OOC: My character's name is Lena...haha

Anywho, I need to get my bearings a bit to figure out what to write.

OOC: *chuckles* I was never a Mod MoKat (though I did want to be one way back when). I was a law enforcer...but still just a forumer. 😛

OCC: Nani? Coulda sworn you were a Moderator back when the Piggy Armada invasion and other stuff was going on in the EZ-board Spam Protection Agency.

*shrugs*

Guess I'd better fix my post

...

And before those unfamiliar with Eliteboard ask, I was a Moderator -only- over at Eliteboard's S.P.A. (hence the bit about Mod powers malfunctioning).

Storywise, MoKat is only familiar with certain parts of HQ Tower and, therefore, cannot teleport into every room. She knows how to get from the entrance to Vector's lab, True Red's office, and the bathrooms. She has no clue about where the Figment Keys are or how they are protected. Obviously, she does know that they exist

*waits for the GM to continue*

OOC: Sorry for lack of reply, I kinda lost track of this myself. I answered the most recent questions in the GMDF discussiont thread.

IC: Vector's recovery gave him the ability to respond quickly. "The other Admins are at the top of the Tower in the conference room - they're barricaded in there, so they should be able to hold out a little. The Tower's defenses took out many of the attacking Frizonians, but I would estimate there are ten left, from what I remember seeing on the security cameras. As for the Figment Keys...fortunately, those are still safely secured in the sub-sub-basement of the Tower. The Frizonians may be as of yet entirely unaware of them, but if they capture the other Admins, they might try to interrogate them...and we mustn't allow that."

MoKat nodded. "Thanks, Vector. You can rest easy here now."

"One other thing." Vector adjusted his headphones. "There was only one icesteroid impact here in Sega City, but before we lost communications and satellite transmissions, the log reported that there were hundreds of impacts all over the planet. Once we get the Tower liberated, I will need time to look through and see if there is anything else I can discover about these alien invaders. But right now, the city's safety depends on those soldiers in the Tower being taken down before it's too late."

Jason stifled a yawn and spoke into his headset.
"Alright, make your move, Ari."
Arikyrenne, presently a cat yet, trotted past the two elite Frizonians stationed outside the Tower. She gave a cute meow to attract their attention. The two Frizonians stared at each other dumbly before readying their weapons. Jason shook his head.
"PETA better not hear of this. Go, Gyser."
At once, the flourescent green hedgehog blitzed at eye-watering speed around the two Frizonians, scooping up Ari in the process and ending by balancing on one hand on the brick wall that lined the perimeter of the nearby park.
"Come on, you iceholes!"
The Frizonians, stung by the insult, gave chase. Gyser bounded off behind the brick wall. The two Frizonians scrambled up over the wall and dropped down to greet the barrels of Mobius's shotgun.
"Game over, pals," declared the eagle with a widening grin.
"Marcus, your move," said Jason. Obligingly, the human raced toward the double doors of HQ Tower. He made a cursory scan of the perimeter of the building and returned to the front.
"The building's first floor is clear. I'm going in."
Jason considered telling Marcus the Third to be careful, but it seemed a waste considering the circumstances in which everyone was. The hedgehog rubbed at his forehead.
"Alright, people. Secure the two Frizonians and then we're going to move in, understood?"

Meanwhile, as the forumers prepared to take back the HQ Tower...

Redley was quietly observing. Reaching into his pocket, he fixed a small loop around his right ear, tightening it. It would record all visual and audio footage...for proof, should the admins be skeptical as to what his compensation should be.

xxxx

A small squad of Frizonians quietly moved through the city, freezing any straggling forumers or NPCs. They had yet to find another squad, or even an AWOL Frizonian; all they had found so far were melted corpses, punctured suits, and discard freeze guns.

It was an unfamiliar sensation, being in native territory at a disadvantage. Few times had an icesteroid ever been destroyed by a native populace...and such cases had been against far greater firepower. Here...not so much as an organized military as a gathering of talented fighters.

Troublesome.

"Sir, all clear," muttered the point soldier as he waved down the nearest alley.

"Move." The Frizonian in command of the small squad - a sergeant, in the traditional Frizonian military hierarchy - calmly led his three other men to the alley, crossing the frigid street quickly. The command structure in this sector has collapsed...we need to get into contact with Command...now if only we can regroup with someone with the authority to-

"ATTENTION ALL FRIZONIAN OFFICERS. THIS IS GENERAL HEARTCEASE CALLING ALL OFFICERS IN THE PLANET'S CAPITAL SECTOR. STAND BY FOR FURTHER COMMANDS."

The sergeant grinned beneath his helmet. "Hold up men; I'm getting a message from Command."

Redley, from his position above on the rooftop, narrowed his eyes.

The silence was unnerving. The kind of silence you encounter on a dark road in the middle of the night in the back woods of a wooded area. That was the silence Ryan was feeling as he crouched down behind an overturned desk. Having no clue about the others presently, he was alone, thinking of a plan for him to make up ground and see if he could get upstairs.

He reached the metal door, and reached out to touch on-but his eyes caught a glimpse of something that chilled him to the very core. It was thin, but it was readily noticeable. A thin stream of cold air was flowing up under the door. Ryan thought about this, pondering any reason why cold air would be flowing under the door...if the windows were shot out...

