraying from his body as lower-level mental shields are pierced and damaged, stunning and bruising him. "Hhhhhh! Yes, show me many things, please. Who do you work for? What are your intentions with the convoy? How did you find our route? Are you aware of the restricted nature of this supply and the right of this nation to take aid? What are your political affiliations?" If Millium isn't going to attack him, he's... Not going to get out of her way, but he's not going to attack HER now. Instead, he takes that psychic position again, and fires a single, massive, explosive shot back at Iria, something that should at least catch her in the shockwave, meant to destabilize and deny her a ranged position if it doesn't blast her head-on. He's got enough PSI blast specialization to mix things up that way quite effectively, even if he seems unsteady and a little more exhausted after taking those shots.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then he's back to Millium, and putting a finger to his ear. "Actually, never mind. I just got new orders. Please feel free to do as you like to the convoy. Don't interfere in the other things we're doing now." And now he's blasting off on levitation-skating, heading for the other trucks, trying to focus on where Victor's advising...<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1088|Vatol Halftail (1088)}} has posed:'''<br>The telekinetic wave pushes the Skaven apart, much to the surprise of basically all of them. They struggle against the force, flinging knives and lunging with spears. The unfortunate who grabbed one of the League-delivered weapons gets knocked clear out of the air, flung back against the other side of the truck, bounced off the now-open roof, and catapulted into a ditch.<br><br>The weapon doesn't. Mel ends up holding what looks like a metal rod topped with a green crystal cut into a point. It's set between four prongs, arranged to be held like a rifle with a lever on the top instead of a trigger. Looking directly at the crystal makes the eye itch and skin crawl.<br><br>The rats cause constant pressure, but Mel isn't the only one having rat problems. The swarm starts to spread up and down the baggage train, stabbing and cutting and screeching like madmen. Some get swept aside by the Pokemon-intervention, but -- fun fact -- these rats are the sort with the kind of oily fur that makes them excellent swimmers. The ones that are dry fire warplock pistols somewhat wildly, warpstone-laced bullets detonating on impact with the ground and puncturing armor going sailing this way and that while still more get fried by laser blasts from the outfield. Some turn towards August...<br><br>There's a sound near him, whisper-quiet. It's hard to pick out, especially over all the violence. Something moves with a rustle of cloth. Hairs stand up on the back of the neck. Survival instincts, should he possess them, warn of a stalker.<br><br>Another rat-man lunges at him out of the darkness, a figure clad and cloaked in black with wickedly sharp fighting claws attached to its forearms and blackened with some kind of dust. He doesn't say a word -- he just goes from hidden to mid-lunge in the time it takes to draw breath to scream.<br><br>This can only mean one thing: a /named character/?!<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span style="color:sienna"><span class="underline fg_n bg_n ++ u"> \</span>____<span class="underline fg_n bg_n ++ u">/ </span><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\&nbsp;&nbsp;/&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw">OBSKEEK THE GHOST</span><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; \/&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="bold_fg_x bg_n ++ hx">GUTTER RUNNER</span><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; /\</span><br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1003|Sephiroth (1003)}} has posed:'''<br>Sephiroth's expression goes serious as the blades ring together like great bells. He lets the Masamune get pushed aside so she can retreat. His eyebrows flicker slightly as she launches a blast of high pressure water at him. The good news is that it striked him in the midsection like a small canonball.<br><br>The /bad/ news is that he barely seems to notice. He barely gets a hitch in his step on impact. "Interesting."<br><br>The SOLDIER raises his free hand, a bangle becoming visible on his wrist, dotted with glittering green, yello and violet orbs. He exerts his will on one of them. The scent of ozone rapidly rises before a massive lightning bolt rains down from above at Athela.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1081|Celes Chere (1081)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Would it be terribly wrong to take just a bit to appreciate the silver-lining of Victor wielding a giant robot fist? That he isn't wielding the truck anymore?<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Because as silver linings go it's a great one.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Celes, at least, is satisfied this ended up revealing something about the convoy. Namely, what the most valuable prize is, and what they should prioritize. Whether they manage it or not is another matter entirely, and it's a bit out of her hands. Right now, she's dealing with a ten foot tall lion-man.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She doesn't try to stop the incoming fist. She's not that strong. Victor would squash her like a pancake. She dives to the right instead, coming into full view as her invisibility spell falls off completely. Her white cape trails behind her, caught under the fist and shredded by the impact. She tumbles onto the ground as a result, a hard impact on the concrete of the highway, but it's much better than being crushed by Victor.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In Victor swinging a piece of the weapon she sees just a bit of a silver lining, too. Her sword flares up, a brilliant, deep red and black. She darts back up, foolishly staying in the Greaver's melee range. She swings-- not for him. For the giant robot fist. Her blade erupts, concentrating the entire blast of a normally destructive spell in its impact instead. Explosive force, almost like fire, but definitely non-elemental.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That might leave her open, but she hopes it's worth it.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:215|Iria (215)}} has posed:'''<br>Iria is agile, but not always fully agile enough to avoid an incoming attack. She gets caught by Parsons's special maneuver (whatever he wants to call it, Iria's not keen on things like that,) and she gets knocked backwards, dropping onto one knee and clutching her head. "Ugh... what the hell..." Iria mutters as she shakes her head, trying to get her mind to focus again. She slaps her face a few times then stands up and scowls at Parsons.<br><br>"Who I am and what I'm doing here is no concern to you!" Iria snaps. "I'm just doing what I have to do! Now I'll give you one chance to stand down, or I'm gonna have to really turn on the pain!" She's bruised and battered, but she's also mighty pissed.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1096|Orta (1096)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Orta looks actually kind of surprised that Will is still in one piece. That might be a little dark from someone who may or may not be younger than him. The gun is trained back on him instantly as he rolls to his feet, its line of sight following him unnaturally smoothly. "You came out and shot him! You-"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Orta has to hold the rest as the Dragon throws itself back out of the line of the other special handgun's fire, twisting with a kind of sinuous agility that belongs underwater instead of in the air. Despite being the size of a horse, it ducks the first and second bolts, taking the third on its spinal armour, which splashes the plasma like the organic shell is supposed to do exactly that, boiling away a scorched layer with a static hiss from the beast.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;It circles to a higher vantage point, not hovering in place for Will to keep shooting at, then turns into a steep dive for the errant fist that had flown past him, either heeding Victor's orders of its own accord, or somehow having them communicated to it by its rider without words. Orta keeps the gun aimed at him, acting as a natural turret to hose him down with return fire. Unlike the Solano, her weapon doesn't seem to need to stop shooting at any point, though it seems to lack punch by comparison.