2018-01-10: Big Trouble in Little Twister
- Log: Big Trouble in Little Twister
- Cast: Sofie Anning, Rudy Roughnight, Kahm Yugh, Gwen Whitlock, Rosaline Calice, Berserk
- Where: Little Twister - Dusty Lane
- Date: 1/10/2018
- Summary: A Baskar priestess on the run with something important, a Solarian agent on a mission, and a gaggle of drifters in the wrong place at the wrong time. None of them are prepared for Little Twister's next unexpected guest.
=======================<* Little Twister - Dusty Lane *>======================== Little Twister is a small town in the southwestern part of the Badlands. It is nestled against the mountains, in one of the driest and most unforgiving parts of the Gunsmoke Desert. Life in the town isn't much better. The buildings are all ramshackle and thrown up quickly, made of battered wood, discarded metal, and the occasional armor plate from a long-scrapped gear. The settlers here are squatters, who take their homes when they please and leave when someone else pleases. All of its buildings are built along one street named Dusty Lane. This town is lawless. Drifters who come through provide some semblance of order, in that someone who causes too much trouble is likely to be shot. ARMs are worn openly. However, this place appeals to Drifters and worse because of its lawless nature. No sheriff has lasted longer than a year in Little Twister, and the locals who remain either prefer to serve their clientele or have no choice. Drifters are also drawn to the place because a great many ruins are said to be located nearby, and excavation crews often base themselves out of the town. Inns and saloons are the most common businesses. Saint Louise Station provides train service to Little Twister. As something of a joke among locals, it is a good twenty minute hike by foot from Dusty Lane, and newcomers are often dismayed to step onto the platform and find nothing awaiting them. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsDghd0hm7A
<Pose Tracker> Sofie Anning has posed.
When it comes to other people's problems, most people prefer to look the other way.
At least, that's the prevailing sentiment in Little Twister. Right now, many people are attempting to ignore -- very hard -- the plight of a certain person hiding out near the Saloon.
There's a few things people would notice about Sofie Anning, of the Baskar Colony, shaman and currently entrusted with a very important mission.
One of them is her height. She's quite small, at most about five feet, but probably not even that. The second thing is she's no frail thing -- she's powerfully built for her size and hardly the archetype of some mystical maiden. It'd be a safe bet that she would be able to handle herself against most threats on the road.
The problem is, as her gaze betrays -- as she chances a look down the dusty avenue of Little Twister (her current safe haven, if it can be called that for long) -- she's run into a less-usual type of 'road hazard'.
There've been better days, that's for sure.
In one hand, she still clings to the thing the elder entrusted to her: a Sealing Rod.
Pressed up against that wall outside the saloon, the Baskar shaman glances this way and that, nervous energy bundled tight into her frame. She's looking for someone, that's clear.
Running a hair through her short-cropped dark hair, she twists her mouth in a grimace. "Damn, where the heck are they...? I knew I shoulda kept running," Sofie mutters. "Trouble-shooting company, my ass..."
Most of the residents of Little Twister are trying very hard to ignore this situation, since the sense of 'in a whole lot of trouble' is radiating very strongly off the young shaman.
<Pose Tracker> Rudy Roughnight has posed.
"But this is a lot of money, you could likely buy five of those with this. I was going to use it to help rebuild a city, but I'm sure that the item will help too."
"I don't want that, I want to trade the OLD BOWLING PIN for the RUSTY GEAR."
The face of Rudy Roughnight squints as he takes in the old soul in front of him, the young gunslinger taking a few moments to collect himself before trying to look through his things.
"How about some Heal Berries?" the blue haired lad offers softly, offering a large amount of the medicinal magical meal in the palm of his hand.
"I don't want that, I want to trade the OLD BOWLING PIN for the RUSTY GEAR."
"How about this diamond?"
"I don't want that, I want to trade the OLD BOWLING PIN for the RUSTY GEAR."
"Some relics from a successful dig." "I don't want that, I want to trade the OLD BOWLING PIN for the RUSTY GEAR."
"This small bar of gold?"
"I don't want that, I want to trade the OLD BOWLING PIN for the RUSTY GEAR."
Rudy rubs his face in frustration. For some reason, this man isn't biting. So he tries what has worked on people once or twice in his life. He walks out of the small log cabin this man is in before coming back in. "Hello, sir. I know I was just in here, but I was hoping if you could sell that Rusty Gear of yours, I know a person who wants it and I'm just trying to see if I cold get this Busted ARM which I think could be fixed to be-"
""I don't want that, I want to trade the-"
"Old Bowling Pin for the Rusty Gear, I know," Rudy offers, his voice remaining calm and soft as usual, but there is an underlining current of frustration that seems to threaten to boil over. "Just never mind, I'll talk to you if I ever find who is willing to trade the Piece of the Treasure Map for something else."
Dejected, Rudy makes his way out of the residence and takes in the town of Little Twister. His muddy brown eyes take a moment to adjust lowered light of dusk. As he does, he sees the seemingly out of place Beskar, moving toward her with a quirked brow as he sees her troubled. "Everything okay?" he inquires softly.
<Pose Tracker> Kahm Yugh has posed.
Baskar weren't typically known to be customers of the Smith and Luio Company, for a variety reasons. While they were not necessarily a poor people, they also didn't tend to run in the same kind of circles as the usual client. They also didn't tend to get into the kind of trouble that often required their services.
So when a message detailing Sofia's particularly urgent request came in on a rarely used memory cube frequency, Kahm Yugh (Or rather, Marcus Rider) decided to investigate.
Being that he was the only operative nearby it didn't leave much up to choice anyways. Even then, Little Twister was some hours of riding away from November City. Uncertain if the request was even legitimate, or if the young woman still be there by the time he arrived, Kahm set off with as much haste and preparation as he could concoct on short notice.
It was early evening by the time he finally reached the city, but his mark was fortunately easy to find. The people of Little Twister evidently had a gift for feeling out trouble, and it must be rolling off the young Baskar in waves for to be so singled out by the askance looks of the crowd.
"Is there a problem, ma'am?" Spoke a voice from around the corner of the wall Sofia was trying to melt into, and the black-dressed man casually stepped into full view. Crisp blue eyes looked her over quickly, noting the sealing staff, which he recognized, and the young drifter inquiring after her whom he did not.
"Marcus Rider, of Smith & Luio." He said, leaving no chance for doubt. "If you're in danger, we shouldn't linger here."
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
"Thank you for coming on such a short notice, and for bringing your friend, too." SIlas Madigan stands on the front step in his robes, his large frame almost dwarfing the small stone steps leading up into the nave just inside the white-washed church building. Gwen, while a respectable 5'8", seems dwarfed by her childhood friend as she returns her wagon, where Gulliver patiently waits. "No problem at all! I'm glad to get out and about. Was goin' stircrazy there."
Looking from Gwen to Rosaline, and then back, Silas itches his chin. "I feel bad for imposing on you and your friend here, though. I didn't realize you were involved in all that craziness nearby the Baskar Colony. You sure you two don't want to stay the night? There's a room ope-" A dusty child runs by into the church, ducking underneath the priest's arms, where they're caught by a very quick hand. "Whoah, whoah, hey there! Where's your shoes?"
Gwen laughs. "Ya already got a lot on your plate. I'll get out of your hair, Silas. I ain't too good for the inn here." She looks to Rosaline. "Though you're welcome to stay! Probably a better deal for you in the long run. The inn here's... well." She laughs uneasily. "It's got that Little Twister charm, y'know?"
Seeing the familiar face of Rudy down the street, Gwen raises her hand in a friendly wave. "'ey, R-" She stops, seeing Marcus walk up, and finally, the diminutive form of the Baskar girl herself. "Hey, Rosaline, I'm gonna go check this out." She flicks two fingers from her head outwards in a casual salute to the priest. "Nice chattin' with you again, Silas. We'll have to catch up all proper-like later."
With that, Gwen departs, casually striding down the street to the two familiar faces. "What's goin' on here? Anythin' I can help you with?"
From far off, Silas's lips purse in a large frown, his grunt of worry as evident as the snort of the much less concerned Gulliver. "Miss Calice, could you go accompany her for me? It's a selfish request, I know. The Baskar woman feels like trouble."
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
You wouldn't think Little Twister would be a place someone would go to for relaxation and healing. But for Rosaline, there's some nostalgia to be found in a crappy frontier town.
