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Post by Sable Conolly on Jan 27, 2008 15:48:02 GMT -5
Scourge lets Duskwing unceremoniously drop. If Duskwing tries to make a break for it, Scourge will tackle him. It's rather simple. He does so love that Hook was good enough to provide them ceilings, walls, and floors. It really levels the playing field when flight won't get an opponent anywhere.
Scourge replies, somewhat irritated, "Duskwing, you do look like Starscream. Just like every other Seeker here. You both even have blue on you. That aside, I know how it is – you get an order handed down to you from an officer who thinks you're expendable, and he walks away with a spotless finish while you pay for his crime. Just be aware."
So he's setting up Duskwing to think that Sky-Byte will screw him over. It isn't a bad assumption!
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Duskwing
Major
"What the slag happened?"
Posts: 848
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Post by Duskwing on Jan 27, 2008 16:01:06 GMT -5
Duskwing catches himself and lands on his feet. It doesn't occur to him to make a break for it; after all, Scourge just wants to play a video game. Probably he's a bad player and a sore loser if he has to press-gang opponents.
"I look like Starscream? Dat's like saying you look like Optimus Prime! Our colors are totally different! Now, if you said I looked liked Skywarp or Skystrike, yeah, I can see dat," Duskwing says, nodding semi-thoughtfully. His optics narrow slightly at the rest of Scourge's comment, though he does not reply.
Duskwing has always been convinced that officers are out to screw him over.
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Post by Sable Conolly on Jan 27, 2008 17:37:55 GMT -5
Scourge comments absently, "You already said that I look like Optimus Prime. Skystrike has a different alternate mode, anyway. Her wings are more steeply swept, because they're inverted in jet form." He gestures, sketching it out in the air as he walks.
Yes, Scourge just said 'her'. He'd never seen a female Transformer before coming here, but the concept doesn't strike him as odd. He's heard of female AIs, and Sideburn's profile mentioned his love of red cars. Why not a female Transformer? Scourge isn't exactly sure what makes a female Transformer female, though. As far as he can tell, it comes down to what box they check in their profile. After all, he scanned a female human, and Scourge is decidedly male.
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Duskwing
Major
"What the slag happened?"
Posts: 848
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Post by Duskwing on Jan 27, 2008 17:55:50 GMT -5
Duskwing stops and gives Scourge a blank stare, then scowls. "That's different. Your colors aren't the same, just your shapes. You gotta pay attention to the colors. Screa--Starscream's are gray, wit' blue and red trim. Mine's dark blue, wit' da purple and gray bits. Skystrike's are blue wit... blue. Thundercracker's blue wit' red and white trim. See? It's the main wing color that counts, then the trim color lets you tell one blue guy from another."
Duskwing glances at the corridor after finishing the lecture. "We dere yet?"
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Post by Sable Conolly on Jan 27, 2008 18:54:47 GMT -5
Scourge listens along as Duskwing explains something that Scourge already figured out. He settles on pointing out, "I called you Duskwing, didn't I?"
He does not bother to point out that he actually looks quite a bit different than his own Optimus Prime. Scourge needs to stick with simple concepts, as far as Duskwing goes. He taps a keypad and enters into a relatively large, empty room. He checks to makes sure that Duskwing is following and answers, "Affirmative."
Scourge purposefully stalks over to the control console, looking around all corners of the room to see if anyone is in here.
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Duskwing
Major
"What the slag happened?"
Posts: 848
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Post by Duskwing on Jan 27, 2008 19:42:49 GMT -5
"Well, yeah, dat's my name," Duskwing replies. He scowls in confusion; he's lost track of whatever point it was he was trying to make. He looks around at the large empty room and scowls some more.
"So what are da rules of da game and where do we start?" he asks.
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Post by Sable Conolly on Jan 27, 2008 23:31:02 GMT -5
Ascertaining that no one is here, Scourge calls up the simulation that he picked out when he put up the duelling sign. The room shifts, and there are inside a Terran-style enclosed football field. The physics are normal, except that the ceiling, walls, and floor of the arena cannot be broken through or breached in any way.
