3262/Kindergarten Fun
From Multiverse Crisis MUSH
Kindergarten Fun | |
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Date of Scene: | 24 October 2015 |
Location: | Gem Warship <GW> |
Synopsis: | The Crystal Gems and their allies make a move against Peridot and Homeworld allies on her ship at Kindergarten. Garnet and Jasper beat each other up. Toph wants her stuff back. Pearl fights Ferham. Blurr fights robonoids. Peridot has a very bad day. Kindergarten is so much fun, isn't it? |
Cast of Characters: | 20, Blurr, 516, 836, 858, 869, 870 |
- Peridot (836) has posed:
"Systems report." Peridot stood at the helm of the Gem Warship, maintaining it's defensive position over Kindergarten. The gem garden below was still not fully operational, but Peridot had at least instructed some of the injectors to start working. When she was ready, she could flip a switch and start the process that would slowly drain the earth of all it's resources. "This Peridot, initiating log update 7113. After many hours of substantial effort and plundered resources; the Warship is nearly back to full capacity. Hull breaches have been reduced to 12%; not optimal for space travel, for within acceptable parameters to be considered space worthy."
"Lazuli is still scouting for warp pads. Locating the Galaxy warp would be a tremendous boost to ships morale. I am not certain the warp pad will function if the planet has moved it's coordinates... but it would at least allow for me to run a few calculations."
"Still no results from the communication tower." She continues in a sour tone. "I've done the math a hundred times over. I've tries every proper combination of frequency! Still Homeworld is silent." She rubs her temples. "Obnoxious.. pressing... silence. The longer Homeworld refuses to answer, the more my theories get narrowed down into choices I... Well, that is, they do not make me happy."
"Tension aboard the vessel is high. My desire to forge alliances with the Confederacy clashes with tried and true methods from our world. My unfamiliarity with earths customs puts me at odds with the earthlings, my desire to learn more about them puts me at odds with Jasper. Not just Jasper.. but thousands of years of Homeworld protocol. I like to think Yellow Diamond will reward me for my forward thinking. My adapativeness... but.. still, that doubt lingers..."
"I must now attend to further matters. I have new coordinates to investigate. New warp pads to uncover. More Gem tech to scavenge."
"Peridot. Facet 5. End log."
She then pushed a button, activating the Warships intercom. "Jasper. Ferham. Command bridge, on the double." She barked in a commanding tone. "We have work to do."
- Ferham (516) has posed:
It wouldn't take long for Ferham to appear once she was summoned. After all, she had been spending a good amount of time trying to ensure that the kindergarten would be able to help repopulate some of the gems--she'd hate to see a species become endangered, and all that.
"You rang, miss Peridot?" Ferham showed up on the bridge, heels clicking against the floor as she strode up to hear what Peridot had called her and Jasper in for. "What is it, your greenliness?" she asked, a hand on her hip.
- Jasper (858) has posed:
Despite the tension, Jasper is nothing if not obedient to the chain of command. She might dislike how it currently stands but a command is a command and Jasper's responses are practically etched into her gem. Peridot may doubt but Jasper is seemingly incapable of it, being that sure of herself. Homeworld's silence weighs heavily on Jasper, whereas Jasper understand the value of silence in the face of new threats. Homeworld wouldn't give its position away, even if it meant stranding her.
That has to be the reason.
Right?
The door to the command bridge hisses open and Jasper stands in the doorway for but a second, backlit, letting her shadow quite literally fall across Peridot. She has her cape on, a status symbol more than anything else, and she strides onto the bridge with her head held high.
"Reporting," she states, simply.
- Garnet (869) has posed:
Traveling in the 'small' Autobot shuttle to the location of the Homeworld's Kindergarten, Garnet goes over the plan well such that it is. "When we get there I'll make our way in, follow me in, do as much damage to the ship as you can while we find Peridot." She adjusts her visored shades, "When we find her, we grab her, poof and bubble her. Then we make the fastest way out possible." She looks around to Pearl and the assembled members of the Union, "Everyone understand?"
While the shuttle was small by Cybertronian standards it was still rather cavernous for human sized individuals thus there was no were convienent to sit while the final leg of the trip to the warship was underway. So after going over the plan, Garnet leans up against one of the walls to await the proper time. Focusing on the best way to try and break into the Warship while they travel before settling on the way that least damaged the shuttle in most versions of what was to come.
It is at this point that the shuttle begins its approach low at first to hide itself from Peridot's sensors until the last moment and then an intense burst of speed over the Kindergarten as the automated defenses start to lock onto the shuttle.
As the shuttle takes fire from the defenses, energy weapons scoring its hull, Peridot is likely dealing with some sort of warning that their air space had been seriously violated before being detected. It opens fire on some of the functional emplacements...it seems not all the defenses were up and running yet, they'd lucked out.
The back of the shuttle opens up and Garnet walks to the edge as the air whips about her as she turns back to face everyone, "This is my stop." With that she leans back and falls out of the shuttle as her gauntlets appear on her hands. The moments of free fall are intense as the air rushes past her, she has to change direction a few times from the cross fire of the defenses one laser beam getting dangerously close to her, leaving her shoulder pad sizzling in the air. Suddenly her left gauntlet becomes much much larger, several times larger than her own body in fact as she points it at the Emeral hand below her.
While Garnet falls like a meteor, the shuttle makes one more pass for anyone jumping before trying to land, picking out a small ridge near the hand ship, it tries to take out most of the defenses on the ridge as it lands but the resistance is fairly stiff as one of the thrusters burns out violently from a hit by the defense weapons.
It seems if Garnet's plan is successful, of using her giant fist to make a equally new big hole in the hand ship, that Peridot's recent structural repairs might all be for naught...
- Pearl (870) has posed:
"You make it sound so easy Garnet! Peridot's got the Kindergarten defenses up and running again and that Warship of their's is..." Pearl is cut off by the sound of incomming fire and grips her seat until the shaking stops, "Well, it can do that." She finishes with a nervous grin.
Pearl stands up as the boarding ramp opens up and Garnet just.. jumps out! Her eyes go wide and she looks momentarily irritated, then decides she's not going to be outdone. She teeters on the edge of the ramp for a moment, then jumps out herself, using the Injector drill they just passed as a pole that she can gracefully spiral down to the ground on.
