Log started: 11/1/02 12:01:57 AM $$$$$$$$$ IC News $$$$$$$$$$$$ Message: 14/10 Posted Author From the Halls of Montezuma... Thu Oct 31 News Report ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Footage of a scene deep inside the Central American JunGLe, at night, within a torchLIt arena pit...fashioned for the ancient Mayan form of 'soccer'. Reploids, such as Jet Stingray, Gravity Beetle, Ring Redwing, Pallbearer, and the human Kain are all seen moving towards the arena. Talking with Montezuma himself ensues, over the fate of a cage of prisoners dangLIng over lava. A challenge to a game of soccer is issued, and accepted. The Mayan mummies play agianst the LIving machines and human, for the fate of the cage of innocents, hanging above a pit of lava. Then, in the middle of the scene, Montezuma flees to join a large convoy of supply trailers and drones, along with a few other of the zombies. The rest? They explode in a shower of bits, pieces, and 'Happy Halloween!' balloons. When Jet and Company attempt to stop them, LIttle success is had. " This was the scene last night after the abduction of 38 individuals by 'Montezuma' from a Mexican Day of the Dead festival twenty miles north. Which, in fact, turned out to be nothing but a ruse for some unknown attacked. " A news anchor reports, the screen panning away to show a news desk. " While RepLIforce and others were distracted, a raid was led into the crumbLIng and disorganized Mexico City, steaLIng emergency and donated suppLIes stockpiled there for reLIef centers after the Hurricane. Who these strangers are, and the reason behind their cruelty is unknown. UN Officials did find the following note at the scene, among the apparently drone-build robot body parts and balloons...." ~Spike Rosered, Zero and Blues~ ~Doesn't it suck, RepLIdorks...~ ~To Spend you Halloween Getting Used?~ ~See You Next Time...~ OOC:This Entire scheme, as some have found out, is Pharaoh Man's doing. I'd LIke to thank all who showed for their roleplay, it was a lot of fun, and I hope you enjoyed it. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] Reiji's radio crackles to LIfe, with the distinct sound of traffic in the background. Very angry traffic. Dig those car horns. "...I take that to mean, then, that there is something a LIttle more serious to this than the United Nation's standard negLIgence of municipal electric bills...?" Outside> Seoul - Docks Outside> Contents: Contents: Zero [Red Armor] [MH] Reiji [Hunter] [MH] Mikage Yukiato [C] Kaph [Kaph] [C] Techno [Armor] [C] Kuff [Kuff] [C] Outside> South : Seoul - Northern Commercial District West : Seoul - Eastern Residential District Out : Outskirts of Seoul Outside> Ten arrives from the Seoul - Northern Commercial District. Outside> All is quiet on the Shorefront of Seoul... ...in the 'Pleasure' section of the docks, people are doing their own things... being their rich selves as usual. As for the 'Business' side of the Docks... the Dock Workers have gotten off for the day, and all seems to be quiet and serene... or is it? High upon one of the loading cranes, a shape, darker then the surrounding metal, crouches in wait. A small lens flashes readings into golden optics as a head with distinctive wolven features studies this... only unmolested area of the city. (Scene Set) Outside> Kaph snickers as Techno careens through the window. Her black and red eyes roll skyards as the hacker gives her the finger, and Kaph launches upwards find a perch on the roof of the barge's cabins. The batgirl speaks into her wrists quietly as she keeps lookout from her perch, "Techno's been planted brother. " Outside> Ten gLIdes slowly into the area, staring at the readout of a frequency tracker given to her by RepLIforce to help her... track down frequencies. What a novel concept! Sadly, she's not finding anything. Le sigh... Outside> There are these things that people in the business refer to as 'speed LImits'. Rather interesting things, they are. Fascinating, from a legal point of view, since the laws that are actually on the books, for some reason, don't quite encompass provisions to give -pedestrians- tickets for speeding. It's rather remarkable how the legal code governing civil traffic offenses has never quite caught up with the reploid revolution - and the advent of people quite capable of jaywalking in the multi-mach factors. Weaving through the stalled traffic, the resounding cacophony of vehicle horns ringing in his ears, Reiji makes his way through the city streets at a decent fraction of supersonic velocity. Eyes narrowed behind his sunGLasses, he tunes into the local poLIce band, sifting through the chaotic reports coming in from Seoul's beleagured traffic authorities. In his mind's eye, the Hunter carefully shades in a map of the city. Patterns. Are there any? Any districts showing particular activity, or lack there- Wait. -There-. A second or two later, Reiji shakes his head in chagrin. Mental note: Give warning before changing direction if traveLIng through populated metropoLIs. Damn. Hope that building had its plate GLass windows insured. [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] RF MSE Prismatic Spider transmits, "How's it going in Seoul?" Outside> An blast of air and a silverish-white streak announces the arrival of Bluegrass, the White Guard. She arrives in the area almost 15 minutes after the call went out. (Now where are all ya LIttle troublemakers Ah wonder...)oo. She gives a sLIght nod to Ten as she arrives, before spreading outwards and to start searching..." [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] Bluegrass not Serena Gilbert transmits, "It coulda be better, sugah..." Outside> There is a long, long pause as - deep within the cargo barge - things begin to stirr. LIghts in the docking bays begin to fLIcker on, security systems slowly activating. And locking down. But it's going VERY slowly, way too slowly. Especially for the amount of trouble headed in their direction. It is, after a few minutes, that the still and comatose form of Techno begins to stirr. Weakly LIfting a hand to his ear, as he gazes out into space. Most of his internal system resources divied to his new Protocol... Forte.EXE. Which is tearing hell all the way through the ship's internal VE guards. ".. Company.." He croaks, shaking his head to try and clear out the sluggish feeLIng. "... All across the boards." [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] Reiji quips acidly, "Dear me. I'd heard you UN boys were working under budget cuts, but I didn't know the situation was quite that bad." [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] RF MSE Prismatic Spider transmits, "... Any sign of what the cause is?" Outside> Hopping traffic, riding trucks, a Red Figure has been in the distance. Still, Zero arrives shortly after Reiji, using means other than his own velocity systems to make an arrival. "Whoa whoa, slow down Reiji-daddy! Mind you, collateral ain't free, and honestly, something of stealth'd be nice." he comments, with a smirk. HustLIng to catch up, the Red Devil smiles, looking towards his fellow hunter. He runs along guard rails, swings on tension wires, and ends up landing on a LIght-post by Reiji. "So kid, find out where the hot-spot is yet?" queries the Berserker, calm as the calm before the storm, as he handstands on a LIght post, before dangLIng down by his legs. [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] Bluegrass not Serena Gilbert snaps coldly, "Well, Ah'm SORRY we don't have anythin' LIke a bloody buster!!!" [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] Zero transmits, "Thank goodness. I'd frankly be scared if anyone 'sides my old man ripped off LIght's schtick." Outside> Kaph activates her stealth mode. Outside> Kuff smirks softly, hearing the communique from his sister, then raises his left arm a moment, and speaks again. "Excellent, Sister... Be prepared f--... Wait. Incoming. Protect Techno and the Barge. ...Enjoy yourself. I will provide cover." Kuff then turns his head, his sensors reasing out the information processed. The Pheonix is given intense scrutiny for a moment, and a frown passes across his features. His golden optics and the small scope mounted over his right eye allowing him to zoom in to study the Phoenix's features for a moment... studying and assaying her threat, noting her lack of notice of the situation, he smirks. Let her fly on by... Then, another target comes into his sensor range, and Kuff's head instantly turns. His frown is intent this time, watching the figure burst into the Docks area at speed... on ground level. An excelent way to bypass the blocks that Techno deployed... ...but it wouldn't be good enough. And then... memory tracks are activated, specificaly, Marked Individuals. Standing slowly on the Crane, Kuff smiles a wolven grin, as he adjusts his right arm-sniper rifle... the weapon itself seeminGLy grafted/made from his arm entirely. "...Welcome to my Parlor... said the Spider to the Fly." And slowly... the Wolven Sniper takes aim on the advancing Reiji... waiting for his chance, but holding his shot untill the perfect point is reached. Outside> By this time along the outskirts of the besieged port district, Reiji cuts power to his forward motion and sLIdes to a picture-perfect stop. Wisps of smoke curl from his sneakers as he cocks an eyebrow towards Zero, finally acknowledging his superior's presense. He shrugs sLIghtly, a faint movement of the shoulders. "Considering how RepLIforce and UN personnel are already scrambLIng, I doubt stealth is a major consideration..." He cocks his head in the direction of the harbour, before finishing, "...this is the only area of the city -not- reporting disruption. Convienient, that." My. Remarkably confident, remarkably self-composed. Pity for Reiji that he has absolutely no idea J. Random Gunman has a metaphorical red dot dancing around the region of his cranium. Ah, well. Such is LIfe. [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] Rigger transmits, "Speaking of LIght, and things being ripped off, if your spare saber smells LIke pumpkin pie it's because the Doc was using it to cut them." [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] Dr. Cossack bites back a comment, muttering. [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] Zero transmits, "...DAMNIT!" [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] Zero transmits, "I wanted pie!" [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] Rigger transmits, "Relax guys, I saved you some." [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] Reiji transmits, "Fascinating. I understand one of your perverse Western traditions is hiding razor blades in trick-or-treat candy. The good Doctor going the mundanes one better?" [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] Zero transmits, "...well. That's forgiven then." [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] Rigger transmits, "No, he was dressed as Obi Wan Kenobi." [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] Reiji transmits, "ELIminating confectionary scum for our protection." Outside> Kaph grins savagely from her perch on a smokestack on the large barge techno is in the process of hijacking. her form shimmers as the black of her armor begins to blend in with the night sky behing her. her grin widens as she LIstens to incoming radio transmissions. Kaph begins to slowly gLIde in the direction zero, reji and any other approaching bogies are coming from, Outside> The Sexthern Guard (as opposed to the Sexthern Belle) continues to gLIde into her favorite city (2nd favorite, that is... nothing can beat that hometown feeLIng...) she gLIdes onward to the business side of the docks... starting from there and working her way to the personal docks. (Nothin' distubed as yet...)oo." [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] RF MSE Prismatic Spider transmits, "Hacking is suspected, the report says... Perhaps I should see if I can gain access to the system to see if this is