-
[QUOTE=grampagen;6402183]Off the dilapidated bricks from ashen frames Kinu bounded, one step after the other. In the final push to the top, she leapt over in a tumbling arc and landed with her coat clearing in a last flourish.
[I]Easy-peasy.[/i] Still unseen, silent as a puma, and not a speck of dust in sight, she turned her eyes to the ground. [i]Now I- whoa-![/I]
Peering over the edge, the rather large difference between the number of steps she took and the distance below hit her rather starkly.
[I]What the hell, is the ground spinning?[/I] Narrowing her eyes, the effect that had pronounced itself the moment they'd passed through the gate seemed to root itself again here. [I]...all a matter of perspective, was it, Krys? Ugh...[/I]
After all, why should the dimensions matter, if the space came lengthwise or topwise? Muttering to herself, Kinu measured out the cluster of moving bodies on the ground. There was still some distance to clear before she'd be able to survey them properly...
Then, flooding the rooftop from one side, she spotted the armored mech-frame as it passed by. For its size, the jump jets were quite silent as she saw it took flight - at least, significantly quieter than the runic-and-incantation based methods the Administratum Witches had used. Back in the Walled City, seeing such a thing meant that someone form up high had pronounced a sentence, and judgment had come for the sector; seeing this marvel of metal and heavy arms move in pursuit of the Great Tree, same as they'd been, brought about a greater sense of forboding.
[I]Dunno if it's a full-on toolkit, or if there's someone in there, but looks like they got their eye on the prize too.[/I]
Kinu measured the distance in her mind, estimating it'd be half a block forward to meet the others - in passing, rather, the drop down was quite something else. Though she'd never catch up to the iron giant on foot, she nonetheless stole after it, hoping to steal a glimpse of what it would encounter as it head skyward.[/QUOTE]
[spoil]The machine arcs upward, apparently heading directly for the main trunk of the tree itself and aiming toward the upper branches. Perhaps homing in on that same glittering spark at the top of it that, even now, exerts a soft of pull on the Warrior of the Wasteland. That place is where there is glory, where her greatest stage awaits her. She knows this on some primal level.
However, as Kinu watches she beholds something rather strange. The flying mecha suddenly seems to jitter and flicker, like a corrupted asset in a video game and, despite flying upward, is pulled lower and lower. Kinu isn't able to perceive it's path and momentum as anything other than vertical but down it consistently goes.
A curious optical trick? Some kind of trap or spell? It's not clear. She watches as machine flying up moves down in all its paradoxical glory.
There is a bright burst as the blue jets intensify, even at this vast distance, Kinu can tell that they have been clearly kicked into a higher gear to try and offset whatever strange force or factor of spatial geometry it is that drags the mechanised figure ever lower.
As time passes, the machine disappears below the skyline. The buildings over yonder are taller than her three storeys to look at from here but perhaps any height for those actually stood atop them. The vast city remains strange and confusing.[/spoil]
-
Krys runs.
It's all they can do right now, all they have. They've managed to pass Nemo - a paradoxical event from the perspective of an observer, given Krys isn't running any more quickly than before - but Jane's raw speed puts her beyond the capacity to catch. She's well-gone, disappearing into the maze of streets with only the sounds of conflict ahead to guide Krys to follow. And Krys? Part of them is here, trapped in this limited existence, feeling the ache in their knees as their feet hammer into the broken ground again and again, sweat blooming on their brow, their breath coming more short, more sharp. The rest of Krys?
Their conscious has once again achieved a higher dimension; murky impressions grow clear thanks to perspective's interpretation and they wheel through the agony of memory, a rough, vicious cut of a loss so deep it cleaves them to their core.
[COLOR="#000080"]- [I/we/together][I] withinoutside[/I] [Alltime/Notime/Beyondtime][I] forevermomentary[/I] [B]existasone[/B] -[/COLOR]
A garden of growing crystal latticed with spiralling roots and blackened flames, All Things spreads before Krys in its maddening glory of curled dimensions, discreet infinities, and piled temporal layers. Giddy, their existence delves into the fractal eruption with myriad senses, sharing the impossible experience with the existence that joins them...
