Scene #6884: Fame of Tabor: Sidequest - From the Jaws of Despiration

Owner	Pose
Raziel	The underhive was a literal mess. Growths from Tyranid biomatter was slowly growing along the surfaces of many structures. Areas, where more traditional 'nids were forming, started to overflow with the Xeno's creatures. However, thanks to the forces working together here, the threat WAS contained, and while it was spreading in areas already under its control, it wasn't spreading beyond that. Right now, your mission has you going through one of the more heavily mutated areas. Somewhere here, at least according to your source, there was a spawning pool not quite formed or damaged, that would be a good place to collect the sample you need. It would not just save the life of a certain Space Corgi, but also allow you to create an anti-toxin for anyone who would be fighting the 'nids, as well as a poison to hurt the oncoming hive fleet. The streets are mutated, already you can see creatures climbing out of windows to sneer and snarl, before charging you to add your biomass to their own reserves. Or in layman's terms: they're going to try and eat your face off. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoLSL5AYSVo&t=1s
Tomoe	Tomoe had known Karian a very long time and he's lent her aid in the past and to her other friends. She was more than willing to come charging into this biological hell hole to get the sample that was needed. She had experience fighting the Tyranids before and was keenly aware of the sort of savagery they would see and it could be far worse than anything she'd faced before. She doesn't move to engage in melee combat just yet. She starts to intone a spell golden runes dance around her body, old Norse is spoken badly and the charing alien horrors will get a barrage of firebolts launched at them as they attempt to close on Tomoe and the rest of the part. "I will keep their attention!" She then will bring up her sword and shield at the ready.
Staren	Staren is here and loaded for bear, but then, he kind of always is, isn't he? He has no biomass to contribute, only cold steel and circuits. He's still using the friendly-ish visor instead of the skull faceplate, though. After all, it's silly to intimidate things that prey on humans with human skulls -- it's more like you're advertising that you already know they're going to rip off their flesh and you've given up. "Hmh." He grunts as the charging creatures approach, and opens up with the beam cannons. "I guess whichever direction they come from is the way we should look. The spawning pool will be the most heavily protected area..."
Nie Li	Although he had only just come back from a visit to Glory City, Nie Li heard what's going on and decided that nobody who fights tooth and nail for the sake of humanity's going to die of some shitty monster-poison on his watch... and that these beastly Tyranids also need to learn not to screw with his people. Because to Nie Li, all of humankind are one people, however divided they can get. Regardless of world, regardless of creed, stuff like these Tyranids absolutely MUST be suppressed, stymied, and stonewalled... if not utterly shredded. And that's why the martial artist has chosen to slip around the place using Void Form. It slows him down, but he's all but undetectable. Allies have been alerted he's going to help, but he hasn't done anything like tell them WHERE he's going to be or how he intends on helping... There's a reason for this. He's seen enough of how most of his fellows operate, and he's going to capitalize on it. And so, the orange-clad martial artist is keeping to the rooftops, hoping to flank and ambush whatever beasts beeline for more overt warriors like Tomoe.
Raziel	Beam cannons start to mow down oncoming warriors as they approach, Tomoe then imposing herself between them and Staren with her sword and shield works. Together they can push forward through the slowly rolling sea that is starting to form at their approach. More come out of hiding, but now small bags of flesh seem to float around. The other creatures seem to give these a wide breath, as they rely on using bio-plasma to shoot at the pair from range. As the balls come in, they change targets to them. If a ball is hit, they explode. If the explosion happens to catch another bag...well it explodes. You can see where this is going. Nie, however, comes out of his shadow form to take down a group of 'nids ready to pounce on the others. However, this reveals him to the greater whole, who climb out onto the rooftop to leap on him. Dangerous claws aim to tear and rip at flesh, dripping with toxic fluids.