(No offense, Gwen, Rosaline also grew up in a crappy frontier town.)
She chanced to find Gwen on the road, and her friend mentioned the trip to her hometown, for which Rosaline opted to tag along. She was curious to see an Ethos orphanage besides her own (and not the... other orphanage in Little Twister she had heard about-- that one would be a matter for another time) and meet that childhood friend Gwen told her about.
"Hm... W-Well, it would save me a little gella..." Rosaline says, considering. Silas is a stranger, and normally she might be too nervous to accept the offer, but he is Gwen's friend and a fellow clergy member besides. "Thank you so much, Brother Madigan..."
Gwen goes to check something. Rosaline continues to fret for a moment, while he requests that she go look too. Aw, he's worried for her friend.
"O-Of course!" She runs up the street, not bothering to get back on her horse for a relatively short distance. She catches up to Gwen soon enough.
Over her shoulder, she sees Rudy, along with a man she doesn't know, offering help to the Baskar woman. Rosaline's gaze lowers and notices...
The Sealing Rod.
Did she find a statue? Well, now. Rosaline remains doesn't say anything, but does nod, silently adding to the offer of help.
<Pose Tracker> Berserk has posed. <SoundTracker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9GEH4NnlAQ
Sofie Anning is on a very important mission. And that means just one thing:
Sofie Anning is bringing a very pressing danger to Little Twister.
It comes, just as Rudy Roughnight approaches the wary Baskar. When he asks her that simple question: Everything okay?
And as if a herald of ill-fortune, that is exactly when a shadow casts over the dark of Little Twister's evening, to answer that question as directly and obviously as possible. No. Everything is absolutely not okay. And...
"GA HA HA!"
... It's about to get so much worse.
The denizens of Little Twister, the Baskar on her important mission, the Solarian sent to retrieve her, and the Drifters (un)fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time, have all of a second to look up towards the source of that shadow to see what it is: a great Metal Beast, winged like a drake, blotting out the pale light of the moon with the steady beat of its wings of living metal. And upon its back?
Green, thick, scaley skin. Burning yellow eyes. A slavering underbite. A wild mane of white hair.
An immense, spiked wrecking ball perched precariously upon an upturned palm.
All of a second they have to recognize the fact of just what has been pursuing Sofie Anning, just why her mission is so important, and just what the stakes that have suddenly been thrust upon them are --
-- before Berserk, Quarter Knight of the Metal Demons, -leaps- off the back of his flying steed, building tremendous velocity as he makes a head-first collision with the town square of Little Twister.
Laughing all the way.
The only sound that manages to drown out his caustic, contemptuous chortling comes from the seismic shockwave of his impact as the ground roars in trembling protest, buildings quake, windows shatter, earth fissues --
-- and anyone caught within the epicenter of the blast radius, well, has a very, very unpleasant experience.
((BOOOOOOOM))
GS: Berserk has attacked Kahm Yugh with Hellacious Headbutt! GS: Berserk has attacked Gwen Whitlock with Torment! GS: Berserk has attacked Rosaline Calice with Torment! GS: Berserk has attacked Rudy Roughnight with Torment! GS: Berserk has completed his action.
DC: MISS! Rosaline Calice completely evades Torment from Berserk!
GS: CRITICAL! Rudy Roughnight guards a hit from Berserk's Torment for 199 hit points! GS: CRITICAL! Kahm Yugh critically Guards a hit from Berserk's Hellacious Headbutt for 43 hit points! GS: Gwen Whitlock critically Guards a hit from Berserk's Torment for 31 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Sofie Anning has posed.
Sofie, perhaps, is not precisely what someone would expect of a Baskar holy person. Young, brash.
A bit loud.
Perhaps it makes sense that someone less traditional would also look for a less traditional solution to the rather large problem she's currently facing.
Thus the impossible happens:
Someone asks the obviously up-the-creek-without-a-paddle young shaman what's wrong.
"...Uh?" is Sofie's eloquent reply. "Are you the Smith and Luio guy?" She promptly looks Rudy over. "...You ain't much older'n me, are ya? If I'd known they were hiring, maybe I'd've picked a different path in life." She grins.
It's the grin of someone attempting to put on a bold face, her completely nervous posture only making it look more manic.
'Marcus Rider's' appearance causes the small Shaman to nearly jump. "--Don't scare me like that! Geez..." She sighs out a weighty breath, then gives Marcus the hairy eyeball as well.
"That's a little more like it. Probably," she determines, dipping her head in a nod. "Just call me Sofie, and sure! Sure! That sounds like a good idea to me!" She grins again, slightly less manic than before. "I already told you guys what's up, so let's move!"
She glances at Rudy -- and Gwen and Rosaline in turn, by now joining the little crowd she's forming, against all dictates of Little Twister. "Y'all coming too? I think I gotta get outta here before it's too--"
late
"...Shit," Sofie says, the shadow dampening the town. Her gaze is nowhere but the creature currently hanging above the town. Then, perhaps, all the manic energy she's been barely keeping together boils over and she shakes a fist at the heavens -- or at the Quarter Knight that's been pursuing her, that is. "Hey, using flying monsters is cheating, you asshole!" she shouts, yellow-eyed gaze a little too intense for a moment.
Then Berserk leaps. He might as well been a meteor for all the impact he makes, crashing into the town center.
Though, typically, meteors do not laugh.
The blast wave kicks the young shaman back right off her feet, sending her crashing into a pile of crates. From a prone position, she waves a hand, then leaps to her feet, wincing.
"Tell you what! How about y'all distract him and I'll get the hell outta here?"
<Pose Tracker> Rudy Roughnight has posed.
A quirked brow is given as not only the woman speaks about his age, but also a new face appears to say they are part of some company. He doesn't say anything to them quite yet, but that's mostly because his attention goes to Gwen and Rosaline as he hears a familiar voice. Good if there is someone else here, he doesn't have to talk!
But the conversation is destined for a sudden end. In the wake of his question and before he can be joined by Gwen, Rudy blinks as he hears laughing. The memories of a battle within the burning city is brought to his mind as the boy looks to the skies, seeing a familiar silhouette. Memories of a garden battle filled with lava and fire cue up. Even as his eyes look in with a mix of fear and determination, his hands act as if they are on their own accord; the cartridge of Rudy's weapon is changed with a simple clickclack. Oddly enough, he doesn't even move. Rudy just digs one foot in, preparing to stand his ground. Which might not the be the greatest idea in the world. Still, he raises one arm up, letting the debris, dirt, and rocks slam against him.
As the dust begins to settle, a bright blue light can be seen, the same forearm used to defend the Outcast giving off a distinctive glow. The Hand Cannon begins to spin in his hand as Rudy leaps up to take to the skies, even as his form is battered, bruised, and somewhat bloody from his stubborn stand. From the ARM, a small canister is shot out and released right in front of Berserk. It seems to have missed at first, but as Rudy lands, a sudden storm seems to escape from the shell, making a twister of dust, harsh winds, and even some lightning here and there within the localized storm. It will likely not sting much, but it might make it a little harder to get a good bead on Rudy for a time. It's definitely a new trick for the boy, but he's changed since the last time he faced Berserk.
Sofie gets a simple nod with her request, Rudy not one for words, only saving one to announce the Demon he's facing with a cool ire.
"Berserk."
GS: Rudy Roughnight has attacked Berserk with Solid Storm! GS: Rudy Roughnight has completed his action. GS: Berserk takes a solid hit from Rudy Roughnight's Solid Storm for 25 hit points! GS: Rudy Roughnight takes Cover! He gains 50 temporary hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Rosaline honestly expected that the long ride would be the most grueling part of her day, and meeting Silas would be the most stressful.
She was quite wrong!!
She looks up as a shadow falls over the setting sun, and her entire body tenses up as she realizes the enormity of what is now happening. Well, now she knows why the Baskar woman was so troubled.
A Quarter Knight bears down upon them.
Rosaline is on a hair trigger, to say the least. In addition to being a cat, recent events have led her to expect the other shoe to drop at literally any time, from any direction. Before Berserk has hit the ground, she's already clambered up the wall and behind a doorframe-affixed store sign, using it to protect herself from the sand and debris kicked up by the shockwave.
She draws her trusty Esdras and Judith, spraying SMG fire upon the hulking Metal Demon. She is under no illusions as to harming him meaningfully, but the woman wanted a distraction, and this is one.
