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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2014 21:38:01 GMT -5
Inferno was disinterested in the other programs (apart from any attractive females of course) and was mostly planning on going out on his own. The programs went around trying to get to know each other. Then they finally got to him. "I'm not really from around here. Not just this place, but... this WHOLE place," Inferno tried to explain it.
"You mean you're a user? Oh praise the creator!" the program who asked him exclaimed with hope. The other programs began to talk excitedly among each other.
"I've been called that alot. I assume that's a good thing," Inferno arched an eyebrow.
"Well yes. It means you're human. Humans don't-" Inferno cut the program off quickly.
"Yeah yeah. I've heard about this too. But nothing personal, but I was probably gonna go out on my own," Inferno said. This seemed to bother the program and the others who were excited about hearing it.
"W-why?" the program asked.
"I don't rely on other people. I hate relying on other people, and I hate other people relying on me," Inferno replied flatly.
"I bet he ain't a user anyway," a grizzled looking program off to the side spoke up.
"Like I care what you think I am," Inferno shot back.
"And I don't care if you decide to strike out on your own. That might actually be a good idea. But that depends on who the hunters are," the program replied shaking his head.
There was one program who hadn't said anything about herself. And Inferno felt compelled to ask, because her appearance was different. "So what about you little lady? You don't look like these guys here," Inferno asked curiously.
"Oh! Hello, I'm an anti-virus program," she stammered with surprise as being asked.
"So you specialize in fighting viruses?" Inferno said in a way that indicated he had no idea what a virus was within this world.
"Well, in a way I guess. Most anti-virus programs work like the ICPs and just remove them. But I try to restore them," she explained.
"Makes sense to me. So you're like a doctor then? Why not just remove the viruses? Seems simple to me," Inferno asked curiously.
"I was afraid you'd say that," she replied sadly.
"I'm just saying. But you're different, why?" Inferno asked, becoming more interested then he intended.
"Well, since programs don't get sick like you Users, a virus is the closest thing to a sickness in our world. But they're worse then having a cold or stuffy nose. Viruses can completely overwrite a program's programming and force them to spread the virus," she explained. "I've had friends infected and derezzed without a moment's hesitation. Just the looks on their faces as they shattered right before me. I would hate that to happen to anyone, so I try to save them!" she smiled.
"I see... so you shouldn't even be here," Inferno guessed. It seemed fishy as soon as she said she tried to cure infected programs.
"No... I'm not," she agreed sadly.
"Well don't worry. I'll look out for you," Inferno said making up his mind. Not just for her, but everyone else here too. In his mind, it was one thing for volunteers or even criminals to go at it, but it didn't set well with him that she was here against her will.
"You mean you'll stick with us?" the program from earlier asked hopefully.
"Sure, why not? I figure you guys have a better shot at taking down these hunters with me around," Inferno shrugged, his decision seemed to excite the other programs. "So how do I buy things with my points?" Inferno asked seriously.
"Oh! Right. Well, we programs can just access the store. For a user... try imagining the store menu popping up," a program suggested.
Inferno gave it a try. "Nothing..." Inferno frowned.
"Hunter team selection complete. Members of Juggernaut, Decker, Will-O-Wisp, Final Boss, and L.O.L chosen," the automated voice intoned.
"Glitch!" the vet program swore. "Had to be Juggernaut, Final Boss, and LOL," he growled with frustration.
"I can guess that Juggernaut is bad, but what about the two you mentioned?" Inferno asked.
"Final Boss is essentially a group of overall skilled Gamebots who have no specific theme. Users have athletes for sports, well Final Boss members are The Game Grid's best athletes," The Vet explained, as the other programs probably had no idea either.
"LOL is up there with them, but they don't play The Games like a career. They play them to have fun... at the expense of others. They'll betray members of the other teams without question and eachother if they think it would be funny," he continued.
"Well that doesn't sound too bad," Inferno remarked.
"But even if they DO betray their whole team... they still manage to pull off a win. LOL members are good, and they know it. THAT'S why they like to screw around at first. Many Vets believe that most of the team is even better then Final Boss to give you an idea," the program insisted. That did sound bad.
"Okay, what about Decker and Will o' wisp? What's their deal?" Inferno said finally getting the shop feature to work. All he bought was a pair of wrist mounted energy shields. He still planned on just using his fists, and having shields to block incoming fire while he charged seemed like a no brainer.
"Decker is an obscure term meaning Hacker. While it's impossible to completely hack the arena, that doesn't mean you can't manipulate it so a degree. They're programs that can manipulate things in their favor either by sabotaging other programs directly, or backing up one of their allies. The fact there's a Decker to support the team doesn't help us at all," the vet sighed.
"As for Will-O-Wisp... they're a group of extremists. If you come at them with a tank, they will charge you with anti-tank weapons. They will either kill you, or kill you AND themselves in the process. All that matters to them is completing the objective. I'm glad there's only one of them... as a whole team would be unnerving," the vet finished.
"I hope you guys are ready. I know The Hunters are all primed to go. So let's get this started!" Mage announced as a timer appeared overhead. "Oh and by the way... that chamber will close after a brief period of time. If you're still there when it does... let's just say that'll be the end of your gaming career," Mage said over the countdown.
"Well, let's do this!" Inferno said trying to pump everyone up.
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Post by Archer Zero on Jan 10, 2014 17:13:22 GMT -5
After the conversation with his Paladin, the other programs began crowding around Kenji and Olorin. It seemed they have not seen a yellow program before, though no small number also were looking at Kenji curiously. They where asking both of them were from. Olorin said nothing to the others, but looked at Kenji. "It'd be handy if you told them you were a User, my lord," he said in a low tone so others couldn't hear. Kenji considered. A User. That was what the Kernel called him. Perhaps that was what they called outsiders here - well, outsiders in the sense that they were organic beings converted into data. There didn't seem to be any disadvantage to supposedly doing so...
"I am a User," Kenji replied simply and flatly. The crowd was flabbergasted, then they began laughing and clapping Kenji on the shoulder. "Thank the creator you're a User!" one of them cried. "You have no fixed limits! No parameters! You can help us all!" Kenji raised an eyebrow and looked over at all of them. All of them? It was quite a large crowd they were asking for. Although Kenji was confident in both his and Olorin's abilities, he wasn't quite sure if was going to be able to protect them all... and he remembered the rules. There's always the possibility that he might be backstabbed for their greater gain.
Well, his sense of justice told him that he needed to help them. But he would not be a fool about it - nor would he try to protect them all. Unless there was an option to do so, he would do what was in the interest of the greater. If that meant sacrificing a few, so be it. Then over the loudspeakers, a voice boomed out:
Hunter team selection complete. Members of Juggernaut, Decker, Will-O-Wisp, Final Boss, and L.O.L chosen.
Those sounded like gaming terms. Kenji played a few video games. He never had a huge interest in them, but he knew enough about the terms. And judging from the despair and fear he noticed from his cohorts, they lived up to their names. He glanced at Olorin who shook his head grimly. Kenji frowned and, catching the eye of a nearby program, he asked, "Tell me, who are these Hunters? I can tell clearly enough that Juggernaut and Final Boss are going to be tough and L.O.L sounds like more of a troll group, as they call it. What of the others?"
The program shook his head. "You better not underestimate L.O.L. They're perhaps one of THE best teams around. They can afford to screw around because they're just that good. As for Decker... that means Hacker. They can only hack certain things and they're more suited for support than they are for combat, but that means it'll be all the harder to take them down. As for Will-O-Wisp... you either kill them or they'll kill you - even if they die trying. They believe in nothing more or less than defeating their enemies at any cost."
Any more information he was about to give was cut off when the loudspeakers began booming instructions:
I hope you guys are ready. I know The Hunters are all primed to go. So let's get this started! Oh and by the way... that chamber will close after a brief period of time. If you're still there when it does... let's just say that'll be the end of your gaming career.
Kenji scowled. He looked at his hand. He wondered... and before he knew it, his Blade of Balance was in his hand, the presence within there as always. Kenji relaxed a bit. The Blade of Balance was more than just a weapon. It was a part of his body as much as his arm was. Though he could fight well without it, he felt uncomfortable if he wasn't wielding it. Readying his Blade, he spoke in a tone that was calm and clear. "Everyone, stay together. Do not panic, do not fear. Follow Olorin's and my command. We will come out of this alive. Prepare yourselves!"
