Andrewnuva199

OOC: Go right ahead, I'm fine with them as it is (though I prefer Mur with both arms, just a small tip).By the way, Brikman, I saw your design for Post-Stroming Zach on the Wiki. Looks swell. Exactly how I pictured him, minus the beard looking more thick than I thought.IC: Stranger did his best to keep hidden in some nearby foilage as the Mutant Dinos began to pour through the area of the team's parked vehicles. His lizard ally had run off across the bridge for some reasons or another (he figured it was a good one and let it slide), and from what it looked, he wasn't alone.The incoming hordes were, for some reason that escaped him, were apparently not too focused on the Dino Attack remnants on the cliffside. Sure, they were responding fiercely to enemy fire, but for the most part they seemed more focused on pushing past them towards the cliff and the bridge. It was very odd. Most of the lizards were headed for the bridge, but for the few that appeared to just be running blind, they didn't even notice as they ran right over the edge. It was like watching big scaly lemmings.Something must really be making them want to get in that temple, Stranger thought. Too bad there's no way in Megablokland they're all gonna make it across. Especially with that bridge.Stranger was doing his best to lend a hand where he could, picking off the lizards and raptors as they went, but the sheer amount of them meant this was more fit for the vehicles, if they could even maneuver right. The amount of unmanned craft was greater than the amount of manned craft, so there wasn't much room to maneuver, only hold their ground.As Stranger took another few shots at some Mutant Lizards harassing an Urban Avenger, he saw another Mutant Raptor charging for the cliffside, and this one seemed to be heading right for the bridge. He quickly took some shots at it, but his pistols were doing barely anything thanks to the range and the Raptor's force field ability.As the Raptor reached the bridge and slammed its big foot on the first few planks, Stranger heard a large snap! as the old bits of wood gave way. The raptor tripped and its upper body fell upon the next dozen planks, breaking them as well. As it fell through, Stranger could see one of its foot talons snag on the right vine. When the beast finally tumbled into the purple mist below, the vine gave way.The bridge swung on its side, the left vine now having to support the entire connection to the cliffside from the temple. Stranger guessed it may not last on its own for a long period of time.Well, guess the temple guys aren't going to easily get back now, Stranger thought grimly as he focused back on the battle at hand.-----------------OOC: Let's pretend for simplicity's sake that the Raptor tore through the bridge just as Hertz and the Pterosaur had their breakthrough with it.-----------------"I guess we should've expected these guys sooner!" Andrew remarked as he tried to shoot some of the dive-biting Mutant Pterosaurs. He and Laxus were barely near the end of the bridge, but the task of defending themselves from the oncoming attacks from the Pterosaurs were slowing them down, not to mention the crowd that was steadily lessening that blocked them from reaching the solid ground of the island. There really wasn't much room for fighting at the entrance of the place."Well, once we're in there, Dinos will be the least of our worries!" Laxus responded, trying to walk backwards towards the temple as he fired."Yeah", Andrew muttered as he glanced back at the Stromlings still coming at the team. They were still respawning at a constant rate, and many agents were simply just trying to push through and get into the temple. "Let's just hope it's-"Suddenly, something felt very wrong about the bridge. Andrew felt himself jerked suddenly to his left, falling down on the planks of the bridge. There, he realized immediately what was wrong: The bridge was slanting. Something had broke, just like Rockford had warned them of several seconds ago."We need to get off the bridge!" He shouted out both to Laxus and anyone else who would hear him. "Everyone off and into the temple, now!"Pushing himself up, Andrew grabbed Laxus's arm and the two made the last few steps towards (very) relative safety. Just as they were a yard from the edge, the bridge lurched from beneath them and began to fall down. At the last moment, they both jumped.Laxus managed to clear the gap and reach the edge, but Andrew barely missed and found himself clinging to the edge. He felt almost as tense as he had when confronting Zach, and tried his best to keep his waist on the ground and his feet standing on the cliffside. Laxus, quickly noticing his friend's peril, was grabbing onto his arms and about to pull him up, but was interrupted by a shadow looming over them.Andrew looked up to see a Stromling grinning right back at him. It pulled back its leg, readying to kick the two of them off, when a laser suddenly came out of nowhere and hit it in the back. It fell backwards, and Vinyaya ran up forward, smoking laser pistol in hand. She leaned down and got Andrew's other arm, and she and Laxus managed to pull Andrew back onto solid ground."Thanks, that was a close-" Andrew began, but the Space Police officer simply handed him back his rifle and gestured towards the temple entrance. He and Laxus quickly understood, and the three of them ran inside."You're Andrew, aren't you?" Vinyaya asked as the three of them stopped in a foyer chamber surrounded by purple mist."The one and only Elite Agent with that codename," Andrew said with a slight grin. Vinyaya didn't smile back."Good to meet you, but I just have to say something to you regarding Virchaus.""What, you mean Zach?""Yes. What in the name of 4+ Figures were you thinking trying to save him? You realize what levels of deception these Stromlings are capable of?"Andrew was a little taken aback by this. "Well, yes, but, I mean, Zach was a special case. Minerva and I had special connections to him that allowed us to reach him and inject the cure for his Stromingness. I saw him change back himself, and I wouldn't say his body's benefited from it. Did you see how he looked?""Yes," Vinyaya said with a bit of bitterness. "We helped each other a bit out there. I guess I can assume he's truly not a Stromling anymore, but I'm not convinced he came back right. He wasn't exactly friendly when I confronted him.""Well, maybe he's a bit stressed out from still being seen as hostile," Laxus interjected. "I mean, I think he was rather worried about that earlier, but he seems to be getting over it and trying to fit back in with us. You have to give him some credit.""I suppose so," Vinyaya muttered, "but I still don't like how he talked to me. Reminds me too much of some of the crooks I've caught around the asteroid colonies. Anyways, this isn't the best place for talk. You have any clues how to navigate this place?"Andrew looked around. From what he could see, the place had some rather grand architecture, though the darkness and mist made it hard to see. It certainly looked like it was easy to get lost in. "Eh... no, not really. I think we could try going forwards, that might be where the big main chamber where everyone's fighting it out is. Want to come with us? It's probably best if we stay in groups around here."