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Hoping to keep him suppressed, Orta allows the Dragon to swoop over the mangled trucks, searching for other signs of the giant robot supposedly broken up between them. When nothing becomes apparent, the Dragon actually begins pinging active scans of the convoy, adding the energy signatures of their cargo contents to the enemy contacts shared between the spatial awareness of itself and its rider.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The creature's jaws open wide, and blue-white light builds up between them; a sphere that pulses one, two, three, four times, growing in size and radiance each time. With a nearly subsonic *thoom*, the ball of light bursts apart into four beams of energy, which instantly swerve around the Dragon's head and curve in on Will in bizarrely graceful arcs. Dodging to either side has them curve to follow him, even anticipating his lead rather than chasing behind him. Unlike the handgun, these lasers hurt quite a lot.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:941|Mel Brock (941)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mel takes one look at the crystal, and her telekinetic barrier flags for just a moment. A rat knife gets through, flying right in to hit her in the midsection. It doesn't go through the two layers of bullet-resistant material... but it doesn't have to do that to hit her hard, painfully so. Mel hisses, redoubles her concentration, and focuses on the weapon. This is definitely offworld tech.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;For the time being, she shifts it to her left hand; the bubble of force is doing a good job keeping the assault of the ratmen out when she can actually concentrate, but she can't keep it that large against that many hostiles (or rather, that many hostile minds) for long. So she returns it to a much closer configuration... and starts to metaphorically shoulder her way through the crowd, trying to move on to another truck. She's got to see if there's more of these, or what else she can find of the GIANT GODDAMN ROBOT they just uncovered.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:961|Victor Xix (961)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; That is troublesome. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The explosive weapon (Magic?) goes off violently against the falling arm. It detonates through the armor, smashing plating to pieces, and sends Victor's aim off just enough to hit the bridge instead of Celes - a blow that may actually shake a large chunk of the bridge. This is good - Celes is not going to be crushed to death by an arm being used like a claymore. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; What is not good is that Victor is still using the momentum. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It's not just raw force behind his blows. No, it's quite the opposite - as Victor goes slinging himself forward like a javelineer it becomes blatantly apparent that his movements are jam-packed with as much skill as the Ancient Precursor Locals were capable of jamming into his brain. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A massive, meaty claw-hand goes right for Celes's face, backed by the centrifugal force of the falling arm. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Victor goes to literally slam her face into the bridge as hard as he is physically able. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; On the upside, Victor doesn't lecture her, or banter, or talk much at all! He doesn't have a mocking glare or a sneer or anything like that - just a stone-faced stare as he attempts to deal with Celes in the most efficient way possible.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:'''<br>Kotone Yamakawa gets a good look at the hardware and dman that's some crazy hardware here the League isn't holding back on the weapon and worse? There seem to be parts for a mech or some kind of combat robot. She's not sure about the robot? It does't look like anything Kotone has quite seen before. She listens to the comm chatter now, wiat that robot? Oh god is it the one she thinks it is? William confirms it on the radio. <br><br> She gets to looking but soon she's going to end up having some serious problems here as there are rats, bigger than alley cats now showing up. She's yet to know the horror of fighting or dealing with the Skaven but she's about to learn today only if she sees it, Flamel shows up and just out of reflex for al the good it will do? She sets her cyberbrain to Austic mode, she's not sure if she's about to run into him but as Mel and she are looking for one of the key items in the convoy and she's trying to find it but but soon she's going to have issues with Flamel and possibly RATS? She's moving to the point now she could very well be noticed now at this point.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:'''<br>Even with the rain of bullets at Raine, the Tin Soldier tends to stop every few seconds. This is because August has to divert his attention to act at the same time as his Persona, and cannot fight in two places simultaneously. This is a problem because it's super noticeable, and Raine moves to act on it. His blade slams across the Tin Soldier's torso, chopping straight into it and knocking it back, another silent roar of pain.<br><br>Meanwhile, August takes the feedback, staggering almost to the ground. He steadies himself, and is about to /finally/ move for cover when he senses something coming at him. He begins to turn...and it's too late. Obskeek comes flying, fighting claws thrusting straight into August's stomach. Raine Arland would notice something's up immediately, as the Tin Soldier staggers backwards, clutching at its stomach. But it doesn't vanish, and August doesn't fall.<br><br>No, he attempts to take a shot at Obskeek with his gun to get him off, before riskily diverting his attention for just one second. He can't fight both at once, but he also can't leave Raine to continue his mission freely. So, the Tin Soldier steps forward towards the center of the truck, points that gun up...<br><br>And spits fire. Everywhere. It's moving to engulf the entire truck, to engulf Raine, to engulf the Tin Soldier itself. The Tin Soldier is quickly caught in the flames, and it begins writhing in horrible pain, pratically dancing along the truck as the fire sears its scarred metal. August, meanwhile, falls to his knees, pain coursing through his body from knife, sword, and self-immolation. He tries to move his laser pistol up to shoot at Obkseek, but his shots are unsteady, and he's probably easily disarmed. Welp.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:994|Athela Valemore (994)}} has posed:'''<br>There's still rats all over the place, even with the attempted washout. There is gunfire and stabbing and chaos everywhere. One of the ratmen manage to stomp on the small slug-like pokemon.... Though the Goomy oozes out from under his foot a moment after, leaving a trail of surprisingly sticky gunk in its wake as it oozes under one of the trucks. Water didn't work, so the first rat that tries to get down after the slug is going to get a faceful of indigo Dragonbreath flames instead.<br><br>Meanwhile, atop the truck, this would be that moment where Athela really gets the feeling that she's biting off more than she can chew. Sure, that wasn't her strongest Tide Caller technique, but still, Sephiroth pretty much tanks it like a big bad boss and shrugs it off as nothing.<br><br>Then brings the electrified pain of his own down upon the fight.<br><br>The Thundaga slams down atop the truck, the resulting electrified shockwave forcefully hurtling Athela away with the blast. She hits the top of the semi loudly, sparks crackling as armor skids against the metal surface, then over the end to crash back downward on the windshield of the cab.<br><br>The young woman exhales sharply, and reminds herself that she doesn't have to necessarily win a fight. Just get her allies the time they need to find what they want. That is enough to steel her will again, despite the sting of pushing herself back into her feet. Duty first, she can worry about how badly she gets beaten up doing so afterwards.<br><br>In a surge of motion the knight leaps back into action, the cloak burned and tattered from the materia lighting flaring behind her. The hood was knocked off in the fall over the edge and she didn't bother pulling it back up, so Athela's expression gritted and grimaced in determination is plain to see.<br><br>She doesn't just jump up and towards Sephiroth though. The leaping charge brings her blade heaving down with all the crashing force of a waterfall's descent behind it.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1081|Celes Chere (1081)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She damaged the fist! That's good. Victor is still swinging, and he's more than brute strength. That's bad. But she can use the fact he's still swinging to keep damaging that piece of CODE! That's good. She just needs not to get mauled by the surprisingly as-fast-as-he's-strong Greaver.