- Blurr has posed:
Blurr is at the ship's controls, since he's likely to be the one most familiar with the vessel. As soon as their position is revealed and Kindergaten starts firing, the Autobot ship begins firing right back. Keeping track of Garnet's trajectory, he takes aim with the craft's forward weapons, pointing it at a spot in the Homeworld warship's hull that, according to scans, has already been weakened by the initial attack.
"Rerouting power to forward weapons array--going to make you a way in. Aim for the maintence shaft near the rear stabilizers." He comms over to Garnet as she free-falls toward the enemy vessel. As soon as the guns are fully charged, he fires a surgical strike--that plus Garnet's blunt force trauma will hopefully be enough to punch a hole clean through the warship's hull.
- Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
Flying is something that isn't very fun for some people. But sometimes there are some things that are more important than avoiding discomfort. And this is one of those things. Even so, the girl sitting next to Pearl looks only half queasy. The rest is all stubborn determination.
While Garnet leaps from the shuttle first and drops down to smash up the gem war ship, as Pearl follows suit, a smaller figure follows, standing on the edge of the ramp...
The five foot tall figure might not appear too imposing, but the very demeanor as the blind girl is much larger where she stands, her unseeing eyes set forward even as she senses a large amount of metal underneath the shuttle. Her expression is stern as she stands there, her hands balled up into fists as she takes a deep breath and waits for the shuttle to get closer enough for it to be safe for a human to jump down. She is just a human girl, after all.
Although, a rather angry and loud little human girl.
"PERIDOOOOOOT!"
The cry echoes slightly, though the noise of the shuttle and the defenses might drown some of it out as Toph Beifong leaps from the ramp down to the gem warship below, crashing into the hull of the ship and severely bulking it in the process. As she rises from her crouch, Toph narrows her eyes, then follows Garnet through the hole she already made. No, the gems had no problems getting some backup for this mission it seems.
- Peridot (836) has posed:
"Good." Peridot answers without turning. "I have a new set of locations we need to scout out immediately. I may have discovered an ancient gem battle sight. If such is the case, we may be able to gather a cache of ancient weaponry for our purposes. Ferham, that's what you will be doing." She creates her holo-pad and began tapping away at it. Primarily documenting what order she was assigning to who.
As far as Peridot was concerned. Once she reconnected with Homeworld, her logs were going to be read by the highest authority. So she had to be studious.
"Jasper. You on the other hand... we have a pressing task we must attend to regarding the fusion experiments under kindergarten. I'm shifting this to a priority one status I grow more and more antsy with regards to the cluster and I have deduced a few methods with which it's location... it's very existance can be confirmed." She holds up her arm, showing Jasper a few holes in her limb enhancers. "My equipment was damaged recently, and I've yet to be able to fully repair it. Therefore I will be high al-"
BWEEEEEP. BWEEEEEP. BWEEEEEP.
"Alert?..." Peridot paused. "Alert! The ringing is alarmed! I mean, the alarm is ringing!" She jolted up right and rapidly tapped several buttons. "Intruders!"
The screen filled with images of the approaching vehicle from various security cameras in kindergarten. The most pressing of which appeared to be an interal Warship security cam. It showed the new breach, and Garnet Pearl Blurr and Toph standing in it, backlit by sunlight. "The fusion. The Crystal Gems! They're making a move!" She growls and slams her fist into the console. "No! I had just got everything nearly back up to 100%!"
She squinted as her name was shouted. She looked to her two bodyguards. Four combatants against their three. They had the homefield advantage. "You two. Go destroy them." She instructed. "I will remain here. Monitor security feeds. I will provide support with robonoids.. and a few other surprises. Keep your comms on so I can keep you updated."
"Ferham, try and direct some of them to the prison bay." Several holo-screens, generated by the ship begin rapidly appearing in front of her face. "Do not let them reach me. Without me, this whole operation goes up in smoke."
"Now go!" She points.
- Ferham (516) has posed:
"Gathering weapons...?" Ferham intones idly after she is given her order, she nods slowly afterwards, though. Gotta break a few eggs to make an ommelette it appears, or geode, in this case. "Oh shit," Ferham blinked as she heard the alarm, retrieving her whip handle from behind her. "I think Toph wants her things back," Ferham muttered mainly to herself--Jasper wouldn't know what they mean, exactly. "Well, I'll go and try to direct some of them nearer to the brig and away from the bridge, then, wish me luck," she stepped away quickly, getting into position.
- Jasper (858) has posed:
"Understood," Jasper growls, and the grin on her face makes it quite clear that she's not as worried about this attack as Peridot is. "I'll throw them off this ship in shards and pieces," Jasper declares, already marching from the bridge. She doesn't head right for the breach in the hull - no, Jasper makes a quick detour to the ship's armory to collect something, a special surprise for the intruders.
She makes for the Union members then, and steps out of a corridor, announcing her presence with a resounding metallic /clang/. Jasper slams the head of a titanic war axe, big enough to be scaled for her rather imposing size, against the deck of the ship. "Back for another round, fusion?" Jasper sneers, "And you brought some friends with you? That one there, in the green - she's so small! And the Pearl, too! This is absurd!"
Balancing it there with one hand, she reaches up to unclasp her cape - and rather dramatically toss it to one side.
"I'll be merciful. Last chance to leave, before I send you back in pieces. All of you."
- Garnet (869) has posed:
The Warship's hull was tough, that was for certain. Even with the shuttle's extra firepower hitting and weakening it, before the skin cracks Garnet's left gauntlet begins to shatter as at first spider web cracks form and then expand chunks of the gauntlet breaking off before it completely gives in as the hull buckles below her. Garnet grits her teeth having broken a knuckle in the exchange. She resummons another gauntlet while she scans around the room she landed in.
Coming out of what was once a storage room, Garnet looks around and speeds down some hallways with alarming percision for getting to the bridge. However, they are stopped along the way as suddenly a wild Jasper appeared! "You know it." Garnet responds the the large Gem warrior, "They aren't your concern,..." She pauses and calls over her shoulder, "Continue with the plan! The Bridge is that way!" She points deeper into the ship.
Garnet shakes her head, "No deal, Jasper." She then points at Jasper's axe, "Lets start the grinding!" Wait is she speaking metaphorically or literally? Either way Garnet rushes forward with that awesome speed of hers very intent on sliding inside the cutting arc of the axe and slamming her fist into Jasper's large chin!
