1590/Automated Asassin X

Automated Asassin X
Date of Scene:	16 February 2015
Location:	Urbania
Synopsis:	Eiko gets attacked by a robot.
Cast of Characters:	596, 650

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Eiko (650) has posed:
    Urbania--an incomprehensibly, ridiculously huge cityscape, and therefore a place in which a girl from Tokyo won't feel too far from home. And for someone who's gotten some spending cash, through mostly-somewhat-ethical means, a mall that sells 'everything' is an attractive place to check out. It is, therefore, where Eiko is now. She's clothing shopping, apparently getting a jump start on some cooler Spring clothes, having spent most of her Multiversal career surrounded by the Winter chill.

    She doesn't have any bags, having opted for a delivery option, but does have a fair bit of clothing laid out to one side--with a clerk keeping an eye on it and her--and more under one arm, bustling about with some caffeinated energy.

Zwei (596) has posed:
    The schools aren't safe, the streets aren't safe, the middle of the ocean isn't safe, and no even someone's own house is safe. There's no reason that a shopping mall would be any safer; and it isn't. While Eiko lays out her prospective new clothes, something stalks through the crowd behind her, the ticking of its footsteps masked by vibrational cancellers, and its form obscured by active optical camouflage. It expertly weaves between shoppers, sifting through them in broad daylight without pause or delay, closing in on the girl's undefended back.

    Strangely, it doesn't attempt to simply kill her right then and there. She has a moment's notice in the form of panicked burbling from the crowd and a single scream as the Type-10 Anti-Cursetouched Arma reveals itself for seemingly no reason, stepping out to the front doors of the shop Eiko finds herself in, and raising one arm towards her with the distinct hum of weapon charging. The next instant, the table in front of her explodes into a deadly, smokeless fireball, shattering the windows and blowing tattered scraps of clothing out of the empty holes, but vapourizing the furniture so thoroughly that there is no shrapnel to contend with.

Eiko (650) has posed:
    Eiko has an "oh shit" moment that's not quite long enough to actually deliver the curse. That--is not something that's supposed to be here, that's for sure, and the manner of the appearance gives her the immediate impression that she's the target. (Though, really, she would have guessed she was the target, no matter whom it pointed at.)

    There's seriously nothing in this shop worth a damn for cover, so she doesn't even duck. She turns, leaps, and sprints around the corner that would take one to the shop's restroom. It's a dead end, of course, but she's already been to the shop on the other side, so she knows how the walls are laid out. Her sword is pulled, still sheathed, and smashes through the thin dividing wall in one swing, leading into another back-of-store hallway

    This one's a home appliance outlet, and is at least large enough to give her a clearer path to sprint down. She's not sure if walls made of washing machines and refrigerators will do her much good, either, but that thing DID wait until it had a clear shot to do anything.

Zwei (596) has posed:
    The machine assaulting Eiko is significantly different from the others, if they even shared any form of design similarity to begin with. For one, it actually appears to be humanoid, at least in the loosest definition of the term. The model is vaguely skeletal, with limbs like razor blades only an inch and a half thick from the angle that faces towards it. Digitigrade legs terminate in sharp points rather than actual feet, which somehow keep balance on the hard floor without any difficulty. What would pass for a ribcage is vaguely spherical core of sloped black metal that supports the frame of the spine, shoulders and neck. The head is completely eyeless, and shaped like a hollow arrowhead, which swivels to follow Eiko like a bird. Its right arm terminates in an elongated blade from the wrist down, nearly touching the floor. Its left arm is mounted with what appears to be some kind of compact crossbow shaped device affixed with an obvious gun barrel.

