Lyn jumped up to see what was going on, she landed perfectly. "What is Caite doing!?! She'll get herself killed!!! We have to do something! SHE IS THE ONLY OTHER GIRL FROM CAMP!!!!!!!!!! I CANNOT GO ON WITHOUT CONVERSATION!!!!!!!" Lyn realized she was behaving like Caite on a bad day, "Sorry, it's just been too long since I've talked to her, ever since we left her back, I've missed her, and is she... Wearing a dress?"

"Quark, how's the teleportation grid coming along?"
"It's almost fixed, madam."
"I gave you this project over a year ago. What's the holdup? It should be done by now."
"It'll be done in an hour. Sparky's on his way to deliver the remaining parts."
"Oh. In that case, keep up the good work. I'm on my way to help the knights with the Tortodrone stampede; can you keep an eye on Hunter and the others while I'm away?"
"Yes madam. What's the occasion?"
"I promised to watch over them, and I mean to keep my word. Something tells me they're going to be in a heap of trouble shortly."
"Understood. I'll have the cameras under my control in five minutes. By the way, the elevator you need is malfunctioning again. It needs a new gear tooth."
"Good to know. Dismissed."
"Quark out."

Gwen trotted over to the elevator in question and gave it a cursory look-over. Sure enough, one of the two lifting gears was missing a tooth, which caused it to dislocate and get stuck in the shaft. This should be an easy fix. She clambered up the elevator shaft and swung with a *clang* onto the platform. She cut to spec a new tooth from a piece of scrap metal she acquired on the way there and welded it in place of the missing tooth, then braced herself along the steel guidebars and hefted the elevator back into place (after a couple of tries, that is).

That should hold it until Sparky can reforge the gear. The elevator came back to life a moment later and moved to the desired depth, where Gwen got off and took in her surroundings. The disturbed vegetation indicated that a group of knights had, in fact, been through this area, which meant she was on the right track.

The Tortodrone stampede wasn't exactly hard to find. The knights, on the other hand, were a royal pain in the neck to pinpoint, let alone reach. She climbed to the top of a nearby hill for a better view, and found to her pleasant surprise that the knights were just at the base of it, hiding from the stampede. She dropped in behind the one with the Argent Peacemaker and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hello."

[All these people makin' moves in the RP while I'm at school writing essays and dealin' with "this-is-the-last-assignment-before-Christmas-I-swear" from teachers. ._.]

---------------
Pippin:

The knight shook her head after Pippin's speech "I appreciate your concerns, but I believe you have it backwards. You saw with your own eyes my efforts to gain your trust. I drove off the Apocreans. I healed a fellow knight. I offered you useful equipment. None of that made a difference to you. You speak of my gaining your trust, but at this point, it is you who needs to gain my trust. I was attacked by a squad of knights when I was at my most vulnerable; do you think I will so readily trust you with my secrets after such an incident? If you truly desire my allegiance, I expect more from you than this childish nonsense."

'Childish nonsense... huh.' Pippin doesn't bother to listen in on the Hunter's sentimentality, nor the response that the woman gave him after that.

'It's not like I can help being childish.' These were words that Pippin would never admit out loud, ached at the back of her mind as Gwen disappeared into the darkness.

"Way to go, kid. Now we're one more person short. We'd best pack up. We'll have to slow down to keep her," the hunter points to the injured knight -- who hadn't gotten her answer from Gwen before she left, "from passing out. Still, it's not safe here anymore. We'd best hurry." The bearded knight then stroked his beard as he looked to where Gwen had vanished before hurrying back to the fire to pack up anything he had left out.

" 'Kid'... " Pippin looks down a moment, before revving herself up again.

