Brikman McStudz

OOC: Alright, Andrewnuva. I say that after this post you can use Andrew and Laxus, but do not alter things too drastically. After the post after this, you have free reign.IC:"There's Joike," Andrew called out. He turned the Fire Hammer around sharply so the passenger door was a direct passage to Joike's Fire Hammer."Alright," Minerva said. "Thanks for the lift, guys.""No problem," Andrew and Laxus said. Taking the Cosmotronic Ray, Minerva climbed out of the Fire Hammer and on to the wet pavement. As she stepped out, Zach climbed out of Joike's Fire Hammer and walked up to meet Minerva. Minerva responded by wrapping him in a warm hug."I'm sorry," Zach muttered. "We were going to stay together today and then-""It's fine," Minerva said. "We're both still alive and we can stay together now. Oh, and..." she pulled away briefly and punched Zach in the shoulder harder than usual. He visibly flinched."Yeah. The thing with Brickhouse...""I'm sorry that he died," Minerva said sternly. "But you could've gotten killed for something extremely stupid."Zach seemed extremely embarrassed by the situation. "Yes, I know. I'm sorry about that too. His death sort of caught me off guard. You know how you're expecting something to happen and you're still shocked when it happened? That's what-"Minerva put her hand to his lips, smiling faintly. "I get it. There's no point dwelling on it now. You're alive and that's that. Now," Her voice became extremely serious. "It was Oswald, wasn't it? Who attacked us?"Zach nodded. "And he was looking for you, not me. I was the second best option. He's planning something. Something with you and...and-" Zach paused as he heard a door on Joike's Fire Hammer open. Minerva looked over Zach's shoulder and her eyes widened in shock."M-M-Mom?" Minerva stuttered as Athena Fabello stumbled out of the Fire Hammer. But...but she's dead! Napoleon XIV said...no. She can't be here! It was all horribly reminiscent of discovering that Oswald was alive on Adventurers' Island."Take off your helmet," Zach muttered to her as he stepped out of the way. Minerva shot him a curious look, but obeyed, letting her brown-and-white hair fall to her shoulders. Athena walked up to her slowly and touched her cheeks, squinting at her. Minerva forced down the urge to shove her mother away.Athena's gray eyes suddenly brightened. "Minnie?" Minerva winced. Not only was it reminiscent of Oswald's survival, but of the horrible ordeal the Darkitect put her through in the Maelstrom Temple. A wide smile formed on Athena's face. "It feels like I haven't seen you in years! You're...you're all grown up." Athena wrapped her arms around Minerva warmly. Minerva looked at Zach pleadingly, desperate to get away from her mother when..."Wait, how old am I?" Minerva asked.Athena backed away. "I may be getting older, but I'm not about to forget how old my children are. You're eighteen."Minerva blinked once. How does she know that? She can't know that. She-! Minerva forced herself to calm down. "What are you doing here?" Minerva asked in an icy tone."Ozzie was showing me around his work," Athena said brightly. "It was so cool. And then I met Zachary and-" Minerva's mouth hung open as Athena turned to Zach grinning. She knew who Zach was, too? Athena turned back. "Oh, and Zachary has a crush on you."Minerva looked at Zach in awe. Zach shrugged, looking embarrassed. She walked over to him. "How did she get here?" she snapped quietly."Oswald broke her out of Napoleon XIV," he hissed back. "He planted her with me. He's planning something with you two. She's in danger and we need to get her back to Antarctica fast.""How does she know I'm eighteen? Know who you are?""Someone told me he thinks that her time in Napoleon XIV may have helped her. That being away from her kids so long did the trick." Minerva let this sink in."So wait, does-?""Shes still switches memories," Zach said. "And even in the present, she doesn't know what happened to Tod and Isaac." Minerva looked back at Athena, who was smiling happily at her. She turned back to Zach to see his eyes wide. "H-Holly?"Minerva turned around and saw an Urban Avenger parked nearby. Stepping out of it was none other than Holly Vinyaya. Minerva put a hand over her mouth to suppress a gasp. The right side of Vinyaya's face had two, pale pink scars running down it with an eyepatch covering her right eye. "Is that-?""That is where the raptor got me," Vinyaya said grimly."What?" Zach asked, completely lost. "What's going on?"Vinyaya smiled weakly. "Glad to see you're okay, Virchaus. I was surrounded by Mutant Lizards and Raptors and one raptor managed to claw my face open with claws dipped in acid." Both Minerva and Zach flinched at this."And so your eye is...""Gone. And I'm not about to let that stop me from fighting in this battle." Vinyaya said with determination. She then turned to Athena. "Who is this?""That is-" Zach began."Hello, Zachary." a voice said coldly.*********************************************Zach turned around, grabbing his knife when Blaire Darkling's gloved hand wrapped around his chin and hoisted him high into the air. Blaire casually kicked away Zach's knife. He could see his own, cold fear as he looked into Blaire's reflective sunglasses."Put him down!" Vinyaya demanded, pointing a Cosmotronic Ray at the two."I don't think I will, space cop," Blaire said. Two Hybrids stepped out from behind him and approached Minerva, Athena, and Vinyaya. "I think I reserve the right to beat this kid to a pulp. He did try to blow me up."Staring at Blaire and realizing this man was the one who had killed Thaddeus, Zach began to struggling against his tight grip. Blaire laughed coldly and slammed Zach's head against Joike's Fire Hammer. He then pulled out a small handgun and pointed it at Gypsy, who had turned her Xenon Launcher on Blaire."I suppose the people in that helicopter were your friend, correct?" Blaire said, slamming Zach's head into the side of the Fire Hammer again. If he hadn't been wearing a helmet, he would most certainly be unconscious at this point. "And you tried to kill me for it with the Brickster and the Agents jet. I suppose its justified, but I saw it as a challenge. So here I am, now the leader of XERRD, winning the challenge in a most brutal fashion.""What?" Everyone in earshot exclaimed."Oh, yes," Blaire said, smashing Zach head against the Fire Hammer again. "Since Glados has kicked the bucket, I have seen fit to take control of XERRD myself. Consider it...martial law, if you will. The man who specializes in combat taking control of a science organization in its darkest hour. And I intend to have XERRD survive this battle. But first," Blaire slammed Zach's head against the Fire Hammer once again. "I'll deal with you."Zach's head was spinning and painfully throbbing. This brute's, the supposed leader of XERRD, grip would not slacken. An idea suddenly came to mind. Removing his hands from Blaire's, Zach reached into his uniform's pockets for a tool he had received after losing his hand. He wasn't sure who it was from, but it had saved him from Oswald once, so why not Blaire?Whipping out a hook similar to what a pirate would wear, Zach slashed the left side of Blaire's face. He gasped in pain and dropped Zach. The Elite Agent scrambled away Darkling as the man looked up, blood dripping from the left side of his face. Not wasting anytime, Zach fired a ball of Maelstrom energy at Blaire.Blaire slid backwards several yards, but managed to stay up on his feet. "How-?" Zach stutteredBlaire chuckled darkly and wiped the blood away from his cheek. "What the Maelstrom did to me was far worse than whatever you could do, Virchaus." Blaire rotated his neck slightly and started to walk back toward Zach, the gun raised. "Though it did sting, I will give you that. Though its just another reason for me to kill you."Zach glanced to his sides and saw that Minerva and Vinyaya were beside him. Behind him, the two Hybrids laid dead. "Where's your mom?" Zach whispered to Minerva."With Joike," she muttered. "We'll deal with her later.""We've got a XERRD leader to fry," Vinyaya hissed. Joike and Andrew's Fire Hammers turned sharply and both Gypsy and Catless pointed their weapons at Blaire. The man was quick. He lunged forward and grabbed Zach's uniform and pulled him back.A Minifig shield. Zach thought angrily. If the stakes weren't so serious, I bet Vinyaya would think this is funny. Blaire pointed the weapon at Zach's head."Just like old times," Blaire muttered. Out loud, he said, "Do not shoot unless you want to kill Virchaus."Zach opened his mouth to tell the assembled group to shoot at him. As Blaire was XERRD's leader and seemed to show no sign of stopping the fight, he needed to be killed. Blaire seemed to realize this, as he covered Zach's mouth with his arm, leaving him mute and at Blaire Darkling's mercy.*************************************Kareem Nazareno slashed away at three Mutant Lizards, dropping all three of them. He was constantly filled with an irritating feeling of how no matter how many Mutant Dinos you killed, fifteen more replaced each one. A feeling of hopelessness should cross his mind, but Zelda somehow managed to keep it out.He turned his head and saw Zelda balancing on one katana planted in the ground, using it as a pole to spin herself around and slash away Mutant Lizards. Just beyond her, he saw two Fire Hammer, Minerva, and Vinyaya pointing their weapons at a white-haired man wearing a tan trenchcoat, gripping a Dino Attack agent in one arm with a gun in the other. The man briefly turned his head toward Nazareno, allowing the space ninja to catch his features.Nazareno could not suppress a gasp. "No...impossible." Surprise quickly melted away into anger. Forgetting about the Mutant Dinos, Nazareno started to charge toward the group of agents. Zelda soon saw what he was doing. She pulled her sword out of the ground and followed Nazareno.***************************************Blaire was backing away slowly, Zach tight in his grip. Zach struggled fruitlessly against the man's prowess. He eventually resolved to letting Blaire get away this time, but finding him him later."STOP!" a voice thundered, full of cold, icy anger. Nazareno then landed in front of Minerva and Vinyaya, his sword's trained on Blaire. Zelda Frodongan was close behind, looking confused.A change seemed to come over Blaire. Zach glanced at his captor's face and saw his mouth twisted in surprise before turning into a small smirk. "Well, this was unexpected.""Release him," Nazareno commanded, his tranquil fury striking Zelda, Vinyaya, Minerva, and Zach with some fear. To everyone's surprise, Blaire did as the ninja asked, shoving Zach to the ground. Zach quickly scrambled to his feet and ran to Minerva and Vinyaya, picking up his knife."Do not shoot him!" Nazareno commanded to the two Fire Hammers. "Not yet.""But this guy is XERRD's leader!" Laxus called out. A surprised glint appeared in Nazareno's eye that faded away quickly."Not yet," Nazareno repeated. He moved toward Blaire slowly, whose face now had a wide smile. "An ideal time to show up.""The same to you, Nazareno," Blaire said. Minerva, Zach, and Vinyaya looked at each in confusion. "How did you recognize me?""You may change your hair color and wear sunglasses, but I'd never forget you." Nazareno hissed. "Especially with that scar underneath your eye."Vinyaya looked at Nazareno, then at Blaire. Cold fear and realization washed over her face. "Oh my Builder," she whispered."Who is this guy?" Zelda asked angrily.Blaire laughed coldly. "A few hours ago, Doctor Inferno called me a Small Name, Big Ego. Metaphorically, of course. Our names are the same length, ​literally. But isn't it just fascinating how much bigger my name becomes, both metaphorically and literally, compared to Inferno when you spell it as Matthew Vherestorm instead?"

OOC: Back in my post I made after coming back from the weekend. Before you had Pierce and Copper intervene. I personally assumed those exchanges between ours and Jackson Lake's characters was inbetween "Vinyaya deciding to leave" and "Vinyaya leaving."Now, I am getting them both out of there. Martinet is a combat medic (like Medic) and it is absolutely key that Vinyaya is in the battlefield.IC:Vinyaya's eye narrowed as Copper approached. "Once again. Only my eye is gone. I can hear people shouting 'COPPER, GET ME A SEDATIVE!' rather well."Copper frowned and grabbed Vinyaya's arm. Vinyaya flinched and quickly twisted her arm out of Copper's grip and knocked away his syringe. She then turned and starting to run out of the medical wing. As she ran, she was joined by Martinet."Not staying with the mad doctor?" Vinyaya asked, a cold smirk appearing on her face."No. My-a talents for combat and-a medical practice beckon me to-a rejoin the battle!" Martinet said in a fiery voice. OOC: There you go. They're out. Boom.

OOC: I established way back that Martinet left for the battlefield in an ambulance-type Fire Hammer when Vinyaya left in her Urban Avenger.Excellent rendition of the Brickster's helicopter. Which reminds I did have one more things I wanted to do with it. Just need to find the ideal time to use that idea...IC:Zach sat in silence in the Fire Hammer, staring out the window and picking off Mutant Raptors with a Cosmotronic Ray that Joike had stored in the Fire Hammer. His brain throbbed painfully, breaking his concentration frequently.He had mostly moved on from the shock of Thaddeus's death. Compared to basically torturing Carolyne Provencal's before she died, Zach felt little remorse for having two vehicles (one piloted by a deconstructiomaniac) reduce Blaire Darkling's command post to rubble. It could either he was past the Darkitect trying to make him feel guilty, or truly did not care."Hey," Joike said, keeping his eyes on the road. "You alright? You're pretty quiet.""Yeah." Zach scratched the back of his neck. "Sorry about the whole 'jumping out of the car to find a dead guy' thing.""Bit a stupid thing to do," Joike said simply. Zach nodded. He dimly wondered if he would've done the same thing before the Maelstrom. He grimaced. I'm really starting to hate blaming all my problems on the Maelstrom. But both himself and Marco Martinet came to the conclusion that his emotions were a little more than haywire following his corruption. Jumping out of a jeep in the fit of shock, anger, and sadness seemed appropriate. Perhaps I should see a psychologist or something. Provided I survive, of course."So, who's the lady?" Joike asked, gesturing his head back slightly. Zach looked back and saw Athena Fabello curled up on the back seat, sleeping. "Looks like your 'ladyfriend'?""She's my 'ladyfriend's' mother," Zach said. "Whose supposed locked up in a mental institution but her son, who is working for XERRD, broke her out for some demented reason. We thought she was dead yesterday."Joike raised an eyebrow. "I see. And so your friend (Minerva, right?) in for a shock."Zach chuckled grimly. "Yeah. I'm not sure what will happen after that. She's not on...fantastic terms with her mother, to say the least.""Provided that meeting ever happens, cause it looks like the Big Bad and his motley crew of dinos are heading right for HQ."********************************Zelda looked in horror. Dr. Rex and a massive army of Mutant Dinos were heading straight for Dino Attack Headquarters. Even if they can take out Dr. Rex's dinos, Dr. Rex's invincibility will allow him to topple the building with ease.She glanced at Nazareno, who looked on stoically. "Things have went down a bad path rather quickly." he noted plainly."A little bit," Zelda said, running a hand through her hair. "What now?"Nazareno pointed a sword toward the pack. "We try to take down as many of those dinos as we can."Zelda blinked. "Sounds a bit suicidal.""This whole war has been one suicidal move after another. It does not really faze me anymore."Zelda laughed bitterly. "Lucky you." She understood what was about to happen. Death seemed closer than ever. She was going to wait until after the battle to tell Nazareno, but now..."Nazareno," she began nervously. "I-""Watch it!" Nazareno growled. Zelda quickly swung her sword up and sliced off the neck of an acid-spitting Mutant Lizard. "Time to move! Now!" With that, Nazareno jumped over the fallen Mutant Lizard and headed back into the battle. Zelda sighed and followed, swords raised.OOC: If you make another post before Andrewnuva, don't have Zach and Minerva reunite just yet. Something exciting, devastating, and awesome may all happen at once in the next post or two.