Gunfire.
Their feet beat a pattern on the ground and Krys focuses further, struggling to tear their mind from the visions of memory. There are needs, [I]now[/I]. They need to return into [I]time[/I], to where their cracked body labors to cross [I]distance[/I], to arrive [I]before[/I] an event transpires. Blinking, they squeeze tears from their eyes, the blurred sight of the shifting street springing back into focus. [I]Run[/I], Krys commands their flawed form. [I]Just run.[/I]
It's all they can do.
-
Running pell-mell through the streets felt thrilling in a way Nemo couldn't quite remember past the point she was "incarnated" into the Scribed Lands. Back when the only World she knew of was Radiance, and it's only-theorized planar cosmology, when she had no idea the adventure she'd assisted in was being secretly watched over by a capricious Goddess. It wasn't that the Scribed Lands didn't have it's own dangers, of course, but as a "named character", she knew she was watched over by those who Scribed the Lands. She [I]could[/I] have been killed off at any time, but it wasn't the same as this. She would either be protected by the interests of the gods, or if she truly had been cast off, she would have been eliminated in a manner she couldn't have prevented. Most of the Imaginators were not that cruel, though, so there had always been some degree of assurance. While it had been no excuse to be deliberately reckless, if she made the effort, some part of her [I]knew[/I], deep in her bones, that no matter how bad things seemed, she would some how, in some way, manage to pull through.
But that niggling sense of absence she had felt since nearing the Gate had grown into a persistent hindbrain nagging. It wasn't going to stop her from moving forward, but it jolted her sense self-consciousness with a very stark reality: there was no safety net. The Author could be writing her very thoughts right now, but he wasn't [I]present[/I] in them. There was [I]real[/I] risk here. A chance that she wasn't going to make it back from this. Even if the Author liked her character enough to continue her adventures past this point, that would just be another incarnation, probably one not even aware of what was happening to her. The her that existed now, racing through these shifting streets towards a fight of unknown proportions, was on her own. And it terrified her. And it thrilled her. And it made her want to turn and run the other way and try to pray to her gods to bring her back home. And it made her want to run forward, to never look back, to never again feel the chains of unasked for faith. And it made her wonder if there were now things she could one day be other than a mere "wayfarer".
Well, she could have a nice long therapy session over it later. For now, she was still an adventurer, still committed to her knew fellows, and so she ran alongside them. Jane was still farthest ahead. Krys was close behind, her strange, flickering stride help her pass through obstacles Nemo had to parkour over. Kinu had leaped to the rooftops for a better vantage point, but despite the relatively short distance, she seemed farther than she appeared. Trevor was bringing up the rear, but he was managing to keep up. They [I]really[/I] needed to stay together in this place.
"Help me keep on eye on everyone," said Nemo. "Let me know if anyone starts lagging behind."
"Eye-eye, cap'n!" said Rae. After a moment she said, "That was a sight pun, by the way."
"I know," said Nemo flatly.
"Okay. You didn't laugh, so I just wanted to make sure you got it."
"I got it."
"Are you [I]suuuure[/I], you got it?"
"Yes. You are very funny and clever."
"Still not hearing a laugh."
"Haha."
"Thank you."
"Sure."
Nemo couldn't help but make a half-sardonic, half-bemused smirk. Here she was having a little existential crisis, and Rae, meanwhile, was just happy to go along for the ride!
-
[QUOTE=Nik Hasta;6399965]The strange silver automaton regards Jane with a blank look, as it has not even an approximation of human features, but somehow manages to communicate a feeling of surprise.
"[MECHANICAL_LIFEFORM>COMBAT_CLASS]," it intones in a flat artificial voice, as if audibly designating Jane for its own reference. The machine moves jerkily, as if it was not designed with bipedal locomotion in mind, and approaches the far side of the pillar. It then suddenly emits a passable impersonation or perhaps, given the audible hiss in the background of this new voice, a recording of Ella's voice with the instructions it had been given.
