|
Post by Zane on Mar 1, 2018 22:01:26 GMT -8
Rosso halted himself a bit after being launched from the room, Nightshade's bomb being placed beneath him as he gave it a simple glance before it exploded. He still stood undaunted however, and then showed that Nightshade didn't have a clue on how Rosso thought as he ignored him still. In fact he hadn't moved at all, the time that Nightshade was being taken by Thrash being the time that Vanguard was using his blast as a makeshift drill to get through the facility. He knew Mistair and without a doubt, she would empower that shot and Vanguard as a result. He likely covered plenty of distance on the way down as a result, but left the hole unplugged. He ended up having to ask another question instead, to see how quickly they were making it through.
"Are they still in your range?"
"No, they just fell outside of it. We'll have to approach them indirectly."
Mistair would know how far he could operate after all. His goal wasn't to raze their building down just to kill two people, so they got one up on him. He would have to pursue on foot. Catching up to them wasn't any sort of challenge if it was a contest of speed, at least as individuals... Nightshade hadn't spotted a window for quite some time before he blew a hole through it to get to the other side, so the time he would take to get back would be about the same as it took for him to get there. But he didn't pursue just yet either, as he had words to say to the passing Nightshade. Not like the cat would understand them anyway.
"Having a loose leash was fine until now. He's your dog so, from here on, keep it tight at all times. If you cannot, I'll kill him in a painless instant."
He didn't go to plow a hole through the building. The building only had so many exits. He merely had to cover them before they arrived and then they would be in checkmate. The damage he had inflicted in that one instance was already going to hinder him, but he was more than some dying pawn. Besides, chasing underground would end up leading to another incident much like the closed room just previously. So now came pressuring them to pick one of the exits favorable to them. He could do that from here while the other one pursued more directly.
She was considering numerous things at the time with the information they had, like leaving the hole open. She knew Rosso wouldn't personally go down it unless he fired more at them, but they had managed to hit the parts that the NIA hadn't managed to incorporate into this base. Vanguard's choice had been a good one even if it was about his only one.
"Can you tell how bad it is right now?"
First thing was examining Vanguard's damage, which his Dark Soul would let him ignore for now. She wasn't certain if that meant he couldn't judge it or not, but first and foremost was that blow he took. From what she observed, it was more than just the power behind it that would make it a problem, plus depending on what all it struck as it was. At least closing the hole was easy enough, but not the other damages involved. Determining their next course of action was next, which she was thinking on depending on how they'd be attacked from there on. If she was right, Rosso wouldn't just blow through the base to get to them, which meant he wouldn't just go blow for blow with Vanguard with her backing him. Which meant...
"Grom will likely be assisting soon. It's not that he's weak in other occasions, but in this particular space he's a problem as it's his domain. Even here we're still in reach of attacks thanks to that and getting out of here won't be possible for us while he's active either."
It would be something that Vanguard would pick up on once he saw it once or twice. She had a working idea for how to get them out of this already, just now came setting it into motion.
|
|
|
Post by Nightshade on Mar 2, 2018 1:59:18 GMT -8
"How about you tell us the whole truth instead of trying to kill him every time we meet. It would help clean misunderstandings." Nightshade replied, glaring at Rosso. as he passed by.
"Unless you're doing it on purpose, that is. Playing mind games with your operatives is a waste of time. Now excuse me, but I have someone to apprehend."
|
|
|
Post by Gaia on Mar 3, 2018 17:14:57 GMT -8
Vanguard.EXE
Vanguard grunted as the sound of crackling lightning slowly came ever closer, even through the blaze of his cannon fire. Looking up, he glanced at the ball of red electricity, frowning. It looked like the sphere from a Bug Death Thunder chip, which was a little interesting, if not mildly annoying. He simply released a vernier of darklight energy that wrapped around the sphere and swallowed it whole, sucking all of the energy from the sphere for his own reserves. He'd usually have just absorbed it into his hand, but, both were a little occupied.
