The Elder Invasion: CHAPTER 2 - Shapeshift Town

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Re: Shapeshift Town - CHAPTER 2

SHAPESHIFTER CASTLE​

Just keep putting one foot in front of the other, that's all. Quickly, though; I don't fancy getting caught by the guys chasing me.

Turn. Spit blood. Stagger a little. Keep moving.

Just gotta keep moving. Nothing to it.

Charge up stairs, down hallways. I barely notice my surroundings; the pain's kinda obscuring it all. The cracked ribs grate, which is really, really not good. I shouldn't be straining my body in such a ridiculous manner, but I'll be damned if my last act is to get killed running away from a bunch of fucking nutters through a castle.

Spit blood again, cough uncontrollably, continue forcing legs forward.

I'm not dying here, not now. I've got a job to do, after all, and I'll see to it that it's done.

Might wanna get my ribs fixed first, though.

Great, Grant, well done. Joking to yourself will totally help the situation.

Shoulder my way through doors, continue running. My pace is beginning to slip; I can only force my body to do so much. The voices behind me are growing steadily louder, closer. At least these guys don't have guns; I'd be fucked if they had guns.

Burst onto the roof, head straight for the remaining transport ship. No sign of Uriel or Sakura, which is really very not good. A few of the remaining Shapeshifters guard the ship, looking at me with fear and confusion in their eyes. Around us, the town is ripped apart; nothing's gonna survive in this place for much longer.
"You okay, Doc?" one of the Shapeshifters asks as I lean against the side of the ship, breathing heavily.
"I'll live," I reply quickly, "Now get your guns on that doorway; they're coming."
"No need," the leader of the group states, "We're about to take off--"
"Not a fuckin' chance," I interrupt, "There's still people on the way, and we ain't leaving them to die. We hold 'till the last minute."
"You're not the one in charge, Doctor. Now get in the transport--"

Snarling, barely able to see from the pain, I manage to dart forwards and jam the barrel of my handgun into the man's mouth.
"Don't tell me what to do, you little shit-poke. I said we hold. 'Till. The. Last. Fucking. Minute." I look over at the Shapeshifters, who are all half-beginning to aim their weapons at me. "Don't point those fuckin' things at me, you idiots! Get them on the door! There's survivors on the way, and we're waiting for them!" The 'Shifters exchange looks, and with a sigh, level their weapons at the door I came through.

Who says I don't have very good people skills?

Grant moves through the corridors to the roof, the pain from his ribs getting to him. He prevents the ship from leaving without the other survivors by holding the guard leader at gunpoint and ordering the guards to defend the ship until the last minute.
 
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Re: Shapeshift Town - CHAPTER 2

Musical Score: The Devils Own - Five Finger Death Punch

Shifter Castle Roof

Valkyries started returning to the Barship, using their remaining ammo to blast at the Spiders encrusting the hull. The exterior of the ship was a smoking mess, the Elders like barnacles weighing down the great creature. And inside was worse - the crew embroiled in a viscious defence against boarding parties. Only Kohler's guardsmen remained on the roof, ushering everyone towards Tain's ship, risking their own lives in order to evacuate this last bastion of resistance.

As Uriel and Sakura moved up the stairs, Uriel heard the unmistakeable whine of VTOL engines and he increased his pace, though was careful not to leave Sakura Behind. "Come, We're almost there" Uriel urged as he stepped into the light.

The Barship

As soon as the last Valkyrie made it into the hangar and the Terminators returned, the Barship swung around, its nose rising and its engines blasting to full power with a deafening roar and sending out a massive shockwave as it slowly at first, but soon gathering spped, made its way for high orbit.

Inside, The Bridge was a hive of activity, though both Alesia and Mickailas were hovering over one console, the servitor at the console was uttering co-ordinates and a request to fire.
The Console guided the Barships Bombardment Cannon and Lance Beam was the ships main weapon console.
and it had a positive lock on the Scorpion.
"Fire the Main gun as e retreat, give the enemy something to think about" the psyker General growled, and the servitor warbled and the entire ship shuddered as the massive Bombardment Cannon Fired, the newly generated naval conscripts had a skeleton crew in at all stations, they were only given rudimentery taining, and the casualties from the shock the cannons firing caused would mean they would not be able to fire again for some time.


Shifter Town
The Maga bomb slammed into the earth near the scorpion like the fist of an angry god, and a milisecond later the ground erupted in a massive explosion. By the time the dirt and smoke had cleared, the Barship was just breaching the Atmosphere.



The Barship makes for high orbit, firing its bombardment cannon once at the scorpion as it does so.
 
Re: Shapeshift Town - CHAPTER 2

"And things just continue to crumble." Pirogeth stated as he finally got to the side entrance which was now blocked by a load of rubble. He had little time to choose the next area. "Safer to go up." He suggested turning to the group now. "Alright we are heading toward the roof." It was not an impossible task. All they had to do was find some stairs right? At the very least a few of the injured knew where they were going and what they were doing.

Piro just followed the crowd, until a red light filled the halls and soon after the barricades were destroyed. "What the hell was that?" The infirmary patients continued onward not looking back once as they were able to reach the stairs. Pirogeth, on the other hand, had a bit of a problem to deal with. Several hundred noobs were charging through the halls intent on destroying everything in sight.