Duskwing is stuck here with Scourge. How thrilling for him. Scourge gestures to the arena and explains, "Very simple. We duel. To the death or to concession?" He's so generous; he lets Duskwing have options. Scourge also inquires, "You are formatted with an Earth mode. Have you actually made it to Earth?"
Scourge then, without warning or preamble, withdraws his plasma gun and attempt to nail Duskwing in the cockpit. It isn't his most powerful weapon, but Scourge likes that he can use it without shouting. He doesn't think Duskwing will understand Scourge's predicament, there.
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Duskwing
Major
"What the slag happened?"
Posts: 848
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Post by Duskwing on Jan 27, 2008 23:54:28 GMT -5
It's an arena. A roofed arena. Duskwing was right; Scourge meant to screw him over. He'd probably find some other way to cheat and make sure Duskwing couldn't win. No wonder he had to press-gang players! Dirty cheating bastard.
"We duel. To the death.."
As soon as those words made it through Duskwing's processor, his optics snapped open wide and his boot thrusters cranked on, sending him up to the ceiling. He missed the rest of Scourge's questions. Fortunately, Scourge's plasma bolt missed him, too.
What he do to Hook, that Hook wanted this psycho to kill him? The console... was behind Scourge before this freaky arena appeared, which meant the door was probably over there. Probably locked, too, since Scourge set it up.
"You dirty rotten bastard!" Duskwing snarled. "So I'm just a grunt--ain't like Starscream got so many of us he can waste even one! Think the boss is gonna go easy on you if you kill off his boys? Slag you, truck-boy!"
Duskwing snapped both arm guns down and fired at full power--past Scourge at where he thought the console was. If he missed and hit Scourge, that was gravy.
His cluster bomb racks, those were for Scourge. He launched a brace of bombs straight towards Scourge's face.
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Post by Sable Conolly on Jan 28, 2008 10:21:57 GMT -5
Scourge is wearing purple symbols. Of course he cheats! Granted, all he's done is chosen his battlefield. It isn't as if he played with the physics to make Duskwing slower or his own armour better. Unless this Seeker is really special, he doesn't need to.
Exasperated, Scourge snaps, "What about 'simulation' do you not understand?" Probably that it contains three syllables, it occurs to Scourge. "'Simulation' means 'not real', you loopy jet! And don't you dare insult my lineage! I am Megatron's rightful creation!"
And Optimus Prime's and a random human lady's. So maybe he is one. It's still a touchy subject.
As soon as his shot goes stray, he starts moving and withdraws his sword with his other hand. He blocks the brunt of the cluster bombs with the flat of his blade and starts to race up the stairs of the arena, heading up to the nosebleed section. If Duskwing wants to play up near the ceiling, Scourge is going to have to jump, and it's easier if he jumps from a higher point than the bottom of the arena. About half way up the stairs, he half-turns just long enough to snap off another shot at the miss-clocked Seeker.
Nothing happens to the console. It's a solid light simulation.
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Duskwing
Major
"What the slag happened?"
Posts: 848
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Post by Duskwing on Jan 28, 2008 16:09:25 GMT -5
Duskwing ignores the distracting words; they're too much to process right now. He wishes he had the room to transform and maneuver, but he doesn't. The best he can do is stay out of arm's reach of his obviously powerful opponent and his big red sword. Duskwing jinks as Scourge fires at him, but still gets a wingtip singed by the shot.
"You slagging, mis-painted, cheap knock-off of da biggest loser ever!" Duskwing curses, and fires his arm lasers directly at Scourge's face, followed by another brace of cluster bombs toward his mid-section. Maybe if he gets lucky he'll hit the big black truck in the optics and blind him.
"You gonna cap yourself if you lose dis video game?" Duskwing tosses out another taunt. "Just like dat loser did?"