- Blurr has posed:
When Blurr hears Toph's shouts and is reminded of her presence, he smirks to himself. Oh, she'll be perfect for putting Peridot in her place, what with her awesome ability to control metal! Heh. Once the opening has been made, the Autobot sets the navigational controls and weapons array to auto-pilot and exits the ship himself, jumping out after Garnet. He lands near the aft of the gem warship, scanning the inside for a brief moment, potentially searching for another hub like the one he'd seen on Peridot's pod. Perhaps he could seize control of this thing--likely not as easily or completely as he could have done with the smaller ship, but maybe it's possible. Or at the very least grab control of -certain- doors while strategically wrecking -other- systems. Like the ones that control the robonoids, for instance.
But in the meantime, there's Jasper and Ferham to deal with. << Toph, head straight for Peridot if you can! She's very dependent on her tech. If you didn't already know that. Pearl back her up. Sound like a plan, Garnet? >>
As he speaks, he's blasting at the hull of the ship until a piece large enough breaks off. It probably takes a while, which probably makes him annoyed and impatient, but it finally gives. He grabs an attacking robonoid and smashes it against the wall inside. "Ah slaggit, there's gonna be a lot more where that one came from aren't there?" he mutters to himself.
- Pearl (870) has posed:
Pearl uses the momentum she built up spiraling down the Injector to leap off and land near the hole Garnet made. By the time the dust's cleared Toph has presumably joined her as she descends inside the warship. "That's more planning than we usually do!" She replies to Blurr in a tone that suggests she's good with it.
Once inside she takes the opportunity to slip past Jasper while she's fighting Garnet and start clear a path toward Peridot's control Center for Toph, throwing Spears and energy blasts at any automated defenses. Soon enough this puts her face to face with Ferham.
"Oh hello there!" She says in a perplexed tone, not having expected to see a non-Gem here, "We're just stopping by to pick up a few things we misplaced! We'll just be in and out, no trouble at all!" She offers in a hopeful tone, However she's in a defensive stance with her spear pointed at the strange woman.
- Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
This ship is kinda weird with its layout, Toph notes. Yet she tenses when she feels somebody approach. Somebody big. "Somebody's coming," she points out, though the others might hear it well enough. Jasper's arrival doesn't seem to worry the young earthbender much, nor does she turn towards her. "Who the crud is /that/?" she asks Garnet, since it seems that this big lady has a thing for her. When her own size is commented on she only huffs, arching an eyebrow. "I'm travel sized unlike you," she snarks. When Garnet makes it clear that she's going to handle the big gem, Toph nods and turns to another wall as she reaches a hand up to rub at her chin. "Hmmm. This way might be a bit quicker..." Then Toph reaches out and punches Garnet in the thigh, unable to reach up to her arm. "Kick her big, fat ass. Cloderella is mine. Ready Pearl?"
With that said and done, Toph follows the gem and heads through the hallways, doing her best to aid Pearl with her metalbending as they advance. Yet when they run into Ferham, Toph can't help but frown. Unlike Pearl she isn't perplexed. Rather, she looks a bit grumpy as she places her hands on her hips. "We're here for Peridot. Don't get in our way." That said and done, Toph cracks her knuckles. "MOVE."
- Peridot (836) has posed:
"Hrgn.." Peridot grumbles as the surveilance feeds the audio and visual to her command center. "Mobilizing turret robonoids." She says out loud. "Transmitting emergency frequencies to Confederate allies."
Peridot looked at the far wall uneasily. She had multiple options ahead of her. None were optimized exactly for a full on invasion of her warship. Though they could achieve varying degrees of success in their own rights. She pushed it to the back of her head. Last resorts.
<<"Ferham is engaging The Pearl and Dirt Wizard. Jasper engages the fusion.">> She called out over the channel. <<"Sealing doors on deck A. The bridge will be inaccessible.">> Her fingers danced over the holopads. <<"Prison Block doors unsealed.">>
At this point the number of robonoids started increasing. Small orbs with laser turrets mounted on their back. They focused on the higher number of combatants. Spraying the area around Pearl, Toph and Blurr.
- Ferham (516) has posed:
Pearl is indeed brought face to face with Ferham as they're fighting through the defenses and making their way inside, coming in through the hole that Garnet had punched right through the hull.
"Afraid I can't do that," Ferham cracked her whip against the floor, and stood tall, with no real motion of moving out of the way. Peering over at Toph, she raises her brows. "You know, if you just wanted your things back you could have just called..." she says, as if this really wasn't necessary, but she wasn't going to budge even still.
To the corridor directly behind her, Ferham erects a large spire of ice by blasting it with a finger--creating an obstruction in the way that the invaders would need to deal with first--or deal with Ferham. Ruh roh raggy.
- Jasper (858) has posed:
Jasper grins as Garnet charges her, even as she wants to go after the fusion's companions. So, first the fusion, then her friends! Jasper sits back, bringing her axe back. Garnet's too fast, though, and she's already inside the distance which Jasper could swing.
Garnet's gauntlet slams into Jasper's chin, jerking her jaw back, and sending her crashing into the wall. Jasper snarls and, when she sets eyes on Garnet again, it's an expression that the fusion Gem might remember from before - a wide grin of pure bloodlust. In response to the feeling of imminent conflict, Jasper's great helmet bursts into life atop her head.
Jasper charges, fangs bared. She lashes out with one fist, holding that gargantuan axe in one hand, aiming to slam Garnet back - so she can get her at just the right distance to catch her with the blade of her axe in a one-two attack!
- Garnet (869) has posed:
"Her? She's Jasper and nothing to worry about." Garnet assures Toph, she grins as she is 'encouraged' to beat up Jasper, "Will do." Then she gives a small wave to the blind Earthbender and Pearl as they head off before launching her attack on the giant gem. As Jasper's head pops back with a satisfying crack Garnet isn't surprised as the other Gem gives her that battle crazed smile of hers.
Then Jasper charges and the Crystal Gem is slammed backwards, luckily the warrior Gem was too eager slightly misjudging the force of the charge sending Garnet flying back, the axe does bite into Garnet's arm as she whizzes by but likely not as much as Jasper would've prefered. Instead the Homeworlder will have to be satisfied with leaving a Garnet shaped imprint in the wall behind her.