"Huh?" It took him a second to realize that Mistair had returned to consciousness, or, at least, had started talking, and he looked at where she hung from his limp arm, barely held within his grasp, to see her looking at the wounds across his chest, as they were closing. She asked him a question that she likely already knew the answer to, as, even now, his grip on her would be loosening as the energy provided by his darksoul was escaping him. "It's pretty bad," he admitted, anyways, ceasing the flow of power through his darklight cannon to preserve as much of his strength as he could. Just then, they dropped down into an expanse of tunnel, obviously no longer inside of the base, and Vanguard all but toppled over as the last of his intensified embers retreated into his body, trying to make up for what little bit he had left of his darksoul's power.
"He struck me, and it wasn't his strike itself that was dangerous, but how it was done - he had my accuracy, somehow. I could see it in his eyes," he explained, letting her go so that he could nurse his own wounds. "I was able to get out because of my darksoul, but, a lot of old wounds got irritated - I'm in no position for an all out brawl against him, and, because of how my accuracy works, it'll only get worse from here. Once my darksoul is fully sputtered out, I'll just be deadweight until I can properly recover . . . which we both know will take a while."
He didn't like admitting the hard truths, but, the situation was as bleak as it sounded, for the both of them. Vanguard figured that Rosso had it out for him for the longest time, and he could now guess that this Grom figure - the one that could get to them regardless of where he was within the base - was the man behind the screen, the one that first ordered Rosso to stay his hand. Grom was the one there just as Vanguard had arrived in the room, which meant that Grom and Rosso, if not direct allies or subservients to one or the other, were at least on the same terms. That helps connect a few more dots, and better paints the situation.
Rosso was capable of much more damage than he portrayed in the room - which meant that he still wants this building standing when he was done with them. This had been a race against the clock the moment Vanguard had arrived, and, even now, as he and Mistair were in these tunnels, their options were flickering away.
"I'm not saying I'm giving up - I'm just saying we have to work, and fast. You know the layout of the network better than I do, so, just point the way, and tell me what you have in mind. I'll do my best to keep enemies off of us, and to keep both of us going for as long as I can.
"Before we go, though, should we remove our Isolators?"
|
|
|
Post by Zane on Mar 3, 2018 19:54:41 GMT -8
"Telling a pawn anything is the definition of failure. You already know exactly what I need you to know. Go back to being silent and as you're told. Or would you prefer I pay you attention instead of ignoring you?"
He didn't bother looking at Nightshade during any of this, his glare meaning less than nothing to him. He was quiet until now so he may as well remain as such and do his job. His message was delivered, so he should know his standing. Operative, pawn, or otherwise, that wouldn't change the fact that the dog would be put down if it didn't know how to behave itself. He aimed his arm forward, the space in front of it changing before his eyes. Rather than him taking aim down the hallway, it was more akin to a dark space now. So he unleashed the flamethrower from his hand into that space, it vanishing after a time before a different one appeared, firing again through this one.
He had Vanguard's accuracy? That was something she didn't know he could do, but that made sense. He had plenty that he could hide without ever tipping his hand unless someone could make him do it. At least now she knew he could pull that stunt off. But it also meant... well, first thing's first. Having any deadweight wouldn't serve them very well with what was in store for them. So she just had to make use of her abilities to their fullest. Though she never imagined a day would come when she was using them like this.
"We'll worry about proper recovery when we're out of here. Until then, you'll just have to get comfortable in your darksoul."
She touched his shoulder, the teal glow from before coming over him. Then it steadily began to change hues, matching with his own darklight and being drawn in to it. And what was once beginning to flicker out was burning once more at full strength.
"As long as I'm able, I'll make sure you can run at full strength and beyond in all aspects. That's one of the things that I'm best at, after all. For now we'll be gunning down the back of this tunnel for a bit and keeping the Isolators. We need them a bit longer. They'll be key to making sure we don't miss Grom. If we don't take him out, even temporarily, we're stuck here and under attack."
