GodofGamingRWBY

Freya "Yeah... I can't really GROW anything myself. Well, I can, but it kinda destroys the entire thing I'm working with and kind of is a backwards type of thing, so I don't like using it too much" Freya said, watching as Law went to work with his multitool, raising her eyebrows at the tool's shift of form. That was freaking cool. Not long afterwards, a loud explosion came out of nowhere, causing Freya to flinch before turning her head to see what the hell just exploded, which specifically was a 'tent' that was now smoldering ruins. After a brief moment of confusion concerning the explosion, Freya looked at the other bandit buildings, slowly grinning before running off to explore them, holding her hat as she ran. ... Not a minute later after leaving everyone's sights, the Necromancer came back, noticeably downed while holding a simple wad of bills. She didn't even find anything nice.

“Concentrated Psionic energy that mimics my own abilities. A bit harder to use due to the amount of focus it requires, but it’s invaluable in combat” Ao replied, “As for the Chosen… I suppose you remember that thing that attacked you and managed to give me this?” she asked, pointing to the still clearly visible scar on her eye, “That was the Assassin, one of the three Chosen, reviving freaks of nature that have the single goal of figuring out where the Commander is. We’ve been dealing with their shit for months, and even though we managed to kill one off for good, we don’t generally like dealing with them. So, to avoid confusion, you may want to use your Chosen’s other name-” “Wait, you managed to kill one of the Chosen for good?” Proditor suddenly asked, becoming instantly alert at Ao’s comment about that one detail. Ao herself, at Proditor’s voice, turned to him, pausing to wonder if she should tell him. However, before she could make a decision, the Reaper spoke up, “The Warlock.” For about a second, Proditor was completely silent as he took in the information. Then, he simply nodded, “Thank you” he replied, turning his head to Harry, “I simply edited you mind lightly to unlock your psionics. That was all I needed to do” he stated bluntly. Ao, however, took notice of this, leaning forward with shock, “Wait, the Ethereal unlocked your psionics on their own? They can DO that?!” she asked. However, before anyone could reply, the intercom came up again, an unfamiliar female voice speaking through it, “Avenger is in sight. We’ll be landing soon” they said, before cutting the intercom out. For about a second, the operatives were silent, before Ao simply leaned back and sighed heavily, while Lazarus decided to speak, “Doctor Tygan may want to see that rifle, actually. We haven’t been able to get our hands on a lot of intact rifles made by ADVENT.”

Freya Freya herself listened with a bit of interest, especially at the Eco talk and the Multitool, "That's pretty cool, actually. I've got my own life energy stuff, right here-" she said, moving her free hand to her staff to pluck off one of the purple roses on the wood, holding it out for Law to see, "Doesn't hold a lot but it's useful for when people recently die around me. Lie what happened in the last minute. Speaking of which, I need to real quick do something... One second" she stated before standing up, reaching up to place the rose on her hat before moving towards the two animal bodies. As she approached, Freya took out her knife, cutting free the bodies after making sure they wouldn't fall over, quickly storing the knife away before black tendrils crept out from underneath her sleeve, moving up her fingers as she crouched down and placed her hand on the Skag. For a few seconds, the Skag didn’t even budge from her magic. Then, it began to twitch before coming back to life, struggling to its feet, shaking it’s head as small drips of aside came out of its mouth. Needless to say, Freya was rather happy at it standing, snapping her fingers to create a portal for it to walk into as she went onto the strange, bird-like creature. Like the Skag, the Rakk took a bit before it came back to life, beginning to beat its large wings to get itself off the ground, taking about 10 seconds to get itself to the point where it could actually behind to fly around, doing so at a rather impressive speed as electricity arced around its body before it flew back down, diving straight into Freya’s porta, which close right behind it as it did so. With that, Freya dusted herself off again, feeling rather proud of herself as she turned around to head back to the group. Two new little guys to keep. The hit in the head was well worth it. As she did so, the blood on the ground began to move, snaking along the ground and heading for a small portal Freya created on the ground, flowing into it before filling up the other side, causing the portal to snap shut. Freya gains 10 Gallons of blood.

Freya At Vitor's comment, Freya turned her head to him, "Wait, a what?" she asked, tilting her head in confusion at the name. A shield generator? How can an object this small be capable of generating entire shields? "... Nevermind, forget I asked that. Sounds cool though. Here-" she said, shaking her head before handing Vitor the shield. Then, with that, she turned to the small mustelid with a gun, straightening her hat as she crouched down to be a bit closer to eye level with them, "It's fine, glad we came along to help you out. Getting eaten isn't a good way to go" she stated before raising an eyebrow in curiosity, "Wait, you said you were dumped here to join us? So you know about the entire... Uh... World eating menace thing?"

Freya As Tim used his healing on Freya (which, combined with Freya’s own regeneration, made the healing extremely quick for her), the young Necromancer could actually begin to feel again… And almost instantly brought a hand to where she was hit in the head, gritting her teeth a bit, “Oooow… Why do everyone we face have to go for me first…” she groaned out, staggering to feet as she shook her head, bringing her hand down to see the blood now covering. She only looked at it for a second, before flicking her hand a bit to get the blood off of it, taking care to wipe a bit of blood off the side of her face, though it was clear she didn’t actually know how much WAS on her own face, considering she only got the area above/around her left eye and not anywhere below it. Overall though, for someone who had looked nearly dead not a minute ago, Freya was already walking around, having already sent her bear away with a snap of her fingers, dusting herself off from the fight before noticing the metal, rectangular object dropped by the Bruiser (which she didn’t exactly remember. She just knew that it was in the middle of a bunch of blood and gore), bending down to pick it up before inspecting it, “... Huh… What IS this?” she asked aloud, turning the device over in her hand. As she did so, it could be noted that her staff had grown strange purple roses over it's body, one of which being much larger than the rest in terms of size. Freya also obtains 8 Death Roses (Psychos) and 1 Death Rose (Bruiser).