"<**Knock**it**towards**me**and**the**dogs**as**soon**as**they**are**close.**>" Ella's voice says from the strange machine. It raises its right hand and Ella and Jane see that the metallic surface of its hand shifts and ripples to become a kind of rudimentary hammer. It swings and strikes the pillar with a loud crunch, sending a small amount of masonry clattering to the floor.
And the pillar remains standing.
The robot takes a moment before looking around the pillar, again its blank face registering no emotion, before speaking to Ella in the same flat monotone voice interspersed with the recording of her words.
"Substance density significant. Further attempts will be made to**knock**it**towards**me**. Please wait and remain calm," it says. It then swings with its left, unarmoured hand against the pillar with a clanking noise that seems to do little to the stone structure.
[B]Ella, please report to the Combat Notation thread to lay out your actions.[/B][/QUOTE]
"Slight alternation to that.." Ella said as she charged around the corner of the pillar. "Knock it towards them, not me." With how literally these machine learning level robots often took commands she'd very likely soon be buried in rubble. Or at least....at the rate she was chipping through the pillar, someday. "Also use your own voice, mine is trademarked..."
Ella briefly regarded the origin of the shot that had rang out just prior, allowed her a moment to swiftly change position while the dog was busy. At some point a second construct had joined the fight. This one was a step more towards looking human....at least shape wise. Her developer seemingly gave up halfway and flung what remained into the uncanny valley. The unforgivable sin of humanoid robotics...if your going to give them a human appearance, either go all the way or don't bother. How do human keep screwing this up.
Whatever the case, there was no time to lodge a complaint just yet.
"Stand aside a moment, allow me to show you how its done." Ella flexed her non-existent finger bones and quickly stood opposite to the still semi staggered mutt. With a flash of energy, her projector flared a beam of energy around her holographic body, that then projected outwards to both the other robot and Jane.
[Used Tech - Honed Spirit Technique - HoloNurse]
"HiYA" Ella then pulled back and punched the base of the pillar with such ungodly strength that surely it would be ripped from its base and fired like a Missile at the remaining hounds.
-
[QUOTE=MrSandman;6402784]"Slight alternation to that.." Ella said as she charged around the corner of the pillar. "Knock it towards them, not me." With how literally these machine learning level robots often took commands she'd very likely soon be buried in rubble. Or at least....at the rate she was chipping through the pillar, someday. "Also use your own voice, mine is trademarked..."
Ella briefly regarded the origin of the shot that had rang out just prior, allowed her a moment to swiftly change position while the dog was busy. At some point a second construct had joined the fight. This one was a step more towards looking human....at least shape wise. Her developer seemingly gave up halfway and flung what remained into the uncanny valley. The unforgivable sin of humanoid robotics...if your going to give them a human appearance, either go all the way or don't bother. How do human keep screwing this up.
Whatever the case, there was no time to lodge a complaint just yet.
"Stand aside a moment, allow me to show you how its done." Ella flexed her non-existent finger bones and quickly stood opposite to the still semi staggered mutt. With a flash of energy, her projector flared a beam of energy around her holographic body, that then projected outwards to both the other robot and Jane.
[Used Tech - Honed Spirit Technique - HoloNurse][/quote]
The healing energies of the holographic figure flitter out from Ella's projector and settle on Jane, the mysterious robot and Ella herself.
[B]GM Note:[/B]
[B]Jane:[/B] ENR fully restored to [B]160/160[/B] (-40 Capacity for Stack) - 100%
[B]Ella:[/B] Regained net 20 ENR for [B]190/490[/B] - 39%
[quote]"HiYA" Ella then pulled back and punched the base of the pillar with such ungodly strength that surely it would be ripped from its base and fired like a Missile at the remaining hounds.[/QUOTE]
Ella's punch makes even less of an impression on the thick stone pillar than the previous attempts of the robot. The machine turns its faceless head toward her, at this range Ella can see that its grainy and misshapen body is somewhat fluid and constantly moving, as if it is not made of solid components at all, more like something with a consistency close to that of wet sand. She hears the curious mix of alien machine code and the sound of her own voice replayed to her once more.