OOC: Okeeday, avmatoran. I just Nazareno and Zelda for a short bit. After that, they'll restart the attack on Cyrista's Bane. Unless you want that attack to start now.As for MST3K references...we'll see. I have watched the show, but not enough to make very many good references..IC:Zach was running as hard as he could with Athena Fabello in tow. Mutant Dinos were everywhere and if Thaddeus Brickhouse were not present overhead, they would be dead in an instant."Look alive, Virchaus!" Thaddeus shouted over the helicopter's loudspeakers. "Help is on the way!" Zach looked ahead and saw two Fire Hammers driving toward them. One was extremely erratic in its driving and seemed to be making an effort to hit every Mutant Lizard. One of the Fire Hammers quickly pulled around in front of Zach and Athena. On the back of the vehicle was a woman concentrated intensely on firing at every Mutant Dino around her."Hey!" the driver called out. "I'm here to pick an Elite Agent Zachary and the woman who looks suspiciously similar to his 'ladyfriend'.""Thanks!" Zach said appreciatively. He and Athena climbed into the back of the Fire Hammer."'Names Joike, by the way," the driver said. "The lady out back is Gypsy.""Great. Thanks. Can I use your radio?""In a bit." Joike started to drive again and turned on the radio as the other Fire Hammer nearly T-Boned Joike. "Rowsdower! Would you put down the liquor for a moment and concentrate!" Joike turned to Zach, who had climbed into the front seat, and shook his head. "Rowsdower. Mother of Builder. What kind of stupid name is Rowsdower? Just...eh. Here's the radio."Zach nodded appreciatively. "Brickhouse, can you hear me?""Loud and clear.""Thanks for the help back there."Brickhouse chuckled. "Not to worry. Just like old times, eh?"Zach laughed in agreement. "Old times. But seriously, thanks. Keep up the good work." Saying a quick good-bye before making his next call. "Minerva?""Zach?" There was a relieved laugh over the radio. "You're alright!""Naturally. I told you Thaddeus would help us out.""That's great to hear." He could hear Minerva' voice become somewhat reserved. "Uh, who did you find? Someone that looks like me?""Yeah. You're not going to believe this, but I found-"****************************************"Where is Glados?!" Blaire Darkling demanded over a radio."We trying to find her," a scientist snapped at him. "But it's looking like she kicked the bucket, too."Blaire grimaced. If Michelle Glados was dead, then XERRD was without a lead."Keep looking," Blaire commanded harshly. "If we don't find her soon, someone will need to take over.""Will do, Darkling," The connection dropped, and Blaire approached the edge of his building where the Hybrids were sniping Dino Attack Agents with ease. He needed to do something. Something to clear his mind. He pulled out a set of binoculars and scanned the battlefield.He managed to see Zachary Virchaus and Athena Fabello climbing into a Fire Hammer while another Fire Hammer and an Aerial Defense Unit covered them. How convenient. The Hybrids were supposed to have kept them safe on the bridge, but ultimately decided to abandon their post. Blaire would have given them a punishment well-deserved, but Oswald Fabello had beat him to it. And what a punishment Oswald gave them.He glanced at a sniper beside. "May I see that for a moment?" Blaire asked, gesturing to the sniper rifle. The Hybrid grumbled, but handed the weapon to Blaire. "Now, gentlemen, you've been doing well. But let's see you take down a bigger target." Blaire glanced through the scope and aligned himself with the Agents helicopter hovering over Athena and Virchaus. As they have been rescued by the Fire Hammer, I think this helicopter is no longer necessary. He managed to see the pilot's head through the smokey glass on the helicopter's cockpit. He fired once. A direct hit. He then aimed toward the helicopter's rotors and fire another bullet.*****************************************Nononononono. NO! Zach watched in horror as Thaddeus Brickhouse's helicopter spiraled out of control ahead. Joike floored the gas pedal, trying to move away from the falling Aerial Defense Unit. Zach turned his head and watched the helicopter collide harshly into the ground, causing it to erupt into flames."NO!" Zach roared. He kicked open his door and hopped out of the moving Fire Hammer. At this point, his mind wouldn't let himself believe what just happened. He started running towards the ruined helicopter."Hey!" Joike called out to Zach, bringing the Fire Hammer to a screeching halt. Zach ignored him and pried open the wrecked hatch doors of the helicopter. He had to find him. He had to-"Zach felt himself get pulled back and being forcibly dragged back to the Fire Hammer. Zach glanced up and saw Gypsy looking at him quizzically. "I don't get you.""What?!" Zach demanded. He felt tears forming in his eyes as he tried to break away."I don't get you," she repeated. "I'm sorry, but your friend is dead. Going into a burning Aerial Defense Unit isn't going to change anything." Zach looked back at the helicopter in horror, defeat swelling up in him. She was right. Thaddeus Brickhouse is dead. He's dead."Did you see what happened," Zach gasped, surrendering to Gypsy pull."Yeah. It was sniper fire from the other side of the river." Zach froze. He pulled away from Gypsy and lifted up his binoculars. He quickly saw him. Blaire Darkling standing at his building, a sniper rifle in hand.Zach felt anger wash over him, followed by an idea. He turned and jumped back into the Fire Hammer. "What was-" Joike began."Shh," Zach snapped. He turned to the radio. "Minerva?""Zach, what happened?""Brickhouse is dead. I need to do something quick. I tell you who I find when we meet up again. You won't believe me unless I show you."There was a short silence. "Fine. Just be careful."Zach nodded grimly and then directed his attention to someone else. Someone he noticed while walking across the bridge. "Brickster?""Eh? Zachary Vircrazy? Is that you?"Zach had no times for jokes. "Yes. Listen-""Oh, man. I heard some whacky things happened to you, Vircrazy. Becoming a little zombie and everything.""Listen!" Zach snapped. "There's a building on the other side of the river with Hybrid snipers on the roof. Do you see it?"There was silence, then: "Oh, I see it. You want me to blow that up? Because I'll blow that up.""Yeah. And Brickster? Remember, there's no kill like overkill."The Brickster chuckled darkly. "I think that Maelstrom changed you for the better, Zach. Let you embrace the chaos. I like that.""Hold up, Virchaus!"Zach blinked. "Raine?""Yeah," Raine Dashworthy said. If anyone is going to be blowing up the losers that kill Thad, I'm going to do it.""Ha! No way you're taking this from me! I'm being asked by a LEGO Islander to blow things up. That will never happen again, Agent!""I don't care!" Zach snapped again. "Just blow it up!"***********************************"That is how you should do it," Blaire said, handing the sniper rifle back to the Hybrid. He backed away and let the Hybrids continue their work. A strange sense of euphoria traveled through Blaire's body. It had been years since he had picked up a sniper rifle. Even longer since he had killed a Minifig himself. Must not dip back into the old ways. Blaire told himself."Sir, the T-1 Typhoon of the Brickster has turned its attention on us," a Hybrid stated. Blaire scowled. The Brickster. He hated that man for managing to slip past his defenses and blowing up the laboratory on Dinosaur Island. "An Agents jet seems to be moving in toward us as well."Blaire binoculars once again. He could barely see Zachary Virchaus talking into the radio, an angry look on his face. "I appear to have touched a nerve." With that he turned and began to head toward the stairs.As soon as he reached the ground, the Agents jet fired a missile, striking the center of the building hard. The Brickster's helicopter then moved in and fired all of its weapons at the remains of the building. Blaire walked away, not allowing himself to look back.Perhaps his head was still in rush of killing the Agents aboard that helicopter, for he saw Zachary Virchaus' move of commanding the Brickster and an Agent jet to blow up his command post as a challenge. A challenge he would accept. He would find the Dino Attack agent and kill him.As he reached the bridge, his radio crackled to life. "Michelle Glados is dead! Repeat. Michelle Glados is dead!" Blaire paused for a brief moment and pulled out his radio."What happened?" Blaire demanded."She was killed by a Mutant Lizard after killing what we believe was Silencia Venomosa!"Blaire considered this. Were the Mutant Dinos falling out of XERRD's control and into the Darkitect's, despite the Maelstrom Temple being eliminated? "Venomosa? What a shame that we will never meet a-" Blaire was interrupted by multiple explosions from behind him."-never get to meet at last?" The scientists said "Whatever. XERRD is without a leader!"Blaire considered possibly candidates. Raul Barabbas briefly crossed his mind, but considered the man to be too power hungry to be leader. Perhaps Paulie Gonapus? No, he hadn't been able to get into contact with anyone after being attacked by sniper fire. Alvin Gadd? No, too spineless.Blaire turned back to his radio. He widened his radio's frequency to include all XERRD members and even a few members of the Dino Attack Team. "It appears XERRD is in its darkest hour as much as the Dino Attack Team is. Our leader is mad and our second-in-command is dead." Blaire swallowed hard. He didn't want to do this, but there was little other choice."Therefore, I, Blaire Darkling, henceforth assume command of XERRD." He heard a brief outcry of protest from other scientists. "Silence! Up until now, our leaders have been scientists. We are fighting a battle and with our leaders out, it is only natural that we have a Minifig skilled with combat to lead this organization."There was mixed grumbles from other XERRD scientists. Blaire didn't particularly care. "Continue the fight for now!" Blaire commanded. "Once I deal with a certain...annoyance...I will give me next orders." Pocketing the radio, Blaire began to run across the bridge, determined to find Zachary Virchaus.OOC: I personally hope this is alright. Blaire will only be leader of XERRD for a brief moment before he relinquishes command.

OOC: I see. The only real Metroid reference in that post was Vinyaya's zero suit, which was established way back on Adventurers' Island. Samus Aran's use of an eyepatch is strictly from There Will Be Brawl. Admittedly, the idea of having an eyepatch came from looking at a LEGO Pirate head that was identical to Vinyaya's head except for the lack of a mike and the use of an eyepatch. Remembering plans to reference There Will Be Brawl in Marco Martinet's backstory was when I decided to go ahead with the idea. Part of the reason I had Martinet sneak Vinyaya out; I knew the other medics wouldn't let her go but Martinet, knowing her resilience and tenacity, would (eventually) let her go. I really don't want to resort to Vinyaya knocking away Copper's injection (considering at this point she has her armor and eyepatch, the only open bit of skin is her neck and head and that Pierce did not make an effort to hide the injection was a sedative) so accepting Mort's explanation would be better in the long run.IC:Nazareno gripped a spike on the top of the Mutant T-Rex as it came crashing down on to the wet pavement. Mutant T-Rex skulls were made of thicker stuff than a raptor's, but it still couldn't hold up to Nazareno's katanas. As he touched down, Parr and Fredricksen rolled up in their Urban Avengers, Zelda ridding on the former's vehicle."Impressive showing with the Steel Sprinter thing," Zelda noted. a bright gleam in her eyes."Indeed. Where is Sullivan?" The sad looks on Parr and Fredricksen's face quickly answered that question. "His sacrifice will not be in vain."Zelda nodded solemnly before her eyes brightened again. "On the bright side, an Agent found Zach! He was with some Hybrid escort and a woman who apparently looks like Minerva. They apparently running back to the headquarters with the Agent covering them.""That is definitely uplifting to hear." Though Nazareno was far more reserved than Zelda, he was immensely relieved to hear that Zach was still alive."Me and Fredricksen are moving back to HQ," Parr said. "Need a lift?"Nazareno shook his head. "I think I'll head back on foot and cause as much damage as I can along the way." He gestured toward Zelda. "Care to join me?"Zelda giggled but nodded. "I think I will, thank you very much.""See you two later," Fredricksen grumbled and he and Parr started to drive off toward the headquarters. Nazareno turned to Zelda."Alright, so the plan-""The plan?" Zelda repeated, laughing airily. Nazareno grimaced. "I've been watching you. I don't think you really plan that far ahead. You make things up as you go."Nazareno scowled and oddly felt his face become warm. Had it been anyone else that interrupted him, he would've let snapped at them coldly. As it was, he couldn't bring himself to do it to Zelda, who crossed her arms smuggly. "Whatever. I suppose you're right. The idea is simple: we head back to the headquarters and wipe out every Mutant Dino that crosses are path.""Not exactly elaborate," Zelda said. He could tell she was grinning underneath her bandana. Somehow she managed to toy with him and get away with it."No, but elaborate does not always mean better. And as you said, I'm making this up as I go along, so I'm sure things will get more complicated as we move closer to the headquarters."Zelda shrugged and pulled out her swords. "So, no more Steel Sprinters. We running?" Nazareno nodded once before turning and charging toward Dino Attack Headquarters, swords extended with Zelda close behind.OOC: I'll continue this on tomorrow. Maybe.

OOC: Unfortunately, Vinyaya only has one eye that was scratched up, and that was removed, so no Mismatched Eyes for her. Though I did consider it as another Artemis Fowl reference.As for the Smash Bros. references...your close. Not exactly Smash Bros references, but references to a dark, deconstruction noir parody called There Will Be Brawl. ​I don't exactly recommend watching it unless you can deal with gruesome deaths, heavy swearing, overall mature themes, and watching your beloved Nintendo franchises go through situation that are a far cry from their original games. While being referenced as apart of Martinet's past, Vinyaya's use of an eyepatch was partly inspired by Samus Aran's eventual use of an eyepatch in the series.IC:Vinyaya rolled her eye in annoyance. "What's your name, doctor?" Vinyaya grumbled to the doctor trying to restrain her."Pierce," the man said, still trying to hold her down. "Would you just-""I'm sorry, Dr. Pierce," Vinyaya said, her tone suggesting otherwise. "But my face was injured, not my arms." And with that, she easily broke free of Pierce's grip and backed away as another doctor began to approach her with a syringe.Pierce turned to Martinet, an angry look on his face. "What are you doing?! Half of her face is scratched up! She can only see out of one eye!"Martinet jabbed Pierce hard in the chest. "I happen to know this woman and treated her and many other agents during those-a temple battles on Adventurers' Island while-a most of the medics here were content with-a sitting at that outpost! She survived a beating equal or-a worse than getting those scars and-a still fought in the Maelstrom Temple!""She is missing an eye!" Pierce snapped. "Her face is heavily scarred and those wounds could leave her at the mercy of the Mutant Dinos! She-""Rex can't use his legs," Vinyaya interrupted. "Hotwire is missing a leg. Greybeard can't see out one eye. They are all out there fighting.""They've had time to adjust," Pierce snapped back. "Your wounds are still fresh and-""Perhaps you haven't noticed, Pierce," Vinyaya hissed. Pierce scowled at the second interruption. "But this is the final battle. If we lose, then this wound won't matter because we'll all be dead. The Mutant Dinos and all of their allies are out there determined to destroy this building. I can see here that casualties and people in much worse shape than I am being brought here by the dozen. The Dino Attack Team and its allies need everybody they can get to stop this army. My only real injury is my eye. The rest is purely cosmetic. Now, I'm going back into that battlefield whether you like it or not, Pierce."***********************Zach was chilled, to say the least. If he and Athena weren't with the Hybrids, the wave of Mutant Dinos running across the bridge would attack them and kill them with ease.Something was seriously wrong. Athena Fabello was freed from Napoleon XIV by Oswald. Oswald then let's Athena go with Zach? Oswald was clearly planning something and it most likely put both Minerva and Athena's lives in danger. Blaire Darkling seemed to be involved, as he let both Zach and Athena go unscathed across the bridge. He wished he had inquired more about what Oswald was doing, but knew Blaire probably wouldn't give anything away. He resolved to Athena back to Antarctica and out of Oswald's reach as soon as he could.He glanced at Athena briefly, who looked ahead. If he was interpreted what Blaire said correctly, Athena's tenure at Napoleon XIV had actually been helpful for her mind. Reuniting with her children, who she clearly thought the world of, after several years had allowed her mind to connect itself to the present, albeit a slightly corrupted version of the present. He wondered how Minerva would react to seeing her mother not only still alive, but to actually see her as a young woman as opposed to a little girl."So, Zachary," Athena said suddenly. "How long have you known Minerva?""It seems like I've known her a longer time than I actually do," Zach said.Athena eyed him curiously. "It feels like I haven't seen her in a long time. How is she?""She's, uh, great," Zach said. "She's doing pretty well..." He didn't want to say so much that Athena would get worried or angry and go into Mama Bear-mode.Athena raised an eyebrow. Then a wide grin formed across her face. "You-you like her!" When Zach didn't deny this accusation, Athena laughed triumphantly. "You are! You're in love with my daughter!""I suppose that's a fair conclusion," Zach muttered. Athena Fabello was certainly come across as one of those embarrassing mothers. She clearly had no issue hiding her opinions and observations no matter how old she was. She was rather carefree and easy-going with everyone and everything, provided one did not harm her family. Zach felt a knot forming in his throat. This is probably how Athena would act all the time if she hadn't let her grief consume her. Now its only a personality that can be activated by select people."Well, I think it's cute and you should go for it," Athena said, crossing her arms. "You seem like a nice boy. You seem like you would get along with her brothers and my husband Isaac as well.""Yeah, well-""We're here," a Hybrid hissed. Zach looked around. They were at the edge of the bridge. Mutant Dinos were charging toward Dino Attack Headquarters at a brisk pace. Vehicles seemed to backing out to continue the fight closer to the perimeter of the building. Several Mutant Raptors were tearing apart a few Steel Sprinters and their drivers near the edge of the river."So you expect us to get back without a vehicle in this mess?" Zach asked irritably. Zach could see the Hybrid smirk coldly."Darkling never said anything about getting you home," the Hybrid said. "If there's any consolation, we'll stay here with you until you step out on to the land. As long as you stay on this bridge, you'er safe."Great. He looked around, trying to find a vehicle they could take back to headquarters. Nothing came to sight."Well, let's go!" Athena said. Zach grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "What?""There's-" he stopped as heard the sound of electric guitars, drums, and an orchestra playing a song. It sounded familiar.Athena looked into the sky. "Is that 'Dance of the Knights' by Prokofiev?"Zach blinked. "Yeah. A metal-orchestra combination by the sound of it." Then he looked into the sky as well. He saw a dark blue Aerial Defense Unit flying overhead, blasting 'Dance of the Knights'. Zach pulled of his helmet and waved at the helicopter. "HEY! HELP!" he yelled loudly. The helicopter seemed to notice, as it lowered itself slightly. The music's volume decreased dramatically as the hatch on the side of the helicopter opened and a Minifig peeked out over the side."Virchaus? Is that you?"Zach grinned in spite of himself. "Brickhouse! Am I glad to see you! And playing 'Dance of the Knights'?"Thaddeus Brickhouse laughed over the sound of the helicopter rotors. "The same to you, old friend! We've got word that you disappeared and to keep an eye out for you over here. Looks like your back in decent shape. And with a woman who kind of looks like your lady friend I met earlier. As for the song, its Epica's cover of 'Montagues and Capulets'. It has such as nice mixture of an orchestra and metal, how could I not play it? "Zach smirked, but began to grow worried. He realized at that moment he wasn't even sure if Minerva was okay. He had left her in a ditched Fire Hammer. "Listen! Can you go on the radio and figure out where Elite Agent Fabello is?""Sure thing." Before Brickhouse retreated into the helicopter, he also added, "Speaking of Elite Agent, I heard you got a promotion. Top dog now, eh?" Zach waited impatiently for Brickhouse to return. When he did, "Alright. Sorry, the radio's a bit whacked up because of that cyber T-Rex. Agent Fabello is with an Elite Agent Andrew in a Fire Hammer. The guy is passing your survival along. Hopefully someone will come by to pick you up.""Wait, why can't you pick us up? Don't you have a winch?"Brickhouse scratched his beard. "Nope. Winch was busted up by a stray T-Rex laser. And it's too dangerous to land."Zach shrugged. Fair enough. He glanced at the road. Mutant Lizard were lining up anxiously, waiting for Zach and Athena to cross the bridge. Zach glanced at the Hybrids, who merely stared back, emotionless.Athena gave a nervous laugh. Even she seemed to realize what was going on. She turned to the Hybrids. "Can you tell the lizards to back off a bit?" The Hybrids shook their heads. "Why-!" Athena gasped sharply as a Mutant Lizard ran on to the bridge, toward Athena. Zach quickly swung his knife out and cut the lizard's throat."What the heck?" Zach roared to the Hybrids. "You said they wouldn't come across!""You took too long. A lizard can't just stand there when dinner's right there for the picking." The Hybrids laughed darkly and turned and started to return to Blaire's outpost.Zach looked at Athena. She was frozen in place and her eyes were wide. Switching illusions. Zach looked up at Brickhouse. "Thad! Change of plans!" The Mutant Lizards were moving on to the bridge and toward Athena and Zach. "The Hybrids lied to us-""Figures.""-We're making a run for it. Cover us and contact the team again!" Brickhouse nodded and retreated into the helicopter. The Aerial Defense Unit then turned its weapons on to the Mutant Lizard pack and blew them apart."RUN!" Zach roared. He gripped the arm of a very confused Athena and began to run into the battlefield, Thaddeus Brickhouse's helicopter above him blasting the symphonic metal cover of 'Montagues and Capulets' as he shot away any Mutant Dino that crossed their path.