---

The two guards standing at attention both took a moment to listen to the transmission that bellowed through the airwaves. Seeing as it had nothing to do with them leaving their post, they reassumed their guard. The one on the right took a moment to look at the one on the left-and watched him fall over. Turning toward the metal door, the guard saw...nothing? The door was closed, there was no hole, no protrusion, nothing.

Unafraid of what might be waiting for him, the Frizonian kicked at the door repeatedly, but the door did not budge. After a good 7 to 8 kicks, the Frizonian stepped back-only because there was a sound he was not expecting to hear. That of hinges being released from the opposing side of the door. Once all the sounds stopped, The Frizonian kicked with all his strength, forcing the door wide open.

Walking into the glass-stained room, he quickly did a visual scan. Nothing but computers and broken glass everywhere. So what in the hell happened to his fellow soldier! Taking one more step forward gave him the answer he seeked, as a dark shape slammed into him from behind. His gun went flying, and the pair spilled out the open window!

Ryan laughed, as they both plummeted down toward the street level-80 stories away.

"You laugh, infidel! Your death will mean nothing!"

"Death? Dude, What are you talking about. I got a flight to catch!" Ryan waved as the Frizonian tried to grapple with him, before stopping his own freefall-and flying back up. A final glance at his assailant netted the Frizonian a cold icy set of eyes-almost as if he was looking into the face of the soul of a Frizonian. It left him slightly...terrified.

Ryan however, glided back up to the floor he was on, and walked out of Vector's lab, smirking. This kill or be killed thing wasn't half bad after all.

Maybe Derek had a point. Chaos is good.

Back at her hotel room, Kayla was digging through her belongings trying to find a spare energon cube.

"I know I had one here somewhere," she muttered.

She kept looking until she found a glowing pink cube.

"Bingo!"

She pulled a tube out of her fusion cannon and placed it in the cube. The cube slowly emptied as her fusion cannon recovered its power.

When the cube was empty, she tossed it in the trashcan. Taking a quick look at her power supply reading, she was relieved that it read 100 percent.

"Good," she said, "Now to get back to the Tower."

She hurried out of the hotel and back to HQ Tower.

IC:
Meanwhile on board Ash's ship, the fox was slightly startled by a voice from behind him. A voice he recognised. One he wasn't about to turn to face the owner of...

Quite the predicament you seem to be in. it stated. Ash involuntarily shivered.
"Why are you here?"
Because I am meant to be. came the reply. I will have words with your... superior. the voice's owner continued.
"...great. So there's that kind of trouble involved?"
That is not yet for you to know. Be patient. the voice answered. And then the chill he'd felt was gone. He shuddered again... his visitor just now was someone he'd hoped he wouldn't be meeting again any time soon...

OOC: Sorry for the disappearance. I'll have to catch up with this later. |D;

General Heartcease stood in the icy command center of the Mobile Glacier, viewing the situation on frozen screens. The icesteroid there in the city had fallen, but this was an occurrence that was not unprecedented nor unplanned for.

"General Heartcease to all units: I am issuing an order to regroup back at the Mobile Glacier. Defeat any enemies in your way, but move with all speed back to these coordinates. We will show them our true power soon enough. Heartcease, out."

Swiveling the command console out of the way, Heartcease stepped down from his place and began to pace, footsteps echoing around the quiet control center. "What manner of hotbloods are these? Their power is considerable, but it is this fighting spirit that I have never seen before in the cold millenia of my entire life. And I even dare to think that they have a chance at finding the Mobile Glacier before cryogenesis can be complete."

He whirled around, raising one hand into the air and clenching it into a fist around the holographic image of the forumers. "But let them come! Their fiery passion shall be met with frigid perserverance! I will crush them myself if need be!" His icy blue eyes flared with cold energy. "Let them come!"

Kayla soon arrived at the base of the HQ Tower. She glanced over the building, trying to spot any Frizonians.

"Doesn't seem to be any," she muttered to herself, "That could be either a good thing or a bad thing."

She began to fiddle with her headset. After the few seconds of static cleared up, she pulled down the microphone.

"Hey," she said, "Anyone in there hear me? What's going on in there?"

IC:
Ash responded to Kayla's call. "Well, I'm not in there as such, but I'm keeping an eye out." Sure enough, the large dark shape of his ship still hung in the sky near the top of HQ Tower. "Haven't seen anything hostile yet. Maybe they've given up on us." he continued in a joking tone.
"I've got Vec on board my ship courtesy of MoKat, so he's safe. I'm thinking the other personnel in there must've holed up somewhere or something. If there're any chilly chaps inside there still, they'll likely be few in number - but also probably a bit desperate, so I'd advise being careful. If you run into any, try to draw them into Vec's lab - I can get a good clear shot at the window there."
It was then that he had a thought. He flipped a few switches and started fiddling with a control panel. "I've just switched on my ship's thermal imaging scanners. Won't be any good for picking up Frizonians, but it'll help me keep track of you guys--and I might be able to find out where the remaining staff are holed up too. I'll be sitting up here keeping an eye on things if you need me guys."
With that he leaned back a bit into his seat, keeping one eye on the thermal scanners and another on the video feed for his ship's infirmary.

OOC: O sweet, thank you Silver

IC: Ryan quietly walked through the now icy halls, making his way past the sealed elevator doors. Knowing full well he'd make too much noise if he tried hacking them open, the safer bet was the stairwell. Sliding to the side, his eyes caught sight of two Frizonians standing guard at the entrance on the floors. Lowering down so his breath didn't give him away, Ryan took a moment to assess his options.