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2014 0:45:39 GMT -5
The crowd went wild as a countdown for when the chambers opened began counting down. Inferno and his group was ready, using the last few seconds for last minute purchases. He didn't need anything else, he had everything he needed. All ten groups of 'mice' were ready to go. The chamber doors finally opened after the clock counted down the last second. Inferno and his group was on the move, remembering the warning about staying inside that chamber for too long. "Okay, I got point. I don't want anyone sneaking up on our asses so watch our backs," Inferno dished out orders. A new countdown appeared above the arena. This one indicated the length of time the teams had to survive for before the game was over. It was atleast a couple of hours. Not too bad for an average gamer, but then again this wasn't a typical game. For anyone interested, there were already several 'frags' all around the arena. A couple were backstabs and 'revenge' frags, but the rest were by the Hunters. There was an unspoken fact about betraying your teammates. When they were derezzed, you got their points, or atleast the points they had on hand for the current game. More incentive to betray. "Uh oh! Looks like The Laughing Man's decided to 'burn rubber' as the users call it!" Mage commentated, referring to how the LOL member was riding a Light Cycle through the narrow passages. That was a problem for both the teams and the Hunters because the light ribbon the cycle left behind hung around for awhile and could potentially block off routes. Prior to this statement, music began to play out of no where. "Oh, and I see the Decker has decided to put on some tunes! The Laughing Man seems to like her music choice!" Mage continued to commentate. It would be about this time that Kenji's group would see another group of programs running passed, with pulses of energy chasing after them. There was another couple of 'frag' announcements before a figure rounded the corner. The program was decked out in some kind of sophisticated armor, head concealed beneath a helmet with a skull made of pixels emblazoned on the front. It was also worth mentioning that his head was on fire, blue flames billowing out around it. "What do we do?" A program asked Kenji, clearly unnerved as the Hunter turned their way. On both of his shoulders were two mini-energy blasters, similar to the heavy energy repeater he was holding at his hip. The shoulder blasters sent out a red light toward them before firing off a volley of shots. This was followed up by his heavy repeater, almost filling the whole passageway with gunfire as he marched toward them. To make matters worse, The Laughing Man suddenly came speeding from behind them. His helmet had an orange smiley face made from pixels emblazoned. "Incoming bone head!" TLM called out, giving his team mate a 'love tap' with the flat, non-lethal side of his ID disc as he passed. "..." The other Hunter only stumbled slightly as TLM drove straight down the middle of the passageway. He had no interest in killing any of them yet, but his arrival did make the already small passageway that much smaller. The skull faced Hunter simply locked onto anyone caught on it's side of the light ribbon, almost managing to take out two programs from Kenji's group if they hadn't used the walls to jump over to the other side to safety. It responded to this by switching up it's weapons to ones that would fire energy rounds that would ricochet off of the walls. Even from behind the light ribbon, it was trying to kill them with a hail of bullets at the expense of it's safety. Inferno's group around this time had encountered another, smaller group of two. One of his teammates was quick to point out that the surviving members had backstabbed all of the newer players. "I don't think we should trust em..." one of Inferno's teammates suggested. "They were Fresh Scripts. Barely a cycle old with little to no combat ability. They would have weighed the rest of us down," one of the 'backstabbers' replied unashamed. "Look, I'm a User. I'm important apparently. So while I don't trust you either, I figure the more of us there is, the better chance we have at killing the hunters," Inferno voiced his opinion. The two programs took a moment to process what Inferno said about him being a User. Clearly that meant something to them. "Derezz a Hunter? Are you insane?" the other backstabber exclaimed. "No, I'm serious. I've faced worse then five powerful warriors before. Plus I'm willing to give you all of the points I have on hand as alittle incentive. I've no use for them," Inferno replied simply. The two programs looked at him like he was still crazy, but they acknowledged they were also crazy for considering his offer. But before they even had the chance to really consider it, the ground began to shake. "GLITCH! We were standing still for two long!" one of them swore, both making a run for it. Inferno spun around to look behind him and saw... a massive program barreling toward them. "Juggernaut!" one of Inferno's teammates pointed. "Okay guys, let's see how tough one of these things really are! Don't get too close to em!" Inferno ordered, barreling toward the program head one despite the warnings of his teammates. The program was about the size of The Kernel, which meant he was still atleast a foot shorter then Inferno. The Juggernaut member looked as you could imagine, a burly and muscular program decked out in heavy armor. "What's this? We have someone charging toward Ironhide! This guy is either very brave, or very stupid!" Mage laughed. Ironhide's body suddenly become enveloped by some kind of shield before he and Inferno finally collided. Inferno predicting that based on the name, his opponent had some kind of trick up his sleeve. And he had been right to use his anti-magic punch. Which in here, worked slightly differently. His fist broke the shield on contact, but the Juggernaut was still going. Inferno was headbutted and grabbed where he was then punched repeatedly before finally catching one of Ironhide's fists. "I'm too hot for you to handle mack," Inferno equipped, releasing fire from his free hand and lighting Ironhide on fire. Ironhide didn't like this and while not panicking, threw Inferno away with an angry roar. Crashing against a wall, Inferno saw his teammates trying to get his attention. His head was ringing, but it sounded like they were trying to warn him about something. Rolling to his feet, he primed one of his wrist mounted shields and managed to deflect a beam of energy at the very last moment. The shot came from someone in Final Boss, who actually wasn't wearing a helmet. Gamebots were much more synthetic looking then Basics, as indicated by the Gamebot's face. With him was the Decker, who looked like a cyber punk/goth with yellow circuits and headphones. The Final Boss member was clad in white with white circuits, and was currently equipped with this world's counterpart to the Sniper Rifle. "Fall back! I'll cover your asses!" Inferno commanded, quickly back on his feet as he armed both shields and tried to block off as much of the passageway as he could. Final Boss and The Decker opened fire on Inferno as he followed behind his teammates. "Bloody annoying shields," The Decker complained, summoning up a bazooka that she fired at Inferno. While it was explosive, the bazooka's real aim was to disable Inferno's shields for awhile. Which happened after hitting them. Inferno shielded himself with his arms, taking a couple of sniper shots before he let loose flames from his hands. Using the flames to cover his retreat, he caught back up with his team. "He's a User..." The Sniper commented, not just because of the flames, but also because there was clearly blood on Ironhide's fist. "He's strong... I look forward to facing him one on one," Ironhide spoke once he joined back up with them. He had to spend a couple of moments putting himself out. "Tell the others..." FB told the Decker. "Already messaged Deathmarch and Laughing," The Decker replied. "Oh! Deathmarch messaged us already," she added with surprise. "There is another user, a swordsman," Deathmarch's message said simply. Deathmarch had already faced off with him, but only managed to force him to retreat for now. "And Laughing's messaging us..." The Decker groaned. "ROFL! OMGWTF! Y r they here ?" Laughing's message appeared. "Well, looks like we might actually have some fun guys. Move out!" FB commanded.
((The song is Juno Reactor's Mona Lisa Overdrive V2 btw Kenji. I remembered you had trouble with youtube or something. So there it is if you wanna listen xD Also, go ahead and NPC Deathmarch for your post if you need to. I was going under the assumption that they fought, and Kenji retreated after assessing Deathmarch's capabilities. Go ahead and use TLM too if you need to))
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Post by Archer Zero on Jan 13, 2014 15:44:17 GMT -5
Kenji eyes turned blood-red and slitted as he began looking around... right before he heard the sounds of blasters. Turning around, he saw a group of programs running for their lives away from something before they were blasted to kingdom come. Then Kenji saw what rounded the corner. One of the Hunters no doubt. Judging from the flames, the Hunter was probably from Will-O-Wisp. If the description was accurate, Kenji knew that he'd have to destroy him utterly before he could be defeated once and for all. Beside him, Olorin scowled and summoned his own weapon - an arm-mounted energy crossbow on both his arms.
What do we do?
He could hear the fear, though he dared not turn around to look. The others were clearly frightened out of their minds and were looking towards them for guidance. Before Kenji could answer, however, something zoomed by, calling to the other one as he passed by, calling him a bonehead. Well, judging from his lighthearted teasing and insults, it was probably one of L.O.L, the highly skilled troll group. Kenji scowled. That's two of the five Hunters. He wondered what happened to Orion and if he was dealing with any Hunters before discarding the thought. He couldn't help him - he didn't even know where he was.
They were all on their own.