"Crap." He muttered to himself as he reached down to his waste and activated the ISD. "Random intervals…here we go." The first attack was from a flamer the blazes closing in on him ready to fry his armor to a crisp. Right before the shot could hit he disappeared. Blackness enveloped Pirogeth's line of sight for a moment but soon he could see clearly again. He was right over the mob of attackers.

Gravity took over and he dropped in between them, the noobs this far back were not expecting a fight just yet. Taking advantage of this Pirogeth spun around hands outstretched with the spiked chakrams in a firm grip. The noob blood sprayed and before they could tell what happened the ISD activated again. Now Pirogeth was standing next to one of the noobs just outside his reach before. Due to the sheer number of bodies though, he could not tell how far he moved. He just took a swing at whatever was near him. A troll tried to take advantage of the situation as it seen the slaughter from its somewhat high vantage point. Deviants were about to obscure the landscape but were cut short by a club to the face. Pirogeth had taken the club as well but his soul arts adjusted the armor to take the damage. He was flung against the wall and by this time all of the noobs up front had stopped to turn around and deal with this nuisance.

Because of the troll hit and the obscure effects of the armor Pirogeth found it nearly impossible to move his right arm. "Blast it, I need that." His weakened hand put away the chakram as he was forced to focus with only one. A white light emitted from his shoulder and traveled down his arm to meet the chakram again his soul arts activated. The spikes grew longer and more effective. He tossed it toward the mob steadily approaching. The front few and any trolls were sliced in half, the shorter and more reflexive noobs managed to dodge. Unfortunately that meant about eighty percent were still capable of fighting. The chakram landed in the opposite wall of the large main hall. Three beeps signaled to Pirogeth he was changing position fairly shortly. Disappearing and reappearing he landed on the stairs he was going to go up.

"Damn it…my weapon." The enemies changed course again almost like a blob. The blue fighter cringed at the thought of what he was about to do. Not only was it stupid but he was bound to be hurt, yet, he needed that weapon, his mind was set on it. He ran toward the sea of heads and began using them as stepping stones. "Almost there, almost there, almost there." He said to himself. Getting within a few feet of his chakram he stretched out his hand unaware of his current position. The field of pimp rats extended their chains one finally gripping on Pirogeth's ankle. Soon after the other chains bound him as his soul now started to be drained. Deviants, Flamers, Hijackers, and more now converged on him ready to take out their prey.

"Giving us too much trouble ye are. Now time to end you." One of the hijackers said as the spammers lined up for a shot as well. Pirogeth's armor relied on his soul and so did his weapon. Although the armor did not reflect any physical evidence the chakram in the wall began to lose its white light. The spikes were getting shorter and shorter and its controller was about to black out. The only thing in the world that mattered was the next three beeps.

*beep beep beep*

He faded from the chains as they rattled to the ground. Pirogeth was now nowhere in sight. Instead of landing in the main hall he landed on the other side of the wall the chakram was in. He knew this because he could see the spike coming through his side. Recuperating he came up with a plan. His eye sight returned shortly but he was still in a rather dark room. From the other side of the wall he could hear the force now continue forward. The wall in front of him was weakened by the chakram and the battle. One good soul art induced punch could knock it down. Focusing what he could he punched the hole in the wall, gathered his weapon, and activated his ISD once again before the noobs knew any better. One floor up was not much of a difference but it was enough of a lead to get him the hell up to the roof before the noobs could catch up.



[SUMMARY: Pirogeth guides the Infirmary patients to the stairs and stalls for time in the main hall. He is nearly defeated by Pimp Rats when the ISD saves his life. He now has a one floor lead in the race to the roof.]
 
Re: Shapeshift Town - CHAPTER 2

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​

Not right. Something was not right. Tain could feel it in his gut. He took stock of his surroundings briefly. It wasn't on the bridge. Perhaps something down below, something that he had missed.

"Lieutenant, take the con." Without a single explanation, Tain was out of his seat and running down the short corridor which lead from the bridge. Lieutenant Weber did nothing to hide her annoyance as she turned her back to the sprinting Captain. She hated it when he did that.

The RRD eased into place on the roof with calculated steadiness, her warning klaxons giving dull but heavy buzz periodically. Steam shot from the underbelly of the vessel, carefully concealed hatches sliding away to reveal bracing struts that gingerly reached out to grasp the castle through unknown methods. Her cargo ramp lowered gradually, revealing a brilliantly lit interior that cast shadows on the immediate area surrounding it. A squad of ten cyberknights supported by a single walker poured down from the widening maw before the ramp had even fully touched ground. They fanned out in a semi-circle with plasma swords and shields at the ready, the walker counter-rotating its chin-mounted gatling gun with an air of menace.

Tain stepped into the crisp air on the roof of the castle, casting his own melodramatic shadow as he descended the ramp. Naturally he was armed, but he did not draw his pistols... not yet. He squinted at the scene before him, with survivors and others leading a last ditch defense to hold the roof secure from invaders. It was not going well. Tain flinched away involuntarily as the walker suddenly spat flame at a group of spammers that had cleared the stairway onto the roof, knocking them flat on their backs to spasm and shriek nonsense until they laid unmoving.

They weren't going to get these people out of here unless someone held their place in defense of the stairwell. He turned to look over his shoulder, mouth widening to shout to the cyberknights that waited inside at the ready. A large hand clapped down onto his shoulder before the call left his throat. Colonel Erud addressed the Captain with a strangely gentle voice as he regarded him behind the geometric motif of his mask, nodding slightly.

