IntSys

Emmanuel pondered for a second. Strangely, he was far from intimidated. Omega's unreserved selfishness managed to impact him more than her new, behemoth of a body. She had a cruel and unjust cause, but it was a cause nonetheless. Now, she was simply the incarnation of all the cruelty behind that cause, a being that wished for destruction simply because that was what it was. "That future... I don't think you've realized how twisted it is, and I don't think you really want it either. If you're not going to stop, we'll stop you by force. For everyone's sake, including yours." Emmanuel readied for battle, moving to scan her with his A-Comm.

Emmanuel ran for Uno first and foremost, though he was a bit glad to see that Joy was willing to show this much effort as well. He looked up into Uno's eyes, held her arm, and said with certain determination. "You're not alone. We'll cross this bridge together!" The young boy made his message loud and clear. Meanwhile, Nicaea simply flashed a confident grin, taunting Omega. She had her own message too - this wasn't a fight between equals; this was a hunt, Omega was the game, and she was the hunter.

"Hah... There's always worse, huh." The group followed the two men, making a beeline for the warehouse. Finally, you made it there in one piece. The men opened up a side door and let you in. Then, they turned on some of the lights. It was a shady place, no doubt. Lifeless dolls were placed on rusted racks, with tags clipped onto their hair. They seemed to be service-model dolls, and their state implied that they were secondhand. Dismantled parts of dolls could also be seen sorted neatly on shelves. Not a single window could be seen, only vents carefully placed in a way that prevents people outside from seeing what's inside clearly. A ladder could be seen leading underground. Considering the position of the warehouse, it was fairly likely that it'd lead to the sewers. A table was placed roughly in the center of the warehouse, along with two couches that looked like they were in pain, with their insides bursting out of the seams of the seats, and their leather cracking in every corner. Metal stools could also be seen stacked neatly not too far away from the couches. They did not look very comfortable either. In fact, they could probably make for a nice blunt weapon. "We don't exactly have much that we could be giving you here, unfortunately, unless you'd like to make business with us," one of the men said. "And, our bosses wouldn't be happy if they noticed that we brought outsiders here, so you'll have to leave once the curfew ends." "That aside, if you're in a hurry, you could get to the sewers from here. Most patrol units for the sewers are tasked with patrolling the streets during curfews, so it's definitely easier to get around the city from down there." The other guy added. From his eyes alone, you could tell that Dove did not like what he was seeing, though he was smart enough to keep it to himself. TIME ALLOCATION: You may spend as many minutes as you want on the following options. You should also decide which direction you want to go towards afterwards. However! The longer you take, the more uncertainty there would be! Actions queued for later might be interrupted and never get carried out! - Healing: For every minute allocated, Scarlet and Harold can both use their respective healing actions once each. - Remedy: For people with healing actions (that'd be Scarlet and Harold), they can tend to an existing Wound. Two Remedies are required to remove a Wound, but they don't have to be done by the same person. A person being treated for their Wound cannot take action. - Purchase?: You could spend some time to negotiate a deal with the men and buy some of the items in the warehouse. A minute is required to examine the stock, and more time may be required depending on how smoothly the deal goes. - Proceed: Always queued last. (Passives still apply) (Discussing is a free action, of course) Status

Emmanuel took a bit of time to recover from the burn, but he wasn't letting it get to him in any bit. He'd stop at nothing to erase the last bit of that potential future, if it meant saving Uno and the island. "Ray, like what Joy said, the last stone isn't in the clear yet. The energy signature was from a monster called Omega. We defeated her once just now, but from the looks of it, she's aiming to be resurrected near it so that she could destroy it. Please try to hold her offensive down for a bit, I don't think we can get there before she does. Uno said she'll be there holding her back, too," he added. After a brief pause, he decided to brief her on what he had gathered from the encounter so that the cadets there could stand a better chance against her. "Omega's likely to be Ground-type, were I to guess. She counters Physical attacks with a strong Ground-type attack, and Special attacks with Fiery Dance. I've sent you the info my A-Comm was able to read off her, I hope that it'll at least help somewhat." Finally, he said to the other cadets, "I don't know how much time they can buy for us, but in any case, we need to move now. We beat her once - we can definitely do it again!"