The lightcycle's wall should have proven to be a double-edged sword - restricting Kenji's mobility while also restricting the Hunter's aim. That proved to be a naive thought as it started firing ricocheting shots. Kenji had his hands full deflecting the shots that bounced unpredictably off walls, and so did paladin Olorin. Despite their skill, the combination of shots and environment that some shots got through and took out a few programs. Kenji noticed the wall falling and mentally cursed. In this small corridor, they were all fish in a barrel. They needed to regroup.
"Everyone, fall back! Olorin, provide cover!" he called out. Olorin nodded and as the wall came down, giving the Will-O-Wisp a clear shot, Olorin came in and began firing rapidly energy bolts, each shot canceling one of the Hunter's own while Kenji led the others away, wary for the L.O.L. Hunter who doubtless must still be around. They needed to regroup, move to more advantageous territory so that they could turn the tables.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2014 15:09:45 GMT -5
Inferno's group also found a place to regroup. "I hate archers... or whatever the hell that was," Inferno growled from pain and irritation. That weapon hit him hard, indicated by the bleeding. It was insulting to think that there was a weapon that could actually do that much damage to him.
"Let me see," the AV program insisted, using a healing tool to patch Inferno back up. He still hurt like hell so it didn't completely heal him, but it was better then nothing.
"We lose anyone?" Inferno asked before doing a head count. No, all five of them were still here.
"Still think we can take em?" the vet asked mockingly.
"Yes. I was just not in a good position. I would have broken that big guy if those other two hadn't shown up," Inferno returned.
"Maybe. The Decker isn't going to be by herself, and I don't know too much about her. She must be a recent addition to the team," The Vet commented.
"What about the archer?" Inferno asked.
"Pr0tip? He's mostly a far range and close range specialist. Or he favors sniper rifles, shotguns and other close range weapons," The Vet replied. So his mid-range wasn't that good.
Before the group could debate further, Mage's voice broke in throughout the arena. "Attention survivors! There will now be safe havens or supply drops popping up every so often! Safe Havens are locations that will be highlighted on EVERYONE's map. Hunters will not be able to enter or fire into these safe havens. However, they will only be around for a certain amount of time. So plan accordingly!" Mage announced.
"Supply Drops are just that. They can be anything that will fit in the arena. Weapons, health, armor, light vehicles- anything that might help you last longer in the arena. Hunters cannot open or interact with these drops, but they ARE highlighted on EVERYONE's map," Mage added.
"A Safe Haven has appeared," an automated voice intoned. Inferno's group checked their maps, which could be accessed the same way as the shop.
"We need to keep moving," The Vet suggested.
"So what about this Safe Haven?" Inferno said as the group went back on the move. It wasn't too far away, but it would still be a trek.
"I think it's a good idea," the AV program commented.
"But we wouldn't be the only ones thinking about it," another program countered.
"They'd be an idiot if they did. Look at the number of entry and exit points," Inferno said, referring to the fact there were only two entry points to the safe haven.
"Yeah, all the hunters would need to do is wait at these exits until the Safe Haven deactivated. We should stay away from there," The Vet agreed. They went off in the opposite direction of the safe haven for a short distance before whirring was heard. Spinning around, the group saw a black and orange cyclist speeding toward them at high speed. "That's The Laughing Man! One of the LOL hunters," The Vet commented.
"Won't be laughing after I get done with him," Inferno said charging. "Spread out!" he called over his shoulder as an after thought as he continued barreling toward TLM.
And then TLM suddenly flipped off his cycle, going over Inferno as he punched the light cycle head on. TLM followed this acrobatic maneuver with throwing his disc, but Inferno spun on his feet and was just grazed by it. He charged after TLM and punched, missing as the clearly more agile opponent slid between his legs, caught his disc and pulled out some kind of weapon.
"Get down Inferno!" The Vet called, and Inferno did just in time to avoid a a cone of shots from TLM's shotgun. Inferno's group then retaliated by firing shots and throwing discs, all of which TLM dodged by jumping into the air and angling his body sideways in a spin. But before he landed, Inferno was back up and barreling toward him!
He didn't have the time to dodge, and Inferno speared him back down to the other end of the corridor. But then Inferno had to back off to avoid that disc. He wasn't sure why, but every fiber of his being said to avoid that thing as much as possible. "That all you got big man? Let's dance!" TLM laughed, reattaching his disc and pulling out, a rocket shaped weapon.
He launched the rocket, but Inferno's wrist shields were back and he blocked, using the other one to try and backhand TLM who flipped backward and fired his shotgun, tagging Inferno with several shots.
"A Supply Drop has appeared on the map," an automated voice intoned.
"Shut up computer lady!" Inferno growled, swinging his shields like a demon. TLM was holding his own, even in the cramped corridors. He even managed to time his shots in between Inferno's attacks to score some hits. "Piss off!" Inferno bellowed, throwing his fist out and releasing a fiery explosion that sent TLM flying backward.
But then another Hunter rounded the corner. A black and grey one with a flaming head and a skull on his helmet. "Will-O-Wisp?" Inferno called.
"Yeah! Retreat?" one of the programs called back.
"Nice of you to show up bonehead! You got shield breakers?" TLM giggled.
As if in reply, Deathmarch swapped out his heavy repeater with a pair of SMG looking weapons. Which he brought to bare on Inferno, who didn't even bother trying to block. He punched the ground at his feet and made the arena floor shoot up. Then he retreated, as the shots fired started to quickly tear through the make shift blockade. Inferno retreated again... his ego would not stand for this much longer.
The others were camped around the Safe Haven. "Laughing took some hits. So I told Deathmarch where to find him and they got into a fight with the big guy," The Decker commented.
"He's still able to fight after taking that many shots? What programs are with him?" Pr0tip asked curiously.
"Let's see... ah! We have an anti-virus program. She specializes in program restoration," The Decker replied.
"Tell Deathmarch and Laughing to target the medic first then," Pr0tip said returning his gaze through his sniper scope.
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Post by Archer Zero on Jan 14, 2014 19:00:43 GMT -5
When they retreated a fair distance - Kenji acting as recon and Olorin working as rearguard - they took stock of their situation. Two were injured, but otherwise, the programs seem fine. Very much shaken, though, and perhaps they lost a bit of confidence in both Kenji and Olorin. Morale was rather low, and Kenji couldn't blame them. However, that fight was under lousy conditions, with them getting the drop on the group and having unexpected tricks. Kenji was pondering a new plan when all of a sudden, the speakers began talking again.
Attention survivors! There will now be safe havens or supply drops popping up every so often! Safe Havens are locations that will be highlighted on EVERYONE's map. Hunters will not be able to enter or fire into these safe havens. However, they will only be around for a certain amount of time. So plan accordingly! Supply Drops are just that. They can be anything that will fit in the arena. Weapons, health, armor, light vehicles- anything that might help you last longer in the arena. Hunters cannot open or interact with these drops, but they ARE highlighted on EVERYONE's map!
A further voice indicated that a safe zone was available, and everyone pulled up their maps. They quickly made their plans. "Come on, we need to get to the safe zone," Kenji said. Everyone else gawked. "Are you joking?" one of the programs asked incredulously. "The Hunters will most likely be camping there, ready to kill whoever tries to come in! We'd be sitting ducks as soon as it disappears as well!" Olorin looked at the program. "We need an area so that we can retreat, tend to our wounded, and think of another plan. We're currently in the open, so we can't do so. Let's move."
With that, all of them began heading towards the safe zone, sticking to their formation. As they got nearer, they moved faster and faster, with Kenji and Olorin fastest, as though they were the most eager for the safe zone. When they got within eyesight, Kenji and Olorin shared a look, Olorin began running ahead of everyone else as Kenji hung back. As soon as Olorin was in the open, something shot him... or would've shot him if he hadn't turned around faster than one thought possible and intercepted the shot. Meanwhile, Kenji's eyes had followed the trail of the bullet as well as the disruption in the... air?
He had their location.
Without hesitation, he rapidly flash-stepped to the general estimate of where the Hunters were located. It was time to kill.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2014 12:51:37 GMT -5
"We got a bite!" The Decker announced, spotting Kenji's group at a distance using one of many 'sensors' Laughing had placed for her. Pr0tip simply adjusted his aim, waiting for something to enter his sights and when something did, he fired with machine precision. But the shot failed, as his target somehow spun around and intercepted it.
To make matters worse, a swordsman suddenly teleported close to their area. Fortunately, they had taken precautions against being flanked. A shield wall shot up once Kenji set off a sensor, blocking him off from them... atleast for now. "Iron, after you finish mopping up that group, double back here," Pr0tip said cooly as The Decker pulled out a weapon.