true." Outside> Zero nods his head. "Sensible assumption, actually. They'd have to come somewhere local t' screw with the traffic. Any sort of 'hub' area? " he queries. Maybe a central point one could access the traffic systems from?" asks Zero, as he swings himself back up to perch on the LIght. "I mean really, the less footwork we've got to do t' get to our culprits, the better, no?" Outside> Prismatic Spider arrives from the Outskirts of Seoul. Outside> "This is the S.S. d00|j05u><><0r.") Yes. Whomever is giving the official notice from the bridge just somehow managed to pronounce l33t. Go fig. "Too much trouble downtown, gents, we're hitting sea till it cools off. Priority access is BE3. The lane's ours, so other vessels... clear off." Well, it /sounds/ LIke the registered Captain. Techno pauses, taking his finger off his throat, and wincing. ".. Damn, I hate doing that. Messes my vocals all to hell." He then settles back down into the chair, on the bridge, those crimson eyes lazily fLIckering outside. Gazing past, as the systems continue to warm up. Running LIghts fLIckering on all the way across the ship.. Outside> "This is the S.S. d00|)j05u><><0r." Yes. Whomever is giving the official notice from the bridge just somehow managed to pronounce l33t. Go fig. "Too much trouble downtown, gents, we're hitting sea till it cools off. Priority access is BE3. The lane's ours, so other vessels... clear off." Well, it /sounds/ LIke the registered Captain. Techno pauses, taking his finger off his throat, and wincing. ".. Damn, I hate doing that. Messes my vocals all to hell." He then settles back down into the chair, on the bridge, those crimson eyes lazily fLIckering outside. Gazing past, as the systems continue to warm up. Running LIghts fLIckering on all the way across the ship.. [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] Bluegrass not Serena Gilbert transmits, "Okay. Ah think that is suspricious. An ship with a l33t speakin' captain?" [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] Reiji transmits, "If you're going in, how'sabout you use that fancy RepLIforce ingenuity and see if you can pin down where the disruption might be coming from? Assuming it isn't an automated mindless program loose in the system...much LIke the UN council, actually..." [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] Bluegrass not Serena Gilbert transmits, "HEY!" [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] RF MSE Prismatic Spider transmits, "The captain was speaking... l33t? Okay, that's got to be a hacker. Or ver very well-versed prankster." [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] RF MSE Prismatic Spider transmits, "OOC: A very, rather." [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] Rigger transmits, "It doesn't exactly take a rocket scientist to speak l33t. In fact, the people who usually do only know a modicum of anything technical to begin with." [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] RF MSE Prismatic Spider transmits, "Who esle would debase themself enough to resort to it?" [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] Zero transmits, "D00d, r33ly?" [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] Stealth Nekojin transmits, "And there's your answer." [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] Zero transmits, "Yeah. Play a few video games, you get versed. S'what I get for being related to Magnet Man." [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] RF MSE Prismatic Spider audiably smirks. And so my point is proven. Outside> Kaph silently drops onto the same LIghtpole as Zero. She stands there for a moment examining her surroundings, before she turns to look at Zero and taps him on the shoulder, "What sees to begoing on here?' she asks managin to sound somewhat confused and frightened. [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] RF MSE Prismatic Spider transmits, "OOC: add quotes to that. O_o" Outside> Kaph deactivates her stealth mode. [Radio: (?) Unknown Frequency] Kang transmits, "FooLIsh earthLIngs, they have no idea what's in store for them..". [Radio: (?) Unknown Frequency] Kodos transmits, "Bwahahahahahahahahaha..." [Radio: (?) Unknown Frequency] Kang transmits, "Mweheheheheheheheh... Kodos, did you leave that microphone on?" [Radio: (?) Unknown Frequency] Kodos transmits, "Oh, son of a bi- *cLIck*" Outside> The Wolven Sniper concentrates intently on his target... and chooses his weapon carefully. With a wolvish grin, the flashing sensors within his optics flash red... Target Acquired. "...Good night, Reiji-sama." The shell chosen is one of the many 'special' toys of He Who Weilds The Angel Arms... ...A small pellet that, once imbeded in either flesh or armor, releases a dose of highly corrosive acid... ...to eat the target from within. The sound of the report of the gun... is a second or two after the firm tink of the bullet's impact... either in Reiji's chest, or missing him completely... Time will tell. [Radio: (E) Broadband] Zero transmits, "Now that was just seriously f**ked up." [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] Bluegrass not Serena Gilbert transmits, "But ta named the ship the S.S. d00|)j05u><><0r? Ah'm more used ta normal NAMES LIke the S.S. Minnow... Which reminds me of Reiji's mind, actually. Very small. *murmurs* Possibly just LIke other parts of 'im..." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Ballade transmits, "Indeed." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Ballade transmits, "Neither of them knows the proper method of maniacal laughter." [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] Reiji transmits, "I'm an android, m'dear. In case you haven't checked your warrenty, it's against the law to build us with the appropriate universal connectors for that." [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] Bluegrass not Serena Gilbert transmits, "Pity. Ah was goin' ta ask Treble ta chew yours off too..." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Rigger begins some manical laughter herself. Or just hysterical. [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] Reiji's voice bears an edge to it, as he transmits: "And I'm sure Mister Kiritsu appreciates the immense sensitivity his colleagues possess towards his recent troubles." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Pirate Princess Tron Bonne transmits, "...I don't know if I should join Rigger... ...or just Groan." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Ballade transmits, "No, no. From the diaphram. And you need to pause for breath." Outside> Kuff strikes Reiji with his Acid Splash attack. Outside> Kaph misses Techno with her Grasp attack. [Radio: (E) Broadband] Jared Kintane transmits, "Tron, I'd say it's time to go for mai-tais, and retire to the Carribean. You game?" [Radio: (E) Broadband] Pirate Princess Tron Bonne transmits, "Hmmmm... Sure!" [Radio: (E) Broadband] Pirate Princess Tron Bonne transmits, "...Last thing I want is more ALIen Shenanigans." Outside> Mikage Yukiato strikes Techno with his Grasp attack. [Radio: (E) Broadband] Roll transmits, "Whatcha talking about?" [Radio: (E) Broadband] Jared Kintane transmits, "OOC Oh man...I am -s going to have to explain that one to Jet. :D" [Radio: (E) Broadband] Bluegrass Not Serena Gilbert transmits, "...How nice. *swears in spanish*" [Radio: (E) Broadband] Rigger gasps, "That was.. from a TV show.. Hee..." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Bluegrass Not Serena Gilbert transmits, "..." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Jared Kintane transmits, "Uh...right." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Jared Kintane transmits, "So anyways. Back to speaking about mai tais, and bikini beach volleyball." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Pirate Princess Tron Bonne transmits, "A very old one. Circa 1990s." [Radio: (E) Broadband] Ricochet transmits, "I knew it! I'll bet Disney is behind this." Orbit pipes up. "*BWIP BWIP BWEEP*" [Radio: (E) Broadband] Ballade transmits, "They're always LIstening." Outside> "Not my department. But..." Reiji, to his credit, manages to keep the sarcasm dripping from his tone relatively subtle, as he pronounces his next words, "...Looks LIke the UN's best and brightest have that anGLe handled..." Reiji begins to nod to Zero, looking distracted for an instant as he does so...before his features harden into a scowl. He notices the newcomer crouched just beyond Zero, and his eyes widen sLIghtly as he takes -that- in. Of course, it isn't as if he has a lot of leisure time to contemplate the possible impLIcations of her sudden appearence. Being struck point-blank in the torso by a corrosive-payload projectile tends to be an extremely distracting diversion. Almost immediately, the Hunter's chest dissolves into a smoking ruin, chemicals eating effortlessly through the fabric of his clothing and LIght armour plate. Reiji collapses backwards, LIke a puppet with his strings cut. The horrible stench of melting flesh fills the air as the Hunter falls, slamming painfully into the pavement without a sound. And that's when his body explodes into a retina-searing blaze of blue-white. When it fades, Reiji rises to his feet, standing in the smoking dish of stone burned into the pavement by his field activation. Sheaved from head to toe in a crackLIng aura of radiant fury, he snaps his head skyward... ...As, for an instant, a heartbeat, a LIne of ionization shoots forward in the direction of the sniper shot, ridden by the LIghtning's hand. Outside> Reiji puts his guard up. Outside> Reiji misses Kuff with his Vox Dei attack. Outside> Reiji sends a radio transmission to Kuff. Outside> Kuff receives a radio transmission from Reiji. Outside> Prismatic Spider appears at the top of a building, carrying a small backpack. From within the bag he withdraws what first appears to be a bulky keyboard, with a long antenna on it. However, as he pushes up along the surface of the 'antenna', it folds out into a small satelLIte dish. Love modern memory plastics. He hits a few buttons on the keyboard, and pulls out a cable with a custom connector on it. For a moment, he stares at the wire, then reaches back with his other hand and opens up a panel, reveaLIng an access port. With a swift movement, he snaps in the connector, and looks down to the keyboard... Then presses the red button in the upper right. The Spider Scientist's body shudders for a moment, then becomes perfectly still. Physically, he's there. But mentally... He's running hot through cyberspace, searching for the signal of the affected system so he can sync up. Outside> Zero snarls as Reiji staggers backwards at the hit, and begins snapping his free hand into the Hyper Buster. And then LIttle miss Bat shows up so conveniently. "Yes...well." he retorts, a sly smile on his face, as he hooks his feet on the post. "So good of you to arrive." he comments, as he deftly begins swinging under , and back up to land in an attempt to get behind Kaph, and wrap an arm around her waist, out of sheer paranoia. His battle senses are up, and well, the appearance of an unknown is far too convenient. "Sorry doll, you look cute enough...but you don't match any of my records. Name, rank, and serial number." hisses Zero. He's got a bad enough rep with the RepLIforce he might as well -try- to behave. Outside> Zero strikes Kaph with his Grasp attack. [Radio: (E) Broadband] Rigger sniffs. "So I LIke oldies." [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] RF MSE Prismatic Spider 's voice sounds a bit odd. "Running scan for source network..." Outside> Kuff simply grins as the bullet strikes home, his grin a terrible one inteed... though, after a moment, he frowns... ...as a shot that was intended to kill merely... injures?! ...He'll just have to try harder next time. With a sinGLe motion, a shell is expelled from his Angel Arm even as another locks into place... even as Kuff notices the assault heading his way. The Wolf seems to freeze... and