There was a shift in temperature, something that both would be keen on by now. But it wasn't Rosso himself as much as it was his flame. It came hurtling straight at them from both ends of the tunnel, her own barrier erecting itself in the front half and separating itself from them, blocking off that side of the tunnel. Even as she was defending, her eyes was moving about, not looking at anything in particular in the dark tunnel. But she was working on the plan even now.
"Kind of like this, actually."
|
|
|
Post by Tiefy on Mar 9, 2018 7:43:03 GMT -8
Of course, neither Nightshade himself nor the force now keeping his will in check are about to dash down a burning corridor in pursuit of their target. That leaves him within earshot of Rosso, who now hears the chatter resume, albeit in a different voice...
Oh, such a violent and absolute need for total control. I suppose that attitude makes sense now, knowing what happens when you let the leash go slack even a little bit.
From there, the voice continues speaking, albeit primarily to the proper owner of the body...
Judging from your own expedient entry, if our quarry were willing or capable of escaping here at all, they would have done so by now - one way or another, they have a secondary objective obstructing them. Determine it, and cut them off at the pass instead of continuing this pointless pursuit.
|
|
|
Post by Nightshade on Mar 10, 2018 3:36:44 GMT -8
The little daemon froned. "Right, it would be easy if I had access to the planimetry of this building we're in. But it seems my friend there doesn't want me to know how to efectively move around in a place I have never been before." He tip tapped over to the wall. "Perhaps I should just plow through anything I find?"
He was really beginning to enjoy such strong link to his elder sister. Every second that passed just made his body stronger. Plus, with all the amount of Daemon Data he could gather from this would help immensly in strenghtening just about all of his daemon abilities.
The core in his right elbow began pulsating at a faster rate, the veins inside his arm growing bigger. Nightcore grinned. Boy it felt great. He opened his hand, his claws elongating and crystallizing in seconds. He reeled himself back, ready to smash right through the wall.
|
|
|
Post by Gaia on Mar 10, 2018 12:04:28 GMT -8
Vanguard.EXE
So, then, they'd need the isolators in order to get a mark on Grom. He wasn't sure how safe he would feel if the NIA Headquarters were his domain, especially given what he knew about the Isolators, but, at this moment, he trusted Mistair more than he trusted just about anyone else.
The teal light energy surged over him as he felt the power of his Darksoul alight back to full power, and then beyond that, as the familiar glow of Mistair's power enveloped him - this isn't the first time she worked alongside him, but, it was, perhaps, the most dire.
When the pillars of fire came, Mistair erected a barrier to protect them from her side. Vanguard flared out his own prominence, his flames hungrily eating away at the opposition. While he would normally just allow his Darksoul's fires to sustain him against attacks, he wasn't arrogant enough to assume that Rosso wouldn't be able to pierce through it. Even Magnolia's simplest of sword strikes cut against his Darksoul. If he was right, and the two were somehow connected, then, he could guess at least the same level of power - and, even more, considering Magnolia was likely holding back - from Rosso.
"Alright. Time is of the essence, so, I'll be prioritizing my speed. I'll be moving at speeds too fast for my on-board targetting system to function normally, so, my normal bursts of power will be replaced with bursts of speed. Can I trust that you're able to keep up?"
|
|
|
Post by Zane on Mar 16, 2018 3:04:02 GMT -8
"I can loose the leash on my own dogs and be unconcerned for what they'll do. The owner's at fault here for the poor training this one has. Putting aside the pointless banter though, tell it to try causing collateral damage. If that were fine, I wouldn't be using weak enough flames for anyone in this building to survive them. Not that he could do much damage anyway."
The battle would have ended as soon as it began. First was because Grom was in the room at the same time, second was because of a judgment call based on how Vanguard would respond. He responded with heavier fire when under duress, so he planned to end it in one fell swoop. He was close to accomplishing that, but missed the chance. Thanks to that and because of where they were now, tossing a more volatile blast would just cause unnecessary damage. Of course, thanks to the level of reinforcement that the place had, it took a shot of Vanguard's level to get that far. Which meant it would take the same level of fire for them to return fire at him. Odds were they wouldn't do that though, which meant they were gunning for the exit. Which made sense, as they couldn't get out of here the old fashioned way.
