1677/Kill It With Fire

Kill It With Fire
Date of Scene:	27 February 2015
Location:	Cybertron-2
Synopsis:	Selaine and Duke try not to get eaten by a giant mechanical insect.
Cast of Characters:	Blurr, 677, 708, Duke

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Blurr has posed:
    Cybertron. Once a glowing amethyst of wealth and prosperity. Its surface was once gleaming with the light of life, its streets teeming with activity. Resources were aplenty, and it seemed as if life would just go on forever and ever, just as it was.

    But alas, here we are, millions of meta-cycles (Earth years) later, staring at a barren and desolate expanse of ruined structures; pieces of a once-great civilization. Dangers lurk at every corner of the rugged terrain--and if anyone is here, it's not because they -want- to be. Most of everyone is either dead or has fled the crumbling surface. Well, that's just what happens when people go to war with themselves for not hundreds of years, or even thousands, but -millions-.

    So why is Blurr here? Hiding out in the ruins of the defunct capital city-state of Iacon? Well, he's been on a long-term investigation of the strange behavior displayed by the savage Insecticon horde that has been running wild on the planet for some time. Thus far he and his Union allies have been able to figure out that there's -something-, or someONE, hiding in the multi-tiered bowels of the planet, who is manipulating the Swarm to their will. And whoever that is doesn't want anyone going down there.

    Whoever it is, they're hiding -something-...

Duke has posed:
The Guilmon X, a Digital monster really, has discovered the wonders of Warpgates. While he and Doran have been doing a great deal of hunting together. He still can not shake off the sounds of war or the fact he killed a man by accident.
A fact he has yet to share with Doran in fear his friend will be furious with him and such days to go out on his own for a bit would be ended. So its a secret he keeps to himself and perhaps, one day, he'll share it.

Yet by using the Warpgate, he as come upon a very strange world with massive structures and a giants playground really. His gold eyes observe the barren land of metal, as his tail sways side to side. "Hello?" His voice calls out into the wasteland of scrap. His ear fins dropping back slightly. Is this-- what would maybe come of the Digital World as well if it didn't completely vanish into the Multiverse? Is this-- what life could have become?
Such thoughts cause Duke to frown to himself as he tries to stay observant.

Selaine Marette (708) has posed:
Footsteps ring out, uncertain and clumsy in the ruined haven for beings composed not of flesh, but metal. Their owner is a cowled woman, judging by the persons own shape and bearing a deep frown as she ventures down streets littered by rubbish that only grows more dissatisfied to mask the confusion Selaine, novice tailor and mage begins feels pricking her skin.

Fearfully, she starts when the voice echoes loud and clear with a tighter grip on the metal glided staff currently doubling to be a walking stick. Sweat trickles down her back and slowly, cautiously she advances. Keen ears picking up every stray howl of the wind, every creak now imbued with a certain malice.

"This is a hostile world." She croaks, licking dry lips "Technology...it always drain the land of its primal essence." Another step. "Hmm...hello? Answer me if you are capable. I mean no harm."

Blurr has posed:
    Selaine seems to have a good amount of intuition, but the way this place looks certainly wouldn't feel friendly, even to those who were once native to this planet. The both of them had better watch where they are stepping, as there are bits of sharp broken metal debris scattered across the ground. There are so many shadows, too, cast by the various broken-down structures upon the ground and whatever else lay around them. It's difficult to tell if any of them are moving...

    Meanwhile, Blurr had been monitoring the area from an old safehouse that he'd been lucky enough to find a while back. Likely it had been used by scouts, spies and couriers like himself during the war, before the planet was eventually evacuated. Its cloaking technology had kept it away from prying optics all this time, which is likely why no one's devoured its rations yet. He sighs when he picks up on a couple of unidentified energy signatures nearby, and attempts to hail them on a broadband frequency, requesting they identify themselves, in case they're capable of receiving such transmissions.

Duke has posed:
Duke almost steps on one of those sharp pieces and hops to the side a bit. He eyes it for a moment and his head lifts up, along with his ear fins as he thinks he hears a woman's voice. His gold eyes dart around a bit before, he tries to move a bit toward where he thought he heard the voice, "Hello!" He calls out again, but his voice ends up echoing a bit.
This causes him to wince a bit inside. It be hard to say if he wasn't hearing an echo himself which means finding the direction could be hard, this is about the time his comm comes to life with static.