OOC: And Mutant Lizards are supposed to be able to adapt and not fall for the same tricks twice. And yet they keep ending up as the Redshirts for the Mutant Dino armies.We're in heat of battle mode, Atton, and I think most of us aren't really going to remember that each Stroming is more of an Elite Mook rather than just a Mook. You're just going to have to expect this here and there.Also, I'm suprised that Stranger's Lizard friend can run that fast to reach the temple interior in such a brief amount of time.IC later, I'm not quite in the writing mood right now, have to think my ideas out more.

OOC: I'll just assume that when Rockford talked to himself, he was trying to talk to Rockford.IC: "I'm NOT panicing!" said Rockford sternly. "But when you hear a giant roar from what sounds like an extremely massive hoard of dinosaurs, I'd expect that you'd be aware that a long rickity old bridge that you've barely started crossing isn't the best place to be! Now take these cannon controls and keep us secure! I need to ensure we can secure this location from the horde, and all we have are a few dozen agents and several heavy abandoned vehicles littering the path!""What, you haven't even got a proper command post?!" Trigger asked incrediously. "How'd a man like you even become a ground commander?!" Rockford's mind flashed back for an instant to Mur's final moments. It was a sickly reminder that he hadn't exactly earned this level of command. But he was still needed, and he didn't like this overly cynical agent criticizing him right now. THe Mutant Raptors were starting to push in, and there were barely any vehicles manned. And the Lizards were already starting to cross the bridge. He could practically hear the loud creaking and bending of the fatigued planks."THis is not the time for discussing such matters," Rockford said with clenched teeth. "Now man that cannon while I do my job."

OOC: Glad we got some things cleared up. I'll hold back Semick's attack for a smidge longer, but I can get some bits of progress done.Also, nice job with Sam Sinister's story arc semi-resolution there.IC: Rockford observed with resignation as Trigger and two other agents began heading over on the bridge. He supposed that now, more than ever, the battle must've been in progress now. At this point, he figured he would have to get over there soon, but not quite yet.He had asked for a coulple dozen agents and the ADU to stay behind and prepare for watching over the area in front of the bridge and zip lines. That, and he was hoping that he could lessen the use of the bridge. He didn't know how much more it could take, and to be frank, he was getting more and more nervous to see agents cross it.I hope those hose guys by the entrance finish fighting the ambush and get inside soon, Rockford though. If they haven't cleared up already, that area isn't going to hold all-HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!Rockford's blood ran cold, and his eyes widened. He felt the vibrations in the ground, and heard an ever-growing small rumble of large limbs pounding into the ground, sounding closer and closer."Trigger!" he shouted towards the bridge, stopping the agent and his companions in their steps. "Forget the temple, we have company!"Without waiting for a response, Rockford ran towards the Fire Hammer he and Hertz had just sat in. Clamoring in, he reached the driver's seat and did his best to reconize and use the driving and weapon controls.Those sounds...., he thought, dear Ole, that sounded like one heck of a horde. One of emenies or another must've wanted to continue the fight. But poor them, the only way to the main fight was-Horror washed over Rockford a second time. The Mutant Dinos may not all be able to reach the temple, but he knew that they were going to try however they could. And after taking who knows how many years of wear and a platoon of DIno Attack agents crossing it, when that bridge started recieving the horde...Outside, he started to see Mutant Lizards running past the vehicles and towards the cliffside and its rickity contstruct. The Raptors and T-Rexes wouldn't be far behind. Grabbing the Xenon Launcher controls in one hand and the radio in the other, he blared out a warning to the All Agents Bulliten signal."Dino Attack agents on the bridge! Dino Attack agents on the bridge! Get off immediately! I repeat, get off imediately! We have an incoming Mutant Dino horde, and they are headed for the temple bridge! And when they try to cross, I'm sure as Megablokland they're bound to snap it! I repeat, get off immediately before it leaves you under your feet!"---------------The mutant lizard at Stranger's side was making a split-second choice of its own - one that would perhaps resonate with what was to come.It's somewhat hard to describe the mindset of a Mutant Lizard. Surely, they're mostly driven by the instinct of an animal, but for one reason or another, be it the processes of its mutation, the influence of the Malestrom, or simply the workings of the LEGO Universe, they were smarter than the average beast, to an extent. Sometimes this doesn't show up beyond remembering what bits of the Minifig were the most tasty, but in others, like Stranger's little ally, something happens to drive them to think of something other than what they needed to attack.For this lizard, these aspects showed up minimally during its short timespan thus far on this world. It had taken to quite enjoying killing its prey. It thrilled at the feeling of besting and outsmarting emenies who might try ot oursmart or best it. And through growing with its brethern and their masters, it had been made to hate the Minifigs that were part of the opposing force Dino Attack. The large group of minifigs dedicated to try and stomp out their species for no real good reason.But a signifigant moment came when it first fought Stranger, back during a battle between regular and mutated dinosaurs that Stranger's group managed to walk into. It had tried to ambush him, having found a certain thrill to find a prey that was so preoccupied with one task as to not notice when another was approaching. But even with its attack, it had been bested, and he now had the scar on its eye to show it.It had retreated, scared for its life, and was suprised, when it had returned to the small alcolve in the rocks where it had made a dwelling, found that Stranger had not followed. Why would he not take the chance to kill it, espically when he seemed so gleeful at the prospect of killing the lizard's people? What was making him selective like that? Did that mean that Dino Attack Minifigs were more complicated that it had thought? It had to understand.So it went back and watched him. Watched as the extra groups of Minifigs came in in their vehicles and set up camp. Watched as they communicated, and did its best to try and understand what they were getting across. Watched as they eventually went out to the big place where its masters had set up home. It had watched as Stranger went with a group that broke into the massive place, and snuck around for nearly two rises of the sun.The lizard knew that though the place was a home to Mutant Dinosaurs, it would mean he would be left in a box with the bars until they had felt they were needed to fend off another attack. And with the masters' reliances on Minifigs in white wrappings and thick plating and big threathening guns, this meant it wouldn't get a chance to get to Stranger that way. The only option was to follow him and wait for the right moment.So it followed and waited for that long period of time, pusing away at starvation and tiredness and the odd feeling of boredom. It fueled itself on that curiosity, that disbelief, that revulsion that there was something more to these Dino Attack creatures. Then, as it heard comotion through the hallways under the vents, and as it heard Stranger release its brethern in an attempt to distract the masters, it had struck.It had disarmed him and, through some help from barely understanding plated servants of the masters, convinced the Dino Attack Minifig to fight him. Plain and dirty without any of their guns, like lizard younglings would in the few moments of inactivity. They had fought, and while the lizard had gotten thrill and adrenlaine from it, and began to see more and more similarities between him and it, it didn't really help satisfy its curiousity at all. It had begun to wonder if it had made a mistake.Then the place had rumbled. Dino Attack was destroying it. As the place fell apart, Stranger was taken out and left for dead. Instinctivelyy, the Mutant LIzard's choice was to drag him away out of the destruction to eat him. But when it had dragged itself out of the ruins and back to its alcove, it found he couldn't will himself to take the bite.It wanted to, it so wanted to so it could satisfy its hunger and instinct. But recalling how the Minifig had acted, realizing how he fought so similarily to it, it began to question its perspective on everything. Why would the emeny have such creatures that would act, somehow, almost like its brethern, and still want to kill them? Why were they being driven to kill all Minifig kind, and was it thus not a suprise that they would be doing the exact same thing to the Dinos? And the big one: Why were its masters mastering them, and why did they betray their own kind to help the Mutant Dinosaurs?So it simply fed on the local wildlife and already-dead brethern, bringing food back for Stranger when he awoke. And when he did awoke, he was suprised at his condtions, and talked in his language wondering what was going on. Applying all that he learned from how the Minifigs spoke, the Mutant Lizard did his best to communicate back, and after much, much trial and error, a connection was made.Soon they were talking to each other in terms they both could understand: their records in kills, their strengh in combat, their mutual opposition, insults directed at each other's mother. And through this, the lizard began to understood why Dino Attack fought, how they treated each other with the same levels of compassion and respect with brethern as well as dinos did, and Minifigs who did want to not kill the Mutant Dinosaurs even as much as they fought them.And through this, the Mutant Lizard heard about two signifigant things. One was Rex, the "Dino-Man" as it had described him to Stranger, the most amazing creature it had ever heard of. Appearently born as the first Mutant T-Rex ever, it had been given the job of becoming an ally of Dino Attack so it could destroy them from the inside, but by chance, it had instead befriended them and fought for them. Now, through circumstance and accidence, he was a full Minifig, having taken the original body of the master of the masters, who was now one of its own brethern.The lizard could recall some amount of celebration from its elders and brethern about the event that made their biggest master one of their own. It had been enjoyed with them at the time, but now, given what he had learned about why its masters did what they did, he felt more uncertain about being his leader. It now wanted to serve Rex, obey him like they many Dinosaurs that he had mastered to live with the Minifigs as well as the Dinos, and perhaps get across that it had, though indirectly, made an impact in the lives of the Mutant Dinos that had heard of him.The other was the Malestrom, the mysterious energy/entity that somehow existed in all Mutant Dinosaurs, and were responsible for their birth and many of their abilities. The lizard was distrubed to learn that it simply wished to destroy everything, and didn't even seem to hold much attention to its own kind, the kind it infected and made allies. Learning that, the lizard had made a mental vow to ignore those strange distructive instincts, those that had helped fuel its anger against Dino Attack Minifigs, and try to help in its destruction.And now, the Mutant Lizard was at the critical moment. The place far within the purple mist, the mist that, as it understood, represented what the Malestrom was doing to this world, was calling him, quite strongly. Something was in there beckoning to the instincts it knew the Malestrom was fueling, and from what it was hearing from afar, all its brethern could feel it and not resist.Something told the lizard that this could possibly spell death - or worse - from the beings that were within that place. But something else told it that if the Malestrom was to be stopped, all beings, be them Minifig or Mutant Dino, could do something now to help prevent something unimaginably horrible from happening, perhaps even to save its own brethern on some level or another from more wasteful death.And so, without warning to Stranger, as it began to hear shouting coming from the other Dino Attack Minifigs as the Mutant DInosaurs came closer, the Mutant Lizard bolted towards the bridge, past the MInifigs upon it, and raced towards the place across the mist with one main purpose: To stop the Malestrom, to save Dinosaur and Minifigkind. To save itself.