"Be at ease, Captain. We are here to do our part, and we know what must be done." The Colonel turned to face the cargo bay and gestured wordlessly. The light which was spilling forth was momentarily eclipsed as an entire platoon of cyberknights strode past Tain to join the squad which was already waiting at the bottom of the ramp. "Get the people out."

Colonel Erud joined his men as they formed into a phalanx, leaving Tain to shake his head in order to return to his senses. He turned back towards the crowd, squaring his jaw with determination. He could make out a figure that stood out among the others vaguely from where he stood. The man appeared to be directing the others to bolster their line. Tain's breath caught when he spot him, causing him to sound a little more frantic than he had intended. "OI! You there! Start falling your people back to the ship!"

It was only then that Tain had noticed the voice emitting from the lapel of his coat, which was rising with urgency as it went unanswered. "Captain. Captain? TAIN!!"

He leaned in close, yelling louder than he intended over the wind which was blowing atop the roof of the castle and the low whine of the RRD's engines. "What?! Go ahead, Weber! I'm listening!"

"Captain... HURRY!"

"Could you uh, elaborate, Lieutenant?" He lowered his bemused voice slightly as he spoke, sweeping his gaze around to make sure he didn't get caught unaware.

"Captain, look to your left. Blind! Is this motherf--" The comm went silent abruptly.

Tain did so, glancing out past the burning courtyard of the castle into the distance. He found it a strange view, as there had been more buildings in that direction a moment ago if his memory served... but this was only a fleeting thought which temporarily took place of the obvious as his gaze settled on the scorpion which inhabited most of the visible horizon in the twilight.

"This is BULLSHIT!" The Captain snarled, as he turned back to the lone figure directing the defenders and jabbed an arm towards the new threat. "WE NEED TO GO! NOW!!"

His statement was punctuated by an additional flash of red as another city block suddenly shriveled and wilted into a vapor to be carried away by the wind. At least he had figured out what was bugging him.

-------

Summary: The RRD's ramp is down and ready to receive evacuees. Some of the AFTA cyberknights have moved forward to cover the escape, through their own deaths if need be. Tain shouts to Grant to get people onboard quickly. Stuff explodes!
 
Re: Shapeshift Town - CHAPTER 2

The Grandmaster sprints up to the roof as fast as his tactical dreadnought armor will take him, the very foundations of the castle shaking as the TL;DR beam ravaged the surrounding city. Tremors throwing his armored bulk into the castle walls as he ascended, after a few moments he was on the roof, where Acqua and a few guardsman remained, he strode over to the young girl saying
"We need to leave"
He then opened a vox channel and whispered a silent prayer to the emperor before requesting evacuation to the space marine vessel for Acqua and himself. With a loud thunder clap the roof was empty once again, Grandmaster, Guardsman, and Girl, had all evacuated to the barship.
 
Re: Shapeshift Town - CHAPTER 2

"Welcome back," the fat guy sitting in front of the computer said without looking back. It was the same fat guy Faramond saw in what he thought was but a dream. "But I don't think we have much time to waste..." he went on.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Faramond asked as he sat up on the same bed he has been but a short while ago. Nothing much has changed, even the cigarettes sitting on the table between the two beds has been untouched. He looked at the fat guy again, who by now had a worried expression on his face. The fat guy looked eerily similar to Faramond, only fatter, and older. Faramond, of course, tried to ignore this, and asked the same question again. "What does all of this mean, and what do you... what do you mean when you said...."

The fat guy turned his attention to Faramond and interrupting him, "We don't have much time. That's that." Faramond stared at the fat guy with a very confused expression, but the fat guy simply went on, "Anyways, the game masters are planning on obliberating all player characters outside a specified area, and you, the twins, and megane-kun are outside that safe zone."

"WHAT?!" Faramond blurted out.

"In simpler terms, you either have to have to be in the castle, or be the hell away from the city, in the soonest possible time," the fat guy explained as he began to type furiously. And before Faramond even got a grapsp of what was happening, again, he found himself back where he was, or where he thought he was was.

"Good luck, Faramond," the fat guy's voice boomed, as if taunting Faramond. Faramond took a good look around and saw the invaders strewn all over the floor, Aki and Aya hovering over megane-kun who seemed to be in a state of shock.

"Megane, Are you alright? What were those things?" Aya asked an obviously unresponsive megane-kun. Faramond went near the twins and said, "Unfortunately, we have no time for explanations. We need to get out of this place, fast."

Aki turned towards Faramond, "As if we don't already know that..."

"No, this is more urgent. I don't understand the details myself, but if we don't get out of the city before the next GM post, we'd be killed for sure."

Even before the twins could react, Faramond took megane-kun to his back and ran as fast as he could.

<hr>summary:
With no time to lose, Faramond took megane-kun and started to run away from the city/town.
 
Re: Shapeshift Town - CHAPTER 2

As the Grandmaster departed, Asmodeus and Myrnodyn swept up the stairs onto the roof, each carrying their respective burdens: JackShade and Jumi. On the other side of the platform, Uriel, Sakura and Pirogeth had just arrived, along with Arachnion. In the centre, Grant was leading the remnants of the Legacy Knights and Shifter Guards, laying down fire on any noobs that scrambled over the parapets. But even now the castle was shaking with the impact of Elder Spiders crawling ever upwards to swallow them.