Staren	The tyranids try a new strategy: Flesh bags. Which chain-explode. Bad if they get close, but hopefully manageable if they're kept far away. "Hold off the creatures, I'll get the bags!" Staren draws from his bag what looks like a futuristic assault rifle -- it's an infantry-model rail gun, but what's important is that it has a much, much higher rate of fire than the 'a couple of shots every few seconds' of his beam cannons. Using quick individual shots on isolated balloons, and sweeping long bursts across groups, he hopes he can use their own chain-explosion effect against them. However, focusing on those does limit how much time he can spare for shooting tyranids...
Tomoe	Tomoe knowing Staren is not something the Trandis would enjoy eating so far as she's aware. Is something Tomoe will factor into her plan which is along the lines of Staren's push to the greatest location of resistance and push through it. That has to be the most likely place, where their target is. She's not sure where Nei Li is? Yet she does know he's out there and he's going to he helping somehow. She's aware he can handle himself from her experience with him. So she does not worry about him at all. She's got enough to worry about in the form of the Tyranids that are very eager to make a snack out of her. She will move to keep pace with Staren, he seems to be of the same mind as her. For she will let Staren take out the bags at range while she takes the bioforms that get up close. She hacks and slashes at them also throwing in the odd shield bash as she goes. Trying to keep herself between Staren and the horde.
Nie Li	The moment that a significant portion of beasties have piled up in the streets facing the overt warriors, Nie Li banishes his void form and whips out a scroll of parchment bearing a strange glyphic arrangement in silvery-blue ink. Spiritual energy visually surges from his hands and through the scroll, tracing through the patterns and causing the whole thing to burst into dust... swept up into the ensuing HAILSTORM that manifests from the swirling energies. Torrents of punishing ice shards and flash-freezing winds bear down upon the very back of the hordes! Now, though, he's visible. Of course, he's accounted for the ensuing efforts of the creatures to reach him - and to reach him, they need to get through the slowly-dissipating snow flurries and frigid winds that are dying down. Like he's going to let that happen so easily. The youth raises a hand, swirls of energy streaming from a ring he wears on it... and in moments an azure straight sword that bears an otherworldly aura appears in his grasp. Instead of SWINGING the sword though, he simply raises it high. The weapon glows from within, purplish-blue electricity sizzling and licking at the air. For a brief moment there's silence... and then with a deafening THUNDERCLAP chain lightning bursts from the blade and curls down towards the horde, dancing through the snow-filled air even more easily and making the lightning even more destructive. For each beast hit, the lightning splits into three or four more forks and dives for even more foes...
Raziel	Staren arms carefully, aiming to tear through the bags that get closer. Then starts taking them out as they deploy near the 'Nid line. While the line isn't destroyed as expected, it does take out some of the front line ones. Of course, the line is clear now, giving the pair of Tomoe and Staren a way through. A building ahead, that is completely covered in bio-mass is guarded by a literal wall of monsters. Strange creatures that are more akin to living mortars than anything else fire massive blasts towards the pair, trying to divert their path away from the main structure. The wave of ice does very little, instant cold or not the 'Nids have a very high-temperature resistance across the board. Lightning, on the other hand, is far more effective. The lightning shoots out in various directions, electrocuting the beasts before they fall over from electrical burns. Of course, this gets the attention of something else. From below Nie Li, the floor itself tears away as a massive bug just rips through the ground itself. Four scythe-like arms, and a very nasty cut across its chest. The same wound that was reported to have been given to the beast that attacked the Space Wolf Lord. All four arms come down, trying to spread the Exalted into fun-sized pieces.
Tomoe	Tomoe has taken some hits here and there as she pushes through with Staren calling out. "Nice shooting!" She'll make use of opening to push through with Staren. She keeps her eyes open as they press deeper heading for the building that is covered in biomass. The worse part is the wall of 'Nids before them this was not going to be easy. Tomoe will pop several of her mitigation abilities and push on towards the mortar shooting aliens. She knows that she needs to get to melee. The rate of fire from the 'Nids isn't going to give her a chance to get off any spells in reply to them. Nie Li is out there but she's going to have to trust he can handle it. She will attempt to let Staren use her as cover as she makes for the enemy lines but she is going to take some very nasty hits for doing this. "Staren if you got an idea do it fast!"