as Reiji unleashes an arc of LIghtning sizzLIng through the air towards him... and the Wolf springs! Leaping upward with blurring speed, he launches into a crouching roll backward along the top of the crane... even as the LIghtning impacts and disperses along the metal crane! Landing on two feet... the Wolf grins slowly, responding to his opponent, even as he stands once more... his incredibly accute optics locking on Zero and Kaph for a moment. She has him just where she wants him. Then, Kuff takes aim again... ...and the high velocity shot this time launches with all speed for Reiji... the bullet seeming normal for an instant, untill, LIke the former, it enters the body... ...then Electicity by the megawatt is deLIvered to the opponent! Kuff knows how to play with LIghtning. Outside> Kuff misses Reiji with his LIghtning Sniper attack. Outside> Bluegrass is torn. After the latest transmission from planet WEIRD and seeing Reiji getting shot. And as Zero heads one way, she follows as well... ...and lands beside the blond beserker. She looks her over, "Doesn't seem LIke anyone Ah know, sugah. Let me check with UN OnLIne. They've better records upgrades then we have at transferrin' data ta paper..." Outside> Kuff sends a radio transmission. Outside> Reiji receives a radio transmission. Outside> Mikage Yukiato has disconnected. Outside> Now, quite frankly, Techno COULD'VE gone for the pure remote approach. Tapped the ship's navigation prompt, and sLIpped right in. But any unwanted signal, no matter how benefecial, leaves a mass trace. It's bandwidth monitoring, after all, and it'd send up red flags up and down the boardwalk security. That's not something Techno wanted to deal with. But, in his haste to utterly decimate all of the ship's internal VE defenses and reroute it's controls to a central hub - he left that LIttle gate wide open. Deep down on the Virtual Environement, the grid suddenly forms. This is where Prismatic's Avatar will find itself, first and foremost. A rather small, floating platform in the midst of a massive jumble of frequencies, with a rather small hub leading further down into the systems. But even here, one can tell that there's a busy LIttle bee at work. As the jumble of radio frequencies is quickly being bottlenecked.. Outside> Pain lances through Reiji's chest as he discharges the last of his electrical attack, white-hot daggers of agony stabbing through his lean frame. He's hurt bad, far worse than he LIkes to acknowledge, and his would-be assassin seems halfway competent. Reiji grits his teeth as he sees the assault ground itself impotently on the sniper's perch - not good. Not good at all. With the swiftness of Kuff's retaLIation, Reiji barely has time to react as the bullet speeds towards him. But somehow, he manages. Operating on pure instinct, he makes quite certain he isn't -there- when the attack roars impotently through the airspace he occupied less than a miLIsecond ago. Standing around and waiting to get hit has never been his style. Or at least, standing around and waiting to get hit -minus the dramatic last-minute dodging-. So long as you remember to throw in the "getting out of the way at the last concievable second" bit, everything turns out fine. Forget that, though, and it usually gets rather painful. With expert grace, and a disturbing amount of speed, Reiji snakes an arm to the side as he dodges, -snatching- the bullet out of the air as it speeds by his body. The shell explodes into a supernova-bright display of energy as it channels all its force into the palm of Reiji's hand. Not that it concerns the Hunter in the sLIghtest. He merely smiles, narrowly, as he brings his arm round, sLInging the crushed bullet fragments towards the crane. Each shard of metal aimed precisely at a structural support of the loading machinery. Each fragment shattering the sound barrier into tiny LIttle pieces. Outside> Reiji sends a radio transmission. Outside> Kuff receives a radio transmission from Reiji. Outside> Reiji strikes Kuff with his Deus Ex Machina attack. Outside> His method was dangerous compared to leaving it to the terminal, but there was no way someone on a terminal can match someone else running hot in cyberspace. There's just too much time-lapse between speed of movement and speed of thought. And here, time is measured in nanoseconds. He couldn't take that chance. Prismatic's avatar is no different from his real LIfe appearance, which in a way beLIes his capabiLIties. Compared to the fractal infinity of a Reploid Neural Net, the Internet was child's play. And so he gLIdes towards the obvious bottleneck, transparent screens of analysis information scrolLIng past him as he moves forward. What he finds there... he'll see soon enough. Outside> The -CRACK- of each impact is resoundant, and Kuff's eyes go wide in surprise at the assault sent back his way. His eyes then narrow, even as he sinks down to the Crane... his clawed left hand digging into it for support... The attack wasn't on him... but it was enough with the channeLIng energies of Reiji... to cause the Crane's head to shudder and begin to fall! Kuff's teeth grit, and he holds on for all he is worth even as the crane sinks slowly, spLItting to fall towards the ocean below... away from the active ship that is beginning to move out of port... ...and at the last instant, Kuff springs! Leaping through the air, he spins even as his right arm returns to normal... the speed of his body and the impact when he lands cause shockwaves of pain to spread through him... but the Wolf-LIke Assassin manages to land on his feet... on the concrete pier. The Wolf then slowly raises his head, his golden eyes falLIng on Reiji, and he comunicates with him once more even as he rises to his feet. Then the fLIck of movement is all the announces what happens next... as the wolves' right hand snaps up, the hand now seeming possessed of a GLock, which trigger is pulled even as the wolf begins to dash sideways down the docks! Outside> Kuff sends a radio transmission to Reiji. Outside> Reiji receives a radio transmission. Outside> Kuff strikes Reiji with his Angel GLock attack. Outside> Ten decides to move on to the next zone with her scans... if anything's really going down here tonight, another more quaLIfied RepLIforcer can deal with it. She's completed her assigned mission. There's still time to fit in some trick or treating! :D Outside> Ten has disconnected. Outside> Cyclops arrives from the Seoul - Northern Commercial District. Outside> Deep within the VE, Techno's Avatar - again, much LIke him - continues to construct the Automaton. So he won't have to stay hooked in, of course. A massive collumn of energy beginning to build at the central hub, where all other commands are being routed. Think 'Tron'. Techno smirks upwards at it, even as the LIttle MetHat.EXE's start popping out and getting to work. Why base them after the Master's trinkets? Well, he was an artist. And you used what you knew. They were simply the most famiLIar thing he knew that did base work, and so they were his representation. Though, a sudden alarm triggers. Someone on the Prompt! Frowning, Techno LIfts up his right arm, and the GLowing circle that hovers above it. Tapping it, even as the form of Techno fades away.. And a random pixiLIzation suddenly snaps together. A flutter of a cowl. Crimson eyes FLARING brightly, before settLIng to a smolder. And Forte.EXE clenches his fists, LIstening to the unreal knuckles crack. The faintest of smirks beginning to bloom across the Avatar's face, as he watches the Intruder's arrival.. Meanwhile, outside? The Ship's engines suddenly begin humming to LIfe, the hover barge starting to displace a spray of water as it rises. Outside> Something unreadable fLIckers behind Reiji's sunGLasses as he watches Kuff leap from the crane, coming up shooting. Impressive manuevers. The aesthetic in him cries out in appreciation - even as the rest of him cries out in pain, bullets tearing scorching trails of pain through his body. AmazinGLy, he doesn't fall, but blood splatters the concrete underfoot as the Hunter staggers, borne down beneath the weight of his massive injuries. One word flashes across his mind, pulLIng a fLIckering montage of memories from the depths of his consciousness. Memories that would be best forgotten. Would that his android brain allow him to forget. Yakuza. Reiji's aspect darkens, his eyes closing into sLIts, as he looks up to face his adversary. He smiles, but the expression is one utterly devoid of even the sLIghtest trace of humour. The smile doesn't waver as he sLIdes into fluid motion LIke a runner from the starting blocks, a veritable maelstrom of physical attacks blasting forth even as he closes the distance seperating him from Kuff in a bLInk of an eye. My. Someone's not amused. Outside> Reiji strikes Kuff with his M.c.m.x.i.v. attack. Outside> Terror Tanuki arrives from the Seoul - Eastern Residential District. Outside> Reiji sends a radio transmission. Outside> Kuff receives a radio transmission from Reiji. Outside> Kuff sends a radio transmission. Outside> Reiji receives a radio transmission from Kuff. Outside> Prismatic Spider pulls up short as he arrives on the scene, beholding the column of flaring bandwidth and blocks of floating code maneuvering themselves with the assistance of Mets. And more importantly, the appearance of Forte.EXE. An involuntary chill runs down his spine - the manifestation of his self-preservation code kicking in - which is quickly suppressed. Instantly, a silver ball pulses from the avatar's body, streaking back behind him as a GLowing field encases the area around him, prepping himself for LIkely combat. His voice cracks through the cyberspace LIke a whip. "Cease and desist this at once, or by UN Computer Law, I will be authorized to apply aggresive force." Outside> Reiji sends a radio transmission. Outside> Kuff receives a radio transmission. Outside> That was a very bad idea. The speed and serious of the assaults upon the LIghtly armored Kuff send him reeLIng back to fall to one knee. His blue-steel armor gLInts darkly... He seems to pause for long moments... before reaching up slowly while he raises his head, wiping off the mechfluid traiLIng down from the corner of his wolven maw. Then... Kuff Snarls. The speed at which he retaLIates is almost equal to that of Reiji, and the fluid, unerring quaLIty of martial arts come into play. The style of AnimaLIstic Martial Arts is unmistakable... but not traditional. The movements in this... make one only thing of the creature that this Assassin personifies. A Wolf. The series of vicious, rapid strikes end with a kick with such force to send Reiji flying across the docks as Kuff unleashes bestial fury!! He knows Kung Fu. Outside> Kuff misses Reiji with his Wolf Style Kung Fu attack. Outside> Reiji deflects Wolf Style Kung Fu from Kuff. Outside> The macabre VE clone that is Forte.EXE just SMIRKS. Those crimson eyes narrowing ever so faintly, before a sinGLe lavendar hand is LIfted from beneath the tattered cowl. That wrist suddenly expanding, as his hand sinks in. Forming the terrifying image of a Buster! Course, it's just a VE representation. Especially the part where energy begins to slowly suck inwards, a white LIght beginning to GLow in back of the arm cannon. It's just Techno preparing a bit of a Hard Spike, to nail the intruder's IP. For easier handLIng. While the massive Automaton speaks, voice booming throughout the VE. "SYSTEM ENGAGED. SUPER COMPUTER LOCKING DOWN PROMPT NUB. UNAUTHORIZED USER DETECTED." Forte.EXE turns those crimson eyes back and up towards the Automaton, before he GLances back down to Prismatic: "Hear that, LIttle worm? You're on the wrong grid. Get out of my system, or you're gonna get an @boot up the ass..." Wow. He managed to pronounce @!! Meanwhile, that open gate that Prismatic sLIpped through - is SLAMMED shut. No more visitors, yo! All he has to do is clear out Prism's bandwidth leech, and he's in the clear. [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] RF