"The only way they can leave the base is to physically walk out the exit that remains unlocked, which would be the front entrance. For reasons I don't know they didn't place a lock on that one, so they can't leave anyway until they either climb back out and head out the door or burrow beneath it. Which still counts."
The space in front of him shifted still as he stayed in the space he was, still not looking back to the initial hole that Vanguard created and fired. It was from the weapons mounted on his wrists that loosed the flames, in the palm of his hand a sphere forming. The star steadily formed further, condensing itself. He had to be careful how he threw it, as Vanguard was already in a more aggressive mood and Mistair would know it was coming either way. His left hand was left free for other purposes.
She nodded in agreement. Their goal was simple, but getting there was trickier than that. Defeating Rosso with just the two of them wasn't very likely, so that meant they had to escape. Due to her knowledge, they couldn't capture them with the most surefire method they possessed. That would most certainly be fixed soon. Luckily she had a good idea of how some of their adversaries thought. That was all she would need to tip the scales and was why keeping the Isolators was the play to make for now.
"Leave the targeting to me. You just focus on the speed and the power behind your movements from here on. I won't miss anything. Start preparing that two-pronged shot of yours ready soon."
It was clear who was on which side now, so things like being caught by surprise due to someone attacking in the back wouldn't happen. And Vanguard's attack would be key to them getting out of here given Rosso's not-as-intense offense. If the report that Nightshade fed them this time, albeit probably screwed up again, wasn't entirely off the mark... it meant he by far had much more than he was using. That meant this base was still needed for something, whether it be another of his traps, something just to pass the time, or something actually important to them. The barrier she had blocking before moved ahead of them to meet the new flames, moving with them as they went forward.
|
|
|
Post by Tiefy on Mar 16, 2018 6:47:34 GMT -8
...Nightshade suddenly finds his twisted face baring a wicked grin, whether or not he actually wills it. Something seems to have just clicked into place...
"For reasons you don't know", hmm? A rather obvious goal line... so obvious, that anyone in their right mind would never fall for it. My old master would have loathed games like this one. Ohohoho...
And just as quickly as they grew, the Daemon's claws recede, forming once again into nimble fingers with spiked tips for extra grip. The muscles in his arms and legs pulse with stored energy - it will be time to move soon, and quickly at that. And what's more, this may become more of a classical corridor firefight than a mere hunt...
...The exit is, for all intents and purposes, a dead end. Continue the pursuit - stay hidden, but make it obvious that you are hiding. Wear them down from afar, confront them from any side passages you can find that would steer away from the straightest route to the front door. Make them know without a doubt that the path of least resistance is to reach that door. They will act accordingly... isn't that right?
|
|
|
Post by Nightshade on Mar 16, 2018 9:14:15 GMT -8
The small deamon actually found grinning quite natural in this situation. Even though it wasn't 100% him, he understood what his sister's plan was going to be. They should link up this way more often.
Nightcore gave a small nod as orders echoed from within his body.. "So hidden in plain sight it is then. 10-4, moving to neuralize the target."
Without losing time on more bickering, the small daemon flew through the corridor that he first tried to escape from. Since his new target had escaped to the lower floors he would need to get down there from wherever he actually was. "You know big sis, I'm beginning to love this body even more."
Sure enough, he was way more elastic and flexible than his usual self. He also seemed to be able to do things he did not know about as well. He definitely would put all that to good use.
|
|
|
Post by Gaia on Mar 17, 2018 19:44:44 GMT -8
Vanguard.EXE
Given the okay to move, Vanguard revved up the boosters on the underside of his boots, not used since his chase after Magnolia. He grabbed a hold of Mistair and blazed forward, top speed, covering decent ground in comparison to his usually slow approach style. His readings of the area told him that he couldn't just log out of the network in his usual manner, which meant that they had them in lock down - chances were, they didn't have many options of escape left. Whichever door they decided to keep available would become a death trap, and they'd have to be able to survive a fire fight long enough to get through.