Staren	Suddenly, ice and lightning! Staren doesn't actually turn around to look, there are tiny cameras embedded in his armor at all angles. He swings his arm back, fires a blast from the beam cannons at the genestealer(?) attacking Li, but otherwise like Tomoe he expects Li can handle it or will communicate otherwise, and he runs after Tomoe, seeing how far they can get towards what is hopefully the spawning pool before the tyranid lines close again!
Nie Li	Rumble rumble?! Truth be told, Nie Li's hard to catch by surprise. His instincts are sharp and have seen him through countless life-or-death situations. So when they scream 'danger, below!' at him, he listens... by leaping backwards at the very last moment. A scythe-swing manages to graze his arm, drawing splatters of blood, but he stays low to the ground and skids along the rooftop with a low of center balance. "Heh. These creatures are formidable..." And it would be a disaster if Glory City ever had to face them. Quite conscious of this, the youth redoubles his determination to wipe them out and drive them back. Wisely, he's unwilling to engage in melee with a thing that has MORE LIMBS THAN HIM, with better reach, without a plan... and so he stashes the sword back into his Interspatial Ring. Then his whole body ripples with energy and expands outwards, going from a young teen to EIGHT FALL, BURLY... furry.... brown-furred PANDA WARRIOR?! Well, yeah, somehow that's exactly what happens. Nie Li has transformed into a hulking, anthropmorphic panda, and somehow his clothes have resized appropriately instead of tearing. And just like that, he reaches a clawed paw out, projecting his will... Around him, for a good ten meter radius, gravity distorts and caves inwards, everything growing MUCH heavier. Ten times heavier, in fact! This might spell trouble for the beast that's scrambling through damaged roofing!
Raziel	The HIVE Tyrant hulks over the smaller man's frame. Even as he grows and HULKS out in his Pandamonium form. The gravity shakes the roof that the Tyrant was on, but instead of staying still, it leaps with great agility and power to a nearby roof and moves with great speed. To stay moving, before leaping once more top try and tackle Nie with its massive form. Even as Staren's shot smacks it across the back, it's head turns towards the source for a moment, before snapping back towards Nie. Every Tyranid on the field that has a bio-plasma weapon takes a shot at Staren, apparently being seen as a greater threat to the whole. More warriors stand in the way between Tomoe and Staren, but in their vision is the pool they need to get the sample of and get out. The pool, however, seems to be closing up. They don't have much more time.
Staren	Plasma shots come in from all directions. Staren dodges this way and that and toggles his forcefield on at times, but by the time he reaches the pool the forcefield is thin and flickering and his armor is scorched all over with melted patches. The target is in sight. <"Tomoe, can you taunt them?"> Staren takes a deep breath as he crouches, swaps his weapon for a sample container, and then LEAPS forward, energy wings and thrusters blazing as he tries to rush past the line of tyranids, over or under or between or wherever he can find an opening he might slip through (perhaps body-checking one with his metallic body if needed.) He just has to reach the pool, scoop up a sample, and then get himself and Tomoe the hell out of there!
Tomoe	Tomoe says "Can do Staren. I'll stage a diversion you make a go to get the sample." Tomoe does have area attack hopefully with her plan draw the Tyranids attention. Muscles tense and then she moves she does not engage in melee she's chanting a spell, one she normally uses for trying to get enemies to come after her the runes dance about her as she moves. She then fires off the attack sending bolts of light seeking out as many of the Tyranids as she can target to get them all looking at her or at least coming after her, it's going to hurt most likely but Kerian's life is on the line here and she's very aware she owes him. She'll keep this up as long as she can. Tomoe knows once Staren has the sample. It' time to /run/.