XCOM For a few seconds at Harry’s statement, the operatives were silent as they thought about it. After that silence “That was an Avatar, yes. The second we’ve encountered since we’ve started this rebellion. The first we managed to kill about four months ago, and I expect ADVENT has been making upgrades to them since then” he stated before what sounded like a sigh came out of his mask, “As for the Ethereal… Well, if the Commander is giving them a chance, then it is my duty to do so as well. Which is what we all are doing” he said, gesturing to the others in the crew, "I find it harder to believe that it would go through all of this trouble just to risk an infiltration, however. ADVENT isn't that smart" he added, voice dropping more to a whisper so Proditor couldn't hear (which the Ethereal still could, and he silently agreed with the Reaper). As the Reaper talked, Ao looked back at Aquila, looking taken aback at the words 'The Chosen' before remembering his status of coming from another world than her, lifting up one of her hands to show Aquila her gauntlet, “Not really. I am a Templar, one of humanity’s psionic warriors, one of the best, actually. I don’t believe a normal samurai would be capable of doing what I do” she stated, closing her hand into a fist as bright purple, psionic energy began to envelope her fist and glow from her eyes, “Creating spectral mirrors, small storms, and blades from sheer force of will isn’t something most are capable of doing, even if they have psionic potential” she added, letting the psionic energy fade away. It was rather clear that she was proudful of her own powers. Lazarus, on the other hand, took to himself to answer Alan’s question, “XCOM has been doing as well as we can these days. We managed to make some critical hits against ADVENT, such as taking some of their VIPs prisoner, assassinating a few of their generals, and raiding their supplies. That’s on our end though, the more technical aspects of our rebellion have been making steps towards using ADVENT’s own tech against them. Though, even with all of those successes, we’ve been losing some good men and havens lately. That… And…” he explained beginning to trail off when he laid eyes on the brain in Alan’s hand. Not long after Lazarus noticed it, the woman leaned forward to get a better look at it, “Yeesh… That’s a Codex Brain. Those don’t generally come with ADVENT’s Mecs… I think they might be doing some kind of field tests with better AIs. The Commander might know more about it though, she’s generally up to date about these things.”

XCOM "INVADED, is the correct term" the Templar corrected at Harry's statement, glaring at Proditor, "That things race is the entire reason we're still having to fight this war, and personally, I wouldn't be against gutting it right here and now, rebelling against ADVENT or not" she added with a shake of her head and a heavy sigh, "Our Commander, however, wants it taken back to our Headquarters, so we have to hold off on that until she can get what she wants from it" she stated, turning to Harry, "I wouldn't trust it though. No matter what, they're liabe to stab you in the back for their own goal. I wouldn't doubt for a second that it had been planning how it would kill you ever since-" "Ao" the Reaper suddenly interrupted, looking over at the Templar with his arms folded, his deep Russian voice covered up by his mask, "Do not underestimate how common decency can change a creature. After all, Lazarus worked with ADVENT too before joining the Skirmishers" he stated, causing Ao to roll her eyes, "Yes, but he at least comes from an organization that handles this type of stuff. When's the last time you ever heard of an ETHEREAL defecting ADVENT?" she asked before shaking her head, "Never heard of." Lazarus, on the other hand, merely kept quiet, listening to the two as they spoke to each other. The woman, on the other hand, waved back at Frigus before responding to Harry, "That's wonderful, after our luck so far we could use the help. I'm sure the Commander would love the help." "She would" Lazarus instantly added, straightening as he spoke, "Though I believe the Doctor and Chief Engineer would be getting the most help from them." Proditor For about a second, Proditor remained silent, staring at XCOM before he looked down at Frigus, "I am one of those that took over the planet not 20 years ago. It is not a surprise that XCOM is uneasy around me, but I do know that they are in the right, and are those that we must help" he said, his voice coming out rather strained for Frigus (who was the only one who could hear him), "... I shall do my best to explain more in detail when I'm a bit more safe."

Harry and Frigus Once Harry threw the device at the Avatar, they simply raised a hand to catch it, looking down at it for a second before beginning to walk forward, just as Frigus locked the door to the armory, before the two ran the hell away from it. Everyone else “They’re ADVENT’s best troops and one you really don’t want to cross on a bad day, now GET IN!” Lazarus yelled, taking a few steps back towards the ropes as four figures ran out of the building. Two were Harry and Frigus, now flying up on Frigus’s glider to Firebrand as Proditor began to fly upwards himself to get into the ship. The other two were a man and woman, both helmeted, with the man being in dark green armor with a sword on their bad and the woman in white armor, a plus sign on their shoulder pad, and a floating droid keeping up after her as they ran to Firebrand, “About time you two got here, get up!” Lazarus yelled as they approached, letting them get up as DOOMBOT managed to get one of the MEC Wreckage up into Firebrand before the Skirmisher turned to grab one of the ropes himself, letting it bring him up as Firebrand began to pull away and close the back hatch. As it did so, the party could see the Avatar teleport up to the top of the facility with a purple explosion, staring at the ship as it began to fly away. Then, it turned around, teleporting again as a large explosion came out of the facility, engulfing it and the surrounding area in flame. Firebrand Then, the hatch closed, leaving the party in darkness before it was lighten up by a bright red light, revealing the entire seating area, barely big enough to fit the party with seats, including the XCom squad, who were now seating in their own seats next to the hatch, still full of energy. Before any of them could speak though, the intercom for the ship came to life, with the familiar voice of the Commander speaking through it, “Good work Menace 1-5. That’s one less laboratory we have to worry about. And good work to you as well, those from other realities. I’m thankful that our experiment with the transponders came out with good results. I’m looking forward to meeting you all in person” she stated, before cutting the message off. After that, the woman in the white armor looked at the group, taking off their helmet to reveal a more average, everyday, blonde haired woman looking at them, “So, you’re all from other worlds? I didn’t even think that ADVENT had technology that could contact places like that” she said as the robot that floated around her nodded, wordlessly agreeing with it’s caretaker, “They always have. That’s what the Codex are for” Lazarus instantly replied before leaning forward, turning his head to look at the group, noticeably averting his gaze to avoid Proditor, who was more towards the back end of the storage area, barely fitting in the space given there, “... But, needless to say, it’s nice to finally be getting some backup. Haven’t gotten any more troops in five months.”

