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Post by Sable Conolly on Jan 23, 2008 10:17:28 GMT -5
Dead End was aiming at a moving target while he himself was moving that had been alerted and was transforming by that point. What does Dead End expect? He doesn't have Perceptor's aim.
It's quaint, almost charming, how Dead End expresses his dissatisfaction. Scourge takes a shot directly to his hip joint, and Scourge slumps slightly, almost buckling. A pained widening of his optics is the only sign he felt anything, and he re-balances, putting his weight down onto his good leg. Dead End's firepower may only be modest, but directly applied to even an armoured joint, Scourge ends up feeling it. He could probably walk on the injury, if he's careful. Scourge is not careful. He will fight on the injury.
Scourge reaches down, grabbing for Dead End's good hand with one hand and the accompanying elbow with the other. If he connects, he simply pulls as hard as he can in separate directions. If he doesn't connect, he at least tries to bat Dead End's gun away. He observes, "You escaped. How handy of you."
It really is impressive, just how far Dead End will go to resist, even to the extent of battering off one of his own hands, how defiant he is even in the face of utter annihilation. Impressive, but useless.
Scourge does not have time to retie Dead End more securely, although he'll remember this in case he has to ever tie Dead End up again and bind him at the elbows as well as the wrists, in that hypothetical eventuality. Dead End doesn't need his hands for his car mode, and he seems to be able to fight plenty well in it.
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Dead End
Major
Yes, we're all doomed. I already knew that.
Posts: 797
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Post by Dead End on Jan 23, 2008 12:48:29 GMT -5
At Scourge's stagger, Dead End smiled behind the mask. Now Scourge knew that Dead End could fight, not just drive creatively. Unfortunately, Scourge did seem to share a temper with Motormaster. This was going to hurt.
Scourge managed to grab Dead End's good arm and hand, though not before Dead End squeezed the trigger again as his gun hand was jerked around. The shot went somewhere. Then Scourge went Motormaster on him.
It hurt a lot.
An involuntary scream of pain escaped Dead End before being cut off; he dropped to his knees, weakly holding his torn and twisted upper arm against his side. Sparks from a burned-out forcefield generator crawled over the shredded metal ends of his elbow joint. He shook his head and tried to stagger to his feet. No sardonic quips about futiility and the damage to his finish now; he was too busy trying to stay functional.
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Post by Sable Conolly on Jan 23, 2008 19:11:58 GMT -5
Scourge was aware that Dead End could fight without acquiring a painful limp. The second shot lands a bit above his hip, where it hurts, but it doesn't do much to disable Scourge. In the long run, that kind of injury could cause problems, but Scourge isn't one to consider the long term until the short term has been properly handled. Now, Dead End is missing his hands in some weird Decepticon interpretation of Titus Andronicus. Scourge has never severed someone's hand before. Technically, he still hasn't, this being a simulation. It's an interesting feeling, nonetheless.
Scourge checks over the cord binding Dead End's feet to see that, at least, is still holding. He then tromps over to the flag, clearly limping. He looks as if he would like to sprint, since it clattered a good distance away, but when he tries, he's wobbly. Given that Dead End is still tied to the back of one of Scourge's legs, this is golden opportunity for Dead End to try to trip Scourge or, more nefariously, make a ball-and-chain joke.
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Dead End
Major
Yes, we're all doomed. I already knew that.
Posts: 797
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Post by Dead End on Jan 23, 2008 22:48:05 GMT -5
Dead End did not make a ball-and-chain joke; it belongs to a genre of human pop culture he had little use for. His idea of wit and humor was much drier and darker. Right then, he wasn't feeling humorously inspired.
He would have liked the Titus Andronicus comparison, though.
Dead End considers tripping Scourge and what it would gain him: a short delay--where in the imaginary world was Starscream?--and an even angrier Scourge. He'd probably goad Scourge into chopping him in half with that big red sword of his. On the other hand, once he dragged Dead End back to his base as a mostly useless prisoner, Dead End would be miraculously lucky not to be turned into spare parts. On the gripping hand... it would look a lot better to observers if he tried to delay Scourge. Play to the audience that would probably be briefing Starscream on everyone's performance.
Dead End hitched his legs up and swung them up and over left, trying to catch Scourge's feet in a loop...
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Post by Sable Conolly on Jan 24, 2008 10:35:29 GMT -5
The cord attached to Scourge's back leg suddenly jerks. Any good day, Scourge would viciously win against Dead End in a game of tug of war. This is not a good day for Scourge. His bad leg buckles, and he is deposited unceremoniously on the ground mere feet away from the flag. A singularly irritated bellow issues from Scourge.
Just as she stoops to conquer, Scourge literally crawls the last distance to snatch up the flag. He then rolls on to his back, sits up, and glares over at Dead End. First, though, he needs to sort out the tangled mess that are his legs.
After a bit of working on that, he withdraws his plasma gun, and he pops off a shot at Dead End's head or, failing that, any part of Dead End that isn't his feet. He knows it won't do anything, but now, he feels better.
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Dead End
Major
Yes, we're all doomed. I already knew that.
Posts: 797
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Post by Dead End on Jan 24, 2008 18:04:40 GMT -5
Scourge's aim seems just fine when he's standing still; the plasma bolt splashed off Dead End's head. Dead End flinched slightly at the dazzle in his optics. He may have still been shielded from the main force of the blast, but the brightness of it forced his protective visor to work overtime.