He could've been going just a little faster, but, he still took time to survey the tunnels around them, having never been in this part of the base, before. "Where are we, precisely, in relation to our work station? I'm all for needing to leave here, and fast, but, to be perfectly honest, it won't mean much if we get out and your little watcher goes on a temper tantrum because we can't find his lost pets." He decided to be as cryptic about the situation as he could, while adding in just a little bit of humor to the whole ordeal - it would hopefully livin up their little trek through the underground.
"We're both still standing after getting hit, and the building isn't up in flames. That means he was holding back. Whatever the reason, he either still needs us or he still needs the building; Rosso is a man of action and purpose, and nothing he does is without reason. If he needs us, we're running straight towards a trap - and he's going to make sure we keep running towards it.
"If he still needs the building, I might be able to rectify that, given enough time. So, let me know: Am I preparing more cannon fire-" he paused, suddenly aware of another set of voices coming over comms. Was that . . . Nightshade, and Rosso? He stopped talking for a minute, looking down at Mistair, suddenly remembering why he had wanted to be so careful about his chat with Thrash.
They had listeners, and they had a chance at listening in, themselves. He made it clear in his eyes that he understood what was going on, nodding to her, and went on with his plan.
"Or am I making it rain?"
|
|
|
Post by Zane on Mar 17, 2018 22:31:13 GMT -8
He considered stating the obvious about his own words, but... this was actually fine as well. Instead he figured that around now would be when they would come to realize that as always, he was a man of purpose and reason. Being silent played a good part of that, something he imagined the 'dynamic' duo would pay more attention to. And yet a smaller space opened up beside him then after he was certain they were a ways off, speaking through it instead of the communication channel.
"Arrange it so that they can get to where they need to so long as they follow the obvious conditions. I'll warm up the basement for Vamin soon."
The smaller hole closed then, orders received. Now came doing his job. The smaller flames would still serve as a minor distraction for them, so he would throw the other one out sooner rather than later and get this over with. ...But he still couldn't, not as is anyway. He could, but then he knew a few others would complain about being caught in the line of fire. He would have to wait for them to make a move instead if his objective was not killing his teammates alongside his targets. Not that he could just up and detonate the building anyway. But he may as well start setting up his next move in the meantime while he waited.
So as Nightcore was running off to find his entry to the lower level, he happened upon a vent that was there. He could probably fit in it now and see where it would take him or continue to rush around quickly to get to finding another way instead, like an elevator or stairway.
Mistair was being quiet through the ride. It was clear that she was listening, but she was listening to various things at the same time. Her eyes also weren't set on the path ahead of them, rather they were just looking to the side. They would occasionally move just a bit, but it was clear she wasn't watching whatever was in their area. Instead of verbally responding to his query, she moved her fingers a bit, instead drawing up a detailed map for him to see along the way. It showed where they were as they were moving and the full size of the locale. The only parts not detailed would be a bit lower than they presently were, as that was information she in fact did not know. She still was smiling at his choice of words though, knowing full well that they were definitely inspired by this point.
"We're pretty far off from our intended position, but we'll get there as long as we head to the left here. And about Rosso... yeah, he probably wants to keep us around still. I'm not sure why, but he wants us to do something here."
Vanguard would clearly see there was no left, so it was pretty clear what she was doing here. So she tapped him on the shoulder and held up one finger first while shaking her head. She then held up two, nodding instead. Frankly she didn't believe he needed them, especially if his display on Vanguard said anything. That meant he wanted to keep this building. She pointed down after, imagining that to be the reason why. It was the only zone not on their records or detailed and information she wasn't privy to. There was certainly more down here given these carved out tunnels in the first place. It meant this building was keeping something else that he still wanted. Far as people were concerned, frankly, she didn't believe he needed 'anyone' for more than a single task. So she held up one finger again, nodding again too for his last question.
"Rain is fine. If he needs us then we shouldn't worry about the building at all."