"Instructions updated. <***towards**them**not**me***> Calculating parameters," it intones.
Ella has little time to think on this enigmatic statement when the Big Dog, bleeding horribly from its head and still mostly blinded, lunges around the pillar snapping at her once more. As she begins to react to this new threat, she hears the skittering of clawed paws and a clanging crunch as the mysterious robot has been bitten by one of the smaller dogs as the other leaps for her as well.
[B]Ella, you have reaction options to decide upon, please report to the Combat Notation thread to resolve them.[/B]
-
[QUOTE]Ella has little time to think on this enigmatic statement when the Big Dog, bleeding horribly from its head and still mostly blinded, lunges around the pillar snapping at her once more. As she begins to react to this new threat, she hears the skittering of clawed paws and a clanging crunch as the mysterious robot has been bitten by one of the smaller dogs as the other leaps for her as well.[/QUOTE]
"Calculate faster please!" Ella bounced backwards from the large dog, then immediately spun out of the way of another attack from one of the smaller dogs. "I've not designed for this type of thing!"
-
[QUOTE=Nik Hasta;6402369][spoil]The machine arcs upward, apparently heading directly for the main trunk of the tree itself and aiming toward the upper branches. Perhaps homing in on that same glittering spark at the top of it that, even now, exerts a soft of pull on the Warrior of the Wasteland. That place is where there is glory, where her greatest stage awaits her. She knows this on some primal level.
However, as Kinu watches she beholds something rather strange. The flying mecha suddenly seems to jitter and flicker, like a corrupted asset in a video game and, despite flying upward, is pulled lower and lower. Kinu isn't able to perceive it's path and momentum as anything other than vertical but down it consistently goes.
A curious optical trick? Some kind of trap or spell? It's not clear. She watches as machine flying up moves down in all its paradoxical glory.
There is a bright burst as the blue jets intensify, even at this vast distance, Kinu can tell that they have been clearly kicked into a higher gear to try and offset whatever strange force or factor of spatial geometry it is that drags the mechanised figure ever lower.
As time passes, the machine disappears below the skyline. The buildings over yonder are taller than her three storeys to look at from here but perhaps any height for those actually stood atop them. The vast city remains strange and confusing.[/spoil][/QUOTE]
Running after the flight path, Kinu leapt between rooftops as she watched the mecha proceed upon its course. [I]That clinches it, it's spotted somethin' in the treetop.[/I]
However, no matter how hard the jets were thrown behind it, even though it sped off in the distance, it never seemed to make any aerial gains at all; in fact, after some time, it seemed to start sinking, until the horizon filled with craggy buildings swallowed up its shape from her view entirely.
[I]Happy trails...[/I] Narrowing her eyes, she tried to commit the hows and wheres of its trajectory as it descended with creeping, alarming haste...but gradually righted herself as she remembered the initial quandry she'd gotten herself into.
[I]Maybe you got farther, but wherever he's landin',[/I] Kinu thought. A couple floors up was enough to put the breeze though her hair; if anything made sense in this strange, shifting place, however much farther away the Mecha had gone wouldn't be much better for him. [I]he's gonna gas out and have to go after it solo.[/I]
Perhaps there'd be time to find out down the road, but for right now, she'd remembered why she ambled up here in the first place. Kinu peered over the edge, and spied on the scene below. First a bright flash filled the alley, then the sound of gunfire.
[I]Not bad.[/I] The gulf between her current position and the pavement below filled her with a dizzying excitement, and her breathing sped up to keep pace with her heart as she took stock of the available targets below.
[COLOR="#FF0000"]OOC: Kinu installs [B]Squash Match[/B]. Move AGL stack to DUR; current stacks on SKI and DUR.[/COLOR]
-
Breath burns in their lungs like acid, tears burn on their cheeks like lye, but their pace holds steady, long enough to whip them into the broken, open area in which the conflict takes place. Still caught in that dreadful, heart-wrenching timelessness, an analytical part of Krys' mind breaks off from the howling, emotional storm within for a glacial survey of the scene. In an instant between heartbeats - as local time might record its own passage - their gaze snaps about in search of details as one foot hangs in the air.
