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Post by Emirate Xaaron on May 16, 2010 21:06:30 GMT -5
Most of Emirate Xaaron's age-related problems are not so much age-related as they are neglect-related, but that's a quibble for another time, like when Emirate Xaaron isn't grabbed by a rather furious-looking cuttlefish alien.
He tries to peel the tentacles off his grabbed arm with his free hand, but those suckers... those suckers have teeth as a quick flash of pain on his face shows.
Thusly, while being dragged off towards the stained altar mounted above and behind the pulpit, he says, calmer sounding than he really feels, "Uh, ah, just what do you have planned here, anyway, not that I can't guess, but see, I'm rather creative, and I'm wishing I wasn't, right now..."
The cuttlefish clergyman rasps, "No meat on you, but you'll at least make a fancy coating on truffles."
"Oh. Ah-hah. Heh," Emirate Xaaron replies. "You want to eat me. That's not the most inventive option I've heard, but..." and then his voice turns steely, "you're going to let me go, or I'm going to find out if you can regenerate lost limbs."
//Nonlethal, for now.//
The crowd does not seem to like Emirate Xaaron's threat at all, and before Emirate Xaaron's captor can even reply, it's a mob, going after all three Autobots.
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Post by Breakaway on May 16, 2010 21:27:15 GMT -5
"Roger that, sir. With extreme pleasure!" The jet throws a punch at the nearest cultist's face, then plants a knee in the groin of another. A third makes a grab for the tubes on his face and he just barely manages to fend the crazed being off. "Why do they always go for the fuel lines? We need some crowd control here!"
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Post by Prowl on May 17, 2010 18:46:52 GMT -5
Prowl has to restrain himself from sliding the two energy swords out of his armor on his wrists to start fighting. Instead he starts fending off cultists in the way that looks like it came right from a kung fu movie, minus the injury. Prowl is demonstrating an amazing amount of self restraint in that he doesn't actually seriously injure any of the approaching cultists.
He turns his head over, and looks almost worriedly at Xaaron's predicament. He then crouches down and leaps up, assisted by his jump jets, landing first on one foot on the pulpit and stepping down. A few more cultists rush him but Prowl easily sweeps his leg across the floor and knocks them all down before looking to Xaaron.
"Sir, this was not the most wisest of ideas to visit here at night," he declares.
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Post by Emirate Xaaron on May 18, 2010 20:49:50 GMT -5
The cultists are mostly just normal people - they work at banks or sandwich shops or whatnot. Breakaway and Prowl vastly outclass them in every way and can problem handle five at a time easily.
The main problem is there is really a lot of them.
And that Emirate Xaaron, the grabbed one, doesn't have combat training.
(He really should fix that.)
The cuttlefish clergyman slams Emirate Xaaron down on the altar. He tries to get up; he, really does, but he immediately feels sick. Really sick. His optics flicker crazily, and he croaks, "How many have died here?"
The cuttlefish leers back at him and sneers, raising a wavy knife high, above Emirate Xaaron's neck, "Not nearly enough."
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Post by Breakaway on May 18, 2010 23:32:22 GMT -5
Every circuit in Breakaway's processor is screaming at him to unload his gatling gun into the cuttlefish priest, or at least try to snipe the knife out of his tentacle. But he doesn't. Instead he points his gatling gun at the ceiling and fires a burst over the heads of the crowd, shouting "Everybody freeze NOW!" If that doesn't work then he'll have to go back to hitting people.
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Post by Prowl on May 19, 2010 12:33:22 GMT -5
There's that feeling again. If Xaaron is feeling it full force, Prowl can almost sense it because of that, and he immediately turns to see the Emirate pinned down. He narrows his optics and then decides that now is not the time for non-lethal force.
He flings three shuriken at the clergyman attempting to offline Xaaron. Then, two energy swords slide out of the armor on his wrists on each arm. He leaps forward in a quick, fluid motion and holds one sword at the clergyman's neck.
"I'd not move if I were you," the cyber-ninja says, a small smirk on his face as he speaks.
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Post by Emirate Xaaron on May 19, 2010 19:58:59 GMT -5
Breakaway probably can't pick up anything strange about the altar, but Prowl, being spiritually attuned, might well feel... nauseated if he were to touch it.
People have died there on that altar, but wrapped up in that death was something worse than death.
They were devoured, bodily, and...
About half the cultists do freeze when Breakway pulls a Gat. Perhaps a quarter show various states of panic, either run for the exits, attacking uselessly, or just flailing. About a quarter say something like, "That's not a Gat, this a Gat," and run off towards the church organ. Hmm, do those pipes look kind like... bazooka tubes?
But then some of those who hadn't froze do freeze when shuriken go whizzing by the cuttlefish clergyman and pin his robes down to the floor and Prowl holds a sword to the cuttlefish's general neck-like area.
Someone complains, "Who let a damn ninja in here?" "They're ninjas. They get in everywhere. Found one in my flour this morning." "That's ants." "It was a ninja ant!"
Emirate Xaaron shakes, feeling so very, very sick, fevered, even. There's a ringing in his audios and pounding just beneath that, hammering his head, like the screaming pistons of Formula racers. Fingers twitching, he croaks, "You gave him their souls." He static-coughs. "You fool."