Platinum For the most part, Platinum was... Rather surprised to realize that there were only 3 people left on the field, including her. At least, on her own team. She had at least thought they would be able to last longer, but apparently, she was wrong. As she went over that fact though, she lifted her hands, catching one of the balls thrown at her by Sharp and throwing it back at the opposing team without much hesitation, aiming for the same person that had thrown the ball at her. Apparently if she stayed on the defensive for too long here she'd be the last person left standing.

Harry and Frigus Random ADVENT crap: 1 (out of 100) Bad News roll: 35 ... Uh oh. The device Harry grabs was a small, smooth, white orb with a dull purple gem in the middle, glowing a bit brightly every few seconds. It seemed fairly interesting as something extra to take from the armory. Literally 3 seconds after he picked it up though, his psionically tuned mind could sense a small ping coming from the device, right before a pillar of psionic energy erupted in the middle of the armory as they left. And standing there was what seemed like a human, on the short side with bright, white and spikey hair, in full black armor, and a purple faceplate that covered their face, kneeling in the room. Then, they looked up, noticing Harry and Frigus standing there, beginning to rise up to his feet, reaching behind to take a strange rifle off of his back. As he did so, the two could practically begin to feel the sheer power radiating off this person, Harry more so than Frigus. XCOM Search Roll: 55 Contagion himself doesn't entire find much usable material on the bodies, as their weapons seem to have self destructed upon their deaths. However, he does acquire x10 Alien Alloys from their bodies! At Alan’s question, Lazarus merely shrugged, resting his firearm as he turned to Alan, “Central likes it when we bring in materials from the field. Lets the Science Division get to work on utilizing ADVENT’s weaponry. So yes, you should be able to-” He began, only to pause and bring a hand to the side of his helmet as the Commander suddenly began to speak again, “Shit, shit shit shit, what the hell?!” “Menace 1-5, we have a Code Red in your area, we’re detecting a massive spike of psionic energy-” “God dammit it's not just a massive spike it's a god damn Avatar! Prototype, Database, get out of there, NOW!” At the sudden panic coming from their commanding officers, the Templar and Lazarus looked at each other for a second, before the Templar, grabbed one of the ropes, letting themselves get pulled up as Lazarus aimed his rifle up, aiming it at the facility, “Nevermind, get up there now, we have an Avatar on the ground!" Proditor Proditor himself was right about to begin floating up to XCOM’s transport before a massive psionic ping caught his attention, massive even with his senses dulled by the dampener. It felt familiar, and reminded him of his race. But at the same time, there was something different… "If we are to prepare for what lies ahead, we need more power." No… It couldn’t… "Humanity is the only way we can defeat our enemy." Angelis had actually managed to create one already... At this realization, Proditor actually froze, staring at the facility (and by extension, the source of the ping he felt) with shock. Firebrand will be forced to leave in 3 updates.

Freya When Freya summoned her "zombies" again, she already knew that they wouldn't have been too good. The ground just didn't feel... Dead enough? She wasn't really sure how to describe it, but she wasn't exactly able to see when one of the psychos managed to whack her hard in the head, causing her to cry out in pain as she physically fell, her vision becoming blurred as she did so. God that hurt... She could barely feel her head anymore. She could see her zombies rise up to get to work on killing the guy the hurt her... At least, she thought so, she couldn't exactly remember... What, was that her own blood she just blinked out of her eyes? It probably was, considering the warmness at her forehead. Either way, she had to get back up at least, which she began to do, grabbing her staff and beginning to prop herself up... Only to be forced back down to the ground when something hit her in the chest, only feeling like a small push to her due to her dazyness. God she really wasn't feeling good right now... For anyone else watching, they would basically see Freya having gotten whacked in the side of the head by one of the psychos, falling to the floor before her zombies began to protect their master by killing the psychos, before they were all shot down by the Badass Bruiser. Freya herself wasn't looking too good, with the area above her left eye covered by a trail of blood, and new holes in the center of her outfit. Thankfully, her signature black tendrils were already forming, trying to repair the damage caused to her. At the same time, the Drop Bear suddenly jumped out of stealth, jumping out of nowhere to pin the Badass Bruiser to the floor. Freya adds Necroregeneration to her action list to repair the damage. Her Drop Bear finally comes out of hiding to knock down the Bruiser with Pounce. As it was stealthed, the Drop Bear effect activates to let it automatically win it's pin check. The Vengeful Drop Bear