    It takes off after Eiko the moment the dust clears, ripping through the wreckage of the store with a lightning fast stride that barely touches the ground, shooting up orange sparks where the points of its legs make brief contact. It wheels through the hole left by her and through the back hallway on her trail, keeping a steady distance so as to be able to follow her by IR alone. When a wall of heavy appliances gets in its way, it simply fires again, launching a micro-warhead the size of a grain of rice into the drywall and detonating it remotely as soon as it comes into contact with the back of the washing machine behind it, instantly blasting it into hundreds of tiny pieces of molten metal. The bulk of it is enough to shield Eiko from the actual blast wave, but the Type-10 lunges through the hole left behind to close in with her within moments.

Eiko (650) has posed:
    Eiko has a vague idea of what's going on, and it's pretty obvious that she's not going to be able to just run away. It found her here; it'd find her somewhere else. It's probably faster than she is, anyway.

    When she's got half a dozen large appliances between it and her, she figures she has the moment needed to do something besides lose ground. As the fridges turn to burning wreckage, and she's blasted by the heat, she's squinting in the bot's direction while holding something she /didn't/ have last time she fought these guys--a REPCONN Model A17 miniaturized plasma caster. It looks mainly like a bunch of tubes messily strapped around a needle-barreled gun, but she's seen what this New Vegas weaponry can do, and that's turn whatever it hits to a gross, green sludge.

    She's already firing once she's figured out the direction it's coming at her from. Firing, and dashing toward the store entrance.

Zwei (596) has posed:
    In the brief moment the Arma ducks through the newly created hole in order to cut straight to Eiko, it has nowhere to dodge to either side, leaving it a prime target for her plasma weaponry. However, though it may not look like it, certain design specifications have been made to deal with the abilities she had shown during her brief tangle with the Collective's automated forces in the past. A plasma gun isn't actually one of them, but it falls under the same portfolio one of those features was meant to cover.

    The Type-10 raises its left arm over its 'face', causing the prongs to either side of the wrist-mounted device to snap open, and then a sharp, crackling hum to fill the air for a split second. The space in front of the device ripples violently as the plasma contacts it, as if reflected into the surface of a recently disturbed pool, meeting the blast with precise counter force that sends superheated matter spirally out in every other direction but forward, leaving a wide circle of melted slag around it. Rather than being equipped with a passive energy shield, the unit's defenses have been condenses down to a single, actively employed barrier, increasing its efficiency enough to directly block Eiko from making physical contact with it should she attempt to.

    Not to be deterred, the machine lunges from the back end of the store to the front, carving gouges in the tiles as it skids around to cut Eiko off. Advancing on her with a pair of aggressive steps, it lunges forward with its bladed arm like a fencer, moving with superhuman speed and grace.

Eiko (650) has posed:
    Eiko was really hoping that would at least make a dent, but given what she'd seen previously, couldn't exactly count on it. This is like one of those bosses designed specifically to frustrate everything the player can throw at it. Rather, it's exactly that, recontextualized. 'Trying things until it kills her' might be all she has, but she likely can't afford to take a hit and just try again.

    "Sabram!"

    As the machine lunges at her, a wall full of televisions suddenly static out. On each appears a single, feline eye. "Oho..." A deep voice booms from dozens of speakers, most of which still read 'MUTE.' One of the sets is actually turned off, but audio-video continues, regardless.

    Eiko's sword practically explodes from the sheathe in roiling, black smoke. She's gotten pretty good with this, at least compared to how she'd flailed with it months ago, and she IS superhuman--but she's nowhere near an expert. Chances are good that her first parry is as much luck as anything else, and that she won't be able to do that more than a few times. This is going to matter a lot on how the machine aims.

    "What an INDUSTRIOUS people you are..." The speakers continue, filling the store with that voice, each eye moving to track the assassin 'bot.

Zwei (596) has posed:
    For a brief moment after Eiko deflects the first blow, the machine turns its eyeless gaze towards the television static, either distracted by the new phenomena, or intelligent enough to recognize something supernatural going on. Its 'feet' screech across the floor as it slides one full turn around Eiko, letting off high pitched tapping as it reverses its footing and presses forward again. With the blade built into its arm rather than clutched in hand, its swordsmanship is significantly different than that of someone using hands, resulting in less flexibility in its arc of motion, but far more power. For something that looks like it could be compacted down to a foot wide cube, it is alarmingly strong, and the complete lack of air resistance on its movements only increases it speed.