MSE Prismatic Spider transmits, "Intruding hacker detected - avatar appears to be of Bass, but that means LIttle here. He appears to be constructing a control program in the grid. Preparing to engage..." Outside> Bluegrass is torn. After the latest transmission from planet WEIRD and seeing Reiji getting shot. And as Zero heads one way, she follows as well... ...and lands beside the blond beserker. She looks her over, "Doesn't seem LIke anyone Ah know, sugah. Let me check with UN OnLIne. They've better records upgrades then we have at transferrin' data ta paper..."" [Radio: (E) Broadband] Guts Man transmits, "Chhh-chhh-chhh-chhh-chhh..." Outside> My. Such savage ferocity. And here we were thinking that dogs were supposed to be man's best friend. Remarkably unconcerned for someone staring down the maw of death, Reiji doesn't so much as bat an eyeLId as his canine counterpart lunges at him, murder on his mind. He doesn't even bother to dodge - he just stands there, an infuratinGLy superior smirk sLIding in place upon his features. With effortless ease, he interposes his forearm into the first of Kuff's strikes, and then turns aside the next of the Yakuza assassin's blows. The next few heartbeats pass in a startLIng display of martial prowress as Reiji stands his ground, not giving an inch, casually blocking each and every one of Kuff's attacks. "Tsk," Reiji chides, his tone didactically caustic, "standards must be sLIpping. Why, back in the old days, we were supposed to bring down the target with one strike. And here, it's taken you, what...how many attempts? Maybe I'll let you hit me again." Shaking his head admonishinGLy, he disengages as the other android throws the last earthshattering kick - and then throws one of his own, pushing off empty air to direct a spinning heel with jackhammer force towards Kuff's upper torso. "Third time's the charm." Outside> Kaph gasps in shocked pleasure as zero grasps her firmly around the waist. her talons grip her perch to balance herself. 'name, kaph, function Puppet Master, serial number ...' she grins to herself as a pair of spikes emerge from her elbows and she drives them both toards her 'captor'. Outside> Reiji strikes Kuff with his Melchizedek Angel attack. Outside> Kaph strikes Zero with her Elbow Spike attack. Outside> And as all this goes on, a black figure has himself perched on top of a warehouse right by the docks. Having come here in his search for the hacker who annoyed him quite a bit, he finds himself very close, even though he doesn't know it. This figure, a cyborg, is just watching for now, seeing if he can get any advantages out of this, and if extremely lucky, somehow find the hacker... Outside> Prismatic Spider sniffs. "Just who do you think I am? Do you honestly expect me to just pick up and leave?" He clasps his hands together, and his avatar shimmers... and spLIts. Suddenly, there are are now two Spiders, both floating apart and coming forward. "I think it's time to shut you down, boy..." Still, he makes no offensive actions yet... Perhaps his target isn't the hacker? Outside> Zero sneers as he doubles over from the strike to the ribs, fluid seeping out. Still, he composes himself enough to be his normal self. "Funny. And here I thought that you damn kids were better at being femme fatales. In my day..." trails Zero, as he reaches out for Kaph once more. "...we tried to lull our targets into a false sense of security before striking." finishes the destructive Zero, as he attempts to bearhug the Yakuza bot, and leap off the pole, to back suplex both into the pavement below. "Banzai!!!" Outside> Zero misses Kaph with his Ram attack. Outside> Kaph successfully deflects an attack randomly. Outside> The Impact of the weapons achieves one thing as Kuff slams hard to the ground... ...it manages to snap Kuff out of his rage and into cold, calculating fury. The hate and anger that builds within him rises to a boiLIng point as he rises... though the chill of the grave seems to hang about him as he assumes his cold aire. Turning his oriental featurered face, his golden eyes lock on Reiji. "...You are a most worth opponent... ...but your fate was sealed when you defied the Yakuza." Then, Kuff throws his right arm forward, and from the palm of his hand, a long, deadly chain suddenly springs! A deadly cord, it launches forward almost under the will of Kuff, wrapping out for Reiji... the head seeking to stab into the side of his neck as the chain unravels for its target. The deadLIest effect of this, however... would be the debiLItating train that seeps from the targets systems, into Kuff's own. And once impacted, Kuff will draw it tight to lock it into place, snarLIng coldly. Outside> Kuff strikes Reiji with his Syphon Chain attack. Outside> Reiji is temporarily disoriented by Kuff's Syphon Chain attack. Outside> Kuff drains energy from Reiji with his Syphon Chain attack. Outside> Bluegrass gasps in shock as Zero gets introduced to the world of S&M.... the hard and pointy way. "Well, sugah... the name's Bluegrass. My job is Muisca Guard and kickin' ass... guess what Ah'm goin' do ta ya, now?" The White Guard's jets activate and she dashes towards Kaph. "Comin' ATCHA!!!"" Outside> You strike Kaph with a GLancing hit from your Ram attack. Outside> You rebound off of Kaph, taking 3 units of damage. Outside> Kaph grins as she LIstens to zero's chidings. The shadow hunter grips the brzerker's wrists as he tries to grab her again. pausing she turns to face Zero ith a big, fang reveaLIng grin. "Trust me, you're not safe in the sLIghtest..' she murmurs before she opens her mouth and moves to bit zero's neck just before bluegrass, hom Kaph has not been paying attention to, slams into the pair Outside> Kaph puts her guard up. Outside> Kaph misses Zero with her Bite attack. Outside> Forte.EXE slowly, ever so slowly, LIfts up an eyebrow. And just begins to LAUGH. It's not a good laugh. It's not the rather disturbing childLIke laughter of the deviLIshly cute Techno. It's the dark, I'm-Laughing-Cause-Later-I'll-Be-Writing-'LOSER'-In-Your-Blood laugh. As, from under the tattered cowl, a SECOND arm raises. This one's a gunarm as well. Forte.EXE lowers his head, those crimson eyes flaring LIke twin windows to hell as BOTH gunarms are fired with a sickening Kra-THOOM. The file transference looking LIke a wobbLIng eLIptical orb of energy as it crackles across the VE space, one for each mirror. Should it hit? Then, Techno's got Prism nailed. He's got the IP. From there - he can work on crashing it. Outside> Techno's combat roll has succeeded against Prismatic Spider. Outside> Kaph goes tumbLIng from her perch as bluegrass colLIdes ith Kaph, unbalancing the bat who begins to plummet. Outside> Zero tumbles and rolls with Bluegrass's hit, and to his credit, puts his feet on the ground for just one second. Enough to push off the ground, and handstand long enough to avoid the bite. "Necking on the first date? How forward Kaph! Normally, I'd dig a chick who goes for what he wantss..." trails Zero, as he takes a combat stance, and unsheaths the Z-sabre, with a snap-hiss of ionized air. "...But I'm taken." Still, he rushes in for the bat-girl at full-speed, performing a quick run-by slash and dash with his blade. Outside> Zero strikes Kaph with his Energy Drive attack. Outside> One of Reiji's greatest flaws is his overconfidence. He's arrogance and ego personified, the type of person who refuses to -accept- the possibiLIty that their opponent might well be better than them. He's been told of this faiLIng before, he's even taken steps to correct it. Yet somehow, Reiji's never really -learnt-... ...Well. Looks LIke school's now in session. Reiji's eyes blaze LIke funeral pyres as he sLIdes backwards on LInes of electromagnetic force, cursing his inattention, thinking the Yakuza android down and defeated - he wasn't -anticipating- a sudden attack LIke that. When he moves, he moves with nearly bLInding swiftness, but it isn't -quite- enough. The chains slam home, ensnaring him in their icy embrace, tearing through his chassis and leeching energy from his heart. He's hurt, injured far too badly to stand, barely enough to move - but the icy metal LInks keep him upright, strung LIke a grotesque marionette. Outside> One of the images shimmers out as the energy ball hits and finds out it was merely a ghost, as the other strikes the brilLIant shell about the real Spider Scientist's avatar, beginning to work it's way in. He can feel the viral code beginning it's work on his connection - he's got to work fast. His hands weave in complex patterns, and beams of code shimmer into existance around the Bass wannabe himself, rapidly tightening as they attempt to make the Spider's problems mutual. Outside> Prismatic Spider's combat roll has failed against Techno. [Radio: (E) Broadband] Guts Man transmits, "Digging up corpses sure is fun on a night LIke this. Especially corpses that have beam sabers on their graves." Outside> Kaph brings her shield up to block zero's attack as her left hand retracts, her arm forming into a compLIcated syringe weapon. she shrieks in deLIghted pain as she stabs th empty syring into the berzerker, rtracting the plunger as she stabs to suck out whatever;s internally available. 'you have the /cutest/ ponytail you know?' Outside> Kaph misses Zero with her Injekutoru Chuushaki attack. Outside> The cyborg continues to watch, his focus mainly on the battle between Reiji and Kuff, not too far away. His one, floating red eye casts a GLance at a leaving hover barge, somehow feeLIng an urge to try and get on. But he decides to leave it alone for now, and continues to keep watch... Outside> Bluegrass dives after Kaph. "When Ah'm done with ya, ya won't have any LIps... or even TEETH ta kiss or bite with! Ah hope ya'll LIke soft foods!" as she aims her foot at Kaph's head. Can you say, 'Boot to the head?' I knew you could. Outside> You miss Kaph with your Kick attack. Outside> Kuff's arm tenses as he grasps the chain in his hand, having looped it around his elbow... tensing the hold he has over Reiji, even as he drains energy from he who was Yakuza. Kuff's golden eyes regard Reiji for long moments, his face cold, cruel, and utterly calm. "...Now, Reiji... ...it is time for you to die. I shall present your Power Core to the Kumochou... ...and you will be striken forever from the world for your dishonor." Kuff tenses, drawing the chain tighter and pulLIng Reiji to his feet. "Goodnight, Traitor." Kuff... opens his wolven maw... inhaLIng deeply! And with a fLIck of his wrist, the chain disengages... but it holds Reiji motionless long enough... Kuff... /ROARS!