OOC: I'm back and...oh.Oh....Things have taken a nasty turn, haven't they? Rex went from high (getting married, defeating Dr. Rex) to low (Dr. Rex getting back up, Adventure and Claw dying, Trouble returning and dying) rather quick-like. Almost like Mood Whiplash. I did like the allusion to Dobby. The only bright spot. Now that Amanda's dead....things seem different now. Now that she's dead.And I've safely moved Michelle Glados to the "Complete Monster" area. Rather intent on getting everybody killed. You know...for science!Speaking of science, be prepared for some faulty science. Probably. Maybe. Because Rule of Drama and Rule of Cool outweighs science. Always. Especially in fiction. Not so much in nonfiction. Maybe. Probably. I don't know.IC:The first thing she felt as she came to was pain. Ghostly pain, as it subsided rather quickly. Only an annoying sting now, for the most part.Holly Vinyaya opened her eyes. Or perhaps, just an eye, as her center of vision leaned toward the left. She sat up slowly. Her hair was down and draped over her shoulders and she was only in her Zero suit, her Space Police armor laid to the side of her bed.She looked around. She was in the hospital wing, where medics seemed to be rushing around at a frantic pace. A nurse next to Vinyaya's bed looked at the commander and gasped in surprise. "Oh, you're awake!" she said, standing up."Indeed," Vinyaya grumbled. She put a hand on the right side of her face. She winced as she felt bandages and a slight sting. Then what happened to her came rushing back to her, which made her slightly woozy.""Carver!" a man yelled. "I'll take care of her." Carver nodded and went to help another patient. Vinyaya turned her head and saw Doctor Marco Martinet standing at the edge of her bed. His hair and mustache were matted with sweat and his white coat stained with blood and dirt. A strap rested across his coat with grenades painted blue-and-yellow, blue-and-red, and yellow-and-red."Pills," Vinyaya mumbled, still slightly dazed.Martinet glanced down at his torso, then smirked. "You gotta that right. Glad to see you can still-a see with one eye. Let's them-a know that I'm not-a medic to mess-a around with, eh?"Vinyaya blinked once. "You're a combat medic. I forgot.""That's-a right!" Martinet said. "I've been going back and forth, picking up the wounded and bringing them-a here. I've been cleaning up any minor wounds on the field and-" he gestured to the grenades and the larger hammer hanging from his belt, stained with blood as well. "Taking out any Mutant Dinos that cross my path.""What's going on outside," Vinyaya asked, sliding out the bed unstably.Martinet rolled his eyes. "Eager to get back out there, I see. Well, we-a took down Dr. Rex and then he got back up with that-a Darkitect's help. He's invincible, as far as we can tell. The good news is that we-a just took down Michelle Glados, the de facto leader of XERRD after Dr. Rex went nuts. Now they have-a no leadership and Semick's offered them a chance to join us.""Any takers?""I'm not-a sure." Vinyaya touched her bandage again. "You can take that off. I was-a told everything was cleared up. But it won't-a be pretty."Vinyaya nodded grimly and moved toward past her bed and found a mirror. She grimaced at the sight of the bandage covering up much of the right side of her face. Bracing herself for the worst, she, with the help of Dr. Martinet, pulled the bandage off.Two scars of pale a pale-pink color ran down her face. One was on the far side, running from her forehead to the lower part of her cheek. The other scar ran right from her forehead, through her eye, and ended near her lips.Except that her eye wasn't there. It was gone. "I..." Vinyaya wasn't sure what to think."It was a hazard to keep in it in your head," Martinet explained. He scratched the back of his head uncomfortably. "I'm sorry."Vinyaya felt a tear slide out of her left eye. Not the right. The tear ducts were probably destroyed there. She had spent years with the Space Police without gaining any massive wounds and it was only when she joined the Dino Attack Team is when she is beaten within an inch of her life, is scarred horribly on half of her face, and loses an eye. She laughed bitterly at this realization, causing Martinet to give her a confused look."Now, plastic surgery can easily repair that side of your face," Martinet began. "If that-a ninja guy Nazzero was here, he might-a be able to construct a replacement eye. However, he's gone and he only made a surplus of limb replacements. So until this battle is over-""I'm stuck like this," Vinyaya finished. She stared at her reflection intently. She never had really considered herself attractive, primarily because she never particularly cared whether she was desirable or not. She could probably live without plastic surgery. The eye though...The lack of a right eye would definitely hinder her. Aiming a weapon in her right hand came to mind. Fortunately, she could shoot with her left hand well enough that this didn't bother too much. But her center of vision was still focused on the left. And the fact the lack of an eye wasn't very flattering. Then again, I'm not really here to look good. I'm here to save this planet. She wasn't trying to attract anyone. Not after what happened with Scratch. I suppose that's another difference between the Space Police and the Dino Attack. I managed to keep my emotions in check in space and down here... This war had broken her in more ways than she would like to admit."Well, if that's it," Vinyaya said. "I'm heading back out.""What?!" Martinet exclaimed. Vinyaya walked back to her bedside, picked up a hair tie and began to tie her hair back into a ponytail. "You are missing an eye-""Good thing I have a spare, huh?""-those wounds are still fresh! They'll-""I'll take painkillers with me.""What about-"Vinyaya finished tying her ponytail and put a hand to Martinet's mouth. "I understand the risks. I also understand that this planet is on the brink of destruction and needs all the help it can get and I am more than willing to put my life on the line to make that happen. Besides, if I can go into the Maelstrom Temple after taking a beating, I can continue this fight without an eye. And I want to personally thank those Mutant Dinos for making me lose an eye."Martinet scowled and rolled his eyes, but nodded in defeat. "Fine." He reached into his pockets and pulled out a black patch and extended it toward Vinyaya. "Take this."Vinyaya crossed her arms. "Why? And where did you even get that?""Protect that little hole on your hand. And because it looks cool." Vinyaya could see a sad look wash over Martinet. "As for where I got it. It was from a melee. Nay, a brawl. A couple of friends and I were taking back a city from four corrupt mob dons, a cult, and a cannibal. I lost a lot of friends that day, including..." Martinet seemed chocked up, not wanting to remember what happened. "Including a flame of mine. The eyepatch is from a friend who perished in the fight."Vinyaya blinked and slowly accepted the eyepatch. "I'm sorry.""Don't be, eh?" Martinet wiped the sweat from his brow. "Things...things weren't-a working out anyway. Always getting kidnapped or taken or something. And besides, that brawl was what inspired me to become a doctor. And I've managed to find a new girl while working in Antarctica after those-a riots. Shy, quiet girl before I met her. Likes space. And motorcycles, curiously. We've really hit it off. I'm hoping to make it back to her."Vinyaya smiled faintly. "Just keep up the good work, and you'll make it back." She put the eyepatch over the right side of her face and quickly put on her armor."While I'm-a somewhat confident in your abilities, even while handicapped," Martinet muttered. "I'm not sure some of the other doctors will agree. And with an evacuation underway, they'll want to get you out of her. So just stay close to me for a bit, m'kay?" Vinyaya nodded and followed Martinet out of the hospital wing and quickly found herself in the garage."Do you have a radio with you?" Martinet asked. Vinyaya checked the radio she was using earlier. A little beat up but still functional. "Good." Martinet moved toward a Fire Hammer that had been outfitted as an ambulance. Beside it was an actual ambulance where two identical-looking medics were preparing to head back into the battle. "Good luck," Martinet said grimly.Vinyaya nodded her thanks and moved toward unoccupied Urban Avenger with a Cosmotronic Ray on its roll-cage. She quickly started up the engine and rolled out of the garage and into the battlefield determined to exact her revenge on the Mutant Dinos.

OOC: Adventure's death bummed me out a bit. I mean, I was sort of predicted he die at some point, but it still bums me out. His last words, man. I don't know. *sniff*lolsnakesonaplane.Also, I played LEGO Island in the midst of writing of this (fact checking, getting in the mood, etc.) and couldn't help but associate the comm chatter we've been having with the comm chatter of encouragement that the LEGO Islanders gave Pepper as he went up against the Brickster.I'll also be gone until Sunday.This also works best if you listen to the final boss music from Island Xtreme Stunts.IC:"Don't worry guys. We'll just sing another song like the pirate guy did. I'll start. 'Let's get down to business! To defeat...'""I think I'll just stick to singing 'The Doom Song', as that is basically what we are. Doomed. Doom doom doom..."So wait, Rex and Claw got married? During the battle? With a pirate minister? Not such a bad idea. Hey Anju! Wanna marry me?""I...um...heh, sure, Kafei.""Sweet. All we need to do is find the pirate.""This Mutant Lizard is different from regular Mutant Lizards. It's like this Mutant Lizard is in the top percentage of Mutant Lizards." "I heard that space cop took down a horde of lizards herself before the raptor got her face.""Who's the guy flying the T-1 that looks like it was fixed with a random brick bucket? Come on guys, I know it's the apocalypse, but we gotta show some class."Minerva took another shot at multiple Mutant Raptors. The news about Holly Vinyaya had been somewhat rough to hear. She was impressed with the commander's "last stand" confrontation with a pack of Mutant Lizards, apparently only being defeated when her weapon was discarded. Just from pieces of updates, Minerva understood that Vinyaya was critically injured and suffered "permanent facial injuries"."I'm sure Vinyaya will be alright," Andrew said reassuringly. "We got a crackjack medic team and I doubt a little scar or two will stop her."Minerva nodded, sighing sadly. First Zach's disappearance and now Vinyaya's injury. She was growing increasingly worried about Zach. The longer he stayed away, the more likely he was probably dead. She wasn't sure where Zelda or Nazareno was, and she still had to deal with-Minerva released a small gasp. How could she have forgotten? Cold realization dawned upon her. Oswald Fabello had been the one who had taken Zach. Except for he hadn't been looking for Zach, she realized. He had been looking for her. Zach was just the second best option to him. In the rush of final battle, she had completely forgotten her older brother was in the city somewhere, fighting for XERRD.Maybe he will listen to Semick's reason and abandon XERRD. He can't deny the Darkitect's involvement. Can he? She suddenly felt her thoughts be interrupted by loud, booming brass instruments that echoed through LEGO City."I understand the whole 'playing music' thing," Laxus said, glancing out of his window and up into the sky. "But is it really necessary to have it so loud you can overshadow Dr. Rex's roar?"Andrew didn't respond. Instead, he seemed to be humming to the song. "I know this. This is "The Jail Theme" by Lorin Nelson and the Lorin Swelk Orchestra. It was merry little tune that gave off an aura of a trickster, which is why many LEGO Islanders associate it with the Brickster.""Doesn't sound like a trickster song," Minerva noted."Sounds more like a boss theme," Catless said from the back. At this point, demonic strings were being added to the blaring horns."That's because the song was remixed in 2002 to sound Darker and Edgier with a full booming orchestra," Andrew explained. "A boss theme would be an accurate.""So what your saying is-" Minerva couldn't finish her sentence as the loud music flew over their heads. Looking through the window, they could see wrecked-up looking T-1 Typhoon that shouldn't be flying. Many of its pieces had seemingly been replaced by more generic quadrennial bricks of a wide variety of colors. Every weapon on its hull was firing at full force, seemingly uncaring of whether it hit a Mutant Dino, a Dino Attack vehicle, or a building. it rained pure chaos upon everything in its sight. It laid every building in its path to waste, collapsing rubble on unsuspecting XERRD operatives and Mutant Dinos and causing collaterial damage to any Dino Attack vehicle near its rampage."No way," Andrew said. "It's-" There was short muffle over the ominous music playing, then a cackling voice came to life so everyone on the ground could hear it."I am lord of the bricks! The king of the tricks! Of this and that, prick the pat!" The voice yelled out triumphantly. "Long live the Brickster! Hahahahahaha! Ha ha ha ha...ha!""This is the only guy who causes any real problems on LEGO Island, right?" Minerva asked. If she was going to be moving in to LEGO Island after this battle (which she was still somewhat uncertain about), she might as well get to know the strange characters that inhabit it.Andrew revealed a faint smile. "Yeah, that would be him.""He appears to be having the time of his life," Laxus noted."Now I'm partial to causing chaos (and I like a little nonsense)," The Brickster continued. "but your brand of chaos doesn't do it for me, Dr. Rex! Looks like I'm going to have to insert a little chaos of my own! And you remember how that went on Dinosaur Island! I have that warming feeling I get whenever I eat one of Papa's Jalapeno Red-Pepper Anchovy Double Garlic pizzas every time I think about it!" The Brickster went into another brief span of maniacal laughter "I do gotta give Propeller or whatever his name was some credit. Music does make this all the more exciting! The Brickster chuckled darkly once before turning of his P.A. and continuing his wave of destruction, his dark music playing all the while."Definitely enjoying himself," Catless said."He's handing that helicopter rather well. I thought those things were a pain to use," Minerva said."I suppose having most of his escapes involve stealing helicopters has taught him a thing or two, even if a T-1 Typhoon is nothing like a Police Helicopter," Andrew said. "Anyway, Mutant Raptor up ahead. Minerva, take it out.""Seriously? He calls us out for calling some guy 'Robo-Limb' then goes on a massive destruction spree like nothing?""Someone tell that blockhead to cool it. Knocking buildings down on Steel Sprinters isn't going to help us.""I didn't hear, what did he do on Dinosaur Island?""Took apart their lab. Brick by brick. Via explosives.""You would figure that if the Brickster's out here, Pepper Roni can't be far behind.""Wait! Is this that guy who played the villain in Xtreme Stunts?""Yeah, what was that movie even about? It had less plot than that 2010 movie.""Imagine if this guy was with Demoman and Firecracker...""There wouldn't be anything left."OOC: I realize I probably quoted the Brickster wrong up there. Oh well. I couldn't understand the last part of his "Lord of the brick" taunt.