"K, we can run right up to them-or we can go under them. But if the others are heading in here, they're gonna hafta take the stairs as well...oh!" Flicking the headset down, Ryan quietly listened as Ash told Kayla (and anyone else whom was listening,) about the thermal seeking unit.

"Psst. Ash. Be careful."

"Ryan, why are you whispering...?"

"Because" "the thermal scans aren't go--" Ryan was cut off as a freeze ray froze the area around him into a nice arc of ice. Skittering back on his haunches, Ryan realized he was spotted thanks to him sticking his feet out while talking! One guard began marching his way while the other took up guard at the door

"Sorry, will chat later!" Ryan turned off his comm unit and flipped backwards, narrowly avoiding another blast.

I gotta think of a plan quick!

Cy stood at the base of HQ Tower, talking into a portable communicator. Couldn't call it a cell phone, it was more advanced than that. "Yes, I'm sure....I don't CARE if they're malfunctioning, they're malfunctioning in a good way! Mount them on the delivery drone prototypes.....Yes, even the red ones. The faster, the better. Look, just do it, okay? I want those heating units on the drones in two hours! .....well, halt production then! Out." He folded the device and slid it into a holster on his belt. This should help thaw the city, he hoped as he looked up into the tower, before turning on a heel and walking towards the entrance.

After talking to Ash for a few moments, Kayla cut off her headset.

"Good, good, Vec's safe," she said to herself, "Now what happened to the rest of the staff?"

She cautiously opened the front door of the tower and went in.

OOC:
Ooh, this is getting good.

The sergeant calmly turned towards his men. "Good news gentlemen. We're being called back by Command."

"Sir?" asked one of the Frizonian grunts.

"We're regrouping at the Mobile Glacier."

The lower-ranked soldiers couldn't help but feel a swelling of pride and awe; the Mobile Glacier was one of the most vaunted weapons of the entire Frizonian military!

The sergeant calmly shouldered his freeze gun and gazed outside the alley. Some frozen NPCs, a few Frizonian corpses, thawing roads...but no hostiles. "Move out men. We're leaving this sector."

The five Frizonians quietly moved out in formation.

Redley quietly followed from above.

"Figured as much," Kaze muttered bitterly from the Chao Walker, lumbering through the front entrance. "Looks like we'll be taking the long way to the top, obviously."

The chao stopped in the center of the lobby, looking around at the frozen surroundings. She had only ever set foot in the HQ Tower only once or twice, but that was a long time ago...

After a brief moment, she motioned towards the frozen stairs. "Come on, we should keep going; the longer we take... well, you all already get the picture..."

Arikyrenne thanked Gyser once again as he set her down. That had been the second time so far that he had zoomed her out of danger, even though this time had been more planned for than the race to clear the icesteroid explosion.

After the two Frizonian guards were secured, Arikyrenne followed the rest of the group into the HQ Tower. She looked around, trying to picture the lobby without the sheets of ice that caked various areas of the room. Upon hearing that the steps were the only way to go, she fixed her gaze in the direction of the stairwell. If those were as icy as the rest of the place, they might prove to be an obstacle themselves if the group wasn't careful.

(OOC: Meant to post sooner than this, so sorry about how long it's been. Anyway, gonna be away for a couple days (just found out about a trip while typing this post). Also, rest of the month is probably going to on/off, since I have another trip coming up next week, then preparation for the school year (including moving back to campus). Sorry again, and thanks for your patience! ><; )

(Also OOC: I know it doesn't exactly match Terg's description of the icesteroid reactor, but made this a bit ago, and wanted to post it as well^^ : )

Kayla cautiously checked every square inch of the tower lobby, making sure that there weren't any leftover Frizonians to deal with. Once she had checked the entire room, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"One less problem to deal with," she said.

She turned on her headset.

"Kaze," she said, "Kaze, can you hear me? Where you guys at?"

The chao heard the voice coming through the headset before she turned the mech towards the hedgehog. "Right here in front of you," she responded in an amused voice, waving one of the Walker's arms. "I'm pretty sure you noticed the lone mech standing by some frozen stairs, right?"

Kayla jogged over to the Chao mech and smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry," she said, "I guess I was more concerned about those other things, that I didn't notice you. So has anything interesting happened?"

"Well, we're about to take the long way up the tower," the chao answered, motioning to Marcus the Third. "He says the elevator's iced up, so we can't take it, unless someone can melt it. I don't have the firepower."

She looked around at the frozen lobby once more before turning back towards the stairs. "I don't like the feeling I'm getting right now," she said, her voice barely audible. "It's like there's no sign of life here anymore. There's just... nothing..."

"It's like there's no sign of life here anymore. There's just... nothing..."

Kayla nodded while looking around again.

"I know what you mean," she said, "It's far too quiet, and that's never a good thing."

She moved towards the stairs.

"Shall we, then?"

