[IC] TTG Interlude: Virtue

[Shamitako]

(OOC: I promise I haven't forgotten the rest, I just happen to have inspiration for Lord free. Also, once I have posts for the rest up, am set a deadline for finishing the exhibition, just FYI)

 

Lord

 

Miraculously, the Hellfire Knight managed to get its attack off before Lord could close the distance between them. The wave of plasma washed over her, drenching her in an unbearable heat. And then it was gone, replaced with a completely blank feeling beyond mere numbness. For the first time, Hiroki saw a reaction from Lord. The god stopped in her tracks and dropped to one knee, supporting herself with one hand while the other held her chest as though to steady her breathing. An eternity passed in a moment. It looked like Lord was about to pass out, and for that one eternal moment, Hiroki might have thought she won. But whatever hope she might have had was dashed away when Lord spoke. "Not bad." It as barely more than a whisper, the last breath the god could muster, but it announced Hiroki's end clear as day.

 

Blue-white bolts of electricity arced through the air around Lord. At first they ere sporadic, fleeting bursts of energy. Then the chaotic storm coalesced into a constant stream, six strands of energy emitting from the center of her chest and arcing around to pierce her back opposite. All at once, the hand on her chest dropped to the ground, the arcing electricity exploded off of Lord's back, arcing through the air to strike Hiroki, and Lord launched into the air to follow it.

 

The electricity struck and the Hellfire Knight shut down completely, every light going dark at once. The remaining guns went silent and the limbs not only ceased to actively move, but in fact locked in place. Instead of armor to protect her, the Hellfire Knight no formed a prison to trap Hiroki. Lord was close behind, the first punch smashing Hiroki into the ground. It was followed by a flurry of relentless attacks, ten, twenty, Hiroki couldn't keep count of how many times Lord's fists slammed into her hull. Each hit struck with all the force Lord had at her disposal, battering the Hellfire Knight and shattering the earth beneath it. Within a few seconds, Lord had reduced Hiroki's mech to a smoldering heap around her.

 

Unable to maintain its mangled form any longer, the Hellfire Knight vanished and its battered pilot dropped out, landing in the center of a large crater that was once the edge of the arena. Lord stood over her, the god's gauntlets still crackling with energy. Her unbreakable composure was broken. Yet though her face was mired with dust and sweat and her chest heaved for each desperate breath, Lord refused to fall. Instead, she smiled the brightest smile she could muster and said, "Blink was right about you." Before walking slowly off the field.

[Chevaleresse]

Hiroki wasn't sure how to feel. She sort of wanted to cry, but the half of her brain that wanted to was being screamed at by the other half for a variety of reasons. The usual ones, of course, were present; don't humiliate yourself in public, don't show weakness, et cetera (though it was hard to not look weak when your heavily armored mech had been turned into a visual representation of Hiroki's current emotional state before vanishing and dropping you into a crater), but alongside those was something else. Was that an honest compliment? What had Blink said about her? Blink seemed to like her, somehow, but you never knew. . . Should she be proud? She was angry and sad that she lost; she'd told herself that it simply wasn't something she was going to do any more, but she hadn't exactly lost to a casual competitor. She'd put up a fight against Lord, the strongest fighter in Tempest, pressed the woman to what looked like the edge.

 

But she still lost.

 

She took a deep breath, and slowly pushed herself to her feet. She felt like everything hurt; her mech was supposed to stop her from getting hurt or taking significant damage, not from feeling pain. She would push past this, despite that. She'd have to. . .

[Sutoratosu]

On 11/26/2017 at 6:34 PM, Clownpiece said:

 

Swag

 

As the finger blaster exploded in midair, energy coursed through Swagalicious's armor. Being aware that Sully used electromagnetism (it was pretty obvious) he put all of his temporary extra armor into electromagnetic shielding. This turned out to be a very smart choice as the EMP nearly instantly overtook his position and would have screwed him up bigtime.

 

"Not a shrink." Swag said. He dashed forward with blinding speed, stopping barely a meter away from the Revenant, and unleashed a barrage of pink lasers from his titty guns at his opponent's right arm. "I just know someone a lot like you. She's never been good at letting things go, I doubt you are either. But at least she knows how to keep her cool when there's something bigger at stake."

 

 

Solomon would've said something particularly nasty in response, had it not been for Asmodeus shifting the fields and sending them strafing away from the bazarro god. The lasers just barely managed to graze the side of the mech, though the moment they did a flare of green and blue erupted as the vast majority of the energy was dissipated. The aura surged over the whole of Revenant for a brief moment before flickering away again. And in it's place was a crimson one. Faint, so very, very faint, but still noticeable to the sharpest of eyes.

     "Focus!" Asmodeus again ordered, "You saw that, didn't you? The moment it detonated..."

     "The fucker's fast, but yeh. Not that fast... not initially, anyways. Even took the damn pulse right to the face like it was nothing. Big whoop, so the gaudy god has a few tricks up his sleeve? How surprising..."