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That's very bad.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;At least he isn't very chatty.<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Keeps things straightforward.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Victor's non-giant-robot hand grabs Celes' face. He smashes her into the highway. Luckily, she's a lot sturdier than she looks, which means there isn't a big red stain where she gets crushed. Not so luckily, this is a very poor position for her to be in, and the impact's left her dizzy, if not bleeding too. Her hold on Save the Queen tightens. The wind picks up, colored a dull pale green.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She swings, as wide as Victor's hold will let her.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A blast of wind like a tornado gushes out of her sword, trying to knock the Greaver off his feat and away. Really, just 'away'. Into a wall or truck would be a nice bonus, but Celes just wants him not to be holding her skull anymore, and aeroga was the best way she could think of after getting smashed into the bridge.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1051|Millium Argent (1051)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Millium just floats there, watching as Flamel shoves off to go do something apparently more important than stalling her. "Huh..." Well, that's a thing. Wonder what the big issue is? ...It proooooooobably has something to do with that whole giant robot thing happening at the moment. ...Wow. They had a /giant robot/. ...That's kinda bad, isn't it? Millium sighs and disperses her blades, now that she doesn't need to engage in melee combat. ...Instead, she's flying off. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Not to attack the convot or destroy anything. No, she's flying off to help August. Because apparently that guy is in some major trouble! Whoever else is running ranged support can deal with Flamel. She bursts off through the sky and down towards August's position. "Get away from him!" She roars, thrusting out an arm as several funnels form. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; They charge up, gathering energy before several laser blasts burst through the sky, veering down towards that assassin. What was his name again? Obskeek the Ghost?<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1003|Sephiroth (1003)}} has posed:'''<br>As Athela recovers from the crushing might of magic, Sephiroth's expression slides towards approval. He can appreciate and admire tenacity of those who are out of their league and know it and still continue on. <br><br>As the last crackles of electricity zot away from the top of the truck, the SOLDIER turns to regard the knight's return. "Impressive," is all he says. As she races his direction and he faces her head on, she may get the first good look at his face. He's good looking, sure, but the standout feature is his eyes. Inhumanly green, they're slitted like a cat's, which is weird. They also glow faintly. <br><br>As Athela descends in her leaping charge, the Masamune interposes itself between Sephiroth and the woman's blade. The impact is horrific, the clash of metal on metal almost deafening. The power of her blow buckles the top of the truck, cratering it. <br><br>Sephiroth's arm doesn't waver.<br><br>In that instant before gravity takes hold of Athela, Sephiroth moves his arm. He swings the Masamune,, pushing the woman and her blade away with titanic strength. Somebody better go long.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:961|Victor Xix (961)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Victor gets hit right in the chest by elemental wind damage. It tears at his skin and sends him up, up, up, higher than he would like (but not high enough to be a threat to his life). He hangs in the air for a moment, floating at the apex of his arc not by will but by physics. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; It is at that point that he makes up his mind. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; His opponents cannot, in fact, sustain this attack. They are aware of it. He is aware of it. This is not a siege, and they did not know what they were getting into - this is a raid, and they have discovered that their objective is as different as his has become. More than one of them can fly - but can more than one of them carry the heavy CODE pieces? Can more than one of them fly /and/ carry the heavy CODE pieces? And...with enough space between them and their escape route...would they simply abandon the mission? <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; After all...not all of them could fly. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; So as he begins to fall, Victor's rapid-fire tactical mind has already made a decision. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; He drops like a rock, right for Celes. His hands snap backwards like fists. To Celes, it might look like he's about to smash her with weight and force combined, with gravity and raw, overwhelming strength, for a lethal blow. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; If she doesn't move, she probably will be. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But Victor isn't aiming for her. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Victor is aiming to destroy the bridge, and send the whole convoy tumbling into the ravine below. Because Victor will survive. Orta can survive. Sephiroth can survive. Flamel can hitch a ride with Orta. The rats... <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ...well, he was pretty sure they were expendable even to each other, but maybe they had some flying magic. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But what about the enemy? How many fliers did *they* have?<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:604|Raine Arland (604)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The slash strikes true and sends the Tin Soldier skidded away some distance. Good. Raine smirks and regrips his sword, watching as... it seems to go through some odd movements. Falling to a knee, clutching it's stomach... Oh. Oh wait. Shit. Watching as the Persona goes up in flames, Raine's eyes widen a bit. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ...And then he smirks. "Heeeeh. Cute." The red aura roiling off of his blade disperses, and dashes forward, blade held in reverse. Once those flames start getting spit everywhere in sight, the swordsman shields himself with the flat of the blade, allowing the flames to wash over it...and a good amount get sucked into the weapon itself. Like some kind of elemental vacuum. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But he doesn't use this to attack. He runs /past/ the Persona and aims to get into the nearest entry point of the truck. The CODE part comes first. Gotta grab it, if he can, and vacate the premises! <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But that's BEFORE Victor suddenly destroys the god damn bridge! "WHOA-" He teeters on his feet, sinking into a crouch as the truck falls, along with everything else. "Son of a-!" Well, he DID give a warning. "Fragarach! Do the thing!" He calls to the empty air. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A much bigger wind glyph forms beneath him, and he begins to float. Not in suspension, but descending downward as a decelerated rate. At least he won't go splat.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1088|Vatol Halftail (1088)}} has posed:'''<br>The crowd around Mel seems to lessen slightly in the face of the telekinetic field, but only because the Skaven are spreading out. They're grabbing new weapons, an eclectic mix of high tech energy weapons and enchanting melee weapons, and laying into anyone or anything they can get in their sights or arm's reach. The press of bodies surges back towards her, glaive-like weapons crackling with energy swinging down into the telekinetic bubble again and again while the Skaven at the lower parts of the pile claw and scrabble at hard air. Nearby, one of the others tries to deal with something slug-like and ends up screaming bloody murder, clawing at its own face and pitching off the road, thrashing from the dragon-breath until it can't anymore. Its friends decide to go with spear-stabbing instead. That seems slightly safer.<br><br>OBSKEEK THE GHOST moves like his namesake. August recoils and fires at him, and he darts side to side, moving with the sort of agility that a combination of already-inhuman reflexes and intense training provides. He moves to the side, spins, circling his prey, claws low, watching that pistol --<br><br>Millium moves in, manifesting funnels that fire down at the assassin-rat. Obskeek leaps backwards, cloak ignited by the searing energy that barely grazes him. He hisses, planting his feet and catapulting himself into August, charging right into his laser fire with some kind of reckless courage. Or maybe...