"Let me take a crack this," she said as her weapon unfurled into what looked like a two handed war hammer.
"Tired of watching?" Pr0tip smirked.
"That and I'm the only one who can travel through the shield," she replied sticking out her tongue. Unspoken between the two was the fact that her sensors not only told her where people were, they also told her what they were capable of. In short, she knew what Kenji could do and was confident with that knowledge.
Her shoes lit up for a moment, revealing what looked like roller blades before she suddenly shot toward Kenji at lightning fast speed. It wasn't as fast as flash stepping, but it was pretty damn close that she also left behind a trail of yellow for a second or two. She swung her hammer down, not aiming to actually hit Kenji as the hammer would release a shockwave on impact. The shield wall then started to move, following her as she pressed on to try and either kill Kenji, or push him back. And if it looked like she'd take a hit, she'd duck back through her shield!
Switching things up, she 'sheathed' her hammer and drew a pair of SMGs similar to the ones that Deathmarch used against Inferno. Using her speed, she fired off bursts every time she came to a stop, intentionally trying to put distance between her and Kenji because that meant her shield would try to get close to her again, giving Pr0tip more distance he could use to shoot at Kenji when the shield went down.
Nearby, the ground began to shake as if an elephant was thundering down the corridors. It was Ironhide, coming down one of the corridors near Olorin and the others!
"You guys hear something?" The AV program asked curiously. Inferno and the others paused to have a listen.
"Sounds like... a hammer. Or something big hitting something else," Inferno replied. It was faint, he couldn't be sure exactly what it was. But it was coming from the general direction of where the Safe Haven was. "We were right, they did camp around that area," Inferno stated. For some reason, he felt like he should head in that area. But today, Inferno ignored his gut instinct and continued on his way toward a supply drop.
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Post by Archer Zero on Jan 15, 2014 18:16:33 GMT -5
Things never went as simply as they should. Kenji had to admit, he was impressed with their precautions. As soon as he flash-stepped to them, a force field came out, forcing Kenji on the defensive. He watched as the two Hunters argued and one of them decided to engage him. He blinked with surprise as she came speeding out on roller blades, swinging a warhammer. Thankfully, Kenji had the eyes and reflexes to deflect the blows, but they were indeed strong and Kenji was forced to give ground. The fact that the shield seemed to be moving and pushing him back was not helping matters.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the second Hunter lining up his shot to get Kenji as soon as he could. Kenji scowled and did what he could to maneuver himself so that the first Hunter was between him and the sniper. That was no guarantee, though - the sniper could easily be the type to shoot through his comrade. He needed backup. However, he heard and felt shuddering sensations down below and scowled. Looks like Olorin was preoccupied too.
Well, this was going to be tricky.
Kenji needed some room and time to consider. He figured out the first Hunter's capabilities, and perhaps the second one. Now he just needed to set everything up. Creating an orb of void darkness in his free hand, he fired it at the ceiling, causing it to explode and crumble all around them, also creating a large cloud of dust so they couldn't see a thing. When the dust settled, Kenji had vanished once again.
Meanwhile with Olorin, he looked over at the source of the vibrations and saw the third Hunter barreling down towards them. His eyes widened. Not good. The Hunter seemed to be built like a tank too, preventing any easy shots or kills here. "Spread out! Do not stick to one area for too long! Hit the flanks and back if you can, but prioritize survival and dodging!" he barked out. With that, he raised his crossbows and fired a rapid stream of energy bolts. As soon as he got close enough, Olorin threw something on the ground - what seemed to be a grenade. As he dived out of the way, it exploded, leaving behind several dozen caltrops littering the ground. Olorin dived out of the way and readied himself.
There. That should limit the charger's mobility.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2014 23:34:58 GMT -5
"Well bugger all," The Decker swore, both irritated and disappointed as she backed off onto the other side of the shield. It then fizzled and waned as she quickly rejoined Pr0tip, who had one finger on the trigger of his rifle, and another near one of his Light Swords. "He's close by still," she commented, using the nearby sensors. The ceiling above shimmered as a wireframe of the missing pieces appeared, coming back one by one.
"Let's rejoin Ironhide. He won't be able to fight all three of us, forcing him to either intercept us, or abandon his comrades. Either way, we win," Pr0tip stated as the two headed off to back the other hunter up. The decker kept a sharp eye on her sensors, and Pr0tip kept his guard up just incase. The user could appear with little warning, he wasn't going to put it past him to do it again somehow.
As for Ironhide, as his team name suggested, he shrugged off Olorin's attacks and also dissuaded anyone from getting close to him when his fists began to give off electricity. He should have primed his power fists against the big user, but he got careless. The caltrops would have little no effect as his armored boots flattened most of them. And the few that stuck had still been bent from his weight. As soon as he got close enough, he went into a flurry of attacks aimed at Olorin. But he had left his backside exposed! Or did he?
"Safe Haven moving..." an automated voice intoned, alerting the survivors that it was moving some place else.
Inferno's group found their first supply drop with no incident, something that made him wary of his surroundings. "We got some health packs... next tier upgrades for an ID disc. And a low grade sniper rifle," one of the programs went over the bounty.
"These health packs should come in handy. I won't have to do all of the healing," The AV program commented.
"Inferno should get most of the packs, seeing as he's been throwing himself into harm's way to save our asses," The Vet suggested. "I'm good with a rifle, so I should get that," he added.
Inferno stood watch, and his being wary paid off as he saw the flame headed Hunter calmly walk around the corner. There was some kind of purr, or maybe he was imaging that. "We got company," Inferno said, expecting to find the other one. But he was no where to be found... yet.
"Now's our chance if there ever was one. I'll cover you," The Vet said priming his rifle. And that was all the incentive Inferno needed to charge head first toward Deathmarch.
Deathmarch didn't fire, but instead derezzed the extra pieces of armor he was wearing and armed a pair of Light Swords. With less weight, Deathmarch sprinted forward and would quickly bump into Inferno who jumped over him to give his teammate a shot. Which he took.
But Deathmarch wasn't stupid and had fallen into a slide, barely missing the shot as he was back on his feet. "Get back here!" Inferno bellowed, shooting fire at Deathmarch's back with one hand.
The Vet started squeezing off more rounds, nailing Deathmarch in different places, but the Gamebot pressed on. The others threw their discs, but Deathmarch soundly deflected those with his swords as he sprang into the air and honed in on his target. But at the last moment, The Vet threw himself between them with a primed grenade in his hand. Even if time slowed down, there wouldn't have been enough time to exchange farewells as the grenade enveloped the two with an explosion.
The others were shaken, but didn't suffer any major damage from the explosion. "Quick! Give me his disc!" The AV insisted urgently. They didn't have much time. A program managed to find what remained of it in the debris and quickly gave it to her. She quickly accessed her functions and went to work, bringing up a small holographic display of the program that was just derezzed.
"What're you doing?" Inferno asked when he had rejoined them. He hated the fact someone had died with him in charge. It made him feel like he had failed in some way.
"I can restore programs remember? If I can get a program's disc in time, I can bring them back. Of course... it leaves me drained for awhile," she replied, already showing signs of fatigue as the program's crystalized remains began to reconstruct. In a few short minutes, the program had come back, clearly confused.
"Welcome back. Do that again, and I'll kill you," Inferno said as his way of a joke. But their celebration was cut short, not by Laughing, but by Deathmarch who was also reconstructing. It was like watching the resurrection of an undead monster. First the wire frame skeleton, then the pieces of his body began to reconstruct. "The hell you're coming back!" Inferno growled, preparing to roast the hunter before he could revive. But then an orange disc whirred by, followed by a second one that Inferno deflected.
"Did ya miss me?" Laughing laughed, catching his discs and casually walking toward them. "That's a handy function you got there little lady. Shame it ain't used more often! Cause you're gonna need it," he added in a false sense of sincerity as he prepared to throw his discs again. But they looked different then before.
"He's switched to Cluster Discs! Get back and don't give him easy targets!" The Vet barked as Inferno was already priming his wrist shields to cover their escape. And then he was blasted off his feet as the discs not only exploded, but also released shards that exploded when the discs were recalled; essentially making a powerful blast.
They almost took down one of the Hunters. They could be killed, this knowledge did wonders for their morale. But it also earned some unwanted attention...
"A safe haven has appeared on the map. A new supply drop has appeared on the map," an automated voice intoned. The Safe Haven was closer to them then the last one, and was also near Kenji's location. This was either good luck, or an attempt to lure the two largest groups left together for the Hunters.