She remains behind her cover as she fires, but hops out shortly after-- She hasn't had the pleasure of meeting Berserk, but she's heard enough about the Quarter Knight to know any cover short of a bomb shelter would be roughly as useful to her as cardboard, mot to mention hazardous to the people inside.
GS: Rosaline Calice has attacked Berserk with Spray and Pray! GS: Rosaline Calice has completed her action. GS: Berserk takes a solid hit from Rosaline Calice's Spray and Pray for 30 hit points! GS: Weaken! Statuses applied to Berserk!
<Pose Tracker> Kahm Yugh has posed.
When Sofie's request mentioned 'metal demons', Kahm had expected a small troop, or a lesser officer of some sort. There seemed little reason to devote large resources to one girl.
He had not expected this.
It happens quickly, the ominous shadow of Berserk's flying mount growing over them just as Gwen and Rosaline arrive, drawing the Solarian's attention before he can breathe another word to any of them. Although he'd not confronted Berserk personally, he knew from reports and pictures that the demon had been the one that attacked Bledavik. It made sense, now that he'd seen the wand Sofie carried. For a prize like this, they wouldn't spare any effort. He'd been too hasty.
"Scatter." His voice barks, moments before the quarter knight impacts the earth.
It felt as if the world suddenly shifted on its axis, and Kahm nearly went with it. A large rock flies straight for his head, but strangely explodes the moment Kahm's eyes focus on it, peppering his arms and legs with smaller debris-fast enough to leave welts, but little else.
The dust settles, and the disguised Solarians steps forward, silently nodding to Sofie's suggestion. He wished he had full tactical compliment to take on this task...no, a whole squadron. Instead, he had a courier, an etone, and a drifter of unknown skill.
It would have to do.
"Steel yourselves. We face a quarter knight." He said to the others, his blade calmly drawn. Gwen and Rosaline may find something familiar about it that is difficult to place.
There is a moment of tense, vicious silence, which Rudy breaks first. Kahm is next, inching forward before a sudden burst of wind seems to explode behind him, kicking up a line of dust and dirt on the eyeblink it takes for him to appear on Berserk's flank, using the the gunslinger's own conjured dust devil as cover. His blade burned with an eerie blue light, seeking any joint or gap in Berserk's armor to piece and deliver a jolt of electric fury.
GS: Kahm Yugh has attacked Berserk with Shock Thrust! GS: Kahm Yugh has completed his action. GS: Berserk takes a solid hit from Kahm Yugh's Shock Thrust for 105 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
What Rosaline likely doesn't know is that the visitor's room, while cleaner than the sorts of rooms the inn/tavern down the main street provides, is instead host to another problem: kids, in the next room. Young kids, especially who do not know the the meaning of 'too early to be awake', because if the sun is up, that means it's time for everyone to be up. After that, it's probably reading stories, helping with the meal, washing dishes, and whatever chores that an extra hand would be needed. It's something Gwen doesn't mind. It's more the potential lack of privacy that makes her balk.
But such things can only be taken advantage of if they're... still standing. Which they might not be, now that Berserk's here.
Looking up with slack-jawed surprise at the rapidly falling Berserk, Gwen can only think back to her assertion that this would all be a nice, relaxing delivery, with no complications other than the mundane sorts that a town like Little Twister can provide. Just keep to Main Street, don't look anyone in the eye, and make small talk with your childhood friend priest man, get some chow, and be out.
And so, she shouts. "You have GOT to be kiddin' m-"
Gwen doesn't even get to finish her sentence, but at least her ARM's able to take the brunt of the blow, metal plates sliding out from carefully stitched seams in her blouse's right sleeve, forming a small buckler. "D-damn!" Pushed away, Gwen tumbles head over heels against a nearby wooden post. "This town can't really take this kinda damage..." A Quarter Knight, Marcus says. "So that's where I've seen him before..." Shaking her head, Gwen makes a quick glance back towards the church. The large frame of SIlas is visible from here, using his back as a shield over the last of the fleeing children, plus a few other children that just so happen to be running for cover. The courier shares a quick glance with the priest when he, in turn, turns around. The two nod.
"We'll show this Quarter Knight and good ol' fashioned Badlands welcome," Gwen then says with an oddly feral grin, jerking back the right sleeve of her blouse. "Berserk, is it? Welcome to Little Twister!" The palm is raised towards Berserk, Gwen firing the first of what will probably be many rounds.
GS: Gwen Whitlock has attacked Berserk with Crackshot! GS: Gwen Whitlock has completed her action. GS: Berserk takes a glancing hit from Gwen Whitlock's Crackshot for 39 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Berserk has posed.
Dust clouds billow in blinding swirls around the ground zero that is Berserk. The world has gone concave around his point of impact, creating a fresh new crater out of what was once a... well, extremely dusty town center of a deeply unpleasant town.
None of it is really all that great.
He can be seen there, however, in the veil of dirt that has been kicked up in his unceremoniously grand entrance. An immense silhouette, the glow of his yellow eyes piercing through the dark, dense fog of debris. That...
"Heh." ... and the acerbic sound of his contemptuous voice.
"Lookit that. The proud little Baskar had to go an' run for help," snarls the Quarter Knight even as the dust begins to settle, even as glimpses of him can be seen between the widening gaps of the veil. "-Pathetic-. Just like you runts always were, eh? An' look where it's got you: no where. Now... how about you just make the smart play and give me that worthless little stick of yours and maybe I won't flatten you into a paste? Ga ha ha HA--"
That condescending chortle is cut off prematurely with the flash of metal. Berserk reacts purely on instinct, a hand sweeping up to suddenly and violently -smack- the thing aside - only to have that brief and sudden storm -rip- from the bursting metal. Dust is swept up or billowed aside, electricity crackling unpleasantly at the Quarter Knight's green hide as he raises a meaty fist to shield himself against the flashes.
Berserk.
"Hrnmph?"
Yellow eyes look up, and stare at that short Drifter making his stand. They narrow. A frown settles on ugly lips. "Who the hell..." he begins, before recognition slowly settles in, and a sneer peels at his lips. "Oh. -You-. You're still alive, eh? Well, good! Let's see how much more pain you can take now before you croak!"
Once more laughter fills the air as Berserk sends that wrecking ball snapping -upwards- through the air... before, with the flick of his wrist, it makes a wild, whistling descent, aimed in a collision course with Rudy to do no less than drive him into the dirt.
The knight's weapon doesn't dare linger, though, not even for a second. Weapon fire hits Berserk's back, and even as bullets ricochet off his armored hide, he is -instantly- hurling that weapon into a deadly spin, builting up frenetic momentum to bear down upon Rosaline -- at the very least, -demolishing- that store sign in a shriek of metal and splinter of wood. "MORE RATS FOR SQUISHING, HUH!? ALRIGHT! C'MON! I could use a little break for once! SO LET'S SEE HOW MUCH FUN BREAKING YOU IS!"
The dust devil is still spinning around Berserk when Kahm breaks into the Quarter Knight's defenses. It's telling, the simple fact that he doesn't even -try- to outmaneuver or defend against Kahm's assault. If anything, as that burning blue blade bites at his flank, Kahm will feel the shriek of metal on living metal, scratching the surface of what might amount to Berserk's flesh; the electrical charge is just barely managing to fire off before one massive hand comes down with disarmingly fast speed to -seize- Kahm with an oppressively powerful grip. And if the grip holds?
Berserk will lift the Solarian into the air to dangle and listen to his burbling, belittling chortle before DRIVING him DOWN into the earth.
"Stay in the dirt where you belong, ant."
Whatever the outcome, it's the sound of another voice that drags Berserk's attention away. Just as usual, there is no preamble. There's no hesitation, or even a polite and patient waiting for Gwen to finish her bold declaration. Berserk just -whips- his mace around, the wind screaming around it like remora gripping tenaciously to the belly of a frenzied shark. That bullet meets wrecking ball, diverted off its intended path before it just bounces at an angle off of Berserk's (very likely incredibly dense) skull --
--while Berserk's wrecking ball carries on to meet Gwen more formally.
"Who gives a crap?! It's gonna be a POTCH MARK in a few minutes! GA HA HA HA!"
And that wrecking ball will -continue- onward, dragging across the earth to cut -violently- in front of the Baskar in need as if to prematurely cut off her egress. To remind her that he hasn't forgotten her. That he is far from distracted.