The nervous silence, born of the trepidation of the ascent up the never-all-too-clear number of stories of HQ Tower, was interrupted by the first adventurer planting his foot on the first step.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, Jason thought to himself as his shoe came to rest on the step. Immediately, every nerve ending in his foot howled with outraged shock at the bone-shaking chill along the steps. The hedgehog bounded back, clutching his foot.
"Yeow! Sodding bloody hellfire!"
"Is it that bad?" asked Kaze in surprise. Jason only whimpered in response. Marcus, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, indicated with his eyes the chilly vapours blowing down from the higher stories and remarked, "This appears to be a kind of unnatural alien permafrost. It is certainly of a stronger variant of cold than is common to our planet, much less our region."
The hedgehog muttered, "Cheers for the ecology lesson, but it presents a problem. How are we going to get up those stairs with no lift? Teleportation will suck most of the wind out of those who can for so high an altitude, and those of us who go by foot will get cold feet in no short amount of time. Any clever ideas for fighting the Freon?"

Kayla jumped at Jason's reaction.

"Is it that bad?" asked Kaze.

Jason whimpered in response.

"This is very, very bad," said Kayla, "Slag it, where's Dead End when we need him?"

She glanced at the steps, then at her fusion cannon.

"Hey, Marcus," she asked, "Do you think that mine and Kaze's cannons could warm up the steps enough for us to get up them?"

IC:

Lena clasped her arms close to her body, again wondering of all invaders, why did it have to be a bunch of snowmen? The flight of stairs looked pretty daunting, if it had been a hop and jump, she would have tried to fly them but...

"Do we have any way of scanning up ahead? I was thinking of a way to help some of us get up there but what if we walk into a trap?" She asked. The lack of life in the air seemed to cause more shivers than the actual cold. There had to be those weird snowmen here but this silence was just shredding at her nerves.

IC:
Ash had been keeping an ear open via the communicators and an eye open via the thermal imaging scanners. "Getting cold feet Jase?" he quipped cheekily, which earned him an audible scowl from his friend. He laughed. "Chill man, I'm just joshing you." He cast his eyes over the thermal scanners. The forumers at the bottom of the Tower showed clearly on the screen before him as bright orangey-yellow shapes. By comparison, pretty much the whole stairway heading up was barely visible as a cold deep dark blue. He frowned, studying it carefully. "Well guys, there's good news and bad news."
"If you even utter a word about car insurance..." Jason warned him. Ash grinned to himself.
"Naw, nothing of the sort. No, the good news is, that icy covering doesn't go all the way up the Tower stairs." There were some mumbled sighs of relief from various parties at that. "The bad news is, it seems to be covering pretty much every stairwell leading up to the floor where it stops - and where I'm assuming our frigid foes are lurking." Then he peered more closely at the scanners, and then out the front windshield of his ship's cockpit. "Oh, scratch that last remark. Every stairwell except one. I guess they missed it."
"They did?" piped up Kaze. "Which one?"
"Ironically enough, the fire escape." he replied slightly grimly. "It's pretty innocuous, so I can see how they missed it. The bottom exit's iced over though - but I think you should have enough firepower to crack it open. Although your main problem then will be the climb - it's a bit steep to say the least, and there're a few external sections as well." Jason then voiced something which had probably been on the minds of a few other Forumers as well.
"Captain... if you can tell where those icy invaders are currently lurking, then why don't you just flush them out with that flying deathtrap of yours?"
"Two reasons. One, that'd alert them that you guys are coming. And two... ideally we'd like to catch 'em alive, right? Oh, and also if I misjudged a shot at that section of the building, it could bring some of it down on you guys."
"Point well made." Jason replied grudgingly. Of course, he shouldn't have thought even for a moment there'd be such an easy solution. There never was...
"So which way is this fire escape then?" asked Kayla, eyeing her fusion cannon thoughtfully.

Kayla grinned at the thought of cracking through the ice.

"So which way is this fire escape then?" she asked, "I'm sure that Kaze and I could blast through it, no problem."

The sub-zero temperature made thinking that must more primal, as Ryan didn't have time to worry about angles or second chances. Every jump and every dive he completed earned him two seconds more in his life. The Frizonian that had spotted him began a pursuit that forced Ryan back through the hallway and trying to evade being frozen or captured.

Ryan sighed when he finally was able to leap over the Frizonian and slash his gun away. However, Ryan's sword recoiled much harder than Ryan was expecting, and he released it to save his hand the immediate feeling of shock.

"Well then, I guess its mano y m---" Ryan's words flushed out in a flurry of gasps and spittle, leveling him to the floor. Rolling over and wheezing for air, he spied a nozzle directly in his face, from another sentry that came down to assess the situation."

"This lone person disarmed you? How careless of you soldier!"

"It makes no difference, we have him now." The original attacker swung his heavy fist down, crashing Ryan's head into the floor with enough force to stun the lad. Ryan began to watch the world around him fade, bluish fluid creating the only color he could recognize. Smiling to himself, he barely resisted as . His body was hoisted up and carried through the hallway. His hand weakly reached out and waved a few times, securing the only possession that mattered at this point, his sword. The blade spun around and began to sink into the floor, unknown to the invaders as they marched through the stairwell exit.

"Take this infidel upstairs. Let our squadron leader milk him dry of information. Then dispose of him."

The grunt nodded and began his way up, Ryan now fully unconscious. His blood dipped along the stairs though, keeping its bright blue color against the dark backdrop.

====

On Ash's thermal screen, the flurry of blue movement that took place seemed strange, as if there were Frizonians shooting at each other. It would have ended as two blue blobs picking up an oddly dim blue blob-and taking him up to a higher floor, one that was not covered in ice.