OOC: Kotua? *Gasp You can't hide that from me, Andrewnuva! I have the email for proof! XDIC:"What!?" Zach snapped. How did Athena Fabello know who this guy was? She could hardly remember anything. He grunted as he was stabbed in the side by the electrospear again. "Son of a-" Zach turned, and blasted the Hybrid in the face with the Maelstrom. It stumbled back in surprise and fell off of the building.Another jab in the side by the other Hybrid sent Zach back to his knees. Darkling stepped past Athena briefly and glanced down at Zach with an emotionless face. "You must be that Zachary Virchaus I heard about."Zach coughed. "And from your last name, I can assume you're Blaire Darkling." Blaire smirked. "How do you know who I am?""Michelle Glados. She mentioned you," he jerked his thumb back at Athena. "her daughter, Matthew Cyrista, and a samurai which we are led to believe is the Quasifigus pterisa that was supposed to be executed by Wallace Bishop. She stated you were the one that had Maelstrom flying out your fingers and was formerly a Stromling." Blaire chuckled darkly. "Even from a boring monotone like her, one could tell she was furious. Ms. Fabello's daughter destroyed her teleporting device, the Quasifigus Hybrid blasted her with lightning, and she believes you are the reason sweet Carolyne could not be with us today."Zach rose to his feet, trying to keep his temper in check. "That's what happened."Blaire turned away. "If I were you, Miss Fabello, Dr. Cyrista, or the Hybrid, I would make sure not to cross paths with Dr. Glados today. It would not be a fun experience.""I'll keep that in mind," Zach growled."Where are we?" Athena asked kindly, tapping Blaire's shoulder. "I thought we were in an underground facility?""We've moved to LEGO City, Ms. Fabello," Blaire said, crossing his arms. "A more...ideal location.""Okay. And who's that?" She pointed to Zach."A troublemaker, if you will. A trespasser. He will be leaving shortly."Athena smiled warmly at Zach. "It doesn't seem to be doing anything wrong. He just wants to see the dinosaurs. Let him go."Zach raised an eyebrow and looked at Blaire. He shrugged and beckoned Hybrid to back away. Athena walked up to him."Do you know what XERRD does?" Athena asked, almost excitedly."You mean besides murder millions of people?" Zach muttered quietly."They study dinosaurs!" Athena grinned. "How cool is that? I didn't even know dinosaurs will still around. And my son gets to spend time around them all day!"Zach coughed. "Your son?""Yes! I feel like I missed so much of his childhood, but my little Oz has grown into a handsome young man and gets to spend his time guarding the dinosaurs! I can't wait until Isaac, Tod, and Minnie get to see this!"Minnie? He suppressed a smirk at this, considering something sinister was up with this. "What year is it?"Athena paused for a moment. "2010, isn't it?""Almost Christmas, I may add," Blaire said in the background.Athena gasped. "Shoot! I haven't even started shopping yet!" Athena turned away from him and seemed to start forming a list in her head of what to get her family, including her deceased son and husband, for the holidays. Zach moved to Blaire, who smirked."How does she know what year it is?" Zach demanded quietly. "How does she remember XERRD, or you, or anything?"Blaire smirked, as if he was impressed with himself. "Athena Fabello is an interesting case, to say the least. Her amneisa and short-term memory is unlike anything I've heard of before. I would blame the men at Napoleon XIV for not doing more to uncover the strange secrets of the woman's mind, but as is, they were missing a key part: Her close family and friends.""Alright, back up," Zach said, crossing his arms. "Napoleon XIV says she passed away-""Just as I predicted," Blaire scoffed. "Oswald requested that he be allowed to go to Antarctica and to abduct his mother from the mental institution. Curiosity over the facilities lead me to accompany him. We very easily managed to escape the facilities with Athena and Napoleon XIV would cover it up.""Doesn't explain how she remembers you and XERRD or acknowledges her children as adults."Blaire nodded. "I pride myself as the most intelligent man in XERRD that isn't a scientist. I have carefully observed when I'm not busy and have come up with conclusions of my own. I'll start by saying that when we first found Athena in the mental institute, she recognized Oswald as an adult, but incorrectly assumed that the rest of her offspring as children. Oswald upset her, and she switched to an illusion of Oswald being a child. I thought nothing of it until after returned to XERRD's outpost in the Goo Caverns.""According to Oswald, he went to check up on her after an hour or so of being absent. Upon meeting her, Athena recognized him again as an adult and seemed much more aware of what was going on around her. She asked what Oswald was doing, and he told her he was a security guard for a scientific organization. She was apparenty ecstatic that her 'little Ozzie' had a job and asked to be given a tour of the facility. Surprisingly, Oswald complied."While that outpost did not match the Dinosaur Island Laboratory in terms of size, there will still science labs and dinosaurs pens in it, which was enough to satisfy Athena. She was fascinated by everything she saw, but was mostly excited by the dinos. Due to her 'insanity', she wasn't aware that dinosaurs were discovered to still be alive years ago." Blaire chuckled again. "She is by no means a paleontologist, but she showed a surprising amount of knowledge concerning the dinos. Probably more than most of the scientists in the organization before XERRD began to focus on the Dino Attack."At one point, I directly spoke with Athena and Oswald, the latter introducing me as the head security guard, which is not too far from the truth. I flattered her and made a good impression and she took a liking to me. Oswald then took me to the side and told me she hadn't swapped illusions for hours while back in Napoleon XIV she had been switching illusions every few seconds."Blaire turned his head slightly, and Zach looked back. Athena was attempting to talk to the Hybrid guard. She seemed absolutely carefree and almost amused by Hybrid's lack of response. Finally, the Hybrid spoke to her in its rough tongue, clearly annoyed. Athena just smirked and tried to translate what it said."I have come to the conclusion," Blaire continued. "That Athena's mind does not handle 'bad' memories very well. If something upsets her, her mind will simply dispose of the memory and restart at a different memory. The only rare cases of this not being the case is when she feels that her family is in danger. However, if she is made profoundly happy, such as the case with her grown-up son showing her around his 'work place' that is filled with fascinating creatures such as dinosaurs, she will not switch memories. And, as I have just proven, she will remember that new memory if triggered by someone who was in it, such as myself."Zach let this think in. "So just seeing Oswald as an adult brought her into the present?""I imagine it was more complicated than that. It was not seeing her son for six years that likely caused this. Her brain recognized him as Oswald, only now a grown man.""And she still thinks Isaac and Tod Fabello are alive?"Blaire shrugged. "As I said, she does not take bad memories well. I believe her brain simply erased her husband's death and her murdering of her son so that when she manages to bring herself into the present, she still thinks they are alive." Blaire flipped his hair back, then seemed to evaluate Zach for a moment. "You seem to know a lot more about this than you should."Zach jerked his head toward Athena. "I happen to very close to her daughter."Blaire grinned, rubbing his chin. "Close. I see.""Out of curiosity," Zach said. "What was up with the Gadd guy and your talk with Glados?""Our communication devices have been disabled for a while. As one of XERRD's top operatives, Glados obviously felt the need to inform me of Dr. Rex's situation, so she sent Alvin Gadd to inform. Then communications came on back on, your Elite Agent gave his message, and I spoke to Glados personally through the radio.""And so what exactly is Dr. Rex's situation?" Blaire explained what he had been told by both Dr. Gadd and Dr. Glados. Zach shivered. That's why his head had been hurting early."At this point, I fully consider Dr. Rex's beyond our help," Blaire said, crossing his arms. "Michelle Glados is as good as the leader of this crumbling organization.""Wait, so you've do know you've been the Darkitect's puppet?"Blaire sighed. "Since the Maelstrom Temple was cleansed, unfortunately. I only remain in this organization to not incur Dr. Rex's wrath and because of my moral code of my darker days that requests that I finish this final battle, no matter the outcome. However, I let those guards go because they are not bound by my rules." Blaire laughed bitterly. "How ironic. The bulk of this organization, myself included, were former Paradox operatives. The ones who knew the Maelstrom best ultimately were the ones manipulated into doing its bidding."Zach simply stared. "You have a screwy code. Just defect. Join the Dino Attack Team." Blaire merely flipped his hair back again and looked away. Zach immediately thought of something. "Consider this, Darkling. If Dr. Rex wins, he'll exterminate every Minifig. Once upon a time, he wouldn't have taken out his organization due to being a Minifig himself. Now that he's a Mutant T-Rex, he has no such qualms. He can truly eliminate the Minifig race, his own employees included because, as he is no longer a Minifig, he would not have to martyr himself to truly accomplish 'his' goals. If he wins, he'll eventually turn on you and kill you."Blaire scoffed. "I do have a plan in mind to prevent that from happening." The man didn't elaborate any further. Zach scowled. No use trying to reason with this guy."So what are you going to do with me? I had promised to Minerva that I would stay with her through this battle and thanks to her brother, I'm here instead."Blaire revealed a cold smile. "I have been considering something. It won't be friendly, however." Zach stepped back and prepared to launch a ball of Maelstrom at the XERRD commander when a Hybrid appeared from the stairwell and beckoned Blaire towards it. Blaire turned and followed it down the stairs.Zach turned toward Athena. She glanced at him and smiled. "Mr. Darkling is rather polite man.""Yeah..." Zach received mixed signals from Blaire Darkling. One one hand, he was an arrogant, narcissistic ##### who put way too much emphasis on his speech. One the other hand, he came across as an affable anti-villain who seemed to at least somewhat regret helping cause the Dino Attack.Blaire returned. His expression did not betray any feelings. "I have been requested to let you both go, I have agreed." Zach raised an eyebrow in surprise. Was it that affable anti-villain part of him. "Two Hybrids will escort you to the other side of the river. After that, you are on your own." Zach nodded, unsure what to think. "Ms. Fabello," Blaire said, directly speaking to Athena now. He smiled. "Mr. Virchaus will lead you to your daughter."Athena's gray eyes brightened. She walked up to Zach, beaming. Zach grimaced. Something wasn't right here. "Let's go," he said. He started to walk for the stairs, Athena Fabello and two Minifig/Mutant Lizard Hybrids close behind.

OOC: That's just...whoa. I mean I figured Dr. Rex wasn't finished yet, but the whole "divine intervention" by Baron Typhonus is just...whoa. Just a little more sympathy points to Dr. Rex now that realizes he's the Darkitect's plaything.Which reminds me: there was this idea I thought about. Maybe some Fridge Brilliance, I don't know. I'll probably introduce it the next post.IC:"Son of Znapping Megablok! That Znapping piece of Jack Stone-znapping-4+-znapping Megablokin' Megabloker!""Ole Kirk, man! Cool it. Just keep fighting."Did anyone see that ominious swirling vortex in the sky? Looked kinda like a maelstrom-oh Znap."Figures. Cough up the money, boys. I told you.""-Repeat! Mutant Tyrant Lizard King: Dr. Rex is still in the game!""This Typhonus guy is getting worse at hijacking the plot than that Ganonbrick guy in-""Maybe XERRD will figure out exactly how screwed they are now."Zelda Frodongan couldn't hide her displeasure at these new updates. Dr. Rex's revival and this Builder-forsaken Cyrista's Bane would not give. Dr. Cyborg had sent some agents to a Power Plant building for some plan that would hopefully take down this beast. In the meantime, she and Nazareno had continued to take down Mutant Dinos around the beast and occasionally take a strike at the beast itself.Zelda was running through a pack of Mutant Lizards, knocking their heads off with her swords with ease. Among other things she heard on her headset was Commander Vinyaya's distress call. She had wanted to go after her, but the sheer number of Mutant Dinos around her prevented that. She demanded a status update and learned that Vinyaya was alive, but had been scarred by acid thanks to the work of a Mutant Raptor.She shuddered uncomfortably. That combined with Zachary's disappearance did nothing to brighten her spirits. Zelda jumped in to the air and landed on to the ruins of a Steel Sprinter. Around her, Parr, Sullivan, and Fredricksen were taking shots at any Mutant Dinos that crossed her path. She looked up and saw a Steel Sprinter flying into the air, Nazareno on it. Zelda held her breath as Nazareno kicked the ATV down on to a pack of Mutant Lizards. The kick boosted him into the air, allowing him to land on top of Mutant T-Rex's head.Zelda grinned. She couldn't hide that she was attracted to Nazareno. Perhaps it was the comfort he had provided to her after coming out of her Stromling comotose. Perhaps his taking an interest in her skill. Maybe it was calm seriousness with a hint of dry humor. Whatever it was, Zelda liked him. The only problem was Nazareno's mysteriousness. She wasn't sure if he noticed her attraction. She wasn't even sure if he was attracted to women. Or any Minifig, really.She jumped back into the fray. Her feelings over the matter would have to be dealt with later. There was a battle win.**********************************Zach's head seared with pain. The Darkitect - the Maelstrom - had done something. Something bad. He could feel it."Are you okay?" Athena asked, concerned. She had flashed out into another memory and once again did not recognize Zach. She was abruptly smacked in the back of the head by the Hybrid who was guarding her as they walked up the stairs. It snarled in its harsh voice which Zach could easily translate as "Shut up."Instead of simply killing, the Hybrids had chosen to take them upstairs. As they passed by rooms, it didn't take Zach long to figure out that XERRD had made some command post of this building. Hybrids were posted by windows with sniper rifles, picking off any Dino Attack Agent that came into their sights.As they neared the top, Zach could hear a frail voice speaking."-saw it herself! Maelstrom shot out of his body! Then he got up and turned against those Dino Attack agents that had taken him down!"They finally reached the top of the building. Three Hybrids were at the edge of the roof, sniping. At the center stood a short Space Marauder with large, round-rimmed glasses that seemed somewhat fogged over with a short wisp of white hair on his head. On his back was a strange looking backpack with a nozzle head on top of it.This man was speaking to the larger man in a tan trenchcoat with XERRD's emblem on his left arm. He had shaggy, pure white hair and work dark, reflective sunglasses with a small scar underneath the right lens and had the barest hint of a goatee on his chin. He wore black, fignerless gloves and in one hand clutched a radio. He was hard to read, but Zach could see he held the radio tensely. He brought the radio to his face."So, Michelle," the man said, putting unnecessary emphasis on the woman's name. "Is what Dr. Gadd told true?" Silence, then, "And you heard this 'Elite Agent Semick's' message, correct?" A longer period of silence. "Well, Dr. Glados, I've been able to see that our leader has been going off his rocker since you, Barabbas, and Gonapus returned from the cursed temple. Even if he has suddenly stood up from the brink of death itself, he is hardly fit to continue leading this organization, which puts you in command. Whatever you chose to do, I'll stand by it. Even if it is stupid and foolish." Silence followed, with the man smirking. "I love you too, Glados. Now stop with the petty insults and take charge."The man pocketed the radio and turned to Dr. Gadd. "How exactly did you get here so fast, Alvin?"Dr. Gadd pointed to his strange backpack, a strange grin on his face. "Water-powered jetpack that also doubles as a laser cannon. There is quite a bit of science to it. I call it the Flight and Laser Ultra Destruction Device, or-""I see," the man said, scratching his beard. "Get back into the field and continue to fight against the Dino Attack unless Glados takes this 'Semick's' advice."Alvin Gadd frowned. "As you wish, Darkling." Zach grimaced at his name. What Stromlings used to be called. He pressed a button, causing the nozzle on his device to point downwards. A blast of pressurized water fired from the nozzle, shooting Gadd into the air. He turned and started to descend from the building back into the battlefield."Now then," Darkling said, turning to Zach, Athena, and the Hybrids. He walked forward and stared at them. Zach was extremely unnerved by man's sunglasses, which prevented anyone from seeing his eyes. He turned his head toward Athena, a smirk forming on his mouth. "Let her go, please."The Hybrid shoved Athena Fabello away from it. She stumbled and fell to the ground. Darkling extended a hand and helped the woman back on to her feet. "Who are you?!" Athena demanded both with fear and angry in her voice.Darkling cleared his throat. "How nice it is to see you again, Ms. Fabello."Zach couldn't hide his surprise. "How-?!" His objections were muffled as he felt a sharp electrical pain in his side, causing him to collapse to his knees. He glanced up at Athena, who had gone into one of her 'transition' phases again. Suddenly, a smile formed on Athena's face as she looked at Darkling."Hello, again, Mr. Darkling!"

IC:The first shot slammed into the purple lizard's face, throwing it away from the rest of the group. It started the chain reaction Vinyaya knew she couldn't avoid.The Mutant Lizards swarmed her quickly and viciously while the Mutant Raptors prowled in the back, watching the onslaught. Vinyaya swung the Cosmotronic Ray hard, striking two lizards with it and send them flying. She managed to pick off one fire-breathing lizard before the horde reached her. They snapped and bit at her forcefully. Had she not been wearing Space Police armor, she would've died rather quickly.She kicked away a darkness lizard and smacked away another lizard with the gun as a brown Mutant Lizard wrapped its jaws around Vinyaya's arm. She shook the monster loose and swung the Cosmotronic Ray around, finishing it off. She quickly slammed her elbow into the back of another lizard as it snapped at her heels."No you don't!" Vinyaya growled, slamming her boot into the lizard's skull. She turned as a red lizard blasted fire in her face. Thanks to her armor, she remained unharmed as she grabbed the Mutant Lizard's thin neck and twisted it sharply. It dropped like a rock, allowing a yellow lizard to take its place. She grimace as she saw acid dripping from its mouth. Not daring to get too close, Vinyaya jammed the Cosmotronic Ray into its side and blasted it.Suddenly, a Mutant Raptor charged forward, knocking the lizards out of its path. It reached Vinyaya and slammed its foot at her body, pinning her against the Iron Predator and cracking the visor on her helmet. The raptor then slowly dragged its foot to the left, grinding Vinyaya against the tank. Vinyaya, blinded by the raptor's massive foot, pointed the Cosmotronic Ray in its general direction and squeezed off three shots, forcing the raptor on to its back in defeat.As the Mutant Lizards regrouped, Vinyaya tore off her helmet, let her blonde ponytail fall against her back. She then swung the helmet into the face of a charging orange Mutant Lizard. The lizard stumbled back, trying to pull the helmet off of its head. She quickly wasted the beast and turned to the rest of the Mutant Lizards. A darkness lizard approached and shrouded Vinyaya in a cloud of black.Vinyaya fired in the direction of where the Mutant Lizard last was and heard a nasty thud. She then swung her entire arm out and managed to strike a purple lizard trying to attack her. She pinned it against the Iron Predator and kicked its exposed stomach multiple times before it fell limp. She whipped her head around, waiting for the cloud of darkness to fade. A brown lizard ran at her, mouth open wide. Vinyaya jammed the Cosmotronic Ray into the creatures mouth and blew its brains out.As she pulled the Cosmotronic Ray away from the corpse, the cloud of darkness disappeared and Vinyaya saw a Mutant Raptor approaching her slowly. She pointed her weapon at it and pulled the trigger, but nothing fired. Oh, no. Vinyaya realized in horror. Without warning, Vinyaya suddenly felt something grab her arms and pull her against the Iron Predator fiercely. She struggled desperately, but couldn't break free from her attackers, which soon revealed themselves to be green-skinned Mutant Lizards.The Mutant Raptor stopped in front of her, growling lowly. She saw it scratch it's claws against the ground anxiously. Vinyaya realized what was about to happen. It had happened to many others, most notably Greybeard and Shock. Possibly even Shadow, but she wasn't sure.The Mutant Raptor glanced to the side. It stepped over to the body of a acid-spitting Mutant Lizard, a small puddle of acid spit surrounding it. It cautiously dipped two of its claws into the puddle. It raised them and saw it had no ill effects against it. The raptor then turned to her and stepped up to her. Vinyaya's struggling increased, desperate to get away from the mad reptile. The Mutant Raptor stopped again, raised it's acid-soaked claws, and struck.It was pain beyond any measure Vinyaya had ever felt before. It clawed at the right side of her face, only with the two claws. One claw dug into the far right, from the top of her head to her cheek. The other ran down from her forehead, through her eye, and stopped at the corners of her mouth. Vinyaya screamed in agony as the vision in her right eye suddenly blinked out of existence.The Mutant Lizards let her arms go, allowing her to sink to the ground as she screamed. Tears ran freely from her eyes. She wanted to clutch the right side of her face for comfort, but feared that it would only intensify the pain. The Mutant Raptor moved over slightly, and prepared to strike the left side of her face. At this point, Vinyaya didn't care. She wanted the mind-numbing pain to end.Before the Mutant Raptor could finish her off, it was suddenly hailed on by weapon fire. It stumbled back and roared into the sky before it collapsed. The rest of the Mutant Dinos seemed to realize what they were facing and fled, leaving Vinyaya to suffer.Vinyaya's vision was extremely blurred, but managed to see a man in a blue uniform descend from the sky on a hook, calling her name. The man good a good hold around her and pulled her into the sky. She looked up briefly to see them heading into a blue helicopter. She soon found herself lying on the ground, two Minifigs standing over her. Her shock prevented her from understanding much, but she could see the looks over horror as they looked at her face.Vinyaya lifted her body up briefly and grabbed the uniform of the male Agent that had winched her to safety. "Medic," Vinyaya hissed, tears streaming out of eyes. "Please. NOW!" With that, Vinyaya collapsed into unconsciousness.

