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Post by xoDeathy on Aug 29, 2020 20:42:00 GMT -8
And thus, the brilliant assault Altair had taunted came to fruition. She frowned, she miscalculated. She was two steps ahead the entire time, yet still left enough space for two fatal flaws. She quickly warped around the battlefield for as long as she could, before finally a strike broke through her Creation Barrier, knocking her off guard. Altair brought her sabers before her to protect while she balanced her energy from losing the Barrier, but the sabers were quickly slashed away as another wave of bombardment came in, consuming her and the field around her.
After the dust settled, Altair laid face first, her systems battered and wrecked. Her arms were ahead of her on the ground, and she weakly lifted one to make a fist, and smacked the ground with it.
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Post by Gaia on Sept 2, 2020 9:36:13 GMT -8
StrifeMan.EXE
The unending wave of calamity finally stopped all around StrifeMan, as he lowered himself to the ground, laughing maniacally. It took a few seconds for him to finally get control of himself, as he rolled about and kicked, the myriad forms still fighting over dominance, before the fractures across his skin finally mended, and his most basic, demonic form was dominant again.
He looked at her, defeated on the ground, and carefully stepped towards her, his boots clanking against the ground. As his soul repaired itself, so too did the Undernet, any damage he had created gone. Such was his right over calamity.
"Come, now, little child - it is not befitting a member of the Undernet's court to berate the earth she walks upon for the battleground she lost it on!" He held out his hand, its red skin calloused and cracked, for her to accept it. His face was by no means calm nor caring, his wicked, toothy smile impossible to ignore - but his intents were true. "A brilliant display that was! The Undernet will be better for having you. You stay with StrifeMan, now, bound to his sacred duty from the man with the ribbons; our master is now yours, oh lady with the silver swords!"
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Post by xoDeathy on Sept 6, 2020 13:46:37 GMT -8
She sighed once more, grabbing his hand and lifting herself with it before removing her own from his grasp. She dusted herself off and straightened her hat. It was true, she managed well, yet she still found it embarrassing for a tactician to make such a critical error.
"Thank you, crazed one. Your words are inspiring, I look forward to serving."
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Post by Gaia on Sept 6, 2020 17:44:02 GMT -8
StrifeMan.EXE
StrifeMan's wicked smile curled into an even more obtuse angle as he lurked around her, as though he weren't completely visible, crouching down and moving about as if trying to be sneaky. "We are never done here, you see, for it is our duty to protect this pillar. Now StrifeMan's lesser, you are the lowest-ranked in the Undernet. Our ranking determines our might and power, and our ability to serve and protect the man with the ribbons, though he needs little of either from even we who are eager.
"The goals of us, with the depths of trust, is a trial which to tend with we must: Use our status as the man with the ribbon's ranked to hone our skills, for it is what he wills, that when the Undernet is struck we are ready and can remain still. His iron fist of mercy is the answer to all heresy, but it is not our requirement to copy it. StrifeMan will, for all he can, do as the man with ribbons has instructed of them.
"As then lowest on the totem pole, losing to a challenger removes you from the ranked listings. Best others to instead rise higher; fail to defeat StrifeMan, however, and you only work to also ascend his rank. The top of the totem pole, the greatest of the man with the ribbon's stoles, is of course Scarface.
"It is our task to simply protect this entrance into the Underking's Court, against any threat that would come to besiege it. When the Underking calls us, we answer to him, do we all. That is all that we must do, in return for being in his basking radiance, and gaining power from the opportunities he grants us to better our power through obedience."
StrifeMan's crazed rantings were a little harder to follow, even as he was speaking a lot slower, and with a lot more of a neutral, steady tone than his usual constant shift in pitch and intensity, but at least the flow of battle shifted him from absolute madness to simple sing-song rhymes. The gist of it was pretty simple: The Undernet was her home now, for better or for worst, and it was her charge to constantly figure out how she could better herself in her potential to serve the Underking.
The Crazed One, the shattered soul, had promised to assist her in that. He would keep to it. They all would.