"Your cute little toy's gonna be mine, meatsack," he snarls like a promise. "It's up to you how many of your little friends you want me to tear apart before that happens."
GS: Berserk has attacked Rudy Roughnight with Flatten! GS: Berserk has attacked Kahm Yugh with Torment! GS: Berserk has attacked Gwen Whitlock with Centripetal Slaughter! GS: Berserk has attacked Rosaline Calice with No Kill Like Overkill! GS: Berserk has completed his action. GS: Rudy Roughnight guards a hit from Berserk's Flatten for 67 hit points! GS: Rosaline Calice takes a glancing hit from Berserk's No Kill Like Overkill for 77 hit points! GS: Gwen Whitlock guards a hit from Berserk's Centripetal Slaughter for 94 hit points! GS: You do not have any attacks from that person in queue. GS: Kahm Yugh critically Guards a hit from Berserk's Torment for 35 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Sofie Anning has posed.
"Ain't nothin' wrong with reinforcements," Sofie affirms, one yellow eye half shut in a wince. "I think... I think we're about even now, huh?!" Once again, there's that flash of bravado from the young shaman, sealing rod held tight in her arms.
Berserk, of the Quarter Knights of the Metal Demons, makes her an offer.
She breathes out slowly where she stands.
Then shakes her head.
"Nope. Sorry! I'm not letting a single one of you monsters touch this! I'll die first!"
And quite possibly, tempts fate a little.
Something akin to relief briefly flitters across her face once the others seem to take her up on her suggestion they play distraction. "Great! I'll be praying for ya!" Despite her tone, it may not be as encouraging as she apparently intends it to be.
Holding the sealing rod close, she ducks behind a building, apparently making for the back way out of town.
All she's got to do is get out of here and finish the--
The wrecking ball of a weapon crashes into the earth right before her. Sofie backpedals in a hurry, clutching the sealing rod tight to her chest. "Shit," she utters.
So much for getting a distraction.
Nervous laughter erupts from the young woman, her grip on the sealing rod tightening. "Hahaha... is that right?" She straightens, hunching her shoulders. "I don't-- suppose anyone ever toldja you're a fuckin' jackass?!"
<Pose Tracker> Rudy Roughnight has posed.
As the allied forces make their assault, with Rosaline and Gwen offering their bullets along with his own and as the Mysterious Security Guy does his magic. The talk of the Quarter Knight being serious business and the talk of the town not really being ready to handle this sort of devastation causes Rudy to narrow his eyes and nod. "I know," he states simply, one answer useful for both responses. No holding back, he understands, as there isn't a sea of helping hands to lighten the load or pick up any slack.
Then Berserk makes his threats, his boasts, and hubris known. The ball flies slamming into the forearm of Rudy, who still hasn't lowered it from when he summoned his ARM's power. He lowers the now bloodied limb, switching out cartridges with almost a serene nature about him. Only the gritting of his teeth is the only real outward expression of his nerves and fear: one of the few advantages to being rather lackluster.
The arm glows once more, the weapon is spun around. The round that is fired is one Berserk likely remembered from before, however, the explosive shot has a bit more umph than before. While others speak volumes during battle, Roughnight's words are slow and thought out. "I was weak when we last fought," he begins slowly, speaking in the wake of his attack.
GS: Rudy Roughnight has attacked Berserk with Boosted Shell! GS: Rudy Roughnight has completed his action. GS: Berserk takes a glancing hit from Rudy Roughnight's Boosted Shell for 62 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Rosaline panickedly leaps away from her store sign. She only narrowly avoids suffering the same fate (i.e. pulverized) as it does, and yet is still knocked back to the ground by flying debris. She pulls herself up, wincing, and keeps moving. She can't afford to sit still for one moment with a foe like this.
She holsters her ARMs for now, seeing little good she can do with them right now. Instead, she clutches her Crests as she notices Rudy already so bloodied and battered.
"Please be careful," she says, only briefly slowing down to extend a hand and cast a golden halo on him. "Holy Kindness!" This should take care of the worst of his wounds, and even put an extra bullet or two in his ARM.
How does that work? The Ethos hoards the secrets of some truly miraculous gun'smagic.
Rudy speaks of that past. Rosaline has certainly changed too, she realizes-- The first time she and Rudy met, she thought it would be a good idea to confiscate his Hand Cannon.
"W-we won't let you do this!" Rosaline cries out at the Demon. It's empty bravado and she knows it, their best hope is that Sofie escapes and that Berserk suddenly gets bored and leaves. But she's realized that talking makes it easier for her not to... well, go berserk.
It would be QUITE IRONIC if she did.
GS: Rosaline Calice has attacked Rudy Roughnight with Holy Kindness! GS: Rosaline Calice has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Kahm Yugh has posed.
The Quarter Knight's grating laughter was an annoyance, but not as frustrating as his Hyadean physiology. The anemo blade finds a blow, but it didn't account for much when even Berserk's skin was like armor, and Kahm's strength insufficient to puncture the steely hide. The power invested in the blade goes wild, and before the Solarian can backstep clear of reprisal he finds himself imprisoned by the metal demon's grasping claws, struggling in vain to free himself as he's hoisted on high.
Blue, imperious eyes lock with yellow, contemptuous ones for half a second. If Berserk cares to notice he'll see it-rage blossoming in the depth of Kahm's normally keen and analytical gaze.
'Stay in the dirt where you belong, ant.'
The ground cratered further beneath Kahm where Berserk drove him into the earth, the Solarian just managing barely manage to conjure an etheric force field to protect his bones and organs while the Quarter Knight's attention stole to one of the others. A white light burned hot inside his mind, and he stumbled to his feet, fine clothes torn and caked with the same filth the -lambs- trod their feet upon.
"You dare.." He seethed, his curse almost a whisper.
A pulsar of ionized lightning rent the air between Kahm and Berserk, the operative investing his power with a familiar tincture of hateful enmity. Though chaotic, he seemed to contain it on the demon as the sole recipient, as if mindful of what everyone else was saying about the precarious station of the town.
GS: Kahm Yugh has attacked Berserk with Anemo Storm! GS: Kahm Yugh has completed his action. GS: Berserk takes a glancing hit from Kahm Yugh's Anemo Storm for 39 hit points! GS: Rosaline Calice heals Rudy Roughnight! He gains 100 temporary hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
Gwen runs at a full sprint towards Berserk for a more cordial greeting, but is momentairely distracted by Rudy. The momentary glance, trying to assess the younger Drifter's injuries, takes just a bit too long for Gwen to notice Berserk's wrecking ball.
--KLANG--
The wrecking ball painfully ricochets off of Gwen's outstretched hand, whiffing past her head as she ducks downwards far too late. "C.. c'mon, that was a really good opening!" Gwen's red head snaps back up, sans her hat. Feeling her shock of pale red hair with her left hand, Gwen coughs. "... And your comeback was *terrible*! You really gotta work on that!"
This is what counts as distraction, for Gwen, though it's not enough to help Kahm or Sofie.
Drawing a knife, Gwen races over, dust billowing from her boots as she runs right by Kahm.
Maybe it's the surroundings, reminding her of times gone by. Maybe it's the way she's distracted by a wayward glance towards Kahm. Maybe she just wants to try this.
EIther way, Gwen's going to try to stab a man (well, metal demon) right in the same place that anemo blade tried to cut earlier, to see if her blade could finish the job.
GS: Gwen Whitlock has attacked Berserk with Comet Clip! GS: Gwen Whitlock has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Berserk takes a glancing hit from Gwen Whitlock's Comet Clip for 46 hit points! GS: Cripple and Jam! Statuses applied to Berserk!
<Pose Tracker> Berserk has posed.
I don't-- suppose anyone ever toldja you're a fuckin' jackass?!
Berserk's lips peel back in an ugly sneer. Yellow eyes rage bright.
"Sure. You wanna find out what happened to 'em? Because you're right on track--"
He hears the spin of a cartridge chamber that is becoming exceedingly familiar. The Quarter Knight spins, eyes on fire as spittle flings from his lips. He doesn't stop to look at what's coming. He can hear the boom even as he charges Rudy Roughnight, his feet hammering the abused earth in a way that makes everything around him shudder with his approach. His right hand draws back, wrecking ball still gripped against his palm.
"AND YOU'RE STILL WEAK!"