    Unsure of what kind of powers Eiko's sword could possess, it approaches cautiously but aggressively, deliberately taking a step forward whenever she takes one back to pressure her out of the store and into the hallway. Its arm sweeps back and forth in a blurring ribbon of black, not so much as ruffling her clothes, no matter how close it might pass. As soon as it gets near the threshold, it will suddenly step back and then throw its shield arm out, aiming to slam Eiko hard enough to launch her out into the open.

Eiko (650) has posed:
    Unfortunately for Eiko, the eyes on the screen, despite being obviously a supernatural occurrence, don't seem useful for anything beyond being weird. They don't seem to be, at least. They are actually just what they appear to be--eyes. They watch. Similarly unfortunately, that sword of hers has no particular powers relevant to this situation. Not yet, at least. And what it does have wouldn't be activated by touch.

    And then she gets slammed hard. She takes it on her blade, which continues to do nothing, but gets launched out of the shop, losing her balance in the progress. She tumbles, one hand on her sword and the other hitting the ground, her plasma caster thankfully stowed.

    The tumble turns into a one-handed backflip, as she launches herself over the railing and drops down the open-air middle of the concourse. She doesn't actually shout "SUCKER" but she's thinking it pretty hard. Despite the commotion, there are still bound to be people everywhere--especially on the other levels. She swings back in to the walkway on the next floor down, and starts running through the crowd as fast as she can. Black smoke follows her the entire way, reaching out and--apparently harmlessly--grabbing at someone every few steps. "You, and you, and yours, and yours--nasty, man, freakin' disgusting, but I'll take it."

    She's gathering every noticeable illness of anyone that comes within five feet of her in the crowd. The fact that she's putting all these people in danger doesn't seem to matter much to her.

Zwei (596) has posed:
    The Type-10 can't actually tell what Eiko is doing with the black smoke, but it knows well enough not to simply let her keep doing it. She wouldn't be going through the trouble if it didn't provide her some kind of tactical advantage. The instant she disappears from view, the Arma makes a flying leap from the storefront, well over the railing, and onto the floor below, stabbing an inch deep into the floor as it lands with freakishly perfect balance.

    Predictably, civilians are starting to scatter, stumbling out of the way as the night black machine hurtles through their ranks, simply slamming them away whenever they don't clear the path fast enough. Once it grows too dense to shoulder through with good time, it makes another jump right over, tapping onto the floor ahead of Eiko once again, intent on not letting her escape. It aims its left arm at her feet, and fires a triple tap of fusion rounds, aiming one behind her, to the left, and to the right, simultaneously assaulting her from all sides with bone breaking concussive fireballs and a healthy dose of radiation. The only way to escape is forward, and knowing that, the Arma lunges forth to close the space, sweeping its blade to separate Eiko's top half from her bottom half.

Eiko (650) has posed:
    The eyes on the screens disappear only when their target moves out of view--but it's a safe bet that that presence is still watching. There are cameras, screens, and listening devices everywhere here, in every store and in every back pocket. The demon lord only needs one to be nearby and with a clear field of view to keep track of what's happening. He doesn't go so far as to tell Eiko anything he sees--but through their pact, he grants her just enough power for what she'll need to do.

    "Burn!" Eiko's hair is actually on fire, but that has nothing to do with her words. Individually weak, the curses she's stored are too slight to do anything substantial on their own. No one here was so debilitated as to stay home. And yet, she's had time to work through dozens in seconds. Added together, she'd be hard-pressed to think of anything worse than trying to hold on to each one at the same time.