Here, Jane frozen atop the pillar staring down the barrel of her long-gun, fulminating emerald lightning in her eyes.
There, the child-being under dual threat, yet without fear.
A damaged mechanoid under singular assault.
Three quadrupeds, their own eyes boiling over their fanged maws; two small, one large-and-injured.
...[I]one-on-one, two-on-one, Jane likely firing on[/I] that[I] one[/I]...
Time.
Their heart hits another beat as their foot touches down, and Krys shifts their sprint, aiming directly toward the smaller of the dogs lunging for the child. No targeting solutions dance in their mind, no scrolling choices of techniques, for their conscious thoughts are devoid of interest in the minutia of movement; rather, their body will decide on its own movements, dependent on the enemy, its ferocity, and its own choices as well as the timing, ranging, and Krys' own motion on arrival. Instead, while the soul-ripping tempest rages within her heart, Krys' detached mind considers form, considers apparent solidity, considers what it means to a structure within entropy that is nonetheless nothing more than a webwork of everchanging energies.
[I]Permanence,[/I] they muse as another footfall brings them closer, [I]is the lie, transience the truth.All Things are nothing more than moments in eternity, their wave-forms bound to shift into something different. 'In time'. [/I]
...another footfall, Krys kicks off, still three strides from the beast...
[I]The waveforms are visible, now. With further effort, it is apparent how they might change, what the pattern could become in entropic future.[/I]
...in the air, now, their bodyweight fully behind the knee slamming into the side of the canid's head, whipsawing its body...
[I]And with the proper choices, the pattern can be pressed more stridently towards that eventual dissolution. [/I]
...caught in a timeless instant, Krys' body takes note of the beast's wave-form, its changing, its potential end as a being; when their feet hit the ground, their hands are already seizing the nape and snout...
[I]There is no end, only change...[/i]
...wrench-twist as they shift-and-turn - a vicious attack on whatever structure supports the head, be it a spine or something more arcane - before a drive of the hips slams the skull into the rocky ground.
[i]...and that change may be encouraged.[/I]
-
[QUOTE=Sharpandpointies;6403448]...in the air, now, their bodyweight fully behind the knee slamming into the side of the canid's head, whipsawing its body...
[I]And with the proper choices, the pattern can be pressed more stridently towards that eventual dissolution. [/I]
...caught in a timeless instant, Krys' body takes note of the beast's wave-form, its changing, its potential end as a being; when their feet hit the ground, their hands are already seizing the nape and snout...
[I]There is no end, only change...[/i]
...wrench-twist as they shift-and-turn - a vicious attack on whatever structure supports the head, be it a spine or something more arcane - before a drive of the hips slams the skull into the rocky ground.
[i]...and that change may be encouraged.[/I][/QUOTE]
[B]- Small Dog 1 has taken 11 DMG from Krys initial attack.
- Small Dog 1 has taken 71 DMG from Krys Technique attack.
- Small Dog 1 takes 20 Core DMG from [I]Rupture[/I] being inflicted.[/B]
Krys' blows strike the smaller dog truly, sending it bouncing off the ground before rising once more. Krys reaches within and restores their internal energies after the expenditure.
[B]- Krys restores a net 20 ENR through [I]"All Things Are But Foam Upon The Waves."[/I]
- Krys' Mastered ENR is at 125/180 (-40 Capacity for Stack) (56% of normal total)[/B]
The dog lets out an angry wet bark, sending a small spray of heated blood and bile from its mouth as it does so, as if to indicate that something internal has been effected by the force of Krys' blows. It is clearly hurt but not out of the fight just yet.