No sign of Torsty or Palonis, Captain Nic or Coffee, Tyler or Psychosis... only half-friends and strangers. For a moment the angel faltered, wondering if it were better to stay, to fold back into the crumbling castle and pass away with all the old ones. The words of the Hijacker he had battled in the Mage Tower reverberated in his mind.

"What has it been now? Thirty years? So old. It's sad, really, so very sad. A child who can't grow up. Who's left Asmodeus? Besides the old fools and squabbling children, who is there left in Iwaku who truly knows you, who truly cares?"

The Magma Bomb from the Barship detonated, a fireball filling the sky behind Asmodeus, the shockwave staggering him. The south side of Shifter Town was erased in a curtain of flame and the castle roof was wreathed in smoke and dust. But barely a second had passed before an Elder claw came over the parapet and gripped the roof, pulling up its body.

They were still coming.

Asmodeus forced himself onwards. Overhead the Barship and the Teknikan Fleet were engaging their engines and fleeing the town, heading north for the mountains, while below the Scorpion crawled onwards through the Magma blast, stepping over the bodies of the roasted Noobs. The Barship's attack had yielded nothing - the stone beast just kept moving and firing its tail-lazer, stripping the buildings line by line.

"We're the last!" he yelled to Grant, who nodded quickly and gave the order to retreat. The last of the Legacy Knights and Shifters fell back between the ranks of Cyber Knights and stampeded up the ramp into the RRD. "Move!" he shouted at Archy and Sakura, pushing them ahead of him. Myrnodyn teleported inside with Jumi, while Uriel and Piro rushed to help Asmodeus drag JackShade up the ramp. They fell down on the cargo hold just as the lazer from the Spider scoured most of the roof and barely missed the RRD.

The world seemed to slump violently. Already the castle was giving way. The TL;DR ray had ravaged the town and now it was erasing the foundations of the castle. Any second now it would give.

"LET'S GO!" shouted Asmodeus, rolling onto his back and staring down the ramp at whoever was left.
 
Re: Shapeshift Town - CHAPTER 2

So many that he didn't recognize. There was no time. He chalked it up as a loss as far as keeping track of everyone; an easy thing to do when Armageddon was upon them. He lifted his lapel closer, shouting over the din as others rushed past him. "Weber, get us out of here. COLONEL ERUD! WE ARE LEAVING!"

The Colonel had already given the fallback command to his knights, who were quickly shuffling backwards towards the ramp while cutting down anything hostile that got close to them. The Colonel himself was a completely different matter. The mountainous man was strewing the corpses of the invaders about him as shield and sword alike whirled around him in motions which had clearly been practiced to utter fluid perfection.

Time and time again Pimprats, Spammers and other invaders swarmed him. None seemed quite able to halt his fury, quickly being battered aside or severed in half by smoldering plasma. He turned ever so slightly to glance over his shoulder, the only acknowledgment he could afford under the hail of blows he was deflecting. The Colonel suddenly swung violently in a circular motion with his shield, knocking his assailants backwards and making a break for the ship at a dead run.

The RRD had retracted her mooring braces and was slowly pulling away from the castle, making sure to get clear before performing any drastic maneuvers. She swung about in a slow arc, the elevation between herself and the castle roof increasing. The cargo ramp began to close. Tain grasped the hydraulic spar and slid forward to shove an arm towards the lone CyberKnight commander, desperation clear on his face. "JUMP!"

The Colonel jumped. The corded cybernetic augmentations of his suit's legs swelled and suddenly tightened into absurd parodies of human thighs before he vaulted forward, reaching out with his shield arm to grasp Tain's forearm. The man was safe, or so Tain thought. He was about to hoist him aboard when a series of chains lashed the man across the chest and tore him from the cargo ramp violently. The Colonel fell.

Tain couldn't do anything except futilely attempt at grabbing the Colonel's arm again. The ramp was still closing. The last glimpse of the Colonel Tain saw was the man rising to his feet and tearing off his helmet, his body bursting from the enemies surrounding him. He was still fighting when the ramp finally sealed.

-------

The RRD had the room she needed to maneuver after a few more seconds, banking hard and narrowly avoiding an Elder which made a bold attempt at leaping on the ship's hull. The living stone spider missed the mark thankfully, plummeting into the courtyard with a crash. The turboprop engines silenced abruptly, quickly replaced with an earthshaking series explosion from the pulsejets as they propelled the ship's bulk forward at an alarming rate.

Tain stumbled slightly as the gravity repulsors shifted to compensate for the extra G's they were being placed under. He braced himself on the archway of the bridge before righting himself and striding in and leaping into his seat numbly. "We need to break for familiar territory. Take us back to the forest."

"We've got a problem, sir. I'm showing multiple contacts, all on an intercept course."

"Energy spike. ... WE'RE TAKING FIRE!"

All at once the sky was crisscrossed with searing beams of energy. Elder spiders dotted the landscape, menacing eye pieces fixated on the RRD as she traversed the nightsky. The dorsal guns of the RRD opened fire, but to little or no effect at the speed they were traveling. Elder spheres whirled through the air not far behind, gaining in speed quickly. A stray beam struck the starboard hull, failing to break the armor but causing the plating to glow white with heat.

Lieutenant Weber turned to the Captain, struck by an epiphany and clearly driven to desperation by a wont for survival. "Sir, the Aegis?"