Nie Li	"It's just ignoring it?!" Nie Li is amazed. Sure, the beast is HUGE, but even so... seeing its brute force in action is a little awe-inspiring. Even though, it just emboldens him. The beastman leans forward and-- WHOOOOOOSH! He takes off through the air with a solid leap, headed STRAIGHT for the beast coming at him and channeling all of his strength through the Fanged Panda Demon Spirit! The clash is calamitous indeed. Nie Li's not exactly Superman or anything... he's flung back in recoil by the impact, arm screaming in pain... But the only question is, how much did he knock that creature for a loop?
Raziel	The two were fairly equal in terms of strength and power, the clash is enough to crack the foundations of buildings and shake many more for miles around. The Tyrant is sent flying back, hitting one of the buildings and laying flat on it's back for a moment. However, after some time, he started to stand back up, its wounds starting to close already as it came back up to its full height. It bellows a challenging roar, as it starts moving towards Nie Li again. Tomoe lets out an attack, blinding and flashing the 'nids. This draws their attention towards her. This might be a very brave or stupid thing to do depending on your opinion on such things. However, the entire group rushes or fires on her. Bioplasma soars at her, while the warrior's close ranks, attempting to surround and bite at her. She can fight through them, but they are taking their pound of flesh...literally. This, however, gives Staren the chance he needs to get to the pool. He has to work quickly, however, because she won't last forever, and the 'nids are bound to notice what he is doing sooner than later.
Staren	Well, that worked! Tomoe can take it, right? She /is/ a tank. Staren reaches the pool, scoops up a sample, puts the container in a sealed bag so the gloop clinging to the outside doesn't contaminate his stuff, then puts the sealed bag in his messenger bag. And then it's time to go. Staren flies back, slashing tyranids with energy swords as he passes and shouting "GO GO GO!" to Tomoe. It's time to fly out of here as fast as possible!
Tomoe	Tomoe is going to have to use every trick in the book she has to not be turned into a corpse. She's also very much aware if she's forced out of Avatar form she's dead. She will put her weapons to use as the 'nids close with her she hacks, slashes and stab trying to keep them back. <<Staren I will not have long as soon as you get the sample we need to run as fast as we can.>> The damage is adding up digital tears are showing up all over her body and her HP bar deep into the yellow at this point. She's also feeling a good deal of it too even as the alien horrors just trying to take her down she has to have the faith that Staren can get this done fast. When Staren gives the signal Tomoe will disengage, taking more hits as she does so and will turn to flee, using all her speed and everything she knows of parkour to attempt to flee the 'nids and at this point she's just about all but spent.
Nie Li	Moving straight at Nie Li is a critical mistake. The panda-warrior gets back up from the pile of rubble he slammed into, and faces the oncoming Tyrant head-on... grinning. A grin that slowly transitions to cheeks puffing out as the beastman iiiiiiiiiinhales and claps his paws together in front of him. It can't be seen... but spiritual energy roils within him, building and preparing to-- With a bellowing, ear-splitting ROAR more appropriate for a tiger or dragon than a panda, Nie Li belches forth twin orbs of brilliant light and darkness that spiral around each other in a corkscrew pattern, inching closer to each other the nearer they get to the Tyrant! And on impact, the spheres will merge together and obliterate each other like matter and antimatter, resulting in a catastrophic explosion!
Raziel	Staren manages to get his sample, with this and mother science he will be able to save a lot of lives. Tomoe disengaged with more than her fair share of wounds. Retreating is going to be dangerous, as the group of 'nids are on your heels snapping at you. Even as the Hive Tyrant is smashed by opposing energies, and a large explosion envelops it. The light recedes, and all that is there is a smoking crater...but rather the creature was vaporized, or was blasted into next week and is hiding somewhere is up in the air. Right now, however, escaping would be advised. Mission COMPLETE.