[B]Jane, please report to the Combat Notation Thread to post your actions.[/B]
-
Standing atop the pillar, Jane's systems take in multiple streams of information. She is vaguely aware of the actions in her peripheral vision, as the strange...child? (something is not quite right with what she is seeing, an analysis subroutine notes) dances around multiple charges from the canids below (hellhounds? whispers one of her subsystems. Hellhounds are a suitable designation it decides). Somewhere else, she hears the second mechanical life form taking damage (bite force to puncture metal only reconfirms the wisdom of seeking higher ground, a defensive subroutine intones) as it attempts a seemingly fruitless attempt at demolition. Several of her systems raise alarm at the sudden appearance of Krys. She has no idea how they appeared, or where they came from. She has no time to wonder at this though; her target is still up.
Gazing down at the larger hellhound, Jane has only one word for it.
"Stay," she commands in a tone equal parts stern and sardonic, and then sends two more bullets, one from each handgun flying into the same spot as prior, the Blackstone projectiles embedding themselves into the same hole, shoving the previous bullets further into the skull.
Without even looking after this, her right arm swings around and fire a [COLOR="#006400"][B]Mark of Death[/B][/COLOR] directly into the skull of the smaller dog worrying the mechanical being adjacent the pillar, her senses acute enough to track positioning based on a prior glance and sound alone, the shot tracing an emerald path of lethality into the head of the lesser attacker.
[I]
They won't hurt me again,[/I] something or perhaps someone whispers inside of her, although she knows not who.
A strange thought, her core system muses, one to be investigated, but at a later point. And then another.
[I]Where is the sorceror?[/I]
-
[QUOTE=Postmania;6403579]Gazing down at the larger hellhound, Jane has only one word for it.
"Stay," she commands in a tone equal parts stern and sardonic, and then sends two more bullets, one from each handgun flying into the same spot as prior, the Blackstone projectiles embedding themselves into the same hole, shoving the previous bullets further into the skull.
Without even looking after this, her right arm swings around and fire a [COLOR="#006400"][B]Mark of Death[/B][/COLOR] directly into the skull of the smaller dog worrying the mechanical being adjacent the pillar, her senses acute enough to track positioning based on a prior glance and sound alone, the shot tracing an emerald path of lethality into the head of the lesser attacker.
[I]
They won't hurt me again,[/I] something or perhaps someone whispers inside of her, although she knows not who.
A strange thought, her core system muses, one to be investigated, but at a later point. And then another.
[I]Where is the sorceror?[/I][/QUOTE]
The bullets thud home into the skull of the larger hellhound. In the briefest of windows between the two shots, Jane sees the beast struggle as if it could continue on despite the multiple wounds to its skull. But then the second shot slams home and, with a great spurt of pressurised, smoking blood it keels over to one side, thudding onto the ground with a wet and meaty thump.
[B]- Big Demon Dog takes 57 DMG from the first Basic ATK and 3 DMG for the second Basic ATK and is now dead.[/B]
The great body steams with necrotic energy as green energy begins to rot and consume the body. Boiling organs and small burst of flame erupt from its chest and spill onto the floor in a gruesome display of violence.
Jane's third shot strikes the skull of the smaller dog, sending it reeling with a yelp. While the bullet hole spurts blood, the beast is shaken; almost drunkenly glaring at her with ferocity glowing in its four yellow eyes.
[B]- Small Dog 2 has taken 72 DMG from [I]Mark of Death[/I] and is now [I]Dizzy[/I][/B]
[B]- Jane is now at 135/160 (-40 Capacity for Stack) (67% of total ENR)[/B]
[B]Nemo, please report to the Combat Notation thread to lay out your strategy.[/B]
-
Nemo came sprinting around the corner to see the battle well underway. Her companions were engaged with three--
[QUOTE=Nik Hasta;6403636]But then the second shot slams home and, with a great spurt of pressurised, smoking blood it keels over to one side, thudding onto the ground with a wet and meaty thump.[/QUOTE]
--make that [I]two[/I] hounds of monstrous proportions. Not the first hostile canines she had encountered, but in this nexus of realities, there was no telling at a glance what they truly were, or what they might be capable of. Fortunately, her allies had already done some considerable damage.