Digging herself out of her body shaped crater in the wall, a little bruised and dirtied up, Garnet responds by seemingly doing the same exact move she started the fight with but instead of going for another shot to the chin she drops down into a slide in an attempt to take Jasper off her feet or at least off balance with that oversized gem chopper of hers!
- Pearl (870) has posed:
Pearl lets out a frustrated grunt as the ice spire forms in their path. "Can't we ever just do this the easy way!?" She sighs, then starts firing energy blasts at the base of the spire, hoping to get it to crack and fall over. If a few stray shots happen to hit Ferham, so much the better! She's noticed by this point that Ferham's trying to herd them toward the Brig.
"Toph, we're *not* going the way she wants us to!" She insists as she stamps a foot, but she does glance down that way curiously, "Steven! Are you in there!?" She calls out. As much as she hopes she might get a reply, it would definately make this mission a lot more complicated.
- Blurr has posed:
Well Blurr hadn't been wrong about those robonoids. He tears through them left and right, smashing some into walls and into themselves, while blasting others to bits. But there are just so many of them! Gah! He searches for a terminal or computer, anything he can interface with using the old holomatter trick.
There's a chance Peridot has a nasty surprise waiting for him, yes...since she no doubt knows what he can do now, and has expected he'll try it again, but it's worth it. Certainly Peridot will have sealed herself away, so if he can get those doors open when Toph and Pearl come through that would speed things along. Plus, these robonoids aren't helping the situation, either!
- Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
A deadpan look settles on Toph's face when Ferham offers a suggestion. "Yeah, right. Because Peridot would totally have given my stuff back after stealing it and being totally clueless about how things really work," she delivers with sarcasm dripping off of her words. Her right hand raises in Ferham's direction. But rather than focusing on Ferham herself, Toph reaches out, using her metalbending on Ferham's armour, willing it to move...
"Of course we're not going that way" she calls, and rather than going down the corridor behind Ferham, the blind girl hurries on over to a wall, digging her fingers into the metal, and a creak of protest fills the room as Toph tears open the wall and begins heading straight towards the bridge. Sure, she can feel some reinforced areas up ahead, but that seems to only focus on the doors... "Peridot is this way!" she calls and heads on ahead, using part of the wall to form herself some metal armour, her footsteps becoming far heavier. "Watch my back as I get us through here!" she calls to Pearl as she tears another wall open.
- Jasper (858) has posed:
As Garnet slides towards her, Jasper brings her axe down in a mighty two-handed cleave - all she ends up doing is splitting the plating in front of her in two, because Garnet has just taken out her legs. Jasper manages to turn the fall into something of a roll, but she did have to leave her axe embedded in the deck of the warship. Her eyes flit to the axe - no, it's too far to easily grab.
Jasper balls her hands into fists, then makes a show of cracking her knuckles. "Buying time?" Jasper asks, voice harsh. "I've been teaching the red one - Ferham - how to fight Gems. You think you're winning here? You think you're distracting /me/?! Oh, no, fusion - the only one being distracted here is /you/!"
It's an unusual tactic for Jasper, but psychological warfare is warfare and it's a strategy she can wield just as deftly as that axe. That is, without any sort of subtlety. The light catches the visor of her helmet as Jasper tilts her head back, looking down her nose at Garnet. "The Pearl first, then the human child. The longer you stay here, the less you can do to protect them. Does it hurt, fusion? Are you going to rip yourselves apart?"
Letting Garnet wrestle with those questions, Jasper charges again. She brings her right arm back, a corona of golden energy building around her fist, as she goes to crash her fist down on Garnet from above, driving her into the deck!
- Peridot (836) has posed:
Toph manages to make some head way through the internal structure of the Gem Warship. However when she reaches the wall that connects to a separate room her progress slows significantly. It was metal, but it was made of sturdier stuff than the infrastructure she had been working through previously. It was a warship, after all.
After some effort she learns she can manipulate it. However, it was going to take time to break through completely. If she went uninterrupted, she could possibly get through quickly.
Meanwhile Peridot watches through the monitors. She rubs her chin. Of course. The Steven! With Pearl keeping Ferham busy, the Toph would be able to concentrate. If Ferham could be freed up to focus on Toph, that would greatly hinder their plans and buy them the time they needed. But Pearl wouldn't leave Toph... unless... Perhaps there was a weakness she could exploit.
<<"Ferham. Focus on Dirt Wizard. She's the most equipped to get past the blast wall. Don't worry about the Jailblock. Return to the eartbender. All Robonoids, focus fire on Blurr!">> She likewise put in the instructions. The concentrated fire of the robonoids made the task of searching for panels, or even dealing with Ferham a monumental task for Blurr! It seemed he would need to thin their numbers in order to free himself.
Peridot's face appears on a holo monitor on the wall next to Toph and Pearl. Her expression arrogant. "Nyeh heh heh.... trying to come to the bridge? You should have had time to confirm with your union allies. That we, without a doubt have the Steven." Peridot grins, leaning into towards the camera. "He's in the jail block, just waiting for you! What's more important? Assassinating me? Or getting your precious Quartz mutant hybrid back? You have a shot at one!"
Uh-oh! It looked like an important decision fell upon Pearl. Support Toph, or go look for Steven? Supporting Toph would accelerate their efforts, but can she really ignore her previous Steven?
- Ferham (516) has posed:
"Well actually yes, all she wanted was the corrupted geee--" Ferham's voice is cut off in mid-sentence as her eyes go wide and her lips draw back into a surprised cringe--the sort you make when you realize someone just put a bug down your shirt, or something. However instead of suddenly doing a furious grasping about for said bug, something different happens.
Ferham begins to dance.
"Aieeee! I can't stop iiiit!" Ferham is getting up close and personal with Toph's metal bending powers, as the very armor encasing her body is manipulated to begin a rather over the top version of the can-can.
"Hey--stop, come back heeere!" Ferham sounds quite alarmed however, as her arms are contorted up and into the air and she begins to balance herself on one boot, the other knee raised high before being allowed to drop and then kick out high--proceeding like this as she's dancing right around the gem invaders and the metal bender.
"Damnit--Toph, stop what you're doing--this is cruelty against robots!"
- Pearl (870) has posed:
"Oooh!" Pearl intones as she watches Toph just make her own path through the walls. "She's a robot!?" She gasps in surprise when Ferham starts to dance. This is humor even Pearl can get, but they're in a serious situation here so she just cracks a smile.