OOC: Indeed. I only really needed one vehicle to aide Vinyaya after my idea goes into play. I hope none of you mind, but we're going to step over it for now (Just going to go out on a limb, it isn't going to be pretty) and go straight to the bit where I prove everyone right.IC:Zach wasn't having any luck with the radio so far. As he fiddled with the device, the woman sat upside down in a recliner, her blonde hair scraping the floor while her feet rested on the back of a chair. She chatting with him playful, clearly indifferent to her surroundings. The more they talked, the more familiar the woman seemed to him in some way. Appearance-wise she definitely looked like someone he knew and parts of her personality seemed very familiar as well. He knew he was going hit himself when found out who this person reminded him of."You're a strange person," the woman noted in a matter-of-fact tone. "Little bit earlier, you came across as more of socially-awkward person who had never asked out a girl in his life. And now you're beating up thugs and messing around with that thing like some sort of action hero. What's up with you?"Zach shrugged. The woman clearly had no problem admitting her true opinions to him. "I like to jump in between those two ships depending on the situation. Though I moved past the whole 'socially-awkward' bit years ago."The woman grinned widely and pointed at him with his big toe. "Ah, but you didn't deny the part about never asking a girl out. That's still true, right?""From a certain point of view," Zach said, not looking at the woman. In all honesty, he never 'asked' Minerva anything. They just sort of...happened. Regardless, he really did not his self-esteem lashed at by a fifty-year-old woman who thought she was nineteen."Certain point of view? I think that means its true," The woman chuckled. Zach gritted his teeth and said nothing. "Don't take it personally. I was a lot like you when I was younger. I think it's cute." The woman beamed at him. Zach scowled, resisting the urge to throw the radio at the woman. I don't really care. I've never really cared. He told himself calmly. It's the Maelstrom toying with me again. The thought crossed his mind again to simply dispel the remaining Maelstrom in his head as Marco Martinet had suggested. it was clearly making him less tolerant of simple teasings that he would not have cared about months ago. You won't win, Darkitect.He rose to his feet and slammed the radio down on the floor. "I wasn't get anything," he said to woman, who was looking at him with a surprised expression. She shrugged and looked up at her feet."Hey...why don't I have any shoes on?" she asked, wiggling her toes. Zach shrugged. "Neither do I. I do like it though. Nice little breeze between my piggies. I think I'll stop wearing shoes.""Pretty quick decision making," Zach noted with a smirk as the woman slid out of the chair and stood up."Yeah. When it comes to something so menial as whether to wear shoes or not, I'd rather not spend too much time thinking about it." She suddenly pulled his hand into his. "You know, we still don't even know each other's names.""Fine. My name is Zachary.""Hello, 'Zachary,'" she said, bowing her head with a goofy grin on her face. "My name is Athena.""Hello, Athe-ee-naoh my Builder," he pulled away from her, staring in shock. Why hadn't he seen it before? He slapped his forward forward, looking at the woman from head to toe."What?" Athena asked, confused. Zach didn't say anything. He felt like a moron. The woman looked like a older, blonde Minerva. Which suddenly explained why he considered the woman attractive. He could also see evidence of Minerva's own personality quirks in Athena's."Is your name...Athena Fabello?" Zach asked.Athena raised an eyebrow. "No. My name is Athena Chase. Whose Athena Fabello?"Zach thought for a bit. In Minerva's letter from Napoleon XIV, it said Athena Fabello had buried without ceremony at the request of a Ginny Chase, who Minerva had described as "aunt". There was little doubt now."What's your issue?" Athena said, crossing her arms. Without warning, she suddenly froze. A few seconds passed in stunned silence before she started moving again. "What are you doing in my house? Who are you?"Zach blinked. Her strange amnesia and short-term memory were both also explained with this woman's identity. "I-I'm Zach, remember?"Athena raised an eyebrow. "I've never seen you before." Her eyes suddenly fell upon Zach's knife. Her expression darkly quickly. "What are you going to do with that knife."Zach grimaced. "Nothing, really. I-do you want the knife?""Get rid of it." Athena commanded coldly. "Don't even try to attack me. You're on thin ice, 'Zach.'" Zach nodded, and quickly discarded the knife. "Where's my family? What did you do to them?"There was undeniably traces of both fear and anger. "I haven't done anything to them.""DON'T LIE TO ME!" Athena roared, wrapping her hands around his throat. Tears were streaming out her eyes. "Wh-what did you do to them?"Zach was not interested in have Athena kill him in a rampage like she did to her middle son. First, "Is your name Athena Fabello?" She stared at him for a moment before nodding once. "I'm working with the government," Zach continued. "Something's bad has happened. I've relocated Minerva and Oswald to a safe-""What about my husband and Tod?" Athena snapped, her grip tightening.Zach swallowed coolly. "Minerva, Oswald, Isaac, and Tod are at a safe location. I'm here to get you to safety as well."Athena's eyes narrowed. "What's going on that's 'so bad?'"Zach opened his mouth to explain when some of the wall collapsed away, revealing a very hungry looking Mutant Raptor. "That is the problem," Zach whispered.Athena let go of him and stared at the monster in shock. "Wh-what is that? A dinosaur?""A Mutant Raptor, to be specific." Free of Athena's grip, Zach quietly walked over and picked up his knife, never taking his eyes of off the beast."A raptor?" Athena muttered. "No way. I'm not a dinosaur expert, but velociraptors are only two meters long and half a meter high. That is not a raptor. If a paleontologist was here, I bet he would be cr-"Zach rolled his eyes. Clearly in shock. "Hence why it is a Mutant Raptor. Now get ready to run." With that, the Mutant Raptor roared and charged into the room at Zach. Zach quickly moved out of its way. Grabbing Athena's arm, he ran out of the building and started heading in the direction of the river."Run!" Zach growled to the stumbling Athena. He glanced back. The Mutant Raptor had quickly recovered and was chasing after them. "Run!" Athena finally seemed to have caught on to the message, as her feet managed to speed up to match Zach's.They soon reached the river, but were far away from any bridge. "In that building!" Athena yelled, pointing to tan building."Wait, I-" Athena squeezed his arm tightly and pulled him into the building and closed the door. The Mutant Raptor soon reached the building itself. It slowed to a stop, sniffed the building briefly, then emitted a low growl before turning and leaving."What?" Zach hissed in surprise. Why would the raptor just turn away? Then he heard an unconfortable buzzing sound. Turning around slowly, he saw Athena staring at two figures garbed in samurai armor and wielding energized spears. "Megabloks," Zach muttered as the Minifig/Mutant Lizard Hybrids closed in on them.

OOC: Where these outposts are is up to you, Atton. I said on the other side of the river because Blaire Darkling (as my Word of God) is in a building on the edge of the designated "XERRD" side by the river. The rest of the command posts could be anywhere near the river or as deep into the "Dino Attack" side as you wish.As for the bit with the radios. In my head, Zach and the woman are probably 300 yards away. In more of an exact scale, I don't know. I mostly left it off there so someone (not me) could contact Zach briefly. If no one does by the time I post with him again, then he discards the radio and moves on. Simple as that.Also, consider one of the radio messages in the following IC as a "team to destroy the device", provided it doesn't interfere with any of PeabodySam's plans.IC:"Ogel's dead? Ole Kirk-" *SLAP!* "That's for blasphemy.""Someone needs to get the guy with robo-appendages out of here. He's gathering up a group of Hybrids and making a rush for the headquarters and 'his laser' is becoming a real pain in my-""I think we should call him "Robo-Limb" for simplicity's sake.""Hahaha. That's funny. How about we don't?""Whatever you say, Brickster.""Ha! Thought you were going to eat that Urban Avenger, beastie? Well, guess what? YOU GET NOTHING. YOU LOSE. GOOD DAY, SIR!""Their teeth and ambitions are bared, be prepared."Holly Vinyaya's teeth gritted together angrily. This T-Rex was absolutely MEGABLOK-bent on destroying her Iron Predator."Shoot it!" she snapped to Butler. He managed to get one Cyrothermic Cannon blast into the beast's chest before it snapped its jaws around the barrel, disintegrating it."We're sitting ducks, Commander," Butler said, climbing back on to the deck as the Mutant T-Rex discarded the charred remains of the Cyrothermic Cannon to the side and turned its attention back to the Dino Attack agents.Vinyaya nodded. She grabbed a radio and put it close to her mouth. "Now." she commanded. Without warning, two Cryothermic blasts struck the T-Rex hard, sending him stumbling. She turned to Butler. "Abandon ship!" She picked up a Cosmotronic Ray, snapped the radio to her belt, and jumped over the edge of the Iron Predator on to the ground. Butler quickly followed, gripping a gun with a large blade attached to it. The weapon was rather recent. It had been released by the BrickArms Weapons Manufacturing company in September for the Dino Attack Team's use.The Mutant T-Rex was being pelted by Cryothermic fire from two Iron Predators that Vinyaya had coordinated. Even after standing up to every type of firepower the Dino Attack had thrown at it, the onslaught was too much for it. It fell over on to Vinyaya's abandoned Iron Predator, crushing it under its weight."Nice work," Butler said, wiping his brow. "But we still got other problems." They were without vehicles, and a horde of Mutant Lizards had decided to capitalize on that fact. They approached Vinyaya and Butler slowly, hissing. Butler made the first move, shooting a acid-lizard directly in the head.The chain reaction was catastrophic. The Mutant Lizards swarmed Butler. He shot three and cut up more with the blade, but there was clearly too many. Vinyaya picked off several with her Cosmotronic Ray at the beginning, but knew she could easily injury Butler if she continued this pattern. Then darkness consumed Butler and the Mutant Lizards, Vinyaya backed away in fear."...G....Go!" Butler roared over the snarling of Mutant Lizards. Vinyaya swallowed hard, but started to run in the direction of the headquarters. She could hear several Mutant Lizards start to give chase. She turned her head back briefly and knocked away a few Mutant Lizards before quickening her pace.The pack chasing after Vinyaya seemed to attract more lizards. In addition to the hundreds of Mutant Dinos in the battlefield, Vinyaya was forced to divert her path frequently. Finally she ended up in front of a ruined Iron Predator on fire. She turned around and could not suppress a gasp.There had to be at least some thirty-odd Mutant Lizards of every breed surrounding her, hissing and snarling with a cold look of hunger in their eyes. Behind them, four Mutant Raptors had seemingly become interested in her as well.She was surrounded. The only around it was to fight. Gripping her Cosmotronic Ray tightly, she pulled out the radio she had taken from her Iron Predator."Commander Vinyaya here," she muttered, never taking her eyes of the Mutant Dinos closing in on her. "I'm surrounded by mutants with no escape. Help would be greatly appreciated." Putting away the radio, Vinyaya pointed the Cosmotronic Ray at the purple lizard at the center of the group.This may be it. Her final stand. Holly Vinyaya took one deep breath, grimly accepting her fate. She then pulled the trigger.OOC: Respond to Vinyaya's distress call if you wish, but DO NOT engage the Mutant Dinos. I have an idea, but it must happen before she is saved.

OOC: Well, it does interfere with some plans (Zach and the age-hopping woman need to be alone just before rejoining the battle, which may or may not lead to a reveal totally unrelated to them. But mostly it seems unlikely that the Third Headquarters Squad would find Zach and said woman. As I see, even with their running around, they are a couple of blocks in on the designated "XERRD" side of the river (where the Mutant Dinos came from). As far as I can tell, the Third Headquarters Squad is still on "Dino Attack" side of the river, taking down potential XERRD command posts on possibly both sides of the river and fighting bad guys. Even if they are on "XERRD's" side, I imagine, due to the observation by the exposition agent in Andrewnuva's post way back when, they'd be focusing on building close to the river (where XERRD has the best view of the battlefield and closeness to headquarters).As much as I would love to have a mother vs. mother confrontation (the woman is apparently a mother at some point in her life, even if she thinks she nineteen at the moment), its going to have to wait until Zach and the woman go back to the battlefield.Good on the Finding Nemo bit, avmatoran.

OOC: Back from a quick visit to the relatives! And on that 2 hour car ride from my house to Spencer, I came up more comm chat stuff to use later. Awesome.And instead of listening to music for this round, I'll be watching a movie. Hopefully you should be able to tell what movie from my post.IC:Zach stepped out of the parking garage and into the rain with this woman. She shivered briefly, pulling the hood on her sweatshirt over her head. Zach turned his head to the left and could see the lower levels of the Dino Attack Headquarters in the distance"If we head that way," Zach said, pointing out the tan-and-dark red building. "we'll reach a river. We cross that, then we go a few more blocks and we'll reach your family.""Good," the woman said, crossing her arms. Zach glanced down at her bare feet, still clawing at the ground."Why don't you have any shoes on?" Zach asked.The woman shrugged. "I don't know. I rather like it though." She wiggled her toes once, smirking. She then turned and started walking toward the headquarters."Be careful," Zach hissed, following her. "There are tons of those dinosaurs everywhere!""Alright," she said, waving a hand. Zach scowled. This wasn't going to be easy.As the woman reached an intersection, she froze for a few seconds. She shook her head once and continued forward. Zach raised an eyebrow but said nothing. She walked on a for a few more seconds before glancing back at Zach. She smiled at him and waved. Confused, Zach waved back.She kept walking. As she reached an intersection, she suddenly turned, disappearing behind a ruined building. Zach quickened his pace and saw her continuing her walk, completely unharmed. She glanced back at him again, her expression less friendly. She sped up slightly and walked into the street, climbing over a pile of rubble."Hold on," Zach said, growing irritated. He walked into the street himself and climbed over the rubble. The woman glanced at him, looking unhappy. She quickened to a jog as she continued down the sidewalk.For Builder's sake. Zach sped up again, trying to keep up with the woman, who was apparently light on her feet. She reached another intersection and turned again, heading in the direction away from the headquarters. She turned her head, now clearly angry. Pushing herself to a full sprint, she ran down the sidewalk, seemingly desperate to get away from Zach."Wait!" Zach called out, following her. The woman zig-zagged through the city, Zach yelling for her to stop. Suddenly, she stopped at the corner of an intersection. She turned around sharply and jabbed Zach in the chest as he reached her."Would you quit it?!" she snapped harshly."What?" Zach asked, completely lost."Is the town not big enough for you or something like that? What's your problem?""What?""Just stop following me, okay?" She put her hands on her hips and stared at him."I don't...what?" Zach pointing the direction of the headquarters. "What about your husband and kids?"The woman gave him a blank stare. "What?" It was apparently her turn to be confused. "Do I look like I have a husband and kids?""Just a little bit." Without warning, the woman slapped him hard in the face. His eyes began to tear up in pain. He clutched his cheek and glared at the woman, who was now crossing her arms and looked extremely angry. Ow. What the znap was that for?!""You called me fat. Or old. Whatever bad things happen to my body when I have kids."Zach frowned. "How old are you?" he asked."Nineteen. So what?" Zach felt his mouth drop open. There was no way this woman was nineteen. She had completely forgotten all about him and her family, which he now wasn't sure actually existed. Whatever she was, she was severely confused and definitely needed to get out of the city before she got herself killed."Close your mouth, will you?" she asked irritably. Zach obliged, still trying to figure out what to do with her. She rolled her eyes. "Geez." Then some sort of realization dawned upon her. "Wait, was that whole husband and kids thing supposed to be a pick-up line or something?""What?!""Yeah, Like a compliment. Like I'm so fantastic and beautiful that it's a surprise that I'm not 'taken' yet.?" Zach was at a lose for words, causing the woman to smile and laugh. "It is! You're hitting on me!""Wh-what? No, I'm not!""You are and you know it." She leaned in close, still grinning. "Though it was kind of a badly-worded compliment. It was dumb, you would be in a lot more pain." She laughed as she pulled away, leaving Zach silent. "I haven't seen you around LEGO Town. Do you live here?""N-no," Zach stammered, surprised at the woman's sudden mood change. "This is LEGO City," he said dumbly. The woman turned her head sideways."Never heard of it. And this is LEGO Town, by the way." She smirked at Zach's dumbfounded expression. "You look kind of cute when you're flustered." Zach scowled. "I suppose I'll try something with you. Maybe. Want to see a movie tonight?""I-yes, sure, whatever." With any luck, this woman would suddenly forget everything about him again. Suddenly, he could hear two gruff voices speaking. Unsure of who these Minifigs were, he shoved the woman into a large, gaping hole in a ruined building. "Over here, quick. And don't talk." He stepped into the building himself and hid to the side.Zach glanced out of the whole as the voices started to pass by the building. He saw two gruff BZP Lovers-and-orange jumpsuits and black beanie cap carrying machine guns. Inferno's goons. Zach thought darkly. I've been waiting for this fools to show up. Might as well deal with them. He raised his hand and allowed a ball of Maelstrom to form in his palm. He shot it at the first henchmen, causing him to drop. The other Inferno agent turned toward the hole, prepared to open fire before he too was struck by a ball of Maelstrom."Alright, it's safe," he said to the woman. He climbed out of the building and headed toward the unconscious bodies."What's going on?" she asked as she stepped out. She glanced at the Inferno agents with a raised eyebrow. "Who are these guys?""Nobody important. Hopefully they have-aha!" Zach pulled a walkie-talkie from one agent's belt. He headed back into the building and began searching through frequencies."What are you going to do with that?" the woman asked, leaning against the wall."Contact some friends," he said. "Tell them I'm all right, what's going on, and that I'm heading back. Hopefully, I'll find the right frequency and make contact. If not, we'll just make our return a surprise."