OOC: I'll be honest for a second before I write about Semick pulling the trigger. Atton, I'm just a bit hesitant to believe the facts you've been establishing about the enviroment of the Malestrom temple. It's not that I don't respect you or anything, or that I'm letting my personal views interfere about my judgement in roleplay. Rather, I'm a bit uncertain whether or not you have the ability to claim such important details of there being Malestrom armies waiting to onslaught the team, or that the temple's interior is in such a spacy-wacey state that it's effectively like a portal into some other realm.I'm not necessarily saying that inserting an idea like that would be against the rules. I know that after that guy was consistent with bringing up the Hotep III temple, that was inserted into the main plot by even PeabodySam himself. But I'm just having a bit of hard time accepting that we can just add a big detail in like that and then we all have to accept it. Perhaps its because I've been having the idea of Semick blowing the roof in developing for a while, and I'm just not happy with you suddenly declaring his effort will be futile. And since we have established a great deal about the Malestrom's strength, and that we're now at the belly of the beast, so to speak, we can expect things to get very strange and challenging. But just throwing the idea out there rubs me the wrong way, I suppose.This may not be the best idea to express, as it has slowed down our progress before, but I'm also just wanting to see PeabodySam's input on the idea of the temple's dimmensional properties. I think his last IC might've suggested that you were letting Palmer have a bit too much power, and perhaps it was also an implied message to you. And looking through PeabodySam's characters' own approach, they didn't have much in the way of anything like that when entering the temple. Heck, he's written that some teams are already getting through the temple with ease to reach the humungromus chamber with the statue. I'm guessing the Malestrom is being curiously selective about who it wants to play around with. OK, yes it's logically reasonable to assume that a chamber that's appearnetly " larger than the Aztec Village itself, with a ceiling that seemed to reach higher than Dino Attack Headquarters" would be something that would seem more plausible for a building that's bigger on the inside, but it's still a notable leap to get "Malestrom spacial illusions" out of that.If there's one thing I'm just wondering about, its if PeabodySam actually gave you this info, and you're just getting the situational opprotunity to reveal it. If we can confirm that, I'll just shut up and play along. Or if we just agree its a better for the story, I'll continue along with it as well. But as it is right this moment, I'm still a little hesitant about it.