"I thought we already went through this, Beardy! It's Pip!" she points dramatically at the Hunter as he packs,

"Ah, I get it. You wanted a woman along for the adventure, maybe then you wouldn't be seen as some slave-trader as you walked around Cradle with three other kids. Perhaps you wanted some sort of romance..." Pippin then strokes an imaginary beard, imitating the Hunter when he looked to where Gwen was, " 'Ah, is that the last kiss we'll ever share?' You're too trusting. Something was off about her, good intentions or not." Pippin crosses her arms and makes a "humph" noise, which must have been remarkably loud considering that it was loud enough to be heard along with the conversation itself.

"Condemn me if you want, but I have a feeling if she stuck around something' weird would've happened." Pippin then glares at the Hunter, "And by that I mean weirder than the fact that she kissed you on the forehead" Pippin makes sure to add extra emphasis on "you" as she finishes her rant. She then picks up her SMC and straps it to her back under the Cleaver.

"Ah. But there is one more thing..." Pippin points to Yuuki while still facing the Hunter, "Scraps is practically nude, so before we head off, can we at least make something to cover her up? We don't want other feelings to develop while we're being chased by Apocreans after all." Pippin leers at the similar-age-to-Yuuki knight Luke.

Auto seemed puzzle and put the revolver back in it's proper holster.
"I lost my real name long ago during the Skylark crash, but some call me Tech Star, others Auto Daxen-son. I've been trying to survive in the Clockworks.
So what do you mean by help me?"

Yuuki sat away from the group, watching everything unfold. She was shy, but she did need their protection. She frowned slightly when the Hunter gestured to her, speaking of her weakness and inability to not faint, but she didn't say anything. It was when Pippin called her "Scraps" and implied that Luke would develop feelings for her that she spoke up. After Luke stammered like a bumbling fool, she replied "Well I'm sorry if I'm weak. I'm only 14, you know. And my gear is completely busted from fighting Swarm monsters and fighting Vanaduke. So forgive me if I'm a little fatigued. As for my clothes, I'd appreciate if anyone had an extra pair..." She blushed, then scowled and snapped "And don't call me Scraps, lady!"

Yuuki sighed, then glanced over at Luke as he offered her a slightly used, worn Wolver coat. Yuuki took it gratefully and replied "Thank you..." Then wrapped it around her body. It was rather large for her size, but it was cozy and kept her warm. She blushed and looked at Luke from the corner of her eye [I wouldn't mind if he liked me, actually... He's nicer than most boys I've met]

Auto turned around.
"Yeah, she was trying to capture one or something. And despite only knowing her for a short time, I think she's got this. So, how are you lady?"

"No problem," Luke handed her the coat and turned back to the Hunter.

"Sir, if she was correct, and there are more knights nearby..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beck zoomed in, watching the raging tortodrones. With the merry group that met at the campfire all broken, then their job was probably done. He adjusted the focus and kept a steady watch.

((I never said anywhere that Luke blushed. Nor did I say he likes Yuuki.))

"Yes sir." Luke secured his Blackened Crest on one arm and unsheathed his Tempered Calibur. He thought about what the hunter said, "Wait what do you mean? I wasn't blushing."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beck blinked, did someone just hop over the entire crowd of Tortodrones? He followed and zoomed in, reaching the max limit his rifle would allow. It was a woman, with a cloak and silver hair. Oddly she seemed familiar. He decided against moving closer, however, he'd find out later.

Yuuki frowned and glared daggers at Pippin and the Hunter, a scowl on her face. A soft sigh escaped her lips and she quipped "You HONESTLY think I like him? You're kidding me, right?"

I'm waiting on Grell to make his reaction on Keep being hit. I will resume without Grell moving at all if he doesn't move by 12/19/2014.

@Liminori in responce to confusion indicated in #271
Isphea managed to prevent some of the damage from the Swarm by knocking Keep out of the corruption, but as seen in #240, he is about to go berserk on Isphea as she approaches him. Keep's Battle Sprite, Escha, shot an "antidote" (it's unknown what this antidote does -- it could be a stabalizer for the "Berserk-mode" drug, or a Swarm-reduction type syrum) at Keep, causing him to go unconscious before he could do anything harmful, however.