He rumbles at it, before trying to talk over it. His child-like voice sounding a touch concerned. "Hello?" Is all he gets out, before his ear fins go back up again as he tries to see maybe he /can/ pin point that voice he heard, while at the same time listening to the hail.
Though that is when his gold eyes spots the woman in the distance and they go wide. He then starts to make his way toward her. Jumping over and onto fallen beams and moving at a rather quick clip. His tail aiding in his balance as he runs and attempting to watch where he steps as he runs.

Selaine Marette (708) has posed:
Mid step, the girl catches her clompy right boot on a wickedly sharp piece of metal, warped by heat and force into a deadly spiralling corkscrew. It slices through the old leather like it were butter, causing her to jump away and curse softly "Ragnars left kneecap..." After hopping up and down to ascertain no blood was drawn to the now gaping tear in her heel, she continues onward.

Only to be startled by the rather ear throbbingly thunderous sound of Duke, twisting round to observe this strange beast who speaks and acts almost like a child. Oddly, the sight of him relaxes her, features and knuckle white grasp of her staff loosening a touch even as her hidden ears flick irritably at the slight buzzing noise incurred by the transmission. "H...Hello." Holding the staff out protectively in front of her-she is still ready for conflict at a moments notice, her voice is clipped and precise. Stiffly formal, "Greetings, fellow traveler...I...is this...monstrosity of a city your own? How did it come to be so...what army razed it to the ground?"

Blurr has posed:
    The buzzing on the comms starts to clear up after a few seconds, though there is still quite a bit of interference. << This is outpost alpha-050, Iacon sector three, quadrant 2B, do you copy? Searching for IFF signal, please transmit ID string, over. >>

    Perhaps there is something alive out there after all?

    And speaking of alive, there is yet even further evidence of something or someone out here besides them. A scuffling sound can be heard, like someone digging through the rubble. It's coming from behind the single standing wall of a crumbling warehouse...

Duke has posed:
The Digimon is only around four foot and maybe a few inches taller. Though when Blurr speaks up, the only thing Duke has to say to all that is, "Huh?" Cause that all goes over his head. Yet he slows down as he notices the woman seeming perhaps scared of him.

He smiles softly, his ear fins perking up, as he tilts his head faintly. "Its ok." The his ear fins go back slightly, before he shakes his head. "Nu-uh. I am just exploring. My name is Duke!" he tells her. Blurr may be able to hear some of this actually.

Yet one ear fin lifts up higher then the other as he hears the sound of movement. He gets down low as his tail flicks. Those long claws close to the ground, as he feet claws dig into the metal. He closes his eyes and sniff the air, trying to get a scent of whatever it may be.

Selaine Marette (708) has posed:
Yanking down her cowl to reveal ears tapered to a point, the girl rubs at them furiously as the transmission begins to form coherent language that due to multiversal law she understands without any aid from a local translator.

Still, her evident relief at locating another living, breathing organic lifeform overrides her quiet grump and Dukes guileless reply does the rest, staff settling with a clunk to rest at her side. Bearing hair the colour of springtime and curiously red eyes, she possibly looks no less outlandish than the Digimon she dwarfs at five foot, six.

A rather slender five foot six, admittedly.
Canting her head at his actions, the scrabbling noise in the near distance silences any verbal response; instead one sleeved arm raises and stiffly indicates with a hasty flick of the wrist and head bob towards the lone wall.

If she hears the full message sent by Blurr, Selaine gives no outward indication other than a brief scowl to mask the noticable sheen of sweat moistening her temple.

Blurr has posed:
    Ugh, Blurr grumbles to himself. If the signals on the comms array were right, they'd received the transmission but hadn't responded to it. He supposes he'll have to go out and investigate himself. So he heads for the door and carefully slips outside, intent on -not- drawing the attention of the Swarm.

    Speaking of the Swarm, when Duke searches out the other side of that wall, he'll find a gargantuan insectoid-looking mech there, feasting upon some poor unfortunate organic that might have accidentally stumbled across this planet through the warpgates. It's difficult to tell what it once was, as it has been torn to bits. Its predator is quite hideous looking, resembling some twisted cross between a hornet and a wheelbug; only it is massive. Ever thought about what an insect would look like if it were gigantic instead of tiny, and how incredibly creepy and disgusting it would be? Well, this is -it-.