OOC: Atton, Rockford mentioned a countdown, which means the T-1 cannonfire won't start immediately. I wanted to extend the time between the warning and the actuall barage so other people's characters can react. And Semick will be trying to concentrate on the area he suspects is the area of the central room where the main battle is supposed to be.

IC: "Perhaps," said Rockford. "But Semick's managed to pick up the readings of our agents from within the temple, so I think it's at least in our plane of existence. At the least, we can either prove or debunk your theory."Without waiting to hear another word, Rockford climbed into the Fire Hammer and swiched on the radio. Setting it to the All-Agents Bulliten PDA frequency, he began his warning."Attenion All Dino Attack Agents Within the Malestrom temple! This is Commanding Agent Rockford, giving a warning to watch your heads! Elite Agent Semick had decided to direct all T-1 Typhoon firetower towards the roof of the temple, hoping to blast it open and get visual contact with the bulk of Dino Attack efforts! After this message ends, you'll have thirty seconds before the T-1 barrage begins. If it proves successful, there is likely to be much falling rock, so we implore you to be prepared and keep your helmets on! That is all."

OOC: That guy: Your decison to use a bald, stubby guy for Dust always seems weird to me. I kept imagining him as someone like how I evision Stranger and Trigger (who, I might add, looks pretty good.)I'm also down with your revisions on my characters (though Mur's new photo is broken at the moment).Also, is anyone else in favor of somehow giving Rex a combat wheelchair at the end of the Adventurers Island arc? I've seen some pretty cool ones in movies and TV, and he deserves one, I think.IC: "I'm sure they'll have no problem with that," said Rockford. "I'm willing guess that they might already be close to finding out how to neutralize-"The commander's PDA started to go off, alerting of an audio transmission. Rockford held his hand up as he went to answer it. He noted that it was Semick as he took the call."How's it looking?""Stromings are respawning fast, but with the agents over there now, we should get the problem contained quickly." Rockford noted how Trigger, overhearing a bit of the conversation, rolled his eyes. "Hope they can get the zip-lines open though, I don't trust that bridge farther than I can throw it. Anyways, due to the crowd of friendlies, I had to have the T-1s stand down for the most part. We are now going through with our plan to blow the roof in before the rest of the men start heading in. Are you ready to give out a warning?"Rockford glanced at Trigger again. He figured that the guy was convinced that most of the team's ideas would likely end up as failures, plus he likely already understood the huge risk being taken. Besides, he was starting to tire of handling him. Under the circumstances, he wasn't in a position to have arguements like the ones he had had with Dust about team spirit."Yes, I am," Rockford said as he headed to a Fire Hammer to get to a proper radio. "Once I have the transmission out, feel free to start the countdown to blowing up.""Understood. Getting into position now."-------------------Laxus knew that there wasn't anything to really see below the bridge as he and Andrew crossed it, but he still didn't want to look down regardless.The two had stopped briefly to grab some new weapons left lying around in a near-busted Iron Predator the Dino Attack agents had been using as a makeshift armory, and were thus now among the back flow of the agents crossing the bridge.Laxus wasn't confident in its strenght since the moment he saw it. Aged wood and rope was a lot less steady than Earth or Martian rock, and a crossing like this, over what was virutally a canyon of unknown depth shrouded by purple stuff, was asking for alot of faith. But with the zip-lines unguarded and the T-1s busy, it was the only way across.So Laxus kept his hands close to his rifle and kept his eyes on Andrew. It would be good to be fighting alongside him again. Things had been a little boring without him, even with all the fighting that had been goin-SNAP!Laxus's heart stopped as he recieved the sudden shock and involuntary gasp from his leg going through thin air. He made a grab for the next plank with his hands and felt his other leg get a slight twist as it hung on the previous plank, leaving him a few slips away from tumbling into the mist below. It made him regret for a moment that Martains had such a thin build.Luckily his distress had not gone unnoticed, and within moments Andrew managed to get a hold of his companion's arms and helped to pull him to relative safety."That was too close," Laxus said as he took several rapid breaths."I concur," Andrew responded. "Let's hurry this up. I don't want to stay on this bridge much longer. I think it's close to death throws."Grabbing their weapons, dropped when the brief incident occured from the shock of their moment, the two agents got a move on at a more rapid pace than before.

OOC: Fair enough for now.IC: Stranger watched as most of the agents began to head off towards the bridge and zip-lines towards the temple. He was standing back for the moment, ensuring that his sniper rifle was ready and the scope was functioning. Satisfied, he gazed towards his Mutant Lizard companion."Agent squabbling that only gets cut short by attack interruption," Stranger remarked. "Never gets old." The lizard seemed to snicker, and began to head off to follow the flow. Soon he was getting clsoer Trigger, who was conversing with Cabin over something about dimmensions and doomed agents.Stranger was impressed with this new guy. Thinking practically, objectively, and seemed to be quite experienced at shooting things. Though he did seem to have a real problem with conversing to the others, mostly due to a lack of sympathy greater than Stranger's own. At least the latter had respect for comrades and willing to help them out. This guy was alienating himself by his interest in getting paid for helping the team out (By who? Stranger thought. We're certainly not getting paid by the team, considering protecting our planet from being overrun or destroyed is motivation enough), and it wasn't exactly helping him get through to the others. THe guy needed some advice."Care for a little chat?" Stranger asked as he reached the agent's side."I suppose," Trigger responded. "Though I figure you're busy rushing to your death right now.""Actually, I'm thinking more practically," Stranger said as he held up his sniper rifle. Trigger eyed it with slight interest."Hmph. Guess there's more than one sane man here.""We're hard to find, but we're definately around. But I'll be frank with you, you didn't do a good job back there. Being outright disrespectful and blunt is going to get you nowhere with these guys.""Their problem that they can't accept the reality of the situation.""Yeah, but you're not exactly the best messenger for the truth. Take my advice: just roll with whatever they do and do what you can to keep their backs clean with cover fire. Reconize who's currently the boss and don't outright call them fools for being idealists. Keep doing what you're doing, and you'll end up like Dust: Distrusted and glared at each time you enter the room. Change up your approach a bit, and you'll end up as something closer to Rotor: A little eractic, but still a reliable ally."