The cuttlefish clergyman is just still, clearly not willing to put his life on the line, when a ninja's got a sword to his neck.
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Post by Breakaway on May 20, 2010 0:14:51 GMT -5
The altar doesn't make Breakaway queasy, but the thought of shooting at unarmed civilians might. When people start running toward the organ, he levels his gun at the instrument and fires, hopefully peppering it full of holes instead of kicking off a huge explosion. He's familiar with the concept of harmless-looking machines being more than meets the eye. The jetformer raises his voice and addresses the crowd. "The whole 'death' thing isn't so much fun when it's your life on the line, is it? Now why don't we all just calm down and we'll all live through this and go home to our loved ones."
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Post by Prowl on May 20, 2010 21:27:54 GMT -5
Prowl keeps his hand with the sword raised up steady. With his other hand, he reaches out to Xaaron in hopes of having him take his hand. If he does, he'll help him get up off the altar.
"Breakaway, do you need any assistance?" he calls out, glancing over at the other mech.
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Post by Emirate Xaaron on May 21, 2010 9:20:26 GMT -5
The organ is holed through, and the tubes reveal... yeah, the thing is loaded with explosives. There is a hissing noise, like a slow fuse burning, though nothing explodes immediately. They might want to get out of here soon!
Certainly, those who were making a break for the organ are now making a break for the exits, instead, someone shouting, "Home, that's right! I'm going! Think I left a pie in the oven." "You just said ninja ants got into your flour!" "The pie'll have a lot of protein in it, then!"
Reluctantly, the clergyman releases Xaaron, and he mutters darkly, "You know nothing, and yet you know that? No matter. Death will find even you, machine."
Shaking like a leaf, Emirate Xaaron reaches out, almost blindly, and finally clasps Prowl's hand, accepting the help up. He's trembling, and he'll probably need Prowl's support to keep standing. Emirate Xaaron grits out, "No. I think I'll find it instead. And maybe punch it. Hh-huk.... urgh..."
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Post by Breakaway on May 21, 2010 21:40:12 GMT -5
Everything succumbs to entropy eventually, even robots. That's why sane people don't try to hurry the process along.
"I'm fine Prowl, just cosmetic damage. You both okay?" Breakaway retracts his gun back into his wrist, and nods at the organ. "I think it's time we bug out, sir." Glancing back at the retreating cultists, he calls to the cuttlefish priest, "How big a bang is that going to make when it goes off? Do we need to evacuate the area?" Or maybe it'll just blow this freaky little temple sky-high. That would be a shame.
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Post by Prowl on May 21, 2010 22:26:55 GMT -5
"You won't be needing that," Prowl declares as he swipes the knife away from the cultist and throws it against a wall. It digs into the wall quite deeply and is difficult to pull out. He scowls over at the cultist and then pulls his sword away, only to kick him backwards, away from Xaaron and the altar. He doesn't seem to care what the cultist does, as he turns back to Xaaron.
Prowl does his best to shift his arm under Xaaron's shoulders. He shifts his weight a bit to the opposite side so Xaaron can try to walk. If he needs more help, Prowl will be quite glad to offer.
"We need to get out of here, now," he says and glances over at the organ. There are some odd noises coming from the organ which make Prowl look uneasy. He starts for the door, carrying Xaaron along with.
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Post by Emirate Xaaron on May 22, 2010 15:20:05 GMT -5
The cuttlefish priest is kicked into a wall, and despite being literally spineless, he looks like he dislocated something. Gathering himself up, something green oozing from wet, broken skin, he snaps at Breakaway, "Do we looks like madmen?" Hmm, on second though, maybe don't answer that. "They're only anti-personnel explosives." That said, he hobbles for the nearest exit, leaving a trail of glowing green behind him.
The church is almost eerily empty now, just a few final retreating cultists, the Autobots, and echoes.
Lots of echoes.
They sound like laughter, but it isn't really funny at all.
Emirate Xaaron leans rather heavily on Prowl, but he seems to be able to walk, if just barely. He murmurs, wryly understated, "Been better." Making a break for the door does sound like a brilliant plan, at this point.
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Post by Breakaway on May 22, 2010 22:38:38 GMT -5
"Roger that, let's get out of here." Breakaway moves to walk on Emirate Xaaron's other side in case he needs additional support. He calls after the retreating priest, "Yes, you do look like madmen. Good thing you've only got anti-personnel rounds in that thing. I mean, you wouldn't want anybody to get hurt." The jet mutters darkly to himself for a minute, then addresses the Emirate. "If we weren't so concerned with winning the sparks and processors of the locals, I'd bomb this place into a crater."
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Post by Prowl on May 23, 2010 11:29:35 GMT -5
Prowl's pace is a bit hurried, though he's doing his best to support Xaaron. He wants to get Xaaron out of there as soon as possible to find a place to recover. He won't tell anyone, but he also was rather disturbed and wants to find a quiet place to think things over.
The echoing 'laughter' is unnerving.
"There was a park nearby," Prowl says as he walks, "We could retreat to there to collect ourselves."
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