End of Chapter - RP Awards: -- Piano -- +5/50 -- Guts -- +25/250 -- Altair -- +55/550 -- Shalab -- +15/150 -- DiscoKid -- +15/150 -- Grade -- +55/550 -- Saiya -- +20/200 -- Steve -- +10/100 -- Leviathan -- +5/50 -- StrifeMan - +85/850 -- Nightshade - +35/350
StrifeMan vs Altair fight: -- Altair: +30 Exp/+300z -- StrifeMan: +75 Exp/+750z
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Post by Genesis on Oct 11, 2021 14:24:43 GMT -8
*Just as he promised, it wouldn't take him long to come back and meet back up with the others. This time in the Hacker's N where he had moved them to. His order of business from here was clear and he already had several things he wanted to take care of. But before he would address those he would instead start by addressing the others here while he was formatting a message he would be sending to AirMan at the same time now.*
"Warrior, go and check up on your own for now. We have some downtime and it's best if you find out if they're still in good health after the disaster that took place. We can rendevouz again after that."
*He was first as he had to wait the longest out of them. He was patient and never ran off without them so he deserved to be allowed to move as he willed on that front. He'd like to take the time to sit down and chat at length but for now staying on the move was their best bet. And to that end, he would look to Joker next.*
"Joker, go do what you think is your next best move. But this time take Merrill with you."
*He figured that there would be less objection to that given Joker's ventures on his own often had dire consequences to his or someone else's well being. That wasn't to say that it was wrong to do them occasionally, but to put some more thought into where exactly you were going by yourself. Several hornet nests were dangerous simply because you chose to do them alone.*
"And Lalonia and Hollow will be with me for a bit. There's something I need to take care of with the both of you."
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Post by "Bill" on Oct 13, 2021 22:13:48 GMT -8
*Deeper in the Hacker's Net, a ramshackle building could be seen, with boarded up, and broken windows. Inside the building, a slight rummaging noise could be heard as the occupant was gathering his items. Before long, he would exit the rundown domicile, flipping his ebony hood over his head, and locking the door behind him. As the key turned, the figure chuckled to himself, the irony of locking the broken door was not lost on him, it seemed. Nevertheless, he began his slow walk towards the edge of the Network, dragging behind him black briefcase, appearing worn, and cracked. Attached to the case were two small wheels, clearly and crudely added on, just to make movement that much easier for him. Moving at his own pace, the man had to stop every minute or so, and let out a sickening cough, accompanied by slight tremors of the hands. Shaking it off, he continued onwards. After a while, he would make his way closer towards Xion's position. As he got closer, the squeaking of the wheels would alert anyone in earshot to his presence, whether he was trying to be stealthy or not. As the figure got within speaking distance of the Underking, the hooded figure waved, casually, yet cordially. A pair of dull, green eyes clearly visible from the shadows of his hood as a gravely, shriveled voice spoke out to him.*
"Corrosion": Well well!....Xion...the king! How nice to see you again! Seeing as you're still in one piece, I take it my wares have been kind to you?
*It had been too long since his last conversation with someone, and it soon became evident to everyone around, as yet again, he would begin wheezing, clutching the handle to the bag as he caught his breath and shook his head, almost embarrassed for being so loud.*
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Post by Xypher on Oct 14, 2021 19:03:54 GMT -8
Merrill landed gently on his feet to from the dark hole that Xion had dropped them in on. He chose to follow and guard Lalonia instead of resisting or questioning what Xion had chosen. He respected that choice.
He took a second too look around, and sighed.
He hated to admit it, but he really was fairly clueless when it came to dealing with the world, and dealing with others. And it was showing.
He would just have to learn on the go, and study the others as they went along.
And so he waited, standing, arms behind his back, thinking to himself.
Had he imagined it? Sirius's wings....
No. There wasn't really time for that...
"Your power is increasing though. It somewhat makes sense.
"It's the fighting. You grow after every battle, one way or another! Hahaha!"
Merrill furrowed his brow for a moment. But before he could dwell on it or respond, Xion appeared and spoke.
Nodding his head, he walked over and stood next to Joker. He did spare a glance over to Lalonia. He wanted to say something, but instead did not, slowly looking away.
His heart sank a little, knowing they would be separated. But he gave no indication of it. He waited on the others quietly.