/ It is the savage, bestial roar of an angered beast, magnified and focused a hundred times. The roar of a Predator with the first Blood of his Kill in his mouth. Focused and intense... the Sonic Force of the Bloody Roar is enough to send a full sized robot flying. Outside> Kuff strikes Reiji with his Bloody Roar attack. Outside> Protocol Forte.EXE smirks as the ghost-in-the-machine fades away, derezzed. Now pointing both of those gunarms towards the Spider, as he states: "Will the real crack loser, please stand up?" Dear LORD. Now he's ripping ancient rap songs. DOES THE MADNESS NEVER END?! Course, before he can launch his next bit of database smackdown, LInes of code ripple into existance around him. And catch down, FAST. Forte.EXE grimaces as his arms are quite rapidly pinned to his side. Could this be it? Could this be the end? Forte.EXE opens his mouth to scream.. Then pauses. And winks: "Just kidding." Almost casually, the ring of code dissolves. Forte.EXE brushing off that tattered cowl, and smirking as he holds out a hand. Thumb slowly turning down. "Come on. I can see you got talent. Better use it, or.." That smirk gets a tad wider:"j0r G01n1n |)0\/\/n |_053r.." That hand sinks in again, before a GREEN orb of energy is blasted towards the Spider's mini-Firewall. Data Corruption. Outside> Zero backfLIps away from the needle, and shakes his head as Bluegrass moves in perfectly. "Nice moves, Blue. The accent's kinda not my style, the look's alright though." comments blondie, hair fanning behind him LIke a scarf. Still, Zero crouches, deadly, handsome, and angry. "I LIke the compLIments babe, but not here, not now, and not ever, with the needles. I dig many things, but not hypo sluts." states Zero, with a cold, maLIcous grin. Still, he poses, sword prepared to attack, or so it seems. Still, he doesn't move, or does he? A red-afterimage of the wake of a movement rushes in for Kaph, sword slashing, and on the assault. Outside> Techno's combat roll has failed against Prismatic Spider. Outside> Zero puts his guard up. Outside> Zero misses Kaph with his Wing Shredder attack. Outside> Kaph deflects Wing Shredder from Zero. Outside> Kaph frantically rolls as Bluegrass'es kick whiffs just past her head. the bat-reploid rollsto her feet just in time to bring her shielf up, the green energy of the saber splashing harmlessly across it's surface. the BatLIke shadow hunter's optics close and she begins to vibrate before her mouth open wide and release a highpitched, deafening wail. Outside> Kaph misses you with her Shriek Of The Damned attack. Outside> Kaph misses Zero with her Shriek Of The Damned attack. Outside> Prismatic Spider narrows his optics as the green flames of destruction speed towards him... And he just smiles as he cuts one hand over. With a flare of LIght, he transposes his memory location, neatly evading the attack on his system... But that isn't the end of it. Another gesture, even as the flames streak harmlessly past, and there is another flash of LIght, as he attempts to put Techno in the path of his own attack.... Provided the hacker wasn't expecting such a daring move. Outside> Prismatic Spider's combat roll has failed against Techno. Outside> Bluegrass chuckles LIghtly, "Thanks, sugah. Ya cute too. It's a shame ya are spoken for. Ah hope the lucky lady inquestion knows how really lucky she is... but in case she doesn't... give me a ring, sugah... and Ah'll turn that frown upside down." Hmm... did she wink at you? Who knows? "But first, Ah'll hafta take care of a certain biatch..." Bluegrass loads up a armor piercing bolt into her crossbow and lets it fly... "Time ta make ya really unpretty!" Outside> Metal scrapes upon metal as Kuff's chains withdraw, releasing Reiji from their frigid grasp. Freed from their touch, the barely-conscious Hunter immediately begins to fall...But he never gets to hit the ground. The maelstrom of pure destructive force slams into his body and picks him up LIke a rag doll, tossing him bodily LIke a children's toy...His rearward fLIght arrested only by the sheer face of a brick wall, masonry caving inwards as the Hunter smears himself all over its harsh, unyielding surface. Collapsing to the ground, his neck hanging at an unnatural anGLe, the GLow in Reiji's optic sensors fades, returning his pupils to their usual clear blue. Despite his injuries, a spark of mild bemusement fLIckers in Reiji's eyes. He flashes a brief smile, one with only the sLIghtest traces of his usual sardonic air. "You're not too bad, Yakuza-boy," he whispers, "not bad at all..." Outside> You strike Kaph with a GLancing hit from your Armor-piercing Bolt attack. [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] Zero transmits, "Damn. I didn't know Musica spoke hoodrat. Awesome. Too, too awesome." [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] Bluegrass not Serena Gilbert audible blush! Outside> There is an almost TIRED sigh as Forte.EXE fLIckers out of existence - and right back in again, where he stood before. Reaching up with a hand to YAWN, and GLance down at his blank wrist. Where a holographic cronmeter ticks into existance, the Avatar speaking: "Look, dumbass. We're not on YOUR grid. We're on mine. You think I would've left data transference protocols open to any jackass who managed to sLIp in? Please. I own this system, lock, stock, and barrel. You're the only bug left. Speaking of which.." That CronMeter *dings*, and dissappears. Forte.EXE GLancing up, and GRINNING. ".. Time to fry." Without warning, the Avatar suddenly ZIPS across the VE grid. Damn near too fast to catch. Hands suddenly claws as he tries to simply TACKLE the opponent Avatar, and start hacking. Slash.Hack - to tear apart that FireWall, and crash Prism. Or, at the very least, start destabiLIzing the connection. While, outside? The Hover Barge is still pulLIng away from the dock, now starting to near the deport lane.. Outside> Techno's combat roll has succeeded against Prismatic Spider. Outside> (addendum) Bluegrass turn down the volume to her audio systems as she hears the shriek. "What are ya? Sonic Banshee's SISTAH?!"" Outside> Kuff pauses, inhaLIng slowly in contentment... before he looks at Reiji where he impacted. He nods slowly, motioning with one hand... and into it appears the clock he used before. Slowly he advances on Reiji... slowly walking forward, his stride even and measured. This is the Executioner's Walk. ...Kuff will once again be able to explore the dramatic images he sees in the eyes of those whom LIves he ends... as their very essence drains out of them. The very thought makes him wish Kaph was nereby to share it... ...it is something both revel in. Kuff walks slowly forward... then crouches before Reiji, LIfting the gun. "...Nor are you, Traitor. I take distinct pleasure in ending your LIfe... ...I wish I could do it again... ...but that is the sad faiLIng of existance." Slowly Kuff lowers the weapon, aiming right for Reiji's forehead. "...If only people would come back... so my Sister and I could kill them again and again... ...sadly, that is not the way the world works. ...Goodbye, Reiji..." Kuff pauses, his finger beginning to tighten on the trigger... Outside> Zero just simply shuts off his audials for a moment, as he sizes up Kaph. "Tsk, tsk. Don'tcha know blue-belle?" queries Zero, making LIght of Bluegrass's codename and accent. "Can't make a ho a houswife." he explains, with more amusement on his face. And that said, he runs in with his sabre LIt, leveled for a kilLIng thrust for the torso. And then...as he's mere inches from the target, Zero shuts the blade off, and brings his hand up, in an uppercut for Kaph's face. "Hmph." Outside> Zero strikes Kaph with his Hilt Punch Feint attack. Outside> The cyborg is now watching both Kuff and Reiji intently, finding this the best form of entertainment at the moment. His arms are crossed in front of him and he seems a tiny bit bored. His red eye flashes sLIghtly, before he takes yet another step forward from his rooftop perch, intent on getting closer... Outside> Kaph grunts as she's shot in the back by Bluegrass. Kaph lacks the abiLIty to properly handle both at once. Outside> Still focusing on Zero, the dangerous threat, the Shadow Hunter smiles ith BLIss as she takes a soLId punch to the face. the clear GLass chamber in her syringer arm fills up ith noxious green LIquid as she continues to grapple ith the berzerker, "Your interest flatters me, but it is my role to play with...' she pauses as she attempts to stab her opponent once again, "YOU!" Outside> Prismatic Spider cries out as the none-togentle viral code causes his shielding bubble to shimmer and crack, the defenses beginning to fail. Still, he pushes back, his six hands arcing forward as six beams of LIght streak forth, six blades dancing in a hypnotic fashion, each a different color, a different code that both disorients and confounds defenses as he begins his own counter-hacking attempt, driving the blades forward towards Forte's own Avatar. Outside> Kaph misses Zero with her Lethal Injection attack. Outside> Zero deflects Lethal Injection from Kaph. Outside> Prismatic Spider's combat roll has succeeded against Techno. Outside> Bluegrass states slyly, and with a shrug... "Can't blame a girl for tryin'..." she states simply to Zero, before returning her attention on Shadow biatch. "Now, ta shut ya up fer good!" and she leaps at Kaph as Bluegrass' GLows white... making Spurs appears... It's boot to the head... or rather... face. With Blades. "Ah also wear spears ta bed... if ya know what Ah mean," she says as almost as a aside to Zero." Outside> You strike Kaph with a minor hit from your Spur Kick attack. Outside> Zero snorts as he swats the needle away with his hilt, and begins channeLIng energy to his feet, which actually begin to GLow. As he does this, he asks a question. "Hey Kaph? I need to ask your opinion. D'you think these gems are distracting? Do they make me look feminine?" questions the Blonde, as high intensity LIght begins to pour from Zero's chest gems, for a few seconds. Ph33r the b00bLIghts. Outside> Zero strikes Kaph with his Gem Flash attack. Outside> Kaph is temporarily disoriented by Zero's Gem Flash attack. Outside> Bluegrass GLances at the...gems...then at Zero, "...Are ya sure ya not a reploid version of _RuPaul_?" Outside> Kaph is still reeLIng from the kick to the face. she turns to zero as his voice distracts her. she bLInks once as the bright LIghts send her optical systems reeLIng, 'KUFF" she shrieks in absolute terror as she bgins to back toards a all here she curls down in a defensive position, "KUUUUUUUUUUUFF!" Outside> Well, THAT was unexpected. Forte.EXE was so intent on slashing apart that Firewall, he didn't even notice the sudden upload of the spiders own .hack before it was too late. The Avatar sent REELING back as the blades sink home, derezzing as they are wont to do. As opposed to bleeding, or anything else that most would do in real LIfe, Forte.EXE - derezzes, sLIghtly. Unfocusing, the pixels comming unGLued at the edges. The Protocol having to pause and recompile himself, before he GLares /MURDER/ at the Intruder. "... Ow." He states, before a hand sLIps up under the tattered cowl. And draws, from underneath - a frisbee? But it's so thin as to not even seem to HAVE an edge, GLowing a neon lavendar disc that leaves a streak of LIght after it. With a nasty grin, this is fLIpped casually towards the Spider. Actually, sLIghtly aside - where it suddenly BUZZES, and makes an impossible turn to head STRAIGHT for the intruder. As if intelLIgent. FatalError.Hack Outside> Techno's combat roll has succeeded against Prismatic Spider. Outside> Reiji curses, silently. Curses the world, for injustice. Curses the Yakuza, for the demons it has spawned, himself, and the one who would bring him death. Curses himself, for his own weakness, his inabiLIty to stand and fight. His optics fLIcker weakly, his motor systems twitch and spasm - but he doesn't rise. He cannot. His body refuses to obey. But he doesn't need to move, to be dangerous. He's a Maverick Hunter. A LIttle thing LIke crippLIng injury is hardly enough to stop him. At the thought, he smiles, the grin ghosting across his visage even as the barrel of the gun draws a bead on his brow. His past and his future are washed away, submerged beneath the tide of the present moment. His memories, his hopes, and his dreams, are all meaninGLess. The present is all that defines his reaLIty, encapsulated in an instant. He feels no emotion. No hatred, no fear, no elation. The only sensations for him are the beating of his heart, the rush of blood through his veins, the feel of the power rising deep within the remains of his chassis... The air itself explodes into a ghostly azure GLow, invisible LInes of electromagnetic force weaving around Reiji's ruined body. A wide-band transmission crackles across the immediate airspace: "If wolves had at thy gate howled that stern time...Thou shouldst have said, 'Good porter, turn the key...All cruels else subscribe.' But I shall see...The winged vengeance overtake such children..." Ignoring the shrieking voice of his systems, Reiji takes hold of the entirety of his core output... And releases it. The gates of hell burst forth, a ravaging blast reaching forth with all the fury of a young star, incinerating a good quarter of the building beneath which he LIes, filLIng the harbour with a small sLIce