 

The same moment Revenant had been launched away from the approaching God, half a dozen streaks of burning amber had roared towards Swag from across the arena, their prescence announced by thunderous bursts of sound and fury that reveberated all around.  They were not the only ones however, as yet more bursts joined the chorus, and within moments half a dozen more joined them; the field was alight with streaks of metal, flying at speeds exceeding a railgun and burning red hot with friction on the air. Their paths unpredictable, their trajectories ever changing, all of them tore through the air like rabid dogs, turning right around for another pass when they failed to strike something and seeking something else to shred along the way.

 

The whine of Ragnorok's shards was like the call of an infernal machine, hungry for blood and sacrifice, and in their ferocious onslaught, they were like a storm of death.

[Shamitako]

Swag

 

Though slower in responsiveness than the AI, Swag's jets triggered and he strafed in tandem with his opponent, easily matching the Revenant's speed. Certainly Ragnarok was a frightening force, but Swag figured if he just kept pace with Sully, there'd be too great a risk for collateral damage. "You know, I wonder. What are you here for?" Swag asked, "You don't seem like you want to be a god. Perhaps I've misjudged you and you're here because you want to save people from Nil?" Swag was fairly certain he hadn't misjudged, but his goal was to get Sully to be the one to reveal the truth. In the meantime, Swag prepared to counter if his opponent went for a melee attack.

[Sutoratosu]

Revenant Solomon

 

"Don't listen to anything that comes out of his shit eating mouth, he's just trying to-"

"I know,"  The God of Lust underestimated both Solomon's control over his sister's designs and how nonchalant he would be about drawing the shards closer to himself. As he strafed closer the Shards broke off their previous attack patterns, each of them spinning in place like miniature saw blades as they rocketed for Swagger; any of those that missed the god himself simply shifted course and began to orbit around Solomon himself in a protective sphere of shredding death. All the while a repulsion field further served to keep the other mech at bay. It was hard to tell whether sully was pushing Revenant, or Swag himself away with it, but one way or another, the gap widened as Ragnarok returned to its master. 

     "Sully... wait, so soon....?" The AI could feel himself being blocked by a very familiar wall. Yet again. Except this time, it was the pilot himself doing it, instead of some actually god-like being such as Arcturus. With a heavy sigh, he gradually stopped resisting the push. It was what they'd spent what time before the match preparing for, he knew it would come eventually. Didn't stop him from dreading it though, "Are you sure?"

     "Go," For a brief moment, it is all the response Asmodeus gets, as several of the shards orbiting the Revenant begin to coalesce , connecting themselves into a half-moon blade that looked as if someone had taken Ragnarok's full form and split it in two. "I'm done with this charade. But he asked the magic question. And ya know what? I just found the answer to it myself, not long ago. I got nothin' left to run from. Might as well share the answer."

    "... just don't let a repeat of the last time occur." and like that, in barely the full span of a moment, the AI had left him, full control of the system now sitting in Solomon's hands alone. 

Spoiler

 

"You wanna know why I'm here?" He broadcasted into the arena, "Only person I ever tried to save is gone. Even when I knew she was headin' off to her destruction, I couldn't do anything to stop her. Cute that you think I could save anyone" A strange whir fills the arena. For once, its not coming from ragnarok... no, theres a crackle beneath it, a strange hum... "Couldn't knock any sense into her, convince her not to go. Couldn't let go once she was gone either. I'll tell ya why I'm here-"

 

T 15...

 

There's a deafening roar of thunder and static. The red accenting on Revenant flares up until it burns with the light a miniature sun, the air around Solomon distorting a rich and bloody red as ungodly levels of magnetic force pour forth. But the crimson comes not just from the decorative lighting, no. Hard as it was to see, the red coursed over every inch of his mech like some massive carpet of buzzing insects. Already there were cracks forming on the exterior. 

    In the same moment that burst of sound and static ignited, he gave his answer, blaring his mics at ear peircing volume as he exploded forward with such blinding force it wrecked the stone floor of the arena where he'd been standing. The storm of blade shards orbiting him enter an absolute frenzy, licking and tearing at anything they touch. The half moon blade he wielded extended outwards, slashing through the air with an arc that burned like celestial fire as it homed ever closer towards Swagger's chest. It wasn't the same type of blow he'd attempted against the Giant however, not by a long shot. No, no... this was... calculated, Cold, methodical. But the wrath threatening to boil the very air around him was nigh palpable, just underneath. Wrath tempered by grim determination, though for what... its anyone's guess. 

 

"I AM HERE BECAUSE I'M FUCKIN' WEAK, BOYO. BECAUSE I'VE ALWAYS BEEN WEAK."

T14...T13...

[Shamitako]

(OOC: OKAY. WE ARE FINISHING THESE FIGHTS BY THE END OF APRIL. LET'S GO.)