Her eyes kept surveying something else instead, letting things set themselves in motion. What their next move would be versus her own intentions... she'd take advantage of all of these things and the tools at her disposal. This included the things she had set in this place as well from the beginning.
|
|
|
Post by Nightshade on Mar 19, 2018 23:27:35 GMT -8
Nightcore stopped and looked at the vent, while taking notice of his comms still being on. Nifty little bundles of tech, those isolators. Not on par with NSD's trinkets Thorn used but pretty darn close. Not that it would matter much. If he needed to talk, he could and would do so within his mind, still he turned off the microphone. His Big Sister could hear him just fine anyway as they practically shared a body right now. He would wonder if she was in some kind of dimly lit room meditating to keep them linked together. Like some kind of Psi dude from sci fi movies that hovers above the ground and stuff. "So...uuh...this is the first time we do this...link thing. I suppose you can see what I see, hear what I hear and access my mind to send comands through my body. Anything else we could use? Like...can you feel what I feel as well? You know...anything helps around here. I should probably give it a name or something. How about Dark Link?"
His Daemon instincts told him to not try and het caught up in a maze of vents and tubes. He would gladly follow the advice and bolt down the hallway again. There had to be some kind of elevator or something around. With a mostly fluid body he could squeeze himself through the doors and drop down to the lower levels. He looked down as his hand and body, taking note of all his cores beating in unison. He could feel all the veins in his body rhythmically pulsating, sending energy to his limbs as his partially fluid body moved around. He never actually used any shapeshifting of his own will. It was all mostly just a reflex...an innate kind of sense he felt deep down. His body kinda acted on his own, probably because of Thrash helping him. That could be a problem. He couldn't just flop on the doors of the elevator in hope his body somehow squished itself through or wait for Thrash to hold his hand. In battle his reflexes were second to none. Who knew if there was some sort of lag in the link? That could get him killed. "Uuh, so...sis...I think I need a "how to use your fluid Daemon body 101". Uh? Sharo you mean? But what about the other...I guess Rosso can work it out on his own. Are you sure that...uh...alright, don't interrupt him anymore. Got it. If you say that's got priority."That was...new info he did not know about. But hey it was worth a shot. Still, she was right. Right now, Rosso was trying to do the same thing he was trying to do, but the guy could do it way more efficiently than him. He knew the place and he could do way crazier stuff with Vanguard. Nightcore simply yanked the elevator open and rode the cable all the way to the very roof. He then used his fluid body to squeeze himself to the outside world and logout before he would create any more unnecessary hindrances for others. Apparently, he didn-t need the Daemon guide at all. As long as Thrash was linked to him, doing daemon things was second nature. <Nightshade Exit>
|
|
|
Post by Zane on Mar 25, 2018 22:25:46 GMT -8
As Nightcore made it to the very roof of the fortress, aiming to squeeze out and logout, he was at first met with resistance. He wasn't able to leave at first, but that changed after a few moments of attempting to do so. As he left, a stream also left him at the same time. It didn't go anywhere after it left him, simply fading away into nothing like small pieces of remnants would without anything to host it. If the Daemon was wise, she would probably remind him of how to not end up in this situation again. But his freedom had its own price to pay. <Nightshade Exit Successful. Loss of Juuka: Griega>
|
|
|
Post by Gaia on Mar 28, 2018 15:25:49 GMT -8
Vanguard.EXE
Vanguard watched as he continued onward, looking down at their indicator on her map. They were moving pretty decently, and he noted that she was using her words to throw off their assailants. Nodding his understanding at her point, he took a hard right, bolting down that side as he considered her words.
There was something below them, then, that they were preparing for. Which meant that they were less a means to an end, and more of some loose ones. He continued preparing his more powerful assaults, his chips rising a little farther within his coils as he alloted more power in them. "We can collect our work and then be on our way," he said, as though it would be the simplest thing in the world, briefly coming to a stop to point down, indicating with his prepared cannon that he was more than charged enough to make a way down there. Did she want to be privy, or would she rather to go forward?
|
|