She gives the Earthbender a quick nod at the request to watch her back, then stops trying to break the ice and just hurls her spear at the tubing above Ferham's head. cracking it open and spilling the fluid all over the Reploid. What is that stuff anyway? Does it power the ship? Is it Gem incubating goop? Ick! There's chunky bits in there too. Whatever it is it should at least distract her so Toph can focus fully on bending the walls out of the way.
<<"We have to finish the primary objective first. We're almost to Peridot and the robot girl is delt with for now. We may have time to check the cell block on the way out.">> Pearl transmits to her allies. She sounds dejected, but something in her is saying Steven isn't really here. He would have said *something* when she called out to him, right?
- Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
"I was only bending her armour!" Toph responds to Pearl, "But yeah, she's a robot! I can sense earth and its many forms around me!" They better be quick though, because this didn't buy them many seconds!
Some walls are easier to get through than others, though it doesn't last. Annoyance crosses Toph's face when she reaches one of the walls near the bridge, and she slams her palms against the wall as she closes her eyes, concentrating. Find the remnants of earth in this wall... it's easier said than done when it's a new material, however. But it's not impossible, it will just take some time. Again and again Toph slams her palms against the wall. "You're not going to stand against /me/...!" Toph grunts in defiance.
Even as Peridot's voice can be heard nearby, the earthbender frowns and narrows her eyes. It's impossible to tell with everything that's in the ship here, and... she can't hear anything in Peridot's voice. They aren't human after all, and gem physiology is vastly different. Which means... there's no way of telling whether the Homeworld gem is lying or not. "Pearl, I can make it through the wall!" she urges. "Just... give me a little more time!" If they get Peridot, then they can get to the jail block too, right?
When Pearl confirms that they should keep on track with their current objective though, Toph grits her teeth and focuses, trusting Pearl to watch her back as she slowly but surely digs her fingers into the wall and works on tearing it apart, ever so slowly.
- Garnet (869) has posed:
The axe comes down just where her head had been a fraction of a second ago with a resounding *clang* as it bites deep into the deckplate, a part of Garnet notes how close that had been but another part shrugs it off as necessary when fighting to take risks. Meanwhile Jasper rolls away no longer wielding the axe. The visored Gem does her own roll and slides to a stop on the balls of her feet on hand outstretched giving her the look of a runner about to spring forward at the beginning of a race.
As Jasper's words hit her though it's hard to tell what her reaction is as she keeps that infuriating neutral look on her features. The moments stand on end as Garnet sits in silence, is she thinking it over, is there internal conflict? Damn those glasses and concealing her eyes!!!! They make it nearly impossible to tell what's going on in her head.
Then Jasper charges, arm reared back ready to slam into Garnet with all the strength her powerful Gem body can muster. This is when Garnet looks up at Jasper with that radiant smile that says she is neither afraid nor upset about this, it is a smile of utter confidence, "My friends will be fine, can you say the same?"
Crack! The fist comes down and slams with a resounding thud into Garnet's waiting gauntleted fist. She keeps that smile locked on her face as the pain screams through her, that was the fist that had the broken knuckle and that hit would've buckled the hull on its own.
Garnet uses this moment to shift her weight and the immense strength in her legs to try and drive Jasper not into the nearest wall but through it, the one behind it, and the one behind that...she did say wreck the ship as much as possible while they were here after all!
- Blurr has posed:
<< Ugh, don't listen to her Pearl, she's probably just bluffing in an attempt to distract you. Stay focused on the mission! >> Blurr isn't really sure if that's true or not, but right now they had a mission to get accomplished. If they did have Steven, at least Peridot was a good bargaining chip.
As for finding a terminal or hub, there are just too many robonoids to deal with right now. Okay fine. Time for Plan B. No time for hacking, so he'll just have to resort to more -physical- methods. He transforms, his body folding down into his vehicle form and he speeds through the path Toph has created through the ship, just barely fitting through it in his more compact form and probably making the holes just a little -bigger- in the process. He aims to smash right into the wall Toph is working on, hoping to aid her in her efforts. It'll hurt, but hopefully the wall will be hurting -more- in the end.
Yes, -this- time smashing IS appropriate (unlike last time).
Blurr mostly ignores the robonoids even as they swarm after him, depending on his speed to literally outpace them. He can't get as much momentum in such a cramped space as he typically would, but he certainly is a hulking mass in comparison to most everything on this ship built for human-sized creatures.
- Peridot (836) has posed:
"Hey! Don't ignore me!" Peridot grit her teeth then cut the feed for a moment. The Pearl wasn't biting! She looks off to a side panel and began typing away. Time to up her game. Time to prove that Yellow Diamonds faith in her was well placed! "Come on... come on..." She murmured as a bead of sweat broke out on her forehead. "Security footage.. Security footage...."
"Don't believe me?" Her disembodied voice sprang out over the intercom. "Behold! A live feed!" The image cuts back in. This time, however it's.. footage. Footage of Steven sitting in a jail cell on the warship. Despite the chaotic atmosphere, Steven appeared to be calm. He was playing video games, and eating cookie cats. Surrounded by a mountain of toys and junk food. But, it was most certainly within the gem warship and a cell. Pearl could even see the yellow barrier door. Peridot locked the Jail block quadrant blast doors down. She would wait, to decide when to re-open them. "Confederate allies are en route to squash you clods! You don't have time for anything else!"
Meanwhile, Peridot sat on the bridge biting her lower lip. Playing old security footage into the feed. Of course, the Pearl couldn't possibly know that this footage was practically a month old. Peridot grimaced at Stevens lackadaisical attitude, but she didn't have time to grab a more convincing scene. She had to pick a random time during a period she knew they had Steven, and then act.
<<"Ferham! They are breaking through!">>
- Jasper (858) has posed:
As Garnet intercepts Jasper's fist, meeting her knuckles with the palm of her gauntlet, Jasper doesn't relent. The muscles along her arm bulge, the lines of her neck standing out sharply, teeth gritted. Jasper shifts her feet, just to gain that little bit of extra advantage...
But they're at an impasse.