And as that shell EXPLODES against his chest in plumes of smoke and fire and a ripple of kinetic force --
--he -drives- that mace-wielding fist straight for Rudy's entire, small body, with the simple intent of punching him straight through a nearby saloon.
Contrails of heat vapors are still rising off his scorched armor as he rises up, baleful gaze turning back Sofie's way. "You were saying something about being -even- now, meatbag?"
He is turning towards her once more, when he hears that seething whisper. He hadn't noticed -- or perhaps simply hadn't cared -- about that anger in Kahm's glare before. But now -- as he starts to ionize the very air in a way strangely familiar -- Berserk's attention slowly shifts back towards him. Familiar. He feels the tingle of magic. But not those strange symbols, or the Guardians' touch, or the nonsense crests they feebly channeled. His eyes narrow slowly. It reminds him of...
"Heh. Cute."
And now Kahm has his attention. Lightning -flashes-, snapping plasmic heat across his chest, shoulders and head, scorching blackened marks here and there, knocking his head to the right in an irritated sneer of pain as he spins his mace into a fervor that catches the bolts of lightning in conductive charges.
"But I'm pretty sure I told you..."
And bully that he truly is at heart, Berserk's response is to send that wrecking ball swinging overhead, to -drive- into Kahm...
"... THE DIRT'S WHERE YOU BELONG. GA HA HA HA!"
... right back into that -lamb- trodden earth.
And, as if just to be petty, he swings that wrecking ball Rosaline's way not a second later, intent to jam it into her and send her slamming into the wall of another poor, downtrodden building right at the cusp of her healing efforts.
"L-l-l-LET me?" his voice rings, a hideous mockery of Rosaline's attempted bravado. "GA HA HA HA! What the hell can YOU let ANYONE do?! Go find a hole to hide in, like you and your kind are so good at!"
And in rushes Gwen. He sees her, from the corner of his gaze. And immediately, the Metal Demon pivots sharply on his heel. Eyes wide with manic, violent life, he charges -her- just as she charges him. Her blade bites clean, exacerbating the shallow cut Kahm scored into a deeper wound, briefly hobbling the Metal Demon as he snarls--
--and seeks to drive his head straight into her with one relentless, pistoning motion, bringing all his considerable force to bear with it.
He doesn't answer her, though. No; because he's still moving. Moving...
... straight for Sofie Anning. Gripping the chain of his weapon. Rearing back. -Tossing-.
And it is the chain, not the weapon itself, that lashes at Sofie...
... looking to wrap securely around her Sealing Rod before yanking it -once- with all his considerable strength.
If she lets go, he takes it in hand. If she doesn't...
... she comes along for the ride, where one giant hand is waiting to -smack- her unceremoniously into the wall of a nearby building with a callous lack of care as he grips hard onto that Baskar artifact with the other.
And only -then- does he look back, his grin an ugly, rictus thing.
"How's that for a come back? GA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"
GS: Berserk has attacked Rudy Roughnight with No Kill Like Overkill! GS: Berserk has attacked Gwen Whitlock with Hellacious Headbutt! GS: Berserk has attacked Kahm Yugh with Flatten! GS: Berserk enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Berserk has attacked Rosaline Calice with Flatten! GS: Berserk has completed his action. GS: Gwen Whitlock guards a hit from Berserk's Hellacious Headbutt for 99 hit points! GS: Rudy Roughnight takes a solid hit from Berserk's No Kill Like Overkill for 229 hit points! GS: Rosaline Calice takes a glancing hit from Berserk's Flatten for 53 hit points! GS: CRITICAL! Kahm Yugh takes a glancing hit from Berserk's Flatten for 85 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Rudy Roughnight has posed.
As the woman of faith words her magic, Roughnight looks to her with a small grin as the wounds seem to heal with supernatural speed. "Thank you for the thought, but I'm just getting started," he offers with a gentle confidence. Immediately in looking back toward Berserk that confidence seems to fade as the power of the Quarter Knight sobers Rudy, but he remains resolute.
While the ARM is Rudy's most powerful weapon, oddly, it is allowed to hang at his side. The free hand moves up toward his chest as if to reach for something. What could he be getting ready to do?
The answer is delayed as Berserk proves he can move swiftly when he wishes, plowing into Rudy before he has a chance to react. The Outcast is driven through one wall, and then a second before he is lodged into the third wall, his back and butt wedged firmly in the shattered wood.
"But I'm getting stronger," Roughnight firmly replies, his tone sounding more like a chastisement more than a battle retort. The hand grabs onto a pocket within his vest as he offers a silent request. "Medium. Moor Gault." Three is nothing but silence. "Medium Moor Gault." A second of silence before Rudy offers weakly, "Please, aid us."
Suddenly there is a loud cry like a hawk as red flames seem to appear around Rudy, though they do not burn anything. He peels himself from the wall and begins moving forward, as he does, the fiery bird appears behind him and suddenly the flames seem to surround those of his fighting allies, as if a wellspring of power has been awoken.
The same hand moves toward his pocket, pulling out some Heal Berries, shoving them in his mouth as he moves forward, making his way back toward the battle. It is only now that his voice rises as if his soul was empowered by the use of the Medium. "But we are getting stronger!" A finger points out. "Leave the woman alone or you'll deal with me!"
GS: Rudy Roughnight used Mystic on Rudy Roughnight! 100 Temporary HP gained! All statuses cleared! GS: Rudy Roughnight has activated a Force Action! GS: Rudy Roughnight has attacked Rudy Roughnight with Medium - The Fire Within! GS: Rudy Roughnight has attacked Gwen Whitlock with Medium - The Fire Within! GS: Rudy Roughnight has attacked Kahm Yugh with Medium - The Fire Within! GS: Rudy Roughnight has completed his action.
<Pose Tracker> Sofie Anning has posed.
"I guess... I guess I will!"
It's hard to say what's riding the young woman most right now: rage or fear. Perhaps both, to judge by the bared teeth and the wide eyes as Berserk drives a punch towards Rudy.
But unarmed, against this kind of monster, knowing only luck might spare you a very instantaneous and undignified sort of death...
"Sh--shut up!" she snaps back, venting a modicum of nervous energy. She casts a darting glance, searching desperately for some way out. R
There are no good options. Drawing a breath, she seizes those few instants of distraction.
She runs, when Berserk turns to face Kahm.
Keeps running when Rosaline earns a taunt for her spellcraft.
Still running when Gwen rushes in.
Still--
not anymore
It's a testament to something -- her will, her strength -- that Sofie doesn't let go of the Sealing Rod.
Not even when the chain wraps tight around it and yanks at it, with all the terrible strength the Quarter Knight can bring to bear.
Berserk goes fishing and comes back with double the prize. Small, light -- compared to the Metal Demon, possibly even when compared to most of those still lingering in the middle of Little Twister -- Sofie goes flying.
A scream rings out as Berserk handily wrenches the artifact from her grasp.
The scream cuts off the second Sofie impacts the wall of a nearby building with a crunch. The Baskar shaman falls in a heap at the base of the wall and this time, doesn't get back up.
GS: Gwen Whitlock takes a solid hit from Rudy Roughnight's Medium - The Fire Within for 0 hit points! GS: Hyper! Statuses applied to Gwen Whitlock! GS: Kahm Yugh takes a solid hit from Rudy Roughnight's Medium - The Fire Within for 0 hit points! GS: Hyper! Statuses applied to Kahm Yugh!
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Once again, Rosaline is quick enough to narrowly avoid becoming an integral part of a building's architecture. She dives forward, the flail only managing to shave off a few hairs at the tip of her tail, but still kicking up enough debris to bombard the poor beastwoman.
The gigantic Metal Demon mocks her stutter. He speaks of her as a rat again, and she can't tell if he's trying to be extra insulting or if he's genuinely confused as to her beastwoman subspecies. That's a bully for you.
The surroundings take her back to simpler days, when her older fellow orphans would throw the exact same barbs at her, when Father MacKenzie wasn't looking. Violence wasn't out of question either, but eventually she found that she had claws to fight back with--
"Stay good, Rosaline, stay good," she repeats to herself, her breaths harried and her heart pounding. But for a brief, shining moment, she doesn't have Berserk's attention anymore. She takes the opportunity to pick herself back up.
No, instead it's Sofie he focuses on, as he was supposed to. The woman shows her grit, not letting go, but gets slammed into a building for her trouble.