<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;ELSEWHERE<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A SUBTERRANEAN LABORATORY<br><br>Vatol Halftail sits at a workbench, examining a weapon. It's sufficient as a sidearm, they said. An officer's weapon. Not enough to be worth keeping; there is better. Foolish.<br><br>Vatol runs his fingers over the gilded adornments, carefully lifting it. He points it across the chamber, at a scorched wall with a plate of polished, rune-etched metal hanging on it. He fires.<br><br>The Engineer smiles.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;HERE AND NOW<br><br>...something else.<br><br>August's laser hits the rat in the side of his stomach, burning through the cloth covering. The beam strikes the mirror-bright metal scales beneath, breaking up and refracting the beam into the dirt near his feet. It fuses the scales, leaving them shimmering with heat, but it doesn't penetrate. Obskeek hits him fast, sweeping his legs and striking at his gun-hand with a fighting claw, stabbing for arm and wrist with quick, rapid motions, and then throwing himself into a roll.<br><br>The fire mostly smothers in the dirt. His tail flicks, suddenly visible, and black metal shuriken seem to materialize in the air where it passes. They fly high, a flurry of poisoned weapons aimed to debilitate Millium before his position can get locked down for a second volley. He might not be so lucky this time.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"He can PICK UP TRUCKS," Will yells in that horribly exasperated sort of way that only someone who doesn't believe what is going wrong in his life can manage. "I've shot him before! AFTER he used me as a club! He'll be fine!" Will's mind boggles at the situation he finds himself in. This is the SECOND time he's run into this particular giant, and the possibility of its power being turned against his home is frankly terrifying-- if anything, bantering with the dragon-rider is helping him keep himself from /completely/ losing his shit.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Not that it helps much, because that girl's got a gun almost as crazy as his! Will grits his teeth as tight as he can manage as the world seems to fall apart around him. Celes is punched into the highway. August is /shanked/ and he... He has a dragon-girl shooting at him. Bolts of blinding green energy pour down around him. Another smashes into his chest, vanishing again into that breastplate. The scent of burnt flesh wafts into the air. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;More and more shots pour down. Will's cloak is potholed by green blasts, his voice cracks as the pain works its way out of his throat in a terrible scream. "Damnit," he yells, "We can't let them get this thing-- this monster!"<br><br>More pieces reveal themselves. Mel finds herself staring at what looks like shoulder and upper arm. Kotone finds a leg, and Orta finds... A pelvis? No chest yet, though. No head, either.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;But the situation's deteriorating regardless-- and Orta's pet dragon just breathed a quartet of homing lasers right at him.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Victor...<br><br>Victor crushes the bridge.<br><br>The force of his blow shatters the concrete construction. A blast of hydraulic force follows as the aqueduct below is ruptured into the swamp. Water floods the already drenched landscape.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Will's eyes go wide and quiver for a moment... Before suddenly sharpening, dagger-like. He drops low, braces himself, and then suddenly /surges/ forward, faster than anyone on two legs has any right to be. A high pitched whirring noise screams out from under him. "Hrrrrrrrraaaaaah!" He rushes forward, /through/ the gap between the dragon's breath. "I can't let this happen! There're too many lives!" Will yells, reaching forward with one arm...<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A crackle of electricity. A whirr of an unspooling cable. Orta would feel something catch on her dragon's leg-- and would see a desperate Chaser surging up along a grappling hook straight for her. His weapon is aglow.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;At this range, the difference in firing rate doesn't matter. Will aims, and fires... Downward? A blast of plasma launches him up at tremendous speeds, until he sweeps back up and overtop of the dragon-rider. "Sorry, but I can't! I can't let you use that weapon! There're people--" He aims, again, at that same section of armor he'd managed to connect with earlier. Bolts of plasma arc out as fast as he can pull the trigger. Solano's barrel begins to glow white-hot! "There're people I need to protect!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:941|Mel Brock (941)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mel is doing the best she can to push her way through the crowd, but they're not making it easy; ironically, there'd be less difficulty if she could make her telekinetic bubble even tighter around her, but that would start risking some of that crackling energy actually reaching her. So she's got to push at more than arm's length, shoving and trying to get by them to reach the next truck, which... also isn't the piece they're after. "Dammit, where is-"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The entire bridge lurches and shudders.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mel happens to be looking towards Will's fight when Xix takes the tableflip solution. Her eyes go wide, for a moment forgetting about the ratmen around her. "Oh, you have got to be /KIDDING ME/-!" There is already a deep, frustrated fury in her voice, because her choice is already made, without even an instant's hesitation or care.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She has decided to hate herself for the next few days in favor of not letting her allies die.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Marshal's hand comes up to her cheek. She yanks off the small device clinging there. She whips her arms to either side. And an absolute torrent of telekinetic power erupts from her in all directions, blasting back the Skaven. "GRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH-!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Shimmering, gleaming flickers of purple light ripple around the bridge, from end to end. Like watching purple sunlight reflect off a turbulent lake, they seem to envelop every cracked piece of bridge, every large chunk of concrete, even the water shifts as if it's hitting something solid - though she can only /sort of/ keep it properly flowing. Plenty is leaking out already. The area around Mel herself has become a storm of kinetic force, the Marshal lifting up off the ground, longcoat billowing, her ponytail snapping free of its tie to let her hair flow loosely in the psionic wind.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Most importantly, her eyes are aglow with purple light.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Who you are and what you're doing is our concern." Parsons responds curtly. "We have warrants for investigation into many things. Who do you work for? Who is making you do this? What further intentions do you have with these supples? Who do you work for?" He's really focused on that last one. "We will not stand down. You can do what you like with the trucks now, but do not interfere in the more important matters the League is engaging in. This is a restricted area."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He's stopped long enough to not set off Iria again. This just so happens to be long enough for Victor to snap the bridge like it's made of gingerbread. "Like that." He says, firmly, as the League promptly attempts to drop its own suppy convoy into a ditch. Honestly, Agent Parsons doesn't entirely understand what's going on, but he knows he's learning a lot of it.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He's ready to glide, ready to take a leap and hold it, but it doesn't stick. The ground under him cracks and lurches, but a sudden rush of telekinetic energy hoists everything back up, letting him slam back onto the ground. "You know," He says. "It sounds like you should leave. Unless you can fly, your friend's impressive psychokinetic abilities probably can't hold up long. I can break my fall, but you can't." He gives Iria the staredown. Mel's drawn his attention to the shoulder she'd just about found. He can't get near, not with psychic power that intense on display. He's a Psychonaut, and he knows the superior psychokinetics when he sees it. But...