Garnet is still strong enough to heft her up, though, despite the size disparity, and slam her against the wall. It buckles after a moment, and Jasper snarls as she's shoved through one bulkhead, and then another, then a third. It takes even one more after that until Jasper can recover from the repeated blows and swing herself up, still bound to Garnet by the fist in her gauntlet, and plant her feet against the surface behind her. This time, when Garnet pushes, the bulkhead crumples around Jasper's feet - but it doesn't break.
"I'm not that weak to need anyone else!" Jasper gloats, and a golden aura flares to life around her. "You're all so disgustingly codependent!" She's scuffed in places, her white hair matted and out of order (more than usual, that is), her visor cracked - but she's still more than ready to continue the fight.
The aura flares into a golden conflageration and Jasper's form gives way into something like a whirling buzzsaw of light and fury and Jasper aims to bodyslam Garnet all the way back through the walls she had just been shoved through!
- Ferham (516) has posed:
Ferham may not be able to control where her arms and legs are being directed by Toph's powerful metalbending, but the rest of her is quite normal--one green eye trained on Pearl as she watched that spear of hers sail up and over her head.
"Ahhh!" she might have expected it to have been aimed for her, but when one of the transparent tubes along the ceiling is broken open, Ferham finds herself showered in a viscous torrent of that mountain dew-colored liquid. Of course, while the force being levied against her was ebbing as Toph moved away, Ferham was still hopping about and kicking into the air when this happened, ultimately toppling right over as those high heeled boots of hers are now going straight up as she lands on her back with an 'OOF'.
"Ow... good thing I was made with padding back there," Ferham winced, a hand at her temple as she realizes that Toph and her metal-sorcery is now gone--and so is Pearl. "Shit, shit!" she pulls herself back up and begins moving quickly toward where they were breaking through the walls toward Peridot, her whip crackling with electromagnetic energy.
- Pearl (870) has posed:
"I've *been* in these cells Peridot! I know they're not sound proof! Steven wouldn't sit around playing video games with alarms and fighting going on all over the ship! Prove to me you've got an *actual* live feed before we come in there and poof you!" She sounds like she's hoping there actually is one, despite being unconvinced.
Darn, Ferham's back on her feet already! Pearl pulls another spear from her Gem, and another! With one in each hand she's ready to face Ferham directly. One to deflect with that whip of hers and one to stab at whatever looks breakable. "You should really go wash that stuff off dear. It corodes metal you know!" She smirks. Okay so she's not up on current Gem tech, but it could happen right? She stands ready to fend her off while Toph finishes breaking through.
- Garnet (869) has posed:
Garnet only transmits the sounds of grunts and fighting in response to the radio chatter, Jasper is too tough of an opponent to let much of her focus fall on anything else save fighting least she give Jasper a big opening that'll end the fight now!! The pain in her hand is immense as she just barely holds onto the fist long enough to pick up Jasper and drive her through wall after all.
Unforunately that doesn't phase the big Gem woman, Garnet has no time to dodge as she is act first knocked away and immediately attacked by a powerful spin dash attack. Garnet does her best to mitigate it though! Grabbing the Gem by her ram helmet and riding the bull by its horns as shes slammed through walls either making new holes or widening the ones she made with Jasper just seconds ago!.
Garnet slams into a wall with both hands holding the helmet's ram. The Crystal Gem leader is looking worse for wear, her back, arms, and legs scratched up, her outfit gashed up here and there, a fun chunks missing from her fro, and a triagular sliver has been torn free of her visor revealing a blue iris focused intensely on Jasper.
"Having friends and loved ones isn't weakness!" Garnet says forcefully. She removes one hand from the ram and tries to put it on Jasper's collar bone just below her chin. Then she does something Jasper might never expect...there is a violent intake of air and then the whoosing sound of a rocket as the hand now aimed at Jasper's neck launches off Garnet's arm and tries to send the big Gem through yet more walls via rocket fist this time!
- Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
Ever so slowly Toph feels the earth in the wall obeying her will. Whatever the gems made this of, it's extremely sturdy! It almost reminds her of durasteel... but it's new and different. Even if she knows most types of metal well by now, it's still a learning process. Luckily she is so goddamn stubborn.
But still, she needs time, and when she hears Peridot claim she has live feed, she can't help but worry. Will Pearl run off to find Steven, or...? Right now Toph doesn't even speak, she makes a desperate sound at the back of her throat. Come on, wall. BEND FASTER!
But it seems like it was just another lie as Pearl points out why it's not a live feed she's being shown, smart out enough to see through the ruse. And with her providing defense, Toph is allowed to focus on the last part of getting through the wall, and with a roar that echoes throughout her makeshift metallic armour, Toph gives in one final burst of power, breaking through the wall.
The metal wrapped girl steps into the bridge, immediately turned towards Peridot. Sure, the gem might not see the scowl there, but there should be no doubt just what kind of mood Toph is in from the tone of her voice.
"Give me back my glove, you cruddy thief!" she roars, then rushes forward with the intent of punching Peridot right in the face.
- Blurr has posed:
The wall gives finally gives way to the intruders as Blurr rams it and Toph bends it into submission. He chuckles to himself as he watches Toph lunge at Peridot, deciding for the moment to let the girl handle this situation herself. She's the best equipped for it, after all.
Instead, he turns toward the rear and aims a few shots at Ferham, hoping to support Pearl's efforts. "Give it up, Peridot! Can't win -all- the time, now can you? So why don't you just make this easier on yourself and surrender now. Or, you know, Toph could just beat you into submission."
- Peridot (836) has posed:
<<"Jasper! Jasper! Return to the command bridge! They've breached the blast wall!">> Peridot calls out over the radio. <<"Help me!">>
As Toph breaks through the wall, her fist slams into Peridot! However instead of creating a satisfying poof, cracking bone, or bloody smack. The Peridot image distorts, and reforms. It's then that Toph realizes there are several Peridot's int he room. All of them standing there with their arms crossed. Oddly enough, all of them have a small amount of weight to them as well. But none of them were moving. A closer inspection would reveal them for the fake light projections they were. Not full on holo-mass duplicates that could act and think, the likes of which Pearl can do. But, the same principle. These simply stood there.
Meanwhile,second prior to Toph's entry. the real Peridot was hiding out of sight under her command console, typing away frantically. She was heavier than the projections. "T-this is Peridot log date.. 7114..."
"Crystal Clods have broken into our warship. Mission prime is in danger. If you are reading this Yellow Diamond...-- I did my best. I did my best with what I had to work with... Assassins are circling me from all sides. I.. I will go out befitting someone of my class. Fighting. Peridot. Eng log."