OOC: *tries to hide slight annoyance* Still would like to discuss the "how much space is there around this temple for Stromlings to wait around in?" issue, but I'm willing to advance the plot in reference to Brikman's latest decision.And personally, I'm still finding it a bit ludicrous that Atton is able to have one of his Stromling characters just call up a Stromling army that is alledgely nigh-invincible, even with all we've established about the Malestrom's power.IC: Semick's blood ran cold as he heard the incoming distress call. Without a word or warning, he slammed the mic down and grabbed the controls. Within moments, he was directing the T-1 towards the end of the temple with the bridge. In the corner of his eye, he could see other T-1s doing the same.Flying down close, he could see the sight that confirmed the validation of his fears. Several Stromlings were now attacking the handful of agents attending to the brdge and zip-line connections. Some agents were still standing, but it was easily appearent they were being overwhelmed.If these things can take T-1 barrage fire, Semick thought as his hand twitched onto the canon trigger, then this means this Malestrom is ridiculously overpowered. All the more reason to get into that building by any means necessary, I suppose. He squeesed the trigger and began firing on the purple monstrosities.

IC: Semick processed this "Trigger's" words. He knew absolutely nothing about this agent, if he even was one, who was not only being ruder than Dust or Stranger on one of his more grouchy days combined, but was saying out of nowhere that there was an army of Stromlings waiting around to ambush the team."Bluetooth, can you get any good readings on the Stromling forces around the area of the temple?" Semick shouted behind him."Eh, not really," Bluetooth replied. "The combined elements of the sea-mist stuff, the temple itself, and whatever Stromlings are around is messing up the readings. I can't verify anything this guy is saying.Semick took a look outside at the "island" the temple was located on. It was rather small, barely containing the temple itself on its radius, and the only agents he could see were the ones who were tending to the zip-lines on the other side. Sighing gently, he pulled his mic back to his lips. "Now listen to me, Trigger. I only take orders from agents like Reptile, Hotwire, Rex, and the commanders back home. What I'm getting from you is being taken only as advisory."Now let me note a few things. I'm currently in one of the T-1s hovering around the temple area, and while our TALON-9 systems are a little messed up from the shear amount of Malestrom energy present, we can see visually that there is no Malestrom army on the outside space surrounding the temple's island, unless they're squeezed into the shadows like clowns in a car."In any case, your comment about being unable to advance in is unfounded. We've already sent several teams to the island and into the temple, and the reports I'm getting is that they're already in the middle of the place helping Rex's team fight off Stromlings and XERRD scientists. Crossing this crevice to the temple is clearly not a problem, so getting in there to neutralize this 'source of power' you speak of."Even if you feel that this was all simple luck, and that further attempts to reach the temple on our zip-line/bridge crossings will end in massacare, here's something else you should know: I have organized our T-1s to prepare to stragedically fire upon the temple to open up the ceiling to our cover firer and surveillance. If necessary, I can even alter my plans to fery our men across to the temple directly into the battle area. I believe that would be a viable solution, even if it isn't the best one."Now, feel free to comment once more, or offer us some alternative solutions to getting inside the temple, but if you have nothing left to say, I must politely ask you to step aside and let me, Rockford, and our ADO allies do our job."OOC: I think we might be a little confused about the island this temple is on. How much open space is there on it besides this temple? I've been led to believe this building takes up most the space on it, if not all of it.

IC: Rockford looked away from Zach for the moment and approached Trigger. "You know, that reminds me quite a bit of how Dust spoke to us," he said. "Though I'll give you credit, at least you realize what's important and not distracted by some personal quest.""Is that meant to be an insult or compliment?" said Trigger, taking a breath from his cigarette."It depends. Trigger, I haven't met you before, and I don't think many of us have. And while you may be right that we haven't fought the Malestrom in its fullest form, do know that we have several teams of agents already in that temple, including several highly experienced and veteran fighters, and call them naive and foolish, but I say that if we fight as a team with total determination, I'm positive that even the Malestrom-""Etcetra, etcetra!"Rockford gave Trigger a stern glance and grabbed his PDA. "I don't like your attitude, and by my abilities as commander, I should have the right to disregard you and continue with our team's plans, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt." Switching back to the commuicator function, he contacted Semick."Before you ask, Rockford," Semick immedately said, "I'm almost done up here.""Good to hear. But I'm actually wanting you to help with something. We've got a man down here saying we're acting stupidly just charging into the temple, and feels like he could give us some proper advice. Want to engage in some conversation with him?""Put him through, let's see what he has to say."Rockford offered Trigger the PDA. "Go on. We'll hear what you have to say."

I still have my Tahu Nuva ones with Gali Nuva masks. Never did wear them regularily, though. My feet had a condition at the time that necessated me to wear laced shoes all the time, and the Bionicle ones were strapped. A bit disappointing.

Lots of projects have appeared to miss their 5000 supporter message. I'm thinking they're not doing that as much as they were intending to anymore.