"What she said," Kaze chimed in, preoccupied with the small control panel on the the Chao mech. A single holographic screen came into view, with various stats scrolling slowly by. After a moment, she cut it off, cursing under her breath. She'd used up a almost a third of her ammo just from firing the gatling gun, and would have to reload very soon if she wasn't careful.

"I can probably fire about a few missiles without draining too much power from the Walker," Kaze said aloud. "I say we give this a go, then hurry on up. Agreed?"

Kayla grinned at aimed her fusion cannon at the fire escape.

"Ready when you are, Kaze."

"Better now than later," the chao said with a scowl as a small red targeting laser beamed from the Chao Walker's right "eye" to the frozen doors.

"Charging energy missiles, 100 percent. Target sighted. Ready to fire on the count of 3..."

Kayla propped up her fusion cannon and aimed for the doors as well.

"... 2..."

The forumers retreated a safe distance away from the mech and hedgehog. Kayla's fusion cannon was fully charged now.

"... 1... Fire!!"

Both weapons fired simultaneously. The resulting blast scattered tiny shards of ice everywhere, shining like glitter. The doors barely hanging onto the hinges.

"All clear!" Kayla announced.

"Let's go," Kaze added. Straightening the headset, she steered the mech forward. "Ash, we just got through. What's the current situation?"

IC:
Ash frowned at the brief flurry of activity on his thermal scanners, but then turned his attention to Kaze's query.
"Copy that, Kaze. Well, directly in front of you should be a flight of stairs going up - no surprises there, naturally. I don't think the aliens have noticed you guys yet - or if they have, they aren't doing anything about it." For now, he decided to neglect mentioning what he'd seen before - he wasn't entirely sure what it meant yet. "That flight of stairs goes up for... quite a way, let's put it like that."
"How far is 'quite a way'...?" Kaze asked slightly apprehensively. The stairs looked like they'd be awkward for getting the mech up them.
"Roughly thirty floors. Or at least, that's how far up the aliens appear to be." was Ash's hesitant reply. "But on the plus side, from what I can see there are essentially no aliens guarding that route. Better yet, they've managed to freeze the emergency exits leading to it on each floor shut. I guess they only thought of blocking the exits so no-one could get out of there - they probably didn't think anyone'd try busting in."
Frizonians.
Ash jumped."...what?!" he inquired of the voice's owner. He hadn't even noticed him coming back in here.
Those creatures are called Frizonians.
Ash frowned. "Frizonians...? That sounds familiar... I'm pretty sure we encountered those somewhere before. But never in these numbers..."
Does it matter, currently? the voice inquired of him.
"No. No, it doesn't, right now. But I suspect your telling me what they are means it will later."
Most perceptive of you. The voice carried a slight mocking tone to it this time. Ash shuddered slightly again.
"Are you going to help at all, or just loom ominously behind me for the rest of the day?"
For the moment... neither. Although I have arranged with your superior to issue a briefing, once yonder command structure is recaptured. Which, factoring the opposing numbers of forces, should take little time at all.
"You'd know all about that I guess." Ash muttered. His monologue was brought to an abrupt halt by an interruption over the radio.
"Um, Ash? Hello? Who are you talking to?" It was Kaze.
"Ack! Sorry Kaze. Got distracted a bit... OK. Those stairs, yeah. They go up for thirty floors. No Frizonians guarding them as far as I can see, though things could get tricky busting in to where they're holding up." he stated, as he glanced over the scanners. "By the looks of it they've made some kind of a stronghold up there. If you can't smash your way in through the emergency exits, it might be necessary to find other means."
"...such as?" That was Kayla now.
"There're a few external gantries every few floors. Just in case something really bad were to happen to the inside of the building. If you can't get through the doors, then the windows'll have to suffice. I think at this point we shouldn't worry much about minor property damage, factoring everything in."
"Can't argue with that logic." Kayla replied. "We started on our way up already, by the way. You seemed a little distracted so we figured we might as well get going."
"Ah, gotcha." Ash replied, checking the scanner screen. "Ah yeah, I can see you on the thermal imagers. Just keep heading up. I'll buzz you if I see anything fishy."

OOC
Up to Kaze whether or not she can get her mech up the stairs. Wouldn't want to be excluding anyone unnecessarily ;o

"Roger that. Kaze out."

She looked up to see the rest of the forumers, led by Marcus the Third, shuffling forward onto the fire escape. Kayla held up the rear. "Go ahead," the chao called out. The sooner we get there, the better. It's a long way, but I'm sure we can make it."

"What about you?" Kayla had one foot on the bottom stair.

"I dunno if those stairs'll give way soon as I step on 'em."

"You never know unless you try."

"I suppose you're right." Kaze grinned. "That cannon's gotta be pretty heavy, right?"

The hedgehog grinned back at her. "Not too heavy for me, obviously." She turned and ran to catch up with the others.

Kaze steered the mech forward, and, cautiously, stepped onto the bottom stair, expecting the worst.

Nothing. She took another step. Then the metal groaned.

Yeah... better not stay in one spot for too long...

OOC: I don't think fire escape stairs would be meant to hold a Chao Walker like Kaze's, especially with its modifications. Too bad it wasn't modded to be lighter.

OOC:
Hee, no problem Kaze. I have some idea of the things to come Terg has planned, so I can safely say at the moment it's just the tip of the iceberg. *SHOT*

If she wants to keep going she could always go without the walker if she's feeling adventurous (or try making her way quickly up in the walker so long as she didn't stay on the steps too long ;p), or join Ash in keeping an eye on things. In fact, I'll PM you. I have one or two ideas :3

OOC:

I could feel the pain of that pun through the screen, Silver.