Tain grit his teeth. "No. Too risky." The bridge seemed to go quiet for a moment as he considered their options, seconds seeming like hours. "... Overdrive. Overdrive! Stand down all weapons systems! Full power to propulsion! Seal off the hull and deploy cruise manifolds!"

On command, the bow of the RRD suddenly shifted to produce a pair of minute flaps that would serve to create a cavity of air around her as she cut the sky. The hull shifted slightly to hug closer to the vessel, and the very air seemed to vibrate with her passing as the Fenrir reactor churned. The nozzles of the pulsejets widened slightly to compensate for the added force of thrust. The hulking vessel seemed to leap forward by a length and began outpacing the Elders.

Tain breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't entirely certain that the ship would hold under such added stress, but she was performing admirably so far.
 
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Re: Shapeshift Town - CHAPTER 2

In the crowded cargo hold, where panicked shouts held chorus with the RRD's engines, Asmodeus could not distinguish between faces. He could hear Grant trying to organise the wounded, and somewhere Sakura's luminous voice fought against the screams. But all else was a swirling melee, like the last garbled shouts on the edge of a shockwave.

He reeled to his feet and grabbed the bulkhead, watching the green haze of Anirune Forest approach. It was painted brown and purple by the destruction of Shifter Town, its crimson demise overwhelming the green. When the sun rose again, there would only be a wasteland here - the ravages of the TL;DR cannon twinned with the nuclear annihilation of Firebase Sparta.

History was bleeding. The Shifter Tribe was no more. The town that had stood through the Cult Wars and the Admin Conflict - the town founded by the Venun Treaty and reigned over by the Lycan Queen - was now being erased. And all that survived were a few of the old names, stranded aboard a ship of strangers. Shifter Castle collapsed in an inferno behind them and all else was reduced to dust and smoke, the Spiders and the Scorpion crawling amidst the corpse.

It was over.

For a moment he thought it was a shockwave that hit them, but the lurch was more violent, from the inside rather than without. The RRD suddenly lost altitude, a whining sound of distressed metal cutting through the senses. Then the ship dropped and more screams echoed through the cargo hold. Asmodeus barely had time to seize one of the Cyber Knights.

"What's happening?"

"We've lost the Aegis. Hold onto something!"

"Shit!" Asmodeus snarled as he threw himself to the ground. "EVERYONE HOLD ON!"

The thrust of the Aegis drive gave out, leaving the RRD in free spin. It struck the canopy of the forest, skimming like a stone, landing gear and underplates shearing away. Then it plunged down, snapping trunks and branches, fire and smoke blossoming around its hull. The plating was ripped open, the ship tossed like a ragdoll from tree to tree, before it struck a lake, skimming again and launching into a copse of oak trees. The trunks were cleaved apart and the nose of the RRD hit the ground, ploughing through it and displacing soil and roots.

And then... there was only darkness.

crushed_plane_by_JuanSan.jpg



END OF CHAPTER TWO.

CHAPTER THREE WILL BEGIN IN ANIRUNE FOREST​
 
Re: Shapeshift Town - CHAPTER 2

"NOOO!!" Both Aya and Aki shouted as the Faramond stormed out of the building, with megane-kun in tow. But it was too late. The two disappeared into the cloud of dust that surrounded the city.

"They're as good as dead...." Aki muttered as he looked at where Faramond was. "Maybe...." Aya nodded.

The two didn't take too much time to think about things though, for they also needed to get moving. Aki spied a drainage manhole in the near distance and he led Aya towards the relative safety of the sewers. There's some place they need to go back to. And fast.

<hr>summary:
The twins, left behind, headed to the sewers.

OOC:
Sorry for the belated post, life took over for a bit. >_<;

@Vay:
the twins are in your control now ^_^
 
Re: Shapeshift Town - CHAPTER 2

Bridge
Assault Frigate Spear of Mars
High Orbit over Iwaku

"Is there anything other than outsider activity down there? Those bastards aren't supposed to get their hands on any Imperial vessels, y'hear?" The Frigate's captain grumbled. There was uncertainty in the faces of the Teknikan crewmen, still shaken by the battle that wiped Shapeshift Town clean.

"Aerial photographs show no remains of any Teknikan wreckage so far, sir. The enemy probably used the derelicts as target practice." One crewman responded. It wasn't long before another crewman had acquired another important piece of information.

"Confirmed crash site of the Valiant-class Destroyer Stormbird near battle location. I'm placing it on screen now, sir."

A picture of a Teknikan vessel that had run aground and was blasted in two was displayed on one side of the panoramic-view screens. The captain immediately placed his attention on it, his expression unflinching. He turned to his communications officers and announced, "Relay the order to the silo crews to blast that piece of hardware with a black hole. Give nothing to the enemy but death!"

--------------------------

From the belly of the lone frigate emerged a missile-shaped warhead which was 6 meters in length. It floated freely in space for three seconds, after which its thrusters blazed, and sent it on a guided course towards the surface at sublight speeds within the minute.

The dark clouds on the surface suddenly and violently spiraled towards a large dark spot after a short moment, forming what can be described as an eye. Even though the violent whirling lasted only a few seconds, the 'eye' still remained. The captain, who looked down on the result of his actions, felt as if something was peering into his own soul.

SUMMARY: Aftermath. The Teknikans decide to leave no trace of their tech.
 