Harry and Frigus Frigus goes to absolute town on the Chryssalid, dealing 21, 22, 23, and 29 damage with each strike of his keyblade. The Chryssalid manages to survive the first, but gets knocked down on the second, and by the fourth strike, the Chryssalid was already crushed and dead, without question. The two would then continue their way to the armory, keeping quiet and moving with care until they finally opened the room to find a smaller room filled to the bring with boxes, weaponry, and armor, neatly organized in the room. Combat is essentially over now. Main Team Lazarus managed to spare a quick glance at Aquila, then asked a question in his helmet, “Commander?” he asked, getting a response not a second later, “Some ADVENT Transponders we sent out a week ago through the Psionic Gate. Judging by the fact that those Transponders are both in the area, I’d say that’s what they’re referring to, which means that whoever these people are, they come from another world. Or, worlds, I suppose.” “Another world… Commander, that-” “Opens up a lot of probabilities, yes, I know Doctor. We’ll get to that once we get the operatives out of the area.” At Contagion’s question, Proditor merely turned his head a bit towards him, seeming to ignore all of the guns pointed at him, “ADVENT, of course. Those that you have already killed around here” he replied, one of his hands coming out to gesture towards all of the ADVENT bodies lying around the facility, “I am no friend of ADVENT, not anymore. Which is why I ask of you XCOM, or rather, the Commander, specifically, to allow me to assist you. I deserted ADVENT for a reason. I wish to do something about it” he added. After a few seconds on XCOM’s side, the Templar merely rose a hand to her ear, “Commander? Your orders?” she asked, a hand on her pistol as she waited for the Commander’s reply. “... Lazarus. Remove your psionic dampener and hand it to the Ethereal. If he really wants to help our cause, he’ll accept it. If he resists for any reason, shoot him.” “Commander, what are you doing?!” “Taking a chance with this Ethereal, Central. We NEED all of he help we can get. ADVENT is slowly starting to get more aggressive in stopping us before we can shut down the AVATAR Project. An Ethereal, a LIVE one, mind you, would be a huge step in the right direction.” “We. Can’t. Trust it. Commander I did not take a bullet for you just so you can throw the entire operation away!” “And I didn’t ask you to take a bullet for me, did I? You knew the risks to rescue me, and likewise, I know the risk of bringing this Ethereal in, but we’re running out of options here, Bradford, and in order to complete OUR mission, we need to be able to take these chances.” “...” “Menace 1-5, you have your orders. I await you back at the Avenger.” After a second of delay, Lazarus sighed, reaching behind his head and pulling off a small, blinking purple device on the back of his helmet, hidden by the fur he kept around his armor’s neck, “Alright Ethereal. Command requires you to wear this” he said, walking forward and holding out the Psionic Dampener. There was audible distrust in Lazarus's voice, even as he followed his Commander's orders. Proditor himself, instead of hesitating, immediately reached out to grab it, “Then I’ll do so” he said, taking the device and preparing to put it on the back of his helmet. However, before he did so, he sent out another message to both Harry and Frigus, “XCOM is here and they’re preparing to move out before ADVENT intercepts their escape route. Considering they’re likely blowing this facility up, I would suggest abandoning your search of their armory and head to the front of the building to get out of here” Proditor informed them before attaching the Psionic Dampener. Instantly, he felt it’s effects, feeling his psionic connection be disrupted to the point where he could barely keep himself in the air. XCOM had been busy with this, it seemed. Shortly after Proditor placed the device on the back of his head, the sound of an approaching aircraft was heard, before a large, sleek and black aircraft flew above the trees, turning and hovering in the air with its large rocket thrusters. Not long afterwards, the back opened up, revealing a single figure in full armor, waving down at the group below before stepping out of sight for a few seconds, reappearing to throw down several long rope down. Not long after, the Reaper stepped out of the shadows, walking to one of the ropes on that were thrown down, “I meant that your weapon attracted attention, fairly easily. That was all” he stated, looking at Nader as he did so before he was pulled up suddenly, the rope violently retracting to bring him back to Firebrand. “Menace 1-5… Firebrand is here. Evacuate everyone on sight before ADVENT comes around. Prototype and Database have already set the charges and will be getting to Firebrand shortly.” Firebrand will be forced to leave in 4 updates.

Freya Freya herself waves at the horde of psychotic men, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they were obviously violent and insane, "Hello there! We don't mean to threaten you but we're worried you might... Be people that... Eat... Other....... People... Dammit, nevermind" she eventually said, her greeting falling as they yelled about dinnertime. With an audible sigh, she lifted her free hand, snapping her fingers as she tapped the ground with her staff, black tendrils sinking into the floor to cause the ground to rise up again to take these psychos down. Being eaten alive was not something she wanted to feel happen and come back from. At the same time, a portal opens up a fair distance behind the group, dropping in her Bear from earlier, who immediately stealthes himself, keeping to the sidelines of the fight in wait. Freya uses her Personal Little Zombie world to summon her Drop Bear, keeping him from acting so he remains stealthed. Since summoning with her Zombie World is a free action, she uses Natural Requiem to summon (8)*4 Zombies to her aid, who then charge/shamble towards the Psychos, each attacking the Psycho Clubbers, each of them dealing 1d2+2 damage each. Freya's wittle Drop Bear

At Vitor's reply, Freya opens her mouth to say something, then shrugs, "Fair enough, probably bandits" she said, then begins walking after Ena, keeping her pace roughly even with the robot. It doesn't seem like she has her complaints about this plan, and considering she was walking with her normal air of confidence, she was all for the plan of walking up.

Harry and Frigus Frigus opens the door, seeing two of the three Chryssalids still there, ready to hit that door again before the Keyblade Warrior moved forward, slashing four times at them, dealing 19, 17, 20, and 18 damage to the Chryssalids. There was no contest, as the Keyblade was able to kill the two Chryssalids without much trouble. However, the was still the third… Alan The DOOMBOT aims his machine gun, but unfortunately, the walls and boxes scattered around the Facility (and trees) manage to hide the Stun Lancers as they flee. They’re still dead though. Chryssalids As Frigus and Harry look around for the last Chryssalid, one of the doors to Harry’s side opens up. The Doctor really only has time to turn around and look before the last Chryssalid is upon him, clawing at him with it’s large, spiked feet, taking 6 and 9 damage from the Chryssalid as it’s talons pierce through his Death Wyvern plating. (16 vs 19) (9 vs 13) Unfortunately for it, it’s poison is unable to take effect. Understandably, Harry decides to heal himself instead of Frigus, restoring 17 HP. Main Team At Aquila's question, Lazarus turns to him, pulling out his rifle, letting it rest at his side instead of aiming it at anyone in particular, "Yes, we are. We didn't expect any other Resistance operatives in this area. Especially not some that charge ADVENT forces with nothing but a shield, armor, and a flail" he stated. "Times are rough Lazarus, I wouldn't be surprised if there are people who can't even get their hands on a decent gun" the Templar immediately responds, graciously accepting Rachel's medical assistance, “Besides, it’s not like he was really in much danger until the Chosen came around.” After a bit of thinking, Lazarus nodded, “Fair enough” he said before looking back to where the rest of Aquila’s team was, “It’s a good thing Firebrand is on route. Once we get our charges set we’ll leave. You’re free to come along with us, XCOM could use-” “It has been too long since I’ve seen XCOM in action. A rather pleasant sight, unlike last time” Suddenly, Lazarus swung his rifle up, aiming it at the floating figure of Proditor as he slowly descended to their level, almost ignoring the fact that he likely had (and did have) several guns trained on him, “I understand the hostility, but we are not enemies. Once, maybe, no not now” he added, the bottom of his cloak finally touching the ground, “Not when we have a common enemy.” Firebrand will be forced to leave in 5 turns, and will arrive next turn for Evac. Status