IC: "And if that's what he wants to do," Rockford interjected, walking over. "Then I'm all for it. Hotwire's one of our most prestigeous agents and has been with us for nearly half the war. I think he can handle himself even without a leg."Trigger sighed in an annoyed tone. "Eh. Your funeral, buddy."Satisfied with his actions, Rockford looked back to his PDA, looking to see if Semick was going to respond anytime soon. Nothing yet."Anyways, I believe I heard someone mention a need to contact Ospery about something. I have radio contact via my PDA, so-""Andrew, you're alright!" said an interrupting Martian voice. Rockford turned to see Laxus hurry over to some other agents near the cliffside, the Elite Agent among them."What, did you think someone else sent that message out?" Andrew responded with a smirk. "How'd you do out there?""Managed to tag along Rockford after Mur's IP got destroyed. The latter sacrificed himself to finally give that Stromling Ape his due retribution.""Oh... poor guy. At least he died ensuring our own further safety."Laxus turned to one of the other agents alongside Andrew, his eyes widening as he saw a ruged-looking Minifig staring at his toes. "Woah," he uttered. "Zach, is that you?"Rockford's attention was caught, reconizing the name that had been floating around after the last two All-Agent Messages were sent out. "Heh, yeah," the Minifig muttered. "I may not be a Stromling anymore, but I do look a little different.""Understatement of the hour!""Indeed," Rockford interjected, approaching the group. "You look like you've been fighting the Dinos nonstop since the first attacks on LEGO City. Name's Rockford, I'm commanding most of the ground teams right now. You might've known that, though.""Yeah," Zach said, looking a little awkward with conversing. "Sorry, I don't think we've met before.""Quite true. But that doesn't mean we can't make aquantinceships now." Rockford took the battered ex-Stromling's hand, noticing slightly how it felt metal and slightly twisted, and shook it. "I know this must be hard for you coming back to us after all you did under the Malestrom's influence. But let me tell you right now that I hold no grudges against you, and that I personally welcome you back to the Dino Attack team. Any agent that doesn't will have to deal with me, among many others."Zach smiled a small smile, obviously suprised at Rockford's approach. "Thanks alot," he said. "Though I don't think it's going to be as easy as that to jump back in with you guys.""I understand that. Trust me, I was a lawyer before all this, and I know how to help people with regrets like yours. I helped Dust himself to try and fit in with us. Now, let's try with some of the basics. I know there's alot about your condition that could use improvements, but is there anything major you think you need.""Eh... yeah. I don't think I need a medic and all, but..." Zach glanced at Andrew, who gestured at the former's eyes and right hand. "... but I do need some glasses or something and possibly a bit of help with my prostetic hand." Zach pulled his hand out of Rockford's and held it up, showing off how it had seen better days."Not a problem." Rockford turned towards one of the agents observing the scene. Appearently Zach was starting to attract a crowd of observers trying to get a look at the agent-turned-Stromling-turned-agent. "Get us some of the eye and prostetic doctors here stat! Tell them Zach needs some help."

OOC: Eh, Jackson Lake, Semick is in his T-1 still flying around. I dunno about Ospery, since that's up to you, but Rockford is at least on the ground, so that part seems okay. Otherwise, you might want to correct that.

Just heard about that. Sounds like an interesting project, I was wondering when the documentaries and books would start rolling in on this.I have my own book idea, but I doubt it's going to see the light of day anytime in the near future.

OOC: I hope you don't mind if I act a little frank in my opinion there, that guy. Obivously, you're working with how you see the characters, and I'm seeing them knowing how you see them. Merely, I'll just want to inject my opnion on them before we do something like consider them the official appearance for the Wiki.Bluetooth: ...I'm sorry, I'm so very sorry, but I burst out laughing a bit when I saw him. Seeing as Bluetooth is a techie agent, I imagined him more as a clean-shaven glasses-wearing guy (and specifically, I always saw him with Harry Potter's head). like someone you'd see in the office. Here, you made him look more like a traditional soldier. It's not a bad look, but it's not exactly how I pictured it.Mur: Obivously pre-arm loss here. Pretty cool design here. Makes him look a bit more unique. I've lazily picture him wtih the glasses headpiece Zach and B use. Your approach is a bit cooler.Raider: Oh man, that face. I've always been confused by that headpiece. Considering it was Doc's from the Power MIners line, I'm guessing it's meant to show screaming fright, but I'm personally not seeing it. Regardless, I think it's rather fitting for Raider, though I usually see him as wearing one of those black rags like those the Pirate minifigs usually wear.Rockford: I like this, I really do. I did see him as using the Norman Osborne face LEGO City's been using for years, but your choice here says "ex-lawyer" much better than that face. Heck, yours even makes him look a bit like Jack McCoy from Law & Order!Stranger: Ah, the old Luke Skywalker head and the same black fedora I use. Most excellent here. The only thing lacking is dual pistols and a pair of goggles.Overall though, you didn't do half bad. Would be cool to see you do more of these in the future.

OOC: Interesting. I have my own ideas of how Stranger, Bluetooth, Raider and Rockford look, but I'd be interested in seeing yours.