The healer in Rosaline knows what she has to do next. The Sealing Rod is important, but the others can take it back, or so she hopes. Besides, she brought her own... unless this one is somehow special?
Regardless, Rosaline charges for the collapsed Sofie, incanting a spell to put a bubble shield around the two of them. Anything to even slow down the Quarter Knight's colossal flail.
GS: Rosaline Calice has attacked Rosaline Calice with Barrier of Balance! GS: Rosaline Calice has completed her action. GS: Rosaline Calice takes a solid hit from Rosaline Calice's Barrier of Balance for 0 hit points! GS: Shield! Statuses applied to Rosaline Calice!
<Pose Tracker> Kahm Yugh has posed.
Even in the depths of anger, some part of Kahm could see this battle wasn't going well. The angles and principles from which the others attacked revealed themselves to him, and in each he saw the protoplasmic essence of fundamental tactics. The drifter boy was resilient; the etone, resourceful; and Gwen Whitelock, surprisingly, fearless.
And yet, Berserk had a savage answer for each and every one of them.
The crackling, elemental power Kahm invoked did not cease. It built and built within him until he felt it threaten to overwhelm himself, and everything. In his mind he saw 'Ra, Azazel, the apostate who made him taste this foul brew for the first time in years.
Calm yourself.
Control re-asserted itself, critically so. The Solarian's storm had ended only for the Quarter Knight's to begin, and the grim reality of Berserk's conductive spin set in. Counter-ether tactics: he knew something of how this power worked. Knew, because he must've encountered it before before.
The agent is fast, but not fast enough-the massive mace sailed past Kahm's flank, trailing crimson as it did so. The man half-spun and recovered himself on a half-step, one arm clutch at his side in slow-burning, seeping pain. His vision shook, then held clearly Quarter Knight's back as he snatched his prize with one blow.
"Heh." Kahm smiled, humorlessly. "I see now. Ignorance, forged into a weapon. Strange evolution."
Rudy calls upon the Moor Gault, and unfamiliar power surges into the Major's veins, a foreign power. But he would accept this strength with the same willingness he had taken up Azazel's blasphemous use of ether: Because it would get the job done.
Berserk couldn't be allowed to leave with that relic.
"Don't let him escape!" He shouts to Rudy, Gwen. "They musn't get that wand!"
And he'll take up the blade again, this time launching himself into the air and swinging down at Berserk with a blow that shimmered and warped the air with twinkling particles of ionized energy. Steel and lightning fell on the Quarter Knight in equal measure, aimed at the arm the held the sealing wand.
GS: Kahm Yugh has attacked Berserk with Helldriver! GS: Kahm Yugh has completed his action. GS: Berserk takes a solid hit from Kahm Yugh's Helldriver for 116 hit points! GS: Poison! Statuses applied to Berserk!
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
How's that for a come back? GA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!
Gwen doesn't answer with a proper assessment, having had her poor, very human skull smashed into by Berserk's very Hyadean one. Well, she does give a sort of answer, in the form of a groan as she stumbles up. "... First m'hat... now m'knife..." They're somewhere around here. Gwen's perception of the physical plane is still too blurry to even begin searching right now. Besides, there's, uh, better things to focus on.
The flames briefly seem to panic Gwen, a glimmer of wild fear flashing across pewter blue eyes as the world snaps right back into focus. The warmth of Rudy's resolve that they carry comforts her initial fright, however, letting her stand. "Thanks, Rudy," she says softly, before scanning the field to spot Rosaline taking care of Sofie.
'Don't let him escape! They musn't get that wand!
"I'm on it! They don't call me a super courier for nothin'!" Throwing herself into another sprint, Gwen builds momentum, timing her attack against Kahm's electric assault with her boorish own. "I'm gonna SMACK that goofy smile right off that pig face of yours!" With a scream, Gwen ducks low just before the Quarter Knight, driving her fist towards Berserk's large chin.
GS: Gwen Whitlock has activated a Force Action! GS: Gwen Whitlock has attacked Berserk with Special Delivery! GS: Gwen Whitlock has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Berserk takes a solid hit from Gwen Whitlock's Special Delivery for 122 hit points! GS: Jam! Statuses applied to Berserk!
<Pose Tracker> Berserk has posed.
Sofie Anning flies away from Berserk, one Sealing Rod lighter.
Berserk turns towards the rest of his assailants.
One Sealing Rod heavier.
"Heh. Well, lookit that. Still as pathetic as ever."
And with that, Berserk seems to just... lose interest in the others. Lose interest in even the town. Pure, seething yellow eyes half-lid in what looks almost like disappointment as he eyes that tiny thing resting in his palm.
"Tch. Never any challenge," he mutters, half to himself, rolling the rod between his tremendous fingers. He could snap the thing in half without thinking. He knows it. He can't -- it's too important for that. But how is something so flimsy such a thorn in their side?
"Whatever. With this, we can bring Mother back. Heh. The look on you pathetic losers' faces will be worth all the headaches."
And with that? Berserk simply turns, and starts to walk. He doesn't call his beast down. He doesn't try to fly away. He doesn't even -run-. He just walks. Like he could just leisurely stroll out of Little Twister, Sealing Rod in hand.
And that is exactly what he does, even as Kahm Yugh -- Marcus Rider -- comes flinging through the air in a controlled descent for the Quarter Knight. He doesn't try to ward the blow; he doesn't do -anything- but ensure that Sealing Rod remains tightly ensconced in his grip as particles of electricity race from the tip of Kahm's blade to Berserk's wrist. He swings in -- and the knight's other forearm guards the way, Kahm's blade biting into metal flesh through thick armor to send a potent jolt of electrical ether charging through Berserk's body in a stymieing jolt. Berserk's body sputters, sparks, smokes. A snarl rings from his lips.
"Gghh. H-heh. Hah... You people--" he sneers, his blade-pierced hand clenching tight.
"Once losers, ALWAYS LOSERS!"
And with that, he looks to just -fling- that arm to the right, to harmlessly knock Kahm away from him and begin walking anew with that stuttering, electrified step.
And then, Gwen. He hears the footsteps. And with an annoyed snarl, he turns his gaze her way, pivoting slowly on his heel to face her. "C'MON THEN--" He begins--
CRACK
--but whatever he is going to say is interrupted by the force of that fist -driving- into his jaw.
The sound of a metal collision rings throughout the Little Twister grounds. Berserk remains standing, his head knocked upwards, his entire body still. Silence passes, tense, as winds whip quietly through the night air, unsettling dirt dusted across the ground.
"... Alright."
And the sound of wings flapping can be heard overhead as the flying Metal Beast hovers close by, and Berserk -sweeps- his arm, looking to -force- Gwen back.
"One shot."
He feels the twinge of Guardian magic in the air. His irritation rises, even as condescension fills his tone.
"I'm gonna give you all one shot. Hit me. As hard as you can. Go on. And if you can't beat me, even giving me all of that PATHETIC power you've got... I'm gonna take your toy and go."
His presence almost has a weight to it. His power exerts itself palpably, bloody red mist rising off green scales as he lords over them, the air around him seeming to crawl like molasses for any who'd dare approach.
"Come on. Hit me. COME ON. DO IT! LET'S SEE WHAT YOU'VE GOT!"
GS: Berserk has attacked Gwen Whitlock with TOO WEAK! GS: Berserk has attacked Rudy Roughnight with TOO WEAK! GS: Berserk has attacked Kahm Yugh with TOO WEAK! GS: Berserk has attacked Rosaline Calice with TOO WEAK! GS: Rudy Roughnight takes a solid hit from Rudy Roughnight's Medium - The Fire Within for 0 hit points! GS: Hyper! Statuses applied to Rudy Roughnight! GS: Rudy Roughnight guards a hit from Berserk's TOO WEAK for 0 hit points! GS: Break and Slow! Statuses applied to Rudy Roughnight! GS: Gwen Whitlock guards a hit from Berserk's TOO WEAK for 0 hit points! GS: Berserk takes 8 damage from Poison! GS: Berserk has completed his action. GS: Rosaline Calice takes a solid hit from Berserk's TOO WEAK for 0 hit points! GS: Break and Slow! Statuses applied to Rosaline Calice! GS: Berserk has attacked Berserk with Bloodrush! GS: Berserk takes a solid hit from Berserk's Bloodrush for 0 hit points! GS: Hyper, Quick, and Shield! Statuses applied to Berserk! GS: Kahm Yugh takes a solid hit from Berserk's TOO WEAK for 0 hit points! GS: Break and Slow! Statuses applied to Kahm Yugh!