------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trespasser Team ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aquila marks the not-healthy-anymore captain, then whacks him in the face for 15 damage, and follows up by hitting the other for 21 damage. Both, unsurprisingly due to already dying from the poison, die from the two hits. Frigus blizzards the Chryssalids, dealing 14, 15 and 20 damage (Separately) to each of them before the door shuts and is locked by his keyblade. Rachel uses her new action “Battle Hymn” to give everyone in the battle 10 extra HP… Allies, at least. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- XCOM ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lazarus, after dodging the rocket, seeing how it obliterated his cover, sighed, then stood, beginning to walk towards the Facility, with a single line coming out of him, “They continue to move predictably.” Lazarus activates Battlelord for the remainder of this turn! The Templar herself suddenly stands up, turning off her other gauntlet, looking at the Archon King for a second, before pointing a hand at one of the ADVENT corpses, clenching her hand after a second and throwing it up. In response, the ADVENT Soldier she had chosen suddenly lifted up into the air, before falling back to the ground and leaving a purple mass of energy that roughly seemed to resemble the Templar, with both blades activated. Then, she begins to walk forward, bringing a hand to her ear, “Firebrand, get down here, we have some Resistance Fighters we need to extract” she said, having her Phantom Templar hold its action for something to threaten Sister Rachel while she herself prepares her action for Aquila. As Nader likely recoiled from the Archon Ruler’s rockets, a slightly distorted, russian accented voice called out from his side, “It’s not a good idea to aggravate one of the Rulers, especially with a gun like that” the voice said, belonging to a man in a long, tattered cloak, slim black armor, and a gask mask with glowing green eyes, holding a rather large sniper rifle that was likely the source of the loud gunshots that weren’t from Nader, “Thankfully, it seems to want to retreat anyways. I’d suggest you move up to rejoin your comrades… No one lives going off alone” he said, before turning to the side, walking behind a tree and practically vanishing from sight as he was swallowed up by the dark again. As the group recovered from the Archon King’s attacks, a small, flying, white drone flies in from the forest, stopping amongst everyone wounded and letting out a burst of healing chemicals, healing everyone who was wounded to full HP! Unfortunately, that bot has run out of healing juice. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Chosen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “How interesting, Toshinori… Normally you’d be trying to hunt me down, but here you are trying to keep some others defended. A change of heart?” the Assassin taunts, her voice echoing through the forest, followed by a raspy laugh. “Perhaps. How about you show your damn face and I can show you” the Templar immediately responds, activating both of her gauntlets. “Haha… Very well” the Assassin replied… And just like that, she seemed to just reform behind the Templar, pulling out a blade. Instantly, the Templar turns around, only for the Assassin to quickly slash her across the face with her blade, dealing 33 damage and leaving a rather visible line across one of the Templar’s eyes. (21) Just as the Tempar managed to recover again to swing at the Assassin, the Chosen was gone, vanished from the naked eye once again. For all but one second as she appeared, dashing towards Aquila, slashing at the Crusader for another 31 damage as her blade practically ignored his armor. (100) Unfortunately, she was unable to vanish before Aquila’s flail hit her in the face for 8 damage. Despite the blow to the face she took, she couldn’t help but sneer at the Crusader, “I was almost impressed, until you hit like the rest of your kind. Was that really the best-” she began, only to get cut off when a familiar grappling hook pierced her neck. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lazarus Reaction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Lazarus, you know what to do” Lazarus gains +10 on all damaging actions for his reactions, thanks to the Commander’s “Expert Command” trump! “Affirmative Commander” was Lazarus’s only response as he leveled his hook at the Chosen, firing it at her neck, watching it pierce correctly where he wanted. However, instead of pulling the Assassin towards him… He pulled himself towards her, flying through the air, feet first, and eventually kicked her straight in the face, slamming her body into the side of the wall (and causing a decent dent in it as he deals 29 damage to the Assassin. Then, he jumps off her, pulling his claw out and slashing at her again for another 29 damage. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Chosen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- With a wound now in her neck and two lines across her face, it was a wonder that the Assassin was still fighting as she slashed at the Skirmisher… Only to find him quickly duck under the slash, then do an uppercut with his clawed gauntlet… His claws sinking into the bottom of her head with a final 25 damage. After a second, Lazarus retracted his blade, stepping back as the Assassin fell down and forward, her weaponry and body quickly dissipating into another purple pillar of energy. The Assassin has been killed! Go Skirmishers! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADVENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The two remaining Stun Lancers, after seeing most of their allies get slaughtered, decide to turn tail and begin running, ditching their post with panicked yelling. Due to Contagion’s poison, they probably wouldn’t get far. The Chryssalids, despite the ice in their face, charge forward, only being stopped when they slammed on the door, angrily roaring at it and clawing at the door due to it being suddenly locked. After a few seconds though, the sound of glass shattering could be heard from the other side of the door. Seems they found another way around. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alien Ruler ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Suddenly, the Archon King let go of DOOMBOT, roaring in rage as a purple rift appeared above its head. Then, without much time wasting, it suddenly flew up, vanishing into the portal as it quickly shut on it. The Archon King has fled the field! Soooo... Encounter is kind of ended. ADVENT reinforcements are coming, but they will take some time as they need to be dropped in from a transport now. The only reason this entire thing is still up is for Harry and Frigus if they want to continue fighting. Merit will be figured out soon. Status