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Post by Archer Zero on Jan 16, 2014 20:34:46 GMT -5
Kenji was indeed nearby, but he was keeping a good distance away so the sensors wouldn't pick him up. He picked up some information about them, at least. Decker could use forcefields, has roller skates that allow her to move at extremely fast speeds, could use a warhammer very well, and had sensors too that allowed her to predict his movements. The other one was a very capable sniper, and judging from the sheath at his side, also a capable swordsman. He didn't know what other capabilities he had besides that, but he was sure they were formidable. Direct attacks wouldn't work too well against such a pair...
He was following them from a floor below, using his well-trained sensitive hearing to pick up on their presence. Although they were trying to move stealthily, their banter and armor made it so Kenji could still pick up on them. As he escaped to this floor, Kenji had memorized the floor the Hunters were on so he could use it to his advantage. It was a rough job - he only had quick glances before he went down - but it should serve him well enough for his purposes.
As the Hunters reached a narrow corridor, Kenji made his move. He flooded his Blade with void darkness and slashed at the ceiling, creating a crescent wave of energy that blasted it to kingdom come. As the floor collapsed under the Hunters' feet, Kenji sprang in, able to see through the dust thanks to his eyes. To confuse the sensors, however, there was not one Kenji but three - all of them as legitimate as he was, as they were only speed copies. Two of them slashed at Decker, aiming at any vital points, while the third one aimed at the sniper's neck.
Down below, Olorin was not too surprised that his caltrops were trodden on and crushed. In fact, he almost expected it. As Ironhide charged over them, they turned pitch black and straightened themselves out. They were specially treated so that if they were trodden on, they would instead harden and straighten themselves. Of course, there was also a special trigger in case he needed to take care of them all at once.
Olorin fired a rapid stream of energy bolts which were deflected by the shield. For the most part. One arrow, which was unnoticed for the most part, slipped past Ironhide's energy shields and hit his chest. It didn't do anything, however - it didn't even seem physical. All it left was a small glyph there. As he approched, Olorin raised a hand, created a ball of light, shut his eyes, and created a blinding flash right in his eyes. Good, that should blind him. However, that wasn't all the ball of light did - exposed to the light energies, all the caltrops turned pitch black as well. These would not be squished or crushed.
As Olorin backed off, he summoned two more grenades and threw them, laying out more caltrops. The grenades also emanated the same light, instantly hardening the newly-laid caltrops. To complete the setup, Olorin began firing energy bolts all around. Not at Ironhide, but just the surrounding area. The arrows flew out for a bit, then stopped, and turned to aim at Ironhide. Good. Everything was set up like he wanted to. Olorin began floating to avoid the caltrops and to maneuver. He looked over at the rest of the group who were spread out, but afraid to make a move for fear of retaliation.
He had better finish this soon.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2014 19:49:29 GMT -5
Kenji wasn't the only one with special eyes. Pr0tip wouldn't be such a great marksman if not for his eyes. His worked slightly differently, as it allowed him to see electrical signals, either artificial or organic. This allowed him to see through obstacles like walls, or even floors. But he didn't let on that he knew where he was. This user was far too clever, he would be a much greater threat then the other user. When the user stop, Pr0tip slowed just enough. An attack was coming, and his teammate was completely unaware.
So when the floor exploded, The Decker had been knocked off her feet. And then suddenly, there were three attackers. Pr0tip's pupils shrank as the hand around his sword handle shot up and blocked the attack aimed at his neck. This ability was referred to as 'bullet time.' And as he blocked, he fired a shot with nearly perfect precision at the sword of one of the other Kenji's attacking The Decker. The force of the shot would either make the attack miss, knock the sword out of hand, or simply make the attack fail. His foot then shot up, aimed for his attacker's side. If it was even the real one. As soon as he forced that one to back off, he'd angle his rifle and shoot it/at it.
The Decker while totally surprised, reacted the best way she could. She threw up her roller blades, and tried using the disc mounted on her wrist as a shield. She only barely managed to avoid taking any serious injury because she was programmed with heightened reflexes. But she was also incapable of attacking effectively as she pulled out one of her SMGs and fired blindly...
Ironside continue to shrug off everything thrown at him, even if his shield had been weakened. "I grow tired of your tricks. Fight me!" Ironhide said as he stomped the ground at his feet, releasing a shockwave that would either knock the caltrops between him and Olorin up, or toward him. Either way, once the way was clear, Ironhide would derezz his shield, transferring the energy into his fists. He then would make hand motions similar to that of a character from street fighter, releasing a large flaming ball of energy down the corridor. He was trying to force Olorin's hand. If he moved, one of the other programs could get hit. If he blocked, he'd take some damage. Ironhide was going to use him trying to protect the others against him.
"I hear fighting ahead," Inferno said as his group rounded a corner.
"The Safe Haven is this way though," The Vet pointed out.
"These Hunters are supposed to be tough right? They just kill whoever gets caught in their sights. So what could possibly be able to fight them? Inferno said using a surprising degree of logic. Kenji had to be down that way. "Let's go give em a hand," Inferno said leading the way. A short run later, and Inferno's hunch was right on the money. "Room for one more?" Inferno bellowed, getting Pr0tip to spin around just as Inferno threw a punch.
But Pr0tip easily ducked under it, trying to stab with his sword while moving behind Inferno after being blocked. Inferno armed his shields and his team threw discs and fired at Pr0tip. Activating his personal body shield, he blocked a sniper shot and ducked under the barrage of discs as he fired his rifle in response. Every shot hit something, and killed one program for sure before he popped back up. This was a bad position to be in. "They're all here,"[/b][/i] Pr0tip messaged DM and Laughing.
"I believe these Users came in with a group sent to us from The Kernel," Sentinel commented to Mage as they watched on different screens.
"So, that ancient piece of software can be sneaky afterall," Mage stated, more interested in the fight then how they got there.
"Per your rules, Deathmatch should be starting soon," Sentinel reminded him.
"Indeed... I won't need your help with this one," Mage stated. His servant looked at him with dismay. "It's been awhile since I've been able to really enjoy myself," he added.
"As you wish," Sentinel conceded.
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Post by Archer Zero on Jan 21, 2014 20:08:26 GMT -5
The plan had almost gone accordingly, but there was a small hiccup - it seemed that the sniper was showing his real talents now. Not only had he stopped just before where the floor collapsed, he also deflected the speed copy of Kenji that was attacking him with speeds that were almost utterly inhuman as well as saving his friend from one speed copy. However, there were two speed copies attacking Decker. Fortunately for Decker, the one that the sniper shot was the real Kenji, and his sword was deflected. His blade remained in his hand for he kept a tight grip, but the other one could still land a blow.
However, whereas the sniper wasted time attempted to kick the third speed copy (and found his foot went straight through it), Kenji finished up. Decker was defenseless and caught unawares, and could only fire her gun blindly. Kenji flash-stepped to her side, away from her gun, focused all the strength in his arm, and slashed. Not a normal slash - it was three simultaneous slashes at once, each at one of Decker's vitals, each slash easily a killing blow. At this distance and range as well as Kenji's speed, combined with taking her off-guard, there would be no way to block or dodge such an attack. If Kenji's calculations were right... Decker was finished.
Room for one more?
He looked over and saw that Orion had burst through and was now engaging the sniper, but he looked to be in a bad position, easily outmaneuvered and under fire from him. Kenji scowled. He wondered how Olorin was doing. However, he couldn't abandon him that callously. With that, he charged in, his blade at the ready to strike.
Down below, it was obvious that Olorin's subversive combat tactics were not doing much except make Ironhide made. The shockwave thankfully didn't effect Olorin too much as he was floating above the ground, but it did scatter his caltrops as well. He scowled. Not good. Then Ironhide fired a blast of energy straight at him. His eyes widened. A Morton's Fork. If he moved, they could get hit. If he didn't, he'd get hurt. Then his hunter's pragmatism set in. There was little option in what to do. "Move!" he called out to the others behind him before leaping right over the fireball.
However, even as he jumped, he was not idle. The arrows that remained in the air around Ironhide suddenly began launching themselves at him, most moving towards the glyph that Olorin had set on his chest. However, there was one special ability these floating arrows had that they could do if they had time to charge... and time they did have. Moving into a blindspot, Olorin grabbed one of the arrows and it transferred its energy straight into the loaded energy bolt that Olorin had. With that, Olorin launched himself, much faster than normal and powerful, straight at Ironhide, like he was a giant arrow of energy himself.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2014 21:45:03 GMT -5
If The Decker was a normal person, Kenji would be very correct. However, since she was an advanced game bot, combined with the fact that programs did not work like humans, he was only half right. Not to mention that Laughing managed to survive being hit by Inferno. Of course, she was the physically less imposing of them all, but the point remained. Doesn't change the fact that she did take damage, and it was enough to frighten her.