IC: Andrew thought over the situation as he spoke. "Well... I am concerned by Zach's state, but... he is looking determined to try and do something, and he is getting better by the moment, so..." He nodded. "Yeah, let's try and get to the temple. But Zach, I think we'd better find you some glasses before going into battle again. Mama Brickolini may be able to handle near-sightedness, but she's not a soldier, you know.""Alright, alright," said Zach. "So how about we try and find out how to get there?"Andrew was about to say something when he heard the sound of a vehicle behind them. Turning, he saw a Fire Hammer with a broken Xenon Launcher pulling up alongside them. And opening the front passenger door was a familiar face."Well, if it isn't the ex-stromling himself and his saviors," said Stranger, his Mutant Lizard ally sitting atop the remains of the launcher, "Need a lift?""Oh yes," said Andrew, "definately!" He climbed up into the back seats of the Fire Hammer, and as Minerva and Zach approached, helped the ladder to climb inside as well."Glad to see you've got Zach there back to normal," said Serlock, another familar face, at the driver's seat. "Shows the Malestrom that they aren't as good as they think at 'assilimating' us or whatever.""Eh, it was far from an easy thing to do," said Zach, who was looking a little awkward conversing with random Dino Attack agents again. "I don't think it can be done with just anyone who was taken by it.""Oh, don't ruin the optmisim for the agents who need it," said Stranger. "Now where are you three looking to go? An oupost? A med-tent or-""The Malestrom temple," said Minerva. "The real one, of course.""Ooh, just jumping back into battle like that, eh? I like that in an agent. Sherlock, get us out of here!""Righto!" he said, putting the vehicle into gear, pushing on the throttle... and then the vehicle stalled."Darn it! Give me a moment..." Sherlock began turning the ignition over and over a few times."We salvaged this vehicle from a crew that got wiped out by the monkies early on," Stranger explained. "Annoying little buggers, those ones were. I'm sure Raider would've enjoyed hitting a shooting gallery full of those guys. Shame he got killed when the Dinos trashed our camp, though. But anyways, Sherlock had gotten there..."Stranger continued rambling, but Andrew noticed that Zach was starting to look a bit guilty. He could guess why, considering Stromling!Zach had been responsible for both of the attacks Stranger had mentioned. Furthermore, Zach had worked with Raider during his brief stints as part of Semick's T-1 crew, and while he didn't know how well the two may've known each other, knowing that he was very indirectly responsible for the death of someone he knew in the team must've been very hard to hear.Andrew knew he needed to say something. And as Sherlock finally got the ignition going again and Stranger stopped talking, he took his LEGO Island neigebor's shoulder. "I know what you're thinking, and I say just ignore that. You weren't in control of your actions when you were a Stromling. Heck, it was practically just a bad guy with your good memories. What matters now is that you've got control of yourself again, and that you're not purple anymore. I realize that, Stranger and Sherlock realize that, and I'm positive the rest of the team doe too. Anyone that does harass you is simply going to have to learn that."Zach made a small smile. "Thanks for the comfort. But even so, it's going to be hard for me to come to terms with this, you understand?""I do, but trust me that the rest of the team isn't going to try and make it harder. In fact, I still have my PDA here. You want to send a message to the team regarding your feelings on this?"---------------Semick was calm, but still on edge. The agents below were preparing the zip-lines, and Rockford was helping to send teams into the temple. Soon they would have their entire force inside the belly of the beast.He was getting reports sprodatically. Some were saying the Malestrom was playing tricks with the interior formation and with agents minds, intent on not letting them leave. GIven the stakes in this mission, Semick hadn't figured retreat for an option anyways, and so was content with this knowledge. He also had reports that agents were meeting up with Rex's team in the big central area Bluetooth had found when detecting agent signs earlier. He was relieved to know they were, for the most part, still alright, but was annoyed that he hadn't been contacted by any of them yet, even though he knew they were likely in the middle of battle. Espically since he was hearing odd reports of a lightning-shooting samuradi and something about a Frank Einstien, which sounded a little familar but seemed rather irrelevent to Semick.Still feeling a little useless just hovering around barking orders, he was still considering the idea of blasting into the temple ceiling, which he was now debating via radio with Rockford and the ADO's Captain Ospery."Now I know you've already said this risks injuring agents already in the room," said Rockford. "That in itself is definately a major risk to consider, but might the ends justif-""NO," Semick interjected sternly. "I hate that kind of logic.""Well, I think the obvious option is to give plenty of warning first," said Ospery. "Then make your entrance. How about that?"Semick though about it for a few seconds. "Well, it doesn't seem like we do have any other choice. I certainly don't want to not use our air support to our advantage, but I can't just let agents die from my own actions. Doing that would make me look like Rotor."Rockford shuddered. "Not something anyone wants. If you want, I can do the job of holding back our incoming teams and warning the teams inside already. How does that sound?""As long as we can keep setting up the zip-lines, I'm good with that," Said Ospery.You most certainly can," said Semick. "I'll organize our T-1s, and when I'm ready Rockford, I'll let you know when to give the warning. THat's all for now.""Got it, Semick," Rockford said as he tuned out."I'll say this much, Semick," said Ospery, "The LEGO Planet could use more people like you to lead.""So they say," Semick responded as he turned his attention to the T-1s.

The bags are numbered, and there are lists online that tell you which number goes with which figure. Really? Nice to see Hasbro isn't being as vigilant as LEGO in keeping each bag's contents a secret. Guess the whole mold-reuse thing makes them a bit more cocky.

Open question to current blind bag buyers: Obivously, investing in those toys are more iffy territory than investing in LEGO Minifigure Blind bags due to the fact that all the characters share a selection of about six or seven different molds, which means you're either going to get a known character from the show, a "shiny" oddly coloured variant, or some random character Hasbro's marketing team made up. Would you say its worth buying those from the store-bought bags, conisidering those circumstances? Or if I really wanted them, I should go to eBay and start fighting in bidding wars?

IC: "It might be best for Zach to see some professional medical attention," said Andrew. "Though I think it wouldn't be too hard to help him out of here. You find a way out?""Yeah," said Minerva. "It's a stairway hidden by an illusion of a wall further down the passage.""Seems simple enough." Andrew approached Zach, who was still taking in the fact of being a Minifig again, and tapped him gently on the shoulder. He looked up, though not directly facing him. "You think you can handle being helped out by hand?""Eh, sure, I think I can do that," said Zach. "That would just mean holding on to your hands or something, right?""Yes, but there are some stairs up ahead. Just take your time feeling the ends of each step and you should be fine.""Okay." He reached out his right hand, and Andrew took it. Gently pulling, he walked towards Minerva at a slow but steady pace. Zach followed with some slight stumbling, but managed to start getting the hang of it."Never thought I'd have an experience like this," Zach remarked. "Even when I signed up.""There's alot of things we never expect," Minerva replied, reaching out to grab Zach's other hand. "But no matter how much it happens, we can never seem to get used to it."The three agents smiled, both in amusement over the remark and joy in what they had accomplshied. They had defied the Malestrom, conquered the odds yet again, and had saved a dear friend. Even with so much left to do, they couldn't help but feel on top of the world."Hey," Andrew said, reaching for his PDA, "I think I'd better let the others know what happened. I'll send out a general announcement but when I'm done, want me to write out one for you, Zach?""Perhaps," said Zach. "Give me a moment to think of something.""Sure thing," Andrew said as they walked out, his free hand typing out his announcement to the team.------------"Ask for her name," Semick said in response to the agent on the line. "If its Kate Bishop, I advise you to be easy on her. She's had a rough time since the Fortress, and I don't want you possibly mentally scarring her with Stromling suspicions. See if you can get her to the rest of the team. They're back on the other side of the rope bridge.""Understood.""And keep an eye out for any of Rex's other team members. I plan to fire through the roof to provide air support, and I don't want to be crushing agents if or when that happens.""We'll see what we can do.""Good. That's it for now."Turning off the mic, Semick was about to direct the T-1 towards the team that was reaching the cliffside when he started hearing cheers from behind him. He turned to see Bluetooth and the rear gunner holding their PDAs and pumping the air."What is it?" he asked."Check your PDA, Semick," he responded. "Great news from Andrew about the eariler problems."Curious, Semick slipped his out of his pocket and checked the latest All-Agents Bulliten:Zach is a Minifig and is on our side agian.Me and Minerva have got him and we are all leaving the Hotep temple.Zach needs some medical attention, but otherwise okay.Anyone still near Hotep's temple, we could use a lift and medic.-AndrewA wave of relief and happiness washed over the former Power Miner. "Nice job, Zach," he muttered under your breath as he redirected his attention to reaching the rest of the team. Even as they were recovering from the Malestrom's trickery, it was good to know they were still gaining small victories.------------"He did it!" Laxus cried from the back of the Fire Hammer. "Yes!""What, did you know something about this?" Rockford asked, his face caught in a weird mix of atonishment, joy and inquerious."Friends do sometimes keep some things to themselves, you know. Just to keep unwanted attention away until objectives are accomplished.""Eh, whatever," said the driver. "The point is that the guy isn't with them anymore. ANd the less agents under their control, the better.""Agreed," said Rockford. "And judging from some of the radio and PDA transmisisons, the rest of the team agrees."Laxus grinned and leaned back in his seat. For him, it was simply good to know that his friend was still alive and had accomplished in his task. It was a good bit of consolation in the face of what still awaitied them at the Temple of Creation. And speaking of..."We're here, commander," the driver said as he parked behind another Fire Hammer and an Iron Predator. "But from the looks of things, we're not going to have the liberty of vehicles now.""Ooh," Rockford muttered. "This could be problematic."