Jonathon Redley was on the outskirts of Sega City.

The squad of Frizonians that he had been tracking were gathering around a large...aircraft of sorts. A dropship made of ice. "..."

The sergeant calmly walked towards the back entrance; cold mist billowed out from the ventilation vents as it opened to reveal at least twenty more Frizonians. "How many do you have, sir?" asked the pilot.

"Five, including myself."

"Then come aboard sir," said the pilot. His Ice Wing was about full; and incoming soldiers for evac had been sparse anyway. Then again, given the chatter he had been monitoring upon arrival, he was not surprised; the warriors of this city had brought down an Icesteroid! "Hang on soldiers, we're about to move out."

Redley was silent as the dropship's rear hatch closed. It would have been a simple task to eliminate them all on the spot...but he needed to know where they were going. And it would be easier to follow them on foot. After all, it would be a relatively simple task to eliminate them after they landed.

It was thoughts of infiltration that occupied Redley's mind as he pursued the airborne Ice Wing at subsonic speeds.

Mokat's Dark Magician initiated another Charge action, hoping to regain the last bit of MP he needed without losing what he had gained so far. The Dark Magician didn't want to come up empty when he really needed to Firaga something.
After making sure Vector was going to be fine, MoKat searched for the nearest window (while listening to various chatter via the phone) and looked out. The ship still seemed to be hovering near the top of HQ Tower, which is where the Conference Room -should- be. The feline wished she had a copy of the tower's blueprints; that would make plotting an entrance strategy easier. Seeing the top of the Tower means she can teleport to it, but that doesn't help if there's no way to get off of the roof & -into- the building.

MDM completed the Charge action and announced, "Back at full fart, boss."
MoKat raised an eyebrow at her henchman. "I hope that means yer full o' mana, not gas."
"Well, that too." the magician grinned wickedly.
The cat rolled her orange eyes as she put the phone in Voice Mode. "Dial Marcus The Third."
The phone chirped and made the connection. "Marcus? MDM's back at full MP. What's the best way we can assist?"

IC:
Glancing over the thermal scanners, Ash noted one heat sgnature staying put as the others ascended. Going by the size and shape... He pushed a button for the communicator.
"...Kaze? Something the matter?"
"Yeah... There's no way these stairs'll take the weight of my mech." came the reply.
"Ahh... yeah, that's a bit of a pickle. Well, I guess there's nothing for it... do you want to come on board the Delta for now? There's not really much you'll be able to do down there, and an extra pair of eyes might come in handy."
There was a short pause whilst Kaze considered it. It didn't take her long to decide between twiddling her thumbs at the bottom of the fire escape or being inside a heated aircraft. Not that the mech wasn't warm enough, but... "Sure thing, Ash. I can't exactly go on up with everyone without my walker. I'd freeze to death in minutes."
Ash nodded to himself. "Alright then. Bring it on outside, I can use the crane like we did before. Just make sure it's on securely and we'll be good for lifting you up." he instructed.
"Roger that." came the reply. Hearing that, Ash flipped a switch on a nearby panel. A large rectangular hole slid open in the bottom of the craft's hold, and a long sturdy cable with a large claw-like grabber on the end began to lower itself toward the ground.
Keeping an eye on the scanners, he waited for Kaze's confirmation she was ready to be lifted.

Making sure the others were well on their way, the Chao Walker stepped back from the stairs and back through the lobby. Kaze cursed under her breath; this really was one of those times she wished she weren't so small, but that was neither here nor there.

The Chao Walker stepped through the front doors leading to the Tower, waving it's left arm towards the Delta as Kaze steered it towards the grabber, stopping just below where it hung.

"Ready to go when you are, Ash."

IC:
"Gotcha." came Ash's reply. "One airlift comin' up!" The large grabber closed gently but firmly around the walker. "Everything look secure?" he queried.
"Seems alright, yes. Uhm, don't worry too much if it comes loose - I've got hover jets, so if I fall then I can save myself."
"Ah right, gotcha. OK then, here we go." With a flip of a switch, the crane began to reel it's cable back in, lifting the Chao walker skyward with a slight creak. Within a few minutes, it had been lifted all the way up into the ship's hull, where the cargo lift slid back into place covering the opening in the floor. The mech was lowered safely to the floor nearby. The ship's cargo hold wasn't exactly toasty, but it was certainly a good few degrees warmer than outside.
"Welcome aboard, Kaze." Ash greeted her via the communicator. "If you're wanting to warm up a bit, come on up to the cockpit - it's up the stairs to your left, through the passenger section. I'll open the doors for you." As he finished speaking, a door at the top of a flight of stairs to Kaze's left slid open, the light coming from beyond promising comfort and warmth. "Vec's currently recuperating in the infirmary towards the back of the ship. Oh, and if you should happen to run into an exceptionally creepy guy completely veiled in a cloak, don't worry about it. He's, uh, with me so to speak." That last remark struck her as a little odd, but she shrugged it off. For now, she wanted to at least feel she was doing something useful, so she headed for where she'd been told of - although already she was formulating an idea or two.
Meanwhile, Ash saw to updating the others on the situation. "Hey guys," he piped up over the communicator to the fire escape party, "Kaze's come aboard my ship for now - the fire escape wouldn't hold the weight of her mech, and she didn't feel she'd cope too well with the conditions without it. We'll be watching out for you up here!"