So she played dead for a moment. "On your own for this one Pr0," she thought hoping no one decided to question why she hadn't vanished.
Thankfully, Pr0tip quickly realized what she was doing and went on the attack! He leaped over Inferno who sent two streams of fire from his hands, kicking off of his upper back and hurling himself at Kenji with his sword. Now holding his rifle like a mace, he alternated between graceful and relentless attacks to give The Decker a chance to escape.
And she took it, though not nearly as quickly as before. "Hang on there little lady!" Inferno bellowed, kicking off in pursuit and inadvertently cutting between Kenji and Pr0tip as he caught her by the back of her hoodie and pulled her back. Quickly wrapping an arm around her beck, he placed his other hand on her head so that he could easily just snap her neck if she struggled.
"Let me go let me go!" she yelped, clearly in pain due to Kenji's attacks.
"I'll think about it. But tell me, where's the big guy?" Inferno inquired seriously.
"He's down that way," she pointed before yelping again as Inferno hefted her on his shoulder. "Where're you taking me? Put me down!" she demanded, too weak to offer resistance.
"I could crush your skull if you prefer," Inferno pointed out as he turned back around.
"No no no! This is fine!" she stammered. Inferno would probably enjoy this way more if he had known that never had a Hunter been put in such an embarrassing situation. And if she had been wearing a skirt. But she wasn't so his enjoyment was limited.
He had turned back around to return to the fight against Pr0tip. "Oh bloody hell..." The Decker swore. And Inferno looked back around, it was Deathmarch. And if he was pissed, Inferno couldn't tell. But he was holding a glowing dagger. "SHITE! Either let me go or go back the other way... about fifty feet that way!" she pleaded, trying to wiggle free.
"Why should I be scared of a butter knife?" Inferno demanded, giving her a squeeze with his arm.
"That's a Deleter! It's use is banned everywhere on the system except here! Let's just say... once it's primed, you DON'T want to be within fifty feet of whatever it stabs. And Deathmarch is crazy enough to stab himself to ensure you lot are taken out in the explosion!" she quickly replied as Deathmarch broke into a sprint.
"Now that's someone fun to fight. Head's up Kenji! Suicider coming our way!" Inferno said as a warning, mostly cause he suddenly kicked off into a flying kick toward him and Pr0tip. But also to warn him of the fact that Deathmarch was gonna try to blow em all up.
Pr0tip easily avoided, as Kenji most likely did and was irritated by the constant interruptions. But Deathmarch planning on blasting them all to oblivion was problematic. He didn't want to be derezzed, atleast not because he got caught in the aftermath of a suicide run.
And Ironhide broke into a charge right after his attack. If he couldn't take Olorin down directly, he'd atleast try to take out the other programs first! He could move surprisingly fast for a hulking mass of data... but not fast enough to avoid getting hit. But nothing slowed him down, nothing until Olorin hit him. "Got ya!" Ironhide bellowed, electricity crackling from his fist as he swung a counterattack... and then everything around them suddenly exploded from a barrage of discs.
This was followed by the systematic deresolution of all of the stunned programs as Laughing came out of nowhere and killed them one by one with his disks. "You still not finished here Iron? The Noobtip leader needs help back there. Or we could just chill here and wait till Bonehead blows them all to bits," Laughing laughed, a cold and unfeeling laugh. He really didn't care if Deathmarch blew them all to pieces or not.
"Deathmatch will begin in one minute..." an automated voice intoned. Enough people had fallen finally.
"Ooooh, I love this part <3" Laughing commented, the image on his helmet changing into a heart for a moment before reverting to a smiley.
"Now the real game begins," Mage purred in anticipation. Calling in alitte backup. He wanted to play with his new toys...
Once deathmatch started, each group would be sent to different chambers as the arena rearranged itself. It would take the form of a grand hexagon shaped coliseum. It would be wide open, no corridors, no nooks or crannies to hide, it would be a fight to the death.
But before then, Kenji and the others would have to deal with the threat of Deathmarch...
((Feel free to NPC him for convenience))
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Post by Archer Zero on Jan 25, 2014 16:47:15 GMT -5
Kenji should've realized - the moment she didn't disappear was when he should've gone back to finish her off. However, he had no chance as the sniper pounced on him with sword and gun in hand, and Kenji had his hands full fending them off. He knew she was looking for a chance to escape, and he wasn't able to stop her. As soon as she tried, however, cutting them both off, Orion was there, grabbing her and taking her hostage. He looked around for the sniper and saw him quickly retreating to give himself a better position to fight. He scowled. Great. Well, at least they had information in their repertoire.
Then he heard Decker cursed and turned. There was the one from Will O' Wisp, and he held some sort of glowing dagger. Kenji instantly was cautious. The fact that Decker was fearful of it probably meant that dagger was a lot more dangerous than it first appeared. Orion was not as quick on the uptake, calling it a butter knife before he got corrected and Decker explained what it really was. Kenji cursed in his head. A kamikaze type. They were always the trickiest ones to take out. If they weren't careful, they would all be blown to kingdom come. Orion shouted a warning as he charged, but Kenji already saw him coming and both him and the sniper dodged.
Kenji scowled. There would be no way to easily disable him. However, if there was one big weakness these types had it was this: Because they chose to use their own lives to destroy others, their sense of self-preservation was completely gone... which meant that their defense would be utter garbage. It was something he could definitely use. But he would have to be careful - if that dagger hit anyone, they would all be destroyed. But if he played it carefully...
"All of you, get out of here! NOW!!" he roared as he dashed towards the suicide bomber, catching him off-guard. There came a rapid hail of jabs, but at the last minute, Kenji slid under his arm and rapidly sliced upwards, catching his wrist - the one with the dagger. That was easy enough - he had been spot on with his expectation that his guard would not be up. Most people with common sense would be trying to get the hell away from him, not moving towards him. Kenji's unexpected tactic worked. The dagger was flung up in the air, but Kenji managed to catch it, thanks to his eyes and reflexes. A quick scan with his demonic eyes allowed him to see the mechanisms... including how to prime it.
With that, before the Will O' Wisp had time to recover, Kenji threw the dagger hard and saw it sank deep into the Will O' Wisp's head. For anyone, this would be a suicide move... but Kenji was fast. He quickly flash-stepped out of there as the whole thing exploded...
The counterattack had caught Olorin by surprise as the backhand landed on his shoulder, sending him flying and crashing into a wall. He painfully got up, the arm that was hit hanging limply. Dislocated. He could put it back in, but that took time. And time was not exactly the greatest commodity he had at the moment. Then the other programs exploded into nothing more than pixels and data and Olorin roared, "NO!" He had been protecting them - they had trusted him. Olorin made one of the biggest mistakes he could make on the battlefield:
He forgot to account for all the fighters that were on the battlefield.
Looking at Ironhide and the one in the cycle, he heard the announcement boom over the megaphones. This was not good. Two against one, shoulder dislocated, all his traps and tricks disabled or rendered ineffective. Raising his crossbow, he began planning what to do to get himself out of this situation. He couldn't call his lord for help, or he would be unworthy of the title of Paladin. He was one of Kenji's greatest warriors - this shouldn't be an issue. He fought worse. He calmed himself, his mind mastering his pain as began forming plans...