------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trespasser Team ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Proditor himself heard Harry’s voice, his attention shifting to Harry despite the Mec preparing to fire at him, “Hm… Door to your front, move through the hallway, then take a right, and turn to the first door you find to the left. That should be where the Armory is, since I doubt Angelis has updated the layout of these facilities” Proditor replied, lifting a hand as the Mec aimed once again at the Ethereal, blue psionic energy swirling around his hand. And, with a clench of his hand (using his Psionic Lance damage, which was 24), the Mec suddenly condensed into a ball of metal, joints creaking terribly as they were bent in ways they weren’t meant to. Then, almost as an afterthought, Proditor let it drop to the floor. Then, he looked up, seeing the rockets flying through the air. After a second of thinking, he sighed, then began to rise up in the air. Archons, wonderful. I'm an idiot, so here's Proddy's moveset. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ruler Reaction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contagion uses “May the Gas Rise”, dealing 21 damage to every fucking enemy in the damn encounter because why not and poisons them for 5 turns and taking 4 damage each, automatically killing EVERY FUCKING REGULAR ADVENT SOLDIER on the field along with one of the hurt Captains and hurting the rest bad. ADVENT will remember this. Unfortunately, the Chryssalids are still toxic enough to ignore it, and the Assassin has a trusty gas mask on hand. Instantly though, the Archon King turns his sights onto the man who just poisoned him, roaring in rage as the rockets fell from the sky, dealing 25 damage to both Rachel and Nader, missing Lazarus as he moved out of the way. The Archon King then lifts his staff, aiming it at Contagion and firing a single beam at him, hitting him in the chest for 19 damage. The Archon King then takes 4 damage from poison. Then, Contagion puts two rounds into the Archon King, dealing 33 damage in total. However, the Archon King merely lifts it’s hands, then roars in the air again, the flames coming of it’s torso and wings turning blue in intensity. Then, it looks back at Contagion, with a glare that would freeze the most hardened warriors (21 vs 18) (19)... Except Contagion, who, instead of being scared shitless, instead manages to hold his wits together, and make himself better for it, gaining +1 Essence! The Archon king also takes 8 more damage from the poison. Alan has his drone pester the Archon King, further angering the thing as his DOOMBOT opens fire, dealing 25 to it. However, in a fit of rage, the Archon King suddenly flies forward at high speeds, flying through Alan’s DOOMBOT barrage and grabbing the robot by the throat, dragging it along the ground for a bit before flying into the air, lifting the robot to roar in its face before flying down, still going much faster than one would expect from it, using both of it’s reactions to swiftly slam it into the ground and dealing 39 damage to it, pinning it to the ground as it angrily glared at the robot’s face. It also takes 8 more damage. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trespasser Team ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (5) When Harry and Frigus moved forward, they would find a hallway with… Three strange creatures, standing in the middle of the hallway, preparing to run through the rest of the facility. They did, however, notice the door opening, turning to roar at it as Harry, understandably, quickly shut the door, but only after throwing his grenade. After a few seconds, both Harry and Frigus heard a loud explosion from the other side of the door, damaging each of the creatures for 3 damage each, which was helpful. There went stealth. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Chosen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Poison commander? How shameful, I had more respect for you." "Unfortunately, they're not part of my men... That poison seems to be extremely effective..." "Commander, you remember-" "Yes, I remember the Viper Rounds and Grenades" Status

------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ruler Reaction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (12) Nader's shot flies true, punching into the Archon King and nearly sending it out of the air with a mighty... 19 damage. The Archon King immediately gets back up, and with a mighty roar, throws its hands down, sending three rockets into the sky that begin to target Nader, Lazarus, and Sister Rachel. Rockets will fly down on the Ruler's next action, and can be moved out of it by spending your move. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- XCOM ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Lazarus, MOVE!" Lazarus spends his move to get out of the Archon King's rockets. Status

------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ruler Reaction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blue strikes at the Archon King, slashing at the Ruler for 11 damage. Instantly, the Archon King roars at the tiny speck attacking it (22 vs unnatural 20), only to find the speck managing to block most of the damage, but Blue still takes 9 damage. Status

Freya Freya seemed to think for a second as Ena gave her response to Tim, then shrugged herself, "Yeah, they seem a bit crazy" She replied. Kind of hard to not be a bit wrong in the head if you're running around half naked, wearing a mask, and shouting random gibberish. Then, hearing the voice of Lilly, she turned, straightening her hat again and giving her best welcoming smile, despite still being a bit dizzy from the landing, "Well, I'm Freya, pleasure to meet you by the way, and these are my partners-slash-comrades-slash-... Friends? My opinion at least. And we're here to..." Freya began, pausing for a few seconds to remember what Claptrap had said on that recording spell, "Uh... Right, solve a little Bandit problem! Which... Give me a second-" she added, turning away from Lilly to address the group she personally knew, pointing at the people running around, "Do you guys think that these guys are the Bandits we're supposed to be helping take care of?"

