|
Post by Emirate Xaaron on Aug 4, 2010 20:45:08 GMT -5
...huh, so what was the point of all that, then? Emirate Xaaron shrugs and explains, "The drains are all closed now, and with the console wrecked, they won't be able to get the drains back open fast enough. Now, I just need to lure out-"
He's running up the soapy staircase very carefully, using the handrail, and as soon as he's up-
"-Trannis!?"
The mighty Decepticon warlord grabs Emirate Xaaron by the neck, his whole body twisted in an expression off dark glee. He booms, "You should have died with the rest of the relics in that miserable Council, but today, I rectify the mistake that is your life."
|
|
|
Post by Gertrude Huldon/Guzzle on Aug 5, 2010 8:09:58 GMT -5
Oh hey, big Deception warlord. Guzzle didn't see that one coming.
Guzzle's first instinct is to drop down, transform and let Trannis eat an energo-shell, but he realizes that as soon as he drops himself to transform, he'll just slip down the soapy staircase. He has to try something else then, preferably before Trannis rips Xaaron's head off...
...Well hello there, hissing pipework that just happens to be right above Trannis' head.
Guzzle takes aim and fires and hopefully the warlord will either get a face full of steam, or perhaps even some molten slag if he's lucky.
|
|
|
Post by Emirate Xaaron on Aug 5, 2010 16:33:56 GMT -5
Emirate Xaaron scrambles, trying to tug on Trannis's hand that is clenched around his neck, but the gesture is futile, as are the kicks he aims at Trannis's chest - he dents his feet but doesn't even chip Trannis's paint.
Then a deluge of lava empties on Trannis's head. The warlord does not let go of Emirate Xaaron so much as he flings him. Emirate Xaaron just barely manages to catch onto the edge of the smelting pool, and he struggles, trying to pull himself up.
Trannis turns his ruined visage to Guzzle, laughing deeply, and he advances on Guzzle, apparently intent on grabbing him to tear him apart. "Do you think your Emirate will care when you die, little Minibot?"
|
|
|
Post by Gertrude Huldon/Guzzle on Aug 5, 2010 17:27:17 GMT -5
Trannis is not screaming and melting. This could be a problem. What's an even bigger problem though, is that he has a big, angry warlord coming for him, and while he may have been pulled before Overlord managed to get his hands on him, he still knows that the smartest option is to run. But he can't even do THAT, because of the soapy staircase and the drains that could blow any minute now!
...Wait, what did Trannis just call him?
"Minibot? MINIBOT!?" Guzzle practically roars, but instead of unloading the Judge on Trannis, he turns around and leans forward as far as he can, unknowingly 'mooning' the warlord...And fires his cannon at the stairs below him. The sheer force of the blast sends him flying straight towards Trannis, debris of the staircase and some pipework following him as he shouts, but for once it's not incoherent...
"I AM A WRECKER!"
|
|
|
Post by Emirate Xaaron on Aug 6, 2010 10:44:13 GMT -5
Note to self: stop calling Guzzle a Sparkler Mini-Bot. Addendum: don't tell Impactor not to call Guzzle a Sparkler Mini-Bot. Impactor always learns best when he learns violently.
Emirate Xaaron struggles to pull himself up over the side while Guzzle does something out of A-Team.
Trannis proves himself a man not to be moved, taking one step back and grunting as Guzzle hits him, but remaining untoppled. Not seeming to understand that he shouldn't taunt the badger, he sneers, "What, has your gilded buffoon run out of Jumpstarters?" and reaches for Guzzle again.
|
|
|
Post by Gertrude Huldon/Guzzle on Aug 6, 2010 11:12:40 GMT -5
Well, it is something out of the A-Team. Not because of the flying tank, but because Guzzle doesn't have a plan B. Trannis was kind of supposed to get knocked down there. Guzzle groans as he climbs to his feet, just in time to get out of the way of Trannis' attempt to grab him. He has to think of something fast though, or Trannis will re-enact the opening of the last issue of a certain comic!
'What the hell is a Jumpstarter?' Guzzle briefly ponders this as he opens fire on Trannis, hoping to slow him down while he backs up (and maybe take out an optic or two, that'd help). But the guy may as well be bullet proof! So instead Guzzle fires at another pipe that runs above Trannis head and makes a break for it, hoping that it'll give the warlord another slag shower; that should slow him down at least. //Xaaron, any tips on how to take this fragger down?//
|
|
|
Post by Emirate Xaaron on Aug 6, 2010 17:24:52 GMT -5
Some of the bullets actually bounce off Trannis. A few lodge in his armour. None seem to go deep, and he mostly just seems mildly annoyed by the attack.
The burst pipe does more damage to him, melting splotches of his armour and fusing some of his joints. He howls out in pain and fires his cannon indiscriminately, making a right mess of things.
Emirate Xaaron finally hauls himself over the edge and explains, //Ah, well, a complete Wrecker team has been known to do the trick, but unless you have Topspin, Twin Twist, Roadbuster, Whirl, Impactor, and Rack and Ruin hiding behind you...// It might seem odd to Guzzle that he doesn't mention the Triple-Changers, but they weren't around back then. //I really was hoping that the Decepticon assassins would kill him first. Bother.//
He pitches his voice louder and calls, "Oh, Trannis! Your factory made off-brand models!"