She then leapt out onto the top of her desk. Both of her arms forming blasters. Expecting the recoil this time. She began firing wildly with both fist. Charged blasters bolts raining down towards Toph! Peridot was a cornered animal, but even someone like her had some ferocity when she had no other option. She had set her last trap. A distract, and blast!
"Die die die die die die!"
- Ferham (516) has posed:
The stuff that had covered Ferham didn't feel corrosive, though viscous it likely was. "I thought you were going to kill me back there, why didn't you?" Ferham cracked her whip, still dripping with that goo, though she also was sure to get an answer out of Pearl, who was now blocking her path. "You almost put one of those things through my head," she narrowed her eyes at the crystal gem, slowly sizing her up and ready to react if there was a sudden thrust of that spear.
However, when Blurr takes a few shots at her, Fer is fast to react--who knows if that stuff she'd been covered in and was leading a trail of was flammable? Her wings are tucked in as she now has to struggle to avoid both Blurr and Pearl--trying to dodge fire from the transformer.
- Jasper (858) has posed:
"Says you!" Jasper retorts, glowering a hungry grin in Garnet's direction. She rolls her neck from side to side, and goes to grab Garnet in her grip. However, her masterful 'bull riding' technique seems to have given Garnet the initiative! Jasper only has a moment to glimpse that rocket fist comes roaring in at her - Jasper's eyes go wide.
"What-!"
The fist sends Jasper smashing through walls and she finally arrests her journey by literally ripping up the panels of the decking in her grip as she slides across them. She picks herself up, staring daggers at Garnet through her white fringe.
She takes one step, then another, and just as she begins to charge, Jasper /pauses/. "What?! How?!" Jasper snaps, taking one last look at Garnet, before she erupts in that golden blast of light and fury again - aiming to head right for the command bridge by the most direct route possible, through walls and decking and anything in between!
- Pearl (870) has posed:
Pearl never intended to kill Ferham of course, but she's not above putting a spear into the Reploid's kneecap when she sees the opening Blurr gave her. "Rose cherished all life, in all it's forms, and so do I. That's why I'm a crystal gem!" She explains even as she's stabbing her opponent. At least she sounds apologetic about it. The spear in her left hand is still ready to counter the whip should it come near her.
"We've won. We only want Peridot and the Gem she took from us. Surrender now and make it easier for everyone." She says insistently, then calls back to Toph without taking her eyes off Ferham, "How are we doing back there?"
- Blurr has posed:
When Peridot starts firing madly, Blurr immediately takes his attention off of Ferham and turns around, standing back up into his biped form to face their target. "Fine, you want the hard way, we'll do it the hard way. Suit yourself! But don't tell me I didn't give you a chance to take the expressway." He's confused by the images for a moment, but her subsequent attacks kind of make it obvious which one is the real her so that doesn't last very long.
The Autobot pulls a weapon from subspace and levels it at Peridot, not hesitating to pull the trigger. A blast of high-voltage electricity issues from the barrel and lances across the room almost just like a laser--it's designed to immobilize and incapacitate, but who knows what it will do to a gem?
- Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
Surprise crosses Toph's face when her metal covered fist goes through the projection, and she lets out a confused sound at first. What the crud...?!
Then she realizes there are more of her form around the room, but they are all so light... except one of them. But Toph can't make it over there before Peridot leaps onto her desk and fires! In response Toph raises her arms to block the shots, though the force of the blasts pushes the usually steady earthbender back, the metal scraping against the floor. "OH, SHUT UP ALREADY!" Toph yells, then raises her foot, kicking her heel down into the floor. The floor underneath Peridot's desk moves upwards in a metallic pillar, threatening to throw Peridot up against the ceiling.
She hears Pearl in the adjacent room, and she calls back. "She's more stubborn than a gator mule!" Come on Peridot, give up already!
- Garnet (869) has posed:
Garnet only shakes her head in pity for the Homeworld warrior, "Yep." It seems that the Crystal Gem is basically saying I did say it and I'm right. She is gripped for a moment as she is roared at. Then Garnet gets to enjoy the brief but satisfying moment of Jasper's surprise as she is launched through more walls. Giving her a few moments to of relief to enjoy and gather her wits for the next round of fighting...she wished her left hand wasn't throbbing from the sheer agony it was in.
Her visible blue eye looked pained as it was hard to keep the damage she'd suffered from registering on her features anymore but she was doing her best to keep that neutral expression. Then Jasper started to charge her and stopped dead, to suddenly turn and start plowing through the walls and decks of her own accord.
Resummoning her missing hand and gauntlet, Garnet races after Jasper following closely behind the other's path of destruction towards the bridge. <<"You're out of time, get Peridot and get out! Jasper is on her way and I'm having trouble catching her!">> She radios her friends and allies that Jasper was on her way to them!
Speed was thankfully one of the many things she was graced with so while she was injured she could catch up with the frenzied Jasper as she closed in on the bridge, trying to grab at her heels and yank her back down into the depths of the ship to give everyone just a few more seconds to complete the mission!
- Peridot (836) has posed:
"Surrender? so you can shatter or harvest me? Haaaa!!" Peridot pants as she is rapidly raised towards the ceiling. Her laugh, more maniacal and afraid than pure arrogance. The last thing she wanted was to get her gem cracked or shattered straight away! She leaps off the pedestal before it hits the glass dome of the ship. Fortunate that the room they were in had very high ceilings. The glass however cracks.
Falling through the air, Peridot's fingers begin to twirl rapidly forming the helicopter. "AAHH!" She shouts, flying over Toph's head, and landing on the ground behind her. "Jaspeeeerr!!" She shouts down the hall. Knowing her strongest bodygaurd was just further down that way.
Of course, it's then that her path is directly blocked by Pearl. Now with Toph behind her. She was trapped between the two. In a panic, Peridot stops and turns, pointing her blaster at Toph, while turning her head to look at Pearl. She starts charging a shot. This one far more massive than the initial ones. Her expression a combination of fear and anger. "-DON'T-" She says in a panic. "Kindergarten can't function without me!" Perhaps she was stalling? If the charge got much larger it could do some real damage, even to the strongest of opponets! "Our species can't.. won't survive without me!"