Please note that the Swarm's influence spreads meaning that the ground which is now infected with Swarm energy will slowly increase in size (about 1 inch per couple of seconds) until it reaches about 2-3x its original circumference (which is currently right at the edgs of Keep's feet. The circle of Swarm Influence on the ground would be about 7-8 meters across, currently), it can and will spread up trees as well. It will stop spreading after it reaches its maximum, but for now... I'd recommend hauling Keep's unconscious body out of there. There's also Strom. He's still approaching.

Fast.

---------------
Pippin:
Pippin grins to herself. Oh, how she loved provoking others -- it was all in good fun, of course.

"C'mon, love birds. I'm ready to leave as soon as you stop denying your undoubted blooming relationship." Pippin then stomps out the fire, the grip-mods on her feet quashing the flames and causing them to go through partial stomping-and partial gravity-disassembly.

Pippin giggles to herself and follows alongside Yuuki between the two knights. Upon reaching the elevator, she tentatively pushes a foot against the surface.

"Hey Whiskers, is this thing going to be all right? I mean... Most elevators are broken, and testing them usually results in..." Pippin walks over to the ledge where the Elevator sits, peering down to the layer faaaaaaar below. She then continues, "An exciting ride. To say the least."

@Ember: It was an antidote for the berserk mode. As Keep is pretty exhausted at the moment from the Swarm infection + drug abuse, he can't help passing out :p

Also, I have a scenario for whether Keep gets totally infected or just partially infected. So people can do whatever they want with his body.

PS. I'M FINALLY DONE WITH MY EXAM
I FEEL SO FREEEEEEEEEE
---
Caite raised an eyebrow at the woman who suddenly fell from the sky and landed right next to her. Though ultimately, she didn't really care about that and shrugs it off.

"Hahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaah! Sorry girly, but don't intrude on this intimate moment,

"Just stand over there and look pretty. I also recommend video taping my performance and showing it to your friends, brag to your friends about meeting with an existence as transcendent as I!" she proclaims with a flourish and a spin, timed perfectly to narrowly avoid the tortodrone who suddenly charges her.

"Hahahahahahahahahahaaaah! Oh does the beast struggle! But to what avail?! Know true despair, your fate was decided the second I chose you as my prey!" she says,

While doing a backflip to, once again, narrowly avoid another one of the Tortodrone's attack, this one being a crystal fired at her direction. The crystal sticks to the ground around her, and starts to emit a radiation that melts it's surroundings.

Caite walks forward in a casual manner, stopping right at the edge of the range belonging to the crystal's radiation.

"Now then, I think we've played enough big boy," she says in a suggestive manner, "it's time for the climax."

All this time while she had been weaving through the Tortodrone's strikes, she had been hooking almost every single bomb in her arsenal into her shield's cord.

The following series of events is so incredibly intense, that it needs to be described second by second.

1st second.
The Tortodrone fires a series of Crystal's from it's back. A dozen or so flies towards Caite, while the others are shot upwards. At the same time, Caite starts priming her first bomb with both hands, her strongest bomb, a Big Angry Bomb.

The 2nd second rolls around, and the fast travelling crystals are now only a breath away from colliding with Caite. Caite turns her body to the side. Caite holds the Big Angry Bomb in one hand now, not finished priming yet, but she is about to finish it up with only one hand. Her other hand reaches out to another bomb, a Graviton Bomb, and she starts priming that one as well with just one hand.

The two enter the 3rd second and the first crystal passes by Caite without hitting her. However, it flew close enough to sweep her hair. Once the first crystal had passed, Caite bends her body backwards, to accommodate a second and third crystal that is about to pierce her ear and shoulder area. In this third second, she finishes up priming her Big Angry Bomb, and also finishes her Graviton Bomb.