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Post by Genesis on Oct 16, 2021 0:28:58 GMT -8
*There was a voice he didn't hear in a while. Their paths just never crossed while he had been about and doing his thing. Since he had concluded that part of his business, or rather almost concluded all of that business anyway as he was right about at its final step once they were moving again, he'd say it had been worth the effort in keeping that as a tight ship. Well, that and Jax and Ruin would have sucked to bring along for it anyway considering what all he went through with both given their tendency to get distracted or otherwise be out of the way. Even just now Jax had gotten into the situation he was in because he wanted to take a detour instead of coming to where he told him to.*
"Oh hey there. Been a while. Thankfully I'm built rather tough, so your wares have been working out just fine for me."
*But all of that was behind him now too. What mattered was what was ahead of them and for that, even if the current threat had passed it wouldn't hurt to let him know that there was no doubt more on the horizon. He was enough in the know given he was aware of the change of seats here, so that meant he was probably at least aware that if one wanted to keep their head down this was probably the best place to do it still. Here you only had your usual concerns to be worried about.*
"But you look about as good as you can be too. Things should be calming down around here for now, but it's just another calm before a bigger storm."
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Post by Gaia on Oct 16, 2021 17:50:50 GMT -8
Joker.DB
Joker returned from the point of new return with surprising grace for a being of his size, falling down and standing up to take a look around at the group. No casualties. His analytics told him this was a good thing, but he felt like he should've felt more about this realization than just the recognition that these were good results. Elation, happiness, something; no, all he felt was recognition.
When Xion began to bark out orders, Joker was already working on his next steps, just in time to hear Xion's remarks. He traced his gaze across to look at Merrill, considering him. His actions and words had become something of a model for Joker - even if he wasn't quite there yet, even if he didn't fully understand what it was that he was trying to do, he thought that Merrill was inspiration worth striving towards. While normally being ordered around frustrated and angered Joker, this was something he would permit, if only because . . . well, he needed someone he could talk to in all of this, and Merrill had already shown once before that he was a forgiving Navi, if nothing else.
Joker closed the distance between him and Merrill, moving surprisingly fast for a navi of his stature, but no longer because he had temporal celerity; no, Joker just breached the space between him and Merrill in a single blink, being in one place one moment and next to him the next.
"My next plans were to visit the NIA, or perhaps some other group of scientists. The NIA is more preferable, as there are some concerns that I would like to address regarding our previous interactions.
"There is a compromise to my design that I need someone to look at, and I do not much trust my creators to accomplish that without also causing serious regressions in my . . . moral progress. Considering what their leader displayed against our most recent adversary, they may have scientists able to work on me despite my creator's own genius."
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Post by Xypher on Oct 17, 2021 14:21:10 GMT -8
Standing next to Joker, Merrill listened quietly and intently to what he had to say, after Xion had spoken to the newcomer.
"Hmm... That's not necessarily a bad idea. I too, have questions that maybe they can answer... Including miss Feint"
He put his hand to his chin, thinking. While the NIA might have answers, Merrill didn't really know too much about them. Granted, based on the limited interactions he had had with Grom, they had plenty of knowledge, since he stated he new some of his own history. Something he truly shared very limited of with few...
"Another solution would be the Experiment Labs. I... I know of someone who might be able to assist you. Gifted with intelligence regarding make up of beings, both humans and now one studying data beings... But then again... He is still young with much to learn... Plus, there are areas where you can test various scenarios and practice your own skills while finding a solution."
He spoke quietly, looking down. While asking the boy wouldn't be bad, but he felt... conflicted about being around him at times. It was hard for him to adjust, considering Diamond's abrupt departure. It wasn't that he didn't like the boy, he had been tied to Diamond as long as he could remember.
If he had to be honest, he was afraid. What would happen if something happened to the kid because of him?
"Whichever option you wish to pursue, I shall support you.
His options suggested, he waited for a reply, all the while watching Xion and Corrosion, and awaiting to see how the others planned their own tasks.
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Post by xoDeathy on Oct 18, 2021 13:08:58 GMT -8
"Merrill!"
Lalonia ran up to her comrade and gave him a joyful hug on the arm.
"I'm not entirely sure what just happened, but I'm glad everyone is alright. Though, some people appear to be missing, I suppose we are splitting up again."
Hearing Xion speak of needing her aid, she let go of Merrill's arm and turned toward him, holding up a prideful fist to her chest, showing she was prepared.
"In any way I can help, I will gratefully do so. What do you need assistance with?"