<Pose Tracker> Rudy Roughnight has posed.
The young man just blinks as the woman they were supposed to take was seriously injured, as another one of their number had to run in order to protect the wounded. Roughnight glances back, to the bloodied victim, then toward Kahm as he speaks of the importance of this rod. Then Berserk talks of how it will bring back some person called Mother. That can't be good. Rudy takes a step forward to oppose, but then Berserk demonstrates his power, that he is so much better than the young man. Reflexively, Rudy takes a step back. What happens if history repeats itself? If others die because he can't cut it. He was supposed to be so strong, but what is the point of strength if it cannot overcome?
Then it happens, Rudy just seems to steel himself. Kahm will soon find that Rudy is moving beside him. "We'll do this. We have to." And with that, Rudy rushes forward, changing the cartridges for what might be a final attack. Maybe it's because Rudy has a certain energizing encouragement with that calm and gentle nature of his. Maybe it's because Kahm is reminded some other important person in his life that encouraged him. Or maybe it's just because he doesn't want to be shown up by some backwater kid who can't even wear a decent pair of jeans that urges him to not be shown up. Whatever the case, Yugh might find that Rudy has somehow directly or indirectly pushed him yet again to fight on.
As for Rudy himself. He will attempt to jump up and leap in front of Berserk. "I can't let you go if it means you'll be hurting my friends. I'll keep fighting you until they're safe!" With that the Hand Cannon attempts to lodge itself point blank into the face of the Quarter Knight (trying to aim where Gwen struck), even as the hand shakes and the fear steels away at Rudy's resolve. But in spite of the fear, he digs his feet in and pulls the trigger of a powerful round that is supposed to be in something like a sniper rifle not a pistol.
GS: Rudy Roughnight used Mystic on Kahm Yugh! 100 Temporary HP gained! All statuses cleared! GS: Rudy Roughnight has activated a Force Action! GS: Rudy Roughnight has attacked Berserk with Snipe Bullet! GS: Rudy Roughnight has completed his action. GS: Berserk takes a glancing hit from Rudy Roughnight's Snipe Bullet for 100 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Berserk loses interest, which proves a mercy to Rosaline and Sofie. She drags the Baskar into the alley where she was just a moment ago, incanting a prayer to make sure she'll be on her feet soon enough.
And with that taken care of, she peeks around the corner to find Berserk... letting the others hit him?
She rushes up to join them, unsure of what to do. She can't summon that Guardian again. She can't. Her magic simply isn't good at inflicting harm otherwise. She almost wishes she could somehow work herself up into... that... state, but it doesn't work that way, does it? And so...
Instead, she can only rush in and provide covering fire for the rest.
But Berserk's aura is palpable, fundamentally upsetting to bathe in. Rosaline grits her teeth and realizes, even only in this mild pain, that slipping away might actually be
surprisingly
easy
"YOU FAT, OVERCOMPENSATING PIG!" Rosaline shrieks, leaping in the air, guns blazing, in an arc that sends her flying right at Berserk's enormous face. She then latches on with her claws as best as she can, like a woman possessed--
Her gloves lie on the nearby ground, discarded.
--and once her clips are empty, she rembembers that there might still be a few Impact Bombs in her bag since the Garmia Tower. You know, those red, explosive orbs Elena wears as decorations? Those.
She takes two out with her free hand, and attempts to shove them right into the Quarter Knight's maw.
"I'M A CATWOMAN, YOU CHILDISH ****ING MORON!" she explains.
Now, let's all just hope Berserk takes it in good humor, or else she might be having a terrible time in just a moment.
DC: Rosaline Calice switches forms to The Wrath!
GS: Rosaline Calice has attacked Berserk with One Woman Apocalypse! GS: Rosaline Calice has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Kahm Yugh has posed.
Once losers, ALWAYS LOSERS!
Managing to pierce Berserk's body was a short-lived victory as Kahm felt himself flung free, sword in hand, with an effortless throw of the quarter knight's arm. Ever nimble he managed to backflip in the air and land in a crouch some fifteen feet away from the rest of the group as they tried to assail the massive opponent while he...well, walked. Strolled, even.
The temerity of this being still nagged at him, but discipline remained yet king in the Solarian's psyche, and were loss seemed imminent he identified opportunity as well.
It was quick, while Gwen lone-fisted action and Berserk's conceited challenge demanded everyone's attention, but Kahm scrawled something on a piece of paper from his jacket, folding it into his pocket just as Rudy came alongside him.
He knew nothing of this young man. Not who he was, where he was from, or where he was going. His sentiment, however, was something the Solarian could recognize.
"Show me what you can do." He said.
Rudy takes the bull by the horns, and Kahm falls into a honed stance, his blade held back with both hands. It glows, then it burns, so brightly that it becomes akin to a second sun, maintaining composure even in the face of Rosaline's complete breakdown. Then, in a motion as fluid as water, Kahm moves.
The strike was a lone, pure, and uncompromising. For a moment, the world was white.
Kahm, now somewhere by Gwen, slowly turned to face the Quarter Knight behind him.
GS: Kahm Yugh has attacked Berserk with Terminus Est! GS: Kahm Yugh has completed his action. GS: Berserk takes a glancing hit from Rosaline Calice's One Woman Apocalypse for 79 hit points! GS: Berserk takes a glancing hit from Kahm Yugh's Terminus Est for 171 hit points! GS: Berserk enters CONDITION GREEN!!
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
A wide smile paints Gwen's lips, heady satisfaction and the feel of exerting control with satisfying violence muffling the usual threads of caution and concern that she used to draw a line between her actions and... certain others. All it takes is one moment and the memory of Janus's cocky smile for Gwen to remember herself and wipe her own smirk off with an awkward cough.
Gwen's restraint is likely lost in the wake of Rosaline's righteous vengeance. Gwen lets out an appreciative whistle, her left hand scratching through the ruffled, dusty curls of her hair. "Didn't realize you had such a-"
*shiiiiing*
Gwen's praise is cut by Kahm standing nearby, the sun that is his blade cutting the world in front of her in twain. A heartbeat passes, and Gwen chances a glance towards the private investigator.
Her lips purse, as if about to vocalize a trailing thought.
The courier clenches the Mockingbird instead, calling on the forces generated by the coils within, as well as the well of energy of her own human body. All condenses together, cackling pyrite gold in color as she points her right ARM straight at Berserk.
She winks at the Hyadean. "C'mon, gimme a big smile. We ain't done yet."
The beam of energy blasts put of her palm, the recoil planting Gwen against the ground with a cloud of dust.
GS: Gwen Whitlock has attacked Berserk with Corona Discharge! GS: Gwen Whitlock has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Berserk takes a glancing hit from Gwen Whitlock's Corona Discharge for 78 hit points! GS: Disrupt and Jam! Statuses applied to Berserk!
<Pose Tracker> Berserk has posed.
And just as promised?
Quarter Knight Berserk does not move. Does not budge an inch. Does not even try to -defend- himself save to shield that Sealing Rod from harm. No.
He takes -everything- they can throw at him.
The first comes in the form of Rudy Roughnight, eternal annoyance to the Metal Demon commander. Berserk sneers at the sight of the much smaller, blue-haired Drifter, a loud guffaw issuing from somewhere deep within his throat. "Yeah? C'mon then, you annoying little shit! Show me what you've got! I don't have all day--"
The ARM of the young Drifter -jams- into his jaw. EXPLODES with enough blistering force to -knock- the Quarter Knight backwards. His mouth gaping, the gunsmoke obscures his features, obscures the damage done. But if he has anything else left to say...
... it never manages to materialize before Rosaline introduces him to her repressed fury first-hand. The shrieking none leaps past, ammo unloading into Berserk as it ricochets and sheers off armor to reach the incredibly dense, living metal flesh beneath. She pierces past the veil of heat and smoke, and -shoves- explosives into that opened, incredibly sharp maw.
And she might hear the disquieting sound of the Quarter Knight -swallowing them- before she dislodges, the explosion muffled by the depths of whatever amounts for his insides as his entire body trembles from the kinetic force rippling itself through his body.