{{ I can post again now after a couple of months absence - I can look over the past few pages, or somebody can essentially relay the main points to me in PM, Either/Or works...But I'd LOVE to get back into this! ^^;;; }}

OOC:

The first icesteroid went boom, and the Frizonians are now holed up in HQ Tower. Ultra's gone mad, and there's a group at the Tower.

I think that about covers it.

OOC:

Hoplite Icepick and his fellow Frizonians in the Sega City icesteroid were destroyed when the cold fusion reactor inside the core went into a melt down (due to the actions of the forumers in their final battle inside the frigid fortress). The other forumers left while Ultra remained behind to hold them off. He was about to be killed when Redley took control, promptly escaping before the icesteroid went kablooie (as a result, Sega City is beginning to warm up and thaw naturally).

Redley, ticked at Ultra, has gone off on his own (after tossing Gyser in front of the entire group, making his change in attitude fully known by everyone). The others have gone to the HQ Tower to help free Vector, who is being tracked and hunted by a team of Frizonian Elites (I assume Mobius is with them). Redley is tracking one of the last teams of Frizonians in the city, and is following them to the Mobile Glacier: the ultimate weapon (of unknown design) that General Heartcease commands (this is following his order to fall back and rendezvous at the Mobile Glacier). It is known now that other icesteroids have fallen all over the planet, but the true nature of the Mobile Glacier is unknown to the forumers at this point in time.

Hope that helps.

{Thanks. XDDD Always grateful to have folks willing to keep a guy in the know, y'know!}

Mobius hung low at the back of the mob of forumers who were headed towards the tower - he'd been watching and waiting to see just what was going to come next after their frantic battles previously. He'd been a little less gung ho owing to the fact that he had understood that there was still more to do, and not really a whole lot of time left to do it. He was low on ammo - a fact that was becoming a real pain in his backside. He still had an ace in his sleeve...or, should he say, in his pocket - the GUI he had could send out a transponder signal for his own Plane 'The X-Eagle', which had replaced previous designs of his older craft of years gone by.

However, the area wasn't ideal for that for the current moment - he watches as the group in front of him continues to move onward to their targeted destination. As soon as he was sure that there was enough room to maneuver and keep everyone safe in the process, he'd play his ace.
It was. at this point, the most he could do to help.

"Thanks, Ash." The cockpit opened and Kaze hovered out, adjusting her headset. The warmth welcomed her at once, and she was already starting to feel more energized. Momentarily, she landed on the floor to make sure the straps carrying her sword and sheath were okay, then through the door.

For someone of her size, the ship seemed monstrous. Nevertheless, she'd rather be someplace warm than freezing her wings off. Well, at the very least, one of the Admins were safely on board. But what of the others? Were they still somewhere in the tower? There would only be one way to find out.

As much as she didn't want to, she'd have to speak with Vector. The more info the group in the tower had about these aliens, then the better they would know what they were up against. Immediately doubling back to a missed corner, she made a beeline for the infirmary; there was no time to waste.

*front paw, back paw, front paw, back paw…or however it worked out* She didn't want to focus too much on how cats travelled up steps, lest she end up tripping herself up with the thought.

Arikyrenne continued to ascend the steps with the rest of the group, casually noting each floor that was passed, though not actively keeping track of the number. She did her best to maintain a pace that was neither too fast nor too slow- climbing up 30 or so flights of stairs was bound to be pretty tiring, so she had to be careful not to wear herself out too quickly. Whatever waited for them at the end of the climb, she could only hope she - and the other forumers - would be suitably prepared for.

Kayla couldn't help but feel a wave of apprehension wash over her. They had no idea what awaited them at the top of the flight of the stairs.

'At least I'm in good company,' she thought with a smile, 'I just hope we all make it through this.'

OOC:
Sorry it's so short. I'm suffering from RP block.

The Frizonian troopers pounded to the top of the stairs, the rear guard icing stairs behind him as he followed. Breaking into the door at the top, the frigid soldiers burst into a round lobby room with a security door at the other side, and ugly fuzzy red couches dotting the lobby's gray carpeted floor.

"The hotblood signatures are just beyond that door," announced the leader of the squad in the Tower as he kicked aside a couch. "If they think that this measly barricade can stop us, then they will soon know their mistake! We'll combine our rays and freeze the door, shatter it, and capture the leaders!"

Setting themselves up behind the repulsive yet functional couches, the Frizonians' ray guns hummed as they glowed with blue-white light from the dials and indicators on their sides before launching freezing beams simultaneously at the door.

Vector was sitting up on one of the beds in the sickbay when Kaze entered, the automatic sliding door shutting behind her. "Vector," said Kaze as she approached, "I have a few questions about these aliens."

"You can ask away, then," replied Vector as the Chao hopped up onto a nearby chair. "I'll tell you what I-"

And then everything went strange as all sound stopped. Vector's mouth finished his sentence, but no words came out. Kaze, startled, lost her balance and fell onto the floor, but there was only the physical sensation of landing on the ground - no bumps, no slight squishy or squeaky noise that usually accompanies Chao collisions. Then colors started to leak out of everything, leaving pale white outlines as Kaze and Vector looked at each other, white as chalk.