By the 4th second, the second and third crystal passes her, but a whole flurry follows in their wake. Caite uses the momentum from having bent backwards, kicks her legs, and proceeds to enter the first stage of a backflip. At the same time, she lightly tosses her both her currently held bombs upwards. Three shards pass under her had another four barely scrapes between the gaps of her arms and legs. SImultaenously, the Tortodrone bends it's body to the front in preparation to charge.

In the 5th second, her feet no longer touching the ground, she draws two more bombs, an Irontech Destroyer and a Master Blast Bomb, and starts priming them both with one hand on each. The Tortodrone begins it's forward sprint. A number of crystal is still heading towards Caite, but most of them were off mark, and only one was headed towards where she was likely to land from her backflip.

The 6th second is reached, and the Tortodrone had gained speed and is en route to crash into Caite. Caite finishes priming both her current bombs simultaneously, and lets them begin to fall from gravity. And the same time, she is about to finish her backflip and the single crystal from before looks as though it's about to impale her leg. Also, the crystals earlier, the one fired into the sky, begin to fall and they look as though they're going to land in a manner that would surround Caite, though it didn't seem like any of them were going to hit Caite herself.

7 seconds pass, and Caite makes a bold maneuver, somehow managing to land with one foot on the crystal that was about to pierce her foot, and she uses it in a split second as a foothold. While in such a pose, she somehow manages to draw two more bombs, a Deadly Crystal Bomb and a Dark Matter Bomb, and starts priming them too. It was also at this moment where the Tortodrone was quite literally, close enough to touch if you were to reach your hand out.

The 8th second happens and sht just starts getting absurd. Caite somehow uses the crystal, a moving projectile, and kicks forward for more lift. High enough to allow her to be higher than the Tortodrone, and narrowly avoid it's charge. At the same time, the tortodrone crystals in the sky are almost about to land and trap Caite.
The 9th second proves to be a testament to surreal levels of planning and execution. As Caite, while still in mid-air and having just finished priming 2 more bombs somehow manages to simultaneously unlatch the shield from her gauntlet by having headbutted the place where the shield's latch was supposed to be and loosening it. She also lets the 2 bombs fall again and starts pulling out her Magnus. The Tortodrone, having realized that it had missed it's prey, forcefully halts it's charge by planting it's arms into the ground as a brake.

The 10th second comes to conclude the battle. Mid-air, and in a very awkward position, Caite fires her Magnus at her also mid-air shield.

Now, the narration's time begins to accelerate,

As Caite's Slime Node shield soars at a diagonal angle along with all of the bomb's that Caite had tied to it, looking as though it's about to fly over the Tortodrone, but the shield suddenly collides with a falling crystal, righting it's angle. The Shield slams into the Tortodrone's head, and it's excess momentum causes it's cords to spin, and wrap around the Tortodrone's bulbous head. And then they detonate.

6 bombs, simultaneously, on a single Tortodrone's head.

....

The damage done, but is it finished?

No.

Even after an attack of such an absurd level, the Tortodrone continues to stand still. It's head had most of it's skin burnt, and partially removed, unveiling the insides that seemed to be made of glowing flesh and diamond bones. The behemoth's shell around it's neck looking like it had been forcefully peeled off.

Showing that it was still far from defeated, the Tortodrone lets out a bestial cry that causes the very ground around it to tremble.

"A magnificent fight you made," says Caite in a genuinely praising tone, while approaching the beast, passing by the single hole in the crystal cage that was supposed to contain her.

"But unfortunately for you, oh adorable little behemoth, it ends here. But worry not, I shall make good use of your carcass. Your death was not in vain."

And at the end of her sentence, Caite snaps her fingers.

A beam of red suddenly falls and disintegrates the remainder of the Tortodrone's half-useless skull. The beam fades and the Tortodrone collapses into a lifeless heap right in front of Caite. Following that, Doomgod the Drakon descends from high in the sky to return to his mistress.

"Now then.... how am I going to lug this oversized cadaver into the camp?"
---
TL;DR: Caite is badass and I like to compensate realism/accuracy for the sake of awesomeness.