Duke has posed:
Duke makes sure that the elven like woman stays back, with a paw motion, before he peers at what is on the other side of the wall. He sniffs again and stares. His eye ridges furrow and then realization kicks in.
The Digimon gulps gently as he goes to step back carefully, yet his step leads him to almost tripping and he yelps. That was-- a bad idea. His claws scratch across the metal surface, kicking up possible broken pieces of scrap. "Run!" He yells to the woman.

He moves toward her, only to make sure she /does/ run. Because after that little stumble, that thing could be after them, and if that didn't trigger it... His yell probably sure did!

Selaine Marette (708) has posed:
Panic flares up when Duke shouts, jostling the elbow and magic into action in an eye searing display of shimmering blue fire that reforms, twisting into a dome encasing both Digimon and mage in its protective bubble. The surface gleams, refracting the light into a multicoloured cornea and slowly, like one in a bad dream she begins to stumble away from the horror, aura of protection adhering to their persons but the action has its own consenquences of delaying her considerably, making one elvish meal ripe for the chewing even after she has begun to fumble her way haphazardly through the debris kicked up by the little reptile.

Blurr has posed:
    That would do it. Duke just -had- yelp aloud, didn't he? The creature turns, and is immediately attracted to the smell of flesh. This cursed planet is so barren, that even an Insecticon is unlikely to find anything good to eat. Much of what is left is just crumbling scrap that barely energizes. Organics are usually small and far from good energon, but at least they are a step up from the garbage that covers this entire terrain.

    Despite the protection aura, the Insecticon lunges at the bubble and attempts to tear through it, desperate for even a tiny bit of a meal. Its claws lash wildly out at the shield.

Duke has posed:
The Guilmon X runs for his life and ducks into the barrier that Selaine creates. Those gold eyes stare at the bug as it starts to claw against the barrier, then seems to slightly put pressure on the magic caster. Those gold eyes flicker with blue energy, for a Digimon is more then a being of flesh-- they are digital creatures.

Flame licks around his maw, rushing past his razor sharp teeth, before he rears back his head and goes to blast fire at the robotic Insect. Moving himself in front of Selaine, as he lets out another blast of fire. His tail moving side to side in great aggitation. His pupils wanting to become slits, but seeming to be pulsating between it.

Selaine Marette (708) has posed:
Ordinarily Selaine would never unleash her power and tap into aether reserves to execute a flashy, potentially enviromentally unsound piece of magic to topple an opponent. In fact, her extensive ability is most theoretical and kept to strictly controlled events where she is mistress.

Yet, this land is so bereft of natural life as she terms it, the girl becomes convinced as the beast brings down its claws to slice apart their protective bubble she halts.

Straightening up hunched shoulders, she dramatically spins around with both hands clutching her staff like her life depends upon it.

It probably does.
Gritting her teeth, she mentally conjures up twining blue energies that flow upwards, sealing the rift before the large, concrete blast surging past the wrist and emerging in a crackling arc round her fingertips to wind round and send smacking down, overarm throw almost overbalancing the mage entirely in her valiant attempt to send it over and above Duke, trembling from unaccustomed effort.

Blurr has posed:
    Selaine's bubble holds up remarkably well against the Insecticon's clawed onslaught, fortunately enough for the both of them. The creature seems to take a hint though, and pulls back slightly after realizing that there's some kind of barrier keeping it from its meal. Still, it's not enough to get out of the way of the energy surge that suddenly comes from the deceptively small organic! While Duke's fire attack barely grazed the creature's outer armor, Selaine's blast strikes its target right in the mandibles.

    Hissing, the insectoid reels, rearing backward on its hind legs but not quite falling over. It looks even more vile from this angle, with all of its bladed legs flailing. Wings suddenly energe from its back, beating vigorously in an attempt to throw them off their feet!