Fine, he was tied up so he couldn't run, overzealously disarmed, and generally helpless. Dead End sulked. Fighting back any more was a pointless waste of time; apparently Starscream and Sell-sword had better things to do than rescue their own flag. Not that, in the big picture, Capture the Flag games meant as much as a random scrap of leaf mold under his tires. In fact, the leaf mold meant a bit more--it was the very essence of decay and entropy and about what they'd all turn into.
Fine. Let Scourge drag him off and make a trophy of him. Dead End no longer cared. He'd done his part, and he didn't even have Breakdown to worry over him as consolation, and he couldn't expect Wildrider to barge into his quarters and try to cheer him up in some insane fashion like he always did if Dead End tried to go into one of his multi-week funks.
He rather expected one of those would start Real Soon Now.
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Post by Sable Conolly on Jan 26, 2008 0:21:24 GMT -5
Scourge settles on just ramming the flag down his injured smokestack, since Dead End leaking shot his rope. Of course, further tormenting an already injured body part is generally considered inadvisable. Scourge is a Decepticon repaint of Optimus Prime. There are a lot of inadvisable things about him.
He then rolls over, not bothering to stand, and transforms back to semi-truck form. Scourge then rolls out, heading back toward his territory with all due speed, taking the shortest route on the map.
Sigma, what a pair they make - Dead End with no hands, and Scourge with a busted hip. If this flag is fake, he's going to wax Dead End with lye.
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Dead End
Major
Yes, we're all doomed. I already knew that.
Posts: 797
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Post by Dead End on Jan 30, 2008 13:35:26 GMT -5
Dead End not only has no hands, he has an unshielded leg that's crippled and broken from being slammed into buildings. Only the bulk of the wheel and tire on his lower leg continued to protect it once Dead End stopped caring enough to maneuver... and the rubber is almost all peeled away now. His no-longer-shielded arm stump isn't going too well, either. Add to that getting his head bounced repeatedly on the pavement, and the rest of the drive back to Scourge's stronghold is more than a little torturous.
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Post by Sable Conolly on Jan 30, 2008 14:54:30 GMT -5
Scourge crosses the invisible line that separates the territories, and he slows to a halt over the span of a few city blocks. With a mutter of, "Scourge, transform," he does so, and he stands unevenly.
His stretches, pistons hissing, and he looks back at Dead End. Looks like he ran into his namesake, the Stunticon does. Scourge raises a hand up to the sky and says, to no one in particular, "A little confirmation would be nice."
Or not. Maybe the Mayhems intend to keep them in here forever. That would be vexing. Maybe they have to figure it out on their own. Scourge drops his arm.
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Post by Needlenose on Jan 30, 2008 23:01:55 GMT -5
Needlenose's voice can be heard throughout his simulated city. //Starscream's team has lost to Scourge's. That team is disbanded. Former members of his team may either leave the game, join another team of their choice, or go rogue.//
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Dead End
Major
Yes, we're all doomed. I already knew that.
Posts: 797
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Post by Dead End on Feb 1, 2008 0:20:00 GMT -5
"Are you happy yet? Can we stop with sand-blasting my finish the hard way?" Dead End asks in a bored tone.
Starscream's team lost, courtesy of Dead End not stopping Scourge from capturing the flag. Starscream was going to kill him when this exercise was over. Or the two Mayhems proctoring this exercise would decide he was traitor material and pre-emptively execute him. Or both at once.
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Post by Sable Conolly on Feb 1, 2008 9:25:31 GMT -5
Scourge remembers that he should untie Dead End from his leg before Dead End knocks him over again, grabs the flag, and beats him over the head with it. It doesn’t matter that Dead End has no hands. He's a Stunticon. He could do it. Scourge twists to get a better look at the back of his leg and unties the knot before taking up the rope in one hand.
His hip joint is feeling a bit stiff now, with the onset of quickly-made self-repairs – scar tissue, not as strong as proper repairs would be, and certainly not as flexible. Still, it'll work.
Scourge paces down alongside the rope and withdraws his sword. If Dead End had refused to play nice with him, Scourge would have suggested that Sky-Byte handle the Stunticon. The shark can fly. Also, he suspects the haiku would have disturbed Dead End on some level and thrown him off his game.
Hefting up his blade over Dead End, Scourge intones, "I can split you in half quicker than you can punch out of this game. So, will you die, defeated, or will you live a victor, Stunticon? By the Decepticon way, you only have one option here."
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Dead End
Major
Yes, we're all doomed. I already knew that.
Posts: 797
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Post by Dead End on Feb 1, 2008 13:07:41 GMT -5
"You're the large fellow with the sword, Scourge. I suppose I have to do what you say," Dead End said in an "oh bother, I suppose I shall have to get up from tea" tone of voice.
"Permission to transform, sir?"
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Post by Sable Conolly on Feb 1, 2008 18:23:32 GMT -5
And get Scourge a scone, too!
Scourge nods curly and replies, "You may. It would be a good idea. Any idea of the situation over there?"
Scourge gestures over toward Wreckage's territory. He has an idea of his own, of course, but he wants to know what Dead End is willing to say.
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Dead End
Major
Yes, we're all doomed. I already knew that.
Posts: 797
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Post by Dead End on Feb 1, 2008 18:57:16 GMT -5
Dead End rather painfully folds in on himself and slowly transforms. The hard part is forcing bent and twisted joints and panels to fit into their accustomed places, and the resulting Porsche is notably worse for the wear, particularly around the crushed rear fender. Dead End's underside also has more than a few dangling and sparking wires where his arms should have folded up neatly. Still, he can roll, and within moments, switches his radar back on and deploys his vehicular cannon.
"Actually, I've been rather preoccupied over here. Starscream still seems to be functional, though."
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