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Post by Genesis on Oct 18, 2021 14:27:28 GMT -8
*She certainly would be the best pick for this that he had found. It meant that things could go better than he originally thought they would if they were solely left up to his hands. It was an area that he always found himself poorly equip to work in even if he had all the tools in order to be extremely successful at it. His disposition was what made it difficult for him at the end of the day. But besides any of that was his first order of business with Lalonia.*
"First thing's first: there's something I want to give you."
*It was here that Xion would produce essentially the spoils of war from the current escapade: the fragments and the badge alike. He had gathered them from the end of the Murians and the defeat of Sirius and had planned to give them to her for some time now. This was just the time to do so as where he was planning to go it wouldn't be ideal to just try and drag her around. She wasn't a fighter made like most of them here were, she was a supporter who wasn't supposed to tredge through the front-lines like they did. But because of her nature he would want her help with something he was doing anyway.*
"Now there's another person I need you to take care of. He isn't hurt in any physical way right now, but he's someone that time can mend still. I'll be taking us to him momentarily."
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Post by Gaia on Oct 18, 2021 16:19:03 GMT -8
Joker.DB
Joker listened to Merrill's suggestion, but did not ponder on it for very long before he came to his conclusion. No, almost as soon as the destination of the secondary scientist was revealed, Joker knew that such a trip was a death trap waiting to unfold.
"I . . . appreciate, I think is the correct word, the additional perspective, but the Experiment Labs is an even more grave choice than that of my own creators, if such a possibility existed. The things I seek questions and further opportunities to explore would not be accepted by their ilk," Joker answered, thinking of the power he currently wielded. Aeon had once advised him to use the OEL to further their own goals, and while they were still definitely on his list of to-do's, he was in no place to handle that particular wasp's nest while also trying to ameliorate his current compromisation.
While he recognized that his decisions weren't the most sound when concerning their immediate consequences as of late, he at the very least got the results he was searching for. The value of having a second set of eyes, perhaps more experienced and with greater concern for the world than he, was something he couldn't quite quantify yet, but that he presumed would be preferable to doing anything else alone.
"Of the options, the NIA is still the preferable destination," he responded simplistically, holding out a hand and rending open a tear in the Undernet. "This will be a round about way, but it will get us there safely, if nothing else."
The tear opened like a fragmented gateway of interlocking green and red blocks, solidifying into a pure black expanse that seemed to lead nowhere. He looked back at Merrill, giving him the opportunity to step forward, first. "You, first. I'll guide the way."
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Post by Xypher on Oct 19, 2021 18:40:26 GMT -8
He listened intently to Joker as he responded, nodding as Joker chose his words carefully. He was learning quickly, a small smile across his face, proud of how far he had come in such a short time.
As Joker tore a hole in the net, he nodded again, a small chuckle as he responded.
"I am all for safety. Caution is important."
He turned and embraced Lalonia tightly as she embraced his arm. He enjoyed their momentary embrace.
"We are indeed separating for this next set of tasks. Please be extra careful, and contact me via email or reach ot should you need me. Be safe..."
With that, he hid his blush from all, especially miss Lalonia. He turned, bowed to those present.
"Good luck on your missions. Please be safe, everyone. "
He nodded to Xion last, and walked through the portal...
Merrill > Where Joker takes him.
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Post by "Bill" on Oct 19, 2021 20:18:02 GMT -8
*Seeing how everyone followed along to Xion's instructions gave the cloaked man a hearty chuckle. It seems the Underking commanded respect beyond what Serenade had been. Wheezing out his musings, he stayed near to Xion, as to be heard without stressing his voice.*
"Corrosion": Hehehe....You know, Xion...Not long ago, "Underking" was a title...for the undernet's linchpin....and not some royal head....but I see that you've...taken action directly...I must ask if I can tag along. You've always been...the mysterious type...But it seems...you have methods and plans...and I've always wondered...what you get up to...with my chips...
*Each bite of dialogue sounded rather labored as the cloaked figure clutched his bag, appearing like much a shriveled mess. With much of the net sequestered, as it were, the navi called "Corrosion" rarely found time to get out of the Undernet and peddle his wares. Following Xion seemed like such a way to pass his dreary time, if only for however long Xion kept him around.*
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