Duke has posed:
The Guilmon X stands his ground, he growls lowly and then roars at the Insectoid. It was a rather pathetic roar, but he was trying to be fierce! His ear fins swoop back and he charges right at the diving metal machine. Yet one gets the worst end of this deal and that is Duke.
The Instectoid slams into Duke, cutting across his skin with those bladed fixtures and while some blood is drawn, what is seen is not blood at all. Grid lines and he tear taking on a pixelated fashion across his shoulder to neck. The Digimon staggers back up to his feet, before his eyes narrow sharply.

His pupils go sharp as his eyes flicker with blue light. Flame swarm around his maw once more, but this time more power is pulled before he roars out, "FIRE BALL!" and with a blast of flame from his mouth once more. A ball of flame comes rushing out for the Instectoid. Threatening to impact it and explode if it does so.

Selaine Marette (708) has posed:
Selaine Marette draws closer, adrenaline and recent victory bringing colour to her cheeks and ditching caution to the wind for a split second, that proves painful when a jagged piece of metal landscaping cuts up her instep, sinking past aged cork to bury itself into her not so tough flesh. It distracts her long enough to diminish the flaming torrent cupped in one hand to a lesser puff, fury rouse when the stalwart defender is cut up viciously during his dive forward. Barely registering until after she tracks a thin trail of blood, staggering over to his side that his wounds are not entirely...within the realm of mortal injuries.
Eye widen in tredipidation, she clamps down hard on the hysterical urge to laugh at the entire situation.

The Swarm (677) has posed:
    This bug is taking a lot of fire tonight. Literally. First off, Duke's fiery strike hits one of the Insecticon's wings, exploding and setting it aflame. Then Selaine's lesser yet still scorching fireball burns into a leg as it is still howling from the original attack.

    It screeches angrily, its wing still on fire, and it crouches slightly before beginning to...well, -puke- at them. A green, slimy and incredibly corrosive liquid spews out of its jaws at them, threatening to burn them right back!

Duke has posed:
The Digimon watches as the Insectoid gets what is coming to it and snorts at it. Yet his eyes widen as he notices what is coming next. "Look out!" He yells to Selaine Marette and shoves her aside. The Corrosive hits him square on and he yells in pain.

His pupils go to sharp slits and he grits his teeth in pain still. The liquid burning away at his skin and he nearly stumbles over. His gold eyes shutting close as he huffs out some flames. His claws dig into the ground, a low rumble escapes from him, as his eyes snap open with a predatory look to them,

        +++BADUM+++

His body starts to glow, as the grid lines expand over his body. A field of energy flickers around him as electrical energy sparks out across the metal surface. He stands up far taller then he was. Going up to about six foot four. The ear fins becoming like spikes, hair extending out from his head and two spikes protruding from his eye ridges in the glow of the light.

Once the glow finishes and the data reformed, he lets out a roar that shakes the area, before he snarls his sharp teeth and then goes to leap directly at the Instecticon. He rears back his claws glow brightly as the ignite with plasma and goes to slash it against the metal body of the insect machine.

Selaine Marette (708) has posed:
Observing the winged beasts lopsided, drunken flight would bring a smile to the mages pale and pinched features if Selaine was not still in minor shock from bearing witness to what she cannot understand; living data is far beyond any Girdanian, let alone tolerance.

Yet after the corrosive liquid lands in a smoky splattering that hisses and churns up the very earth she barely dives right to avoid, her first attempt upon clambering up, fingers knotting themselves as she leans heavily upon her weapon is to tap into what precious aether suffuses the landscape to heal him.

Her wooden staff thrums with pent up energy, scored marks burning bright, effervescent blue to be directed through the hands, in a cloud of brightly glimmering mist to descend upon the littlest warrior.

Composed from life itself, it soothes and knits back together what was torn, during this time Selaine stands stock still. Eyes soundly shut and lips wordlessly mouthing a quiet apology to what elemental force still resides in such a desolate wasteland.

The Swarm (677) has posed:
    Mere claws made of chitin or keratin would have simply snapped off if they'd attempted to dig into the metal hide of the Insecticon, but the plasma is much more effective, melting the outer armor and searing into the circuitry underneath. The montrous insectoid shrieks and howls, swiping at Duke in an attempt to bat him off.

    Whether or not that is successful, its body seems to suddenly fold up on itself, rolling up into a disc-shaped form much like a pillbug before it begins to barrel toward Selaine, attempting to run her over!