Dove seemed to be on board with the plan. "Now would be the worst time to cause a ruckus. We don't have the power to deal with military-grade armor, after all..." "The warehouse's a few blocks away from here, we should be able to get there in ten minutes if all goes well," one of the men answered Scarlet's question. "You're not from these parts, are you? I can't imagine any other reason why you guys would be out here during curfew." "I hope you've realized already how crapsack of a city Smederevo is," the other man added casually, wiping some of the water off his body. "They didn't even bother upgrading the city's walls, so unlike Belgrade, we have to treat every storm like it's an actual breach. And there's no shortage of them, too!"

"Ugh... What? No, there was just, a red-haired doll with an axe..." One of the men muttered as he stood up, holding a hand against the wall. The chilliness of the rain slowly kicked in, and he shuddered, looking up to the sky. "God, how long have I been out for? It's already time for curfew..." The other guy crawled up too, clutching his chest. "Let's, uh, get to the warehouse for now. At least until the curfew's over. It's a bit away from here, but at least it'll be easier avoiding patrols through the alleys." "Thanks, by the way."

Scarlet decided to offer a hand to the downed men, letting her nanites do some work on them. The damage was most certainly easier to fix than the cuts Executioner had delivered, and they slowly began to regain consciousness. It may be a good idea to act before they get back to their feet completely, whether it be leaving them there or asserting dominance. "In a sense, yes. In fact, you should avoid touching anything that's coming from the storm above." Dove explained to Harold. "It messes with your body if you are in it for too long." In the same spirit, Jack tore through a rusted door's lock, finally giving the party a proper ceiling to hide under. Naturally, he took the lead. -- The inside of the house was still quite depressing, to say the least. It felt like an extension of the alleyways, only that it was somewhat cleaner, wasn't all wet, and had lighting. And even that lighting only came from a few fluorescent tubes installed over the ceiling. Thanks to them, you got to see the hallway's walls in its deteriorated glory, with a few cracks coming through the faded wallpapers. There were two doors on each side of the hallway. They were shut and likely locked, but honestly that wouldn't really mean much. It could be inferred that this house was shared between four families or the like. The far end of the hallway looked like it was supposed to be the house's actual entrance, but it was completely sealed off with junk. The hallway could barely fit Jack in it. Surely it wouldn't hurt to borrow some more space, would it? Map (ASCII) Suggestions

"They clearly haven't," Vepr-12 objected plainly, eyeing the corpses she had found. "Because, if they had, they wouldn't be dead now. And besides, they didn't sound very competent at all from the recordings." Slinging her shotgun over her back, she paced casually towards the way back, slowing her steps while passing the pedestal. "There's definitely a natural solution out there, but things are definitely not looking good for that solution at this rate~"

Vepr-12 was clearly set on letting those who have seen much more than she had solve the lock, until Zoe decided to opt for the brute force option. And honestly? It was winning her a lot of points. "There was definitely fuel back there. I'd assume that the little scientist over there would know something about explosives as well?" She said to Zoe aloud, glancing at Hirata. "If it's settled, I'll carry the barrels down here for the magic."

Due to a lack of windows, the best Jack could do was to try to listen for sounds behind the doors. He was able to find a few houses that were apparently quiet enough, but of course, that wouldn't necessarily mean they were empty. In fact, an empty house would be very suspicious in an overpopulated slum. Scarlet carefully evaluated the bodies from a distance, but they didn't seem to be moving an inch. Considering the chilly rain over them, and the fact that their positions weren't exactly particularly comfortable, it became apparent that they really weren't conscious. And so, she slowly approached them, and safely removed the taser left on the ground. Upon closer examination, she could see that the two were really just ordinary street rats, not unlike the kind she had seen since she entered the city. A few prods weren't able to wake either of them up. The one on the bottom seemed to have received a blunt blow straight to the rear of his head, while the other's wounds weren't immediately obvious, but odds were he had taken some other form of physical trauma as well. They might need additional treatment, and that could be time that could be used to get the party back to fighting condition instead.