Theme ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trespasser Team ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “I shall” Proditor replied as he himself got to his own position, his helmet opening up as his mind expanded, taking in the entire battefield, noting the positions of XCOM’s troops, along with some… Other people. He was more interested in where ADVENT was deploying their own troops. Eventually, he found one of his targets, a Mec beginning to spring towards the battlefield, with some more ADVENT troops behind it. The air in front of Proditor seemed to shift for a second, before a lance of psionic energy flew at the Mec, piercing through its hull, dealing 21 damage to the machine and causing it to stumble, before it and the two soldiers following it turned to the side to see who the fuck shot them. As expected, this made Proditor very, VERY visible. Which was precisely what he wanted in this situation. Aquila manages to take advantage of the situation, running up to the Stun Lancer as he shows off his crackling electric stun lance and knees him in the groin (16 vs 10), causing the Stun Lancer to jump a bit before dropping the lance, holding that area with his hands as pain filled his entire being, along with 6 damage. He’s not really save from the follow up strike though, as Aquila’s flail manages to hit his head and crack his helmet with another 16 damage. (91) Harry and Frigus continue to move through the carnage as ADVENT moves to the battlefield, staying behind something when another group of troops run by. Eventually, they manage to get to another door of the facility, thankfully without anyone spotting them, and like it did with Rachel, the door easily opened for Harry and Frigus, revealing another room in the Facility, completely void of life with several blinking computers and large black pods. Rachel injects Aquila with some drugs, then moves on to burn the Priest and Captain, burning them for 13 initial damage and then making them catch on fire, damaging for another 6 each turn! Nader initiates suppressive fire, firing his Sorraia at some ADVENT troops as they began to reach the area, dealing 14 damage to each. Not killing any, but at least gaining their attention. Alan advances with his DOOMBOT ready to fire. Kind of like a situational overwatch. (33) (83) As another ADVENT Mec turns the corner, it is met with a full volley from Contagion’s rifle, the bullets tearing through it as it takes three sources of 31 damage, becoming a grand total of 93 damage as the Mec goes down. He then shoots another Mec in the face with his rifle, dealing 23 damage but failing to bring it down as the other wounded one is on the other side of the building. Lastly, he uses his “may the gas rise” to damage every enemy for 10 damage as gas flows over them. (13 vs 11) (Natural 20 vs 18) Both ADVENT Captains are poisoned! (Natural 1 vs 12) (13 vs 16) (22 vs 10) (Natural 20 vs 13) Two ADVENT soldiers are poisoned! (14 vs 23) ADVENT Stun Lancer is not poisoned. (15 vs 20) ADVENT Priest is not poisoned. ADVENT Mecs are robots and cannot be poisoned. ??? are immune to poison. Blue moves in to show his Priest his religion, zipping forward with his tiny blades, slashing at him for 48 damage. Needless to say, the electricity coming from the blades is enough to send the Priest down, spazzing as something sounding like “BUTTS” escapes his mouth. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- XCOM ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Lazarus, take out that remaining turret. Rest of you, masks on” Lazarus gains +10 to his next Shock Cable attack this turn! With a quick nod, Lazarus, the Skirmisher, stands from his cover, raising his clawed gauntlet and firing out its grappling hook, watching as it punched into the turret. Then, with a quick press of a button, an electric shock flew through the grappling hook, hitting the turret for a mighty 32 damage before Lazarus pulled the hook out, letting it rewind to his gauntlet before firing at it again with his bull pup, hitting for 11 damage and causing the turret to explode with the damage, the gun slumping down. As Nader finished spraying the ADVENT troops, another loud BANG emitted from the air, followed by the Captain flying back from another 18 damage as a sniper round punched straight through his chest. Before the echoing of the shot died though, a device flew through the air, latching onto the shoulder plate of one of the ADVENT soldiers, blinking with a small red light. The Templar, once her Mec was killed, turned around, letting one of the blades die as she pulled out a pistol, letting out one shot at the Soldier that had been tagged with the device, hitting it… And causing a large explosion from the soldier that killed both of them for 24 damage. Then, she holstered the gun, running to cover as ADVENT began to move in, pulling out a small gasmask with glowing, purple highlights, putting it on to protect her from the toxic gas. As the rest of the operatives gets to work, the other two move stealthily through the forest towards their objective, keeping out of sight. "Menace 1-5, ADVENT Interceptors are on the way, we have a limited window to keep Firebrand in the area. Complete the mission objective and get you and those people to safety ASAP." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Chosen ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Suddenly, partway through the carnage, a large pillar of bright purple energy appears on the very roof of the facility, quickly dying away to reveal a single… Woman, in a loose term, crouching with both hands on a sword, which was currently planted into the roof’s metal, “It has been a while, Commander” they stated, beginning to stand up and pull their blade from the ground, their voice resounding through the entire base for all to hear, “I hope you don’t disappoint me like last time” they added, before seeming to… Disintegrate into the air, rather quickly. “Heads up everyone, we’ve got a Chosen on the field. We’ve taken them down before and we can do it again, just keep your eyes sharp on this one and get the mission completed” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADVENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the others died around him, the ADVENT Captain did the best thing he could possibly do. Run to good cover and fire at the guy ready to kill everyone with his rifle... Only to find every single bullet scraping off his armor to nearly no effect. He then takes 4 damage from the poison. The ADVENT Stun Lancer, unfortunately, expires despite only taking 2 damage from the poison. How cruel. The ADVENT Mec itself runs forward, before bracing itself and aiming it’s grenade launcher at Nader and Alan, letting out three grenades at the two (and DOOMBOT), dealing 17 damage to each. Or at least, it would’ve, if the DOOMBOT didn’t shoot the fuck out of it with 31 damage to its name, showing it the better machine. The other tries to fire at Proditor (Natural 20 vs 16), only to find the Ethereal merely waving his hand to cause the bullets fired at him to stop in mid air, before dropping to the floor. The other two ADVENT Soldiers, despite the toxic cloud, turn to face who ever shot them… Only to freeze upon seeing the all too familiar figure of the Traitor, the infamous Ethereal who deserted ADVENT for reasons unknown. They knew who he was, and knew his track record. And because of that track record, they knew that they needed to get the fuck out of there, which they did, practically running away screaming and finding cover to hunker down in, leaving the Mec to face the Traitor on their lonesome. Suddenly, Lazarus would hear the sounds of multiple clawed feet tapping the ground rapidly behind him, turning around and instantly slashing out with his clawed gauntlet, the superheated blade easily burning through a Chryssalid’s talons as it tried to get at him. Despite the creature’s sudden roars of pain, Lazarus didn’t stop, slinging his rifle over his back, grabbing the Chryssalid by the throat before slamming it down onto the rock her was using as cover, dazing the creature before impaling it’s head with his claw, with a total of 41 damage, after crit. Sure enough, the creature spazzed for a few seconds, before slumping down, dead, and judging by the new roars that echoed through the forest, that wasn’t the only one. More ADVENT troops begin to run into the field, hearing the commotion and preparing to assist with the rest of the troops. 4 more ADVENT Soldiers, 2 Captains, and 2 Stun Lancers appear as reinforcements. The “your fucked” chance: 1 … Shit. As the ADVENT troops move to the area, another Alien seems to just wander in. A red, humanoid alien with rocket wings, holding a long staff with a green tip. It quickly notices the battle, and the people fighting, and roars at all of them, activating it’s wings to fly up above them, spinning its staff as it does so. “Dammit, of COURSE that Archon's here. Alright men, we have a Chosen AND a Ruler around. Try to be careful around him, we don’t need to lose anyone today. If you can, get him to retreat, he’s already wounded from our last encounter and probably doesn’t want to stick around long for that to happen again.” The Archon King has arrived. Initiative Status Note: Mission Objective is to specifically hold off until XCOM can complete their mission. Which is to set some charges onto the Facility. Since ADVENT will be sending units in non stop, XCOM will be providing an escape route that will close up in 7 turns. Also, the Alien Ruler will automatically respond to any hostile action made towards it, which is not limited to the person attacking it. Choose your attacks against it wisely.