 

Bear

 

A portion of Bear's bee swarm detached from his limbs and formed a barrier between him and Mommo's attack. Though normally easy to destroy, their altered form made them much more durable, along the lines of his main body's armor. At point blank, Giant's attack still did plenty of damage to it, but it protected his mech's head. He immediately shifted his strategy and attempted to tear off Giant's arms. Bear hoped that Mommo would forfeit now. She'd put up a good fight, but it was pretty clear he was going to win, and the sooner they were done the sooner he could take a nap.

 

Armor 6 bonus used

 

Queen

 

Queen raised his arms to cross his chest, taking the force of the railguns head on. It sent him tumbling backwards several meters, but he still managed to land on his feet. He then reached into his pouch and pulled out a small metal sphere. It had a single tiny hole in it and was hollow inside, though as soon as he grabbed it, energy flowed from his gauntlet into the hole, causing the orb to glow. He flicked his wrist, and the little projectile rocketed off at immense speeds, easily matching the power of Strider's railgun.

[Komodojoe]

Strider vs. Queen

 

Strider's jets flared to life as Morgan attempted to dodge the projectile, but she had no chance of being able to do so. If she didn't transfer half of her jet's energy, she might have been able to dodge it, but that obviously wasn't the case. Actually, she didn't account for it's high speed and power either, so... she probably couldn't have either way. She took the hit head on and stumbled backwards, her jets just barely catching her before she could fall over. At least that's more energy that she can use later.

 

Morgan took note of Queen's projectiles and the fact that he could transfer energy to them, much like she could to the bullets for her machine guns. Except for the fact that, according to the damage absorption readings, Queen's projectiles seemed to act more like ones fired off from a railgun. She's curious as to why that is, but she's not willing to go too far out of her way to find out. Still wanting to test the waters a bit, Miss Belle fires off a few more rounds as she moves in to about the same distance she had before she fired off the first few rounds, albeit at an angle so she moves off to the side as she did so.

[Shamitako]

(OOC: I DEFINITELY SAID JUNE LAST TIME YUP.)

 

(SRSOOC: So Ima just push this through now, this scene just needs to be done. The next chapter is gonna be a big deviation, a lot less structure and PvP is gonna lose focus for the rest of the RP)

 

Queen

 

Queen and Strider continued to trade blows, the Favor traded between them growing exponentially as each stored a little power with each shot fired. Though Strider's attacks overall seemed to be having greater effect, Queen showed no signs of relenting and Morgan was forced to fire off her Revenge Blast in the hopes of finishing him. But while Queen was pushed to the brink by Morgan's powerful signature attack, it wasn't enough to defeat him. With her energy totally spent, Strider was left defenseless against Queen's own signature. Using the energy absorbed from Strider's most powerful assault and what little remained of his own, Queen unleashed a massive energy blast from his palms which engulfed the entire arena, completely incinerating Strider.

 

His opponent's mech was utterly destroyed, but his own was barely holding together. Queen really wasn't sure he could call such a narrow victory a success, not under normal circumstances. But here, in this circumstance, Strider had proven that Queen didn't need to fear for his people's future. Whoever won this tournament, they would definitely be powerful enough to defeat a god.

 

Swag

 

There it was, the truth at last. Or at least Sully's interpretation of the truth. And then he got serious, truly serious. Not Sully, no, he had been serious all along. Swagalicious, the worthless flirt who never let his true colors show, became serious. Sain Derrek returned Solomon Ryke's truth back at him. "Saving them was never your responsibility, and proving yourself here won't bring them back." It wasn't enough to stop the Revenant's rampage, and the storm around them cut into Swag multiple times over. But it caused him to falter, to question his conviction. "You are weak, but no weaker than anyone else. From the smallest child to the greatest leader, all share the same weakness." Swag launched into the air, well out of Revenant's immediate reach. "Your weakness is your humanity. It's a weakness to be proud of, but it is not a weakness you can afford here. To become a god you must overcome your humanity, and to kill a god your must forsake it entirely. If you aren't willing to let go of that humanity, this is not the place for you." All of Swag's weapons fired at once, bearing down on the Revenant, which fired back with magnetically backed shards of its main blade. Swag had no expectation of this finishing the Revenant, he simply had to delay long enough for his words to reach the man within. Explosions tore through the air between them and all around the Revenant.

 

When the dust cleared, the Revenant was gone. It hadn't been destroyed, Solomon has wrested his humanity back from the beast within and surrendered. "You're right, I'm not cut out for this." Sully said, "Not if victory means giving up who I am. Congratulations, boy, you've bested me. I quit."

 

Bear

 

With her final desperate attack beaten back, Mommo did as Bear had hoped and forfeited the match. "It seems like Aries was right about you." He told her as he lumbered out of the arena in his mech, "I look forward to who you become in the future, no matter who it may be." He wondered to himself whether the answer to that would be a god or a queen, but he would be content with either result. Just before he cut out entirely, Mommo would hear half of a chuckle from him. Even in this horrible time, some things could still turn out alright.