Duke has posed:
The plamsa claws were more effective, but not effective enough. The Insecticon slams the Growlmon X aside and he goes crashing into the ground below with a loud 'ouf'. It was more like listening to a teenager at this point. As he rolls, he eventually flips himself around. Duke's claws digging into the metal as he huffs out smoke from his nostrils. It is also about here he notices that some healing magic comes from the woman and his eyes soften for a moment with a low, thankful rumble.
Yet his attention turns back to what must be done. "Is that the best you got?!" He roars out at the bug machine, even as he watches it roll right for the elf woman. "..Oh no you don't!!" His voice was indeed more like a teenager and also a low rumble in it.

He charges right after the bug turned ball and then leaps into the air, flipping himself around, before he roars out, "EXHAUST FLAME!" Like the fire ball, he rears back his head and blasts out flame. But unlike a ball... this is a stream of intense molten fire, the explodes across the ground as it impacts.

Selaine Marette (708) has posed:
Smoosh. That is the noise a squishy mortal full of fluids and brittle bones makes in Selaines fevered imagination when snapping her eyes open, she notices the gutted and rent disc rolling at breakneck speed. Towards her, no less.

Turning round, she tries limping away, staff and arms crossed protectively over the unhelmeted head but overlooks one salient fact; it has both speed and initative.
The next several seconds are a pained blurr of suffocation and crushed space, ground into the dirt after what feels like a freight ship slamming into her chest cavity.
Reflexes long lost to memory kicks in and wind turned vicious howls and batters against the pillbug, guided by the feeble hand gestures of the trapped woman beneath. It coaxes and whips the molten flame Duke calls forth, permitting it to reach new heights as the girl sinks back with a faint wince for the heated earth. A bit flatter for wear.

"H...Wh..were you not...my eyes must be playing tricks." She rasps out, biting back the whimper.

The Swarm (677) has posed:
    The rolling disc stops and unfolds once it has crushed its potential meal into the ground, and towers over her, its powerful mandibles snapping threateningly as it prepares to devour her whole.

    But it seems it is not snack time today, as Duke's fiery attack strikes the creature in the abdomen, the molten lava melting part of the creature's body and leaving holes in its armor. Additionally, Selaine's wind causes the fire to rise to new heights, and it burns into the Insecticon's underside as well as scorching its legs.

    It screeches in pain again, although this time it sounds more desperate and less angry. Beating its wings desperately it attempts to fly away, but this is to no avail due to the damage Duke had done to one of them earlier. Instead, it only manages to flop about uselessly, unable to get off of the ground. Therefore it opts to scurry away toward a large access port leading into the Cybertronian underground, where a large network of tunnels and walkways stretch all the way down to the core of the planet.

    And just as the massive creature disappears, another mechanoid, though this one is larger and looks a lot less animal-like, suddenly appears on the scene. Yeah, it's Blurr, having emerged from the safehouse to see who'd been unfortunate enough to find themselves on Cybertron right now. He's a bit battered himself though--it seems he'd run into some trouble as well, which is likely why it took him so long to get here. The Autobot peers down at them. "You guys get the transmission?" He frowns at Selaine's state of injury. "Good Primus, what happened?" Even though he's already got an idea of what happened.

Duke has posed:
The Instecticon runs off and Duke roars in its direction. He almost goes after it.. almost. Instead his gold eyes peer over at Selaine, then dart back to watch it go into the tunnels. He growls lowly, snarling in frustration, before at last huffing out smoke from his nostrils.
The Growlmon X then walks over to Selaine, before he stares down at the woman. Those gold eyes contemplate her form and her injuries before sighing gently. He crouches down and looks at some of the wounds. His claw becomes plasma like, as he goes to touch her skin. Looking to close the wound with heat.

This is though when Blurr shows up and causes Duke to stand at his full height, both of his clawed hands ignore with plasma and he huffs out flames in his general direction. "You want something as well?" He asks with a great deal of aggression in his voice, stepping protectively in front of Selaine. "I just chased off your bug friend! I'll do the same to you as well!"