<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;What Mel Brock is doing must take tremendous focus. While she's stopping that, if he can just... Reach his own little telekinetic hand through the storm and pluck the shoulder up... And that's white literal. A translucent black hand of telekinetic force is trying to sneak through the storm and poach the mecha part while Mel is, to say the least, /very/ distracted.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1081|Celes Chere (1081)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Victor comes down like a hammer. Celes, still more or less in her own crater, panics and rolls to the side, hoping that's enough. It mostly is, as she gets flung off the ground by the impact and crashes into Victor's discarded truck, and then hits the highway again. To say she groans is an understatement, as she manages to rise to her feet and lets out what could probably pass off as a groan but is more like the insane mutterings of someone who just had the daylight knocked out of her.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Then the ground shakes, and she realizes what Victor has done. "Are you... are you willing to kill all of your men just to spite us?!" No, maybe he won't kill his 'important' men. But all the officers and soldiers of the convoy, the drivers? Can THEY survive the crash?<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She could attack Victor. But that's a losing battle. So instead she's going to make him have to split his attention. Her sword flashes, bright white. Celes speeds up, the flow of her time accelerated for a moment. Hasted, she rushes for the damaged giant robot fist Victor had to discard. She's going to grab it, awkward as it'll be to hold on to, cast float on herself, and leap off the bridge.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In her mind this is a good plan.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:994|Athela Valemore (994)}} has posed:'''<br>The rat-men hunch down and resort to stabbing under the truck with their spears. A few of the jabs would feel resistance as they connect, but the dragon-slug is using Protect to shield himself while slithering out from under the truck on the other side. It was much a diversion as his trainer had intended, keeping their attention for an amount of time. But the Goomy didn't really want to deal with dozens of pointy-sticks on its own and was slicking a slimy retreat in the opposite direction.<br><br>It really says something when a man can take a blow with such immovable stance that the damage just crumples the area around him instead. It's only an instant that the two weapons collide with resounding force, but that moment seems to linger forever due to the intensity.<br><br>Whoever or whatever this cat-eyed man is, it is definately not of the standard humanity. Not by a long shot.<br><br>It really says something when a man can take the power of a strike with such unmoving, unflinching position that it's the -vicintiy- that soaks the damage instead. Well, that's damage to another truck, at least? Yeah, Athela doesn't have much else at the moment.<br><br>Nor does she even get a chance to put her feet back on the ground. Sephiroth swings before she can, and one arm is all he needs to slam Masamune into her gut and heave the young woman hurtling into the air!<br><br>On the bright side, she doesn't have to worry about evacuating the bridge collapsing after the massive man smashes into it like a meteor. There is still the matter with being forcefully put airborne, though.<br><br>This would have a much worse outcome if it wasn't for being near water. As is, being battered and winded doesn't do her any favors, but as she reachs apex and starts to drop back down Athela clenches her eyes shut in concentration, reaching out. The Tide Caller is answered though, and a spout of water spirals up from the aquaducts below. Landing in that is hardly comfortable either, but at least inside the watery surge she can use her abilities to bleed the momentum off her fall and just hit the swampy waters below in a splash instead of a crushing impact.<br><br>The bridge is a bad place to be. Goomy appropriately bails out, also riding the waterspout like a slide to get away from the possible collapse.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:'''<br>The Tin Soldier does not react to Raine. It cannot, as it is too busy burning to death. It also cannot escape the bridge, because August is currently not controlling it and it is taking too much damage to simply disappear.<br><br>August doesn't react to Milly coming in with the assist. He doesn't react very much at all, because his gut is stabbed and he's bleeding pretty heavily. Obskeek easily disarms him, claws striking into August and cutting him up even worse. He should fall, by now. He should collapse to the ground and blackout. But he doesn't. While Obskeek is distracted with Milly...<br><br>August takes his last chance. He dives at the rat assassin, moving to tackle him to the ground. His fists ball up, adrenaline roaring through the teenager as he just strikes at Obskeek, over and over, attempting to beat him to death with his fists. This is a horrible, terrible idea. But August isn't in a place for good ones.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:215|Iria (215)}} has posed:'''<br>No, Iria can't fly or anything like that. And while Mel isn't exactly a friend, she doesn't want to be caught by the falling bridge either. "Dammit, gotta run!" She yells out as she runs as far away from the area that the bridge could crush her in. "I hope she'll be OK..."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1003|Sephiroth (1003)}} has posed:'''<br>Sephiroth watches Athela go sailing with a mostly disinterested expression. It's about then that the bridge starts to crumble. Then it doesn't crumble because Psychic Power. He frowns a little, regarding the floating woman before he hops down from the wrecked truck. <br><br>He looks at his sword hand with a frown. Is that a cramp? Interesting. He looks forward again, and starts walking calmly towards the end of the bridge that Victor and Celes are fighting at. He's not going to intervene, he's just trying to get off of the bridge.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1051|Millium Argent (1051)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Well. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; That rat was faster than Millium expected it to be. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; August was also DUMBER THAN SHE EXPECTED HIM TO BE! <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Damn it, Augustus Caesar!" She grinds watching as he dives for OBSKEEK THE TERRIBLE... or was that Ghost? Whatever! But unfortunately, she's kind of tied up now! Specifically poisoned shuriken veering upward for her! "Ack-!" She panics and quickly floats aside. ...But not in time to clear the area. One shuriken strikes her in the arm and she hisses in pain, yanking the thing free and tossing it aside. "Ow ow ow..." <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; If it was just a shuriken, Millium would have been fine, but... Suddenly she pales and a she brings a hand up to her mouth, covering it. With herculean effort, she keeps her lunch down, but teeters in the air. "Ugh... Poison...?" She shakes her head rapidly and steels herself, taking a deep breath. With August all over the assassin-rat, she can't just unload a full volley on them. PLUS THE BRIDGE. AND MEL. DAMN IT. CHANGE OF PLANS. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Ignoring her sickness for as long as possible, Millium bursts downward, soaring through the sky and aiming to grab August and drag him away in flight to clear the bridge. No point in continuing to fight!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:961|Victor Xix (961)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The bridge lurches, and doesn't fall. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Interesting. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Victor doesn't have to look up to see the source; his magnetic sense is already telling him exactly what the source of the strange effect is. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The longer that effect is sustained, the less effective his tactic becomes. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Victor moves to grab the arm - but Celes already has it, and is over the bridge. Victor can do a lot of things, but he can't *fly*, and that means Celes (and the arm) is effectively out of his reach. That's...frustrating, but he'll make do. The arm wasn't.../the most/ important piece. He wasn't sure if the CODE would work without it, but he knew the head and chest were probably more important, simply by process of elimination. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Victor swings his eyes towards Mel. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "Let us see how much strain you can take," He declares as soldiers scramble away, running for the hills. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; He hoists the fallen truck, the one he had swung at Will at the battle's start. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Then he slams it down like a jackhammer into the bridge. It rises again. BOOM. It falls again. It rises again. BOOM. It falls again. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Victor is going to keep hammering away until the pieces of the convoy fall to the ground below, and he and the others can pick through the pieces at their leisure. The soldiers, though on their own, will probably survive - Victor, or Orta, or one of the others, probably has some trick to rescue them. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; For now he has a tactic to execute.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1096|Orta (1096)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Orta keeps her aim trained on Will with all the human error of an industrial laser cutter, focusing him under a withering hail of fire that just never, ever, seems to stop. For how big and bright they are, the energy bullets aren't quite as deadly as they seem like they should be, but she must have fired well over a hundred rounds without pausing, or even feeling the recoil. The Dragon banks and glides to follow him, effortlessly angling its body and turning its wings so that she has an unrestricted line of fire on him at all times, as if it were looking straight through her eyes.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"You can't have it! It doesn't belong to you! You'll do terrible things with it!" Orta sounds almost aggrieved at the idea of Will getting ahold of the giant robot that she just now knows exist, as if the matter were personal. The bridge is of little consequence to her, high up in the air on top of her trusty, winged friend. She seems content to watch Will drop as the volley of lasers accelerates towards him, closing in on four sides, perfectly spaced.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She feels the yank on the Dragon's leg at the same time it does, holding on to keep her balance as his weight destabilizes the two, and leaves her sharply leaning over the side with a wild flutter of her scarf. She has to switch her gun to the opposite hand, aiming down at Will as fast as she can, but before she can even pull the trigger that doesn't seem to exist, he goes vaulting right over her.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There is a brief moment where she is looking up at him, and he is looking down at her, both over the sight lines of their respective weapons. Orta looks straight into his eyes without any hint of the lackadaisical girl who had fallen face first off a truck a minute ago, but further without any hint of understanding of what he's talking about. Her grey gaze is so calm as to be machine-like, glinting with the reflection of Solano's white hot glow. A flicker of comprehension, and then emotional concern soon goes through her, but it isn't at the mention of people who need protecting. Those words fall completely flat in the face of her realizing he's aiming for the Dragon's existing injury.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She fires simultaneous with him. Both guns go off at the same time, and of all the things, her bullet intercepts his, too perfectly to be an accident. As is predictable for hitting a charged plasma shot, it explodes in the air, and pretty violently, consuming her own shot without effect. The force is enough to throw both her and the Dragon into a downward tumble.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The mount lets out a crackling shriek of thoroughly distorted pain, before righting itself catlike quite a ways down, skin scorched and armour flaking all along its back, except a clear space around Orta herself, weirdly. It pounds its wings to regain level flight, where she leans heavily against its neck, steadying her aim again. "Please. Just hold on for a little longer. We've almost got them. Just a little more."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The two of them accelerate, gaining distance from Will. Orta bites her lip, fixating on the shimmering shape of Mel in the middle of the storm, holding up the collapsing bridge. "If we get her, everyone can go home safely." she says aloud, 'everyone' apparently only including the League. In response, light shines between the Dragon's jaws. It pulses and grows brighter multiple times. Its Rider watches Mel, hearing the little bleeps in her head. On the fourth pulse, the gathered energy bursts into another volley of electronically booming lasers, this time going for a stationary target, who /looks/ like the vulnerable lynchpin.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Focusing all her attention on the lady not actively fighting is probably a hugely bad idea. Orta doesn't seem to realize that. She goes for the robot pelvis she found earlier instead, leaving the lasers for their mark.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:'''<br>Kotone Yamakawa dinds the leg gets a good look at it but there isn't no way she's going to be able to make off with the leg. Heck even if she had her matter maniplator with her the thing looks like it would be too much for it to take in in one go and they'd need it intact if they ran off with it right? She also listening on the comm as she hears MEl's warning. She's not even goign to think twice she's going to /trust/ Mel's warning trust in her fellow Paladin and get the heck off the bridge. She's thankfully got he mens to do this and she really waits she looks to Ira for a moment then to Flammel and calls out. <br><br> "I'd not stay here if I were you!" <br><br> With that Kotone is going to drop cloak and start to haul tail with inhuman speed as she's going to get off the bridge by any she can but she ould fall prety to the rats or something else.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:604|Raine Arland (604)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ".....Well." <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Raine eyes the tin soldier for one moment. And then Mel, keeping the bridge up with all the force in the multiverse, then, he just shrugs and moves to get into the truck and retrieve the CODE part. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; That other stuff'll sort itself out. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Probably.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:941|Mel Brock (941)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Mel is in no place to stop Flamel. The telekinetic torrent pouring out of her might make it difficult to actually get ahold of the arm, but if he can navigate that, it's his. Her entire focus, her entire power is turned to the bridge right now, coat and hair both flowing outward as she exerts the full, unfettered reaches of his power. Now, Xix, on the other hand. Xix is very much forcing her to pay attention to him, because he is directly interacting with her power. The assault doesn't hurt her... directly. Bue he's forcing her to push back against that strength while she's already at her upper limits, and that strains her body even further. Her glowing purple eyes turn in his direction-<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Those lasers don't manage to get through the storm cleanly. But enough energy gets in that the searing blasts earn a yell of pain from the Marshal. Her eyes dart up to Orta, hanging in the air, presenting a clear and direct threat. Then to the Tin Man, completely aflame. And then finally, back around, to settle on Victor Xix.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And through all the sound of a psychic unleashing incredible power, her voice manages to ring out clearly just once. "Hey! Hey, fuzzbutt!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The road drops out from under Victor entirely.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Fuck you."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She lets go entirely of the section of road that the Greaver stands on. Lets it drop away, lets the water flow down after it. She also lets go of the section the Tin Man is on... briefly. Long enough to let the Tin Man itself drop into the water. Then that section lights up with purple energy again, and finally there are glowing violet eyes pointed Orta's way. "And you! I am in the middle of saving goddamn lives here! Piss off and let me do my job!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That section of road is suddenly flung up into the air, straight at Orta and her mount.