Emmanuel took a deep breath, and concentrated on Nicaea's position. It all came down to this. He might not be particularly strong physically, but that issue could be overcome with the right technique. He leaped forward and dived for Nicaea. A familiar position. She already knew what to do, and so, thinking in sync, Emmanuel gave her a much needed boost to jump over the firestorm, but more importantly, to strike a fully-exposed, over-ecstatic Omega from below. Immediately after, Emmanuel dropped and rolled away from the flames, mitigating possible burns as much as possible. Technician Lv.1 Used. With Emmanuel's help, Nicaea jumps over the Fiery Dance and delivers a Mega Drain at Omega, bypassing the clash! (7405 SpA Value)

"Well..." Dove leaned against the walls of the alleyway. "I know for sure that staying indoors is at least going to be safer than where we are right now. That's the closest thing we can have to a safehouse." The worsening weather punctuated his words with one more thunder, followed by a gradually growing downpour. The rain dripped down along the walls, forming tiny streams beneath your feet and blurring out the trail of blood. The familiar sense of hostility returned, as the environmental radiation slowly increased. In meantime, Scarlet oversaw the other two's resuscitation. "From what I can see now, the only options left are to either climb the purification tower or escape through the sewers. But before that, we really need to find a better place to rest," Dove said, taking care to keep himself relatively dry in spite of the narrow space in the alleyway. "I'll keep an eye on the military mechs' movements in meantime." The alleyway was fairly empty as well, bar the usual grime. Interestingly, there were two bodies piled up on each other just a few more steps up ahead, seemingly unconscious. They were slowly getting drenched by the rainwater. A taser was on the ground right next to them. Further up ahead was a garbage cart. Suggestions Status ???

"Hah...I've done my part," Executioner muttered, satisfied. The Railgun's supersonic round smashed through her chest, dealing a piercing 20 damage and blowing her upper body away. Scarlet took 5 damage from the recoil! Executioner was defeated! BATTLE SUCCESS The party gained 3 Merit! Jack receives a Wound. Should you salvage Executioner's remains, you'd receive the following loot: -- "No... It's already time for curfew." Dove's voice reeked of uncertainty and fear, yet he wasn't letting it hold himself down. He ran to Harold's side and began to drag him towards a nearby alleyway. A trail of blood followed him, but it simply couldn't be helped at the moment. "You're not equipped to deal with military mechs, we have to hide quickly!" Thunderclaps echoed in the sky. It'd start raining anytime now. Dove's expression turned even grimmer at the dark skies. "H-Hurry! Smederevo's walls can't filter storms like these!" The streetlamps began to light up one by one, the light seeping through the growing humidity in the air. All the storefronts had their shutters pulled down, and the windows were shut tight as well. ???

Jack announced his return with two Mag-Shots, dealing 13 and 16 damage to Executioner each! The shots caused Executioner to recoil back a bit. It seemed that her body was nearing its limits. Scarlet used a Field Patch on Harold, restoring 8 HP to him. "Tch..." Crimson arcs of electricity erupted from Executioner's body, and her eyes took on a startling red as well. "That's it... You're all going... NOW!" [!] Execution under the Fogbound Moon - Hybrid Attack [!] With all of her fury, Executioner pushed her body to the limit, slicing through the party twice at lightning speed! Jack took 13 damage! Scarlet took 22 damage! Harold took 14 damage! This time, Jack was dismembered horizontally, with a clean cut across his head and another across his waist. Jack was knocked out! The sparks gradually vanished from Executioner, and it became apparent that her left hand had gone offline, but she wasn't done yet. She was still way more nimble than Harold was, even at her current state. Raising her right hand, she fired a shot at him, hitting him squarely in the chest for a piercing 6 damage! Harold was knocked out! The flames on Executioner's body pummeled her once more before finally vanishing along with a gust of wind, dealing 6 damage. Executioner turned her gaze to the last person standing between her and her target, ready to draw once more. Both sides were up against the edge of the ring now. [TIME LIMIT] The battle will end in a draw automatically after the fifth turn! (4/5) Init: Status: Harold receives a Wound. Note: Wounds received in this Subplot can be remedied in "TIME ALLOCATION" sections as well. More on that later.

"If you say so! Nicaea, let's show her our new strength!" Emmanuel waved forwards, and Nicaea immediately followed with a terrific Mega Drain, spilling a fantastic trail of green in its wake. Nicaea uses Mega Drain (7405 SpA Value) on Omega!