Selaine Marette (708) has posed:
Stirring fitfully at the timely cauterization of her wounds, Selaine snaps smartly back to consciousness and woozy pain. Though her first murmur is along the lines of 'where has it gone' she soon abandons the line of questioning to attempt sitting up, feeling the stinging twinge of bruised ribs and shakily runs a hand through frazzled hair.
"Thank...you." Her mouth even curves upward in what might have become a smile had it not been for the focus shifting to Blurr, decidedly inorganic and therefore threatening. Her eyes darkens, yet a hand snakes out to lightly touch Dukes clawed hand; gesturing restraint even as the plasma cause her to hastily retrive the singed fingers.

"He...speaks like an ally, his bearing and manner overall...are not like the other." Massaging her sore throat, she continues quietly determined to deter any further battle. "What...and who are you, stranger?"

Blurr has posed:
    Blurr does a double-take. "Friend? -Friend-???" He shakes his head, sighing. Well, he supposes he can't blame the guy. Still. "I'm sorry but the thing that attacked you is -far- from a friend. They're not exactly -anyone's- friend, for that matter. At least not the ones here, as far as I know. In fact, I had to deal with a few of them myself, otherwise I would've been here earlier to help you out. They are in the habit of eating anything alive that happens to cross paths with them." He seems especially concerned about Selaine's state. "Slag, you're in bad shape." he comments, after running a brief scan. "You got somewhere to go for rep--er, medical attention?" he asks.

    "Oh, uh, I'm Blurr." The Autobot replies in response to her question. "I'm Cybertronian, a native to this planet. Or, at least I used to be. I mean I was made here, anyway. No one can really live here any more, as you can already tell." He says, gesturing around the generally ruined landscape.

Duke has posed:
The Growlmon X growls lowly, his tail moving side to side in an agitated fashion. He looks to Selaine when she tries to calm him and then back at Blurr when he explains things. He rumbes softly and its when Selaine tries to touch his clawed hand and nearly burns herself, does he reflexive step back.
Those claws losing their plasma charge and he crouches down about then. His hair bristling for a moment as he closes his eyes. "She needs help." He then looks at Blurr. "...and I am Duke, but.. help her." He then goes to stand back up.

He inhales deeply as he looks at the two. Before he starts to walk off, perhaps back in the direction for the portal. "She is safe now with you here." He glances at the Cybertronian again with a low rumble.

Selaine Marette (708) has posed:
"Through your own folly." Selaine mutters with more than a hint of asperity to colour her tone and make it crystal clear how she views this city; when riled, the druidic side is never far away. Then she belatedly registers his remark and unfortunately picks up on his usage of slag.
Drawing in her breath, her white skin flushes a brillant red and eyes train on him; like gimlets.

"I can..am self repairing, sir." Frost rimes her use of sir, almost spat out. Huffing haughtily through her nose, the girl falls silent for the present, darting a quick, shy glance at Duke. Her unlikely saviour. Unconsiously reaching for him when pain permits, swirl of bluish aether gradually condensing in her palm, other fiercely clutching her staff as if afraid to let it drop. Bestowing in a shower her last benediction upon him when he makes as if to leave.

Swallowing hard. Pausing, embarrassment glowing bright. "Pardon. I...nevermind, I thought you said an...offensive word. Please, let us depart together...I feel no other life like ours inhabits this realm amymore."

Blurr has posed:
    "Er, well I -did- say an offensive word. ButIwasn'tcallingyouapieceoflsag.Iwasjustum..." Blurr glances around nervously. "It was an expletive. Sorry." He says quickly, though not quite as quickly as his previous statement.

    Then she makes it clear that she's eager to get the frag out of here. "Ohrighright." He nods, and his body starts to fold down, somewhat like the Insecticon had rolled up into a ball, only he folds up into a hoverspeeder instead. "I'll get you to our ship, and then we'll figure out where you want to go from there."

Selaine Marette (708) has posed:
In a stagger hop, Selaine manages to eke out the last reserves of her physical stamina to pile aboard a being entirely dissimilar to herself far as the girl is concerned; nor does she particularly want to hold a discourse on why she dislikes the idea because pragmatism always trumps unease.

From there on she would resort to silence and polite, if perfunctory sentences whenever required until they reached base, most of her contemplation spared for what might have befallen such a nation and stripped the land entirely of what she terms 'true life'.

Silently. She has a some tact.