Okay, Emirate Xaaron has Trannis's attention now. Great.
|
|
|
Post by Gertrude Huldon/Guzzle on Aug 6, 2010 19:09:52 GMT -5
Aaaah, good old hot molten slag. It never fails to disappoint. It gives Guzzle enough time to reload the Judge, putting his last frag rounds in. Thanks to Xaaron he even gets a chance to aim, the laser sight of the Judge dancing over the warlord's back, but he realizes in time that it may not work. So he does the next best thing: Aim at Trannis' legs before opening fire, hoping to cripple the Decepticon. //Sir, I think it's high time we got out of here!//
|
|
|
Post by Emirate Xaaron on Aug 7, 2010 10:19:55 GMT -5
Trannis doesn't seem to dance very well.
Emirate Xaaron admits grudgingly, //I... yes, you have a point. Let us be away.// He's used to Wreckers who don't do suicide missions, after all.
He starts to leg it back toward the walkway, so he can get back to the scaffolding, climb the rope, and get into the ducts. This will take a while, though, and...
...oh slag, Dirge is in the way. The conehead looks more focused on Trannis, though, and intones, "Trannis! If death is the cessation of action, you are long dead, a hollow, lifeless shell. Allow me to educate you on the reality of your situation."
|
|
|
Post by Gertrude Huldon/Guzzle on Aug 7, 2010 20:41:46 GMT -5
The missions that Guzzle usually signs up for are considered suicide missions by most. But he's just too damn good to die.
If Guzzle had a tongue, he would be sticking it out at Trannis right now and go 'pllllbrrrfffft!'. But instead he laughs and runs after Xaaron, yelling "Stick around, party's gonna get even hotter!" as he climbs up after the Emirate.
Then oh no! A wild poetic Seeker has appeared! Guzzle just stares at the conehead as he yaps on. But then he Optic Twitch of Doom starts, Guzzle's hold on the scaffolding tightening before he finally snaps, whipping out the Judge, reloading it as quick as he can and firing wildly at the gloomboy. "What is it with you bots and always TALKING!? WORDS ARE WORDS, NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU TRY TO MAKE THEM SOUND PRETTY!"
|
|
|
Post by Emirate Xaaron on Aug 7, 2010 20:57:12 GMT -5
Emirate Xaaron has to take one hand off the scaffolding that he just grabbed to hold his face. Hoooboy. Dirge is bad enough, but then Guzzle...
Emirate Xaaron twitches and mutters lowly, "Words are my greatest weapon." Now, if he was just an unarmed civilian, that wouldn't be saying much.
But he's a Tarnish Industries light tank, if Guzzle wants to compare bore size someday.
He reaches down and tries to yank Guzzle up, snapping, "Would you just get going before Dirge-"
...before Dirge transforms, buzzes past them, and engages those fear jets of his?
|
|
|
Post by Gertrude Huldon/Guzzle on Aug 7, 2010 21:22:16 GMT -5
Oh please, like he's scared of an annoying, cowardly flier. Guzzle will just aim at Dirge's wings and-
Cold, paralyzing fear takes a firm hold of the Minibots' mind as he suffers the worst of the fear jet's attack. His optics go wide as he feels every circuit in his body tingling, making him firmly grasp the scaffolding and cling closely to it, unwilling to let go. He tries to shake it off, but it's like trying to swim out of a body of ice cold, pitch black water without knowing what up and down is. But then he remembers that this is all merely a simulation, he can get out of this, be safe again, if he just says-
NO.
A frustrated sound escapes Guzzle's vocalizer before he forces himself to concentrate, to look at the Judge, the gun that has always kept him safe. He ejects the empty frag clip and replaces it with something that will guarantee that the fear stops. With manic optics, Guzzle looks at Dirge and aims at his general direction, waiting for that 'beep!' before pressing the trigger, only once...
|
|
|
Post by Emirate Xaaron on Aug 7, 2010 21:53:21 GMT -5
Fear washes over Emirate Xaaron, and he feels like he's drowning under a cold tide of energon, a bloodied battlefield drenched by the slain. He's sinking into the mire, and he's never going to get his boots free. There's just no point to even trying; no point to anything at all. His grip on the scaffold starts to slip.
Despite Dirge's agility, the bullet seems to follow him somehow and pierces through his cone armour. Dirge drops and crashes into the smelting pools, instantly dead.
What the?
Emirate Xaaron's grip on the scaffold tightens, though he still feels cold, like he'll never be warm again, and numbly, mechanically, he reaches for the next rung on the scaffold, forcing himself to at least do that much.
|
|
|
Post by Gertrude Huldon/Guzzle on Aug 9, 2010 9:40:33 GMT -5
When Dirge goes down thanks to the Ironfist Special, so does the effects of his fear jets, leaving Guzzle panting and clinging to the scaffolding as he recovers from the effects. It's a good thing Dirge is already dead, as well; Guzzle would have loved to rip the conehead several new ones for violating his mind like that.
"F-Fragging cons..." He cycles his vents one last time before looking up at Xaaron, who seems to be having difficulties recovering. "SIR! Snap out of it! We gotta move before that walking pile of slag down there gets up again!"
|
|
|
Post by Emirate Xaaron on Aug 9, 2010 12:16:04 GMT -5
Emirate Xaaron is usually the one snapping people out of fear, not the one needing to be snapped out of fear himself! The strangeness of the situation is not lost on him, it's a weak wry grin that he looks down at Guzzle with when the Sparkler Mini-Bot]s Wrecker's words bring him back to himself. He nods sharply, "Right," and get back to moving, reaching for that rope.
He doesn't yet think to ask what happened to Dirge, instead focusing on shimmying up the rope.
Trannis is getting back up, but hot on Dirge's thrust heels, there's Ramjet trying to knock Trannis back down.
|
|