The sound returned in the stairwell in a confused rush of noise as the forumers climbing the stairs stopped and grabbed a hold onto anything they could while the world shook around them, color flushing back into their bodies as the strong smell of pickles filled everyone's nostrils.

There was an odd sense of deja-vu that pervaded everyone's thoughts, and then they remembered what had happened before - and it was happening again. Time and space distorted, then snapped back into place like a rubber band.

Vector had a slight headache after the experience ended. But finally he had one of the answers he was missing. "If that was the same as the other incident before the aliens came, then there might be a connection between these Frizonians and the temporal distortions. There may be a good explanation for all of this after all."

The Frizonians recovered from the shock of the temporal distortion, and to their shock and surprise, their freeze rays had not had any effect on the metal security door that barred their way. No ice was present to mark their shots.

"Impossible! The door isn't protected by a heat shield!" growled the leader as he aimed his freeze ray again.

"Sir! Look out!"

The Frizonian leader turned, and tripped backwards to avoid a large, blunt object that smashed into the wall behind him with such force that it cracked the paint. One of his troopers, an Elite to the end, bit back his scream as he was swallowed into the fuzzy maw of one of the red couches as it opened its seat cushions wide to welcome its victim into a horrible embrace. Other troopers shot freeze rays at the couches, but the ice rays had no effect on them, and they soon pounced upon the soldiers to crush them or devour them.

The leader was left for last as the couches reassembled themselves, and he tried to dash for the door, but the last thing he saw was red fuzz pressed against his helmet visor before darkness overcame him.

It did not take long for the forumers to finally reach the top of the stairs, but the dismembered arm of a Frizonian trooper's armor laid in the doorway at the top, tipping Jason off that something was just not right. He gestured back at the others to stop on the landing below him, and he carefully peeked around the corner of the doorway, his hand fingering his sword's hilt.

(insert boss music track - Growl, from the depths of the Earth - Phantasy Star Online soundtrack)

What he saw beyond the door was a couch chimera, a vaguely wolf-like monster that stood ten feet tall on couchs for legs, couchs for its body and a love seat for its head. Like a gangly marionette at the hands of a child, its movements were awkward and jerky, and it made growling noises as it prowled the room and tried to slam against the far door, making dents in the security door.

It was clear from the dropped freeze rays and the remaining bits of Frizonian battle armor that this monster had solved that problem. But by the same token, another problem was present: it didn't look like this creature was going anywhere soon, and the Admins were still trapped in the room beyond the security door.

OOC: Activating Active Boss System (ABS):
Temporal Couch Chimera
FURNIVORE

Furnivore is a monster created by time/space flux, and is completely unaffected by any abilities that slow down or speed up time. It is also immune to being confused by someone teleporting on its opposite side or to being teleported, as examples of its spacial immunity. It also has a supernatural resistance to all energy weapons (including telekinetic manipulation), and is very strong.

However, it is just a bunch of animated couches. However dangerous it is, it is vulnerable to anything else couches are vulnerable to.

This will be the final boss of this "chapter" of the RP. Once it is complete, I will post the start of the next section, and then new characters may be introduced into play.

Game on!

OOC: o.O What th--O jeeZUS!! ::Posts hurriedly.::

IC: The split sensation of nature and magic raging through him soon came to a complete stop, allowing Ryan to crumple upon the ground in a heap. he didn't know what happened, and was in no state to figure it out. His face bled from any and all orifices, a sign that the seals upon his body were weakened by that strange snap.

Wiping the bluish color away, Ryan barely turned to see ice rays flying toward a back wall of sorts. Confused as to where his location was, he struggled to crawl toward the couches.

You are an idiot. Do not crawl toward the living.
"Living? ....It's a couch..Der.."

A short exhale, as Ryan held his chest. Forcing his body to roll backwards, Ryan ended up with his back against the wall, only to witness the loveseat..move? Adrenaline began to pump-finally, as Ryan watched the massacre take place. At first it was horrific, cushioning revealing teeth and a desire for bloodshed. But as the swift defeat of the Frizonians continued, Ryan's eyes began to soften, almost as if he had an appreciation for this...creature.

That all snapped away, once the last bloodfreezing scream was heard. The beast turned his attention to the bluish black lump lying on the ground only meters away. Ryan's eyes opened in terror, and his consciousness slowly faded away.....

---

The beast lunged forth, zipperclaws poised to zip him to death (OOC: I'm laughing so hard its not even right.) The first pinning strike was evaded, as the lithe body lunged backward. The door at the far back wall was his only hope. Bleeding and blinded, Derek, jumped over a another swipe by this creature, as he slammed into the door. The Furnivore roared and went for the kill, loveseat seams wide open to chomp him to bits.

That loveseat slammed into steel. Hard. All that was left was blue smears upon the wall. But this creature wasn't stupid. He knew that the thing in front of him wasn't dead. No It just moved differently. It moved through the door, but it wasn't moving around in the same space. Angered that this meal was still within zipper-tooths grip-it began bashing into the door, trying to free its meal up.

Ryan snapped back, to see himself looking at the familiar technicolor of purple and black-the world of the shadow. He hugged his body and kissed his arms. "Oh I love you I love you I love you! I'm sorry for fainting I'm sorry I'm sorry." But the praise stopped when he heard the slams of the creature reverberate throughout his realm.

"..O crap. How do I get out of here...?" He held his still rattled head, knowing he didn't have the energy to do any kind of teleportation. He'd just have to sit it out.