    Of course, that's why she's not holding on to any of them. The first step is to rotate each into another, non-overlapping condition, worsening it in the process. The second step is to burn that curse as fuel, flowing through her magic and strengthening her body.

    Eiko doesn't have any reason to run anywhere else. She jumps straight for the Type-10, swinging her sword in a circular pattern that, if it could reach, would take off both its sword arm and its head at the least. That is, if she has the strength and the speed to reach it.

    In the moment after the blow is aimed, Eiko becomes deaf, dumb, and blind. In the moment of the swing, the tip of her sword accelerates into the sound barrier.

Zwei (596) has posed:
    The Type-10 meets the unfortunate consequence of having such incomplete data. Though it has been built from the ground up to be functionally immune to the curses Eiko had used during the previous assault she had showed her face at, she had done those without the help of Sabram, and her arsenal of powers is already too wide to show off in a single encounter. The Arma meets the charge head on, slamming one bladed foot into the ground to halt a further advance that would take it inside the minimum range of its sword, and reeling back as it swings, raising its barrier at the same time as Eiko attacks.

    The resulting clash exchanges blow for blow, sending the Arma hurtling backwards from the sheer force of the blow and smashing into the opposite wall, cratering the tile, brick and drywall. It obviously weighs extremely little with that kind of flight distance, which is a big disadvantage with an energy shield directly connected to its arm. The projector sputters, sparks, and then is explosively purged from the Type-10's wrist as it gets to its feet, brandishing its blade to reassert its stance, heedless to the deep gouges running up the opposite side of its chest. It begins to circle, regarding Eiko much more warily, until it is at a perpendicular angle to her own sword, suddenly blitzing forward fast enough to scorch the floor beneath it and with a brutal overhead chop.

Eiko (650) has posed:
    Eiko was hoping to take the thing out right off, but given that its shield activated despite her having hit it as fast as she could, she doubts that'll happen. Her senses have returned with a rush, and so she's aware of just how little ammo she has left. Theoretically, there's no real limit to her range. In practice, she's rarely worked with anything farther away than she could physically grab or throw. And everyone's running away.

    While the thing comes back at her, she has a moment. She reaches in and plucks the energy cell from her plasma caster, tossing it up in the air once and catching it. Having this makes it easy--there aren't so many curses that can work on a battery. She just has to funnel what she has left into it.

    Before the machine strikes, Eiko finally regains her speech, and the cell becomes distressingly warm to the touch. The burn-off from before still has a handful of seconds before it wears off--plenty of time for Eiko to strike a one-handed parry with the force needed send that light blade of its away, sailing off if it doesn't stabilize again with its spike-feet into the ground. In the same motion, she tosses the energy cell underhand, in the Type-10's general direction. It's not a microfusion--it doesn't have the kind of power that would be all that impressive even if discharged at once, without a gun to aim it.

    "Transfer." Whatever this machine is, she figures, it has a power source; so, she curses it to overload, her characteristic black smoke billowing out at impossible-to-gauge speeds from energy cell to robot, in the tiny fraction of a second before the cell would have blown.

Zwei (596) has posed:
    Even for the Collective, it's pretty much impossible to build a machine without a power source. There certainly isn't anything hanging around big enough to be wirelessly transferring power. The Type-10 does manage to stabilize before it goes flying, reorienting itself in the blink of an eye and reversing the path of its blade before the sparks have even finished falling, transitioning back into a blurring horizontal slash aimed right through Eiko's arm and between her ribs. A moment prior to it making contact, the curse transfers, and the machine suddenly, and quite simply, falls over face first, crumpling against her. There isn't anything to violently explode in a flashy show of fireworks, but that's all the better for her. Without any power going to computing, the thing can't even stand, and so its lifeless husk tackles into her, falls to the ground, and then oddly, begins to disintegrate. Before her eyes, the thing crumbles into an impossibly fine heap of black ash, as if it were only pressed together like wet sand to begin with. Breathing in the fumes is ill-advised.