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Post by Sable Conolly on Jan 28, 2008 18:30:55 GMT -5
Scourge thuds up the steps to the top of the arena, and he starts to race around it, attempting to get a lead on Duskwing's position. He takes a shot to the face, which causes him to stumble, blinded for a moment while his optics recalibrate, and in that moment, he is below the cluster bombs. They impact into the wall behind. Jarred by the concussion wave from the explosion, Scourge recovers and snaps off a shot at Duskwing, hoping to force Duskwing into one direction. No sooner has his finger pulled the trigger than Scourge pushes off from the wall and leaps at Duskwing, attempting to lash him with the sword before gravity takes Scourge down.
Having heard the story from Needlenose, he roars, "No, that sort of stupidity I leave to you!"
Unless he cleanly cleaves Duskwing in half, takes off his boot jets, or otherwise brings the Seeker to ground, he's going to have to run back up the arena seats and do this all over again.
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Duskwing
Major
"What the slag happened?"
Posts: 848
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Post by Duskwing on Jan 28, 2008 18:49:15 GMT -5
Duskwing darts away from the shot--and finds a bad-tempered truck-former hurtling through the air toward him.
"Whoa, Nellie!" He flings his feet up and thrusts away from Scourge; the hot jet exhaust may wash over Scourge, but Scourge's sword definitely slices off the tip of Duskwing's right foot. "OWW! I hope youse's turbines come apart at max in the middle of a furball, you sump-pit guzzling turborat interfacer! Oh, dat's right, you ain't got turbines and youse can't fly. Suck it, ground-pounder!"
He chases the insults with a double-round of cluster bombs; Duskwing is too busy dodging and flailing in mid-air to line up shots with his arm guns and settles for spraying the arena in Scourge's general direction.
Duskwing had a sinking feeling somewhere behind his cockpit; Scourge was only momentarily blinded by a full-power shot to the face. Slag. Way too much armor; it really was like fighting Prime or Megatron. Primus help him if the truck hit him square on with that gun.
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Post by Sable Conolly on Jan 28, 2008 21:21:51 GMT -5
Scourge feels the heat, but he isn't about to get out of the kitchen. He snarls, tone dire, "The ground won't be the only thing getting pounded, here."
He lands, and he rocks the world. At least, he would, if anyone was standing nearby. The area around him is churned up by Duskwing's haphazard shots, and while Scourge evades some of it, some of it does hit. Yet, he doesn't look too worse for the wear. Some of the pitting is deep enough that it might need to be looked at, if this was real, but mostly, it's nothing a good buffing wouldn't handle.
Scourge sends two shots up after Duskwing, one for each of his feet. Then he vaults over the barrier and back up into the stands, leaving squashed seats behind him.
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Duskwing
Major
"What the slag happened?"
Posts: 848
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Post by Duskwing on Jan 28, 2008 22:00:28 GMT -5
Duskwing had just got himself stabilized from the last round of dodging--flying in robot mode on boot thrusters is a tricky balancing act, and far from the effortless cruise enjoyed by the likes of Starscream and Thundercracker with their lifters-- when Scourge shot him.
One double-plasma bolt narrowly missed his left boot--and took his left wing off at the root. The other plasma bolt nailed his right boot thruster square in the turbines-- and it exploded in a spray of disintegrating turbine blades scything through everything nearby...
Including Duskwing's left leg, neatly severing the fuel line to his still-functional left boot thruster.
"ARRGGGGHHHH!" Duskwing plummeted to the ground in flames and landed hard, crumpling many things that hadn't been shot or blasted before.
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Post by Sable Conolly on Jan 29, 2008 9:54:03 GMT -5
Scourge perhaps observes that Duskwing does not quite fly as the other Seekers do. Someone really does need to go through and benchmark which reality everyone calls home, which might account for these technology differences. With Duskwing, however, that might be something of a challenge. He seems to have trouble sorting out just what reality itself is. One of those Mayhems vetted him, however, so perhaps Scourge should ask said Mayhem.
Seeing his prey brought back down to ground, Scourge bounds back down the stands and takes a flying leap at Duskwing, aiming to land on the Seeker himself, hard. He did promise a pounding, did he not?
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