OOC: What if Athena was killed in the Goo Caverns outpost? Consider that. Or don't. In fact, I'd recommend not.Also considering the woman described in my post is wearing the exact same clothes as Athena's wiki photo...First: Glados. Second: I've been waiting a long time for a wedding akin to the one of At World's End for Rex and Amanda with Greybeard leading it. Yes, it's already been done in Greybeard's past. I don't care.I suppose I'll try my luck at the comm chatter as well.IC:Minerva opened fire on a group of three Mutant Raptors that had strayed too close to the Fire Hammer. Upon disabling their force fields, Catless was quick to eliminate the dinos with the Xenon Launcher.She sighed briefly. Minerva had hoped to stay with Zach until this battle was won or until one of them met their demise. Not know whether he was dead or alive made it worse. This is all too similar to what happened with Scratch. She thought. He had ran after Scratch and came back missing his right hand. Now he had been taken by some goon in a leather jacket. Considering the stakes of the battle, it seemed likely he would come back in a body bag.Minerva kept running over ideas on who the man could be. Whoever he is, Zach obviously made him mad. As she continued to fire upon Mutant Dinos, she noticed a Fire Hammer on fire nearby in a crater. "That looks like what that guy did to our Fire Hammer," Minerva pointed out.Andrew glanced to the side briefly. "Definitely seems like the 'mysterious assilant' was looking for Zach specifically." Andrew's Fire Hammer moved close enough to the wrecked jeep to see two bodies slumped over on the dashboard, completely still. Minerva grimaced. Zach made this guy very angry. Minerva concluded sadly. She glanced at the window again and starting taking shots at Mutant Raptors and the just-appearing Inferno agents dressed in black-and-orange jumpsuits.********************************************"Vuorinen, Olzon, Nevalainen, Hietala. There's a nasty Mutant T-Rex here who wants make me a dead boy."On our way, Holopainen.""You should try playing music like that Rotor guy, Zimmer. You too, Elfman.""I guess Dr. Inferno's bringing the heat too, eh? Geddit?"Shut your mouth.""What do the brown Mutant Lizards even do?"I wonder if playing the "Song of Storms" backwards will make the sun come out, because this rain is really starting to bug me.""There's this weird guy with tentacles stick out of back out here and Whoawhoawhoa. *smash* IMMA FIRIN MAELASER!""Ogel just died guys. I bet Dr. Inferno is already celebrating.""Celebrating with "Disco Inferno", right? Right? Geddit?""What did I say, mate?"Vinyaya was starting to become somewhat amused by the random comm chatter (except for the "Maelaser" bit. That was somewhat depressing to listen to). Perhaps it brightened her spirits just a little bit. Reminded her that the final battle didn't need to be a grimdark period of destruction, chaos, and sadness. Just a little light was all she needed."They're starting to slip through at an uncomfortable pace now," Butler said to her as he opened fire on a pack of Mutant Lizards. He was right. With this "Cyrista's Bane", Dr. Rex's decoy, and Dr. Rex himself, the front lines had become disorganized enough for more Mutant Dinos to move in closer to the Dino Attack Headquarters. It was particularly noticeable with larger numbers of Mutant T-Rexes breaking through."Keep them back, Shacklebolt," Vinyaya commanded. She received a deep grunt as the man fired a Cyrothermic blast at rampage Mutant T-Rex that was stepping on an Fire Hammer that crossed its path. Combined some firepower from a T-1 Typhoon from above, the T-Rex eventually dropped.A Mutant T-Rex stomped up to the deceased T-Rex and leaned in close. It suddenly lifted it's head and howled with fury. Probably a mate. As realistic Vinyaya was, she accepted that Mutant Dinos could be exceptionally intelligent. However, this was a war, and more often than not, living things died in wars. So Vinyaya treated the Mutant Dinos as enemy soldiers who needed to be gunned down.The Mutant T-Rex fired several laser bursts at the T-1 Typhoon, which responded by firing its own weapons. Suddenly, the Mutant T-Rex made a fearsome jump. The T-1 Typhoon had clearly been flying too low, as the T-Rex managed to wrap its jaws around the helicopter's nose. Pulling it out of the air and slowly but surely incinerating the nose, the T-Rex jerked its charged its head back and quickly turned it, releasing the T-1 as his head passed. The T-1 flew across the battlefield for a few seconds before smashing hard into the concrete. it slid for a few more moments before it sunk into the river."D'Arvit," Butler cursed. Vinyaya raised an eyebrow. Unusual euphemism. She mused. The Mutant T-Rex then turned its head and started stomping toward her Iron Predator angrily. "But appropriate. 'D'Arvit' indeed," she muttered before turning up to Shacklebolt. "Open fire!" The man obliged silently.The Mutant T-Rex was taking fire from both Shacklebolt and a nearby Iron Predator. It fought past the pain and fire a laser beam Shacklebolt. There was a short grunt of pain before a loud thud as he fell out of his seat. It then quickly turned and blasted the gunner out of the other Iron Predator."Butler! Take the Cannon!" As Butler obeyed her command, Vinyaya looked the Iron Predator's controls with determination. "Time for some evasive action."

OOC: Fun fact of the day: Not counting Plan Z or the posts lost in that Time Slip long ago, Atton Rand's post (#1076) is the 10,000th of the Dino Attack RPG.Just know that the building Oswald and Zach were in was merely an abandoned building. Blaire and his Hybrid sniper's location is more in vein of the command posts.IC:When Zach came back into consciousness, he felt something apply pressure to his chest, as if it was leaning on him. It wasn't anything heavy, so he was content to just lay there and relax a short bit before figuring out what happened to him.Then he heard a small sniffle. Then, a woman muttered quietly, "Please wake up!" The woman's voice was filled with fear. The pressure lessened on his chest as he felt his shoulders getting shook. He opened his eyes and saw the terrified-looking face of an older woman. "Oh!" she gasped, standing up and backing away from him.Zach climbed to his feet, still feeling groggy as he examined this woman. She was a somewhat thin woman, wearing a white sweatshirt that was stained with dirt and cuts. Her dark blue jeans were also decorated with various tears and frays. She oddly didn't have any shoes, her bare, bruised feet clawing the floor anxiously.She was clearly an older woman and had taken no efforts in trying appear younger. Her face had the usual signs an older person and her long blonde hair had multiple gray streaks. Despite this and probably more popular opinion, Zach considered the woman to be attractive in some form. He could only conclude that it was because the woman looked strangely familiar to him, but thanks to Oswald's head thrashing, he couldn't put a name on the woman's face."Why are you here?" Zach finally asked, brushing the dust of his person. "The Agents and Alpha Team should evacuated everyone."The woman gave him a confused look. "Who?""The Alpha Team and the Agents Defense Organization," Zach said, annoyed by this woman's lack of knowledge. "Agencies tasked with the protection of the LEGO Planet?"The woman shook her head. "Never heard of them. I think I heard something about an L.A. organization protecting the planet though. Maybe it was them."Zach frowned. L.A.? Like where that biomechanical guy (what was name? Leo?) worked before Evil Ogel destroyed it? This woman was clearly lost. "Do you have any idea what's going on?""No, but," she glanced around the area they were in, which was the lower levels of a public parking garage. "I don't remember LEGO City being so big. It was hardly a town yesterday. Or in such disrepair. And-" she paused, her gray eyes become wide with concern. "I can't find my family!""Alright, hold on," Zach said, moving closer to her as she began to panic. "Where did you last see them?""At my house," the woman whispered."And where is that?"The woman seemed to be thinking. "I-I can't remember. The city's so different. I-I-I just can't." Tears starting to stream out of her eyes.Zach bit his lower lip. "Who's missing?""My husband and three kids. Two boys and a girl."Zach nodded. Not wanting to bring up the possibility that this family may be dead, "You're going to have to trust your husband to take care of your kids. I can't let you wander the city now, especially with what's going on.""What's going-" The woman stopped, then screamed loudly. Zach turned and saw a green-skinned Mutant Lizard behind him, eyeing his two pray with glee.Must've split off from the main group. "Stay behind me," Zach commanded. The woman obeyed without question, whimpering fearfully. Zach pulled the knife he had collected from the armory at and pointed it at the Mutant Lizard. The lizard hissed and suddenly disappeared. "Shoot." Zach muttered."Where is it?!" the woman screamed, growing more and fearful."Stay calm," Zach said, gripping the woman's arm tightly. He glanced around the area, waiting for the attack. He could hear it. A faint snarl. "Get down!" he roared. The woman dropped to the ground and Zach stabbed his knife over his head. He heard a squick-inducing sound as the Mutant Lizard suddenly appeared, its mouth in the middle of the blade. The woman stood up and backed away as Zach removed the knife from the lizard."Where are you-" he turned to the woman and saw her staring at the lizard's carcass. Her eyes became unfocused for a brief moment before returning to reality. "What are you-""Who are you?" the woman asked, eyeing him suspiciously. "Where am I?" She rubbed her forehead. "I was taking the boys to school, and now I'm here?" The woman suddenly became angry. "What are you going to with that knife?" she demanded.Zach dropped the knife. He was completely lost at what was going on. "I'm a friend, remember?"The woman's eyes narrowed. "I've never seen you before in my life."She was clearly confused. Probably in shock. "I'm a friend. I'm...like a cop. I'm just here to protect you." The woman continued to stare at him. She moved close to him and picked up his fallen knife and pointed it at him. "Something's happened in the city. There are animals running around that want to kill you." The woman's hard glare loosened somewhat, but she remained on the edge. Zach sighed. "We have your family at a safe location. If you follow me, you'll find them."The woman considered what he said. "They're safe?" Zach nodded, feeling somewhat bad for lying her, "What kind of animals are out there that would send the city over the edge?"Zach pointed to the dead Mutant Lizards. "Creatures like that and more. Like...dinosaurs.""How do I trust you?"Zach shrugged. "I dropped the knife. I'm apart of a team tasked with defeating these creatures. I know the way to the safe location. I don't know."The woman swallowed hard, then set the knife on the ground at Zach's feet. She began to back away as Zach picked it up and sheathed it. He looked back up at the woman, who was still clearly suspicious."I don't really have a choice, do I?" she asked."Well, if you want to die..."The woman allowed herself to faintly chuckle. "If you say so. I guess I'll go with you." She pushed him and started to head toward the exit ramp. She turned back briefly and gave Zach and hard look. "If I find out you did something to my family or try to hurt me, I'll kill you with my bare hands. I don't need a knife."Zach simply nodded, the sudden hostility shocking him only briefly. "Understood.""Good. Now let's go."

IC:Commander Holly Vinyaya fought in the battle at the control of an Iron Predator. With Dr. Rex using a decoy and leading in more Mutant Dinos into the battle from the subway station, she had taken command of a group of three Iron Predators to head off the swarms of lizards and raptors. She would occasionally glance up to the armored behemoth that was Dr. Rex, contemplating ways on how to take him down.Everything is being fired at him and he's hardly flinching. Vinyaya thought angrily. Those tiny chinks in his armor barely helps when using conventional fire. The only real idea she had at the moment was to use some of the team's Green Goo and knock out Dr. Rex, where they could deal with him some what easier.A Mutant Raptor snapped angrily at her as she drove the Iron Predator. "Butler!" Vinyaya snapped to the bald, hulking man controlling the Z-1 Kinetic Launcher. "Get rid of it!" He nodded once and turned his weapon, sending the raptor sprawling. Above her was another large, broad-shouldered man named Shacklebolt who was wiping out large groups of Mutant Dinos with the Cyrothermic Cannon.Vinyaya was paying close attention to the radio conversations. While a lot of it was chatter between comrades (some had decided to layer their chatter with pop culture references, as she soon noticed), she was picking up important pieces of information. She could clearly see the cyborg Mutant T-Rex-thing apparently called Cyrista's Bane causing trouble at the front lines. The Agents had arrived and the Alpha Team was on the way. Dr. Inferno's forces were finally entering the battle after a long hiatus between the battle on LEGO Island and now, and Zachary Virchaus had disappeared after he and Minerva Fabello had confronted a mysterious assailant.Vinyaya found herself just somewhat shaken with Virchaus's disappearance. She knew from the moment that Specs announced this battle that anything could happen and anyone could die. Even if she found him somewhat annoying, she found it almost cruel that after the MegaBlokLand the man went through on Adventurers' Island, he had suddenly been taken out so early in the battle.She wondered faintly who of the many people she had met and bonded with in the past week would die. Logan Zekria and Julius Kelp had already passed. Who was to say that other close friends wouldn't die? Fabello, Zelda, Nazareno, Andrew, Laxus, Bluetooth-She paused. Bluetooth? Strange that his name popped into her head. The only time they had spoken was about that invasion force out in space moving toward Earth and when he was trying to free Rotor and Pilot from their cells after French Fries' kangaroo court. He had also aided Andrew, Laxus, and Minerva in helping get Vinyaya to safety after being knocked out by Virchaus during the Mutant Dino ambush. In reality, she hardly knew the man. The only real connection felt she felt with him was that they both operated in the space on a normal basis.Vinyaya sighed. A shame I did not get to know him. We might have connected in some way. She allowed herself a faint grin as she remembered how visible nervous Bluetooth had been first speaking with him. Regardless, she wished for his survival in addition to the other Minifigs that she had met.She shook her head as if to clear her mind. Stop being so emotional. There's a battle to win.