She also knew how easy it was for newly formed groups to to trip over one another in a fight. Melee was not her first (or second through fifth) choice in combat, but even if she was the punch-happy sort like her kickboxing master had been, getting in the way of Jane's artillery would be an unfortunate way to go. Likewise, with Krys still in short range to one of the hounds, she wasn't going to risk splash damage.
With her left hand, she cast out her strings, pulling from the bundle kept under her dress, extending several yarn-thick threads from beneath her sleeve, hooking her fingers through them. With a flick of her wrist, the yarn fired forth with whip-like grace, weaving itself into a fishnet configuration to land on the dog near Krys. As soon as it hit, it would move to ensnare the creature and root it to the ground.
The second dog, already reeling from an earlier hit, and further off, made for an ideal field test of her Fire Magic. With her right hand, she forms a ball of fire, and pitched it like a fastball at the monster, where it would burst into a gout of flames on impact.
Having launched her attacks, Nemo leaped backwards another dozen feet, just in case the dogs had some kind of ranged counter-attack, or could charge at speed.
-
[QUOTE=Sharkerbob;6404621]Nemo came sprinting around the corner to see the battle well underway. Her companions were engaged with three--
--make that [I]two[/I] hounds of monstrous proportions. Not the first hostile canines she had encountered, but in this nexus of realities, there was no telling at a glance what they truly were, or what they might be capable of. Fortunately, her allies had already done some considerable damage.
She also knew how easy it was for newly formed groups to to trip over one another in a fight. Melee was not her first (or second through fifth) choice in combat, but even if she was the punch-happy sort like her kickboxing master had been, getting in the way of Jane's artillery would be an unfortunate way to go. Likewise, with Krys still in short range to one of the hounds, she wasn't going to risk splash damage.
With her left hand, she cast out her strings, pulling from the bundle kept under her dress, extending several yarn-thick threads from beneath her sleeve, hooking her fingers through them. With a flick of her wrist, the yarn fired forth with whip-like grace, weaving itself into a fishnet configuration to land on the dog near Krys. As soon as it hit, it would move to ensnare the creature and root it to the ground.
The second dog, already reeling from an earlier hit, and further off, made for an ideal field test of her Fire Magic. With her right hand, she forms a ball of fire, and pitched it like a fastball at the monster, where it would burst into a gout of flames on impact.
Having launched her attacks, Nemo leaped backwards another dozen feet, just in case the dogs had some kind of ranged counter-attack, or could charge at speed.[/QUOTE]
The net slams over the hellhound, strings tightening and constricting by Nemo's will. The tendrils of thread burrowed into the ground and the creature was, for the moment restrained, exposed and raw muscles straining and scrabbling against the netting.
[B]- Small Dog 1 takes 28 DMG and is [I]Grappled[/I]. Nemo is choosing to extend the [I]Grapple[/I] so no further damage is inflicted.[/B]
Meanwhile, her fireball hisses through the air and slams into the other hellhound that was just looking up to eye Jane through the blood seeping from its head. With a small boom, the sphere explodes and the creature is engulfed in flame. Despite the creatures breathing smoke and having an obviously high internal temperature, it does not react well to this and lets out a yelp.
[B]- Small Dog 2 takes 36 DMG and [I]Lacerate [Burn][/I] is inflicted[/B]
[B]- Nemo has 151/410 ENR (36%)[/B]
Neither hound is down for the count, both are looking worse for wear. The one in the net is still coughing up blood from Krys' strike earlier which steams on the ground where it lands.
-
[quote]and a clanging crunch as the mysterious robot has been bitten by one of the smaller dogs as the other leaps for her as well.[/quote]
[QUOTE=MrSandman;6403118]"Calculate faster please!" Ella bounced backwards from the large dog, then immediately spun out of the way of another attack from one of the smaller dogs. "I've not designed for this type of thing!"[/QUOTE]
There is a small hole in the robot's chest where the large dog had clamped its jaws down moments ago. For those paying attention, they see that the metal surface of the machine flows and shifts and closes the hole. The machine awkwardly turns its upper torso and points at the robot that is currently engulfed in flame.