Olorin was not done yet.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 26, 2014 20:50:50 GMT -5
Prior to Deathmarch's death, his helmet would crack away from the dagger, revealing a very realistic skull that was on fire. Deathmarch roared in defiance seconds before the dagger went off. "Where's the other guy?" Inferno demanded, not seeing him any where. "One Hunter eliminated," an automated voice intoned. "He managed to get away during the confusion. We lost a couple more trying to stop him," The Vet replied tensely. Inferno's group had lost one, the others were hurt bad from the earlier counterattack. Now there was just three of them. "You don't look too good yourself..." Inferno remarked. "We still have some med packs left..." The AV program chimed in. She looked tired, probably still on account of bringing their teammate back. "You're late..." Ironhide growled, only slightly worse for wear. "Had to find my cycle before Deathmatch," Laughing retorted as they were enveloped in light. All remaining participants were also enveloped, dropped off in a chamber while the arena began to shift around. "Right, I assume this Deathmatch is pretty much a 'congratulations on being the last alive. Now it's time to die' scenario," Inferno commented. "Yeah... Mage uses it as an excuse to eliminate all participants," The Decker replied, resigned to her fate as a hostage. The fact she had not been taken to the others was probably because Inferno was attached to her. Very bad luck. "We also have one more. Looks like the guy with the shiny armor," Inferno pointed out as their chamber started to rise. In seconds, they were now standing in a wide and open coliseum-like arena that was overlooked by the crowd of programs that gathered to watch. Again, Inferno could get into this as a career. On the opposite side of the arena was Pr0tip, Ironhide, and Laughing. "Hey! Whats her name! What are ya doing over there?" Laughing called out mockingly. "Look, if you're hoping to use me against them, you're wasting your time. You should just finish me off," The Decker commented, not even acknowledging Laughing. "Who said I was going to use you against them?" Inferno countered as the top of the arena opened around a platform. "Well, looks like we got Mage's attention," Inferno said, and he could have swore he felt his prisoner turn cold. It was indeed Mage, with an entourage of programs that bore a similar appearance to CLU's Blackguard. Only modified, and some also had shields. "You wanna fight me?" Mage called down, his voice altered by auto-tune by the helmet he was now wearing. "Cause I know who sent you," he added. "I don't care!" Inferno called back mockingly. He was already picking a fight with the one they needed info from. This was sure to end well! "Alright smart ass, if that's how you wanna play," Mage said snapping his fingers, signalling for his entourage to spring into action. These new programs were indeed similar to CLU's blackguard. Music also began to play that most of the programs recognized. Mage's entourage were similar in ability, mentality, and skill to CLU's Blackguard. But Mage liked to imagine his were better. "Mage's Elite Guard. They're tough even in small numbers, but not nearly as tough as those three," The Vet said already taking aim and popping off a shot at one of the shieldless Elite Guard. Which was then promptly intercepted and blocked by one that DID have a shield. "All they have is numbers. Here, take these," Inferno said detaching his wrist shields. "Me and Kenji will line them up, you guys knock em down," Inferno suggested. "As for you..." Inferno said using his last health pack on The Decker. It wasn't a very effective health kit, it would only let her stand on her own two feet mostly. "I just spared your life. That better mean something to you," Inferno snorted as he set her down. "Why?" The Decker asked genuinely confused. "Because, you're not like your friends over there. Just a feeling I got," Inferno replied kicking off without a moment more of hesitation. The enemy took time to get close only because of the arena's size. But Inferno landed smack in the middle of them with a single bound, just missing an Elite Guard who had the foresight to move. "Keep an eye on her," The Vet advised the AV program, not trusting their unlikely ally as he took aim. Inferno was no tactician, but he picked a good time to engage. They were far, but not too far where hitting them from where he was would be an issue. As for the three remaining Hunters, Pr0tip got on the back of Laughing's cycle. That would be a big problem, Pro's sharpshooting mixed with the speed of a Light Cycle that was no longer constrained by the cramped corridors of earlier. And Ironhide mimicked Inferno, kicking off into the air to try and join combat faster. Mage meanwhile remained on his floating platform, seemingly dancing to the music while he watched the action from high above.
((Music is Derezzed, from the Tron Legacy soundtrack))
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Post by Archer Zero on Jan 27, 2014 14:30:16 GMT -5
One Hunter eliminated.
Kenji had managed to flash-step away to a good distance before the explosion caught him. He had caught up with Orion and their hostage - Decker. They met up with the rest of Orion's group, one looking like an old hand and the other looking rather tired like she ran a marathon. A veteran and... he had no clue who the other one could be. The others seemed protective of her, though, so she must be important in some sense. Then the light enveloped them and deposited them in a corridor as the whole arena began shifting.
He scowled. Typical. Now it truly felt like a gladiator battle.
As Orion and Decker discussed what to do, Kenji rushed over to Olorin, who was given a reprieve by being teleported away from all the others. "You're hurt," Kenji said shortly, looking him over, particularly at his arm. Olorin nodded, keeping his head low in deference. "Mere flesh wounds, my lord - or data wounds, whatever you wish to call them. They should not impede my fighting ability." Kenji frowned. "That's a lie and you know it, Paladin Olorin," he said, looking him over. HE grabbed the dislocated arm. "This is going to hurt," he told him, then with a rapid movement, set it back into place with a loud snap.
Olorin gasped in pain. That... hurt. He had expected it to hurt - he had reset his bones before - but he still wasn't used to it. When Kenji was done and he let go, he rotated his arm as well as opened and closed his hands. It was stiff and still hurt like all hell, but he could move past the pain. Then they all whirled around as the MAGE finally showed... and Kenji wished Orion would just shut the hell up.
Then five of the Mage's elite guard dropped down to play. Some of them had shields, but a few had what seemed to be lightstaves strapped on their wrists. Kenji blinked in surprise. Red lightstaves. How very... nostalgic. It reminded him of more innocent times, when he was still a hero with pure ideals instead of who he was now. But that mattered little. He blinked in surprise as Decker was given a medpack and was allowed to fight. Kenji would've quickly had her killed once she was useless as a hostage - less of a liability, less things to worry about so they could focus.
It mattered little. If she proved to be a hindrance or worse, a traitor, both he and Olorin would cut her down with no mercy.
As the guard and the Hunters moved in, Kenji barked out, "Stay close! They'll pick us off one by one if we seperate! Orion, see if you can counter the Juggernaut! Olorin, cover fire!" With that, Olorin aimed his energy crossbows and fired a hail of energy bolts towards the duo on the lightcycle, Kenji moved over to guard the section where the elites were rushing in. He whirled his sword. None were getting past him.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 29, 2014 20:49:45 GMT -5
(("And Kenji just wished that Orion would shut up." Made my day lol))
Inferno was having no luck in hitting any of the Elites, but they couldn't/didn't want to get close enough to try and hit him either. Eventually he just spun around and let loose fire in all directions, getting them to scatter entirely as Ironhide came barreling through the flames, fists crackling with electricity. "Outta my way shrimps!" Inferno commanded, feeling a jolt of excitement as he barreled toward Ironhide.
Now as you can imagine, when the two of them collided, sparks flew. Both because of Ironhide's power fists grinding against Inferno's gauntlets, and because both of them landed a hit and sent the other one sliding back against their heels a good distance. "You hit hard... for a User," Ironhide grinned, tapping his fists together.
"That so? My fiancee hits harder then you- and she ain't as big as me," Inferno shot back. Then the two went at it again. It was actually very cool to watch how they feinted one moment, blocked blows the next, then traded blows another. Granted, Ironhide clearly had the skill and discipline, but Inferno was tenacious! And he had some good instincts.
"Are you playing for keeps now?" Pr0 asked his partner.
"Just stick to shooting," Laughing retorted as he gunned the engine and began weaving through shots. Pr0tip took aim and fired back, his shots still accurate despite the rapid movements. Then Laughing took a turn to go around Kenji and the others, leaving behind a wall of light in his wake while Pr0 fired at anyone he could get in his sights.
The Vet responded with shots of his own, briefly hiding behind the shield Inferno gave him as the duo passed. And then Pr0tip suddenly leaped from the cycle, straight toward the AV program with sword drawn. She blocked with her shield, but other wise couldn't do anything as The Vet fired shots and forced him to back off from her. Taking aim, Pr0tip fired shots off at them and Olorin while The Decker watched. She was at a loss of what to do. She knew what she had to do, but that seemed wrong now after what had just happened. But at the same time, she was in a sorry state and all it would take to derezz her was pissing Pr0tip off. Or anyone here could probably derezz her.
During this time, The Elites had engaged Kenji. Shortly thereafter, Laughing was speeding toward Kenji with a disc drawn and at the ready.
"You gonna show mercy like you did with my teammate?" Ironhide growled through gritted teeth as he and Inferno locked horns again.
"No. I think that'd insult you wouldn't it? Damn shame though. I haven't had this much fun in years!" Inferno also growled, giving up on overpowering him and instead pushing into Ironhide. After making him lose his balance, he dug in and swung Ironhide over his head and into the ground. Unlike with the arena before, the ground didn't shatter. It only flared up on impact, but that was all.
Back on his feet, Ironhide primed his fists and shield and went to town with a series of attacks. Inferno took him, hissing with pain as he nailed Ironhide square in the chest with an attack to remove his shield. "Here comes the boom!" Inferno bellowed, quickly following up with a face buster to send Ironhide flying backward from a fiery blast. If he kept this up, he'd beat this guy for sure!