IC:The first thing Zach heard was rain tapping on glass. Then he felt a drop land on his face. Blinking twice, Zach slowly rose to his feet and looked around, massaging his neck.He was clearly in some building that hadn't been recovered yet from the initial Dino Attack. Furniture was tossed around, gaping holes in the wall, and everything was extremely dusty. He turned to the windows of the room and glanced out the broken one. He was at least a story off the ground."Finally. You're awake," a voice said from the shadows. Zach's eyes narrowed, remembering who this person was. He turned around and saw the thin outline of the man from the darkest corner of the room."I'll admit," the man said. "I probably wouldn't have recognized you if you hadn't punched with that Builder-forsaken hand of yours. It hurt the first time in the tent on Adventurers' Island, it'll hurt again on the battlefield that is LEGO City. What was your name again?""Zachary Virchaus?" Zach said with scoff. "Can't even remember my name, Oswald?"Oswald Fabello stepped out from the shadows, no longer wearing the helmet and cloth with a scowl on his face. "I honestly could care less about you, Virchaus. I haven't been secretly plotting your demise since leaving Adventurers' Island.""Busy plotting Minerva's, right?" Zach was surprised to see Oswald's physical appearance change so drastically since Adventurers' Island. His once handsome face had gained a sunken look on his face with bloodshot, tired-looking eyes. His blonde hair was somewhat unkept and had the barest hint of gray in it.Oswald smirked. "Not quite.""Where are we exactly?"Oswald shrugged. "A building on the "XERRD" side of the river. Don't know what its for, but I don't really care.""Alright, and so why did you bring me here?" Zach was preparing to launch a ball of Maelstrom at Oswald so he could leave."I wanted to talk. I have no desire to kill you. Yet." Oswald took a seat in one of the few rightside-up chairs. "The more cooperative you are, the less likely I'll have to kill you."Zach knew he should've just blasted Oswald and left. "Are there anymore guards?"It was Oswald's scoff. "They're all gone. Blaire Darkling dismissed them all."Zach remembered Carolyne Provencal mention this Blaire Darkling. "Why would he do that?"Oswald shrugged. "He gathered us all up last night, which was around fifty of us. He flatly told us that we all probably die tomorrow and considered the recent revelations at the Maelstrom Temple, he dismissed us. Told us to run off. Escape and rejoin society in Antarctica. It would be easy to claim that all us died in the battle.""Rather noble. But you remain. But while you were deceived into believing XERRD's ideology, I imagine most of the guards were there for survival from the Mutant Dino apocalypse.""You're not as stupid as you look. Besides that, I have a few scores to settle. Now, are you going to cooperate?"Zach sighed. "What do you want?"Oswald stood up. "Where is Minerva?" His voice was cold and serious."So confident in that she survived?"Oswald laughed coldly. "Even if today had ended up being the day the Maelstrom gave its reckoning to this rock, Minerva would've survived until the final moments.""I don't know. I saw some of what the Darkitect was planning. Bit hard to survive that."Clearly not amused, Oswald stepped toward Zach and punched him hard in the mouth. "Now, where is she?"There was no use lying. Rubbing his jaw, he said, "She was that agent that you threw into the backseat of the Fire Hammer by the throat.""Son of a-" Oswald turned away from Zach, running a hand through his hair in an irritated fashion. "Fine, fine," he muttered, clearly to himself. "We can still work this out." He turned back to Zach. "In the meantime..."Zach grimaced, prepared to get some sort of beatdown from the former Dino Attack agent. However, Oswald merely took a seat, staring at hard at Zach. "So tell me," Oswald began, running his hand through his hair. "What exactly is your relationship with Minerva?" Zach raised an eyebrow at this sudden change of tone. "I know what I said back on Adventurers' Island, but now I'm genuinely interested." Zach remained silent. Oswald rolled his eyes, but nodded. "I see. Friend zone'd."Zach coughed. "What?""You know, when-""I know what it means, thanks." This sudden talk reminded Zach of Stromling!Zach's angsty lashing at Minerva for, more or less, moving him into this so-called 'friendzone', despite never really making a proper advance toward her. Thinking about now realized how embarrassing it was. He had been stung, sure. But he hadn't really held it against herOswald raised his hands defensively, half grinning. "I'm not really surprised. You don't really seem like her type. Sorry, mate."Zach glared at Oswald. "Actually, I guess you would consider us in some type of romantic relationship."Zach could see Oswald becoming more and more amused. "I hope you don't mind if I doubt you."Zach shrugged. "Whatever, 'mate'. How about this? Minerva is the greatest friend I found in this war and, among other things, without her, I'd be a ridiculously over-the-top zombie."Oswald gave Zach a curious look. "Okay. Well, you're clearly in love with her. I thought she may have had feelings toward you, but I don't know. You seem like a pathetic nerd trying to prove to me that you 'got the girl' for the first time in your life.""What do you want me say?" Zach demanded, growing angry. "Say something only her older brother would know about her?" Oswald shrugged. Zach thought for a moment, then: "Your dad was murdered, your mother's insane, and she murdered your brother."Zach quickly found Oswald's hand around his throat again. Oswald glared at him for a brief moment before stepping away, releasing his grip. "Perhaps you're right. Minerva wouldn't share that you unless you were close." Oswald sat down again, breathing heavy. "The old family shame," Oswald muttered. "You just became a bit more important to me, Virchaus.""Perfect," Zach said sarcastically."I imagine when she told you the story, she glamorized and avoided her own faults.""Like what? Mentioning her kleptomania?"Oswald's face darkened. "She nearly ruined us more times than she would ever admit because of her issues. Tod and I told her to stop, but she didn't listen.""Rather hypocritical. She told me she continued to steal because, despite both of your objections, your family ate the food she stole.""It wasn't a problem until she was older," Oswald hissed. "She took her grief over Tod's death out by stealing even more than before. It became tick for her just to swipe something without even realizing it. And with this, she got caught, forcing me to pay what little money we had already to get her out. The cops would lighten the fee occasionally because they knew what happened to us. They figured what had happened 'messed up' Minerva. They pitied us." Oswald spat the last words out angrily."But in the end, she's moved on. Because of Breen and Provencal, you continue to hang on to the past and let it drive your future far more than it should."Oswald sneered. "How philosophical. Breen and Provencal were right, though. Whatever aspirations I had were crushed because I had to take care of an ungrateful brat.""It's not her fault," Zach said angrily."You're right. It isn't," Oswald said, surprising Zach. "At least not all of it. I suppose I should factor some blame in for dear old mom, eh? She's the reason my brother is dead and why I had to take care of Minerva in the first place.""She's dead."Oswald raised an eyebrow amused. "Unfortunate. I had hoped to do the honors myself." Zach simply stared. If Athena Fabello was still alive, would Oswald really have the nerve to kill her? "One last thing. Out of curiosity, why do you even like Minerva?"Zach paused. "As I said, she's my best friend. She saved me from the Maelstrom even after everything I did. Even if she was a bit rough around the edges and having a messed up past (which includes you, by the way), Minerva is a nice person person and means well to everyone, from a former zombie to an insecure Hybrid and, unlike you, can put her past struggles behind her and move on."Oswald was silent, simply glaring at Zach as he considered what the young Elite Agent said. "That's all I needed." Oswald said finally with a shrug. He walked toward Zach and launched three punches at Zach's face before he could realize what was about to happen. A few punches later, Zach felt himself fall back into unconsciousness.

OOC: I'm here.Go ahead, avmatoran. Use Zelda, Nazareno, Parr, Sullivan, or Fredricksen. My master plan for Nazareno and Zelda doesn't go into effect until much later.I'm going to go back to Blaire and Inferno briefly, then we'll see who captured Zach. Which would need more dramatic music rather than battle music. Most notably, the song "Girei" (Alternatively, "Declaration of a God") from Naruto Shippuden, which is Blaire's yet-to-be-revealed (not from Naruto Shippuden) inspiration's leitmotif.IC:"I am surprised, Inferno," Blaire said. "I expected you to be long gone from here.""Thanks to your Hybrid friends, I'm still here," Dr. Inferno muttered coldly."Which brings me to my main point of dragging you away from whatever desertion plans you had," Blaire continued. "I've been extremely unhappy with your lack of cooperation in these last few weeks.""How so?" Inferno demanded angrily. "I've been aiding this organization since the beginning and-""Do not play games with me," Blaire hissed, pointing a gloved finger at Inferno. "I am not a fool. You did not expect your forces to get such a beating from the Dino Attack Team in the Goo Caverns and on LEGO Island. You have been hesitant to supply us henchmen since then.""You are wrong!" Inferno hissed. "I am not made of henchmen to just shower XERRD with!" Dr. Inferno then scoffed. "I don't need to be badgered by some Small Name, Big Ego such as yourself! I only answer to myself and Dr. Rex. I don't even know your name!""My name is Blaire Darkling, and I think you have every right to get talked down by myself. I sent a sent a specific request for you to send some henchmen to our fortress on Adventurers' Island and you ignored it. With your reinforcements in addition to the guards and Skeleton Mummies, the Dino Attack Team wouldn't have been able to destroy that fortress.""I told you," Dr. Inferno snapped angrily. "I am not made of henchmen!.""Regardless, there should have been some of your troops there.""Señor Palomar was in charge-""Señor Palomar," Blaire interrupted. "Is completely useless to this organization as of late. His only purpose was oversee operations on Adventurers' Island. Seeing as he miserably failed that job and has no useful resources, I am honestly surprised Dr. Rex has dispose of that fool yet."Dr. Inferno was silent, glaring at Blaire angrily. The XERRD commander smirked. "This extends much farther than having enough henchmen. You are finally realizing how far in over your head you are. You aligned with XERRD because of your misguided and childish opposition to Evil Ogel and for survival purposes. I wouldn't be surprised if you were planning to overthrow Dr. Rex at some point and use the Mutant Dinos to your own ends. However, only now, as Dr. Rex continues to freefall into his violent insanity and with the revelations of the Maelstrom manipulating this organization, do you doubt your decision."Dr. Inferno sneered. "You should talk, Darkling. You're in this just as far as everyone else.""True, but I have my endgame sorted out," Blaire scoffed. "Do you?" Inferno was silenced. "As it stands, I am finishing this war on my terms. And as one of XERRD's top officials, I demand you send your henchmen into battle to aide us one last time.""And what if I don't?" Inferno hissed in a daring matter.Blaire leaned in close. "I'll send them in myself. By any means necessary." He let the threat hang in the air for a moment. He turned his head. Several Agents Aerial Defense Units were approaching the battle. Blaire grinned, an idea forming in his head"Look who is just arriving," Blaire said, gesturing to the dark blue helicopter. Dr. Inferno's good eye narrowed angrily. "Perhaps you should treat it like this: this is not only the final battle between XERRD and D.I.N.O. Attack, but the final battle between your forces and the Agents Defense Organization. Perhaps even the Alpha Team, as I'm sure they'll be arriving on the scene at any moment. This can finally be your moment. You can topple all three of your rivals at once. The Agents, the Alpha Team, and Evil Ogel's forces with the Dino Attack Team. You will becoming the greatest evil genius of all time. You will finally beat out that wretched Ogel, once and for all."Blaire suppressed a smirk as he watched Dr. Inferno think this over. He knew of the mad scientist's over-inflated ego. Defeating all three of his enemies at once would make him the greatest Villain of all time. Finally, "I will order my henchmen to join your forces.""Excellent," Blaire said, shaking Inferno's robotic hand. "Go now." Inferno nodded and headed toward stairs. Egotistical, Card-carrying fool. Blaire thought with relish. He turned back to the battle. The only thing left to do would be to contact Willa the Witch and have her and a couple of Fright Knights join our ranks. Except for she hasn't been heard from since encountering Lord Vladek and King Race. Perhaps she will make a late entrance. If not, oh well.Blaire jerked his head to the side, flipping some of his hair out from in front of his sunglasses, smirking as he crossed his arms. This is shaping up to be quite the battle.

OOC: Keep that music coming, Jacks. The more the merrier.And since you've decided to introduce the Agents into this mess, I suppose I'll (briefly) focus on that before heading back to the Dino Attack cast.Ah, crazy. I was just about to make a post addressing Dr. Inferno and his henchmen. Consider the latter part of this post and the conversation that will follow occuring before crazy's post.IC:Captain Thaddeus Brickhouse approached Aerial Defense Unit at a brisk pace. His crew was already on board, all they needed was Brickhouse to hop on and they could get to the sight of a massive battle between the Dino Attack Team and XERRD.This is where it ends. ​He thought grimly. He knew this was going to be a toughy, but with news of decoy-Dr. Rexes and giant cyborg Mutant T-Rexes, the Dino Attack Team needed all the aide it could get.He almost reached his helicopter when when he bumped into a woman jogging to her vehicle, a helmet tucked under her arm. Brickhouse backed away. "My apologies, Dashworthy."Raine Dashworthy ran a hand through her multicolored hair irritably. "It's fine, it's fine. I'm ready to get out there and make a few Mutant Pterosaurs wish they never knew how to fly!" she said boastfully.Brickhouse smirked, amused by the young woman's enthusiasm. He gestured for her to continue. "Best get to your jet, Raine. The Mutant Pterosaurs are eagerly awaiting your challenge."Raine nodded. "See you back here when we're toasting out victory!" With that, she continued her jog to her Agents jet. Brickhouse, quickly climbed into his designated Aerial Defense Unit."Alright, pilot!" Brickhouse called out as he closed the hatches. "To Dino Attack Headquarters!" The helicopter rose into the air and left the Agents hanger and started moving into the chaos.*************************************Blaire Darkling watched the battle from a top of a ruined building with interest, a strange mixture of emotions swirling through him. One was determination to win this battle and to see the Dino Attack Headquarters crumble. The other...was doubt.Michelle Glados, Paulie Gonapus, and other scientists had returned from Adventurers' Island with word that Baron Typhonus, the fabled creator of the Maelstrom, was still alive and controlling the darkness. Not only that, but the Dino Attack had been orchestrated by Typhonus, called the 'Darkitect', all along.Dr. Rex had disregarded the news with undeniable fury. He was in control of XERRD, not some legend. Around that moment was when Blaire truly began to doubt his leader's sanity and the true purpose of XERRD's mission. He cautiously ran his hand through his white hair. It was once a dirty blonde shade before in the incident that created the Maelstrom Temple dyed it pure white and ruined his eyes, forcing him to wear sunglasses.I must finish the job. Blaire thought to himself. An old habit of his before becoming a Paradox Shinobi. He also finished a job, no matter how...unethical. Even after turning over to a new leaf, he kept this habit. Even with his doubt about XERRD's leader, he would see the Dino Attack to its end.He walked up to the edge of the building, where three Quasifigus lacertilia were perched with sniper rifles, picking off any Dino Attack agent that crossed their path. He sighed. He had very much preferred working with the Minifig guards. However, he would deal with commanding Hybrids this one day. Even with this organization's ethics in doubt, what I did with guards was completely moral. They would've have suffered out here.He heard a rough voice speak behind him. Blaire turned and saw two Hybrids standing before him. In the middle of them was a man in a white labcoat with wild black and orange hair."Ah!" Blaire exclaimed, extending one arm briefly toward the Minifig. "Doctor Inferno! So glad you could join us." He turned to the Hybrids. "Leave us." They both bowed their heads and headed towards the building's staircase."Glad to see you haven't run away yet, Inferno," Blaire said, his voice layered with cool hatred as he stared at the fuming mad scientist. "Let's have a nice chat, shall we?"

OOC: Music is definitively good. I've thrown together a playlist featuring various "epic" battle-type pieces, including works from Island Xtreme Stunts, Star Trek (2009), Super Mario Galaxy, LEGO Universe, Final Fantasy, and whatever I find that sounds good for a battle. Thanks for reminding me to add "I Don't Think Now's The Best Time", PeabodySam.IC:Nazareno watched as the true Dr. Rex led more Mutant Dinos into the battle with dismay. He knew Dr. Rex was going to pull a few tricks in his desperation to defeat the Dino Attack Team, but this was unprecedented.Nazareno slammed his sword down on to the neck of a Mutant Lizard trying to attack his Steel Sprinter, killing it instantly. His plan of himself and Zelda heading right into the fray was working so far, but with this new group, he might have to take more unprecedented action."Zelda," he said, speaking with her through an radio headset built into his mask. "Where are you?"Silence. Then, "Near the river with a nasty pack of Mutant Raptors."Nazareno nodded. "I'll be there in a moment." He turned Steel Sprinter and started moving toward the river. He soon found three Urban Avengers with Cosmotronic Rays attached to them opposed to Sonic Screamers attacking a pack of seven Mutant Raptors who seemed to be ignoring the buggies in preference to something in the center of their group. He approached an Urban Avenger, who's driver was concentrating on one Mutant Raptor."Do you know where Agent Zelda is?" he asked. The Urban Avenger ignored him as he shot down a Mutant Raptor. Then he turned to him."Who? The ninja girl?" Nazareno nodded. The driver gestured into the center of the Mutant Raptor pack, which had dwindled down to four. "She's in there. Me and my lads are helping her get rid of those force fields."Interested, Nazareno stood up on Steel Sprinter and leaped on to a Mutant Raptor's back. The dinosaur didn't seem to notice as it continued to snap at its prey. Nazareno smiled with amusement as three Mutant Raptors attempted to attack a fourth. He could see a silver sword jabbed into the eye of the fourth as it screeched in anger and pained. He finally saw Zelda, who was laying on her stomach on the Mutant Raptor's head, one hand gripping the skin around the corners of the raptor's mouth and the other holding her other sword.As the Mutant Raptor's companions tried to attack Zelda while injuring their ally. Zelda moved herself until she was hanging on to the Mutant Raptor by the skin of the lower corners of its mouth. Zelda then shoved her sword into the roof of the monster's mouth. The raptor groaned and collapsed. Zelda quickly pulled both swords from the raptor's body and turned to the remaining Mutant Dinos.She quickly dispatched the first Raptor as she stabbed it in the foot with one sword and in the stomach with the other. The second Raptor's force field hadn't been taken out yet, so Zelda dodged its attacks until one of the Urban Avengers finally eliminated the shield. Zelda then jumped forward and stabbed into the maw and neck of the raptor. She turned and rolled to the side as the raptor Nazareno stood on swiped at her with its claws.Might as well. Nazareno raised both of his swords and slammed them hard into the skull of the Mutant Raptor. He felt vibrations travel from his swords through his person as he heard a very audible crack. He saw Zelda and one of the Urban Avenger drives flinch at the sound. He stayed on the mutant's head until it fell to the ground in a dead heap. He pulled his swords out carefully and stepped on to the ground in front of Zelda."Excellent work," Nazareno said, looking at the carnage with a mixture of distaste and approval. "You have far exceeded by expectations."He saw Zelda's cheeks becoming red again. "Thanks," she said. "So what's the issue?"He pointed towards the massive cybernetic T-Rex and the Mutant T-Rex in silver armor at the subway station entrance. "That," he said to the cybernetic T-Rex. "and the first Mutant T-Rex in the armor was a red herring. That one at the subway appears to be the real Dr. Rex.""The guy certainly has a thing for red herrings, doesn't he?" Zelda noted."The whole darn organization has a thing for red herrings," one of the Urban Avenger drivers muttered."Anyway," Nazareno continued. "The battlefield is now effectively surrounded by Mutant Dinos. I recommend staying together for the time being since I am unsure how many more tricks Dr. Rex has up his sleeve.""Sounds fine with me.""Good." Nazareno turned to the three Urban Avenger drivers. "Gentlemen-" There was loud cough from a thin woman with short red hair. "Lady and Gentlemen. Would you care to accompany us? We could use your skill and Cosmotronic Rays."The red-haired woman shrugged. "Why not? 'Names Parr."A large man with, curiously, well-kept blue hair, nodded as well. "Might as well. My name is Sullivan. How about you, Fredricksen?"A short, white-haired older-looking man with black, thick-rimmed glasses waved his hand. "Bah, sure. Whatever.""Very well." Nazareno returned to his Steel Sprinter. He turned his head and saw Zelda looking sheepishly at him. "You've lost your 'Sprinter?""Maybe?" she said in a light, joking matter. Nazareno rolled his eyes but gestured her over to his Steel Sprinter. She sliced off the transparent blue dish off the back and climbed on board, gripping Nazareno's shoulder with one hand."What was that dish-thing even for?" Zelda asked.Nazareno shrugged and turned to Parr, Sullivan, and Fredrickson. "We are heading to the pirate's group to aid in the reconstruction of the defenses. We will hope that the Iron Predators and other defenses will take care of XERRD's newest reinforcements."'The pirate'?" Zelda whispered into his ear. His eyes narrowed."Greybeard," he said coldly. "Now, let's ride!" With that, the Steel Sprinter and the Urban Avengers started moving back into the battle.