Tai "Mm..." Tai heard those words as if they had come from the opponents of the past - a self-fulfilling echo. With eyelids half open, he muttered, seemingly to the screen, to what might as well as be a ghost. "... I know you're a busy person, but... just maybe, you could let me know if you're still kicking..." "... And, for old time's sake, we could fight again, in that same ring you kicked my ass in..."

Tai "... I see. If you'll excuse me, then." As much as Tai wanted to believe the contrary, Adam seemed to have as much faith as the families of an old man on his deathbed. Tai was wasting her time. She couldn't hear, she couldn't see, she was not even conscious. Whatever he could accomplish by sitting next to her would be no greater than doing the same things next to a tombstone. ... But, even then, he would still enjoy her company. Taking out his HUD, he raised the volume a bit and began to go over an old collection of match replays. Most were his matches when he was just starting out many years ago. He used to watch these alone, stomaching them with the cheapest meal on the street. They were at first bitter review materials, allowing him to learn from his errors, but soon, they became an object of nostalgia. And eventually, he stopped watching them. He sat down on the floor and leaned his back against the bedside, making himself comfortable. And then, he hit auto-play. It had been awhile. He was getting thrashed for a variety of reasons. That was a point in time where he would miss his punches, overshoot with speed glitching, and screw up basic aerial maneuvers. But that wasn't the point anymore. What mattered more was his opponents. Those names disappeared from the scene one by one, as time went by. Those who used to be prize-winning stars, and those who were struggling just as hard as he was, for reasons he couldn't even get to hear. The only thing he could keep in his career seemed to be himself. And the only way to keep it is to keep fighting. In a wave of blurry fanfare from his device's shoddy speakers, an old opponent launched him head-first into an ice rink, ending the match. There was a smile on his face, and nothing more. Drowsiness settled in. This was the closest he could get to those fleeting memories. If he couldn't give her a proper rematch, then at least he could share with her something he treasured as a pilot. And that would do, he thought.

Jack dropped his taunt like a Frag Grenade, and followed it up with one more Mag-Shot, dealing 10 damage! Executioner was taunted for one turn! Scarlet emerged briefly from her cover to strike Executioner with a sudden wave of flames, setting her ablaze for two turns! She took 5 recoil damage. Somehow, the flames only made their adversary look much more frightening. Fire wrapped around her synthetic skin, leaving deepening marks as they go. Yet, she marched on with increasing speed, seemingly unfazed. One must wonder if she really couldn't feel anything or if she's just too mad to give a shit about the pain. With the swing of an arm, the flames on her danced along her motions. She flashed a frighteningly confident smile at Jack, as her eyes beamed red. "If a little death wouldn't work, how about a BIG ONE?" A swift leap brought her right in Jack's face, as her own twisted into one of pure wrath. Her blade punched right through Jack's chest mercilessly. The last thing Jack could see was a line of red dividing Executioner's face, soon spreading all over his vision. [CRITICAL HIT] 32 damage! Jack was knocked out again! Executioner's blade tore Jack apart from the waist up clean, spilling even more gore everywhere. Dove instinctively held a hand over his mouth, shoving back whatever was about to come out from this. Executioner then turned her head towards Harold and shouted. "I'll be sure to make this nastier for every time you bring him back. Think you can handle it?" She began to dash towards Harold's position. "And... Can you handle this as well?" Another jump, she landed right before him and knocked him backwards with a horizontal slash! Harold took 11 damage! Defiantly, Harold made do with Jack's remains and worked his magic to the best he can. Miraculously, he was pieced back into a roughly acceptable form. Jack was brought back to life in time with 13 HP! "Welcome back!" Executioner greeted Jack, already stepping towards him so that she could shred him again in an entirely different, but way more disgusting way. The flames on Executioner's body eroded through her skin, dealing 6 burn damage! (1/2) Scarlet regenerated 8 HP! [TIME LIMIT] The battle will end in a draw automatically after the fifth turn! (3/5) Init: Status:

"When you put it like that, it really puts people off..." Vepr grumbled at Harmony's enthusiasm, but continued on regardless. The doll raised her head to the harsh screeches of the weather above, and briefly considered the possibilities of something coming down from there. The thought was quickly dismissed, as seeing the state of things down here, it was clear that whatever kicked the last pack of adventurers out came from the inside. "I suppose the only way forward is to pick up from their progress," she turned back to Harmony, "isn't that so?" In any case, she decided to poke around the tents carefully, looking for notes or anything that would give them some kind of information.