Re: Shapeshift Town - CHAPTER 2

"Oh it's brilliant there! I can show you everything! Like the Chocobo stables! You ever seen Choocobos Obskeree?" Jack was happily rambling as the three walked through the forest. He turned around to face the others so he was walking backwards. Seeing the puzzled look on the fairy's face he smiled nervously "Uhm.. they are like big bird-things that you uh.. ride on.. uhm.. Trust me they are cool when you see em!" At that Jack tripped over a branch and had to do a strange rather inelegant twisting motion which ended up with him hopping a couple of feetv before regaining his balance and standing back up straight, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment and blushing a bit.

Grinning a bit he turned round and continued walking "Guess that'll teach me to walk backwards ey?" he mused more to himself than his companions. "Hey we're almost there!" Jack said out loud, starting to run towards through the forest. "There's a cliff overlooking the town up ahead! We can see the castle from…. it…"

Jack's words slowed to a halt as he arrived at the small clearing on the cliff, stopping a couple of feet from the edge. The city below was burning, the elders were roaming it, still burning anything that was left and from the vantage point Jack could see the armies running wild.

"I uh.. wh-what..?" Jack whimpered, standing at the edge. He was shaking, though he hadn't noticed. "N-no.." He said weakly to himself as he watched the giant stone spiders climbing over the remains of the castle. He stumbled as his body tried to fall to his knees, but he kept himself upright, just. How could this have happened? sure Asmo was out of action but Coffee.. Coffee was there along with many other.. how could The Shapeshifter Guild fall!?

"It's gone" He spoke quietly, a tear beading in his eye.

[Jack and the group make their way to a cliff overlooking the SS Town and see the devastation that has taken place.]
 
Re: Shapeshift Town - CHAPTER 2

Pain...horrible agony...

He couldn't move his head, and could barely move his fingers. Only small dots of light were visible, blurring from time to time as he drifted in and out of consciousness. As the ninja Palonis lay there, buried under a pile of rubble, he wondered why he still felt so dizzy, so sick. He had turned to aid some civilians fleeing the city, and had come face to face with three of those strange elongated men. Before he had time to think, to react to this new menace, his feet had fallen out from under him, and that was the last he remembered. Perhaps a building had collapsed behind him, or maybe he had been buried handful by handful. He didn't know, and he didn't especially care. Either way, he couldn't leave his new prison, not until his mind cleared.

How long would that take, he wondered. Days? Weeks? Years? He had no idea. All he knew was that until he was able to concentrate, all that he could do was shift his body back and forth, hoping that the rubble would move by itself. No such luck though. There was either too much of it, or the part standing directly above him was very very large. He was trapped, doomed to stay forever buried under the remains of a dead city, living out each day without rest or comfort.

Perhaps becoming undead wasn't the best idea.

Palonis didn't have time to bring that thought through to its logical conclusion before the world suddenly surged upwards around him. Flung bodily into the air, he saw that the sky was overcast before his face was violently planted into the ground. As he lay there, unable to fully appreciate his newfound freedom, mechanical parts fell around him. He turned, and as he did so, a shard of metal whistled right over his head. Someone had set off a bomb in the general vicinity.

"Just my luck," he wheezed, scrambling to his feet and hastily putting himself behind cover in case other objects came sailing down. One of the spiders roaming the city, it seemed, had gotten caught in the explosion caused by the Teknikans covering their tracks. If the ninja had had a full view of the wreckage, it probably would have been spectacular.

In the meantime, the ninja sat down against the shell of the building he had been using for cover and closed his eyes. Freed from the torment of having several times his weight pressing down on him, he could now clear his mind of the fog that had set in. He could only pray that somebody had made it out of the city.

(Summary: Palonis was trapped under the wreckage of a building when the Teknikan's missile cut him loose. He is now powering back up.)
 
Re: Shapeshift Town - CHAPTER 2

Obskeree looked out at the devastation, her peaked ears flattening. The air stank of smoke and she wrinkled her nose as it reached her.

"Mr Jack. I am sorry for this..." She squinted to peer more at the elders. "You mentioned you had ties here." She sat on his shoulder and patted the side of his head in sympathy. "Don't worry though. I'm sure all the people you were looking for are fine." The words sounded vaguely rehearsed, but the slight quiver in her tone betrayed her true feelings as she looked out a the spread of disaster. Desperate for some cheer - her own sadness still raw in her memory - she added, "At least we won't die. Not with Mr Neake here. If you ask him nicely maybe he'll look for survivers for you! Right, Mr Neake?" The depowered god didn't respond. "Mr Neake," she said again, with more force.

The Neake was staring at the elders, his slanted features narrowed further into a misshapen frown. He did not move his gaze as she called him, but he did eventually speak.

"I remember..." The words barely passed his lips.

Obskeree floated up to his face. "What was that? You need to stop mumbling!"

She was ignored, causing her to huff and turn away.

The Neake instead looked to Jack with inquiring eyes. "I have decided my intention," he began - for a moment, there was a brief glimpse of the authority he used to have but it was gone in an instant and he was back to the hunched, decaying pathetic husk he had become - "I will keep you safe for as long as you are mine; no one will touch you. However... I reserve the right to kill you and catalogue you as the urge dictates."

"What?!" Obskeree cried, zooming around to meet him eye-to-eye once more. "What? Mr Neake, no! You can't kill him!"

The Neake held up a hand to silence her. "It is not something which needs to worry either of you. Death will not visit you as long as I can help it. It is not something I desire. It is merely an outcome I anticipate." He turned back to the wreckage. He had said his piece - it was truth. Jack's response meant little as long as he had heard.