"[ORGANIC_LIFEFORM>CANINE_INFERNAL] your requests for assistance are noted and have been added to the task list. Currently, this unit is preoccupied with <***calculate**faster**please***> and you will be dealt with shortly," it says in the same very monotone voice that is pure machine code interspersed with a crude recording or facsimilie of Ella's voice. Were it not for whatever properties of translation that are applied by the environs of the city, it is clear that it would be all but incomprehensible to all and sundry.
Not that its actions make a huge amount of sense given the situation.
The robot pauses, apparently thinking amid the chaos and fighting, before turning back to Ella.
"Calculation complete," it says, "To <**knock**> the structure designated [PILLAR] <**towards**them**> will require an additional nine (9) applications of my striking apparatus. Alternatively, I can offer other methods to <**knock**> the [PILLAR] that reinterpret the instruction but will do otherwise unnecessary damage to its structural integrity. How would you like this unit to proceed?"
The machine looks at Ella with its entirely blank face, the burning hellhound writhing behind it and the other struggling against the net, awaiting her instruction.
[B]- Mysterious Robot is holding all actions until after Ella's turn.[/B]
[B]Ella, it is now your turn. Please report to the Combat Notation thread to post your strategy.[/B]
-
[QUOTE=Nik Hasta;6404648]There is a small hole in the robot's chest where the large dog had clamped its jaws down moments ago. For those paying attention, they see that the metal surface of the machine flows and shifts and closes the hole. The machine awkwardly turns its upper torso and points at the robot that is currently engulfed in flame.
"[ORGANIC_LIFEFORM>CANINE_INFERNAL] your requests for assistance are noted and have been added to the task list. Currently, this unit is preoccupied with <***calculate**faster**please***> and you will be dealt with shortly," it says in the same very monotone voice that is pure machine code interspersed with a crude recording or facsimilie of Ella's voice. Were it not for whatever properties of translation that are applied by the environs of the city, it is clear that it would be all but incomprehensible to all and sundry.
Not that its actions make a huge amount of sense given the situation.
The robot pauses, apparently thinking amid the chaos and fighting, before turning back to Ella.
"Calculation complete," it says, "To <**knock**> the structure designated [PILLAR] <**towards**them**> will require an additional nine (9) applications of my striking apparatus. Alternatively, I can offer other methods to <**knock**> the [PILLAR] that reinterpret the instruction but will do otherwise unnecessary damage to its structural integrity. How would you like this unit to proceed?"
The machine looks at Ella with its entirely blank face, the burning hellhound writhing behind it and the other struggling against the net, awaiting her instruction.
[B]- Mysterious Robot is holding all actions until after Ella's turn.[/B]
[B]Ella, it is now your turn. Please report to the Combat Notation thread to post your strategy.[/B][/QUOTE]
Ella suppressed the non-customer friendly words threatening to burst from her processor, between the clear misunderstanding and the parroting it was hard not to grow cross with her subpar brethrens performance. Nonetheless, maybe it was simply a matter of communicating in a more slow and understanding way....she'd talked down drunks and crasys before, she could do so with a robot too. Turning her attention while the other dogs were distracted, Ella met the robots gaze and smiled her best customer friendly smile.
"Please pay attention, I'll repeat what is needed once more....I need you." Ella pointed to the robot. "To cause structural damage to that pillar." Ella points to the pillar. "So that it falls over and crushes that dog" Ella points to the netted dog. "In the least amount of time or actions....Does that make sense? Actually no, don't repeat what I said just nod if you understand and then do it."
Ella gave it but a moment to respond, using the time to beam more energy to her surrounded friends before grabbing her core and throwing it upwards towards the top of the pillar. Her body shimmered and seemed to phase away, appear at the top near instantatiously before swinging down and catching the orb in one hand and swinging back up to a standing position on top.
"Attention Mongrels!" She addressed the remaining hounds. "Look up here and be distracted like the dumb mutts you are!"