OOC: This would've been in my last IC, but I got lazy.IC: Semick was determed as he flew towards the foreboding sight of the Temple of Creation. Determined to ensure that the Malestrom got its retribution for its trickery and strikes against Dino Attack. Determined to ensure the team would leave victorious. Determined that the LEGO Planet would be saved.But determination only got one so far. There were still practical matters. The Temple of Creation was in the middle of a vast "sea" of Malestrom mist or energy or something, connected to the main island by a very worn rope-plank bridge. This would likely not be helpful for the ground forces, as it meant they had to abandon all vehicles except maybe the Steel Sprinter (and even then that was a little risky for the rope bridge). Only the T-1s and the ADO's remaining aircraft would be useful.As for helping the ground team get across, Semick already had an idea. Picking up his mic again, he sent a message to the remaining aircraft."To our T-1 Typhoon pilots and ADO allies: Know that we cannont simply walk into The Temple of Creation. It's isolated on an island in the midst of some sort of 'sea' of Malestrom energy connected only to the mainland by an old rope bridge. We need extra help to be able to infltrate the temple. I want all our craft to assist in readying several ropes streching from the cliffs to the temple from which we can get agents to zip-line over. I remind you all that our T-1s have the necessary equipment for this operation, but we will need to be careful. I want all of you to be on guard once we start getting agents across. Zip-lines leave us extraordinarily vulnerable, espically when we're trying to cross a massive chasm. Ospery, feel free to try and help our men set these up. I figure you guys would be more adept at preparing zip-lines and other means of rope-based mobility."Operate quickly and efficiently. We don't know if we're racing against time here, but I don't want to take my chances."Looking back towards the temple, Semick also realized that there likely wasn't going to be an easy way for the T-1s to assist. There was no real room for any exterior battles to play out, given the size of the "island" the temple was on, and firing on the temple was likely to prove dangerous for any agents inside.There was only one real option: to try and barrage the temple rooftop to see if they could open a hole large enough to provide a view that allowed the T-1s to provide watch, if not some small cover fire. Even then there was risk. Semick didn't know what Rex's team's status was, so any attack on the temple's exterior now could risk injuring them when the debris and gunfire came roaring in.He needed to find out what they were doing, and quickly. "Bluetooth," he said to his technician buddy, "can you lock onto any Dino Attack Agent frequencies within the temple?""Sure," he replied, taking a few moments to scan the temple for DA agents. "I'm getting about... eight to ten or so readings. One half of them close to the entrance, the other half spread out around a massive area near the back.""Narrow down the T-1's transmitter to the temple. I want to see if I can reach any PDA's, communicators, cell phones, device hidden in a silver dollar, what have you."Bluetooth took a few moments tinkering with the radio settings. "Should be good," he said as he turned a knob.Semick picked up the mic and gave some more words to it. "To any Dino Attack agents within the Temple of Creation, can you hear me? This is team commander Semick, seeking word on your status!"

IC: Andrew breathed a sigh of relief. "It's done. Or at least, we've done everything we can here. I guess it's all down to him now."Minerva stared at her close ally's unconcious body. It was still the same as it had been, but hopefully that would soon change. "...you think he's going to have to go through something like what you went through with Ahua?""It's quite likely," he said, "given what he was saying and how the Malestrom is still trying to take him. Hopefully the cure and moitvation we gave him should help him fight it off."Glancing around, he looked at the way they came in. "Now we have to worry about us for a bit. Given that this temple isn't hosting the Malestrom, and that it's likely pulling the bulk of its forces out to help defend the other temple, and Ahua looks pretty dead, we should be safe from attack for the most part. But now we have to get out.""...Ooh, haven't thought of that for a bit.""We should start looking for an exit, but I don't know if we should be carrying around Zach or just wait for him to eventually get up." He turned to Minerva. "Do you mind going off to check for an exit route? I can keep watch for Zach in the meantime.""Oh, um," Minerva said, obviously debating whether or not she wanted to leave Zach's side. "Sure, I'll go out and have a brief look.""Thanks," said Andrew, walking towards where he had dropped his laser rifle when Ahua had knocked him out. "Don't worry, I can handle this."Minerva nodded. As she walked towards the doorway, Andrew noted the small Malestrom puddle that was still in the middle of the chamber. He eyed it closely as he leaned over Zach's body, wary that it may try something at the last minute.