Tekeshi "I'll remember that for later" Tekeshi replied to Zent's instructions before running off to attack, gunning for the nearest swordsman. He wasn't really keen on taking on another retainer so soon after getting his ass kicked by one. Tekeshi tries to be useful and runs to C6, attacking Initiate A.

Platinum Once the game began, Platinum... Actually didn't move, for a bit, already knowing that she wouldn't be able to run up and grab one of the balls before anyone else could. So, she simply waited for the carnage began. At least, for those that were actually participating. Even when the rubber balls were being thrown around Platinum didn't exactly move except for a few steps to the side from time to time, and for the fact that she had unfolded her arms. More or less, she was waiting for someone to throw one directly at her, then catch it. It felt better to play defensive rather than offensive, after all.

Freya Freya herself had, more or less, had the same exact experience as everyone else in the pod. However, when she stood up to finally leave, instead of simply walking out, she literally stumbled out of the pod before falling flat on her face, her eyes practically in a spiral motion. For a few seconds, Freya laid there, mumbling about something to do with "flying", before lifting her head to see the other group. With a groan, the young Necromancer began to get back on her feet, dusting herself off as she leaned on her staff for support, nearly falling over again as she stood up, straightening her hat again, which had nearly fallen off from the fall, "Hey there- Oh god I'm never flying again, that was hell..." she said, going to comment about the fact that they had the same pod before gunshots rang out, causing her to look to the side in confusion... Only to see a bunch of guys in masks running around and speaking utter nonsense. The confusion was clear on Freya's face as she began to look around, trying to understand what was happening, both due to the new surroundings and still being disoriented from the landing.

Aquila and Rachel “Eyha, cfuker, ew're ADVENT. Ahtw idd oyu isms the raomr? Onw ptu your nhdas, ni the Ugfknci Ria!” the Captain yelled… Right before getting shot in the back of the head by the flying form of Rachel, having not even heard her until it was too late. ??? “Central, we have-” “We know Prototype. Menace 1-5, you have permission to engage. Make it a good one.” XCOM As the ADVENT captain went down, the other two grunts prepared to fire at Aquila… Only for one to suddenly freeze as a grappling hook sunk into their neck, before pulling taut, dragging the ADVENT soldier through the air as his gun fell out of his hand. Eventually though, the body did stop, but only when a gloved hand grabbed him out of the air, tearing the hook out of their neck before swiftly cutting it open with a clawed gauntlet. Then, the body was thrown to the side, revealing an armored individual, with dark grey plating over his body, fur surrounding his shoulders, a long, blood red cape, and a smooth, circular helmet that revealed glowing red eyes that were clearly part of the armor. With a quick look at the Aquila and Rachel, the figure reached over his back, pulling out what seemed to be a bull pup, before turning and moving for more decent cover as the other ADVENT soldier was shot in the back of the head by Rachel's other Inferno Pistol. At the same time, a loud, nearly deafening sound of a sniper rifle cut through the air, followed by the sound of metal tearing as one of the turrets had a hole punched straight through its armor, followed by the turret quickly deactivating, the gun dropping down as the lights on its sides flickered out. Not long after that, a woman in dull purple armor, seemingly very light armor at that, sprinted out of the darkness, creating two electric, purple wrist blades on both of her hands as she charged the facility, catching the attention of one of the Mecs stationed around the facility, giving it enough time to raise its own gun before slashing straight through one of its legs, sending it to a knee before following up with a dual slash that cut through the Mec in an X-like pattern, before kicking the remains away. Proditor “I did get my clearance provoked, but Angelis never bothered to change her schematics. She’s more focused on the bigger picture than the other details. So, a stealthy approach should be-” Proditor began, only to be stopped when gunshots began to ring out throughout the area, followed by a small sigh from Proditor, “Correction, would be possible. Keep yourself out of sight, if you please. You should be able to access from one of the doors around the facility” Proditor stated before rising into the air, moving towards the top of the stone pillars to get a better vantage point. Rachel again After the ADVENT troops went down, Rachel went to work to open the door to the facility… Only to, well, find it surprisingly open up rather easily, even before she started to cut through it. Weird. … There was another group of ADVENT troops in the room though, one in white armor, one with a strange button that crackled with red electricity, and another one of those Captains. Initiative Note: Initiative will be taking "turns" for each faction, going from the Trespasser Team, to XCOM, and finally to ADVENT. Moves are left untouched, however. Status Theme