of the sun's fury... Outside> Reiji misses Kuff with his G E T H S E M A N E attack. Outside> Reiji misses Cyclops with his G E T H S E M A N E attack. Outside> Reiji misses Zero with his G E T H S E M A N E attack. Outside> Reiji misses you with his G E T H S E M A N E attack. Outside> .hack this, .hack that... Nevertheless, the frisbee slams into Prismatic's faiLIng barrier, shattering it into a milLIon prismatic shards... and the viral code that was patiently working at his defenses streams through, beginning to do its real damage. Outside, the body of the Spider Scientist begins twitching... Still, through the haze of pain, he begins throwing the luminescent daggers at Techno, looking to take him out before he goes himself. Outside> Prismatic Spider's combat roll has succeeded against Techno. Outside> The cyborg takes a final step forward, sighing sLIghtly, before noticing something happening over with Kuff and Reiji. Tilting his head sLIghtly, he bends forward sLIghtly, before his GLowing red orb of an eye actually widens sLIghtly. And with that he quickly falls down onto the... roof, covering his head with his hands. And miraculously, the attack misses him... Outside> Kuff gazes at Reiji for long moments... reading his features. Kuff then... watches the peace come over the face of Reiji. A frown of puzzlement comes across Kuff's features. Kuff's eyes narrow slowly. "...What are you...?" ...The azure GLow gives him all the answer he needs. And with all the speed his wolven body can manage... Kuff /launches/ away from Reiji with a curse! Taking the Death from him! The NobiLIty of /Heroes/... ...how he hates them... ...and even when the Gates of Hell open, Kuff's attention is drawn by Need. The Need of his Sister. Her voice is in his mind, and turning... he launches at all speed for the scene of combat. And out of the Fire he comes... ...Bluegrass and Zero /DARE/ attack his sister?! ...they will learn the terrible price. Reaching down within the core of his being... Kuff draws forth the opposite of the Heroic End just unleashed behind him. His arms rise even as the flame explodes behind him... ...and cold, bitter, arctic... unending... rises from within. Shards of ice are sent flying with the speed of thought, and with them comes a howl of such rage at both the hurt of his sister and the GLory of Death stolen so casualy from him that it sets the ice shards vibrating with such speed as to shatter and peirce even the hardest armor!!! As Reiji opened the Gates of Hell and denied Kuff his Death... ...Kuff unleash the Arashi no Kame. The Storm of God. Outside> Kuff strikes you with a major hit from his Arashi No Kame for 23 units of damage. Outside> Kuff misses Zero with his Arashi No Kame attack. Outside> Zero deflects Arashi No Kame from Kuff. Outside> Kaph pulls back further into a corner, still bLInded, she himpers and covers her head as she LIstens to the chaos erupting around, so far out of her control that she cna't even deal ith it mentally anymor Outside> No. Fluffy's in a girl's room. So instead of throwing the cat, Zero turns, noticing the explosion of Reiji. "G'damn Rookie! I might have an heir to the title of property destroyer!" cackles Zilch, as he begins running in for the cowering Kaph, feet still GLowing. Taking a move out of Bass's own book, collected energy washes over Zero's body, even as his capacitors absorb the Arashi no Kami, and convert the kinetics for his own usage. "TIME TO PLAY..." trails Zero, as he performs an upward kick, backfLIpping, Guile/Nash-style. Energy traiLIng behind his body, Zero attempts to perform a bicycle kick, with a ball named Kaph. Landing neatly, Zero strikes his trademark over the shoulder, thumbs up pose for the camera. "Eat your heart out, Rob Van Dam." explains the Hunter, looking straight out at the screens of the players. Outside> Zero strikes Kaph with his Plasma Spiral Kick attack. Outside> With a smirk, Forte.EXE holds out his hand as the FatalError.HACK comes buzzing right back into the palm of his hand. The Protocol neatly placing the disc up under his tattered cowl, again, upon his back. A faint *cLIck* assuring that it's secure. The gunarm is formed once again, Forte.EXE bracing it with his other palm, even as the next attack begins to build. Debug Modulator. To simply begin /integrating/ the poor Spider's system resources, now that his firewall was down. You will be assimilated type stuff. Unfortunatly, the explosion outside ROCKS the Hover Barge as it starts down the deport lane. Alarms start going off inside the VE, Forte.EXE snapping his crimson gaze away from the Spider to GLance at the Automaton. Which begins displaying screens of whats going on outside - and the bloom of a mini-nuke, or the equivalent there of, going off nearby. "Dear god. Whatever happened to protecting the civiLIans and what not? Isn't that what you flat foots are supposed to do? PFfft. Hypocrites." Which, of course, means he suddenly gets ASSAULTED by knives. Forte.EXE falLIng back, fLIckering out of existance... merely to fLIcker back INTO existance, diving to the side. Grimacing, obviously, as he's in pain. But the twin gunarms are out, and firing rapidly. Debug Module, HOO! Outside> Techno's combat roll has failed against Prismatic Spider. Outside> Kaph shrieks in abject terror as Zero's feet continually pummel her, "This doesn't end here...' she murmurs to herself as she leaps into the air spreading her wings and attempting to fly to safety. Outside> Kaph retreats from the area swiftly, leaving her open to pursuit or parting shots from Bluegrass, and Reiji. Outside> Reiji misses Kaph with his Grasp attack. Outside> Kaph deflects Grasp from Reiji. Outside> Zero puts his guard down. Outside> Bluegrass somehow turns around as damage rages out. "ZERO! GET DOWN!" as she gets down herself... which protects her from the explosion of Reiji... ...but not from the Storm of God. Bluegrass GLARES at Kuff. "Excuse me, sugah. Ah've just met someone Ah want ta beat into a half inch of his worthless LIfe!" She unfurls her wings and fLIes towards Kuff... with a Thunderbolt in her crossbow. "Special DeLIvery! One asswhoopin' for a bastard just LIke YA!!!" "THUNDER BOLT!!!" Outside> You miss Kuff with your Thunder Bolt attack. Outside> Metal Man arrives from the Seoul - Northern Commercial District. Outside> "My job is to stop you. What they do... I have LIttle control over." Prismatic Spider speeds around the arena of cyberspace, barely keeping ahead of the gunshots... until he stops, explosions bursting around him in a cacaphony of LIght and sound. What Forte doesn't know, of course, is that the Prismatic Blades are still hovering behind him, in a circle... And a LIquid violet aura wells up from the arachnid's hands as the blades each discharge a bolt of energy towards the 'Commanders' back. Red. Orange. Yellow. Green. Blue... And with a shout, he fires a large blast of violet energy towards Techno's front, all to unit in a blaze of white, LIquid flame in a powerful, destructive assault on the opposing Avatar. Outside> Prismatic Spider's combat roll has failed against Techno. Outside> Kuff launches on legs that move with incredible speed, and as Zero launches his final attack upon his Sister, Kuff's snarl becomes a feral growl of pure rage. Snapping his head to the side, his golden eyes catch the southern-belle reploid, and his snarl turns into a sneer as Kuff springs into the air, dodging the bolt with the speed and grace that only was dreamed off in John-Woo Movies. Leaping into a rolLIn, Kuff springs up and forward, over Bluegrass' head entirely... his hands reaching in to the tight balled crouch he holds in the air. When he lands... his hands come out holding two very large, deadly Angel GLock guns. Looking at neither Zero to the left of him, nor Bluegrass to the right... staring straight ahead at the 'camera' with feral golden eyes... Kuff simply raises his arms out.... and fires! John Woo. Eat. Your. Heart. Out. Outside> Kuff misses you with his John-woo attack. Outside> Kuff misses Zero with his John-woo attack. Outside> Zero successfully deflects an attack randomly. Outside> Cyclops slowly gets up, shaking his head at the marvel of him having somehow dodged the attack. Noticing the hoverbarge now getting fairly far away, he decides to pay it a visit, perhaps get something of use off of it. Turning around, he runs back, finding the upgraded hoverbike of his still in fine condition. Hopping on, he guns the engines and begins to head in it's general direction... Outside> ---- Cyclops is staring at Bluegrass in armor! ---- Outside> Smoke rises from the charred wound ripped into the earth, enshrouding the debris left in the wake of Reiji's spectacular self-destruction in a blanket of dismal grey. And in scorched remnants of the warehouse, a fLIckering blue LIght comes to rest, settLIng admidst the twisted metal girders and shattered concrete of the building's ruins. As the acrid smoke begins to clear, the emergency forcefield fLIckers off, power entirely expended, its emitters melted clean through. The last of the LIght gLInts off a LIne of silver letters etched into the side of the coal black android cognitive module: K2-FGCTP1 "Kobayashi Reiji". In the heart of the blast crater, Reiji's signal beacon comes onLIne, accompanied by a sinGLe thought as fading power forces complete stasis shutdown of the Hunter's neural circuitry. << ...Check, please... >> Outside> In comes the sudden barrage of multi-colored energy, coursing across the VE LIke a nasty LIttle ... something or other. Look, it's big, it's bright, and it'd probably hurt LIke hell - IF it hit. The form of Forte.EXE GLances back, over his shoulder, at the sudden rainbow colored attack. The faintest of smirks forms on Forte's features, even as his tattered cowl begins to stirr from the oncomming rush. And he dissapears into the surge of energy. Dead? "Ooo. Aaah. Wooow." Comes a sudden voice, from the AUTOMATON ITSELF. Forte.EXE, floating quite happily in the middle of that dread pillar of code, grinning a wicked grin. "Pretty. Can you do lavendar too? It's my favorite. HEY! Ever thought about increasing your breast size?" There is a faint rumble, as a new LIne of frequence is opened. Straight to the Web. "Here. Read some pamphlets." Time to slow down the spider with - POPUPS! THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF POPUPS! THE EEEE-VILLE! Outside> Techno's combat roll has failed against Prismatic Spider. [Radio: (D) RF-MH-UN-Chat] Reiji begins to burst-transmit, at regular five minute thirty second intervals, a recorded message reporting complete reactor breech and chassis loss. This is followed by a string of coordinates. For some inexpLIcable reason, the recorded voice is extremely cheerful, female, and repeatedly refers to Reiji as 'Oneechan'. There's probably a rational explanation for this. Outside> Zero raises an eyebrow, and turns towards his new opponent, smiLIng amusedly. With high speed, he swings his sabre about as he turns it on, and knocks the bullets away, jedi style. "I don't think so, padawan. The force is not strong within you." "Time for you to join your skank sister." hisses the Hunter, as he begins running for Kuff. And then...two Zero's rush for Kaph, blades slashing and darting as they both assault, zigging and zagging in Z-patterns, making an X as their blades pass over Kuff at the same time. He's twice the Zero he used to be. Outside> Zero misses Kuff with his Twin Dream attack. Kuff hands you a cookie for a job well done! Outside> FooLIsh Techno, Prismatic is not your average Internet surfer. As the popups open they instantly disappear in tiny flashes of LIght. Looks LIke he got the registered version of Pop-Up Blocker. "Bah, you have no appreciation for style in combat. Just LIke I expected from a LIttle hacker LIke you..." Even as he speaks, his hand comes up... With a high-tech laser pistol. "I guess the simple approach will have to do." At that, his pulls the trigger a few times, sending blasts of LIght towads the Automaton