His maw is whispering thick lines of vapor as he wheels backwards, now... and suddenly comes to a stop when Kahm Yugh blitzes past within less time than it takes to blink an eye. One pure, singular, white hot strike drives through the midsection of the Quarter Knight. Burning so bright it melts through armor and carves a deeper wound through Berserk's torso, managing to reach the melting point of his body before instantly cauterizing that wound. He lets out a sound, choked, that is hard to decipher. A snarl? A laugh? A pained roar, aborted?
C'mon, gimme a big smile.
The answer might receive only one singular hint as Berserk's smoking body lurches forward...
... and he presents Gwen with a leering, ominous smile seconds before her cannonade of energy blinds the night skies.
Pure energy ripples, consuming everything in its path. It engulfs even the massive Berserk for a brief flicker of a moment, burning, scorching, searing away at him. Slowly, it all begins to ebb away...
... and there stands Berserk, Sealing Rod protected against his body like a precious cargo. Immense frame smoldering with heated damage and dangerous red vapors, bent forward in a semi-crouched position...
... but standing.
Standing, as he slowly turns his head towards the right, and belches explosive smoke into the air.
"... Heh. You annoying little shits."
Amusement and annoyance entwine as Berserk rises up to his full, intimidating height. That red aura around him flares, like evaporating moisture from a heat-soaked body. The Quarter Knight is practically -glowing-, superheated by all their attacks, all the damage they've caused him.
"STILL."
His hand holding his wrecking ball lifts, high into the air.
"NOT!"
Draws it back as he tenses, his prodigious strength coiling at metal musculature.
"ENOUGH!!"
And with one, tremendous SWING, Berserk HAMMERS that mace into the ground so violently that EVERYTHING around him shudders. Like an earthquake in miniature, the world depresses around him, fissuring, splitting, as violent shockwaves threaten to engulf all four of the Drifters and the portions of the town too close.
He hits again. And again. And AGAIN. Buildings shudder, start to partially collapse. The only reassurance is that, this close to the battle, they've probably been evacuated.
And he keeps battering the earth like a Titan throwing a tantrum until everything is a haze of ruin around him that threatens to devour all within the devastation.
And when he's done, when he rises again?
That Metal Beast descends as if on cue for him to mount, to let him rise into the sky with the Sealing Rod in hand.
"Better hope you survive that, meatbags," he sneers, condescending to the last. Condescending, but also... angry. That?
That -hurt-. And he will not stand for it.
"Because I'm still hoping I can milk some fun out of you pieces of trash yet!! GA HA HA!"
He'll make them all pay.
GS: Berserk has activated a Force Action! GS: Berserk has attacked Kahm Yugh with I'm Gonna Wreck It! GS: Berserk has attacked Rudy Roughnight with I'm Gonna Wreck It! GS: Berserk has attacked Gwen Whitlock with I'm Gonna Wreck It! GS: Berserk has attacked Rosaline Calice with I'm Gonna Wreck It! GS: CRITICAL! Rudy Roughnight critically Guards a hit from Berserk's I'm Gonna Wreck It for 83 hit points! GS: CRITICAL! Kahm Yugh takes a solid hit from Berserk's I'm Gonna Wreck It for 369 hit points! GS: CRITICAL! Gwen Whitlock takes a solid hit from Berserk's I'm Gonna Wreck It for 367 hit points! GS: Gwen Whitlock has Fallen! She is no longer able to fight! GS: Rosaline Calice takes a solid hit from Berserk's I'm Gonna Wreck It for 248 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Rosaline Calice has posed.
Rosaline's adrenalin-fueled gambit pays off. Once she lets go, she puts some distance between the Metal Demon and herself, reloading her ARM for another volley. The part of her that understands what they were trying to accomplish her is indisposed right now.
She does understand that they managed to make Berserk genuinely mad, and she finds a satisfaction in this that she rarely did before.
Of course, this is before she gets flailed to a pulp.
There's a not insignificant amount of luck involved in her survival. She remains unconscious for a moment, but when she comes to, she's in pain, her allies are injured and her surroundings are at least partly in ruins.
The former two problems she can fix, at least. The latter... will take more time.
DC: Rosaline Calice switches forms to The Timid Nun!
<Pose Tracker> Kahm Yugh has posed.
Kahm turns to face Berserk, and finds that the Quarter Knight still stands. Injured, worn, haggard, and victorious.
Also: angry.
The demon's fury shakes the earth again, again, and again. Each time is like a blow across Kahm's own body, each wearing him down further until he was brought to his knees, and summarily blown off of them by the final quake. Debris and tremors had likely cracked a few ribs, and worsened his still-bleeding wound at his side.
He managed to barely rise, his cloudy vision straightening just in time to see the metal beast flying around. The failure to secure the wand tasted like copper in the back of his mouth.
Kahm leaned to his side, and spat out blood, hacking against a contrasting sense of satisfaction.
Sometimes, misdirection was everything.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
With each wave, more of the already forlorn storefronts and nearby residences crumble to the ground. Some collapse inwards, sparing the Drifters outside.
Some... don't do that at all. And Gwen, still on her back from the powerful recoil of her ARM, finds herself in a very tight spot. With a single, percussive swear, the courier scrambles backwards from the expanding shadow of the falling, boarded up storefront, before finally throwing her ARM up as a shield against the falling debris.
She knew that staying in Little Twister would bury her, but she didn't think it'd be *literally*.
Moments pass, and as the dust settles, a metal hand emerges from the wreckage, its owner slowly and painfully pulling herself out.
But only so far. Just a head, and the metal expanse of her audibly distressed sparking ARM, as if she were stuck.
The orphanage. The Ethos church. Are they still okay? Were they far enough? Gwen swivels back, her eyes looking for the white walls of the building.
It's still standing.
She lets out a sigh of relief, consciousness threatening to flee her. "One of you guys." Gwen presses her lips into a pained line, embarrassment coloring her face as much as ache of her, thankfully, unbroken body. "Need a cover. Or... somethin'. Please." One embarrassed plea for a cover, before darkness descends, rescuing her from any need for explanation, as well as the shame of failing to recover the staff.
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
With each wave, more of the already forlorn storefronts and nearby residences crumble to the ground. Some collapse inwards, sparing the Drifters outside.
Some... don't do that at all. And Gwen, still on her back from the powerful recoil of her ARM, finds herself in a very tight spot. With a single, percussive swear, the courier scrambles backwards from the expanding shadow of the falling, boarded up storefront, before finally throwing her ARM up as a shield against the falling debris.
She knew that staying in Little Twister would bury her, but she didn't think it'd be *literally*.
Moments pass, and as the dust settles, a metal hand emerges from the wreckage, its owner slowly and painfully pulling herself out.
But only so far. Just a head, and the metal expanse of her audibly distressed sparking ARM, as if she were stuck.
The orphanage. The Ethos church. Are they still okay? Were they far enough? Gwen swivels back, her eyes looking for the white walls of the building.
It's still standing.
She lets out a sigh of relief, consciousness threatening to flee her. "One of you guys." Gwen presses her lips into a pained line, embarrassment coloring her face as much as ache of her, thankfully, unbroken body. "Need a cover. Or... somethin'. Please." One embarrassed plea for a cover, before darkness descends, rescuing her from any need for explanation, as well as the shame of failing to recover the staff.
<Pose Tracker> Rudy Roughnight has posed.
Rudy gives his all. It isn't enough.
The Quarter Knight unleashes his rage, sending the blue haired boy flying through the air. Crashing through the door of a rundown office building, Rudy can only get to his feet slowly before he watches as the whole place comes down on him. Thankfully, he is able to leap under a table in time as the place comes down, which takes the brunt of the damage.
After a minute or so, Rudy is able to dig himself out from the wreckage, looking around with a small frown. "Anyone need help?" he calls out weakly, pulling out some heal berries. While it's no Adlehyde, Roughnight clearly feels response for the amount of damage done here this night. First he'll move to Kahm, handing him a few before moving on toward Rosaline and Gwen, offering to them if they have the strength, attempting to use restorative items to get them at least conscious if possible.
Insane amounts of items, one of the few perks of being out and hunting in the wastes.
<Pose Tracker> Kahm Yugh has posed.
Kahm will take a berry or too, but refuses further. With Gwen down, he'll retrieve a saddle blanket from the nearby Gulliver and throw it over the woman as request. He figures he owes her that much.
"Mind the civilians." He suggests to Rosaline and Rudy. "They're no doubt shaken, and rumors are going to fly fast."