Auto grinned watching the destruction.
He gently applauded.
"Alright, so who here can carry a Tortodrone? I can fire fast, not lift giant rocks."
Angela landed on his hat and curled up.

Gwenivere slowly clapped her hands, a wide grin planted on her face. "Nicely done, Miss Caite! You have impressive skills for a knight." She hefted the entire Tortodrone in her arms and glanced back at the group. "Where do you want this?"

Back to the camp of course. And while we're at it, I'll see if I can upgrade some of your gear- as thanks for helping me out," says Caite, in an uncharacteristically formal, if not downright polite manner.

Though that was because she was using most of her remaining stamina to not show how tired she was. All the acrobatics and high-speed mathematics left her with a killer migraine and joints that are likely to stay sore for the next 36 hours.

She couldn't wait to see her twin brother again- his massages are to die for.

Auto looked around.
"So, where's a working elevator towards the camp?"

Srry some stuff might seem weird a lot of it is for my soon to be fanfic

Name: Scorpio
Gender: Male
Age: 15
Color: Red
Race: Knight
Good or evil? Good/Psycho Rage Evil
Personality: Very immature. After girlfriend’s death, really depressed and reclusive. When he must fight after his girlfriend’s death, anything red about him turns green.
Armor: Snarbolax Coat and Snarbolax Cap
Shield: Barbarous Thorn Shield
Weapons: Barbarous Thorn Blade, Grim Repeater
Bio/history: He had knight parents, but they took him on the Snarbolax mission and totally failed. The Snarbolax found him amongst his parent’s corpses and felt pity for the little thing. The Snarbolax gave his shed to this baby and made a full sized Snarbolax gear set. When he grew up he continued through the mission’s path and found the elevator back to Haven. The other knights discovered him and taught him to be civilized. On one of his missions, his girlfriend died. Her weapon was a Grim Repeater, which he kept and used to honor her memory.
Relations: Any kind of Snarbolax he comes across, Including Shadow Lair, will not hurt him. He will try to heal Shadow lair Snarbolax and they will not hurt him. Affiliated with the Young Guns (Squad that most members are teens) and the Boss Squad (i.e. raised by bosses, made bosses, son of bosses) and the Combo Squad (i.e. people from many different backgrounds)
Twist degree: If he encounters the Snarbolax who raised him, he will instantly turn on the knights in his party, regardless of anything about them.
Sorry if anything seems over powered. Just let me know if you feel like something is OP (An acronym for overpowered in case you didn't know)
At this point, Scorpio will be around... say 19.

Scorpio observed the other survivors from afar. He watched the strange woman he had been following lift the tortodrone. The entire frickin' tortodrone! He jumped through the trees, after seeing through his binoculars what he had been searching for. "Be quiet little guy!" he muttered to his battlesprite. He continued leaping over trees, until he comes across the old man who he revered for his skill. The feisty one was saying something about the elevator, and he decided to remain hidden until.. later.

I hope this thread isn't dead. I've actually been here for a while, but I have an armor games account that wasn't actually compatible with the website, so I had to make a second one to post, and than I had to make an identity knight and stuff.

(I certainly hope this story didn't die yet,)

(If you are logged in, then at the bottom of the thread there is a big yellow text that says Post new comment, then a text box. The rest is self explanatory.)
(Also, you can edit your own posts by the edit under your ign. So you don't go making a bunch of extra posts.)
(Even more, if you want a profile pic, go up to the top of the page and click forum preferences, then click edit.)

Beck jerked his head up, he'd seen someone in his periferal vision. Slinging the rifle on his back, he followed the figure to a lift, where he lost the knight. He cursed himself then went back to gain a visual on the tortodrone group.

Scorpio leapt out of bush and in between the group and the elevator

"Are you guys friendlies?" He asked, warily holding his grim repeater "Cause if so, that would be really helpful. I need somewhere to sleep and be safe"