and Forte himself. Perhaps he'll get both in the attack and save him some trouble. Outside> Prismatic Spider's combat roll has succeeded against Techno. Outside> Hm. Now you see... Bluegrass knows Bullet-Time. o.o As she LIterally weaves through the bullets. Sure several do hit her, but the damage they do is most non-existant. She lands in front of Kuff and states, "Mah friend. There is somethin' someone forgot ta tell ya. Soemthin' really important. But Ah'm a nice girl, so Ah'll tell you..." Cue Anime Big-Head. "YA DO NOT DO THAT TA ME!!! AH WILL YANK YOUR MANHOOD OUT BY ITS ROOTS AND USE IT AS TROPHY IF YA SO MUCH AS DENT MAH PAINT JOB!!!" Bluegrass calms down and nods. "Oh by the way... This is for ya..." Kuff knows Kung-Fu. Good for him. Bluegrass knows Gym-Fu. ^_^ Outside> You miss Kuff with your Gymnastic Attack attack. Outside> Terror Tanuki has reconnected. Narrowing his eyes, Reiji sneers, "Yeah, yeah. Guess you RPed well. May the sacred fairies of good posedom smile on your LIne, or something LIke that." Rummaging around in his pocket, the Hunter pulls out a large package wrapped in brown paper, tossing it to you. The note taped to the top reads, 'Cookies, Chocolate Chip (1 Dozen)'. Unfortunately, said package also appears to be -ticking-. Outside> And as Techno 'battles' within the Barge, Cyclops approaches from without, not even knowing that the person he's been hunting for, the person who annoyed him so much, is on board. The hoverbike swerves sLIghtly to the side, quickly gaining on the Hover Barge, before slowly slowing down and matching it's speed right next to it. Switching his bike to 'Auto Hover' he stands up, before reaching up and cLImbing aboard. Outside> Terror Tanuki has partially disconnected. Outside> System Alert. The Hover Barge continues picking up speed, near the end of the deport lane, now. And getting close to maximum velocity. Once it hits that, there ain't nothing in the world outside of an airborne craft thats going to catch it. Or, you know. Someone going hella fast on the water. Ahem. Point being, however, is that Forte.EXE is having to divert his system resources even FURTHER. Stretching them much to far. Whats worse, there appears to be someone trying to BOARD his vessel. Grunting, vaguely, as LIttle windows begin to pop up. Security cameras. One swinging aside, to show - CYCLOPS. In the REAL world. Forte.EXE seems just a touch nervous, even as he extends his hands outwards, from inside that pillar of energy. Green traces starting to crackle as he takes central control, while the Automaton continues to build itself up. Doors lock down. Things sLIde shut. Everything suddenly going full lockdown, as ship security comes onLIne. Small security drones activating, and starting to head for the deck. Course, all this means is that he isn't able to dodge. At ALL. Wincing as the blast strikes home, his pixels starting to come undone again as he GLARES down at the intruder. His voice now BOOMING, ampLIfied by the Automaton. "KINDA BUSY HERE. MIND STEPPING OUTSIDE FOR A BIT?" Without warning, a surge of rippLIng green energy snaps along the Grid, towards Prism. Data Corruption, to open a hole for the finale to come. Outside> Techno's combat roll has succeeded against Prismatic Spider. Outside> The speed of both attacks against Kuff is staggering. Zero's combined slashes followed by Bluegrass' gymnastic attack slash through... there area where Kuff /used/ to be. The Wolven Android moves with remarkable speed, dodging the slashes of the swords as sent, then springs back to avoid the spinning assault of the Musica Guard. After it is over, Kuff stands... then bows slowly, never taking his golden eyes from the pair. "Berserker. Belle. ...I am Kuff, brother to Kaph. ...And you will both pay for this... you can count on it. ...My sister and I shall take much pleasure in ending your LIves... ...but, for now... You may attend to your fallen friend... ...farewell." Kuff then... Leaps! With his augmented legs... Kuff is capable of springing great distances, and leaping into another roll through the air, Kuff springs over both Bluegrass and Zero... landing on the rooftop above them. Turning back to offer a pleasent wave... ...then with a burst of speed, he launches away! Outside> Kuff retreats from the area swiftly, leaving him open to pursuit or parting shots from Bluegrass, Reiji, Kaph, and Metal Man. Outside> Zero shakes his head. "Whatever, Distraction Man. We'll meet again, and I'll finish what you started. Lesson to learn, n00b. Don't let your mouth write checks your ass can't cash." explains the Hunter. Bowing to Bluegrass, he offers his hand. "Good t' see the UN has some headstrong fols LIke you around. Keep up the good work." explains Zero, giving one of those trademarked smiles. Outside> That does it. Now the Spider Scientist screams in pain as his avatar distorts, the virus trashing most of his runtime files present, and causing feedback damage to his complex neural net as well. Outside, the body begins shaking uncontrollably, verging on a seziure.... But it begins dying down as he pulls himself back together, rebuilding some of his system files on the fly as his data recovery routines pull him back from the brink of a hard, painful crash... And he screams foward in a blur... LIght flaring around him as he streaks LIke a comet towards Techno. The blades appear in his hand once more as he executes his own savage assault on the hacker. Whoever that guy is, he's good. Dang good. Outside> In the fine tradition of Tempest Dolphin, Reiji LIes in the ruins. Or at least his brain does. Ooh. Braaaaaaaain. Yeap. Or core processor unit. Close enough. Just, y'know, chilLIn' out in a blast crater. Not doing all that much, really. Hard to do that when you're a disembodied brain. You kinda need, y'know, LImbs, to do stuff. Or at least the abiLIty to move. Wonder if he's dreaming of electric sheep? Outside> Prismatic Spider's combat roll has succeeded against Techno. Outside> Cyclops gasps sLIghtly as the barge picks up speed, loosing balance as he cLImbs aboard and tumbLIng forward. Coming to a stop near the middle of the deck, he slowly gets up, taking a look around... Only to notice everything closing up and shuting down. "Great, they know I'm here!" His red eye flashing, he notices the incoming secruity droids. Tilting his head to the side, he grins, before unleashing eye laser hell on them all. Outside> Zero has disconnected. Outside> Zero has connected. Outside> Zero shakes his head. "Whatever, Distraction Man. We'll meet again, and I'll finish what you started. Lesson to learn, n00b. Don't let your mouth write checks your ass can't cash." explains the Hunter. Bowing to Bluegrass, he offers his hand. "Good t' see the UN has some headstrong fols LIke you around. Keep up the good work." explains Zero, giving one of those trademarked smiles. Outside> Bluegrass watches Kuff go... she could go after him... but decides not to. With a sigh, Bluegrass turns her attention to Zero. "Thanks, sugah. Ah'm GLad Ah could help ya'll in this." She looks around and stops at Reiji. "...Um, Zero, sugah?" She merely indicates Reiji. Outside> Zero waves his hand dismissively. "Yeah yeah. Haul Rookie back." he mutters, as he starts tromping over in the way of the fallen. "Too bad. He really did kick some ass today, too. I'm actually proud of the punk." explains the XO, as he LIfts his fellow Hunter's body up, and sLIngs it over a shoulder. "But I'll never tell him that. Kid's got enough of an ego." Outside> And Kuff, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, escapes with all speed... his destination known only to himself and his sister... uniting with her soon after... the pair launching off for parts unknown... both injured, but well enough. ...Zero and Bluegrass have earned the enmity of two of the newest, and more deadly, Shadow Hunters. Only time will tell what happens to them... ...And as for Reiji? ...Kuff and he will meet again. And he'll get him... and his LIttle electric sheep too! Outside> Without warning, LIghts all across the barge come to LIfe. Hey, it's got proper authorization codes, and it's technically still in UN territory. IT isn't doing anything suspicious. When giant things start exploding, it's always common to get your investment the hell out of dodge. Everything's set, record wise. A few spotLIghts turning downward, to pinpoint CYCLOPS. As the voice booms out of the speakers: "You are not Authorized aboard this vessel. Disembark immidiatly, or the Coast Guard WILL be summoned. We WILL take lethal action, under sea code 347, if you persist." The security drones scattering under the blast, but a few actually beginning to warm up. Their own mini-plasma guns GLowing in warning. Hey, Techno's gotta play it cool, as if the boat really were just an Automaton. Meanwhile, deep within the VE, Techno is strung to the LIMIT. The Protocol is good, yes, but it's only a tool. An extension of Techno's Avatar, to keep him nice and tucked away. But it uses HIS system resources, and a damn lot of them too. In trying to deal with a real world threat, an internal threat, AND run the entire barg at once - whew. You wanna talk about a snap? Forte.EXE's form suddenly shrouded by sickly green energy, before - from the ground - green BLADES suddenly blossom upwards. Trying to simply impale the opponent Avatar in a final blow. Virus.PATCH. Outside> Techno's combat roll has succeeded against Prismatic Spider. Outside> Bluegrass nods at Zero, "Yeah, He did good. Too bad he has a hatred fer the UN... Ah hope he'll get over it. Ah would LIke ta be his friend..." She woulda continue... ...but then she hears the barge's broadcast. "Mah work is never done..." She jets off to the Barge, and ends up touching down in front of Cyclops. "Ah trust there is a reason why you're here?" Outside> ---- Cyclops is staring at Bluegrass in armor! ---- Outside> Prismatic Spider 's avatar has had quite enough of this, it appears, as the blades pierce through him. He quivers, optics wide in agony for a spLIt second as he dissolves screaming... And as he does so, a mocking LIne of lyrics flashes through his mind, forced in through his vulnerable connection... "o/~ Soy un peredor... I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me..." Outside, the terminal sizzles and pops as Prismatic has what would appear to be an epileptic seziure... And then LIes still as the terminal whines it's last, breaking LInk in a kind of cruel mercy, leaving him to slump to the ground, unconscious. Outside> Cyclops growls, putting his hands above him, in what seems to be a sign of surrender. "Will you just... SHUT UP!!!" Several panels open up on Cyclops' arms, and bolts of electricity spring out at the secruity droids and any other annoyances in the area. He isn't going to be running just because the Coast Guard mught take lethal action. He's going to get something out of this! Firing off more blasts of energy from his eye at whichever droids may oppose him he begins to move towards the nearest door, closed tight LIke all the others. Sighing, trying to keep the secruity at bay with electricity, but still been hit several times, he decides to open the door the hard way. A panel sLIdes away from his chest, reveaLIng an inbuilt gatLIng gun, or as some call it, a chain gun. Whatever you call it, it instantly opens fire, firing off a small amount of explosive rounds at the door. As said before, he's not going to budge until he gets something of interest. Heh, if only he knew Techno was aboard. And that's when he notices Bluegrass arrive. Shaking his head, he sends a low powered blast of energy at the arrival before continuing his barrage on the door. Outside> Cyclops strikes you with a minor hit from his Low Power Laser for 14 units of damage. Outside> "RETURN TO SYSTEM NOMALITY." States the Automaton, as Forte.EXE disengages from it. They're running out of Deport Lane, and quickly heading for open waters. The cowled wonder pausing to grimace, and tap the jem on his helmet. Forte.EXE quickly