IC:"What in the name of Jørgen Vig Knudstorp is that?" Zach questioned in awe as he looked at the new massive arrival."I don't know," Minerva began. "But-"Suddenly, the radio crackled. Zach could hear pieces of conversations coming out of it. Finally, he heard, "-ach....Laxus...status?"Zach frowned. "Repeat." He glanced at the Minifig in the leather jacket, who was glancing at the newcomer with mixed interest.The signal came in much clearer. "What's your status?" It was Laxus."Someone fired a bazooka at us. Not really sure who it is. Definitely Minifig, but no Paradox gear. I can't see if he's wearing one of those guard uniforms those Mooks wore back at the fortress. The point is, we're in a hole, the engines dead, and we got a hostile-""Reggie," Minerva whispered in horror.Zach watched in horror as Reggie ran up to the Minifig in the leather jacket, prepared to take him down. The man turned back to the Fire Hammer, an eyebrow raised in amusement. As Reggie pulled his fist back for a punch, the man waved his arm in a circular motion, striking Reggie in the chest. The gunner fell back, clutching his chest. The man spun the knife in his hand briefly before bending down, looking at Reggie briefly, then cutting his throat.Minerva gasped. "Our gunner was just killed," Zach said. "Minerva and I are going to engage the hostile.""Alright," Laxus said. "Contact us when he's taken down.""Will do," Zach said before turning his attention back to the the man. The man rose back to his feet, wiped the blood from his blade, and started walking briskly toward the Fire Hammer. As he approached, he discarded the bazooka, pocketed the knife, and revealed a handgun.He jumped on to the Fire Hammer's hood and pointed his weapon at Zach. Zach pointed his Cosmotronic Ray at him and fired The man ducked from the attack, his eyes narrowing. He rose and lunged at Zach, knocking him from his feet.Zach winced with pain as the man belted him with two punches. The man moved his head close to Zach's, squinting. His eyes suddenly widened as he was pulled off of Zach by Minerva, causing him to drop his gun. She turned the man so he faced her and punched him hard in the cheek. The man grabbed Minerva's neck and forcefully shoved her over the front seat and into the back.The man felt the back of his neck being tugged again, this time by Zach. Zach gripped the man tightly, turned sharply, and shoved him over the passenger door and on to the wet ground. Zach jumped on to the ground as the man was standing up. The man began reaching into his pocket. Zach responded with a quick punch in the face with his right hand.The man stumbled back, clutching his forehead. "What the-" he groaned. His eyes then widened in sudden realization as he stared at Zach's right hand. "You!" the man hissed. Likewise, the man finally speaking allowed Zach to recognize his identity.The man lunged at Zach, wrapping his hand tightly around his throat. "Let's have a nice little chat, eh? Just like old times?" Zach could only gasp for breath as the man grip tightened. The man chuckled. "Right then. Let's go." Pushing Zach ahead of him, the man started moving in the direction of the river. Zach struggled fruitlessly against the man grip, desperately choking for air. He contemplated briefly shooting a ball of Maelstrom into his face, but couldn't concentrate enough energy. Finally, he succumbed to the lack of oxygen and fell into unconsciousness.*****************************Minerva rose to her feet painfully, rubbing her temple. Whoever that man was had not been gentle when throwing her into a pile of supplies in the backseat. She climbed over to the front seat and glanced around. No sign of Zach or the man."Zach?" she called out. She hopped out of the Fire Hammer and searched all around it, careful not to attract the attention of the numerous Mutant Dinos around it. Nothing.Is he-? She couldn't bring herself to finish the thought. She swallowed painfully, then tried to reassure herself. "He isn't dead," she muttered. "There's no body. That guy must have captured him. He's captured. He's still alive." She repeated those words to herself multiple times. "He'll find a way out. He's smart."She glanced towards Reggie's motionless body. Even if Zach was alive, she was still alone with a dead Fire Hammer surrounded by Mutant Dinos. They haven't noticed her yet, but that what change soon enough. I need to find help.As Minerva climbed back into the Fire Hammer, the radio crackled back to life. "Zach?" it was Laxus again. "Have you dealt with the hostile?"Minerva took up the radio. "Zach and the hostile are M.I.A.," she said, feeling her voice crack slightly. "The gunner's dead. The Fire Hammer is more or less busted. I need help."There was silence. "We'll try to find you.""I'm with the Fire Hammer half buried into the earth.""Noted. Take care of yourself until we reach you.""Will do." Minerva turned away from the radio and moved to the back to the Xenon Launcher. She scowled seeing that it had been damaged from various Mutant T-Rex blasts and the crash. She moved to the backseat and found her Sonic Screamer crushed and broken."What-?" Then she glanced at the minigun Zach had decided to take "just in case". It had fallen on to her Sonic Screamer and damaged it. She lifted up the massive six-barrel machine gun with all of her strength and threw it on the dashboard, which created a good-size dent. Minerva remembered Zach using this weapon before they went to find Pyro and Demoman. It fired rapidly and could probably decimate a massive horde of Mutant Lizards with ease.I guess I'll use this. Minerva briefly searched the back seat and found a bandolier that she threw over her shoulder. She then stepped on to the hood and lifted the massive weapon up. Her muscles strained as she held the weapon tight in her grip, waiting for her first enemy.She didn't have to wait long. A red-colored Mutant Lizard eventually noticed her and moved toward her cautiously. The barrel began spinning. Then, it fired. Minerva stepped back and tightened her grip on the weapon, surprised by the force of the weapon. The Mutant Lizard screeched and turned around to flee, only for the machine gun to tear several holes into the lizard, causing it to collapse.Minerva bent over, resting the minigun on the hood as its rotating barrels came to a stop. This thing is powerful, but ridiculously heavy. She lifted her head and saw more Mutant Lizards converging on her. She swore as she lifted the weapon back into firing position. "You better hurry up, Laxus." Minerva growled under the strain of the weapon as the barrel began to rotate again, ready to take no prisoners.

IC:Minerva slammed the gas and charged at the Mutant T-Rex. Zach tensed immediately. "What are you doing?!" he asked. Just as the two were about to collide, Minerva suddenly swerved to the right, narrowly dodging the Mutant T-Rex's massive foot."Playing chicken with a Mutant T-Rex?" Reggie asked over the radio, sounding somewhat annoyed."Kind of," Minerva said. The Mutant T-Rex turned back toward the Fire Hammer and bellowed, angrier than before."This isn't going to work forever, you know," Zach said."We're just going to have to work with it!" Minerva exclaimed. "You and Reggie keep shooting at it in the meantime." The Mutant T-Rex charged at the Fire Hammer. Minerva starting driving toward it again, Reggie peppering the beast with Xenon fire and Zach with Cosmotronic Ray fire. The blasts seemed to have little effect on the T-Rex. Minerva swerved out of its way again.Instead of stopping, the Mutant T-Rex jerked its body, swinging it's tail at Fire Hammer. "Duck!" Zach yelled. He and Minerva lowered their heads as the tail sweeped through the cab, shattering the windshield and removing the roof entirely. Zach winced as he felt rain fall on his head."You still there, Reggie?" Zach called to the gunner as he raised his head."Yeah," the gunner grumbled. Minerva lifted her head and went back to driving."It figured me out quicker than I thought," Minerva muttered as she backed the Fire Hammer away from the Mutant T-Rex."That's not going to help," Zach grimaced, firing another shot T-Rex. "It's got-" Bright red beams of power suddenly shot out of the T-Rex's eyes and torched the ground behind them. "Laser vision," he finished with an irritated sigh.Minerva scowled as she continued to drive away from the Mutant T-Rex. Lasers began to ran upon the Fire Hammer about as much as the water was. Zach felt a painful buzz in his head. Then, a plan formed in his head. "Call for back-up," Zach said as he carefully stood up in his seat."What are you going to do?" Minerva asked as she began pushing buttons."You'll see," he said. He jumped over to the back seat and reached the back of the jeep, where Reggie was continually firing at the Mutant T-Rex. Zach gripped what used to be the support for the cab roof for balance.Reggie glanced back at him. "What are you doing!?" Reggie screamed."I got a plan," was all Zach said. He waved his hand. "Come on, beastie!" he screamed to the Mutant T-Rex. "Give me your worst!" The Mutant T-Rex roared and his eyes began to glow brightly. Zach braced himself and raised his hands.The laser shot out of the Mutant Dino's eyes and shot towards Zach. Just as it was about to incinerate him, the beam suddenly turned and blasted a stray a Mutant Raptor to the left of the Fire Hammer, knocking it down.Reggie's mouth hung open in awe. "How did you do that?""Mutant T-Rexes aren't just the nastiest Mutant Dino I've seen. They're also the nastiest Stromlings I've ever seen." He hadn't considered it earlier, but since Mutant Dinos were Stromlings, he had somewhat of an influence over their Maelstrom powers."Whatever, just keeping doing whatever your doing!" Reggie fired more blasts into the Mutant T-Rex while Zach knocked away the Mutant T-Rex's laser blasts and occasionally fired a blast of his own.. However, after several minutes, fatigue began to set in. Zach found himself gasping for breath."Minerva!" Zach screamed between a gasp of breath. The T-Rex fired another laser. Zach barely managed to knock it away. He felt himself creeping upon unconsciousness. "Where...are those...rein...forcements?!" The Mutant T-Rex made a low growl noise in the back of its throat as it leaned forward, prepared to incinerate the back of the Fire Hammer in its jaw. Zach scowled, growing extremely angry. "It's laughing...the T-Rex...is laughing...son of a MegaBlok."Blam! A blast, presumably from a Cyrothermic Cannon struck the Mutant T-Rex. It stumbled to side, smashing several Mutant Lizards under its feet. it roared and glanced around, confused. Then another blast struck it, this time in the face. It screeched angrily and began to fire its lasers into the sky, where a hovering Iron Predator was firing at it. That's weird. Zach thought in a daze. A few more blasts in addition to Reggie's Xenon eventually caused the Mutant T-Rex to collapse, where it moved no more.Zach climbed back into the front seat, panting slightly as he buckled his seatbelt. "What was that?" he asked, gesturing up to the Iron Predator in the sky."Dr. Cyborg," Minerva responded. "He redesigned an Iron Predator. Calls it the Titanium Predator.""How is our unnamed-yet-plucky Fire Hammer doing?""Other than having no roof or windshield, fine.""Good." He lifted his Cosmotronic Ray back up. Without the windshield, shooting at Mutant Raptors became just a little bit easier. As he fired, he suddenly noticed a lone Minifig standing on the battlefield. He wore a black leather jacket and a Dino Attack-issued helmet with a piece of cloth over his mouth. His eyes expressed boredom as he clutched a conventional bazooka in his hand with a stack of missiles by his side."What an...excuse me," Zach muttered before correct himself. "What a moron." He gestured to the Minifig as he spoke to Minerva. "What do think this guy's up to?""I don't know, but - oh, no," Minerva's eyes widened as the man pointed the bazooka at their Fire Hammer. She tried to turn away, but was too slow as the weapon fired. However, the rocket instead hit the ground, cause a much larger explosion than the Space Marauder rocket. The Fire Hammer suddenly tilted and jerked as it went into the small crater created by the missile.Zach pushed down the airbags, rubbing his head painfully. "Are you all right?" he asked groggily.Minerva pushed down her own airbag. "Yeah." She turned the Fire Hammer's key, as its engines had stopped following the collision. However, the engine faltered. "Shoot," she murmured as she continually tried to turn the Fire Hammer's engine back."It's no use," he said, slowly climbing rising to his feet. "We need to get to another vehicle or back to the headquarters. I'm not interested in being in this battlefield on foot.""Look," Minerva muttered, pointing ahead. The man with bazooka was walking towards them, his bazooka raised and loaded, ready to attack again."First," Zach said, gripping his Cosmotronic Ray "We deal with this guy."OOC: Nobody intervene, please.

IC:"Zachary!" Minerva shouted, turning the wheel sharply. "Hurry up!""I'm trying," he grumbled. He was shuffling through the pile of equipment in the back seat of the Fire Hammer, searching for more Cosmotronic Ray ammunition. "Ah. Here it is." He loaded his Cosmotronic Ray, stuck it out the window, and fired on to a Mutant Raptor charging at the Fire Hammer. It stumbled back in surprise, allowing Reggie to quickly taking down with the Xenon Launcher."Just keep the ammo in between us," Minerva said, trying to see through the large splotches of rain slamming against the windshield. The windshield wiper could only help so much. He nodded, fired at one more Mutant Raptor, then heaved the box of ammo out from the back to the middle of the front seats."Good," Minerva muttered. She suddenly reached her uniform's pocket and pulled out a grenade. Taking both hands off the wheel for a brief moment, she pulled the pin and tossed it out her door window into a pack of Mutant Lizards. The grenade exploded, killing several lizards and injuring any dinos nearby."Glad you're on top of things," Zach said, continually glancing out his window. "Keep your hands on the wheel, though." Minerva allowed herself to smirk briefly before she gasped as the Fire Hammer slammed into the side of a Mutant Raptor that was passing ahead of her. Minerva slammed on the brakes, bring the jeep to a jolting stop."Reverse!" Reggie screamed over the radio. The Mutant Raptor had stumbled slightly, turned toward its attacker, and roared angrily. Minerva quickly flipped the vehicle's gear in reverse and backed up. Zach stuck his Cosmotronic Ray outside the window and fired upon the angry reptile stomping toward them. With Zach and Reggie's combined fire power, the raptor eventually toppled over. Zach glanced at Minerva disapprovingly."It walked in front of me!" Minerva exclaimed, putting the vehicle back into drive. "It's his fault!" Zach decided not to argue and continued to scan the area. Not much to see other than rain and endless waves of Mutant Dinos.An explosion suddenly rocked the back of the vehicle. Zach heard a distant pained grunt from the radio and saw dirt splash on to the back window of the vehicle. Minerva began to quickly turn the vehicle around. "What was that?" she muttered.Through the rain, Zach could see Reggie struggling to climb back on his feet, the wind clearly knocked out of him. Not far ahead of the gunner, he could the dark outline of a XERRD Space Marauder, a rocket launcher in his grip. Zach swore angrily."Hold on!" he called out to Reggie. He immediately regretted that decision. The Space Marauder fired another rocket that collided with the earth in front of the Fire Hammer, sending chunks of dirt everywhere. Zach took control of the Xenon Launcher from the cab and started firing at the Space Marauder. "Come on!" he shouted to Reggie. The gunner stumbled as he ran toward the Fire Hammer. Zach let out a sigh of relief as he finally hit the Space Marauder, dropping him to the ground."Alright," Minerva said, cracking her knuckles before putting them back on the wheel. "Now we can-" she stopped as a massive foot stomped the ground ahead of them. A Mutant T-Rex stared down at them with red, evil eyes. It unleashed an angry roar as it raised its foot over the Fire Hammer.Minerva was quick. She threw the vehicle into reverse and slammed on the pedal. The Fire Hammer backed away just as the Mutant T-Rex's foot came crashing down on the ground. As the jeep rolled back, Zach could hear crunching sounds as the vehicle hit and ran over Mutant Lizards. The Mutant T-Rex roared with fury."Come on," Minerva muttered to herself in an almost taunting matter as she stared at the Mutant T-Rex. "Come and get me.""Glad to see you're getting into this 'final battle' thing," Zach said, somewhat amused. "However, you are trying to fight a Mutant T-Rex with a Fire Hammer.""I've got a plan," Minerva said confidently. Zach looked at her, saying nothing. "Okay, more of a rough idea."Zach was all up for doubting Minerva's so-called plan. "Well, since a Mutant T-Rex is going to be trying to kill us no matter what we do, let's try this 'rough idea'.""Here go then," Minerva said. The Mutant T-Rex let out one more angry bellow before charging at the Fire Hammer.