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:961|Victor Xix (961)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Mel removes her power. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This is a critical mistake. Had she /dragged him down/, it would've been a different story. But her power, her power shows up in his magnetic vision. It tingles and distorts and bubbles and buzzes. It is a distorting rainbow in his senses, a humming and thrumming that demands part of his attention be associated with that. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Then she removes it, and that immediately informs him of a fact: gravity is about to take hold. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; So the instant she removes her concentration, Victor *leaps*. The ground below him goes flying downwards. His foot plants against the falling truck, now deprived of the highway. Another *leap*. He cannot fly, but anyone watching right now would think that, perhaps, that isn't /that/ huge an impediment. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Greaver does not stop. The instant he touches down in a spot, he's moving again. He dances next to his own fleeing soldiers, banking on Mel's kindness and desire to 'protect lives'. He darts between these people, never stopping for long enough to /come to a rest/, as he goes right for the part Orta dropped. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Greaver lets out a thunderous, ear-splitting roar. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "I WILL NOT PERMIT IT!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1088|Vatol Halftail (1088)}} has posed:'''<br>August does something reckless and stupid and, actually, no, that's a pretty solid idea.<br><br>Obskeek gets tackled to the ground and beaten like a bully who just discovered the meaning of 'nerd rage.' He fights back, biting and scratching and stabbing at August while his face gets beaten in, but August can /feel/ the progress. There's a definite, satisfying feeling of tenderizing something that will soon just be meat on the ground, a sort of catharsis that might just be the blood leaving his body.<br><br>Just when he might be about to finish the job, though, Millium swoops in and the assassin takes advantage of the brief opening. Obskeek fumbles with a hidden pouch, managing to draw a bone effigy out of it in one hand and spilling the rest of the contents onto the ground. He snaps it with his fingers, and explodes into a cloud of sulphuric smoke with a very distinct 'BAMF' echoing from where he lay.<br><br>He's gone. The rest of the Skaven start to scatter. August gets... a couple flat disks of some kind of greenish rock and a few stab wounds.<br><br>Victory...?!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:894|August Kohler (894)}} has posed:'''<br>The Tin Soldier's in no place to argue about falling into the water below. It submerges as the bridge falls, the fire quickly being doused. It disappears shortly afterwards.<br><br>August wants to keep beating the Skaven to death. He's being fueled by pure survival instinct, 'kill to live'. However, he's in a pretty sorry state, so Millium is easily able to drag him off, despite physical protests. August is carried off, leaving him with only some weird fragments of some rock, blood on his knuckles, oh, and all of his blood pouring out of him. Woops.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I'm telling you," Will yells through the roaring wind, "All I'm going to do with that thing is to make sure nobody finds it or uses it ever again!" His body is blackened and burnt. For all that his suit of Ancient armor protects him from blasts of energy almost exactly like the ones Orta is throwing around, the sheer /number/ of shots has still taxed it to its limit. All that excess heat has to go somewhere-- and the only place for it to go is right into Will's body.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And then Orta goes and blows up one of his own plasma shots. The blast ripples, the containment field collapses, a cloud of superheated gas consumes them both-- but apparently, Will knew not to breathe. He still screams. It STILL burns. The dragon twists and turns, his arm is turned into a fulcrum around which his body is tossed like a ragdoll.<br><br>But he doesn't let go. He hangs on! He can't-- he can't just let them get away with enough to put this thing back together--!<br><br>Then he sees it.<br><br>He /hears/ it.<br><br>Victor, going for the pelvis.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Dangit--" Will growls. His arm spasms and the hook comes away from the dragon's leg moments before Mel's boulder impacts. It falls limp, the muscles strained and screaming against any attempt of movement-- so he forces it with his other arm. The grapnel launches again with an electronic crack and snags the pelvis.<br><br>It reels in. Will surges up at it, the wind whipping in his face. "I won't--"<br><br>He turns, finding himself trapped between Victor and his prize. In a split second, he'll be a fine, red mist.<br><br>Except for the gun aimed right at the Greaver's face.<br><br>"I won't let you put this thing back together!" Will roars. He depresses the trigger, the Solano's barrel glows <span class="bold_fg_w bg_n ++ hw">WHITE</span> as a catastrophic blast of plasma erupts from its very heart, "I AIN'T GONNA HAVE IT!"<br><br>If this doesn't stop Victor, he's a dead man.<br><br>Even if it does, he and that part are going tumbling into the swamp.<br><br>Let's hope Will's tougher than he looks.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1094|Flamel Parsons (1094)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The hand has a bit of a tough time getting ahold of things in the midst of that psychic storm. But once it has a grip, Agent Parsons is going to /keep/ it. The good thing about Psychonaut telekinesis being grip-based is that once they have a hold on something, it's much easier to keep that hold on something. Flamel slips it closer to him, and then, while people are busy with other topics, activates his invisibility, rubbing himself out of perception for the enemy.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Another of those big black hands rises quickly, shooting up into the air. It's ready to grab onto whatever passes by to airlift extract him, hopefully letting him escape quickly with his piece of the machine. "Operation compromised, I need extraction." He says, in that same faux-MIB friendly tone. "As soon as possible, please." These collapsing bridge fragments are worrying him. Mel might give up any any time.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:'''<br>Meanwhile, after peeling through a PILE OF BURNING WRECKAGE, Raine Arland finds... A glassy eye peering up at him. There's no light in it, nothing to indicate that it'll activate any time soon, but it's staring up at him regardless. It looks like he found the head!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:961|Victor Xix (961)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Terminal shoots him in the face. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Victor lets out another thunderous roar as his vision is consumed with pain, though he closed his eyes fast enough not to be blinded. His magnetic senses go mad. Plasma burns into flesh thick and durable as concrete, sizzling and melting through Victor's eye. His eyebrows burn off instantly. Part of his hair catches fire, for the second time in the last two months. The plasma bolt blows out the back of his head. Were it not for the instantaneous cauterization, there would be blood everywhere. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Will and Mel are both treated to the sight of the Greaver's head blown open, a full quarter simply /obliterated/. The Greaver stutters only briefly, the massive war-weapon's motion a stammer, like a frame-by-frame play of claymation. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As Will, and the pelvis, go tumbling into the swamp below, the Greaver's lips twist into a snarl. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; They had the torso, they had the head. They could retrieve the rest from the swamp. But... <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But the CODE couldn't be assembled. Not without the pelvis and the arm. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; He had had enough of mercy. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The semi-headless Greaver turns away. He would recover from the fall before the boy did. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Now, he simply /waits/ for Mel to give up.