Tai Sighing, Tai raised his head and stared blankly into the ceiling. Adam was desperate, clinging onto any semblance of hope before him, however senseless it was. There was nothing Tai could give to him that he didn't already have access to. And besides, how many people had he talked to before Tai came to him? And they had all given up hope... Clearly, he was really asking for a miracle. Tai did not like this. The last time someone had asked him a favor, with the same kind of desperation and plea, he wound up almost losing everything. It just wouldn't do. He couldn't give in to pity again. He had to do this based on his own obligations, that's the way it should be. He owed her a fair match, and that was an obligation to his very own conscience as a pilot, and so he had to save her somehow. Turning his head back to Adam, he said simply. "If there's anything that I could do, then tell me. If not, then I'll find a way. We're not done yet."

"Mm, point taken." Vepr-12 nodded, touching her own chin with a finger. "We're on a paycheck here. Hopefully there really is some kind of 'ancient alien technology' at the end of this dump, according to the tip our client got." She rolled her eyes. "That said, seeing that you're somehow passing by in this god-forsaken corner of the universe, maybe you could tell us what's up ahead?"

Tai Tai had been in this position before. Right after everything started to crash down - that fight was one of the greatest regrets he had in the tournament. Basked in that feeling once more, the memory became vivid again. "You've probably caught wind of this before, Adam. The fight shouldn't have ended like that," Tai paced slowly around the bed, stopping right next to its occupant. "It wasn't fair for everyone involved." "... Honestly... Ever since then, I kept reassuring myself that she would get well soon." A sigh, breathed into all the agony in the room. "And that, I could make up for it with a rematch in the future." His eyes drifted down to Temperance. "But, we don't have much time left now, do we?" He considered briefly, who he was about to talk to exactly. For a moment, he doubted if the passion he had seen was entirely just a result of her reflecting off him getting heated in the battle and the restless crowd that had surrounded them. But, at least there was a bit of her that he could believe was genuine for certain. He looked for a small plot of empty space along the bedside and sat on it, facing backwards and turning his face to the girl. Two thumps on the bed, and he began to speak to her, as casually as a man on a telephone, dialing an acquaintance from a decade ago. "Hey, ... Libra. Long time. It's Supernova. I want a rematch. Do you want a rematch?"

Stepping back away from the ooze-spraying barrel quickly, she turned a slightly singed face towards the new voice. "Finally, someone who can speak properly and isn't batshit insane!" Her hands slid down to her shotgun for a reload, as her eyes crossed with Harmony's. "That would be correct. What about it? Do you run the place? Because I can reassure you that I'm very much ready for a second round."

Dove followed Harold's lead into cover instinctively, and, under the fleeting sense of security, he mustered halfheartedly to Scarlet. "Would you take 'making the world a better place' for an answer?" Jack fired his Mag-Shot at Executioner twice, dealing 14 and 15 damage on each shot! Scarlet continued the offensive by firing her Laser Rifle at Executioner, dealing 12 damage! Executioner stood her ground with a confident grin. Her red eyes crossed with yours. "Pistols? I'm more of a sword person. Now, let me repay the favor!" She zoomed towards Jack, sizing him up as she neared him. And then, a swift strike- absorbed into the mesh! "Tch. If that's how you want to play, then I'm all game!" Executioner's blade almost seemed to be revolving around her, as she leaped forward again, cutting through the half-patched wound that CZ75 had left him for a [CRITICAL HIT] 32 damage! Jack was knocked out! Gore spilled out from the wound, dying parts of Executioner's blade red. With the help of his own Safeguard, Jack hung on to his life barely. "Hah! How's that? Hey, the other two! Have you changed your mind yet?" And then, Harold made the party's stance clear, healing Jack with a Cure for 13 HP! Jack was brought back to life in time! "Son of a bitch..." Harold could feel a cold stare from Executioner. Scarlet regenerated 8 HP! [TIME LIMIT] The battle will end in a draw automatically after the fifth turn! (2/5) Init: Status: ???