Obskeree, on the other hand, could only stare between the two, expecting more to follow.

[Obskeree sympathises with Jack's fears, while the Neake decides on his plan of action in this strange new world.
 
Re: Shapeshift Town - CHAPTER 2

Jack didn't move through all this, though he closed his eyes for a while trying to stem the flow of tears. He heard what the Neake said, and right now it barely stirred anything in him. "OK Neake.. I understand" he said, though the words were choked, He was desperately wishing they weren't.

"Huh!?!" Obskeree shouted, not understanding Jack's reaction, having expected something different. Though before she could say any more there was a blast in the town below. Jack crossed his arms over his face as a backdraft of hot air and dust washed over the ridge.

As the small wind subsided Jack turned quickly calling out "Obskeree!? you ok!?" a tone of panic in his voice. She coughed a little but smiled back at him from within the Neake's protective grasp. Jack looked away quickly, suddenly wondering why his first instinct had been to call out.

He looked back over the burning city, gulping a little as he watched the flames dance and the rubble burn. Something caught his eye, a fluttering shape in the air, flying towards them. As it passed up Jack held his arm out and caught the big black length of fabric. And turning his head he looked at what it was. The fabric was quite thick and fairly heavy, black, with a big purple logo in the centre. It was a Shapeshifter flag, possibly the only thing that would have branded this land as owned by anyone.

He stood there, staring at the mark for a few minutes, silent. Eventually he opened his mouth as if to speak, but closed it again quickly then nodded to himself. Swinging the flag around dramatically he turned to face Obskeree and the Neake, fastening the fabric around his neck in a make-shift cape. "Ok then! I've decided!" He called to them a determined look on his face. "It seems I still care about thing, about saving everyone and about making sure you two are ok. And I just found out I can do things here.. I can't let this stop me I can't just give up now! Not when there's obviously still fighting to do."

He swung the cape around so the two could see the symbol on the cape and pointed to it. "The guild may be gone.. but well it's not! That… sound stupid but well.. you see this mark guys!? This mark is the Sign of the Guild and I'm wearing it now! That means I'm fighting for the Shapeshifters and if someone's fighting for them that means they still exist! That means the Shapeshifters are still around and as long as that's true then everything's ok for now ok?" His voice had a touch of desperation to it, like he was trying to justify this to himself more than anyone, though his eyes held a sort of wild ambition.

"Guys I'd stand back a bit, I need to do something and it may incur some fire.." He turned to look at the ruined town and crouched a bit, holding his hand downwards, a small ball of flame forming in his palm. "Obskeree! I think you're right! They have to be ok! All of them! They were too strong to just die here so I'm gonna find out where they are!" He paused a little and then added "Thanks.."

Crying out he held the ball of fire up, which was now larger than a basketball and growing. He pushed more energy into the spell and the fireball flared up to about the size of a person. He pulled it down before launching it up in the air, where it rose about 30 feet and exploded creating some sort of large beacon.

Jack looked back out over the town before quickly backing away from the ridge as a Couple of blasts from the Elders came his way. He ran over to the treeline where Obskeree and the Neake were "Ok.. now.. Uhm.. I guess we'd better run..?"

[Jack decides to keep fighting, realising he still has friends and people he cares about and decides to fight for the SS Guild, getting himself a nifty new flag come cape. He also launches a beacon into the air to try and find out some locations of people.]
 
Re: Shapeshift Town - CHAPTER 2

"Fireworks?" Palonis's concentration was shattered by the sound of another explosion, this one smaller and more like a quick pop. Snapping his eyes open, he gazed out into the horizon and saw that somebody had shot what appeared to be a flare into the sky. The Elders, spotting this as well, responded in kind, firing concussive blasts in the general direction of the flare's origin. Whoever that was, whether it was a survivor looking for someone to help them or a rescue party, would be a sitting duck.

It seems that the fates have not permitted me to rest yet. No matter, I'm flexibility incarnate.

Pulling himself carefully to his feet once more, the ninja was relieved to find that nothing had been severely broken or snapped out of place. Good...he would need the full use of his body for however long it still held itself together. Slapping his palms together, the ninja tapped into the raw power lurking inside his soul. His eyes glowed purple and his hands burst alight with purple flame. Bringing both hands back to his side, he thrust them upwards palm first and cried, "KIDOKEN!"

If the previous ball of fire had been a firecracker, this one was TNT. The giant ball of purple flame burst in midair, showering droplets of fire across the landscape. In the middle, laughing uproariously, was the ninja Palonis, making no effort whatsoever to keep himself hidden as the land caught fire around him. Both of the Elders who had previously been firing at Porg swiveled about and carpeted the area where this new noise had come from with blast after blast. But they would discover that whoever had made the noise was already gone, vanished in a puff of purple smoke that lazily drifted from the wreckage of the building where he had once stood.

Reappearing on the ridge where Obskeree and Porg had observed the city, the ninja popped into existence, landing on his hands and knees. Making a fireball of that size was not a trivial thing, especially for a man who had not too long ago been lying under a building. "Whoever you are," he gasped, shakily standing again, "you should know better than to...Porg?" Indeed, the man standing before him was a familiar old friend, one who he had not seen since the previous war. He looked taller, more mature, and accompanied by somebody who the ninja had never seen before. "It's good to see you again, old friend, but we shouldn't talk here." Half creeping, half stumbling, the ninja beckoned the two into the treeline. "There's nobody left in that city but spiders and vermin anyway."