- Ferham (516) has posed:
Ferham is glad her knees are sufficiently armored--Pearl's spear head likely sends a bit of sparks flying as it dings off her knee, before the Reploid spins around and tries to freeze said sphere to the ground by sending a cold ray from her hand directly against the floor and the spear itself. "I don't want to get shot, but I don't think the other's will surrender, so," she notices Blurr isn't paying attention to her now, however, and uses it to try and push past Pearl now that she's not got the cybertronian covering her. She seems to be heading to the bridge where Peridot was!
- Pearl (870) has posed:
Pearl looks surprised when her spear just glances off, "What in the Stars are you made of!?" She says in frustration, usually her spears go through stuff. She dashes after Ferham, at least this is getting her to the bridge, and Peridot! <<"Blurr, Garnet, anybody! I need someone to wrangle the robot girl! I've got to deal with Peridot *now*!">> She focuses on the annoying green Gem for a moment and then hurls her remaining spear at her. To a casual observer this might look like some kind of Hail Mary throw. But Pearl's all about precision! She's done the math and worked out the angles, If Peridot keeps moving the way she is her spear should hit square in the chest, and with a little luck, it just might poof her.
- Jasper (858) has posed:
Garnet's gauntlets grab Jasper by the heel, delaying her for a few moments. Jasper hits the deck, catching it right on the chin, and growls out something incoherent. She brings her legs and then kicks out like a bull, wild and angry. All she needs to do is just get a few more seconds to get clear of that damn fusion!
She picks herself up and tries to pull herself up through a hole in the ceiling, sparing one last look of hatred at Garnet as she goes!
- Blurr has posed:
Ugh! Peridot is like, almost as stubborn as Toph is! Or maybe even more so! Stubborn and -stupid-. "Don't be stupid, no one's going to shatter you." After all, she can't give them information if she's shattered. "Now just face the fact that you've -lost- this time around, and stop your useless struggling!"
He subspaces the weapon and exchanges it for arm-mounted ones that emerge from their compartments and resumes firing upon the green gem, hoping to finally knock Peridot down for the count.
- Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
So Peridot seriously thinks she will harm her? At that Toph snorts. "I'm not heartless, you dolt! I just want my glove and the corrupted gem back!" She huffs when when Peridot manages to avoid being knocked into the ceiling, and what... the... hell... is... she... doing?
The helicopter effect is partially missed by Toph, though the moment Peridot lands on the floor Toph is there, giving pursuit.
When the blaster is pointed at her, the blind girl stands still, though she can't help but grumble. "You really don't get it, do you...?" But Toph throws up her hand towards Ferham, doing her best to keep her still while Pearl hurls her spear at Peridot.
- Peridot (836) has posed:
She was a scientist. Not a fighter. That's what she had Jasper for. So she had resorted to the only weapon she had left. Her words. It was her last desperate attempt. She could convince them to call off the attack. Or buy time for her blaster to build up a charge. Something.
But, it was immediately clear her words fell on deaf ears. She wasn't surprised. They were rebel gems after all. Traitors to their species. "Are you even listening!?" What did they care about the fate of gem kind? What did surprise Peridot however was the large spear that now jutted out of her chest. It slid into her with a sickening thunk. Her eyes become pinpricks. Lines of pain form on her face, as she squints. "Ah..." The fight seems to drain out of her all at once. She doesn't immediately poof. She was fighting it. Driven by stubbornness.. perhaps fear. The blaster heat dissipates to nothing.. her blaster arm becomes a hand again and she looks down. Weakly wrapping her fingers around the spear hilt.
She coughed up a bit of bright green liquid. "It.. hurts.." Unlike the other gems. She'd never been poofed before. Never been mortally injured to the point where she couldn't maintain her body.
She looked back to Pearl with an accusing stare. "You..."
And then she fell to her knees. The moment upon impact she exploded in a green cloud of smoke. The green drippings from her wound evaporated into thin wisp at the exact same moment. There is a metal clattering as her limb enhancers were left behind. Boots, gauntlet and all ten fingers fall to the floor. In the midst of it's all, a small three-pointed green gem impacts on the ground before coming to a rest intact. Peridot had been successfully poofed.
- Garnet (869) has posed:
For her part Garnet is kicked in the head and shoulders a few times grubbling in annoyance with Jasper for also breaking the undamaged side of her visor now complete with shattered lens. The Homeworld Gem's hateful gaze is met with one of anger but Garnet weathers the blows rained on her to keep up her harrying of Jasper's attempts to make it to Peridot in time!
As Jasper clears the hole it's a couple seconds later before the Crystal Gem pops out of the hole herself in hot pursuit of her opponent.
- Blurr has posed:
"Finally!" Blurr exclaims as Peridot goes down. "Let's get out of here." It has been an exhausting day, even for the Blurr. There had been a -lot- of robonoids, and even though they're inferior to him in both size and construction, they still managed to put some cracks in his armor.
He activates his orbital jump recall to bounce back to his ship, and will beam the others, along with Peridot, back there as well, as soon as they are ready.
- Pearl (870) has posed:
Pearl finally arrives in the bridge to find a happy Toph, having recovered her bag, and what appear to be Peridot bits scattered on the floor. "What on earth...? These weren't actually part of her!?" She fishes through the artificial limbs and picks up a finger. Looking a little creeped out by it, she tosses it aside and finds what she's looking for: Peridot's Gem! She cups it in both hands and a moment later it's floating in the air in a pearl-colored bubble, which promptly vanishes back to the Temple.
<<"It's Done! We finally got that little... Dunderhead! Get us out of here, we've still got an angry Jasper and the robot girl after us!">> She wraps her arm around Toph and picks her spear up, ready to fend off anything that might make it inside before they can be beamed out.
- Ferham (516) has posed:
Reaching the bridge just after Pearl, Ferham is shocked to find that well, Peridot is now dust, apparently. She walks over to the scattered limbs and one of the arms clinks against her boot, she reaches down to pick it up, feeling something seem to snap as she shivers, deep in her chest--dropping the limb and now heading off into some deeper part of the ship, apparently away from the gems. Fer doesn't want to be there, anymore.
- Blurr has posed:
With a flash of blue light, the Crystal Gems and their allies are teleported off of the gem warship and back onto the Autobot vessel. Though damaged, it is still functional enough to fly back to friendly territor, trailing a bit of smoke.