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:604|Raine Arland (604)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "....Huh." <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The truck is kind of still on fire. Mel is still holding up the bridge. And he can't fly. If she lets go, He's gonna take a nice fall. ...Actually that's not a problem. He grins at the sight of the eye and sweeps away enough of the other burned wreckage to reveal a portion of the head. "Jackpot." <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; He looks aside. "Fragarach. Do the thing." He says, causing the air to shimmer as a white figure materializes. She gestures to the head, causing it to become surrounded in a glow and start to levitate. And then she dematerializes. "Alright. Objective complete. Let's get the hell out of here!" <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And he vaults out of the burning truck, head floating off after his movements. He hightails it without aiming to engage anyone else. As per the changed objectives.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1051|Millium Argent (1051)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Millium flies far the heck away, getting out of the area of the bridge, before she lays August down onto his back and immediately starts to apply first aid. She's no staff chick, no mage, or anything like that. But she's got some medical supplies! It'll have to do for now. Anti-bacterial solution is applied and bandages are wrapped around the most important wounds generously. Best she can do for now!<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:1096|Orta (1096)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Dragon's lasers don't kill Mel where she stands. That's actually a problem. Orta has just fully turned away from the woman when she hears the mature language being hurled her way, looking back just in time to see the other thing being hurled her way: a sizable chunk of the aqueduct.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The two of them don't have time to maneuver. The Base Wing isn't fast enough. It crashes into them head on, shattering into blocky pieces, and eliciting the mixed shriek of a young girl and the synthesized eagle cry of an artificial beast, separated by the impact and left to fall a considerable distance to ground.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Orta is not built like a Greaver, but the Dragon more or less is, despite its rather scrawny state, and so it manages to right itself first, trailing drops of blood in its wake as it swoops back under its rider and diligently catches her. Orta keeps her gun in a death grip as she whumps back into her seat, this time actually cut and bruised from the debris that she wasn't mysteriously shielded from. She struggles to draw air back into her, pushing her hair from her vision, and finally catching sight (and ear) of Parsons succeeding in doing the thing everyone was supposed to be doing.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Casting a wounded look at Mel, the two of them fly off again, moving remarkably fast, despite being in no shape to continue fighting the de-limited psychokinetic. Upon reaching him, the Dragon demonstrates the third instance of telekinesis present, though by far the most time. A gleaming bubble of fragile energy encases him and the CODE part in mid-fall when it and Orta draw close, slowing his fall over several seconds until he can more or less hover.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;There is space for Parsons to hop on, but he'll have to keep carrying his prize with his mind. The Dragon looks pretty beaten up, and Orta is breathing pretty heavily on its back, with a number of darkening splotches standing out on her pale skin.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:941|Mel Brock (941)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And Xix demonstrates a much faster reaction time than she'd given him credit for. "Dammit-!"<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Right now, there isn't much more the Marshal can do. Every second she spends holding this bridge up is another second of agony, and if she takes the hand, either she'll have to let go of the bridge to defend herself, or he'll cream her. Pauwel will have to entirely decide the clash with Xix himself - something he does in a way that has her quietly swearing under her breath at him. And Xix... Xix has been shot through the head. And still stands there, turning to look at here. There's a moment where she meets his eyes... eye? He's only got the one right this moment.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And Mel realizes something about his reaction times. And the fact they're basically the only two people left on the bridge.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;So she lets go. Of every piece of the bridge, EXCEPT the part under her, and the part under Victor. This frees up a considerable amount of telekinetic force... and she puts every bit of it she can spare into flinging the piece Victor stands on up into the air.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I hate... repeating... myself," the Marshal hisses, her voice hoarse.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;She then does her very best to reach out and try to grab the CODE's pelvis, and hopefully give Will something to cling to safely. At this point, though, he might be out of range, and her flagging concentration might not be able to snare it in time. It's dicey. But it's the best she can do.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:7|Kotone Yamakawa (7)}} has posed:'''<br>Kotone Yamakawa makes note one to never question the powers of Mel's mind and two she owes Mel majorly for saving their asses in this situation she is mauling she is moving as fast as she can do. She will do wht she can to help August later, right now she has to get clear s and she looks back and then oh dear god Victor isn't going to have non o that. He's not going to have any of that, she turns about to look back but then she moves trying to catch up with everyone /else/. This has got crazy but damn the league really is meddling here she catches sight of Parsons but she's busy aiming to help anyyone who needs help to get away.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:961|Victor Xix (961)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Victor goes up. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; His reaction time is staggered, but only just. There's some clear impairment for having *a hunk of his skull disintegrated by plasma,* and it's costing him. Mel flings him upwards, and it takes him a moment to process what's going on, because he's missing a large chunk of his considerably powerful brain. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Finally, however, he reacts enough to throw himself backwards and fall. He falls feet-first towards the swamp below, towards the trucks and their contents. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; This won't be a casual landing - in fact it is going to hurt a /lot/, and probably shatter both his legs for a while - but it's the only option he foresaw remaining to secure as many pieces as possible. <br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; He'll rendezvous with the others as soon as he can. It might take him a little while. He'll have to regrow a /lot/.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:934|William Pauwel (934)}} has posed:'''<br>Ah.<br><br>He stopped.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Will allows himself a slight smile as he falls back against the giant mechanical pelvis. This, he thinks, is a really weird position to be in. But it's still better than the alternative. He sighs, then, as he sees the clouds and the sky shrink away above him. In a few seconds, he'll hit the swamp, and then...<br><br>And then what? He can barely move, the skin on his chest is burnt to a crisp. Everything and everywhere hurts so, SO much.<br><br>He closes his eyes just a moment before he hits the ground.<br><br>...And slows to a stop as Mel's power seizes around him.<br><br>Well.<br><br>Looks like William Pauwel lives to chase another day.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:941|Mel Brock (941)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Slowly, carefully, the pelvic piece lifts up into the air. It floats over, along with Mel's own debris platform, until both of them set down very gingerly and carefully on the far side of the ravine - the direction the Iskandrian forces were heading, rather than the direction they came from.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As it sets down, Mel herself finally ceases to float, boots touching back down on what remains of the road. She takes a second or two to see that Will is still alive.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;And then she collapses to the ground, rapidly losing consciousness.<br> <br>
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