"I tire of watching this... but which of you should I go after first?" Mage said in a mocking manner. But in reality, he was being very analytic. He had been watching them to learn their abilities, strengths, weaknesses- anything that he could use to decide how to crush them. The big guy was strong, very strong as a matter of fact. Sentinel would be hard pressed against him. But he had no elegance, no style. He was just throwing himself into attacks until something stuck. He would prove no fun.
The swordsman was clever, and very skilled. The fact that he took out one Hunter, nearly two was clear enough evidence of that. "He should prove interesting," Mage thought excitedly. But he'd wait for now. He'd wait until the number of players went down first.
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Post by Archer Zero on Jan 31, 2014 20:33:11 GMT -5
OOC: Glad it amused you. XD
IC:
Although it was five vs. one, Kenji didn't feel any bit of fear or panic at all. Kenji had faced much worse odds before. The guard tried to move past him, using only two guards to keep him occupied while the other three slipped past. Kenji knew this tactic very well, and so he shut them down. Moving left and right, back and forth, he kept the five busy and away from the others with careful, calculated strikes, designed to interfere with forward progress and keep their attention on him. It was hard to do, but Kenji was a proficient enough fighter and swordsman to do so.
He first focused on the guards that wielded twin lightstaves. Although their style was different than what Kenji was used to, he was nevertheless very familiar with it. He had practiced against dual lightstaves for years. He almost forgot what it was like fighting against them, but facing them once again, it all flashed back to him - how they fight, what their strengths were, openings and weaknesses, how to look for them... The strength was their unpredictability. With four blades, one could never tell where or when the next one will strike. But still, eventually, a pattern would fall into place. It would take only the most skilled warriors to notice it, and it would take an even more skilled warrior to vary it enough to sufficiently confuse an opponent. The one Kenji had practiced with could do so.
This guards, however, were amateurs compared to him.
As Kenji fought them off, he quietly scanned. Another weakness of such a style was the lack of power behind each strike. Each cut could go through anything, true, but they lacked any strength behind them because of their style, allowing him to parry and block them easily. Another weakness was overconfidence. Believing their opponent to be pinned down by the myriad attacks, it gave them openings that others not so focused with their weapons would never leave. Detecting an opening, he slipped past the others' attacks to the one guard and thrust, stabbing him straight through the abdomen. Slicing upward, he cut him directly in half.
One down.
That wasn't it, though. Kenji looked over to see the one in the lightcycle approaching him, disk at the ready. Kenji lowered himself into an iaido stance, then flash-stepped forward, slashing powerfully, seeking to cleave the cycle in half. If it was an ordinary human using an ordinary sword, both body and blade would have been broken. But Kenji was far more powerful than an ordinary human, and the Blade of Balance was made of adamantine - it would never break, nor would its edge dull. What would be the outcome...?
Olorin meanwhile deflected the shots with the energy bolts. No normal eyes could see it, but Olorin was no ordinary human. Soon, the sniper decided to engage up close and personal, but the veteran got him to back off, allowing Olorin to engage. Deflecting more shots with bolts, he grinned. This was more in league with how he fought. He doubted that the sniper could take all of his traps and tricks... and he still had a few other ones up his sleeve that he didn't bring against the Juggernaut.
He was going to have fun with this...
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2014 17:05:18 GMT -5
Laughing saw the movement, and either by sheer dumb luck or him simply not screwing around, he popped a wheelie and in the same motion, swung his legs back over his head until his body was vertical like a hand stand. Kenji got his result, but right when his sword cleaved the cycle in two, Laughing swung his legs forward to shift his weight, bringing his half of the cycle over and swinging it downward at Kenji in an attempt to flatten him into the ground.
Assuming he missed, Laughing would quickly draw his other disk and launch himself into a flurry of attacks. He was fast, almost unbelievably fast. And he wasn't making any snide remarks or jokes, it was clear he was trying now. Laughing was a traditionalist. Most programs only used their disks as a last resort, typically relying on other more effective weapons first. But Laughing preferred using his disks over other weapons, that didn't mean he ONLY used his disks though. His attacks never seemed to end, one attack led into another one and so on. He was relentless, but he wasn't stupid either. All of this and he hadn't used any special tricks yet.
The remaining Elite Guard fanned out, going around the two while Laughing kept Kenji busy...
Pr0tip was not in a good situation, or atleast he would be if The Decker didn't help him. Rather, he was counting on that she would, but she seemed... distracted at the moment. The other program was engaging now, and Pr0tip ran to engage him at close range. He intentionally moved to one side of Olorin, keeping him out of The Vet's line of sight for as long as he could. Like before, he was using his rifle as a bludgeoning weapon in concert with his sword. It was as was said to Inferno, Pr0tip was a close range and far ranged expert. His attacks didn't leave him open, or if they did it was covered up quickly before another attack.
"We got company coming," The Vet announced, referring to the Elite Guard moving in on them. He fired shots, which were again intercepted by the shield wielding Elites. But that was what Pr0tip was waiting for. As soon as he saw The Vet's attention shift, he flipped on his Bullet Time. Using his rifle to try and sweep Olorin, he broke away and quickly raised his rifle. The Vet wasn't so old that he didn't see this, but Pr0tip was simply too fast and fired a shot through his chest.
The Elites went after Olorin first, trying to get close enough to engage him. "Because we're friends I'll ask you once: whose side are you on, Thorne?" Pro asked her seriously, aiming his rifle with one hand at her. "And don't attempt to stall me," he added gruffly.
'Thorne' paled when Pr0tip wanted to know whose side she was on. "GLITCH!" she swore silently. This was bad, she was gonna die. And she didn't have the time to mull it over either or he'd probably shoot her anyway- no he would. Friends or not, she had no doubt in her mind that he would follow up on his threat. "W-well, they spared me and all, which was nice but- I'm really not up to snuff at the moment so I didn't want to bring attention to myself," she replied stammering. Then she noticed his attention shift for a moment.
"No! Not again! Just hang in there, you'll be okay in a second," the AV program shrieked as she knelt down to the fallen program. He hadn't been derezzed yet, meaning the shot wasn't fatal, but he wouldn't last much longer without attention. And this was something she could handle easily.
Pr0tip took aim, but as he did, Thorne panicked and on reflex, pulled out her hammer and swung. But she was in bad shape while Pr0tip was in fine shape, enabling him to easily avoid the attack and counter with a back handed strike that knocked her to the ground. "So that's how it is then," Pr0tip stated simply.
For those of you interested in what Inferno is up to, he and Ironhide were still wailing on eachother. Neither had any effective defense against the other, so they dropped defense to just beat the crap out of eachother. "You still here man? Why don't you just give up already?" Inferno taunted, banged up kind of badly.
"I am not programmed to give up, it is you who shouldjust give up. I have yet to be defeated!" Ironhide replied, also banged up badly. It was impossible to tell which one was worse off as they both roared, and went back for another bout of punches.
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Post by Archer Zero on Feb 1, 2014 20:33:44 GMT -5
Kenji scowled and barely managed to dive out of the way of the half motorcycle crashing down. He was undecided himself whether that move was calculated or he was just lucky. Before Kenji could regain his breath, however, the driver was on him, using two discs and driving him back in a fierce but calculated assault. This was not good. This person was skilled, despite his earlier carefree attitude. He kept them so busy that the rest of the elite guard managed to slip past him. Kenji scowled and focused on beating off the attacker. He just needed one opening, just one, and he could counter him and turn the tide in his favor.
Olorin, meanwhile, seeing that the sniper had decided to go for close range, did the same thing. The sides of the crossbows folded in and the bolt already in extended further, creating wrist-mounted energy blades instead. He dodged around the sweep but was engaged by the elites first. Scowling, he fended off, striking at any openings with swift stabs and jabs. The shield-wielding elites would prove to be a problem, but he could deal with them, as with the lightstave wielding elites. However, even in the confusion, he still kept one eye on Decker and the sniper, who were conversing seriously. Then he saw Decker attempt to strike at the sniper and fail miserably.
At that moment, Olorin knew where her allegiances lay.
Rapidly converting one of his blades back into a crossbow, he rapidly fired a hail of energy bolts to force the sniper away from Decker, slowly making his way toward her and guard her. There was no way he was having an ally stricken down on his watch.
OOC: Sorry for the sucky post - exhausting day at work. @_@
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