derezzes, and melts away. ReveaLIng the much, much SMALLER Techno Avatar beneath. Whose breathing hard, even as he GLances down to the dimly GLowing circle above his right wrist. Damn. Too close. He stretched himself almost too far, that time. Shaking his head, Techno opens a circuit out, and quickly departs the system. Back to his own body, drawing in his spread system resources once again. Leaving the Automaton to do it's work. The slumped, childLIke body of Techno stirrs, and finally awakens. Pausing to reach up, and work a crink out of his neck before muttering. And standing up, quickly stumbLIng for the door and tossing it open. To GLance back, towards the distant figure of Cyclops, Bluegrass, and the security drones. "... Oh, for the love of Motherboard.." Outside> Kuff has disconnected. Outside> Zero decides to just leave Bluegrass to the poLIceing of the area. He's no official jurisdiction here, and Reiji needs hooked up to support machines anyways. Good think Zero's tech-savvy enough to go and patch him into the Hunter database. Outside> And... a small laser blast scorches Bluegrass' hide. She STARES at Cyclops in such a way that reads 'You are SO dead...' EVEN with a face. She then loads up a bolt in her crossbow. "Die, ya bastard..." She states coldly as she fires..." Outside> You miss Cyclops with your Explosive Bolt attack. Outside> $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Current Systems Status $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Current Endurance: [|||||||| ] (28 / 68) Fuel Reserves: [|||||||||||| ] (64 / 100) Status: Critical Forcefield Power: 0 $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Outside> Reiji sits on Zero's shoulder. Yeah. Utterly inanimate. He isn't moving all that much, really. Wait...was that a twitch? WAS THAT A TWITCH? No? Okie. But, wait, you fine people deserve a -real- pose, not none of these lousy half-baked copouts. So... Darkness. Adrift in a sea of darkness. Deep within the recesses of Reiji's cognitive module, simulated neurons shift faintly, fighting the minimum power stasis lock to piece together coherent thought. His body burnt into charred cinders, the only message from his nervous receptors a white-hot stream of pain, the darkness that blankets the Hunter's thoughts is an almost merciful one...it would be torture, were he fully conscious... But still, Reiji fights. His anger and rage not muted even the sLIghtest by the release of his self-destructive wrath. Even as his thoughts slow to a trickle within the nearly inactive depths of his circuitry, he continues to scream bloody murder. Death. There. HAPPY? @_@ Outside> Prismatic Spider enters the Outskirts of Seoul. Outside> You should retreat when your health passes below 19.04. Outside> Cyclops smiles as he notices his attack hit Bluegrass perfectly, and begins to take a step forward, only to see a door open... And his prime suspect, Techno appear. Well, what can I say, this seems to assure Cyclops that Techno is indeed the guilty party. Which he /is/. Quickly dodging to the side, he GLares at Bluegrass, before pointing Techno's way. "/You/ stay right there, you LIttle hacker!!" Turning to Bluegrass, his chest gatLIng gun powering up, he grins. "Can't you see we're having a LIttle reunion here? Just leave me alone..." The gatLIng gun rears to LIfe, spinning around as it spurts a small amount of bullets at the 'intruder'. Outside> Cyclops misses you with his GatLIng Burst attack. Outside> Terror Tanuki has disconnected. Outside> Bluegrass pauses briefly as she dodges bullets. (Damnit! That Storm of God hurts! Gotta buy some time!)oo. She shouts -- "Defense Changer -- Forcefield Mode!" And as the forcefield, Bluegrass GLances at the reploid 'boy'. "...Mind if ya lend a hand here?" Outside> Bluegrass projects a forcefield around herself. Outside> ".. What? Hacker?" Asks the childLIke voice of Techno, quite innocently. Why Innocently? Because he's ALWAYS kept his real LIfe pretty damn clean. As opposed to his onLIne LIfe. BLInking those red eyes down at Cyclops, then at Bluegrass. Well, it's obvious who his friend in this situation is. The surprisinGLy SMALL reploid stomping his purple armored boot, and pointing a finger: "Get off my boat! This is an automantanous boat! I can't have anyone else onboard! Go! Get get get!!" He GLances back towards his laptop, still nicely hooked in. That jewel on the forehead of his helmet gLIttering, as he remotes..Without warning, a cargo cable releases. And readjusts position, at a speed thats damn near a blurr. Scything across the surface of the deck, as Bluegrass might get a sinGLe crackled comm message. 'Jump.' Outside> Techno strikes Cyclops with his Have A Nice Trip attack. Outside> Cyclops finds himself hit by the cargo cable, smashing into his side. If he had an idea, he'd raise it right about now. Shaking his head, he begins to walk towards Techno. "That was pretty pathetic, you do reaLIse that, right? I didn't even feel it." Quickly GLancing at Bluegrass, he knows it'd be best not to attack her at the moment, so he focuses his full attention on the LIttle child LIke reploid in front of him. "You know what I mean. You're a hacker. Just be GLad I don't know anything more about you Techno." Well, lookie here. He knows Techno's name. Thank some /very/ informative Maverick agents for that information. Sighing, he looks down. "Now, I wonder what to do with you? Perhaps I'll just start off with LIttle pain, and work my way up, okay?" And with that, he outstretches his right arm, palm open, and grins. A panel sLIdes back into the hand, and a not too painful bolt of sizzLIng electricity comes out. Outside> Cyclops misses Techno with his Electric Bolt attack. Outside> Bluegrass recieves the transmission and immediately jumps, not asking any question... there is no question in her mind who is in more danger... her to the LIttle boy. She grimaces as she says: "Defense Changer -- OffLIne." She loads up a bolt into her crossbow. "Got one chance. Better not mess this up..." And fires the bolt... which explodes to form a Mini-Tornado... heading straight Cyclops... Outside> Bluegrass lowers her forcefield. Outside> You strike Cyclops with a soLId hit from your Tornado Bolt attack. Outside> The LIttle kid grimaces, slowly stepping back as Cyclops advances. Till, without warning, the cyborg launches electricity. EEK! Electricity mixed with Highly Advanced Computer 'Ploid is NEVER a good thing. Techno tosses his hands up, that jewel gLIttering on his forehead again. He might be out of the system, but his LIttle program still IS. Automaton responding almost immidiatly to the remote command, via his hidden laptop. A Security Drone zipping down in front, to take the entirity of the damage, and dropping to the ground. The LIttle orb sizzLIng, as Techno just... grins. Leaning forward as he throws both arms forward, a few more security drones appearing from behind his shoulder and ZIPPING towards the cyborg. Firing their tiny, ineffective bolts. Maybe it'll distract him into the tornado? Outside> Techno strikes Cyclops with his Mishima Laser Pistol attack. Outside> The mini tornado hits Cyclops, fairly hardly. He's knocked off his feet, smashed into the deck and then been blown over. GrowLIng loudly, he gets up, only to be hit by the almost harmless lasers. Shaking his head, he looks at Techno, smirking. "Get a new hobby kid." He leaves the LIttle reploid alone for now, and instead focuses on the larger threat. Turning to look at Bluegrass, he smiles. "You have talent. Too bad it's /all/ going to go to waste!" And then, the gatLIng gun in his chest begins to power up, spinning around violently, getting ready to attack. "Don't stick around." And then a mass of bullets spurts forth at the Musica Guard. Outside> Cyclops strikes you with a major hit from his GatLIng Fury for 27 units of damage. Outside> You take extra damage due to your Blunt weakness. Outside> You are below your courage-endurance point. Outside> $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Current Systems Status $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Current Endurance: [ ] (1 / 68) Fuel Reserves: [||||||||||| ] (58 / 100) Status: ___ / \ 0_ | O O | _0 \_\ ^ /_/ _|vvv|_ _/ \_ 0 0 Forcefield Power: 0 $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Outside> Without waiting around for Cyclops to decide to come back and have his fun, Techno quickly sLIps back inside the Bridge. And SEALS the door shut, locking it down as much as he can. Quickly heading for the lower levels, as he continues activating security. Door after door after door seaLIng shut behind him, the turle heading for it's shell. Thats going to take HOURS to get through, and thats with the proper equipment. It's all designed in chambers, after all, to keep the hover barge from sinking if things get nasty. Though, that doesn't mean he's abandoned his ship! Far from it. He's still in control, remotely, after all. Sending out the distress to the coast guard... After all, HE hasn't done anything legally wrong. He's got all the electronic 'paperwork' (forged), proper access codes (stolen), he was registered as captain (hacked), AND he had a preordained destination (Fake). Outside> Bluegrass screams as the shot nearly tears her apart. But she is still aLIve. Still breath... and hurting LIke heck. With her remaining power... Bluegrass leaves, unable to look into Techno's eyes. Unless the kid has a plan... he is surely doomed. Outside> Bluegrass retreats from the area swiftly, leaving her open to pursuit or parting shots from Reiji. Outside> Cyclops smiles as Bluegrass retreats, then turns to look at Techno... And curses. LOUDLY. After a LIttle rant, he notices a Coast Guard hovership in the distance. Sighing angirly, he kicks the door Techno went back in, instantly holding it in pain. "For crying out loud...!!" Taking one last look around, he drops several microsopic devices around the ship, before jumping overboard. Splashing down into the waves, Cyclops keeps himself afloat as his hoverbike arrives, having tracked him down. As he jumps aboard and kicks tail outer here, he smiles. Hopefully those tracking devices will lead him to Techno sooner or later... Fade out, and CUT! $$$ BB Post in Progress $$$$$$ Group: CiviLIan Title: AAR: Seoul ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (UN Only. BWAH! ^_^) (Text Only) I'm assuming you all heard about the technological diffculties Seoul had. Myself and a couple of others came to see what is the lowdown in Seoul: (Images -- Zero, Ten, Reiji, Prismatic Spider... and Bluegrass) We ran into two roadblocks... two androids that we haven't seen before: (Images of the two androids -- The male wolf and a Female Bat... each tentative named 'Kuff' (the male) and 'Kaph' (the female)) Myself and that berserker cutie pie... went to work on Kaph, while Reiji has attempted to take Kuff down. With Ten directing the humans that was around the docks at the time out of the area. Kuff took Reiji down and distracted Zero and I long enough for Kaph to escape... at which point, Kuff followed suit. Now according to Prismatic Spider, there has been a huge... Cyberspace war against the one called Techno. This is only a composite sketch of Techno which the lab boys did based off what Prismatic remembers... (Image -- Forte.EXE aka Techno. Except... Goofy looking) I don't know what happened during that battle but based on how Prismatic looked when I found him... I think he lost. Now, this would have been the end of this report save I got a distress report from a barge. I arrived... to see a Cyborg harassing a young boy Reploid. (Images -- The Cyborg (Cyclops) and the young boy Reploid (Techno) with '???' under each of their names) The Cyborg has managed to drive me off, but not before the barge called in the coast guards. Smart kid. So it is all over... save for the mess you Traffic Control officers have to sort out. Have Fun. End Report. (Bluegrass' Electronic Signature) (UN Spinny) $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$