(Summary: Palonis sees Porg's signal, and launches his own to draw the Elders' attention away. Teleporting over to where Porg and Obskeree are, he urges them to get back into the forest. Shapeshifter Town isn't a safe place to loiter around in anymore.)
​
 
Re: Shapeshift Town - CHAPTER 2

The signal was seen by more than just Palonis' eyes.

Six KH-11 KEENANs also saw it, their high definition cameras sweeping the ruins of both Firebase Sparta and Shapeshift town for Scrap Iron City to work with. Although any offensives outside of Dystopia were still far off the data helped the Prime Minister, the President, and the Chiefs of Staff make several important decisions.

The most important being the movement of the OP-D1999 Hand of God killsats and several uplink mirrors for the two Particle Cannons at Underbase 57 into position for a potential long range strike with non-nuclear ordnance.

'Rods from God', five inch tungsten steel rods accelerated by an electromagnetic cannon at hypervelocity had been shown to be able to penetrate a good mile into the earth during weapons tests. The mirror satelittes were used to direct particle beams fired from the two Uplink Cannons. During tests the Independent Strategic Test Forces destroyed two mock armored divisions with a single weapons strike.

The Werner Von Braun Space Center had yet to recieve attack orders but when they did they rain hell upon the Noobs.
 
Re: Shapeshift Town - CHAPTER 2

Jack turned as he heard the questioning voice, seeing the ninja "Palonis!?" He perked up a bit, realising that if Palonis had got out of the hellhole that the Shapeshift Town had become then maybe others did too. "Hey dude been a while! This is Obskeree and The Neake.." Jack said gesturing to his companions.

"You look a little worse for wear dude are you o-" Jack was cut off as the ledge was violently shaken. One of the Elders having shot it with a concussion beam. "Uhm.. we might have to go.. can you run?" Porg asked, a hint of worry in his voice alongside the tinge of excitement.

[The Elders are on to the small group]
 
Re: Shapeshift Town - CHAPTER 2

As Porg and his friends followed the ninja into the trees, it became obvious that they were in much better shape than he was. Walking along at a sluggish pace, he already found himself getting tired, and when the ledge shook, his legs nearly buckled.

"Uhm.. we might have to go.. can you run?" the young man asked, and Palonis had to force himself to stand up straighter. After attempting to run, and failing miserably, the ninja stood to his feet once more and gave a slow shake of his head. "That's bad," Porg remarked, and the group flinched once more as a chunk of the cliff where they had once been standing was blown away by another blast from the Elders. "Listen, stay with us, okay? I know a way out of here!"

"Not likely..." Palonis wheezed, walking quickly behind the three people in front of him. "Once we get out of range, they'll be sending ground forces after us. I'm not ready for a fight yet."

"Just a little further!" Porg insisted, keeping pace so as to not leave Palonis behind. "We're going to the Brigadoon!"

"The what?!"

"You'll see! Come on!"

"Right..." With a roll of his eyes, the ninja plodded along behind his compatriots, trying hard not to lag behind.

Back in the city, the spiders ceased their fire, and instead began forming their teleportation orbs. From the orbs, two dozen forms emerged, both large and small. Chief among them was the one Hijacker, who calmly gathered them all together and whisked them away to begin their patrol of the forest. Clearly, the Elders had made an error in not creating a defensive perimeter while they ravaged this city, allowing certain members of the population to get away. But their response to this revelation had been swift enough, and whoever these people were, they would not get far.

(Summary: Palonis and Co. retreat into the forest, with Porg leading the rest of the group to something he calls a Brigadoon. Meanwhile, in the city, the Elders spawn a bunch of noobs and send them into the forest to search for the group.)
 
Re: Shapeshift Town - CHAPTER 2

Jack could hear them coming, the Noobs had got to the forest very quickly and their little group wasn't moving fast enough. Jack stopped by a tree and turned "They're coming guys.. Pal you ok?"

"How far is it? I'll be fine" He grumbled in return.

"Uhhm well.. I don't know.."

"You don't know!?!" Obskeree and Palonis both asked in chorus.

"Well it's a Brigadoon.. they change places. Truth be told I can't even guarantee it'll be around ya know?" Jack stared at the watching faces, Palonis did not look the slightest bit amused "But don't worry ey? I'm sure it'll turn up! the place seems to like me at least.." He gave a nervous grin.

"Look we don't have much time! And I don't really think we've got any better options.. I'd rather not fight under the current conditions and if we're running we've got to get to somewhere fast!" Jack looked at the slightly unresponsive crowd for a second "Fuck it"

He jumped upwards grabbing a branch and swinging himself higher into the tree. Once he was at the top he looked around. He heard someone shout something, they'd probably seen him. Glancing around quickly he saw what he needed, due south-east there was a clearing, a really big one.

Dropping back down by the others he smiled "What the hell was that!?!" Palonis growled.

"Don't worry we gotta go south east! it's uh… that way!" Jack said, spinning on his feet as he spoke before settling on the direction he decided was south-east. "Damn they are getting close.."


[Jack admits that he doesn't know if the Brigadoon will be around as it isn't under his control, and he's just going on a hunch. He finds out where they need to go but at the expense of the noobs catching up to them.]
 
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